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| January 3rd |
Anna Pavlova, Russian prima balerina was born |
| January 4th |
Dr William W Grant of Iowa performs the worlds first appendectomy on Mary Gartside age 22 |
| January 20th |
L A Thompson patents the roller coaster |
| February 9th |
The first Japanese arrived in Hawaii |
| February 18th |
Mark Twain's novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published |
| February 23rd |
John Lee of Babbacombe of Devon, cheated the hangman's noose three times. John Lee was sentenced to death for the murder of his employer. Lee survived because on each occasion the trap door on the gallows failed to open, even though the mechanism was tested before and after and found to be in perfect working order. The Authorities knew they were beaten and Lee's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. |
| March 11th |
Sir Malcolm Campbell who was the first motorist to exceed the 300 miles per hour barrier was born. |
| March 14th |
Gilbert and Sullivan's opera Mikado was premiered in London. |
| March 31st |
The United Kingdom establishes a protectorate over Bechuanaland. |
| April 3rd |
Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for his engine design. |
| April 30th |
A bill is signed in the New York State legislature forming the Niagara Falls State Park. |
| May |
The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium. |
| May 2nd |
Good Housekeeping Magazine was first published. |
| May 19th |
A great fire at the Mitchell brothers premises in Bradford causes £75,000 worth of damage (A heavy price in those days) |
| May 22nd |
Victor Hugo, French Novelist and author of Les Miserables died age 83. |
| June 14th |
The worlds first photo finish horse race recorded by Louis Jean Dalton as "Paradox" wins "Reluisant" at the Grand Prix. |
| June 17th |
The French ship the "Isere" arrives in New York carrying 214 crates containing the Statue of Liberty. |
| July 6th |
Louis Pasteur inoculates a human against rabies successfully for the first time. |
| July 20th |
The Football Association legalises professionalism in football under pressure from the British Football Association . |
| July 23rd |
Ulysses S Grant, American Civil War General and the 18th President of America dies age 63. |
| July 29th |
Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist dictator and ally to Adolf Hitler was born. |
| August 28th |
Gottlieb Dalmier received patent for the first motorcycle. |
| August 28th |
Boxings first heavyweight title fight with 3oz gloves and three minute rounds was fought between John L Sullivan and Dominic McCaffrey. |
| August 30th |
Japan's first patent is issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint. |
| September 1st |
Doc Brown gives a letter to the Post Office with the instruction that it be delivered to 'Marty' in 1955. |
| September 2nd |
In Rock Springs, Wyoming, 150 white miners attack their Chinese fellow workers, killing 28, wounding 15 and forcing several hundred more out of town. |
| September 11th |
David Herbert Lawrence author of Lady Chatterleys Lover was born. |
| September 15th |
Phineas T Barnum's prize elephant Jumbo was hit and killed by a train. (it's true) |
| September 19th |
Lord Cranbrook opens Harold Park in Low Moor Park in Bradford. |
| October |
United States begins special-deliverymail service. |
| November |
First skyscraper - the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois, USA (10 floors) |
| November 7th |
The Canadian Pacific Railway is finished . |
| November 10th |
Paul Dalmier, son of Gottlieb Dalmier won the first motorcycle race with a distance of six and a half miles. |
| November 11th |
World War II General, George S Patton was born. |
| November 26th |
The first ever photograph of a meteor was taken. |
| December 1st |
Although the exact date is unknown, the US Patent Office acknowledges this as the first day Dr. Pepper was served. |
| December 22nd |
Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, became the first Prime Minister of Japan. |
| December 26th |
Jem Smith beats Jack Davies in the last official bare knuckle fight for a British Heavyweight championship. |
| December 28th |
72 Indian lawyers, academics and journalists gather in Bombay to form the Congress.. |
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| The last surviving person documented as born in 1885 was Eva Morris who died on November 2, 2000, aged almost 115. |
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| Dates unknown but all happened in 1885 |
| Crack shot Annie Oakley joined Buffalo Bills wild west show that toured europe in 1885. |
| Charles Cretors of Chicago invents the popcorn popping machine powered by steam. |
| William Hesketh Lever opened his first factory in England to manufacture Sunlight Soap. |
| Sylanus Bowser invents the Kerosene pump. |
| The cigar lighter was invented. |
| The clipper Ship "James Stafford" crossed the Pacific Ocean 21.5 days, a record that stood until 1995. |
| Dr Lazarus Ludwig Zamenhof invents the artificial language known as Esperanto. |
| Monsieur Eugene Daugin invents the first automatic dishwasher. |
| The Christmas Carol "Away in a Manger" was first penned and published. |
