Major Events
- Feb 19 Thomas Edison is granted a patent for his cylinder phonograph [1]
- Jun 13 Congress of Berlin begins, determines the territories of the states in the Balkan peninsula following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78
- Sep 1 1st female telephone operator starts work, Emma Nutt for the Edwin Holmes Telephone Despatch Company in Boston
- More 1878 Events
1878 in Film & TV
- Jun 15 World's first moving pictures caught on camera (used 12 cameras, each taking 1 picture) done to see if all 4 of a horse's hooves leave the ground
1878 in Music
- May 25 W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's comic opera "H.M.S. Pinafore" premieres in London, their first international success
- Nov 9 1st performance of New York Symphony Orchestra, led by Leopold Damrosch; the group competes with the New York Philharmonic, until merging in 1928
1878 in Sport
- Feb 11 1st US bicycle club, Boston Bicycle Club, forms
Charles Strite
Gustav Stresemann
Manuel L. Quezon
Upton Sinclair
Carlos Saavedra Lamas
Joseph Stalin
Lionel Barrymore
Bill Robinson
George M. Cohan
'Philadelphia' Jack O'Brien
Jack JohnsonMore People Born in 1878
Fun Fact About 1878
British physician Dr. Charles Drysdale warns against the use of tobacco in a letter to The Times newspaper in one of the earliest public health announcements on the dangers of smoking
Victor Emmanuel II
Mark Hopkins
Boss Tweed
John RussellMore 1878 Deaths
Articles About 1878
The Pain Behind Cleopatra's Needle
First-time visitors to London could be surprised when they see an Egyptian obelisk standing beside the River Thames. It was welcomed to the city on this day.January 21
Albert's Monumental Legacy
Architect George Gilbert Scott, who designed the Albert Memorial in honour of Queen Victoria's beloved husband, Prince Albert died on this day.March 27
First Moving Images
The first moving images ever captured, Sallie Gardner at a Gallop, taken in 1878 by Eadweard MuybridgeJune 15
Artist's 'Rocket' Shot Down in Flames
Artist James Whistler sought £1,000 libel damages from an art critic but was told by a jury on this day that he could whistle for it!November 26
Famous Weddings in 1878
- Mar 20 53rd UK Prime Minister Archibald Primrose (31) weds heiress Hannah de Rothschild (27) at the Board of Guardians in Mount Street, London
- Sep 11 German philosopher Friedrich Engels (57) marries Lizzie Burns (51), hours before her death in London
- Dec 4 Novelist Bram Stoker (31) weds Florence Balcombe (20) in Dublin, Ireland
Claude Monet
Giuseppe Verdi
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Benjamin Disraeli
Otto von Bismarck