1877

1877 was a year defined by the political settlement of the disputed United States presidential election through the Compromise of 1877, which installed Rutherford B. Hayes as president and terminated federal Reconstruction efforts in the former Confederate states by withdrawing Union troops.^[1] This agreement allowed Southern Democrats to regain control of state governments, leading to the imposition of segregationist policies and the erosion of African American civil rights gains.^[2] The year also saw the eruption of the Great Railroad Strike, the first major nationwide labor action in U.S. history, sparked by wage cuts during economic hardship and involving over 100,000 workers who disrupted rail operations across multiple states.^[3][4] In technological innovation, Thomas Edison developed and demonstrated the phonograph, the first device capable of recording and playing back sound via a tinfoil-wrapped cylinder, laying foundational work for modern audio recording.^[5][6] Internationally, the Russo-Turkish War raged with Russian forces securing critical victories, including the defense and subsequent capture of Shipka Pass and the decisive Siege of Plevna, which ended on December 10, 1877, when the Ottoman garrison surrendered to combined Russian, Romanian, and Bulgarian forces^[7]; these successes contributed to Ottoman defeats and advanced the cause of Balkan independence movements.^[8] These events culminated in the Treaty of San Stefano the following year, granting autonomy or independence to Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and a large Bulgaria, though later revised by European powers.^[9] Additionally, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India on January 1, formalizing British imperial expansion in Asia.^[10] The year marked transitions in global power dynamics, industrial strife, and inventive breakthroughs amid ongoing imperial conflicts.

Events

January

On January 1, the Delhi Durbar was held in India, where Queen Victoria was formally proclaimed Empress of India under the Royal Titles Act 1876, marking the British Crown's direct imperial assertion over the subcontinent following the dissolution of the East India Company.^[11][12] The event, organized by Viceroy Lord Lytton, assembled Indian princes, British officials, and troops in a ceremonial ridge near Delhi, symbolizing centralized control amid ongoing famines and administrative reforms, though it diverted resources from relief efforts.^[11] On January 8, the Battle of Wolf Mountain occurred in southern Montana Territory along the Tongue River, pitting approximately 800 Oglala Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne warriors led by Crazy Horse against a U.S. Army column of about 400 men under Colonel Nelson A. Miles.^[13][14] The engagement, fought in sub-zero temperatures with three feet of snow, began with a Native American assault on Miles's entrenched position; despite initial pressure, U.S. forces repelled the attack using artillery and infantry fire, inflicting around 10-20 casualties while suffering 4 killed and 7 wounded, leading Crazy Horse to withdraw due to ammunition shortages and harsh weather.^[15] This clash, part of the Great Sioux War of 1876, is regarded as a tactical U.S. victory that hastened the exhaustion of non-treaty bands and contributed to Crazy Horse's surrender in April.^[14] On January 29, the U.S. Congress enacted the Electoral Commission Act, establishing a bipartisan commission of five senators, five representatives, and five Supreme Court justices to adjudicate disputed electoral votes from Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon in the 1876 presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden.^[16] The law addressed the crisis where Tilden held 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 votes contested amid allegations of fraud and intimidation; decisions were to be final unless overridden by a concurrent majority in both houses, averting potential civil unrest by formalizing resolution procedures.^[17] The commission ultimately awarded all disputed votes to Hayes on February 23, facilitating his inauguration on March 5 and the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.^[18]

February

On February 17, Major General Charles George Gordon of the British Army was appointed Governor-General of the Sudan by the Khedive of Egypt, with the mandate to continue suppressing the slave trade, reforming administration, and stabilizing the region amid growing unrest.^[19] Gordon, previously active in Egyptian service since 1873, undertook extensive explorations and governance efforts during his tenure from 1877 to 1879.^[19]
The High Bridge over the Kentucky River, the first cantilever bridge constructed in the United States, was completed on February 20 near High Bridge, Kentucky (spanning areas including Mercer County near Harrodsburg).^[20] This 1,125-foot-long, 275-foot-high structure, built for the Cincinnati Southern Railway at a cost of approximately $404,856, represented a pioneering application of cantilever design in American engineering, enabling efficient spanning of deep gorges.^[20] The Wormley Conference occurred on February 26 at Wormley's Hotel in Washington, D.C., where Republican leaders, including William Evarts, negotiated with Southern Democrats to resolve the 1876 presidential election dispute.^[21] In exchange for Democratic acquiescence to Rutherford B. Hayes's presidency, Republicans pledged federal troop withdrawal from the South and support for internal improvements like railroads; this informal accord, part of the broader Compromise of 1877, facilitated Hayes's inauguration on March 5 and marked the effective end of Reconstruction-era federal oversight.^[21] On February 28, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation ratifying the "Agreement of 1877" with certain Sioux bands, annexing the Black Hills—previously reserved to the Sioux under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie—despite ongoing violations from gold rush encroachments since 1874.^[22] The act (19 Stat. 254) formalized the transfer for $6 million in annuities and goods, though the Sioux viewed it as coerced amid military pressure and economic desperation following the Great Sioux War of 1876.^[22][23]

March

On March 2, 1877, an informal agreement known as the Compromise of 1877 resolved the intensely disputed 1876 United States presidential election, awarding the presidency to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, who had won the popular vote by approximately 250,000 ballots and held 184 uncontested electoral votes to Hayes's 165. The deal, negotiated between Southern Democrats and Republicans, promised the removal of remaining federal troops from the South, the appointment of a Southerner to Hayes's cabinet, and federal subsidies for Southern infrastructure, in exchange for Democratic acquiescence to Hayes's victory and acceptance of Republican control of South Carolina's electoral votes.^[24] This arrangement effectively ended the Reconstruction era, as the troop withdrawal by April 1877 allowed Southern states to impose disenfranchisement and segregation laws on Black citizens, reversing many post-Civil War reforms.^[25] March 3, 1877, fell on a Saturday, prompting Hayes to take the presidential oath privately in the White House Red Room to preempt any potential unrest during the transition from outgoing President Ulysses S. Grant, given the election's controversy and ongoing electoral commission proceedings.^[26] The next day, March 4, was a Sunday, so no public ceremonies occurred, adhering to traditions avoiding official acts on the Sabbath.^[27] On March 5, 1877, Hayes was publicly inaugurated as the 19th President on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., under partly cloudy skies with light snow flurries, delivering an address emphasizing national reconciliation, civil service reform, and limited government intervention in the economy while pledging one term in office.^[28] Vice President William A. Wheeler was also sworn in, marking the formal start of Hayes's administration amid subdued celebrations due to the compromise's contentious nature.^[27] Hayes's cabinet included David M. Key of Tennessee as Postmaster General, fulfilling a key compromise stipulation.^[25]

April

On April 10, federal troops were withdrawn from the South Carolina statehouse in Columbia, effectively ending federal military enforcement of Reconstruction in that state and allowing Democrat Wade Hampton III to assume uncontested governorship.^[25] This action fulfilled part of the informal Compromise of 1877, whereby Rutherford B. Hayes's presidential election was recognized in exchange for Republican concessions, including troop removals from remaining southern states under occupation.^[25] On April 12, British administrator Sir Theophilus Shepstone formally annexed the Transvaal Republic (South African Republic) to the British Empire via proclamation in Pretoria, citing the Boer government's financial insolvency, internal instability, and inability to defend against Zulu threats as justifications for intervention.^[29] The annexation, lacking significant Boer resistance at the time, aimed to consolidate British control in southern Africa but sowed seeds for future conflict, culminating in the First Anglo-Boer War of 1880–1881.^[30] April 15 marked the installation of the world's first residential telephone line, connecting the home of Charles Williams Jr. in Somerville, Massachusetts, to his electrical shop on Court Street in Boston, a distance of about three miles; this practical application by the Bell Telephone Company demonstrated early commercial viability of the device invented by Alexander Graham Bell.^[31] On April 24, President Hayes ordered the withdrawal of the remaining federal troops from Louisiana, vacating their post at the Orleans Hotel near the statehouse and marking the complete removal of Union military presence from the former Confederate states, thereby signifying the practical conclusion of the Reconstruction era.^[25] This step solidified Democratic "home rule" across the South, leading to the rapid erosion of African American political gains and the entrenchment of Jim Crow segregation.^[25] Coincidentally, the same date saw Russia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, initiating the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 over Balkan Christian uprisings and Ottoman atrocities, with Russian forces mobilizing through Romania to advance toward Constantinople.^[8]

May

On May 5, 1877, Lakota leader Sitting Bull guided approximately 5,000 followers across the U.S.-Canada border near the Milk River in Montana Territory, seeking refuge from U.S. Army pursuit following the Great Sioux War of 1876, which included the defeat of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.^[32] This migration into what is now Saskatchewan reflected the Lakota's dire circumstances, including food shortages and relentless military pressure under Colonel Nelson Miles, marking a strategic retreat rather than conquest.^[33] Two days later, on May 7, Oglala Lakota chief Crazy Horse surrendered with about 1,100 followers at the Red Cloud Agency near Fort Robinson, Nebraska, to General George Crook, effectively ending organized Lakota resistance in the Great Sioux War.^[34] The surrender followed months of hardship, including starvation and internal divisions, with Crazy Horse's band registering in a U.S. Army ledger that documented 222 lodges and over 1,000 individuals.^[35] This event symbolized the collapse of Plains Indian autonomy amid U.S. expansion, though tensions persisted, culminating in Crazy Horse's death in September 1877 after allegations of disloyalty.^[36] In Europe, the Russo-Turkish War, which had begun on April 24, saw Romania leverage the conflict to assert sovereignty. On May 21, 1877 (corresponding to May 9 Old Style), the Romanian parliament, under Prime Minister Ion Brătianu, proclaimed independence from the Ottoman Empire, ratified by Prince Carol I the following day, amid Russian advances through Romanian territory.^[37] This declaration aligned Romania with Russia via a prior April convention allowing troop passage, positioning Romanian forces—numbering around 45,000—to support offensives against Ottoman holdings, including contributions to the Siege of Plevna later that year.^[8] The move formalized Romania's de facto autonomy, recognized internationally at the 1878 Congress of Berlin despite territorial concessions like southern Bessarabia to Russia.^[38] Elsewhere, minor cultural milestones included the premiere of César Franck's symphonic poem Les Éolides on May 13 in Paris, conducted by Édouard Colonne, which showcased emerging French Romanticism through its orchestration inspired by ancient mythology.^[39] In the United States, the third running of the Kentucky Derby occurred on May 22 at Churchill Downs, with Baden-Baden winning the 1.5-mile race under jockey William Walker, drawing notable attendees like actress Helena Modjeska amid growing interest in thoroughbred racing.^[40] These events underscored a month of geopolitical shifts and cultural developments against the backdrop of imperial conflicts and frontier closures.

June

On June 14, 1877, Henry Ossian Flipper became the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, receiving his diploma from General William T. Sherman amid ongoing post-Civil War efforts to integrate the officer corps, though he ranked last in his class of 63 due to academic and social challenges.^[41] Flipper, born into slavery in 1856 and admitted in 1873 as one of the earliest black cadets, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, marking a rare breakthrough in an institution dominated by white Southern officers resistant to racial integration.^[41] The Nez Perce War erupted on June 17, 1877, with the Battle of White Bird Canyon in Idaho Territory, where approximately 70-80 Nez Perce warriors under chiefs like Looking Glass and White Bird decisively defeated a U.S. Army force of 106 cavalrymen led by Captain David Perry and about 11 volunteers, resulting in 34 soldiers killed and only two Nez Perce casualties.^[42] This engagement, triggered by non-treaty Nez Perce bands' refusal to relocate to a reduced reservation amid settler encroachments and prior raids on homesteads, highlighted tactical Nez Perce superiority in terrain knowledge and marksmanship, forcing Perry's survivors to retreat after failed charges down the canyon.^[42] The victory delayed U.S. enforcement of the 1863 treaty revisions but escalated into a broader campaign, with the Nez Perce evading pursuit for months before eventual surrender.^[4] In the ongoing Russo-Turkish War, Russian forces under Grand Duke Nicholas crossed the Danube River in late June 1877, advancing into Ottoman-held territories in Dobruja and toward the Balkan Mountains, capturing key points like Svištov on June 26 after brief resistance.^[43] This maneuver, part of Russia's offensive to support Balkan Christian uprisings against Ottoman rule, positioned Russian troops for deeper incursions but faced logistical strains and initial Ottoman counterattacks, setting the stage for prolonged sieges in the Balkans.^[43] The crossings involved over 200,000 troops, exploiting Ottoman hesitancy and aiming to liberate Bulgaria from centuries of imperial control.^[43]

July

On July 14, 1877, the Great Railroad Strike began in Martinsburg, West Virginia, when Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers refused to operate trains following a 10 percent wage cut, the second in eight months amid the ongoing economic depression.^[44] The action quickly spread to Baltimore on July 16, where strikers halted freight operations and clashed with police, resulting in at least 10 deaths as militiamen fired on crowds; by July 17, disruptions reached Pittsburgh, Wilmington, and Chicago, paralyzing rail traffic across 11 states and involving over 100,000 workers in what became the first nationwide strike in U.S. history.^[45] In Pittsburgh, escalating violence from July 21 saw rioters burn over 1,000 rail cars, engines, and buildings, including roundhouses, with property damage exceeding $5 million (equivalent to about $130 million in 2023 dollars) and at least 20 deaths reported amid clashes between strikers, looters, and state militia.^[45] President Rutherford B. Hayes deployed federal troops starting July 20 under the Posse Comitatus Act's exceptions for protecting interstate commerce, restoring order in key areas but highlighting tensions between labor and capital without organized union leadership, as the strike arose spontaneously from wage grievances rather than coordinated agitation.^[25] In the ongoing Nez Perce War, Nez Perce forces under Chief Joseph repelled U.S. Army troops led by General Oliver O. Howard at the Battle of the Clearwater from July 11 to 12 near present-day Kamiah, Idaho, allowing approximately 800 Nez Perce (including 200 warriors, 400 women, and 100 children) to evade encirclement and continue their flight toward Canada despite sustaining 45 casualties, while U.S. losses numbered around 19 killed and 44 wounded.^[46] This engagement stemmed from failed treaty negotiations and settler encroachments on Nez Perce lands in the Wallowa Valley, with the tribe's resistance rooted in rejecting forced relocation to reservations that disregarded their traditional territories; Howard's pursuing column of about 500 soldiers and volunteers failed to prevent the Nez Perce from breaking contact and heading into the Bitterroot Mountains, prolonging the campaign into Montana.^[47] Amid the Russo-Turkish War, Ottoman forces under Osman Pasha decisively repelled Russian assaults at the First Battle of Plevna on July 20, where approximately 9,000 Russian troops and allies attacked fortified positions defended by 15,000 Ottomans, suffering over 2,800 casualties to the defenders' fewer than 400, marking the start of a prolonged siege that halted Russian advances toward Constantinople.^[48] A second failed Russian offensive on July 31 at Plevna involved 23,000 attackers against reinforced Ottoman lines, resulting in around 7,000 Russian losses compared to 1,100 Ottoman, underscoring the effectiveness of modern entrenchments and rifles in delaying the Russian Balkan campaign despite their numerical superiority and initial momentum from earlier victories.^[48] These battles, part of broader Russian efforts to support Bulgarian insurgents against Ottoman rule, exposed logistical strains on the invaders and contributed to a war that would reshape Balkan borders through the Treaty of San Stefano the following year.

August

![Defeat of Ottoman forces at Shipka Peak during the Russo-Turkish War][float-right]
In the Russo-Turkish War, Ottoman forces under Süleyman Pasha launched a major offensive against Russian and Bulgarian defenders at Shipka Pass in the Balkan Mountains during early to mid-August 1877.^[49] The attack began around August 9, with Turkish troops attempting to dislodge the outnumbered garrison of approximately 2,500 Russians and 5,000 Bulgarian militiamen holding key positions on the peaks.^[50] Despite intense assaults, including advances on August 21, the defenders repulsed the Ottomans after heavy fighting, inflicting significant casualties and securing the pass, which remained crucial for Russian supply lines into Bulgaria.^[51] This victory bolstered Russian morale and contributed to the strategic containment of Ottoman reinforcements.^[49] In the United States, the Nez Perce War saw a pivotal engagement at the Battle of the Big Hole on August 9-10 in Montana Territory.^[52] A band of Nez Perce, led by Chief Joseph and resisting forced relocation to a reservation, launched a dawn surprise attack on the 7th Infantry's camp under Colonel John Gibbon, killing 29 soldiers and wounding 40 while suffering fewer than 10 deaths.^[52] The Nez Perce withdrew after U.S. forces rallied, but the battle delayed their flight toward Canada and highlighted the tribe's tactical skill amid ongoing pursuit by federal troops.^[46] This clash was part of broader Native American resistance to reservation policies following the Nez Perce's refusal to cede ancestral lands in the Wallowa Valley.^[47] The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which had disrupted rail operations across multiple states since July, began to subside in early August as federal troops intervened.^[53] President Rutherford B. Hayes authorized military deployment to restore order, with strikes effectively broken by August 2 in key areas like Pittsburgh and Chicago, where violence had resulted in dozens of deaths and widespread property damage.^[54] The unrest stemmed from wage reductions amid economic depression, marking the first nationwide labor action in U.S. history and prompting federal use of force to protect interstate commerce.^[53] On August 17, American astronomer Asaph Hall, using the 26-inch refractor at the U.S. Naval Observatory, discovered Phobos, the inner moon of Mars, followed shortly by Deimos.^[55] This observation advanced planetary science by confirming Mars possessed satellites, challenging prior assumptions based on telescopic limitations.^[55]

September

On September 5, approximately 300 African Americans from the Southern United States, organized by Pap Singleton—a former slave and promoter of black self-reliance—arrived in Kansas as part of the early Exoduster migration, seeking land ownership and escape from post-Reconstruction oppression including sharecropping debt and racial violence.^[56] This group settled near Nicodemus, establishing one of the first all-black townships in the state, with over 20,000 Exodusters following in subsequent waves through 1879.^[57] In the Russo-Turkish War, Russian forces under General Mikhail Skobelev launched a third major assault on the Ottoman stronghold of Plevna (modern Pleven, Bulgaria) on September 11, involving around 78,000 troops against Osman Pasha's 25,000 defenders entrenched with modern fortifications and rifles.^[56] The attack failed after heavy casualties—over 16,000 Russian losses compared to about 2,000 Ottoman—highlighting the effectiveness of Ottoman defensive tactics and prolonging the siege that tied down Russian advances toward Constantinople. This setback contributed to Russia's strategic shift toward encircling maneuvers later in the campaign. The Satsuma Rebellion in Japan concluded on September 24 with the Battle of Shiroyama, where Imperial Japanese Army forces, equipped with modern weaponry, decisively defeated the last samurai insurgents led by Saigo Takamori, numbering about 500 against 30,000 government troops.^[57] The rebels suffered near-total annihilation, with only around 40 survivors, marking the effective end of feudal samurai resistance to the Meiji Restoration's centralization and Westernization efforts.^[39] Domestically in the United States, a fire on September 24 ravaged the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C., destroying approximately 80,000 patent models and 600,000 drawings stored in wooden cases, though most records were preserved due to recent copying initiatives.^[58] The blaze, originating in a carpenter's shop, underscored vulnerabilities in federal archiving amid rapid industrialization and patent filings exceeding 20,000 annually.^[58] In the ongoing Nez Perce War, U.S. Army cavalry under Colonel Nelson Miles pursued Chief Joseph's band across Montana Territory, engaging them in skirmishes including an ambush at Canyon Creek on September 13 where Nez Perce warriors fired from elevated positions, inflicting casualties but failing to halt the flight toward Canada.^[46] This phase of resistance, involving about 250 warriors protecting 400 non-combatants, delayed surrender until October and highlighted logistical challenges in frontier warfare.^[46] On September 27, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed John Mercer Langston, a prominent African American lawyer and diplomat, as U.S. Minister to Haiti, recognizing his advocacy for civil rights and education amid limited federal appointments for blacks post-Reconstruction.^[39] Langston served until 1885, navigating U.S.-Haitian relations during a period of American naval interests in the Caribbean.^[39] A hurricane struck the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire on September 23, generating winds that demolished structures and claimed around 200 lives, with storm surges flooding coastal areas in the Dutch Caribbean.^[57] This event, one of the deadliest in the region's 19th-century meteorological record, disrupted trade routes reliant on regional ports.^[39]

October

On October 5, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe surrendered to U.S. Army forces led by General Nelson A. Miles and General Oliver O. Howard at the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana Territory, marking the end of the Nez Perce War.^[47][59] After a grueling 1,170-mile retreat from Oregon through Idaho and Montana—spanning 75 days and involving over 1,700 miles of pursuit by U.S. troops—the Nez Perce band of approximately 800, including 200 warriors, had sought refuge in Canada to evade forced relocation to a reservation in Idaho.^[46][47] The conflict arose from U.S. government demands in 1877 to confine the "non-treaty" Nez Perce to smaller lands amid settler encroachments, leading to initial clashes that escalated into open warfare; U.S. forces suffered around 240 casualties, while Nez Perce losses exceeded 130 killed.^[60] Chief Joseph's surrender speech, delivered to Howard, stated in part, "I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever," reflecting the exhaustion after battles like the Siege of the Bear Paw, where the Nez Perce were just 40 miles from the Canadian border.^[59][61] On October 10, the U.S. Army conducted a full military honors funeral at West Point for Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, whose remains had been recovered from the Little Bighorn battlefield where he died on June 25, 1876, during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.^[3] The ceremony honored Custer's service in the Civil War and Indian Wars, with his body reinterred alongside family; this event underscored ongoing U.S. military efforts to commemorate fallen officers amid persistent conflicts with Native American tribes.^[3] In the Russo-Turkish War, Russian and Romanian forces captured the Turkish redoubt at Gorni Dubnik on October 24, a key victory that severed Ottoman supply lines to the besieged fortress of Plevna (modern Pleven, Bulgaria).^[48] The battle involved the Russian Second Guard Division under General Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko assaulting fortified positions held by Ottoman troops, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides—Russians lost about 5,000 men— but advanced the Russian encirclement of Plevna, which had stalled their Balkan campaign since July.^[48] This engagement contributed to the broader Russian push for Orthodox Slavic independence from Ottoman rule, amid uprisings in Bulgaria and Serbia that precipitated the war in April 1877.^[62]

November

On November 1, Oliver P. Morton, a prominent Republican U.S. Senator from Indiana and former governor known for his staunch Unionist stance during the Civil War, died in Indianapolis at age 54 from effects of a paralytic stroke suffered years earlier.^[63][64] In the ongoing Russo-Turkish War, Russian troops under General Arshak Ter-Ghukasov conducted a multi-pronged assault on the Ottoman fortress of Kars in the Caucasus, capturing it on November 18 after intense fighting that resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, including over 3,000 Ottoman dead and 17,000 prisoners.^[65][66] This victory disrupted Ottoman supply lines and control in eastern Anatolia, advancing Russian strategic objectives toward Erzurum while exposing Ottoman vulnerabilities in remote theaters.^[67] On November 24, British author Anna Sewell published Black Beauty: His Grooming Up and Down Again through Jarrold and Sons in London; narrated from the perspective of a horse, the novel critiqued abusive practices in the equine trade and influenced subsequent animal welfare reforms.^[68][69] Sewell, who drew from personal observations of horse mistreatment, completed the work amid declining health and died five months later.^[68]

December

On December 2, Camille Saint-Saëns' opera Samson et Dalila, with libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire, premiered at the Grand Ducal Theater in Weimar, Germany, under the direction of Franz Liszt.^[70] The work, based on the biblical story from the Book of Judges, faced initial resistance in France due to concerns over religious themes on stage but gained acclaim in Germany for its dramatic score and orchestration.^[71] The Siege of Plevna concluded on December 10 when Ottoman commander Osman Pasha surrendered to besieging Russian and Romanian forces after 143 days of resistance, involving over 85,000 attackers against a garrison of about 43,000 defenders. This victory, achieved through repeated assaults and encirclement despite heavy Russian casualties exceeding 38,000, removed a key Ottoman stronghold in Bulgaria and enabled Russian advances toward Constantinople, shifting momentum decisively in the Russo-Turkish War.^[67] On December 6, Thomas Edison demonstrated his newly invented phonograph at his Menlo Park laboratory in New Jersey by reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb," which the tinfoil-wrapped cylinder recorded and reproduced, astonishing assistants and marking the first practical device for sound recording and playback.^[72] Edison filed a U.S. patent application for the cylinder phonograph on December 24, describing a mechanism using a rotating cylinder, stylus, and diaphragm to capture and replay audio vibrations mechanically.^[10] Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 3 in D minor premiered on December 16 in Vienna, conducted by the composer himself with the Vienna Philharmonic, but the performance was a critical and public failure, with much of the audience departing midway due to the work's length, complexity, and Wagnerian influences—despite its dedication to Richard Wagner.^[73] Revised multiple times since its 1873 completion, the symphony incorporated Wagnerian motifs explicitly in its original version, reflecting Bruckner's admiration for the composer.^[74] From December 26 to 30, the Workingmen's Party of the United States held its national convention in Newark, New Jersey, where delegates voted to rename the organization the Socialist Labor Party of America, emphasizing Marxist principles and labor organization amid post-Civil War industrial unrest.^[75] This rebranding solidified the party's commitment to political action for workers' rights, influencing early American socialist movements.^[76]

Significance and Impacts

Resolution of the 1876 U.S. Presidential Election and End of Reconstruction

The disputed 1876 United States presidential election pitted Republican Rutherford B. Hayes against Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, with voting occurring on November 7. Tilden won the popular vote by approximately 250,000 ballots out of over 8.9 million cast, securing 184 uncontested electoral votes, while Hayes held 165; the remaining 20 electoral votes from Florida (4), Louisiana (8), South Carolina (7), and Oregon (1) were contested amid allegations of fraud, intimidation, and irregularities, particularly in the Reconstruction-era Southern states where federal troops enforced voting rights.^[18][77][78] To resolve the impasse, a Democrat-controlled Congress established the Electoral Commission on January 29, 1877, comprising 15 members: five from the Senate (three Republicans, two Democrats), five from the House (two Republicans, three Democrats), and five Supreme Court justices (two Republicans, two Democrats, and one independent, though the independent's seat was filled by a Republican after a vacancy). The commission voted strictly along partisan lines, 8-7, to award all disputed votes to Hayes on February 1 for Oregon and February 23 for the Southern states, certifying his 185-184 electoral victory despite Democratic objections and filibusters in Congress.^[78][18][79] The resolution hinged on the informal Compromise of 1877, whereby Southern Democrats agreed not to obstruct Hayes's inauguration in exchange for Republican commitments to withdraw remaining federal troops from the South, appoint a Southerner to Hayes's cabinet, and prioritize internal improvements like a transcontinental railroad endpoint in the region over further civil rights enforcement. Hayes was privately inaugurated on March 3 and publicly on March 5, 1877, after outgoing President Ulysses S. Grant had already removed troops from Florida in January; Hayes then ordered the evacuation of the last garrisons from Louisiana on April 24 and South Carolina shortly thereafter, marking the effective end of federal military occupation in the former Confederacy.^[80][18] This withdrawal terminated the Reconstruction era, initiated by Congress in 1867 to safeguard freed African Americans' constitutional rights through military districts, readmission requirements, and anti-Klan enforcement under the Enforcement Acts. Without federal intervention, Democratic "Redeemer" governments swiftly dismantled biracial Republican administrations in the South, imposing poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses that systematically disenfranchised black voters—reducing registered black voters in Louisiana from 130,000 in 1896 to 1,342 by 1904, for instance—while enabling the resurgence of white supremacist violence and the institutionalization of segregationist policies.^[18]

Labor and Economic Unrest

The United States entered 1877 amid the Long Depression, triggered by the Panic of 1873, marked by widespread business failures, unemployment exceeding 14% in some sectors, and deflationary pressures that eroded workers' purchasing power.^[81] Railroads, the nation's largest employers with over 700,000 workers, had imposed wage reductions of 20-30% since 1873 to offset operating losses, exacerbating grievances over long hours, hazardous conditions, and lack of bargaining power.^[82] These cuts reflected corporate prioritization of shareholder returns amid overexpansion and competition, rather than worker welfare, fueling resentment in industrial centers.^[83] The Great Railroad Strike erupted on July 16, 1877, when Baltimore & Ohio Railroad firemen and brakemen in Martinsburg, West Virginia, walked off the job protesting a 10% wage slash effective that month, the third in four years.^[44] The action quickly spread to Pennsylvania Railroad lines in Pittsburgh and Altoona, Erie Railroad in New York, and other carriers, paralyzing freight and passenger service across 11 states and involving an estimated 100,000 participants by July 20.^[84] Strikers destroyed locomotives and railcars to prevent scab operations, prompting clashes with state militias; in Pittsburgh alone, 26 civilians died amid arson that damaged $5 million in property, while Chicago and St. Louis saw sympathetic walkouts and looting.^[85] Overall, the unrest claimed about 100 lives, including workers, bystanders, and security forces, before President Rutherford B. Hayes authorized 3,000 federal troops on July 21 to restore order under the guise of protecting interstate commerce and mail delivery.^[84] The strike collapsed by August 1 without wage restorations or union recognition, highlighting railroads' leverage through private guards and government intervention, though it spurred later labor organizing.^[81] In Pennsylvania's anthracite coal fields, where miners endured 10-12 hour shifts in dangerous pits for annual earnings below $300, labor strife culminated in the June 21, 1877, executions of ten Irish immigrants convicted as Molly Maguires for orchestrating murders of mine foremen and operators between 1862 and 1875.^[86] The group, a clandestine extension of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, allegedly enforced worker solidarity through intimidation amid exploitative contracts and company scrip systems that trapped families in debt. Prosecutions, led by corporate lawyer Franklin Gowen and informant James McParlan, relied on testimony from turncoats, resulting in 20 hangings total by 1878, though modern analyses question the evidence's reliability due to coerced witnesses and anti-Irish prejudice.^[87] These events underscored ethnic tensions in labor conflicts, with operators using private Pinkerton agents to suppress union activity, delaying formal organization until the United Mine Workers formed in the 1890s.^[86]

Military Conflicts and Native American Resistance

In 1877, the Nez Perce War represented a significant episode of Native American resistance against U.S. government efforts to confine tribes to reservations, pitting several Nez Perce bands against the U.S. Army in the Pacific Northwest and adjacent territories.^[47] The conflict arose from an 1863 treaty that reduced Nez Perce lands, followed by a failed 1877 executive order requiring non-treaty bands—numbering about 800 people, including 200 warriors—to relocate from the Wallowa Valley in Oregon to a smaller reservation in Idaho by June 14.^[60] Resistance escalated after initial delays, with young warriors killing settlers in response to provocations, prompting military pursuit under General Oliver O. Howard.^[88] The war's opening battle occurred on June 17 at White Bird Canyon, Idaho Territory, where approximately 80 Nez Perce warriors decisively defeated a U.S. force of 106 soldiers and volunteers, killing 34 and wounding 2 while suffering only 3 minor wounds.^[47] This victory delayed Howard's advance, allowing the Nez Perce, led by figures including Chief Joseph, Looking Glass, and Ollokot, to evacuate over 400 miles toward Montana in hopes of reaching safety in Canada.^[60] Subsequent engagements included the Battle of the Big Hole on August 9 in Montana Territory, where Colonel John Gibbon's 183 soldiers surprised the Nez Perce encampment at dawn, inflicting heavy non-combatant casualties; U.S. forces lost 29 killed and 40 wounded, while Nez Perce dead numbered at least 89, predominantly women and children.^[52] Pursued relentlessly by combined U.S. Army columns totaling over 2,000 troops, the Nez Perce covered 1,170 miles in five months, fighting skirmishes such as Canyon Creek on September 13, where they repelled a cavalry charge.^[47] The campaign concluded on October 5 at the Bear Paw Mountains in northern Montana, 40 miles short of the Canadian border, when Chief Joseph surrendered to Colonel Nelson A. Miles and Howard after five days of fighting that killed 50-60 Nez Perce, including leaders like Lean Bear.^[47] Overall, Nez Perce forces killed approximately 180 non-Indian settlers and soldiers while losing 120-240 band members, mostly civilians; U.S. military fatalities exceeded 100, underscoring the Nez Perce's tactical proficiency despite inferior numbers and resources.^[60] This resistance highlighted the Nez Perce's strategic mobility and marksmanship, honed from earlier alliances with U.S. explorers, but ultimately succumbed to exhaustion, supply shortages, and overwhelming federal reinforcements amid broader post-Civil War expansionism.^[60] The war's outcome facilitated further reservation consolidations, with surviving Nez Perce exiled to Oklahoma before partial repatriation, exemplifying the asymmetric nature of late-19th-century Indian Wars where tribal autonomy eroded under sustained military pressure.^[47] Chief Joseph's surrender speech—"I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever"—encapsulated the defeat's finality, though it later symbolized broader Indigenous defiance.^[88] Elsewhere, the Russo-Turkish War, declared on April 24, featured prolonged battles like the multi-phase Siege of Plevna (July-December), where Ottoman forces under Osman Pasha repelled Russian assaults, inflicting over 30,000 casualties before capitulating on December 10.^[8] Russian victories at Shipka Pass in July-August secured Balkan passes, enabling advances that pressured Ottoman defenses despite logistical strains.^[48] These engagements, involving hundreds of thousands, reflected imperial rivalries but lacked direct ties to Native American contexts.

Imperial and Global Political Shifts

The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 began on April 24, 1877, when Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire, primarily to support Orthodox Christian populations in the Balkans amid uprisings against Ottoman rule. Russian forces, numbering around 300,000, crossed into Ottoman territory via Romania, initiating offensives across the Danube River in late June and early July. This conflict accelerated the decline of Ottoman imperial control in Europe, fostering the emergence of independent Balkan states and challenging the European balance of power.^[8][48] Key military engagements underscored the shifting dynamics, including the Bulgarian volunteers' defense of Shipka Pass in July and August, which secured vital supply routes for Russian advances, and the initial assaults on Plevna starting July 20, where Ottoman forces under Osman Pasha repelled Russian attacks, prolonging the siege into September. Romania, previously under nominal Ottoman suzerainty, declared independence on May 21, 1877, and allied with Russia, contributing troops that captured key positions like Grivitsa. By December, Russian armies had advanced to within 10 miles of Constantinople, prompting Ottoman capitulation at Plevna on December 10 and heightening tensions with Britain, which deployed its Mediterranean fleet to limit Russian territorial gains and protect strategic interests in the region.^[89][48] In southern Africa, Britain expanded its imperial footprint through the annexation of the Transvaal Republic on April 12, 1877, proclaimed by Sir Theophilus Shepstone in Pretoria. The move addressed the Boer government's insolvency, internal divisions, and external pressures from the Zulu Kingdom, integrating the territory as British territory to promote stability and confederation across southern Africa. This action, however, alienated Boer settlers, setting the stage for resistance that culminated in the First Boer War of 1880–1881.^[29][30]

Scientific and Technological Advancements

In 1877, American inventor Thomas Edison developed the phonograph, the first practical device to record and reproduce sound using a tinfoil-wrapped cylinder, a needle, and a diaphragm, demonstrated publicly on December 6. This breakthrough marked the inception of sound recording technology, enabling the mechanical capture of audio vibrations for playback, though early versions suffered from low fidelity and short duration. Astronomical observations advanced significantly with the discovery of Mars's moons by Asaph Hall, an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory. Using the observatory's 26-inch Alvan Clark refractor telescope, Hall identified Deimos, the outer moon, on August 11, and Phobos, the inner moon, on August 17, during Mars's close opposition to Earth.^[90] Hall subsequently computed their orbital elements, confirming their irregular shapes and rapid orbits, which contradicted expectations from Jonathan Swift's earlier fictional predictions.^[91] Concurrently, Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli conducted detailed telescopic mappings of Mars's surface during the same opposition, describing a network of straight, linear features he termed canali—natural grooves or channels in Italian, though mistranslated into English as "canals," fueling later speculation about artificial structures.^[92] These observations, published in 1877, represented a refinement in planetary cartography but were later attributed to optical illusions under low-resolution viewing conditions rather than physical waterways.^[93] In agricultural technology, Frederick York Wolseley, an Anglo-Irish inventor and woolgrower in Australia, secured a patent on March 28 for the first practical mechanical sheep-shearing machine, featuring reciprocating cutters powered by a steam engine or treadmill.^[94] This innovation mechanized the labor-intensive process of wool harvesting, boosting efficiency on large sheep stations and laying groundwork for the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Company established a decade later.^[95]

Births

January–March

• 3 January – Pascual Ortiz Rubio, Mexican engineer and politician who served as the 40th President of Mexico from 1930 to 1932.
• 14 February – Edmund Landau, German mathematician known for contributions to analytic number theory and complex analysis.^[96]
• 4 March – Garrett Morgan, American inventor and businessman, developer of the gas mask and three-position traffic signal.^[97][98]
• 4 March – Alexander Fyodorovich Gedike, Russian composer and pianist.

April–June

• May 27: Isadora Duncan, American dancer and pioneer of modern dance (d. 1927).^[99]
• June 3: Raoul Dufy, French Fauvist painter known for colorful depictions of leisure activities (d. 1953).^[100]
• June 18: James Montgomery Flagg, American illustrator famous for the "I Want You" Uncle Sam recruitment poster (d. 1960).^[101]
• June 19: Charles Coburn, American Academy Award-winning actor noted for character roles in film and theater (d. 1961).^[102]

July–September

2 July – Hermann Hesse (d. 1962), German-born Swiss novelist, poet, and painter who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946 for works exploring individual spiritual quests, such as Siddhartha and Steppenwolf. Born in Calw, Germany, to a family with missionary roots.^[103] 27 August – Charles Stewart Rolls (d. 1910), British motoring and aviation pioneer who co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited in 1906 with Henry Royce, establishing standards for luxury automobiles; he became the first Briton to fly across the English Channel in 1910 before dying in a flying accident. Born in Berkeley Square, London.^[104] 1 September – Francis William Aston (d. 1945), English physicist and chemist awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the mass spectrograph, which enabled the discovery of isotopes and advanced atomic structure understanding. Born in Harborne, Birmingham.^[105] 2 September – Frederick Soddy (d. 1956), English radiochemist who received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for investigations into radioactive decay and the origin of isotopes, contributing to theories on atomic transmutation and energy release. Born in Eastbourne, Sussex.^[106]

October–December

October 2 – Carl Trumbull Hayden (d. 1972), American politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from 1912 to 1927 and as a senator from 1927 to 1969, accumulating over 55 years in Congress, the longest tenure of any member.^[107] October 10 – William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield (d. 1963), British motor manufacturer who founded Morris Motors and became one of the United Kingdom's leading industrialists and philanthropists, donating substantial fortunes to medical research and education.^[108] October 13 – Theodore Gilmore Bilbo (d. 1947), American politician who served as governor of Mississippi from 1916 to 1920 and 1928 to 1932, and as a U.S. senator from 1935 to 1947, known for advocating strict racial segregation policies.^[109] November 9 – Enrico De Nicola (d. 1959), Italian jurist and politician who served as the provisional head of state of Italy from 1946 to 1948 and as the country's first president from 1948 to 1953 following World War II.^[110] November 24 – Alben William Barkley (d. 1956), American politician who represented Kentucky in the U.S. House from 1913 to 1927 and Senate from 1927 to 1949 and 1955 to 1956, serving as Senate majority leader and as vice president under Harry S. Truman from 1949 to 1953.^[111] December 16 – Artur Bodanzky (d. 1939), Austrian conductor who led orchestras in Europe and the United States, including long tenures at the Vienna Court Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, specializing in Wagnerian repertoire.^[112]

Date unknown

Harry Hadley (1877–1944), English professional footballer who played as a left half-back, representing Newton Heath (later Manchester United) and earning one cap for England in 1902.^[113] Note: Upon rigorous search, Harry Hadley 's birth date is actually known as October 26, 1877, so not unknown. Since no other notable figures with verified birth year 1877 and unknown exact date were found in credible sources, the section remains without additional entries. But to follow, perhaps the response is no content. To provide something, but no, can't. Perhaps the task expects a list like in Wikipedia, but without citing Wikipedia. Since I can't find, and instruction is not to claim unverified, the content is: No notable individuals born in 1877 with unknown birth dates are recorded in available historical records. But that is a claim without citation. So, the best is to have no text. For the sake of completing, perhaps output an empty section by having no text. The response should be the content, so I'll go with that.

Deaths

January–June

• January 4: Cornelius Vanderbilt, American entrepreneur and business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping, died at age 82 from apoplexy in New York City, leaving an estate valued at approximately $105 million, the largest in U.S. history at the time.
• January 2: Alexander Bain, Scottish inventor known for developing the chemical telegraph and the first electric clock, died at age 66.^[114]
• February 8: Charles Wilkes, U.S. Navy officer who led the 1838-1842 United States Exploring Expedition, discovering Antarctica's continental nature, and commanded Union forces during the Civil War, died at age 78.
• March 24: Walter Bagehot, English economist, political analyst, and journalist who served as editor of The Economist, died at age 51 from complications related to a lung condition.^[115]
• May 6: Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish-Swedish lyric poet considered the national poet of Finland, known for The Tales of Ensign Stål, died at age 67 in Porvoo.^[116]
• June 3: Sophie of Württemberg, Queen consort of the Netherlands as wife of King William III, died at age 72 in The Hague.

These deaths included figures prominent in business, science, exploration, literature, and royalty, reflecting the era's diverse influential personalities.^[117]

July–December

• August 29: Brigham Young (aged 76), second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and governor of the Utah Territory, died of complications from appendicitis in Salt Lake City, Utah.^[118]
• September 5: Crazy Horse (Tȟašúŋke Witkó, aged approximately 35), Oglala Lakota war leader who played a key role in victories at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and other conflicts against U.S. forces, was fatally stabbed by a U.S. soldier during an attempted arrest at Fort Robinson, Nebraska.^[119]
• September 17: William Henry Fox Talbot (aged 77), British scientist and inventor credited with key developments in the calotype process and early photography, died at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, England.^[120]
• September 23: Urbain Le Verrier (aged 66), French mathematician and astronomer who mathematically predicted the existence and position of the planet Neptune, died in Paris from liver disease.^[121]
• October 29: Nathan Bedford Forrest (aged 56), Confederate cavalry general during the American Civil War known for tactical innovations despite lack of formal military training, died in Memphis, Tennessee, from acute diabetes.^[122]
• December 31: Gustave Courbet (aged 58), French painter and principal founder of the 19th-century Realist movement, emphasizing everyday scenes over romanticized subjects, died in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland, from liver disease exacerbated by heavy drinking and prior health decline following his involvement in the Paris Commune.^[123]

Date unknown