Year 1889 Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historical Events

This quick read presents a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historical events from the year 1889. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, noteworthy inventions, historic firsts, entertainment news, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. President of the United States: Grover Cleveland (D-New York) (until March 4)
2. President of the United States: Benjamin Harrison (R-Indiana) (starting March 4)
3. Vice President: Vacant until March 4
4. Vice President: Levi P. Morton (R-New York) (starting March 4)
5. In 1889, the 50th U.S. Congress was in session until March 4. On March 4, the 51st U.S. Congress convened.
6. Unemployment rate: Around 4.27 percent
7. Inflation rate: About -3.16 percent
8. $100.00 in 1889 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3,500.00 today.
9. Average cost of a new home: $1,000.00 to $5,000.00 in urban neighborhoods and $200.00 to $1,000.00 in rural areas
10. Average monthly rent: In New York City, the rent for a two- or three-room apartment in a tenement building was between $10.00 and $13.00 per month.
11. Cost of a first-class stamp: Two cents
12. Minimum wage: There was no federal minimum wage in 1889.
13. The average annual wage for a worker in the U.S. was about $500.00.
14. American companies and brands established in 1889 included Amoco (“American Oil Company”), the Calumet Baking Powder Company, Columbia Records, Modell’s Sporting Goods, Pfaltzgraff (stoneware manufacturer), and Washington Mutual (financial services).
15. Consumer products launched during the year included Cottolene shortening, Jicky perfume, Lysol cleaning products, Wren’s Super Wax shoe polish, and the first “ready-mix” pancake mix, which later became the Aunt Jemima brand.
16. On January 23, the first non-segregated hospital in the United States opened in Chicago.
17. On February 9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was established as a Cabinet-level agency.
18. On February 12, Henrik Ibsen’s play, Fruen fra havet (The Lady from the Sea), opened in Oslo, Norway.
19. On March 4, Benjamin Harrison was inaugurated as the 23rd U.S. president.
20. On March 31, the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, the tallest man-made structure for 41 years, opened to dignitaries at an awards ceremony.
21. On April 1, the first automatic dishwasher was marketed in Chicago.
22. On April 6, George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York, began selling Kodak roll film.
23. On May 6, the Exposition Universelle (World's Fair) opened in Paris and attracted an estimated 32 million visitors until it closed on October 31.
24. On May 9, Thomas Kiley, aboard the horse Spokane, won the 15th Kentucky Derby. (Just so you know, Spokane was the only horse “bred and trained” in Montana to ever win the race.)
25. On May 14, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) was established in London, England.
26. On May 28, brothers Édouard and André Michelin incorporated their family's French rubber business as Michelin & Cie.
27. On May 31, an estimated 2,209 people died in the Johnstown (Pennsylvania) Flood, when the South Fork Dam failed and unleashed a massive wall of water on the city. It was the deadliest U.S. disaster of the 19th century.
28. On June 1, American architect Frank Lloyd Wright married socialite Catherine Tobin. (The couple divorced in 1922.)
29. On June 6, a massive fire destroyed 25 blocks in downtown Seattle, Washington.
30. On June 13, two feet of snow fell in Rawlins, Wyoming.
31. On June 24, Butch Cassidy, the notorious American bank and train robber, committed his first bank robbery at the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride, Colorado.
32. On July 1, the U.S. Mint in Carson City, Nevada, reopened.
33. On July 8, the Wall Street Journal began publishing.
34. On August 10, Dan Ryland, an employee of the Hope Glass Works in England, received a patent for a screw cap for bottles.
35. On August 13, William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut, received a U.S. patent for a coin-operated telephone.
36. On September 24, Alexander Dey of Glasgow, Scotland, received a patent for a “workman's time recorder.”
37. On October 6, the famed cabaret (dance hall), Moulin Rouge, opened in Paris. (Just so you know, Moulin Rouge means “Red Windmill” in French.)
38. On October 10, Barnard College was founded in New York City.
39. On November 2, North Dakota became the 39th U.S. state.
40. On November 2, South Dakota became the 40th U.S. state.
41. On November 8, Montana became the 41st U.S. state.
42. On November 11, Washington became the 41st U.S. state.
43. On November 14, New York World journalist Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochran) began her famous “race around the world.” She was inspired by Jules Verne's novel, Around the World in Eighty Days, and “completed the journey in a record-breaking 72 days, 6 hours, and 11 minutes, arriving back in New York on January 25, 1890.”
44. On November 18, the Oahu Railway began public service in Hawaii.
45. On November 23, Louis T. Glass installed the first jukebox—initially called the “nickel-in-the-slot phonograph”—at the Palais Royal Saloon at 303 Sutter Street in downtown San Francisco.
46. On December 24, Daniel Stover and William Hance received a U.S. patent for a bicycle with a backpedal brake.
47. In 1889, John E. Purdy and Daniel A. Sadgwar of Washington, D.C., received a U.S. patent for a foldable chair.
48. O. C. Barber and J. A. Baughman of Akron, Ohio, received a U.S. patent for a machine that made matchsticks.
49. American businessman, chemist, and inventor Charles M. Hall received a U.S. patent for his “revolutionary” process to extract aluminum from its ore.
50. Hanson Goodrich, an Illinois farmer, received a U.S. patent for the first stovetop coffee percolator.
51. Daniel Johnson of Kansas City, Kansas, received a U.S. patent for a rotary dining table for use on ships.
52. Don Esposito, an Italian chef and tavern owner, created the red, white, and green Margherita pizza, a classic Italian pizza made with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese—the colors of the Italian flag.
53. The Hotel Jerome, a historic 90-room hotel located in Aspen, Colorado, opened for business. It was the first hotel in Colorado with electricity and indoor plumbing and the first hotel west of the Mississippi with an elevator.
54. Key novels published during 1889: Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat, Marie Corelli’s Ardath, Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Robert Louis Stevenson's The Master of Ballantrae, Leo Tolstoy's The Kreutzer Sonata, and William Dean Howells’ A Hazard of New Fortunes
55. Popular music artists and groups were Al Reeves, Charles Harris, Dan Quinn, Holding’s Military Band, Issler’s Orchestra, James Thornton, John Philip Sousa’s Band, Len Spencer, the United States Military Band, and Will White.
56. America’s most beloved songs included The Thunderer (United States Marine Band), The Washington Post (United States Marine Band), and Semper Fidelis (United States Marine Band).
57. Famous and infamous people born during 1889 included Adolf Hitler (criminal), Arthur Roy Mitchell (cartoonist), Charlie Chaplin (movie actor), Claude Rains (stage actor), Edwin Hubble (astronomer), Fannie Hurst (novelist), George S. Kaufman (playwright), Harry Clarke (illustrator), Walter Knott (entrepreneur), and Walter Lippmann (journalist).
58. Notable people who died in 1889 included Jefferson Davis (politician), John Cadbury (entrepreneur), Maria Mitchell (astronomer), Robert Browning (poet), and Samuel Brannan (journalist).
59. Here are some additional sports facts from 1889: The New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in the "World Series,” and John L. Sullivan defeated Jake Kilrain in the last bare-knuckle heavyweight title fight.
60. In 1889 as well, the words “absentee ballot,” “blood work,” “box lunch,” “chain letter,” “club sandwich,” “confectioners’ sugar,” “dress code,” “groundwater,” “Henley,” “honky tonk,” “I-beam,” “identification card,” “service charge,” “snickerdoodle,” and “whiskey sour” all appeared in print for the first time.

References:

1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1889
2. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1889.html
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1889_in_the_United_States
4. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1885.html
5. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1889
6. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/1889
7. https://www.onthisday.com/weddings/date/1889

Disclaimer: During the process of writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor