1882
Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century
Decades: 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s - 1880s - 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s
Years: 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 - 1882 - 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887
Events
- February 2 - The Knights of Columbus are formed in New Haven, Connecticut
- February 7 - In Mississippi City the last heavyweight boxing championship bareknuckle fight takes place.
- March 22 - Polygamy is outlawed by the United States Congress.
- March 24 - Robert Koch announces the discovery of the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis).
- March 29 - The Knights of Columbus are established.
- April 3 - Old West outlaw Jesse James is shot in the back and killed by Robert Ford for a $5,000 reward.
- May 20 - Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
- August 5 - Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
- August 20 - Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" debuts in Moscow.
- September 5 - The first United States Labor Day parade is held in New York City.
- Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch (German bacteriologist) discovers the tubercle bacillus.
- Nikola Tesla invents alternating current generator
- First Polar Year, an international scientific program.
- Carl Louis Ferdinand von Lindemann publishes his proof of the transcendence of pi
Arts, Sciences, Literature and Philosophy
Births
- January 6 - Fan S. Noli, Albanian poet and political figure († 1965)
- January 18 - A. A. Milne, British author († 1956)
- January 25 - Virginia Woolf, writer († 1941)
- February 1 - Louis Stephen St. Laurent, twelfth Prime Minister of Canada († 1973)
- February 2 - James Joyce, author († 1941)
- February 11 - Gheorghe Cucu composer († 1932)
- February 15 - John Barrymore, actor († 1942)
- March 14 - Waclaw Sierpinski Polish mathematician († 1969)
- March 21 - Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, actor († 1971)
- March 23 - Emmy Noether, mathematician († 1935)
- April 17 - Artur Schnabel, pianist († 1951)
- April 18 - Isabel J. Cox, future First Lady of Canada († 1985)
- May 6 - Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, heir of Kaiser Wilhelm II († 1951)
- May 9 - Henry J. Kaiser, industrialist († 1967)
- May 13 - Georges Braque, painter († 1963)
- May 16 - Anne McCormick, journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner († 1954)
- May 19 - Mohammed Mossadegh, Iranian prime minister († 1967)
- May 20 - Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author († 1949)
- June 17 - Igor Stravinsky, composer († 1971)
- August 25 - Sean T. O'Kelly, second President of Ireland († 1966)
- October 5 - Robert Goddard, rocket scientist († 1945)
- October 6 - Karol Szymanowski, composer († 1937)
- October 14 - Eamon de Valera, Taoiseach and third President of Ireland († 1975)
- December 9 - Joaquín Turina, composer († 1949)
- November 11 - King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden († 1973)
- December 16 - Zoltán Kodály, composer († 1967)
Deaths
- February 11 - Gustav Schmidt, composer
- March 24 - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, author
- April 3 - Jesse James, outlaw
- April 10 - Dante Gabriel Rossetti, poet, painter
- April 19 - Charles Darwin, British naturalist
- July 16 - Mary Todd Lincoln, former First Lady of the United States
- Charles A. Alexander, Victorian architect