Year by year · 19th century
1886
1886 in world history: 15 events, 18 births, 12 deaths, 4 states founded and 3 that came to an end. 930 recorded states existed that year.
Events
Karl Benz files a patent for his motor car
Benz applied for a German patent on a 'vehicle powered by a gas engine', his three-wheeled Motorwagen. It is generally regarded as the first practical petrol-driven automobile.
American workers strike for an eight-hour day
Hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States walked out to demand an eight-hour day. Events in Chicago that week, culminating at Haymarket, led to 1 May becoming International Workers' Day.
Bomb explodes at a labour rally in Haymarket Square
A bomb thrown at police in Chicago, and the gunfire that followed, killed seven officers and several civilians. Eight anarchists were convicted on thin evidence and four were hanged.
Coca-Cola goes on sale at an Atlanta pharmacy
Pharmacist John Pemberton's new syrup, mixed with carbonated water, was sold at Jacobs' Pharmacy for five cents a glass. It became one of the most widely recognised brands in the world.
Ludwig II of Bavaria is found drowned
Days after being declared insane and deposed, the builder of Neuschwanstein was found dead in Lake Starnberg with his psychiatrist. The circumstances have never been explained.
Karl Benz drives his Motorwagen in public in Mannheim
Karl Benz made the first public drive of his three-wheeled Patent-Motorwagen on the Ringstrasse in Mannheim. Patented that January, it is widely regarded as the first practical petrol-powered motor car.
An earthquake devastates Charleston, South Carolina
A powerful earthquake struck Charleston, damaging most of its buildings and killing about 60 people. It remains the strongest recorded earthquake in the south-eastern United States.
The Statue of Liberty is dedicated in New York Harbor
President Grover Cleveland dedicated Liberty Enlightening the World, a gift from the people of France, on Bedloe's Island. The statue became a symbol of welcome for millions of immigrants.
Battle
Battle of Dékhelé
The Battle of Dékhelé was fought on 26 October 1886 in Cayor, in present-day Senegal, between French colonial troops and the followers of Lat Dior Diop, the former Damel of Cayor.
In the profiles
Sokoto CaliphateBritain charters the Royal Niger Company
Kingdom of WürttembergRobert Bosch opens his workshop in Stuttgart
Kingdom of BavariaLudwig II is declared unfit to rule and dies in Lake Starnberg
Kingdom of BugandaChristian converts are executed at Namugongo on the orders of Mwanga II
South African RepublicGold is discovered on the Witwatersrand and Johannesburg is founded
Wars and longer events
Born in 1886 18
Mir Osman Ali Khan1886–1967
Robert Schuman1886–1963
Diego Rivera1886–1957
Karl Polanyi1886–1964
Puniša Račić1886–1944
Willem Drees1886–1988
Alfonso XIII1886–1941
Béla Kun1886–1938
Charlemagne Péralte1886–1919
Erich Zeigner1886–1949
Frederick Peake1886–1970
Garegin Nzhdeh1886–1955
Georgios Tsolakoglou1886–1948
Josef Friedrich Matthes1886–1943
Kurt Hahn1886–1974
Lyuh Woon-hyung1886–1947
Sergo Ordzhonikidze1886–1937- David Ben-Gurion1886–1973
Died in 1886 12
States founded 4
States that came to an end 3
All years → The 19th century →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1886. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1886
- MLA
- “1886.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1886. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “1886.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1886.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1886’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1886 (Accessed: ).