1885
Berlin Conference Partitions Africa
Fourteen powers - twelve European states, the Ottoman Empire and the United States - having spent three months in a Berlin conference hall, signed the General…
Indian National Congress Founded
Seventy-two delegates - lawyers, teachers, merchants, mostly English-educated - met in Bombay to form the Indian National Congress.
Benz's Motorwagen
In Mannheim, Karl Benz built a three-wheeled vehicle powered by a small internal-combustion engine of his own design - the first true automobile.
Riel Rebellion Crushed
After two months of fighting on the Canadian prairie, Metis and Cree forces under Louis Riel were defeated at Batoche.
Fall of Khartoum
After a ten-month siege, the Mahdist army broke into Khartoum.
Pasteur's Rabies Vaccine
A nine-year-old Alsatian boy bitten fourteen times by a rabid dog was brought to Pasteur's Paris laboratory.
Canadian Pacific Completed
A last spike was driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia, joining the Canadian Pacific Railway into a single continental line.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1885?
Saeculum lists 7 events from 1885. The most significant is Berlin Conference Partitions Africa.
What era was 1885 part of?
1885 falls within the Industrial Age (1801-1900). Steam, empire, and the unmaking of the old order.
Which regions saw notable events in 1885?
The events from 1885 span Africa, South Asia, Europe and North America.