What Happened in 1889 — Events, Births & Deaths

Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in the Mayerling.

The Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted.

Antonín Dvořák's Jakobín is premiered at the National Theater in Prague.

President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian, British India.

At noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Rush of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000.

Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.

The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.

An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.

Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam fails and sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.

The Great Seattle Fire destroys all of downtown Seattle.

Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships vote to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population at the time.

The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published.

An Anglo-Egyptian army defeats a Mahdist-Sudanese army in the battle of Toski.

The Great Fire of Spokane, Washington destroys some 32 blocks of the city, prompting a mass rebuilding project.

William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut is granted United States Patent Number 408,709 for "Coin-controlled apparatus for telephones."

The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) defines the length of a metre.

North Dakota and South Dakota are admitted as the 39th and 40th U.S. states.

Elisha P. Ferry is inaugurated as first governor of Washington.