February 3
February 3
Belle Starr murdered in Oklahoma
The outlaw Belle Starr is killed when an unknown assailant fatally wounds the famous “Bandit Queen” with two shotgun blasts from behind. As with the lives of other famous outlaws…
A Year In History: 1889
Also Within This Year in History:
1889
The nearly 1,000-foot Eiffel Tower opened for business in Paris in 1889, reigning as the tallest structure in the world until 1930. That same year, fire in Seattle destroyed much of the city, while the Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania swept more than 2,200 to their deaths after a dam collapse. In Japan, the videogame company now known as Nintendo started in business as a maker of playing cards.
March 14
March 14
Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte becomes the first Native American woman to graduate from medical school
On March 18, 1889, Dr. Susan La Flesche Picotte becomes the first Native American woman to graduate from medical school. She was top of her class at the Woman’s Medical…
March 31
March 31
Eiffel Tower opens
On March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower’s designer, and attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard,…
April 16
April 16
Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin born
On April 16, 1889, future Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin is born Charles Spencer Chaplin in London, England. Chaplin, one of the most financially successful stars of early Hollywood, was introduced…
April 22
April 22
The Oklahoma land rush begins
At precisely high noon, thousands of would‑be settlers make a mad dash into the newly opened Oklahoma Territory to claim cheap land. The nearly two million acres of land opened…
May 31
May 31
More than 2,000 die in the Johnstown Flood
On May 31, 1889, Pennsylvania’s South Fork Dam collapses, causing the catastrophic Johnstown Flood. More than 2,200 people die in the disaster. Located 60 miles east of Pittsburgh in a…
June 6
June 6
The Great Seattle Fire
On June 6, 1889, a fire ignites in a Seattle woodworking shop and sweeps through some 100 acres, destroying much of the city’s business district and waterfront. The Great Seattle…
July 10
July 10
“Buckskin” Frank Leslie murders his lover
In a drunken rage, “Buckskin” Frank Leslie murders his lover, the Tombstone sex worker Mollie Edwards, a.k.a. Blonde Mollie Williams. Leslie was an ill‑tempered and violent man, especially when he…
July 20
July 20
Homesteaders murdered by Wyoming ranchers
Having made the mistake of homesteading on land previously controlled by a Wyoming cattle king, homesteaders Ella Watson and James Averell are accused of rustling and hanged. As the days…
September 30
September 30
Wyoming legislators write the first state constitution to grant women the vote
On September 30, 1889, the Wyoming state convention approves a constitution that includes a provision granting women the right to vote. Formally admitted into the union the following year, Wyoming…
