In history, year 1888 has its own importance and known for many memorable events like famous birthdays, inventions, natural disaster, treaties, change of rulers, special days etc. Find below a list of important historical events which happened during the year 1888.
| Date/Month | Event / Incidence / Incident |
|---|
| 03 january | The 91 cm refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory near San Jose, California, at the time the largest telescope in the world, was used for the first time. |
| 27 january | The National Geographic Society, publisher of National Geographic magazine, was incorporated in Washington, D.C., as 'a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge'. |
| 11 march | The Great Blizzard of 1888 struck the northeastern UnitedStates, producing snowdrifts in excess of 50 ft (15 m) and confiningsome people to their houses for up to a week. |
| 23 march | Led by William McGregor, ten football clubs met in London for the purpose of founding The Football League, the oldest league competition in world football. |
| 03 april | The first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committedin or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurred. |
| 09 april | The Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam was inaugurated. |
| 13 may | Princess Isabel of the Empire of Brazil signed the Lei Áureainto law, formally abolishing slavery in Brazil. |
| 03 june | American writer Ernest Thayer's baseball poem 'Casey at theBat' was first published in the San Francisco Examiner. |
| 26 june | Ghanshyam Das Birla, great freedom fighter and social reformer, was born at Pilani. Birla inherited the family business and moved to further diversify them into other areas. Of these, at least three contemporary family business groups existing in India today can trace their ancestry to Ghanshyam Das. Of these businesses, he wanted to turn the money lending business into manufacturing. So he left for Calcutta in Bengal, the world's largest jute producing region. |
| 05 august | Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip, going106 km (66 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, in a Benz Patent-Motorwagen, returning the next day. |
| 14 august | A recording of English composer Arthur Sullivan's The LostChord (audio clip right), one of the first recordings of music evermade, was played during a press conference introducing Thomas Edison'sphonograph in London. |
| 31 august | Mary Ann Nichols' body was found on the ground in front of agated stable entrance in Buck's Row, London, allegedly the first victim of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. |
| 04 september | American inventor George Eastman registered the trademark'Kodak' after receiving a patent for his roll film camera. |
| 09 october | The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., at the time theworld's tallest building, officially opened to the general public. |
| 30 october | King Lobengula of Matabeleland granted the Rudd Concession toagents of Cecil Rhodes, setting in motion the creation of the British South Africa Company. |
| 09 november | Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in London; she was widely believedto be the fifth and final victim of the notorious unidentified serialkiller Jack the Ripper. |
| 23 december | During a bout of mental illness, Dutch painter Vincent van Goghstalked his friend French painter Paul Gauguin with a razor, and then afterwards cut off the lower part of his own left ear and gave it to a prostitute. |
| 18 May | The first gramophone record in the United States was played. |
| 13 June | The US Congress formed the Department of Labor. |
| 21 July | British inventor Dunlop designed tires and tubes which increased the speed of transport. |
| 27 July | Philippe Pratt showcased the first electric automobile. |
| 05 September | The second President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born into a Brahmin family in the small village of Tirumani in Tamil Nadu. |
| 07 November | Renowned scientist and Nobel laureate CV Raman was born. |
| 11 November | Freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was born in Saudi Arabia. |
| 05 August | Bertha Benz, the wife of the inventor of the car who invented the car, traveled 104 kilometers from Mannheim, Germany to Pforzheim, becoming the first person to travel such a long distance by car. |
| 20 April | 246 people died due to hailstorm in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. |
| 26 January | The Lawn Tennis Association was established in England. |
| 06 February | Gillis Bildt became Prime Minister of Sweden. |
| 09 March | Frederick III became Emperor of German and King of Prussia. |
| 24 April | The Kodak Company was founded by George Eastman. |
| Date/Month | Name / Profession / Country |
|---|
| 01 November | Michał Sopoćko / Academic / Poland |
| 06 August | Heinrich Schlusnus / Singer / Germany |
| 10 September | Israel Abramofsky / Painter / United States of America |
| 10 July | Giorgio de Chirico / Painter / Italy |
| 11 June | Bartolomeo Vanzetti / Criminal / Italy |
| 12 April | Cecil Kimber / Engineer / United Kingdom |
| 16 May | Royal Rife / Biologist / United States of America |
| 17 March | Paul Ramadier / Politician / France |
| 18 December | Robert Moses / Urban Planner / United States of America |
| 20 December | Fred Merkle / Baseball Player / United States of America |
| 22 July | Selman Waksman / Biochemist / United States of America |
| 23 October | Onésime Gagnon / Politician / Canada |
| 23 May | Zack Wheat / Baseball Player / United States of America |
| 24 November | Fredrick Willius / Author / United States of America |
| 24 January | Ernst Heinkel / Engineer / Germany |
| 26 November | Ford Beebe / Writer / United States of America |
| 26 December | Marius Canard / Historian / France |
| 27 June | Antoinette Perry / Actress / United States of America |
| 28 June | Stefi Geyer / Educator / Hungary |
| 29 August | Salme Dutt / Politician / United Kingdom |
| Year | Name / Profession / Country |
|---|
| 11 November | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad / Politician / India |
| 07 November | C. V. Raman / Academic / India |
| 11 November | Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani / Lawyer / India |
| 11 November | Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad / Politician / India |
| 27 November | Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar / Freedom Fighter / India |
| 05 September | Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan / Professor / India |
| 04 August | Taher Saifuddin / Religious Leader / India |
| 05 September | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan / Philosopher / India |
| 11 November | Abul Kalam Azad / Activist / India |
| 27 November | Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar / Politician / India |
| 05 September | Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan / Teacher / India |
| 11 November | Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed Azad / Politician / India |
| 11 November | J. B. Kripalani / Politician / India |
| 07 November | Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman / Physician / India |
| 17 January | Babu Gulabrai / Author / India |
| 15 January | Dr. Saifuddin Kichalu / Lawyer / India |
| 11 May | Asaf Ali / Activist / India |
| 05 September | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan / Politician / India |
| 27 November | Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar / Politician / India |
| 15 January | Saiffudin Kichlu / Politician / India |