What Happened in January 1884

Historical Events

  • Jan 4 Last sighting of an eastern cougar (Ontario)
  • Jan 4 The Fabian Society is founded in London, Egland to promote equality, citizenship, and human rights.
  • Jan 8 Chrome tanning process for leather patented by Augustus Schultz
  • Jan 18 Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Iesu Grist (Welsh for Jesus Christ) Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom
  • Jan 18 General Charles Gordon departs London for Khartoum, Sudan

"Manon"

Jan 19 Jules Massenet's opera "Manon" premieres in Paris

  • Jan 26 1st Dutch Wagner version of Elizabeth aria
1884 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Jan 2 Jacques Chardonne [Boutelleau], French writer (l'Epithalame), born in Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire, France (d. 1968)
  • Jan 3 E. Stanley Jones, American evangelist (Christ of Indian road), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1973)
  • Jan 3 Raoul Armand Georg Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1948)
  • Jan 6 Harry Pace, American music label owner (Black Swan - 1st major label founded by a Black American), born in Covington, Georgia (d. 1943)
  • Jan 10 James Philip Dunn, American organist and composer, born in New York City (d. 1936)
  • Jan 12 (Mary Louise) "Texas" Guinan, American vaudeville singer, silent film actress, and speakeasy (saloon) proprietor, born in Waco, Texas (d. 1933)
  • Jan 12 Louis Horst, American dance choreographer and composer, born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1964)
  • Jan 13 Sophie Tucker [Kalish], Russian-born American singer and actress (My Yiddish Mama) known as "last of the red hot mammas", born in Tulchyn, Russian Empire (d. 1966)
  • Jan 18 Arthur Ransome, English author, journalist and critic (Swallows & Amazons), born in Leeds, England (d. 1967)
  • Jan 19 Albert Louis Wolff, French conductor and composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1970)
  • Jan 20 (Abraham) A. Merritt, American magazine editor and sci-fi author (The Moon Pool; Burn, Witch, Burn!), born in Beverly, New Jersey (d. 1943)
  • Jan 21 Katie Sandwina [Katie Brumbach], Austrian-American weight-lifter (Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1952)
  • Jan 21 Roger Nash Baldwin, American founder of the American Civil Liberties Union, born in Wellesley, Massachusetts (d. 1981)
  • Jan 25 Edward Kilenyi, Sr. [Kilényi Ede], Hungarian composer and teacher (Clipped Wings, Outside the Law), born in Békésszentandrás, Hungary (d. 1968)
  • Jan 26 Edward Sapir, American linguist and anthropologist (North American Indian languages), born in Lauenburg, Germany (d. 1939)
  • Jan 26 Roy Chapman Andrews, American scientist and explorer (found 1st known dinosaur eggs, director of the American Museum of Natural History), born in Beloit, Wisconsin (d. 1960)
  • Jan 26 Walter "Doc" Meanwell, English Basketball Hall of Fame coach (University of Wisconsin 1911–1917, 1920–1934), born in Leeds, England (d. 1953)
  • Jan 28 Auguste Piccard, Swiss scientist, explorer and balloonist (1st flight into stratosphere, by balloon), born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 1962)
  • Jan 28 Jean Felix Piccard, Swiss scientist, explorer and balloonist (1st flight into stratosphere, by balloon), born in Basel, Switzerland (d. 1963)
  • Jan 28 Lucien d'Azambuja, French astronomer (studied the solar chromosphere), born in Paris, France (d. 1970)
  • Jan 29 Juhan Aavic, Estonian composer, born in Holstre, Russian Empire (d. 1982)
  • Jan 31 Nicholas Joy, French actor (Gentleman's Agreement, Desk Set, Boss Lady), born in Paris, France (d. 1964)
  • Jan 31 Theodor Heuss, 1st President of Germany (Bundespräsident) (d. 1963)
Born in 1884

Famous Weddings

Thomas Eakins

Jan 19 Painter Thomas Eakins (39) weds painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony

Frederick Douglass

Jan 24 Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts


Famous Deaths

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)

Jan 6 Austrian monk and geneticist (discoverer of laws of heredity), dies at 61

  • Jan 6 Paul "the Great" Taglioni, Italian-Austrian ballet choreographer, dies at 75
  • Jan 17 Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist, dies at 79
  • Jan 21 Auguste Franchomme, French cellist and composer, dies at 75
  • Jan 24 Johann Christian Gebauer, Danish composer, dies at 75
  • Jan 26 John Letcher, American lawyer and politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia, dies at 70
  • Jan 31 Elisha Harris, American physician (founded American Public Health Association, sanitary reform), dies of peritonitis at 60