Major Historical Events of 1880–1889: A Decade in Review

Note: The source lists events spanning 1880–1889, not just 1880.

Key Events

1. 1881 – First Boer War begins (Dec 1880); Alexander II of Russia assassinated (Mar).
2. 1881 – Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (Oct, Tombstone, AZ).
3. 1882 – First commercial electric streetlights (Wabash, IN, Sep).
4. 1883 – Brooklyn Bridge opens (May); Krakatoa erupts (Aug, cataclysmic).
5. 1884 – Berlin Conference partitions Africa (Nov 1884–Feb 1885); International Meridian Conference sets Greenwich as Prime Meridian (Oct).
6. 1885 – First Boer War ends (Mar).
7. 1888 – Washington Monument completed (Oct); Jack the Ripper murders begin (Whitechapel, London).

This decade saw imperial scramble, technological leaps, urban transformation, and enduring mysteries—shaping the modern world.