The 1870s

1876 150 years ago

Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly, Indian-Syrian priest, founded the Sisters of the Destitute (died 1929)

Varghese Payyappilly was an Indian Syro-Malabar priest from Kerala and the founder of the congregation of Sisters of the Destitute. He was declared Venerable by Pope Francis on 14 …

Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly, Indian-Syrian priest, founded the Sisters of the Destitute (died 1929)

1876 150 years ago

Mary Roberts Rinehart, American author and playwright (died 1958)

Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie. Rinehart published her first mystery novel, The Circular Staircase, in 1908, which introduc…

Mary Roberts Rinehart, American author and playwright (died 1958)

1876 150 years ago

Alexander I of Serbia (died 1903)

Alexander I reigned as the king of Serbia from 1889 to 1903 when he and his wife, Draga Mašin, were assassinated by a group of Royal Serbian Army officers, led by Captain Dragutin …

Alexander I of Serbia (died 1903)

1876 150 years ago

Stylianos Gonatas, Greek colonel and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Greece (died 1966)

Stylianos Gonatas was an officer of the Hellenic Army, Venizelist politician, and Prime Minister of Greece from 1922 to 1924.

Stylianos Gonatas, Greek colonel and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Greece (died 1966)

1876 150 years ago

Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator and stage designer (died 1942)

Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was a Russian illustrator and stage designer who took part in the Mir iskusstva, contributed to the Ballets Russes, co-founded the Union of Russian Artists…

Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator and stage designer (died 1942)

1876 150 years ago

William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (born 1795)

William Buell Sprague was an American Congregational and Presbyterian clergyman and compiler of Annals of the American Pulpit, a comprehensive biographical dictionary of the leadin…

William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (born 1795)

1876 150 years ago

Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian activist (born 1843)

Georgi Benkovski was the pseudonym of Gavril Gruev Hlatev, a Bulgarian revolutionary and leading figure in the organization and direction of the Bulgarian anti-Ottoman April Uprisi…

Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian activist (born 1843)

1876 150 years ago

Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (born 1801)

Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, was a Dutch politician and historian.

Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (born 1801)

1876 150 years ago

Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and journalist (born 1848)

Hristo Botev, born Hristo Botyov Petkov, was a Bulgarian revolutionary and poet. Botev is considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero. His poetry …

Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and journalist (born 1848)

1876 150 years ago

Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire, 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (born 1830)

Abdulaziz was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his bro…

Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire, 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (born 1830)

1876 150 years ago

George Sand, French author and playwright (born 1804)

Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil, best known by her pen name George Sand, was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or H…

George Sand, French author and playwright (born 1804)

1876 150 years ago

John Neal, American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist (born 1793)

John Neal was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and …

John Neal, American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist (born 1793)

1876 150 years ago

Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general and politician 8th President of Mexico (born 1794)

Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón, often known as Santa Anna, was a Mexican general, politician, and caudillo who served as the eighth president…

Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general and politician 8th President of Mexico (born 1794)

1876 150 years ago

James Calhoun, American lieutenant (born 1845)

James Calhoun was a soldier in the United States Army during the American Civil War and the Black Hills War. He was the brother-in-law of George Armstrong Custer and was killed alo…

James Calhoun, American lieutenant (born 1845)

1876 150 years ago

Boston Custer, American civilian army contractor (born 1848)

Boston Custer was the youngest brother of U.S. Army Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Captain Thomas Custer. He was killed at the Battle of …

Boston Custer, American civilian army contractor (born 1848)

1876 150 years ago

George Armstrong Custer, American general (born 1839)

George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.

George Armstrong Custer, American general (born 1839)

1876 150 years ago

Thomas Custer, American officer, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1845)

Thomas Ward Custer was a United States Army officer and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the American Civil War. A younger brother of George Armstrong Cu…

Thomas Custer, American officer, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1845)

1876 150 years ago

John Buckley, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1813)

Major John Buckley VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was the 115th recipient of the award and the first of 182 awarded during the Indian Mutiny.

John Buckley, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1813)

1876 150 years ago

Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-born American minister and author (born 1811)

Albertus Christiaan van Raalte was a Dutch Reformed clergyman who moved to the United States with a group of Dutch emigrants and founded the city of Holland, Michigan, in 1846. In …

Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-born American minister and author (born 1811)

1876 150 years ago

"Wild Bill" Hickok, American sheriff (born 1837)

James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his life on the frontier as a soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gu…

"Wild Bill" Hickok, American sheriff (born 1837)

1876 150 years ago

The premiere of Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner (pictured) closed the first Bayreuth Festival.

Götterdämmerung, WWV 86D, is the last of the four epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspi…

The premiere of Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner (pictured) closed the first Bayreuth Festival.

1876 150 years ago

Myles Keogh, Irish-American officer (born 1840)

Myles Walter Keogh was an Irish soldier. He served in the armies of the Papal States during the war for Italian unification in 1860, and was recruited into the Union Army during th…

Myles Keogh, Irish-American officer (born 1840)

1876 150 years ago

Colorado was admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

Colorado is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, and part of the Southwestern United States, sharing th…

Colorado was admitted as the 38th U.S. state.

1876 150 years ago

A performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold (scene pictured) opened the first Ring cycle at the first Bayreuth Festival,…

Das Rheingold, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. It premiered as a single opera at the National Th…

A performance of Wagner's Das Rheingold (scene pictured) opened the first Ring cycle at the first Bayreuth Festival,…