1884

Years: 1881 1882 1883 - 1884 - 1885 1886 1887
Decades: 1850s 1860s 1870s - 1880s - 1890s 1900s 1910s

Events of 1884

January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London.
January 5 – Princess Ida premieres at the Savoy Theatre.
January 18 – Dr William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Iesu Grist (Jesus Christ) Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the U.K.
February 1 – The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
February 7 – The Diocese of Madrid-Alcalá is founded.
March 13 – The siege of Khartoum, Sudan begins (ends on January 26, 1885).

April 22 – The Colchester earthquake, England, the UK's most destructive, occurs.
May 1 – The eight-hour workday is first proclaimed by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in the United States. May 1, called May Day or Labour Day, is now a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country.
June 4 – The Estonian flag is consecrated as the flag of the Estonian Students Society.

July 5 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
July 23 – Today's Courier records the first tennis tournaments held on the grounds of Shrubland Hall, Leamington Spa, England.
August 5 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.
August 10 – A severe earthquake, magnitude 5.5, (intensity VII) occurs off the northeast Atlantic coast. The area affected extends from central Virginia to southern Maine, and west as far as Cleveland.
September 5 – Staten Island Academy is founded.

October – International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. fixes the Greenwich meridian as the world's prime meridian.
October 6 – The United States Naval War College is established in Newport, Rhode Island.
October 18 – The University of Wales, Bangor (UK) is founded.
October 18 – The Upper Thames Sailing Club, Bourne End United Kingdom is founded.
October 22 – The first woman receives a degree from the Royal University of Ireland.
November 1 – The Irish Gaelic Athletic Association is founded in Thurles, Ireland.
November 2 – Timişoara is the first town of Europe with streets illuminated by electric light.
November 4 – United States presidential election, 1884: Democrat Grover Cleveland defeats Republican James G. Blaine in a very close contest to win the first of his non-consecutive terms.
November 15 – The Berlin Conference which regulates European colonisation and trade in Africa begins (ends February 26, 1885).
December 1 – American Old West: Near Frisco, New Mexico, deputy sheriff Elfego Baca holds off a gang of 80 Texan cowboys who want to kill him for arresting cowboy Charles McCarthy (the cowboys were terrorizing the area's Hispanos and Baca was working against them).
December 6 – The Washington Monument is completed.
December 16 – The World Cotton Centennial World's Fair opens in New Orleans, Louisiana.