1870 facts for kids

July 19: Start of the Franco-Prussian War

1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, the 1870th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 870th year of the 2nd millennium, the 70th year of the 19th century, and the 1st year of the 1870s decade. As of the start of 1870, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. The year 1870 was a time of significant change and important events around the world. It saw major wars, new inventions, and important steps forward in civil rights and women's suffrage. From the start of the Franco-Prussian War to the completion of Italy's unification, this year shaped many parts of history. People like Charles Dickens and Vladimir Lenin were part of the story of 1870, either ending their lives or just beginning them.

The Year 1870: A Time of Big Changes

Key Events of 1870

January: New Beginnings and Important Steps

• January 1
  • The first edition of The Northern Echo newspaper was published in Darlington, England.
  • Plans for the famous Brooklyn Bridge in New York City were completed.
• January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge officially began.
• January 6 – The Musikverein, a famous concert hall in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, was opened.
• January 10 – John D. Rockefeller started his company, Standard Oil.
• January 15 – A political cartoon for the first time used a donkey to represent the United States Democratic Party. This was in Harper's Weekly by Thomas Nast.
• January 23 – A tragic incident occurred where U.S. soldiers attacked a camp of Piegan Blackfeet Indians.
• January 26 – Virginia rejoined the Union after the Reconstruction Era. A new Constitution was adopted, giving all male citizens over 21, including freedmen, the right to vote.
• January 28 – The British ship SS City of Boston disappeared during a transatlantic journey with 191 people on board.

February: Rights and New Discoveries

• February 1 – Goodna State School was founded in Goodna, Queensland, Australia.
• February 2
  • The famous Cardiff Giant in the U.S. was revealed to be a carved gypsum statue, not a petrified human.
  • The Seven Brothers, a novel by Finnish author Aleksis Kivi, was published.
• February 3 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed. This important amendment guaranteed African American men the right to vote.
• February 9 – The U.S. Army Weather Bureau was created to help forecast weather.
• February 12 – Women gained the right to vote in Utah Territory, a significant step for women's suffrage.
• February 14 – Schoolteacher Seraph Young Ford became the first woman to vote under a women’s equal suffrage law in the USA. She cast her ballot in Salt Lake City.
• February 23 – Military control of Mississippi ended, and it was readmitted to the Union.
• February 25 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Congress.
• February 26
  • The first pneumatic subway, Beach Pneumatic Transit, opened in New York City.
  • The German Commerzbank was founded in Hamburg.
• February 27 – The Nisshoki 'circle of the sun' flag of Japan was adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships.
• February 28 – The Bulgarian Exarchate was established by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
• February – Denis Vrain-Lucas was sentenced to prison in Paris for creating many fake historical documents.

March: Conflicts and New Institutions

• March 1 – The Battle of Cerro Corá in Paraguay marked the end of the Paraguayan War. Marshal Francisco Solano López lost his life in battle.
• March 4 – Thomas Scott died during a conflict with Louis Riel's provisional government in what is now Manitoba, Canada.
• March 5 – The first ever international Association football (soccer) match, England v Scotland, took place in London.
• March 10 – Deutsche Bank was founded in Berlin.
• March 18 – A law was passed in British India to protect young girls.
• March 19 – The Ohio Legislature established the Ohio Agriculture and Mechanical College, which later became Ohio State University.
• March 24
  • Syracuse University was established in New York and officially opened.
  • Silver was discovered in Caracoles in the Atacama Desert. This led to a rush for silver and a disagreement between Chile and Bolivia.
• March 30
  • The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, giving African American men the right to vote, was officially approved.
  • Texas was readmitted to the Union, ending its Reconstruction Era.
• March 31 – Thomas Mundy Peterson became the first African American to vote in an election.
• March – The Mitsubishi Company was established in Japan as a shipping firm.

April: Culture and Natural Disasters

• April 11 – A strong earthquake shook the Chinese county of Batang. It caused a fire and led to the deaths of about 5,000 people.
• April 13 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was established.
• April 27 – Antonio Guzmán Blanco began his first term as President of Venezuela.
• April 29 – The Chicago Base Ball Club, later known as the Chicago Cubs, played its first game.

May: New Territories and Sports

• May 12
  • The Canadian province of Manitoba was created. This was in response to Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion.
  • The Port Adelaide Football Club was founded.
• May 14 – The first rugby match was played in New Zealand.
• May 25 – The Fenian Brotherhood attacked Eccles Hill in Quebec.

June: Communication and Famous Figures

• June 8 – The final connection was made for the first telegraph submarine cable between Great Britain and India.
• June 9 – English novelist Charles Dickens died in Kent, leaving his last book unfinished.
• June 21 – A tragic event occurred in China known as the Tianjin Massacre. Many people lost their lives due to conflict and unrest when an angry mob attacked churches.
• June 22
  • The office of the Solicitor General of the United States was created. This office helps supervise government legal cases.
  • The U.S. Congress created the United States Department of Justice.
• June 23 – The first message by electric telegraph using the new submarine cable was sent from London to India.
• June 26 – Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre was first performed in Munich.
• June 28 – American President Ulysses S. Grant signed an act making United States Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day federal holidays.

July: Wars and Political Shifts

• July 14 – The Ems Dispatch was published. This event helped lead to a war between Prussia and France.
• July 15
  • Georgia became the last former Confederate state to rejoin the Union.
  • The British government added the former Hudson's Bay Company territory to the Dominion of Canada.
• July 18 – Pope Pius IX declared papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals.
• July 19 – The Franco-Prussian War began as France declared war on Prussia.
• July 30 – The 'Diggers' Republic' was declared in South Africa by diamond miners.

August: Transportation and Rebellions

• August 2 – The Tower Subway beneath the River Thames in London opened. It was the world's first underground passenger "tube" railway. It showed how a new tunneling method could work.
• August 8 – An uprising against Domnitor Carol of Romania, known as the Republic of Ploiești, failed.
• August 24 – The Red River Rebellion in Canada ended with the arrival of the Wolseley Expedition. Louis Riel fled.

September: Major European Changes

• September 2 – Franco-Prussian War: At the Battle of Sedan, Prussian forces defeated the French armies. Emperor Napoleon III and 100,000 of his soldiers were taken prisoner.
• September 4 – Emperor Napoleon III of France was removed from power. The Third Republic was declared.
• September 6 – Louisa Swain of Laramie, Wyoming, became the first woman in the United States to legally cast a vote since 1807.
• September 18 – Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone was observed and named by Henry D. Washburn.
• September 19 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris (1870–1871) began. People used balloon mail to send messages out of the city.
• September 20 – Capture of Rome: Soldiers entered Rome, completing the unification of Italy. This ended the last part of the Papal States.

October: Italy's Unification and More Conflicts

• October 2 – A vote in Rome showed strong support for the city joining Italy.
• October 6 – Rome officially became the capital of unified Italy.
• October 8 – Léon Gambetta escaped from besieged Paris in a hot-air balloon.
• October 20
  • The First Vatican Council concluded its meetings.
  • A strong earthquake shook the Canadian province of Quebec, causing some deaths.
• October 26 – The leaders involved in the Tianjin Massacre of foreigners faced consequences from China's Imperial government.
• October 27 – Franco-Prussian War: During the Siege of Metz, Marshal François Achille Bazaine was forced to surrender the fortifications of Metz due to a lack of supplies.

November: Weather and New Monarchs

• November 1 – In the United States, the newly created Weather Bureau made its first official meteorological forecast.
• November 16 – The Spanish Cortes Generales proclaimed Amadeo de Saboya as King Amadeo I of Spain.

December: Progress and Sad Endings

• December 12 – Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina became the second black U.S. congressman.
• December 28 – Juan Prim, Prime Minister of Spain, died after being attacked.
• December 31
  • Sir Henry Barkly was appointed Governor of the Cape of Good Hope.
  • The 12.8 km (8.0 mi) Fréjus Rail Tunnel through the Alps was completed.

Other Notable Events of 1870

• David Kenyon invented the fireman's pole in Chicago.
• Graeter's ice cream was first made in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Only a small number of the members of the Indian Civil Service were Indian.

Famous People Born in 1870

January to March Births

Ernst Barlach

Gustav Bauer

• January 2 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and poet.
• January 6 – Gustav Bauer, a future Chancellor of Germany.
• January 8 – Miguel Primo de Rivera, who would become a dictator of Spain.
• January 23 – William G. Morgan, the American inventor of volleyball.
• February 7 – Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychologist.
• February 12 – Marie Lloyd, an English singer.
• March 5 – Frank Norris, an American writer.
• March 10 – Ester Rachel Kamińska, a Polish actress known as the "mother of Yiddish theatre".
• March 20 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, a German general.
• March 31 – James M. Cox, an American politician.

April to June Births

Hamaguchi Osachi

Vladimir Lenin

Franz Lehár

• April 1 – Hamaguchi Osachi, a future Prime Minister of Japan.
• April 22 – Vladimir Lenin, a Russian revolutionary and the first Premier of the Soviet Union.
• April 30 – Franz Lehár, an Austrian composer.
• May 9 – Harry Vardon, a famous English golf professional.
• May 19 – Albert Fish, an American.
• May 24 – Jan Smuts, a South African soldier and statesman.
• June 13 – Jules Bordet, a Belgian immunologist and Nobel Prize winner.

July to September Births

Maria Montessori

Georges Claude

• July 3 – R. B. Bennett, a future Prime Minister of Canada.
• July 12 – Louis II, Prince of Monaco.
• July 25 – Maxfield Parrish, an American illustrator.
• July 27 – Hilaire Belloc, a French-English writer.
• August 31 – Maria Montessori, a famous Italian educator.
• September 24 – Georges Claude, a French engineer and inventor.
• September 26 – King Christian X of Denmark.
• September 30 – Jean Baptiste Perrin, a French physicist and Nobel Prize winner.

October to December Births

• October 4 – Karl Renner, a future Chancellor of Austria.
• October 10 – Ivan Bunin, a Russian writer and Nobel Prize winner.
• October 18 – D. T. Suzuki, a Japanese philosopher.
• November 21 – Sigfrid Edström, a Swedish sports official and President of the International Olympic Committee.
• November 27 – Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a future Prime Minister and President of Finland.
• December 9 – Francisco S. Carvajal, a future President of Mexico.
• December 14 – Dirk Jan de Geer, a future Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
• December 18 – Saki, an English writer.

Important Figures Who Died in 1870

January to June Deaths

Francisco Solano López

Charles Dickens

• January 20 – Sir George Seymour, a British admiral.
• January 25 – Victor de Broglie, a former Prime Minister of France.
• January 29 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
• February 7 – Sylvain Salnave, a Haitian general and President of Haiti, died in a conflict.
• February 11 – Carlos Soublette, a two-time President of Venezuela.
• March 1 – Francisco Solano López, the President of Paraguay, lost his life in battle.
• March 4 – Thomas Scott, a Canadian, died during a conflict with Louis Riel's government.
• March 11 – Moshoeshoe I, the leader of Lesotho.
• March 28 – George Henry Thomas, an American general.
• April 11 – Justo José de Urquiza, the first constitutional President of Argentina, died after an attack.
• April 15 – Emma Willard, an American women's rights activist.
• May 6 – Sir James Young Simpson, a Scottish physician and researcher.
• June 9 – Charles Dickens, the famous British novelist.

July to December Deaths

Aasmund Olavsson Vinje

Alexandre Dumas, père

• July 22 – Josef Strauss, an Austrian composer.
• August 4 – Abel Douay, a French general, died in battle.
• August 14 – David Farragut, an American admiral.
• September 23 – Prosper Mérimée, a French writer.
• October 12 – Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general.
• November 23 – Giuseppina Bozzacchi, a ballerina, died due to difficult conditions during the Siege of Paris.
• December 5 – Alexandre Dumas, père, the famous French author.
• December 27 – Juan Prim, a Spanish general and prime minister, died after an attack.

See also

In Spanish: 1870 para niños