February 2
February 2
National League of baseball is founded
On February 2, 1876, the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, which comes to be more commonly known as the National League (NL), is formed. The American League (AL) was…
A Year In History: 1876
This Year in History:
1876
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
March 7
March 7
Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
On March 7, 1876, 29‑year‑old Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for his revolutionary new invention: the telephone. The Scottish‑born Bell worked in London with his father, Melville Bell, who…
March 10
March 10
First speech transmitted by telephone
The first discernible speech is transmitted over a telephone system when inventor Alexander Graham Bell summons his assistant in another room by saying, “Mr. Watson, come here; I want you.”…
April 19
April 19
Wyatt Earp dropped from Wichita police force
A Wichita, Kansas, commission votes not to rehire policeman Wyatt Earp after he beats up a candidate for county sheriff. Born in 1848, Wyatt was one of the five Earp…
April 22
April 22
First National League baseball game played
On April 22, 1876, the Boston Red Caps beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 6‑5, in the first official National League baseball game. The game, which lasts a little more than two…
May 6
May 6
The theft of “Duchess of Devonshire” painting stirs interest
On May 6, 1876, Thomas Gainsborough’s painting, Duchess of Devonshire, causes a stir when it goes up for auction at Christie’s in London. It sells to a London art dealer,…
June 4
June 4
Express train crosses the nation in 83 hours
A mere 83 hours after leaving New York City, the Transcontinental Express train arrives in San Francisco. That any human being could travel across the entire nation in less than…
June 17
June 17
Native Americans score victory at the Battle of the Rosebud
Sioux and Cheyenne Native Americans score a tactical victory over General Crook’s forces at the Battle of the Rosebud, foreshadowing the disaster of the Battle of the Little Big Horn…
June 21
June 21
General Santa Anna dies in Mexico City
Embittered and impoverished, the once mighty Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna dies in Mexico City. Born in 1792 at Jalapa, Vera Cruz, Mexico, Santa Anna was the son of middle‑class…
June 25
June 25
Battle of the Little Bighorn
On June 25, 1876, Native American forces led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeat the U.S. Army troops of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer in the Battle of the Little Bighorn…
June 30
June 30
Wounded soldiers evacuated from the Little Big Horn by steamboat
After a slow two‑day march, the wounded soldiers from the Battle of the Little Big Horn reach the steamboat Far West. The Far West had been leased by the U.S.…
August 2
August 2
Wild Bill Hickok is murdered
“Wild Bill” Hickok, one of the greatest gunfighters of the American West, is murdered in Deadwood, South Dakota. Born in Illinois in 1837, James Butler “Wild Bill” Hickok first gained…
August 29
August 29
Charles F. Kettering, inventor of electric self‑starter, is born
Charles Franklin Kettering, the American engineer and longtime director of research for General Motors Corp. (GM), is born on August 29, 1876, in Loudonville, Ohio. Of the 140 patents Kettering…
September 7
September 7
Minnesotans attack the James‑Younger criminal gang
Attempting a bold daytime robbery of the Northfield Minnesota bank, the James‑Younger gang suddenly finds itself surrounded by angry townspeople and is nearly wiped out on September 7, 1876. The…
November 23
November 23
“Boss” Tweed delivered to authorities
William Magear “Boss” Tweed, leader of New York City’s corrupt Tammany Hall political organization during the 1860s and early 1870s, is delivered to authorities in New York City after his…
November 25
November 25
U.S. Army retaliates for the Little Bighorn massacre
U.S. troops under the leadership of General Ranald Mackenzie destroy the village of Cheyenne living with Chief Dull Knife on the headwaters of the Powder River. The attack was in…
November 30
November 30
First Thanksgiving college football game played
On November 30, 1876, Yale defeats Princeton, 2‑0, in Hoboken, New Jersey in the first collegiate football game played on Thanksgiving. Nearly 1,000 fans attend the game, played in cold,…
December 5
December 5
Hundreds die in Brooklyn theater fire
A fire at the Brooklyn Theater in New York kills nearly 300 people and injures hundreds more on December 5, 1876. Some victims perished from a combination of burns and…
