Editing 1878 (section)

===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>