Editing 1888 (section)

=== October–December ===
* [[October 1]] &ndash; [[Sofia University]] officially opens, becoming the first university in liberated Bulgaria.
* [[October 2]] &ndash; The [[Whitehall Mystery]]: Dismembered remains of a woman's body are discovered at three central London locations, one being the construction site of the police headquarters at [[Scotland Yard|New Scotland Yard]].
* [[October 9]] &ndash; The [[Washington Monument]] officially opens to the general public in Washington, D.C.[[File:Washmem.jpg|thumb|145px|right|[[October 9]]: [[Washington Monument]] opens.]]
* [[October 14]]
** [[Louis Le Prince]] films the first motion picture: ''[[Roundhay Garden Scene]]'' in [[Roundhay]], [[Leeds]], [[West Yorkshire]], England, two seconds and 18 frames in length (followed by his movie ''[[Leeds Bridge]] and [[Accordion Player]]'').
** [[Battle of Guté Dili]]: Seeking to extend [[Mahdi]]st control over what is now southwestern [[Ethiopia]], governor Khalil al-Khuzani is routed by an alliance of [[Shewa]]n forces, under ''[[Ras (title)|Ras]]'' [[Gobana Dacche]] and Moroda Bekere, ruler of Leqa Naqamte. Only a handful, including Khalil, barely manage to flee the battlefield.
* [[October 25]] &ndash; [[St Cuthbert's Society]] at the [[University of Durham]] in England is founded, after a general meeting chaired by the Reverend [[Hastings Rashdall]].
* [[October 30]] &ndash; The [[Rudd Concession]], a written [[concession (contract)|concession]] for exclusive mining rights in [[Matabeleland]], [[Mashonaland]] and adjoining territories, is granted by King [[Lobengula]] of Matabeleland to [[Charles Rudd]], [[James Rochfort Maguire]] and Francis Thompson, who are acting on behalf of South African-based politician and businessman [[Cecil Rhodes]], providing a basis for white settlement of [[Rhodesia (name)|Rhodesia]].
* [[November 6]] &ndash; [[1888 United States presidential election]]: [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] incumbent [[Grover Cleveland]] wins the popular vote, but loses the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] vote to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] challenger [[Benjamin Harrison]], therefore losing the election.
* [[November 8]] &ndash; Joseph Assheton Fincher files a [[patent]] in the United Kingdom for the parlour game which he calls "[[Tiddlywinks|Tiddledy-Winks]]".
* [[November 9]] &ndash; [[Whitechapel murders]]: The mutilated body of London prostitute [[Mary Jane Kelly]] is found. She is considered to be the fifth, and last, of [[Jack the Ripper]]'s victims. A number of similar murders in England follow, but the police attribute them to copy-cat killers.
* [[November 16]] &ndash; First signs of [[Famines in Ethiopia|famine in Ethiopia]], caused by drought combined with early spread of the [[1890s African rinderpest epizootic]].
* [[November 24]] &ndash; The first [[St V|Saint Verhaegen]] takes place in [[Brussels]].
* [[November 27]] &ndash; International sorority [[Delta Delta Delta]] is founded at [[Boston University]] in the United States.
* [[November 29]] &ndash; The celebration of [[Thanksgiving (United States)]] and the first day of [[Hanukkah]] coincide.
* [[December 7]] &ndash; [[John Boyd Dunlop]] patents the pneumatic bicycle tyre in the United Kingdom.
* [[December 17]] &ndash; The [[Lyric Theatre, London]] opens.
* [[December 18]] &ndash; [[Richard Wetherill]] and his brother-in-law, Charlie Mason, discover the Indian ruins of [[Mesa Verde National Park|Mesa Verde]] in southwestern [[Colorado]].
* [[December 23]] &ndash; During a bout of [[mental illness]] (and having quarreled with his friend [[Paul Gauguin]]), [[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[Painting|painter]] [[Vincent van Gogh]] infamously cuts off the lower part of his own left ear, taking it to a brothel, and is removed to the local [[Hospital in Arles (Van Gogh series)|hospital in Arles]].