1883

January 4 – Life magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. January 16 – The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States civil service, is passed. January 19 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires begins service in Roselle, New Jersey, United States, installed by Thomas Edison. February – The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is first published complete in book form, in Italy. February 15 – Tokyo Electrical Lightning Grid, predecessor of Tokyo Electrical Power (TEPCO), one of the largest electrical grids in Asia and the world, is founded in Japan. February 16 – The Ladies' Home Journal is published for the first time, in the United States. February 23 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law. February 28 – The first vaudeville theater is opened, in Boston, Massachusetts. March 2 – The Hong Kong Observatory is established. March 20 – The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is held. March 28 – Battle of Gia Cuc: A French force defeats the Vietnamese in northern Vietnam in the run-up to the Sino-French War. April 5 – Oxygen is liquefied for the first time. April 28 – The first rugby sevens tournament is played at Melrose RFC in Scotland. May 23 – Robert Louis Stevenson's children's pirate adventure novel Treasure Island is first published in book format, in London. May 24 – Brooklyn Bridge is opened to traffic in New York City, after 13 years of construction. May 30 – A rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge is going to collapse causes a stampede, which crushes 12 people. June 13 – Count Arvid Posse leaves office as Prime Minister of Sweden. He is succeeded by Carl Johan Thyselius, the first non-aristocrat (Swedish ; "ofrälse") to serve as Swedish head of government, and Prime Minister. June 16 – Victoria Hall disaster: A rush for treats results in 183 children being asphyxiated in a concert hall in Sunderland, England.