1880

Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century

Decades: 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s - 1880s - 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s

Years: 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 - 1880 - 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885

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Events:

• January 1 - Construction of the Panama Canal begins
• February 2 - The first electric streetlight is installed in Wabash, Indiana
• February 13 - Thomas Edison becomes the first person to observe the Edison Effect.
• March 10 - Members of the Salvation Army land in the United States and begin operations.
• July 1 - First performance of O Canada, the song that would become the national anthem of Canada.
• October - terrible winter storm in North America, the "Blizzard of 1880".
• November - James Garfield defeats Winfield S. Hancock in the U.S. presidential election
• December 30 - The Transvaal becomes a republic and Paul Kruger becomes its first president.
• Discovery of piezoelectricity by Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie.
• Completion of Cologne cathedral.

Arts, Sciences, Literature and Philosophy

• 1880 in literature:

Births:

• January 6 - Tom Mix, actor (+ 1940)
• January 17 - Mack Sennett, director, producer (+ 1960)
• January 26 - Douglas MacArthur, general (+ 1964)
• January 29 - W.C. Fields, actor (+ 1946)
• January 30 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States (+ 1945)
• February 8 - Franz Marc, painter/graphic artist, co-founder: Blauer Reiter (+ 1916)
• February 12 - John L. Lewis, labor union leader (+ 1969)
• February 21 - Waldemar Bonsels, writer (+ 1952)
• February 22 - Frigyes Riesz, mathematician
• March 10 - Broncho Billy Anderson, actor (+ 1971)
• March 13 - Frank Thieß, writer (+ 1977)
• March 30 - Sean O'Casey, dramatist (+ 1964)
• April 13 - Charles Christie, pioneer film studio owner in Hollywood (+ 1955)
• August 22 - George Herriman, cartoonist (Krazy Kat)
• August 31 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
• November 6 - Robert Musil, Austrian novelist (The Man Without Qualities)
• June 27 - Helen Keller, socialist, pacifist, spokeswoman for the deaf and blind

Deaths:

• January 8 - Joshua A. Norton, Emperor Norton I of the United States of America.
• November 11 - Bushranger Ned Kelly hanged
• October 4 - Jacques Offenbach, composer