1886 was a big year for Grover Cleveland, who dedicated the Statue of Liberty and became the first president to marry in the White House. A labor demonstration at Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned deadly after a bomb exploded and police fired on protesters, while in Seattle, anti-Chinese mobs dragged residents from their Chinatown homes. Coca-Cola went on sale for the first time at an Atlanta pharmacy, and in Germany, rival inventors Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler filed the first patent applications for gasoline-powered automobiles.
Feb
14
Apr
22
Ohio passes a statute that criminalizes seduction by all men over the age of 18 who worked as teachers or instructors of women. The law even prohibited men from having consensual sex with women (of any age) whom they were instructing. The penalty for disobeying this law ranged from two to 10 years in prison.
May
04
At Haymarket Square in Chicago, Illinois, a bomb is thrown at a squad of policemen attempting to break up what had begun as a peaceful labor rally. The police responded with wild gunfire, killing several people in the crowd and injuring dozens more.
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Jun
02
Aug
31
An earthquake near Charleston, South Carolina, on August 31, 1886 leaves more than 100 people dead and hundreds of buildings destroyed. This was the largest recorded earthquake in the history of the southeastern United States.
Sep
04
On September 4, 1886, Apache leader Geronimo surrenders to U.S. government troops. For 30 years, the Native American warrior had battled to protect his tribe’s homeland; however, by 1886 the Apaches were exhausted and outnumbered. General Nelson Miles accepted Geronimo’s surrender, making him the last Native American warrior to formally give in to U.S. forces and signaling the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest.
Apache chief Geronimo (1829 - 1909) poses for a portrait not long after his final capture and placement at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1886. Geronimo's life was spent trying to fight off Mexican and American efforts to remove his people from their ancestral lands in Arizona. After years of bitter struggle, he was finally forced to accept surrender. He spent his remaining years on a reservation. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Oct
28
Nov
30
Once a hall for operettas, pantomime, political meetings and vaudeville, the Folies Bergère in Paris introduces an elaborate revue featuring women in sensational costumes on November 30, 1886. The highly popular “Place aux Jeunes” established the Folies as the premier nightlife spot in Paris. In the 1890s, the Folies followed the Parisian taste for striptease and quickly gained a reputation for its spectacular nude shows. The theater spared no expense, staging revues that featured as many as 40 sets, 1,000 costumes, and an off-stage crew of some 200 people.
FRANCE - CIRCA 1900: Folies-Bergere: Tous les Soirs (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
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