Year by year · 19th century
1888
1888 in world history: 9 events, 19 births, 8 deaths, 1 work, 4 states founded and 2 that came to an end. 922 recorded states existed that year.
Events
Mary Ann Nichols is murdered in Whitechapel
The body of Mary Ann Nichols was found in Buck's Row, the first of five victims generally attributed to 'Jack the Ripper'. The killer was never identified.
George Eastman patents the Kodak roll-film camera
George Eastman received a patent for his Kodak box camera. Sold pre-loaded with film under the slogan 'You press the button, we do the rest', it made photography a mass pastime.
Edison files his first motion picture caveat
Thomas Edison filed a patent caveat describing an 'optical phonograph' to record and reproduce moving images. The idea, developed largely by his assistant William Dickson, became the Kinetoscope.
Vincent van Gogh cuts off part of his ear
After a quarrel with Paul Gauguin in Arles, Vincent van Gogh cut off part of his left ear. Months later he entered the asylum at Saint-Rémy, where he painted The Starry Night.
Event
Lei Áurea
The Lei Aurea, or Golden Law, was the law of 1888 that abolished slavery in the Brazilian Empire.
Treaty
Rudd Concession
The Rudd Concession was a document signed in October 1888 by the Ndebele king Lobengula, granting exclusive mining rights in his lands to agents of Cecil Rhodes led by Charles Rudd.
In the profiles
Brazilian EmpirePrincess Isabel signs the Lei Áurea, abolishing slavery
Oyo EmpireNew Oyo signs a treaty with the British
Brunei SultanateBrunei becomes a British protectorate
Born in 1888 19
Georgios Papandreou1888–1968
Milan Stojadinović1888–1961
Nuri al-Said1888–1958
Du Yuesheng1888–1951
Jean Monnet1888–1979
Jiang Guangnai1888–1967
Nestor Makhno1888–1934
Nguyen Van Thinh1888–1946
Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna1888–1958
Rexhep Mitrovica1888–1967
T. E. Lawrence1888–1935
Volodymyr Zatonsky1888–1938
Wilhelm Murr1888–1945
Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer1888–1978
Nikolai Bukharin1888–1938
Tôn Đức Thắng1888–1980- Arthur Grimble1888–1956
- Shah Nawaz Bhutto1888–1957
- Tukoji Rao III of Dewas Senior1888–1937
Died in 1888 8
Works 1
States founded 4
States that came to an end 2
All years → The 19th century →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1888. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1888
- MLA
- “1888.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1888. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “1888.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1888.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1888’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1888 (Accessed: ).