Births on January 2

Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli historian and politician, 4th Israeli Minister of Education (d. 1973)

Ben-Zion Dinur (Hebrew: בן ציון דינור) (January 1884 – 8 July 1973) was a Zionist activist, educator, historian and Israeli politician.

27 Mar

Cincinnati riots of 1884
A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and eventually destroy the courthouse.
20 Apr

Humanum genus
Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum genus.
14 Oct

Photographic film
American inventor George Eastman receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film.
22 Oct

Prime meridian (Greenwich)
The Royal Observatory in Britain is adopted as the prime meridian of longitude by the International Meridian Conference.
10 Dec

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published.