1879★★★★★
Edison's practical incandescent light bulb
Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory produces a carbon-filament incandescent lamp long-lasting enough for practical use.
Technology· United States
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Events this year
1879 – 1884★★★★★
War of the Pacific
Chile defeats Peru and Bolivia in a war over the mineral-rich Atacama Desert; Bolivia loses its access to the sea.
War· Chile, Peru, Bolivia
January 22, 1879★★★★★
Battle of Isandlwana
In the Anglo-Zulu War, a Zulu army defeated a British column at Isandlwana, one of the worst defeats of the British army by an indigenous force.
War· South Africa, United Kingdom
March 14, 1879★★★★★
Birth of Albert Einstein
The physicist Albert Einstein, author of the theory of relativity, is born in Ulm, Germany.
BirthScience· Germany
Ongoing
1858 – 1947★★★★★
Beginning of the British Raj
After the 1857 rebellion, the Government of India Act transfers rule from the East India Company to the British Crown; the Mughal Empire formally ends.
Politics· India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, United Kingdom