Year by year · 19th century

1876

1876 in world history: 16 events, 21 births, 10 deaths, 2 works and 3 states that came to an end. 950 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 14 February

    Alexander Graham Bell files his telephone patent

    Bell's lawyer filed his application at the US Patent Office on the same day that Elisha Gray filed a caveat for a similar device. Bell's patent was granted in March and upheld in long litigation.

    Brazilian EmpireAlexander Graham Bell

  2. 7 March

    Alexander Graham Bell is granted his telephone patent

    US Patent 174,465 covered a method of transmitting speech electrically. It became one of the most valuable patents ever issued and was defended in hundreds of lawsuits.

    Brazilian EmpireAlexander Graham Bell

  3. 10 March

    Bell makes the first telephone call

    In his Boston laboratory Alexander Graham Bell spoke into his transmitter: 'Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you.' His assistant Thomas Watson heard him in the next room.

    Brazilian EmpireAlexander Graham BellBoston

  4. 25 June

    Lakota and Cheyenne defeat Custer at the Little Bighorn

    Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors killed Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and some 268 soldiers in Montana Territory. The US Army responded with campaigns that ended Plains resistance.

  5. Treaty

    Treaty of Ganghwa

    The Treaty of Ganghwa was signed between Japan and Joseon Korea in February 1876, after a Japanese naval clash near Ganghwa Island in 1875.

  6. Battle

    Battle of the Little Bighorn

    The Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought on 25–26 June 1876 near the Little Bighorn River in Montana.

  7. Revolt

    Plan of Tuxtepec

    The Plan of Tuxtepec was the revolt proclaimed by Porfirio Díaz in January 1876 against President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada's bid for re-election, under the banner of no re-election.

  8. Revolt

    Belmanna riots

    The Belmanna riots were an uprising of labourers at Roxborough in Tobago in May 1876, named after Corporal Belmanna, a police officer who had shot a woman during unrest on an estate.

ProfileState812 states with a known seat in 1876Open the atlas at 1876 →

In the profiles

  • MexicoPorfirio Díaz seizes power under the Plan of Tuxtepec
  • JoseonThe Treaty of Ganghwa opens Korea to Japan
  • Sulu SultanateSpain occupies Jolo

Wars and longer events

Born in 1876 21

Died in 1876 10

Works 2

States that came to an end 3

All years → The 19th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1876. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1876
MLA
“1876.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1876. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1876.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1876.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1876’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1876 (Accessed: ).