Deaths on December 28

James Van Ness, American lawyer and politician, 7th Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1808)

James Van Ness (1808 – December 28, 1872) was an American politician who served as the 6th Mayor of San Francisco from 1855 to 1856.

5 Mar

Railway air brake
George Westinghouse patents the air brake.
22 Mar

Gender equality
Illinois becomes the first state to require gender equality in employment.
22 May

Amnesty Act
Reconstruction Era: President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act into law, restoring full civil and political rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
18 Nov

United States presidential election, 1872
Susan B. Anthony and 14 other women are arrested for illegal voting in the United States presidential election of 1872.
9 Dec

P. B. S. Pinchback
In Louisiana, P. B. S. Pinchback becomes the first African-American governor of a U.S. state.