Editing 1878 (section)

== Events ==
===January&ndash;March===
[[File:Raising the obelisk.jpg|thumb|210px|January&ndash;September &ndash; [[Cleopatra's Needle (London)|Cleopatra's Needle]] erected in London.]]
* [[January 5]] &ndash; [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo-Turkish War]]: [[Battle of Shipka Pass IV]] &ndash; Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the [[Ottoman Empire]].
* [[January 9]] &ndash; [[Umberto I of Italy|Umberto I]] becomes [[House of Savoy|King of Italy]].
* [[January 17]] &ndash; Russo-Turkish War: [[Battle of Philippopolis (1878)|Battle of Philippopolis]] &ndash; Russian troops defeat the Ottoman Empire.
* [[January 23]] &ndash; [[Benjamin Disraeli]] orders the British fleet to the [[Dardanelles]].
* [[January 24]] &ndash; Russian revolutionary [[Vera Zasulich]] shoots at [[Fyodor Trepov (senior)|Fyodor Trepov]], Governor of [[Saint Petersburg]].
* [[January 28]] &ndash; In the United States:
** The world's [[First Telephone Exchange]] begins commercial operation in [[New Haven, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite web|author=NRHP|title=Site of the First Telephone Exchange|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/site-of-the-first-telephone-exchange.htm|website=nps.gov|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2023-02-14|archive-date=2021-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028094111/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/site-of-the-first-telephone-exchange.htm|url-status=live}} {{USGovernment}}</ref>
** ''[[The Yale News]]'' becomes the first daily college [[newspaper]] in the U.S.
* [[January 31]] &ndash; Turkey agrees to an [[armistice]] at [[Adrianople]].
* [[February 2]] &ndash; Greece declares war on the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Spencer C. |title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East |date=23 December 2009 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-672-5 |page=1468 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC&pg=PA1468 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[February 7]] &ndash; [[Pope Pius IX]] dies, after a 31½ year pontificate (the longest definitely confirmed).
* [[February 8]] &ndash; The British fleet enters Turkish waters, and anchors off [[Istanbul]]; Russia threatens to occupy Istanbul, but does not carry out the threat.
* [[February 18]] &ndash; The [[Lincoln County War]] begins in [[Lincoln County, New Mexico]].
* [[February 19]] &ndash; The [[phonograph]] is patented by [[Thomas Edison]].
* [[February 20]] &ndash; [[Pope Leo XIII]] succeeds [[Pope Pius IX]], as the 256th [[pope]].
* [[February 23]] &ndash; [[Gajanan Maharaj]] appears at [[Shegaon]], Maharashtra.
* [[February 24]] &ndash; Anti-Russian demonstrations occur in [[Hyde Park, London]].
* [[February 28]] &ndash; [[Mississippi State University]] is created by the [[Mississippi Legislature]] (under the name The Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State of Mississippi).
* [[March 3]] (February 19 [[Old Style and New Style dates|O.S.]]) &ndash; [[Treaty of San Stefano]] signed between the [[Russian Empire|Russian]] and [[Ottoman Empire]]s following Russian victory in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)]] provides for establishment of an autonomous [[Principality of Bulgaria]] (although not as large as originally envisaged). Russia however regards the treaty as a preliminary one only, refusing on March 25 a British proposal to lay it before a European congress, and matters are finally settled in July's [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]].
* [[March 17]] &ndash; Emancipated U.S. slave and Baptist minister Rev. [[John Jasper]] first preaches his sermon "The Sun Do Move."<ref>New York ''Daily Herald'', 24 Mar 1878, p.8.</ref>
* [[March 24]] &ndash; The British [[Royal Navy]] [[frigate]] {{HMS|Eurydice|1843}} capsizes in the [[English Channel]]; all but 2 of the 319 crew members are killed.
* [[March 27]] &ndash; In anticipation of war with Russia, Disraeli mobilizes British reserves, and calls up Indian troops to [[Malta]].
* [[March 28]] – Electric lights are first used at [[Palace of Westminster|Westminster Palace]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vincent |first=Benjamin |title=Haydn's Dictionary of Dates and Universal Information |publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons |year=1911 |edition=25th |pages=467}}</ref>

===April&ndash;June===
* [[April 16]] &ndash; The [[Senate of the Grand Duchy of Finland]] issues a declaration establishing a city of [[Kotka]] on the southern part of the islands from the [[Kymi, Finland|old Kymi parish]].<ref>[http://www.kotka.fi/default.asp?link=110.5 Kotkan synty ja kasvu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520225231/http://www.kotka.fi/default.asp?link=110.5 |date=May 20, 2015 }} (in Finnish)</ref>
* [[April 20]] &ndash; The [[Stawell Gift]] sprint is run for the first time in Australia.
* [[May 1]]–[[November 10]] &ndash; [[Exposition Universelle (1878)|Exposition Universelle]], a [[world's fair]], is staged in Paris. In June some parts of the city are first lit by '[[Yablochkov candle]]s' ([[arc lamps]]) and on June 30 the head of the [[Statue of Liberty]] goes on display there.
* [[May 2]] &ndash; The [[Washburn "A" Mill]] in [[Minneapolis]] explodes, killing 18.
* [[May 15]] &ndash; The [[Tokyo Stock Exchange]] is established.
* [[May 25]] &ndash; [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s [[comic opera]] ''[[H.M.S. Pinafore]]'' debuts in [[London]] at the [[Opera Comique]], with a first run of 571 performances.
* [[June 1]]
** The General Postal Union is renamed the [[Universal Postal Union]] (UPU).
** British [[clipper]] ''[[Loch Ard (ship)|Loch Ard]]'' is wrecked off the [[Shipwreck Coast]] of [[Victoria (Australia)]] with the loss of 52 lives and only 2 survivors.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5934740|title=The Loch Ard Lost|newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]]|issue=9972|location=Melbourne|date=3 June 1878|access-date=2017-03-09|page=5|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
* [[June 4]] &ndash; [[Cyprus Convention]]: The [[Ottoman Empire]] cedes [[Cyprus]] to the United Kingdom, but retains the nominal title.
* [[June 10]] &ndash; The [[League of Prizren]] is officially founded "to struggle in arms to defend the wholeness of the territories of [[Albania]]".
* [[June 13]]&ndash;[[July 13]] &ndash; The [[Congress of Berlin]] convenes to discuss the [[Ottoman Empire]].
* [[June 15]] &ndash; [[Eadweard Muybridge]] produces the first sequence of stop-motion still photographs ''[[The Horse in Motion]]'' in [[California]] (a predecessor of [[silent film]]), demonstrating that all four feet of a [[Horse gait#Gallop|galloping horse]] are off the ground at the same time.
* [[June 20]] &ndash; The United States Coast Survey is renamed the [[United States Coast and Geodetic Survey]].
* [[June 22]] &ndash; [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] leaves [[Karlskrona]] on a voyage that will make him the first man to navigate the [[Northern Sea Route]], a shipping lane from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, along the [[Siberia]]n coast.
* [[June 25]] &ndash; The [[Kanak]] people of [[New Caledonia]] [[1878 Kanak revolt|revolt]] against the French colonial government.

===July&ndash;September===
[[File:Europe 1878 map en.png|thumb|Europe after the [[Congress of Berlin]] in 1878 and the territorial and political rearrangement of the Balkan Peninsula.]]
* [[July 4]] &ndash; A [[Ten Broeck – Mollie McCarty match race|match race]] between champion thoroughbred racehorses [[Ten Broeck (horse)|Ten Broeck]] and [[Mollie McCarty]] draws more than 30,000 fans to Louisville, and inspires the folk song, "[[Molly and Tenbrooks]]".
* [[July 13]] &ndash; The [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)|Treaty of Berlin]] makes [[Serbia]], [[Montenegro]] and [[Romania]] completely independent, confirms the autonomy of [[Bulgaria]], makes [[Cyprus]] a British possession, and allows Austria-Hungary to garrison the [[Bosnia Vilayet]].
* [[August 9]] &ndash; The [[Wallingford Tornado of 1878]], the deadliest [[tornado]] in [[Connecticut]] history, destroys the town of [[Wallingford, Connecticut|Wallingford]], killing 34 people and injuring more than 70.
* [[August 26]] &ndash; [[Uyedineniya Island]] is discovered in the [[Kara Sea]], by [[Norwegians|Norwegian]] explorer Captain Edvard Holm Johannesen.
* [[September 3]] &ndash; Over 640 die when the crowded pleasure boat {{SS|Princess Alice|1865|2}} collides with the ''[[SS_Bywell_Castle_(1869)|Bywell Castle]]'' in the [[River Thames]].
* [[September 12]] &ndash; [[Cleopatra's Needle (London)|Cleopatra's Needle]] is erected beside the Thames in London, having arrived in England on [[January 21]].
* [[September 17]] &ndash; [[1878 Canadian federal election]]: Sir [[John A. Macdonald]] and his [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)|Conservative Party]] are returned to power, defeating the incumbent [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]], led by [[Alexander Mackenzie (politician)|Alexander Mackenzie]].
* [[September 20]] &ndash; ''[[The Hindu]]'', an Indian newspaper, is founded.

===October&ndash;December===
[[File:Eldkvarn 1878.jpg|thumb|right|[[October 31]] &ndash; [[Eldkvarn]] burns in [[Stockholm]].]]
* [[October 14]] &ndash; The world's first recorded floodlit football fixture is played at [[Bramall Lane]], in [[Sheffield]], England.
* [[October 17]] &ndash; [[John A. Macdonald]] returns to office as [[Prime Minister of Canada]].
* [[October 27]] – The [[Manhattan Savings Institution robbery]] occurs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Roth |first=Cheyna |date=2023-12-28 |title=My Favorite Victorian Criminal Was a Bank Robber With a Secret Weapon |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/12/george-leslie-bank-robber-heist-history.html |access-date=2024-01-06 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}</ref>
* [[October 31]] &ndash; A fire destroys the ''[[Eldkvarn]]'' gristmill in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]]. 
* [[November 17]] &ndash; The first assassination attempt is made against [[Umberto I of Italy]] by anarchist [[Giovanni Passannante]], armed with a dagger. The King survives with a slight wound in one arm. Prime minister [[Benedetto Cairoli]] blocks the aggressor, receiving a leg injury.
* [[November 21]] &ndash; The [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]] commences when the British attack [[Ali Masjid]] in the [[Khyber Pass]].
* [[November 26]] &ndash; American-born artist [[James McNeill Whistler]]'s [[libel]] case against English critic [[John Ruskin]], over a review of the painting ''[[Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Falling Rocket]]'' (in which Whistler is described as "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face"),<ref>Ruskin, John (1877-07-02). ''[[Fors Clavigera]]''.</ref> is decided in the [[High Court of Justice]] in London. Whistler wins a [[Farthing (British coin)|farthing]] in nominal damages and only half of the costs, leading to his bankruptcy, and alienates patrons.<ref>Whistler, J. McNeill (1890). ''[[The Gentle Art of Making Enemies]]''.</ref>
* [[December 7]] &ndash; The United States [[New Mexico Territory|territory of New Mexico]] is linked to the rest of the nation by railroad for the first time, as the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] inaugurates a newly completed line through the [[Raton Pass]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Walter R.|last=Borneman|title=Rival Rails: The Race to Build America's Greatest Transcontinental Railroad|publisher=Random House Digital|year=2010|page=168}}</ref>
* [[December 18]] &ndash; French passenger steamer ''Byzantin'' founders in the [[Dardanelles]] during a gale after collision with British SS ''Rinaldo'', killing around 210 people, with only 14 crew of the ''Byzantin'' saved.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Collision in the Dardanelles|work=The Cornishman|issue=25|date=1878-01-02|page=7}}</ref>
* [[December 25]] &ndash; [[Stella Maris Church, Sliema]] on [[Malta]] becomes a parish, seceding from the Parish of St. Helen's in [[Birkirkara]].

=== Date unknown ===
* U.S. arbitration rejects [[Argentina|Argentine]] claims to [[Paraguay]]'s part of the [[Gran Chaco|Chaco]] region.
* [[Otto von Bismarck]] abandons his {{lang|de|[[Kulturkampf]]}}, and forces through legislation outlawing the [[Social Democrat]]s.
* The 10-year [[Nauruan Tribal War]] breaks out.
* [[Yellow fever]] in the [[Mississippi Valley]] kills over 13,000.
* Foundation of:
** Small town [[La Farge, Wisconsin]], along the [[Kickapoo River]].
** [[Nainital Cantonment]].
** [[The Buchan School]], [[Isle of Man]].
** The [[Johns Hopkins University Press]], America's oldest university press.
** [[Geiger (corporation)]], formed as Geiger Brothers.
** Kawasaki Tsukiji Shipyard, as predecessor of [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries]], a [[motorbike]], [[helicopters]], [[rolling stock]] and [[shipbuilding]] concern in Japan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History {{!}} Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.|url=https://global.kawasaki.com/en/corp/history/index.html|access-date=2021-05-03|website=global.kawasaki.com|language=en}}</ref>
** The following English [[Association football]] clubs:
*** [[Everton F.C.]], formed as St Domingo.
*** [[Grimsby Town F.C.]], formed as Grimsby Pelham.
*** [[Ipswich Town Football Club]], formed as amateur club Ipswich A.F.C. They will not turn professional until [[1936]].
*** Newton Heath Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Football Club, the team that will become [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]].
*** [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.]], formed as West Bromwich Strollers F.C.
* [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s novel ''[[Anna Karenina]]'' is published complete in book form in Moscow.
* [[Lester Allan Pelton]] produces the first operational [[Pelton wheel]].
* [[E. Remington and Sons]], in the United States, introduce their No. 2 [[typewriter]], the first with a [[shift key]], enabling production of [[letter case|lower]] as well as upper case characters.
* The last confirmed [[Cape lion]] dies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.novinky.cz/domaci/169450-v-muzeu-emila-holuba-se-ukryval-kapsky-lev.html|title=V muzeu Emila Holuba se ukrýval kapský lev|work=Novinky.cz|language=cs|date=2009-05-22|access-date=2011-08-26}}</ref>
* In [[Strasbourg]], [[Alsace-Lorraine]], the much studied [[stele]] of the Roman legionary [[Caius Largennius]] is discovered.