1870s

Events and Trends

Technology

• The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell.
• The light bulb was invented.
• The phonograph is invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison.

Science

• Ludwig Boltzmann's statistical definition of thermodynamic entropy

War, peace and politics

• Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) results in the collapse of the Second French Empire and in the formation of both the French Third Republic and the German Empire
• The Anglo-Zulu War lasts from 11 January 1879 - 4 July 1879.
• Continuing expansion of the British Empire; beginning of the New Imperialism
• Bulgaria and Romania declare independence following war against the Ottoman Empire
• Passive resistance is used to prevent the confiscation of Māori land at Parihaka in New Zealand
• Emergence of German Empire and Alliance System

Literature and Arts

• Jules Verne publishes Around the World in 80 Days.

Other

• In the United States, continuation of post-Civil War reconstruction until its conclusion under President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877
• Jeanne Calment, born 1875, would eventually become the longest-living human being in recorded history. She lived until 1997, at the age of 122. She still holds the record as of 2008.
• Atlas Bear goes extinct.

World Leaders

• Emperor Franz Josef (Austria-Hungary)
• Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald (Canada)
• Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie (Canada)
• Tongzhi Emperor (China)
• Guangxu Emperor (China)
• Emperor Wilhelm I (German Empire)
• Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (German Empire)
• King Victor Emmanuel II (Italy)
• King Umberto I (Italy)
• Emperor Meiji (Japan)
• Pope Pius IX
• Pope Leo XIII
• Emperor Alexander II (Russia)
• King Alfonso XII (Spain)
• Queen Victoria (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
• Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
• Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
• President Ulysses S. Grant (United States)
• President Rutherford B. Hayes (United States)
• Nasser-al-Din Shah of Qajar dynasty (Persia)

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