The year 1886 saw significant developments across the globe, impacting politics, science, culture, and technology. This article highlights some of the most important events of that year.
Politics and Society
January 29: Karl Benz patents the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, widely regarded as the first practical automobile powered by an internal combustion engine. This marked a key moment in the history of transportation.
May 1-4: Haymarket Affair (United States): The Haymarket Affair in Chicago, United States, began as a peaceful labor rally in support of an eight-hour workday. A bomb was thrown at police, and subsequent gunfire led to multiple deaths and injuries. The event had lasting repercussions for the labor movement, contributing to negative perceptions of labor activism and anarchism.
May 8: Coca-Cola is invented: John Pemberton invents Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia. It was initially sold as a medicinal syrup. It quickly gained popularity, and is now one of the most well known brands.
September 4: Final Surrender of Geronimo (United States): Apache leader Geronimo surrendered to the United States Army for the final time, effectively ending the Apache Wars and marking a significant chapter in the history of the American West.
September 19: Women's Suffrage (New Zealand): Kate Sheppard and others form the Women's Christian Temperance Union of New Zealand, an event that galvanizes the fight for women's suffrage in New Zealand. New Zealand was the first self-governing country to grant women the right to vote in 1893.
Statue of Liberty Dedication (United States): Work begins on assembling the Statue of Liberty after the gift of the Statue of Liberty from France to the United States.
Gladstone's First Irish Home Rule Bill: William Gladstone introduced his first Irish Home Rule Bill to the British Parliament, seeking to grant Ireland a greater degree of self-government. The bill ultimately failed, leading to a split in the Liberal Party and significantly impacting British and Irish politics.
End of the Third Anglo-Burmese War: The British Empire completes its conquest of Burma, establishing British control over the region.
Science and Technology
Aluminum Electrolytic Production: Hall-Héroult process, a significant electrochemical breakthrough that made the large-scale production of aluminum possible.
Hertz demonstrates radio waves: Heinrich Hertz first demonstrates the existence of radio waves, confirming James Clerk Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. This was a watershed moment in the development of telecommunications.
Discovery of Fluorine: Henri Moissan successfully isolated the element fluorine, a long sought-after scientific achievement due to fluorine's high reactivity.
Culture
Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Published: This classic work of literature explores themes of duality and the dark side of human nature.
Vincent van Gogh arrives in Paris: Vincent van Gogh moves to Paris and begins to engage with Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists, leading to a significant shift in his artistic style.