3rd January » Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop
17th January » A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
26th January » Troops loyal to Muhammad Ahmad called The Mahdi conquer Siege of Khartoum named Khartoum, killing the Governor-General Charles George Gordon.
5th February » King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State called Congo as a personal possession.
8th February » The first government-approved Japanese in Hawaii called Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii.
18th February » The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.
21st February » The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.
23rd February » Sino-French War: French Army gains an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of Vietnam.
28th February » The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone. (American Bell would later merge with its subsidiary.)
2nd March » Sino-French War: French victory in the Battle of Hòa Mộc called Battle of Hoa Moc near Tuyen Quang, northern Vietnam.
3rd March » The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York.
12th March » Tonkin Campaign: French Third Republic known as France Bắc Ninh Campaign e.g captures the citadel of Bắc Ninh.
14th March » 'The Mikado', a light opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, receives its first public performance in London.
19th March » Louis Riel declares a Provisional Government in Saskatchewan, beginning the North-West Rebellion.
23rd March » Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Phu Lam Tao near Hung Hoa, northern Vietnam.
24th March » Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Bang Bo (Zhennan Pass) known as Battle of Bang Bo on the Tonkin–Guangxi border.
26th March » The Métis people (Canada) named Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
30th March » The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the British Empire and Russian Empire.
31st March » The United Kingdom establishes a protectorate over Bechuanaland.
2nd April » Cree warriors Frog Lake Massacre e.g attack the village of Frog Lake, Alberta called Frog Lake, North-West Territories, Canada, killing nine.
3rd April » Gottlieb Daimler is granted a Germany e.g German patent for his engine design.
1st May » The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opens for business.
2nd May » 'Good Housekeeping' magazine goes on sale for the first time.
2nd May » Cree and Assiniboine people or Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
2nd May » The Congo Free State is established by King Léopold II of Belgium.
12th May » North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis people (Canada) named Métis against the Canada e.g Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
22nd May » Prior to burial in the Panthéon, the body of Victor Hugo was exposed under the Arc de Triomphe during the night.
3rd June » In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
9th June » Treaty of Tientsin (1885) Treaty of Tientsin is signed to end the Sino-French War, with Qing dynasty China eventually giving up Tonkin and Annam (Chinese province) Annam – most of present-day Vietnam – to France.
17th June » The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York City or New York Harbor.
1st July » The United States terminates reciprocity (Canadian politics) e.g reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada.
6th July » Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
20th July » The Football Association legalizes professionalism in association football under pressure from the British Football Association.
8th August » More than 1.5 million people attend the funeral of Ulysses S. Grant in New York City.
2nd September » Rock Springs massacre: in Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 white miners, who are struggling to unionize so they could strike for better wages and work conditions, attack their Overseas Chinese known as Chinese fellow workers killing 28, wounding 15 and forcing
6th September » Eastern Rumelia declares its union with Bulgaria. Bulgarian unification is henceforth accomplished.
12th September » Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord, a world record scoreline in professional Association football.
22nd September » Lord Randolph Churchill makes a speech in Ulster in opposition to Irish Home Rule movement known as Home Rule.
28th September » Riots break out in Montreal to protest against compulsory smallpox vaccination.
29th September » The first Blackpool tramway e.g practical public electric tramway in the world is opened in Blackpool, England.
13th October » The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is founded in Atlanta, United States.
16th November » Canadians known as Canadian rebel leader of the Métis people called Métis and "Father of Manitoba" Louis Riel is executed for treason.
19th November » Serbo-Bulgarian War: Bulgarian victory in the Battle of Slivnitsa solidifies the unification between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia.
28th November » Bulgarian victory in the Serbo-Bulgarian War preserves the Unification of Bulgaria.
29th November » End of Third Anglo-Burmese War, and end of Burmese monarchy
1st December » First serving of the soft drink Dr Pepper at a drug store in Waco, Texas.
22nd December » Itō Hirobumi, a samurai, became the first Prime Minister of Japan.
28th December » Indian National Congress, a political party of India is founded in Mumbai e.g Bombay, Presidencies and provinces of British India known as British India.