Modern Era
Peshtigo Fire (1871): The Deadliest Wildfire in US History
A firestorm burned about 1.2 million acres and destroyed Peshtigo and other settlements; it remains the deadliest wildfire in US history.
Era · c. 1800 – 1945
Modern Era
Industry, science and global conflict: the century and a half that built the modern world.
Modern Era
Great Chicago Fire (1871): How the City Burned and Rebuilt
About 3.3 square miles of the city burned, some 300 people died and around 100,000 were left homeless; Chicago was rapidly rebuilt.
Modern Era
Aceh War (1873-1904): The Dutch Struggle to Conquer Sumatra
The Netherlands conquered Aceh after three decades of war at great human cost, though local resistance continued for years afterwards.
Modern Era
Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876): Custer's Last Stand
Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors annihilated five companies of the US 7th Cavalry under Custer, but the victory provoked a campaign that ended free Plains life within a year.
Modern Era
Telephone Invented (1876): Alexander Graham Bell's First Call
Bell's patent and first successful call launched the telephone industry; within a few decades telephone networks linked cities across North America and Europe.
Modern Era
Ganghwa Treaty (1876): Japan Forces Korea Open to Trade
Korea signed its first modern treaty, opening ports to Japanese trade on unequal terms and beginning its forced entry into the international system.
Modern Era
Northern Chinese Famine (1876-1879): Drought and Starvation
An estimated 9–13 million people died of starvation and disease; the famine spurred new forms of Chinese and international relief.
Modern Era
Edison's Phonograph (1877): The First Machine to Play Back Sound
Edison demonstrated the first machine able to record sound and reproduce it, patented in February 1878, which founded the recorded-sound industry.
Modern Era
Satsuma Rebellion (1877): Saigo Takamori and the Last Samurai
The government's conscript army crushed the rebellion; Saigo died at Shiroyama, ending armed samurai resistance to the Meiji state.
Modern Era
Congress of Berlin (1878): Bismarck Redraws the Balkans
The Treaty of Berlin replaced the Treaty of San Stefano, reduced Russian gains, created a smaller autonomous Bulgaria and gave Austria-Hungary control of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Modern Era
Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880): Maiwand and Kandahar
Britain won the main battles and gained control of Afghan foreign policy, but withdrew its troops and accepted Abdur Rahman Khan as amir.
Modern Era
War of the Pacific (1879-1884): Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Nitrate
Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia, annexing the nitrate provinces of Tarapacá and Antofagasta; Bolivia lost its entire Pacific coastline.