Major Events
- Jan 1 Britain's Midlands Railway abolishes second class travel, ending the practice of carrying third class passengers in open air wagons [1]
- Jan 5 Charles Garnier's new Opera opens in Paris
- Jan 5 President Grant sends federal troops to Vicksburg, Mississippi
- Jan 12 Kwang-su becomes Emperor of China
- Jan 24 Camille Saint-Saëns' orchestral tone poem "Danse Macabre" premieres
- Jan 25 Anti-slavery society forms in New York
- Jan 26 Electric dental drill is patented by George F Green
- Feb 24 The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high profile civil servants and dignitaries
- Feb 25 Kiowa Indians under Lone Wolf (Guipago) surrender at Ft Sill
- Mar 1 US Congress passes Civil Rights Act; invalidated by Supreme Ct, 1883
- More 1875 Events
1875 in Music
- Mar 3 Georges Bizet's last and greatest opera "Carmen" premieres at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, France
- Oct 25 The first performance of the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is given in Boston, Massachusetts with Hans von Bülow as soloist
1875 in Sport
- May 17 1st Kentucky Derby: Oliver Lewis aboard Aristides wins in 2:37.75
- Aug 25 Captain Matthew Webb makes the 1st observed and unassisted swim across the English Channel in 21 hours and 45 minutes
More People Born in 1875
Fun Fact About 1875
Modern Snooker invented by Sir Neville Chamberlain, a bored British officer in Jabalpur, India
More 1875 Deaths
Articles About 1875
Carmen – the Show that Shocked Paris
Carmen, the opera about a sensuous woman who seduces a soldier, had its premiere on this day and dismissed as a flop. Today, it is performed all over the world.March 3Giant Achievements of King Kong Creator
Edgar Wallace, born on this day in history, was one of the world’s most prolific authors. His theme was usually crime and mystery but he also created King Kong.April 1Captain Webb Conquers the English Channel
After 22 hours in the water Captain Matthew Webb stepped ashore at Calais on this day – the first person ever to swim across the Channel from England to France.August 25
Famous Weddings in 1875
- Feb 4 Princess Louise of Belgium marries Prince Philip von Saksen-Coburg-Gotha in Belgium
- Dec 15 French "Statue of Liberty" sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi (41) weds one of his models, Jeanne-Emilie Baheux Puysieux (46) in Newport, Rhode Island, until his death in 1904