What Happened in 1886

Frank Lloyd Wright admitted to University of Wisconsin Madison

Wright was admitted to the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a special student in 1886. There he joined Phi Delta Theta fraternity, took classes... Read more

Nikola Tesla forms Tesla Electric Light and Manufacturing Company

The Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing was a company formed by Nikola Tesla in 1886. Located in Rahway, New Jersey, the company was formed after... Read more

Benz Applies for a Patent for the First Automobile

The Karl Benz Patent Motorwagen (or motorcar), built in 1885, is widely regarded as the first automobile, that is, a vehicle designed to be... Read more

First Groundhog Day Celebrated in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

According to folklore, if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day fails to see its shadow, it will leave the burrow, signifying that... Read more

The Bostonians by Henry James is Published

The Bostonians is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Century Magazine in 1885–1886 and then as a book in 1886. This... Read more

Thomas Edison Marries Mina Miller

On February 24, 1886, at the age of thirty nine, Edison married 20-year-old Mina Miller in Akron, Ohio. She was the daughter of inventor Lewis... Read more

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Born

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies (March 27, 1886 – August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly... Read more

Haymarket and May Day

On May 1, 1886, Chicago unionists, reformers, socialists, anarchists, and ordinary workers combined to make the city the center of the national... Read more

First Coca-Cola Is Sold

Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist and inventor of patent medicines, sold the first Coca-Cola on May 8, 1886, at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta,... Read more

Grover Cleveland Marries Frances Folsom

President Grover Cleveland wed Frances Folsom in a White House ceremony on June 2, 1886. Daughter of Cleveland's late law partner, the bride was... Read more

Charleston Earthquake of 1886

This is the most damaging earthquake to occur in the Southeast United States and one of the largest historic shocks in Eastern North America. It... Read more

Sigmund Freud Marries Martha Bernays

In 1877, Sigmund Freud was an ambitious 21 year-old who planned to devote his life to science. When Freud was 26, his commitment to laboratory... Read more

Reno Gang Robs Ohio & Mississippi Passenger Train

On October 6, 1866, thieves boarded an eastbound Ohio & Mississippi Railroad passenger train near Seymour, Indiana, and entered an Adams Express... Read more

The Maracaibo Incident

During the night of the 24th of October last [1886], which was rainy and tempestuous, a family of nine persons, sleeping in a hut a few leagues... Read more

Statue of Liberty Dedicated

The Statue of Liberty National Monument officially celebrated her 100th birthday on October 28, 1986. The people of France gave the Statue to the... Read more

Theodore Roosevelt Marries Edith Kermit Carow

Following the election, he went to London in 1886 and married his childhood sweetheart, Edith Kermit Carow. They honeymooned in Europe, and... Read more

State of the Union Address by President Grover Cleveland

The following is an excert from the State of the Union address related to the US relationship with Hawaii: "I express my unhesitating conviction... Read more