Year by year · 19th century

1885

1885 in world history: 29 events, 23 births, 23 deaths, 1 work, 11 states founded and 6 that came to an end. 945 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 18 February

    Mark Twain's 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' published in the US

    Twain's novel of a boy and an escaped slave on the Mississippi was published in America. Written in vernacular speech, it has been called the source of all modern American literature.

  2. 26 March · Battle

    Battle of Duck Lake

    The Battle of Duck Lake was fought on 26 March 1885 near Duck Lake in present-day Saskatchewan, where Métis and First Nations fighters under Gabriel Dumont defeated a force of North-West Mounted Police and volunteers led by Superintendent Leif Crozier.

  3. 2 April · Event

    Frog Lake massacre

    The Frog Lake massacre took place on 2 April 1885 at Frog Lake in present-day Alberta, during the North-West Resistance.

  4. 19 November

    Bulgaria defeats Serbia at the Battle of Slivnitsa

    The battle near Slivnitsa, west of Sofia, which began on 17 November, ended with the Bulgarian army under Prince Alexander of Battenberg defeating the invading Serbian army of King Milan I. The victory secured Bulgaria's union with Eastern Rumelia.

    Battle of SlivnitsaSerbo-Bulgarian War

  5. Battle

    Battle of Chalchuapa

    The Battle of Chalchuapa was fought on 2 April 1885 near the town of Chalchuapa in western El Salvador.

  6. Revolt

    North-West Rebellion

    The North-West Rebellion was a rising in 1885 of Métis and some First Nations people in the District of Saskatchewan against the government of Canada, led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont.

  7. Battle

    Battle of Batoche

    The Battle of Batoche, fought on 9–12 May 1885 in present-day Saskatchewan, was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion.

  8. War

    Third Anglo-Burmese War

    The Third Anglo-Burmese War was a short campaign in November 1885 in which British forces advanced up the Irrawaddy and took Mandalay, deposing King Thibaw, the last king of the Konbaung dynasty.

  9. Treaty

    Madrid Protocol of 1885

    The Madrid Protocol of 1885 was an agreement signed on 7 March 1885 by Britain, Germany and Spain.

  10. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Tientsin (1885)

    The Treaty of Tientsin of 9 June 1885 was signed by Li Hongzhang for the Qing dynasty and the French envoy Jules Patenôtre, ending the Sino-French War.

  11. Event

    Sexagenarian Law

    The Sexagenarian Law was a Brazilian law passed in 1885 that freed enslaved people aged sixty and over.

  12. Treaty

    Treaty of Simulambuco

    The Treaty of Simulambuco was signed on 1 February 1885 between Portugal and the princes and chiefs of Cabinda, on the Atlantic coast north of the Congo River.

ProfileState817 states with a known seat in 1885Open the atlas at 1885 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1885 23

Died in 1885 23

Works 1

States founded 11

States that came to an end 6

All years → The 19th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1885. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1885
MLA
“1885.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1885. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1885.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1885.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1885’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1885 (Accessed: ).