Rule of Pearl Harbor
The US Senate approves an agreement to lease Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as a naval base
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1887 in United States of America
Explore 25 historical events and records for United States of America in 1887.
Historical records for United States of America in 1887
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 25 of 25 unique records.
25Unique records
1 of 1Page
21Named events on this page
9Named people on this page
4Places on this page
January
February
Constitution of USA
Congress creates the Electoral Count Act to avoid disputed national elections
Election
Congress creates the Electoral Count Act to avoid disputed national elections
Electoral Count Act
Congress creates the Electoral Count Act to avoid disputed national elections
Legislation
Congress creates the Electoral Count Act to avoid disputed national elections
Interstate Commerce Act
The Interstate Commerce Act creates federal regulation of railroad rates and practices.
Allotment
The Dawes Act authorizes division of reservation land into individual allotments.
Dawes Act
Senator Henry Dawes sponsors the General Allotment Act, authorizing allotment of tribal lands to individual Native Americans.
Dawes Act
The General Allotment Act is named for Senator Henry Dawes of Massachusetts.
Legislation
Senator Henry Dawes sponsores the Dawes Severalty Act that authorizes the survey of Indian territories in the West, in order that the commonly held tribal lands might be broken up into property allotments of 40 to 160 acres
Native American Policy
The Dawes Act seeks assimilation through individual landholding and changes in tribal land tenure.
Rule of Indian Territories
The Dawes Act permits reservation land to be broken into allotments while surplus land can pass from tribal control.
Edmunds-Tucker Act
The 49th US Congress passes the Edmunds-Tucker Act which womens suffrage
Franchise
The 49th US Congress passes the Edmunds-Tucker Act which womens suffrage
Legislation
The 49th US Congress passes the Edmunds-Tucker Act which womens suffrage
Birth of Mary Ellen Chase
Birth of Mary Ellen Chase
March
Editor
William Randolph Hearst appointed "Proprietor" of the SF Examiner newspaper
September
Purchase of Alaska
Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2m
Rule of Alaska
Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2m
Birth of Courtney Hicks Hodges
The Germans are able to hold the region until they launched their final major, last-ditch offensive on the Western Front, into the Ardennes
Western Front
The Germans are able to hold the region until they launched their final major, last-ditch offensive on the Western Front, into the Ardennes
Other events (month unknown)
Invention of Camera
Frank Brownell, the maker of George Eastmans roll holder, creates for Eastman a simple box camera, Eastman names it "Kodak" and patents the name with the camera
Relativity, Theory of
Michelson carries out interferometer measurements that challenge the idea of a stationary luminiferous ether
Relativity, Theory of
Morley works with Michelson on the ether drift experiment later treated as an important background to special relativity
Senate Reelection
Reelected to a third Senate term from Massachusetts.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.