Huckleberry Finn Sails Into American Bookstores
On February 18, 1885, Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" reached American bookstores — a plainspoken American voice and a searing portrait of slavery-era racism that reshaped literature.
Tales from the year 1885
The Washington Monument Is Dedicated
On February 21, 1885, the 555-foot Washington Monument was formally dedicated in the nation's capital after nearly four decades of fits and starts.
Liberty in 214 Crates: The Day the Statue of Liberty Reached New York
On June 17, 1885, the French ship Isère steamed into New York Harbor carrying the Statue of Liberty in 350 pieces, packed in 214 wooden crates.
The Nine-Year-Old Boy Who Tested the First Rabies Vaccine
On July 6, 1885, Louis Pasteur gave a dying 9-year-old the first rabies vaccine ever tried on a human — and began the modern era of immunization.
The Day Canada Hanged Louis Riel
On November 16, 1885, Métis leader Louis Riel was hanged at Regina, turning a prairie uprising into one of the deepest wounds in Canadian history.