1889

January 1 The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the Dakotas. January 4 – An Act to Regulate Appointments in the Marine Hospital Service of the United States is signed by President Grover Cleveland. It establishes a Commissioned Corps of officers, as a predecessor to the modern-day U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. January 5 – Preston North End F.C. is declared the winner of the inaugural Football League in England. January 8 – Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine in the United States. January 15 – The Coca-Cola Company is originally incorporated as the Pemberton Medicine Company in Atlanta, Georgia. January 22 – Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C. January 30 – Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera commit a double suicide (or a murder-suicide) in the Mayerling hunting lodge. February 15 – The first issue of La Solidaridad is published in Spain. February 11 – The Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted; the 1st Diet of Japan convenes in 1890. February 22 – President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states. March 4 – Benjamin Harrison is sworn in, as the 23rd President of the United States. March 9 – Battle of Metemma: Yohannes IV, Emperor of Ethiopia, is killed; Sudanese forces, who have been almost defeated, rally and destroy the Ethiopian army. Yohannes is probably the world's last ruler ever to die in battle; on March 25 Menelik II proclaims himself as his successor. March 11 – The North Carolina Legislature issues a charter for the creation of Elon College. March 15 – Samoan crisis: German and American warships keep each other at bay in a standoff in Apia Harbor, ending when a cyclone blows in and sinks them all. March 22 – English Association football team Sheffield United F.C. is formed at the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield.