What happened in 1878

10 entries recorded for 1878, listed by date. That was 148 years ago.

1878 at a glance

February 18
Lincoln County, New Mexico
Historical event
Competition between two American merchants in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, turned into a range war when a member of one faction was murdered by the other.

May 2
Great Mill Disaster
Historical event
A dust explosion (depicted) at the world's largest flour mill in Minneapolis resulted in 18 deaths.
May 14
Salem witchcraft trial (1878)
Historical event
The last witchcraft trial in the United States opened in Salem, Massachusetts.
May 25
Gilbert and Sullivan
Historical event
Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore (poster featured) premiered at the Opera Comique in London.

June 2
Karl Nobiling
Historical event
Anarchist Karl Nobiling attempted to assassinate German Emperor Wilhelm I.
June 15
Eadweard Muybridge
Historical event
Eadweard Muybridge took a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it gallops (animation pictured), which became the basis of motion pictures

September 1
Emma Nutt
Historical event
Emma Nutt becomes the world's first female telephone operator when she is recruited by Alexander Graham Bell to the Boston Telephone Dispatch Company.
September 3
Sinking of SS Princess Alice
Historical event
The passenger steamship SS Princess Alice sank in the River Thames after colliding (pictured) with the collier Bywell Castle, killing more than 600 people.
September 17
Natal–Zululand border incident
Historical event
A British surveyor was detained by the Zulu on the border with the Colony of Natal; a demand for reparations for the incident formed part of an ultimatum that led to the Anglo-Zulu War.

October 7
Death and state funeral of Mindon Min
Historical event
The state funeral of Mindon Min (pictured), who ruled Myanmar for 25 years, took place; his death was reportedly preceded by strange omens, and his senior princes were unable to attend as they had all been arrested.

This site records 10 entries for 1878, including Lincoln County, New Mexico on February 18. They are listed below by date.

148 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1878 turns 148 this year.

1878 falls in the 19th century, in the 1870s.

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