Historical events from 1890 through 1899.
Detroit Mayor Hazen Pingree led a coordinated effort among American cities to petition President Harrison for emergency executive action halting European immigration. The unprecedented municipal collaboration sought a 90-day suspension as cholera epidemics raged across the Atlantic.
A fierce February blizzard paralyzed Washington DC in 1899, burying the capital under heavy snow and forcing streetcar suspensions. The storm caused widespread suffering among the city’s poor, with hundreds of families left freezing and starving.
Thomas Mulcahey was discovered dead at the foot of a stairway on Albany Street with suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. His brother believed he had been robbed and murdered.
Thirty human skeletons were discovered in an abandoned ice house at the corner of Archer Avenue and Hough Place in Chicago. The grisly find solved a weeks-long mystery that had been tormenting local residents with unbearable odors.
The Niagara Power Company conducted successful tests of massive electrical generators in July 1895. These trials marked a crucial step toward harnessing the falls’ power for industrial electricity on an unprecedented scale.
The U.S. Senate reintroduced a constitutional amendment for popular election of senators on March 18, 1897. This marked a significant step in the decades-long campaign for democratic reform.
New York City mobilized unprecedented resources to welcome home Admiral George Dewey from his Spanish-American War victory. The elaborate preparations included massive public viewing stands and coordinated entertainment.
