1870s

The 1870s continued the trends of the previous decade, as new empires and an increase in imperialism and militarism rise in Europe and Asia. Germany declares independence in 1871 and begins its Second Reich. Labor unions and strikes occur worldwide in the later part of the decade, and continue until World War I. In America, the Reconstruction era brings a legacy of bitterness and segregation that lasts until the 1960s.

Events and trends

Technology

The prototype telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876.
A version of the light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison.
The phonograph is invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison.
The steam drill is invented in 1879.

Science

Ludwig Boltzmann statistically defined thermodynamic entropy.

War, peace and politics

Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) resulted in the collapse of the Second French Empire and in the formation of both the French Third Republic and the German Empire.
The Anglo-Zulu War lasted from 11 January 1879 to 4 July 1879.
The Third Carlist War (1872–1876) was the last Carlist War in Spain.
The British Empire continued to grow; this decade marked the beginning of the New Imperialism
Bulgaria and Romania declared independence following a war against the Ottoman Empire.
Passive resistance was used to prevent the confiscation of Māori land at Parihaka in New Zealand
The German Empire and Alliance System emerged.
Racial and economic politics in America's Reconstruction are bitter, pessimistic, and sometimes violent.
The Gilded Age begins in 1874, lasting until 1896.

Literature and Arts

Jules Verne (France) publishes Around The World in Eighty Days
In the United States, continuation of post-Civil War reconstruction until its conclusion under President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877
Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Sisley organized the Société Anonyme Coopérative des Artistes Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs ("Cooperative and Anonymous Association of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers") for the purpose of exhibiting their artworks independently. Members of the association, which soon included Cézanne, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas, were expected to forswear participation in the Salon. The organizers invited a number of other progressive artists to join them in their inaugural exhibition, including the slightly older Eugène Boudin, whose example had first persuaded Monet to take up plein air painting years before. Another painter who greatly influenced Monet and his friends, Johan Jongkind, declined to participate, as did Manet. In total, thirty artists participated in their first exhibition, held in April 1874 at the studio of the photographer Nadar. The group soon became known as the Impressionists.
Jeanne Calment, born 1875, would eventually become the longest-living human being in recorded history. She lived until 1997, at the age of 122. She still holds the record as of 2009.
Atlas Bear goes extinct.
Henrik Ibsen releases A Doll's House in 1879

World Leaders

Emperor Franz Josef (Austria-Hungary)
Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald (Canada)
Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie (Canada)
Tongzhi Emperor (China)
Guangxu Emperor (China)
Emperor Wilhelm I (German Empire)
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (German Empire)
King Victor Emmanuel II (Italy)
King Umberto I (Italy)
Emperor Meiji (Japan)
Pope Pius IX
Pope Leo XIII
Emperor Alexander II (Russia)
King Alfonso XII (Spain)
Queen Victoria (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
President Ulysses S. Grant (United States)
President Rutherford B. Hayes (United States)
Nasser-al-Din Shah of Qajar dynasty (Persia)

Translation

The word "1870s" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Simple English.

Translation(s) in other languages: Arabic: ملحق:عقد 1870, Asturian: Años 1870, Min Nan: 1870 nî-tāi, Belarusian (Taraškievica): 1870-я, Bosnian: 1870te, Breton: Bloavezhioù 1870, Catalan: Dècada del 1870, Chuvash: 1870-мĕш çулсем, Welsh: 1870au, Danish: 1870'erne, German: 1870er, Estonian: 1870. aastad, Spanish: Años 1870, Esperanto: 1870-aj jaroj, Basque: 1870eko hamarkada, Persian: دهه ۱۸۷۰ (میلادی), French: Années 1870, Irish: 1870í, Scottish Gaelic: 1870an, Gan: 1870年代, Korean: 1870년대, Croatian: 1870-ih, Ido: 1870a yari, Indonesian: 1870-an, Ossetian: 1870-тæ, Icelandic: 1871–1880, Italian: Anni 1870, Javanese: 1870-an, Georgian: 1870-იანები, Kazakh: 1870 жж., Komi: 1870-ӧд вояс, Latin: Decennium 188, Lithuanian: XIX amžiaus 8-as dešimtmetis, Hungarian: 1870-es évek, Macedonian: 1870-ти, Marathi: इ.स.चे १८७० चे दशक, Malay: 1870-an, Dutch: 1870-1879, Japanese: 1870年代, Norwegian (Bokmål): 1870-årene, Norman: Annaées 1870, Uzbek: 1870-lar, Polish: Lata 70. XIX wieku, Portuguese: Década de 1870, Ripuarian: 1870-er Joohre, Romanian: Anii 1870, Russian: 1870-е, Sakha: 1870-с, Northern Sami: 1870-lohku, Albanian: Vitet 1870, Sicilian: 1870ini, Slovak: 70. roky 19. storočia, Slovenian: 1870., Serbian: 1870е, Sundanese: 1870-an, Finnish: 1870-luku, Swedish: 1870-talet, Tamil: 1870கள், Tatar: 1870. yıllar, Thai: คริสต์ทศวรรษ 1870, Turkmen: 1870ýý, Ukrainian: 1870-ті, Walloon: Anêyes 1870, Cantonese: 1870年代, Chinese: 1870年代.