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1879
Events January–March * January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. * January 11 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins. * January 22 – Anglo-Zulu War – Battle of Isandlwana: A force of 1,200 British soldiers is wiped out by over 20,000 Zulu warriors. * January 23 – Anglo-Zulu War – Battle of Rorke's Drift: Following the previous day's defeat, a smaller British force of 140 successfully repels an attack by 4,000 Zulus. * February 3 – Mosley Street in Newcastle upon Tyne (England) becomes the world's first public highway to be lit by the electric incandescent light bulb invented by Joseph Swan. * February 8 – At a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute, engineer and inventor Sandford Fleming first proposes the global adoption of standard time. * March 3 – United States Geological Survey is founded. * March 11 – The Ry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Isandlwana
The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zululand in Southern Africa, a Zulu force of some 20,000 warriors attacked a portion of the British main column consisting of about 1,800 British, colonial and native troops with approximately 350 civilians. The Zulus were equipped mainly with the traditional assegai iron spears and cow-hide shields, but also had a number of muskets and antiquated rifles.Smith-Dorrien, Chapter 1B "It was a marvellous sight, line upon line of men in slightly extended order, one behind the other, firing as they came along, for ''a few of them had firearms'', bearing all before them." eyewitness account, emphasis added The British and colonial troops were armed with the modern Martini–Henry breechloading rifle and two 7-pounder mountain guns deployed as field ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo-Zulu War
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might succeed with the African Kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics in South Africa. In 1874, Sir Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as High Commissioner for the British Empire to effect such plans. Among the obstacles were the armed independent states of the South African Republic and the Kingdom of Zululand.Knight (1992, 2002), p. 8. Frere, on his own initiative, sent a provocative ultimatum on 11 December 1878 to the Zulu king Cetshwayo and upon its rejection sent Lord Chelmsford to invade Zululand. The war is notable for several particularly bloody battles, including an opening victory of the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana, followed by the defence of Rorke's Drift by a small British force from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Rorke's Drift
The Battle of Rorke's Drift (1879), also known as the Defence of Rorke's Drift, was an engagement in the Anglo-Zulu War. The successful British defence of the mission (station), mission station of Rorke's Drift, under the command of Lieutenants John Chard of the Royal Engineers and Gonville Bromhead, 24th Regiment of Foot began when a large contingent of Impi, Zulu warriors broke off from their main force during the final hour of the British defeat at the day-long Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879, diverting to attack Rorke's Drift later that day and continuing into the following day. Just over 150 British and colonial troops defended the station against attacks by 3,000 to 4,000 Zulu warriors. The massive but wikt:piecemeal#English, piecemeal attacks by the Zulu Kingdom, Zulu on Rorke's Drift came very close to defeating the much smaller garrison, but were consistently repelled. Eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded among the defenders, along with a number of other decor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Kambula
The Battle of Kambula took place on 29 March 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, when a Zulu military force attacked the British camp at Kambula, having routed the mounted element of the British force at the Battle of Hlobane the day before. The battle was a decisive Zulu defeat and the Zulu warriors lost their belief in victory. The war ended after the Zulu defeat at the Battle of Ulundi on 4 July 1879. Prelude Following the disaster at the Battle of Hlobane on 28 March 1879, the forces of Colonel Evelyn Wood prepared to receive an attack by the entire Zulu impi, of which they had encountered only the leading sections. Soon after dawn of 29 March, Transvaal Rangers rode out to locate the impi, the cattle were put out to graze and after some deliberation, two companies were despatched to collect firewood. By the Rangers had returned with the news that the impi was on the move and was to attack Kambula at noon. Wood also now received information that the impi was nearly 21,000 m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryukyu Domain
The was a short-lived domain of the Empire of Japan, lasting from 1872 to 1879, before becoming the current Okinawa Prefecture and other islands at the Pacific edge of the East China Sea. When the domain was created in 1872, Japan's feudal han system had developed in unique ways. The domain was a political and economic abstraction based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields. In other words, the domain was defined in terms of ''kokudaka'', not land area. This was different from the feudalism of the West. History In 1609, the invasion of Ryukyu caused a change in the relationship of the island nation and Japan. After 1609, the Ryukyuan kings were forced to be vassals of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma and the islands were occasionally viewed as a province of Japan. At the same time, the kingdom and its rulers remained carefully independent, and also paid tribute to China. The dual nature of the kingdom and its rulers was eliminated with the creation of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Hlobane
The Battle of Hlobane (28 March 1879) took place at Hlobane, near the modern town of Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War. Background The British commander Frederic Thesiger (Lord Chelmsford) intended to invade Zululand with three columns and converge on the Zulu capital of Ulundi (Ondini). No. 2 Column on the coast was to begin its advance at the Tugela River. No. 3 Column in the centre was to cross Rorke's Drift and advance to the capital. No. 4 Column (Colonel Evelyn Wood) had to advance the shortest distance, about . Wood was to move slowly to enable No. 1 Column to catch up. No. 4 Column consisted of eight infantry companies from the 13th and 90th Light Infantry, with about four 7-pounder mountain guns of the 11th Battery, 7th Brigade (11/7) RA, roughly 200 cavalry of the Frontier Light Horse (FLH), the civilian followers of Piet Uys and Wood's Irrregulars, 300 African infantry along with ox-wagon transport and impedimenta, about 2,000 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Incandescent Light Bulb
An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxidation. Current is supplied to the filament by terminals or wires embedded in the glass. A bulb socket provides mechanical support and electrical connections. Incandescent bulbs are manufactured in a wide range of sizes, light output, and voltage ratings, from 1.5 volts to about 300 volts. They require no external regulating equipment, have low manufacturing costs, and work equally well on either alternating current or direct current. As a result, the incandescent bulb became widely used in household and commercial lighting, for portable lighting such as table lamps, car headlamps, and flashlights, and for decorative and advertising lighting. Incandescent bulbs are much less efficient than other types of electric lighting, converting les ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization's work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The agency was founded on March 3, 1879. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior; it is that department's sole scientific agency. The USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, and Menlo Park, California. The current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is "science for a changing world". The agency's previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its hundredt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shō Tai
was the last king of the Ryukyu Kingdom (8 June 1848 – 10 October 1872) and the head of the Ryukyu Domain (10 October 1872 – 27 March 1879). His reign saw greatly increased interactions with travelers from abroad, particularly from Europe and the United States, as well as the eventual end of the kingdom and its annexation by Japan as Ryukyu Domain (later Okinawa Prefecture)."Shō Tai." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p 42. In 1879, the deposed king was forced to relocate to Tokyo. In May 1885, in compensation, he was made a ''Kōshaku'' (, Marquess), the second tier of nobility within the Kazoku peerage system. Early reign Shō Tai became King of Ryukyu at the age of six and reigned for nearly 31 years. Developments surrounding pressures from Western powers to open the kingdom up to trade, formal relations, and the free coming and going and settlement of Westerners in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
January 22
Events Pre-1600 * 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (''Caesar'') by his father Heraclius at Constantinople. * 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing. *1506 – The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican. *1517 – The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Egypt at the Battle of Ridaniya. *1555 – The Ava Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in what is now Myanmar. 1601–1900 *1689 – The Convention Parliament convenes to determine whether James II and VII, the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Ireland and Scotland, had vacated the thrones of England and Ireland when he fled to France in 1688. *1808 – The Portuguese royal family arrives in Brazil after fleeing the French army's invasion of Portugal two months earlier. * 1824 – The Ashantis defeat British forces i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Note
A United States Note, also known as a Legal Tender Note, is a type of paper money that was issued from 1862 to 1971 in the U.S. Having been current for 109 years, they were issued for longer than any other form of U.S. paper money. They were known popularly as "greenbacks", a name inherited from the earlier greenbacks, the Demand Notes, that they replaced in 1862. Often termed Legal Tender Notes, they were named United States Notes by the First Legal Tender Act, which authorized them as a form of fiat currency. During the early 1860s the so-called ''second obligation'' on the reverse of the notes stated: By the 1930s, this obligation would eventually be shortened to: They were originally issued directly into circulation by the U.S. Treasury to pay expenses incurred by the Union during the American Civil War. During the next century, the legislation governing these notes was modified many times and numerous versions were issued by the Treasury. United States Notes that w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zulu People
Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They originated from Nguni communities who took part in the Bantu migrations over millennia. As the clans integrated together, the rulership of Shaka brought success to the Zulu nation due to his improved military tactics and organization. Zulus take pride in their ceremonies such as the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, and their various forms of beadwork. The art and skill of beadwork takes part in the identification of Zulu people and acts as a form of communication and dedication to the tribe and specific traditions. The men and women both serve different purposes in society in order to function as a whole. Today the Zulu people predominantly believe in Christianity, but have created a syncretic religion that is combined with the Zulu's pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
