Events from the year 1885 in the United States.

Incumbents

Federal Government

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...

( R- New York) (until March 4),

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

( D- New York) (starting March 4) *

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

: ** until March 4: ''vacant'' ** March 4–November 25:

Thomas A. Hendricks Thomas Andrews Hendricks (September 7, 1819November 25, 1885) was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March until his ...

( D-

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

) ** starting November 25: ''vacant'' * Chief Justice:

Morrison Waite Morrison Remick "Mott" Waite (November 29, 1816 – March 23, 1888) was an American attorney, jurist, and politician from Ohio. He served as the seventh chief justice of the United States from 1874 until his death in 1888. During his tenur ...

(

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

) * Speaker of the House of Representatives: John G. Carlisle ( D-

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

) *

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

: 48th (until March 4), 49th (starting March 4)

Events

Thure de Thulstrup - The Massacre of the Chinese at Rock Springs

January–March

* February 9 – The first Japanese arrive in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. * February 16 –

Charles Dow Charles Henry Dow (; November 6, 1851 – December 4, 1902) was an American journalist who co-founded Dow Jones & Company with Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser. Dow also co-founded ''The Wall Street Journal'', which has become one of th ...

publishes the first edition of the

Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...

. The index stands at a level of 62.76, and represents the dollar average of 14 stocks: 12 railroads and two leading American industries. * February 18 – Mark Twain publishes ''

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United S ...

'' in the United States. * February 21 –

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

dedicates the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and th ...

. * March 3 – A subsidiary of the American Bell Telephone Company, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), is incorporated in New York. * March 4 –

is sworn in as the 22nd

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, and

is sworn in as

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

April–June

* April 30 ** A bill is signed in the New York State legislature forming the

Niagara Falls State Park Niagara Falls State Park is located in the City of Niagara Falls in Niagara County, New York, United States. The park, recognized as the oldest state park in the United States, contains the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls, and a portion ...

. **

Boston Pops Orchestra The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

is formed. * May – The

Depression of 1882–85 Depression may refer to: Mental health * Depression (mood), a state of low mood and aversion to activity * Mood disorders characterized by depression are commonly referred to as simply ''depression'', including: ** Dysthymia, also known as pers ...

ends. * June 17 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.

July–September

* July 11 – San Diego Building and Loan Association founded, predecessor of

Great American Bank Great American Bank was an American savings and loan association based in San Diego. It was founded in 1885 as San Diego Building and Loan Association, the first S&L in Southern California. Until the 1980s, it operated for decades as San Diego Fe ...

. * July 14 –

Sarah E. Goode Sarah Elisabeth Goode (1855 – April 8, 1905) was an American entrepreneur and inventor. She was the second known African-American woman to receive a United States patent, which she received in 1885. Biography Born in 1855 in Toledo, Ohio t ...

is the first female African-American to apply for and receive a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

, for the invention of the hideaway bed. * July 23 – Former

and

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

general

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

dies in

Mount McGregor, New York Wilton is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 17,361 at the 2020 census. The Town of Wilton is in the northeastern part of the county, northeast of Saratoga Springs, which it borders. History The region, once ...

. * August 25 – Author

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the '' Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...

marries

Almanzo Wilder Almanzo James Wilder (; February 13, 1857 – October 23, 1949) was the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the father of Rose Wilder Lane, both noted authors. Biography Early life Almanzo James Wilder was born on February 13, 1857 a ...

. * September 2 – The

Rock Springs massacre The Rock Springs massacre, also known as the Rock Springs riot, occurred on September 2, 1885, in the present-day United States city of Rock Springs in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. The riot, and resulting massacre of immigrant Chinese miners ...

occurs in

Rock Springs, Wyoming Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 23,036 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state of Wyoming, and the most populous city in Sweetwater County. Rock Springs is ...

; 150 white miners attack their Chinese coworkers, killing 28, wounding 15, and forcing several hundred more out of town. * September 8 –

Saint Thomas Academy Saint Thomas Academy (abbr. STA), originally known as St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary and formerly known as St. Thomas Military Academy, is the only all-male, Catholic, college-preparatory, military high school in Minnesota. It is located in Mendota ...

is founded in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

October–December

* October 13 – The Georgia Institute of Technology is established in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

as the Georgia School of Technology. * November 25 – Vice President

dies in office. * December 1 – The

U.S. Patent Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

acknowledges this date as the day

Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Euro ...

is served for the very first time; the exact date of Dr Pepper's invention is unknown.

Undated

* The first skyscraper (the

Home Insurance Building The Home Insurance Building was a skyscraper that stood in Chicago from 1885 to 1931. Originally ten stories and tall, it was designed by William Le Baron Jenney in 1884 and completed the next year. Two floors were added in 1891, bringing its ...

) is built in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, USA (10 floors). * Michigan Technological University (originally Michigan Mining School) opens its doors for the first time in what is to become the Houghton County Fire Hall. * Camp Dudley, the oldest continually running boys' camp in America, is founded.

Ongoing

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Wes ...

(1869–c. 1896) *

(1882–1885)

Sport

*August 29 –

John L. Sullivan John Lawrence Sullivan (October 15, 1858 – February 2, 1918), known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing ...

becomes First World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. *September 30 – The Chicago White Stockings clinch their Third

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

pennant with a 2–1 win over the New York Giants.

Births

* January 7 –

Edwin Swatek Edwin Paul Swatek (January 7, 1885 – January 2, 1966) was an American backstroke swimmer and water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists ...

, swimmer and water polo player (died 1966) * January 11 – Alice Paul, suffragist (died

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

) * January 15 –

Grover Lowdermilk Grover Cleveland "Slim" Lowdermilk (January 15, 1885 – March 31, 1968) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox between 1 ...

, baseball player (died

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

) * January 27 **

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

, musical theater composer (died

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

) **

Harry Ruby Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American actor, pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.1974) * February 7 –

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...

fiction writer, recipient of Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930 (died

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

in Italy) * February 13 –

Bess Truman Elizabeth Virginia Truman (''née'' Wallace; February 13, 1885October 18, 1982) was the wife of President Harry S. Truman and the first lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953. She also served as the second lady of the United States from Ja ...

, First Lady of the United States,

Second Lady of the United States The second gentleman or second lady of the United States (SGOTUS or SLOTUS respectively) is the informal title held by the spouse of the vice president of the United States, concurrent with the vice president's term of office. Coined in contrast ...

(died 1982) * February 17 – Steve Evans, baseball player (died

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

) * February 18 –

Richard S. Edwards Admiral Richard Stanislaus Edwards (18 February 1885 – 2 June 1956) served in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Edwards was appointed to the United States Naval Academy ...

, admiral (died

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

) * March 6 –

Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...

, writer (died 1933) * April 1 –

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' ( ...

, actor (died 1949) * April 7 –

Bee Ho Gray Bee Ho Gray (born Emberry Cannon Gray on April 7, 1885, in Leon, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory – August 3, 1951, in Pueblo, Colorado) was a Western performer who spent 50 years displaying his skills in Wild West shows, vaudeville, circus, ...

, Wild West star, silent film actor and vaudeville performer (died

) * April 13 – Vean Gregg, baseball player (died

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

) * May 2 **

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

, columnist (died 1966) ** Lee W. Stanley, cartoonist (died

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

) * May 7 –

George "Gabby" Hayes George Francis "Gabby" Hayes (7 May 1885 – 9 February 1969) was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-Western film series as the bewhiskered, c ...

, Western film character actor (died

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

) * May 14 – Ben J. Tarbutton, businessman and politician (died

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

) * May 30 – Arthur E. Andersen, accountant (died 1947) * June 29 – Andrew Tombes, comedian and character actor (died 1976 in the United States, 1976) * July 4 – Louis B. Mayer, film producer (died 1957 in the United States, 1957) * July 6 – Charles Wisner Barrell, writer (died 1974) * July 10 – Mary O'Hara (author), Mary O'Hara, author and screenwriter (died 1980 in the United States, 1980) * July 15 – Tom Kennedy (actor), Tom Kennedy, actor (died 1965 in the United States, 1965) * July 22 – John Thomas Kennedy, general and Medal Honour recipient (died

) * August 15 – Edna Ferber, novelist, short story writer, and playwright (died

) * September 7 – Elinor Wylie (Elinor Morton Hoyt), poet and novelist (died 1928 in the United States, 1928) * September 11 – Julian C. Smith, general (died 1975 in the United States, 1975) * September 15 – James P. Boyle, politician (died 1939 in the United States, 1939) * September 22 – George Gaul, actor (died 1939 in the United States, 1939) * October 3 – Sophie Treadwell, dramatist and journalist (died 1970 in the United States, 1970) * October 9 – Raymond DeWalt, inventor and businessman (died 1961 in the United States, 1961) * October 30 – Ezra Pound, poet (died 1972 in Italy) * November 1 – Edgar J. Kaufmann, merchant and patron of Fallingwater (died 1955 in the United States, 1955) * November 11 – George S. Patton, General (died 1945 in Heidelberg, Germany) * November 28 – John Willard (playwright), John Willard, playwright and actor (d. 1942 in the United States, 1942) * December 2 – George Minot, physiologist, recipient of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1934 (died 1950 in the United States, 1950) * December 6 – Ernest Palmer (American cinematographer), Ernest Palmer, cinematographer (died 1978 in the United States, 1978) * December 10 – Elizabeth Baker (economist), Elizabeth Baker, economist and academic (died 1973 in the United States, 1973) * December 19 – King Oliver, jazz cornet player and bandleader (died 1938 in the United States, 1938) * December 26 – Bazoline Estelle Usher, African American educator (died 1992 in the United States, 1992)

Full date unknown

*Eugene Prussing, lawyer and philanthropistEugene Prussing Papers
at Newberry Library

Deaths

* January 13 – Schuyler Colfax, 17th

from 1869 to 1873 (born 1823 in the United States, 1823) * January 24 – Martin Delany, African American abolitionist, journalist and physician (born 1812 in the United States, 1812) * February 12 – Alexandre Mouton, U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1843 to 1846 (born 1804 in the United States, 1804) * March 17 – Susan Warner (pseudonym Elizabeth Weatherell), religious and children's writer (born 1819 in the United States, 1819) * May 4 – Irvin McDowell, Union Army officer known for defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run (born 1818 in the United States, 1818) * May 17 – Jonathan Young (commodore), Jonathan Young, U.S. Navy commodore (born 1826 in the United States, 1826) * May 19 – Robert Emmet Odlum, swimming instructor, dies as result of becoming the first person to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge (born 1851 in the United States, 1851) * May 20 – Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen, 29th United States Secretary of State (born 1817 in the United States, 1817) * July 23 –

, 18th

from 1869 to 1877 (born 1822 in the United States, 1822) * August 10 – James W. Marshall, contractor, builder of Sutter's Mill (born 1810 in the United States, 1810) * September 3 – William M. Gwin, U.S. Senator from California from 1850 to 1855 and from 1857 to 1861 (born 1805 in the United States, 1805) * October 5 – Thomas C. Durant, railroad financier (born 1820 in the United States, 1820) * October 29 – George B. McClellan, soldier, civil engineer, railroad executive and politician (born 1826 in the United States, 1826) * November 25 –

, 21st Vice President of the United States from March to November 1885 (born 1819 in the United States, 1819) * December 8 – William Henry Vanderbilt, entrepreneur (born 1821 in the United States, 1821) * December 21 – George S Patton, General (born 1885 in San Gabriel, California, US, 1885) * December 13 – Benjamin Gratz Brown, politician (born 1826 in the United States, 1826) * December 15 – Robert Toombs, U.S. Senator from Georgia from 1853 to 1861 (born 1810 in the United States, 1810) * December 29 – James E. Bailey, U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1877 to 1881 (born 1821 in the United States, 1821)

References

External links

* {{Year in North America, 1885 1885 in the United States, 1880s in the United States 1885 by country, United States 1885 in North America, United States Years of the 19th century in the United States