January 9
January 9
Record cold and snow decimates cattle herds
On one of the worst days of the “worst winter in the West,” nearly an inch of snow falls every hour for 16 hours, impeding the ability of already starving…
A Year In History: 1887
This Year in History:
1887
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
February 1
February 1
Official registration of Hollywood
On February 1, 1887, Harvey Wilcox officially registers Hollywood with the Los Angeles County recorder’s office. Wilcox and his wife, Daeida, had moved to Southern California four years earlier from…
February 2
February 2
First Groundhog Day
On February 2, 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out…
February 8
February 8
Cleveland signs the Dawes Severalty Act
In a well‑meaning but ultimately flawed attempt to assimilate Native Americans, President Grover Cleveland signs an act to end tribal control of reservations and divide their land into individual holdings.…
March 3
March 3
Helen Keller meets Anne Sullivan, her teacher and “miracle worker”
On March 3, 1887, Anne Sullivan begins teaching six‑year‑old Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing after a severe illness at the age of 19 months. Under Sullivan’s tutelage,…
May 9
May 9
“Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” show opens
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show opens in London, giving Queen Victoria and her subjects their first look at a romanticized version of the American West. A well‑known scout for the…
May 27
May 27
Chinese gold miners are slaughtered in the Hells Canyon Massacre
The Hells Canyon Massacre begins on May 27, 1887, in Lewiston, Washington Territory, in what is now Idaho. The mass slaughter of Chinese gold miners by a gang of white horse thieves…
July 3
July 3
Gunfighter Clay Allison killed
Clay Allison, eccentric gunfighter and rancher, is believed to have died on July 3, 1887, in a freak wagon accident in Texas. Born around 1840 in Waynesboro, Tennessee, Allison seemed…
July 10
July 10
Dam collapses in Switzerland, kills 70
On July 10, 1887, a dam breaks in Zug, Switzerland, killing 70 people in their homes and destroying a large section of the town. The dam at Zug was 80…
November 8
November 8
Doc Holliday dies of tuberculosis
Doc Holliday–gunslinger, gambler, and occasional dentist–dies from tuberculosis. Though he was perhaps most famous for his participation in the shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, John Henry “Doc”…
