The world in
What happened in 1890?
16 events across 6 world regions, each with its sources.
North America
Wounded Knee MassacreOn December 29, 1890, at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment carried out a military operation against the Lakota, resulting in numerous Lakota deaths. The event was a violent conflict in the U.S. Army’s Pine Ridge Campaign.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Trager Kuhn, Chadron, Nebr. / Public domain ↗
Founding of the University of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma was founded in 1890 in Norman, Oklahoma Territory, before statehood. As a public research university, it later became one of the two major research universities in the state, profoundly shaping higher education in the region.
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Establishment of Yosemite National ParkIn 1890, the United States established Yosemite National Park in east-central California, covering about 748,000 acres (3,027 km²), protecting the Sierra Nevada western slope's spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, giant sequoia groves, and rich biodiversity. Its creation significantly influenced the development of the national park concept, though it was not the first U.S. national park.
SourcesUNESCO World Heritage listing ↗Wikipedia ↗Image: Thomas Wolf , www.foto-tw.de / CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
Outbreak of the Caste War of YucatánIn 1847, the Indigenous Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula launched an armed revolt against the Hispanic population, known as the Caste War. The uprising stemmed from the latter's political and economic dominance since the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, and it is considered one of the most successful modern Native American revolts. The conflict primarily unfolded between government forces in the northwest and independent Maya groups in the southeast, lasting nearly five decades.
- Founding of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Around the late 19th century, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory was founded on Long Island, New York. It later evolved into a globally renowned private, non-profit research and education institution focusing on cancer, neuroscience, botany, genomics, and quantitative biology.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Founding of the Albright–Knox Art GalleryAn art museum specializing in modern and contemporary art was established adjacent to Delaware Park in Buffalo, New York, in the late 19th century under the name Albright Art Gallery. It later expanded and underwent several name changes, becoming a key cultural institution in the region.
Europe
- Outbreak of the 1889–1890 influenza pandemic
In 1889, a worldwide respiratory viral pandemic, later known as the "Russian flu," broke out. The most notable wave of illness occurred between October 1889 and December 1890, with several recurrences in the following years. The pandemic claimed about one million lives, making it the last great pandemic of the 19th century.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Completion of the Forth BridgeThe Forth Bridge, a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in eastern Scotland, is approximately 2.5 km long and was designed by English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker. Upon completion, it provided a crucial rail link between Edinburgh and Fife, and became recognised as a symbol of Scotland.
SourcesUNESCO World Heritage listing ↗Wikipedia ↗Image: George Gastin / CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
- Signing of the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty
On 1 July 1890, the German Empire and the United Kingdom signed the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty. Germany acquired the strategically important North Sea island of Heligoland to control the Kiel Canal and access routes to German North Sea ports, while ceding its rights in the Zanzibar region of East Africa to Britain, which became a key foothold for British control of East Africa.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Start of Palau Güell constructionThe Palau Güell, a mansion commissioned by industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell from architect Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona, began construction in the late 1880s. It later became part of Gaudí's UNESCO-listed works.
North Africa
Mahdist WarThe Mahdist War (1881–1899) was a colonial conflict between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad who proclaimed himself the Mahdi, and the forces of Egypt and later Britain. Beginning in 1881, the Mahdists overthrew Egyptian rule in Sudan and established a Mahdist state. The British later joined the conflict alongside Egypt, eventually defeating the Mahdists. The war involved other powers such as Italy, the Congo Free State, Ethiopia, and France, and was marked by internal rebellions and famine.
French conquest of AlgeriaBetween 1830 and 1904, France launched a military invasion and prolonged war of conquest in Algeria. In June 1830, French forces landed near Algiers, quickly seizing the capital and coastal areas. Over the following decades, despite internal political strife, France repeatedly reinforced its military presence to suppress resistance in the interior, gradually extending control southward into the Sahara, and finalizing its colonial borders by 1904.
East Asia
Self-Strengthening Movement BeginsQing officials launched the Self-Strengthening Movement in 1861, aiming to strengthen China by adopting Western military technology. Though lasting until 1895, its beginning marked the start of modern industrialization and military modernization in China.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Unknown author Unknown author / Public domain ↗
1887 Yellow River floodIn late September 1887, a massive breach of the Yellow River occurred near Zhengzhou, Henan, China, killing at least 930,000 people. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history and the most fatal flood in Chinese history.
South Asia
Outbreak of the Aceh WarIn early 1873, discussions between representatives of the Aceh Sultanate and the United States in Singapore provoked the Netherlands, leading to a Dutch military attack on Aceh and the start of the Aceh War. The conflict was part of a series of late 19th-century wars that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia, ultimately ending in 1904 with the Dutch annexation of Aceh and control over the entire Indonesian archipelago. The war lasted over three decades, resulting in around 4,000 Dutch and 25,000 Acehnese deaths.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Unknown author Unknown author / Public domain ↗
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Atrocities in the Congo Free State
Between 1885 and 1908, in the Congo Free State under the personal rule of King Leopold II of Belgium, colonial administrators enforced harsh labour policies to collect natural rubber, resulting in widespread atrocities. These, combined with disease, famine, and displacement, led to a sharp decline in the Congolese population, estimated in the millions to tens of millions.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Around 1890
These are known only to the century, not to the year. They are listed separately so a rough date is never mistaken for an exact one.
- Second Industrial Revolution
- Emergence of the Enlightenment
- Museum Island construction begins
- Completion of Dom Pedro V Theatre
- Establishment of Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Industrial Heritage
- Construction of Hôtel Solvay begins
- Founding of Kulangsu as an International Settlement
- Construction of the Four Hydraulic Boat Lifts on the Canal du Centre begins