Events and Trends

Technology

• The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell.
• The light bulb was invented.
• The phonograph is invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison.

Science

• Ludwig Boltzmann's statistical definition of thermodynamic entropy

War, peace and politics

• Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) results in the collapse of the Second French Empire and in the formation of both the French Third Republic and the German Empire
• Continuing expansion of the British Empire; beginning of the New Imperialism
• Bulgaria and Romania declare independence following war against the Ottoman Empire
• Passive resistance is used to prevent the confiscation of Māori land at Parihaka in New Zealand

Literature and Arts

• Jules Verne publishes Around the World in 80 Days.

Other

• In the United States, continuation of post-Civil War reconstruction until its conclusion under President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877

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)

1870s

1870te | Dècada del 1870 | 1870au | 1870'erne | 1870er | 1870. aastad | Δεκαετία 1870 | Años 1870 | Années 1870 | 1870년대 | 1870-1879 | 1870a yari | 1871–1880 | Anni 1870 | XIX amžiaus 8-as dešimtmetis | 1870-es évek | 1870-1879 | 1870年代 | 1870-årene | Lata 70. XIX wieku | Anii 1870 | 1870-е | Vitet 1870 | 1870ini | 1870s | 70. roky 19. storočia | 1870. | 1870-luku | 1870-talet | 1870. yıllar | คริสต์ทศวรรษ 1870 | 1870-ті | 1870年代