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Secret History of the Universe: Part Four
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GO TO PART THREE: 3300 BCE-1759 CE
The Age of Revolution: 1760-1836
The Early Victorian Era: 1837-1869
The Gilded Age / Late Victorian Era: 1870-1899
GO TO PART FIVE: 1900-1939
DISCLAIMER: This timeline won't necessarily reflect what you're used to in your history books, your literature, your films, your television shows or your comic books. Because this is what really happened...
The Age of Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain. Within a few decades, it would spread to Western Europe and the United States, and by 1840 it would transform nearly every aspect of daily life.
Still pursuing Imogene and Tappitt, Doctor Syn began a new career of piracy under the name "Captain Clegg" and soon became one of the most infamous pirates of his day.
The French and Indian War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10. France ceded all of its North American continental territories east of the Mississippi to Britain, while Spain ceded Florida to Britain and gained France's Louisiana territory as compensation.
The Hellfire Club was founded in London, England as a social club for the elite and wealthy. From the beginning, the purpose of the club has been to obtain and exert power through politics and economic influence instead of outward conquest and domination. Since its foundation, the Hellfire Club had been involved in wars and assassinations as long as these helped further the agendas of the Club's most prominent members.
Earth passed through the tail of Comet Lexell, the first known near-Earth object. Dust, filled with organic materials, fell to Earth fresh from its ice-bound source in the Lexell nucleus. Some have theorized that these particles had unusual properties...
Music of 1771
♫ String Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5 (including the "Celebrated Minuet") composed by Luigi Boccherini
♫ Symphony 25 in G minor composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn returned to England and secretly became the masked, swashbuckling smuggler known as "The Scarecrow." He also discovered Imogene had returned to England and forgave her on her death bed.
The American Revolutionary War began (1775-1783).
Pioneer, explorer and frontiersman Daniel Boone (b. November 2, 1734) blazed his Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains from North Carolina and Tennessee into Kentucky. There he founded the village of Boonesborough, one of the first American settlements west of the Appalachians.
Kit Walker XII became the 12th Phantom in Bangalla, Tanzania, Africa (1775-1793).
The Hellfire Club was imported from London, England and a handful of members who had emigrated to the U.S. established a branch in Manhattan, New York City. Other branches would eventually be established in Boston, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Paris, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
The first Illuminati group was founded on May 1 in Bavaria (1776-1785). As a secret society, it was outlawed by the Bavarian government and discouraged by the Roman Catholic Church.
The Declaration of Independence was written and adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4. It announced that the 13 American colonies, which were then at war with Great Britain, no longer considered themselves part of the British Empire and instead formed a new nation, the United States of America.
On October 28, a Hessian horseman mercenary had his head shot away by a cannonball during the Battle of White Plains. One of 51 Hessians killed that day, his headless body was buried in a mass grave in the burying grounds of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, New York. In the coming years, his ghost was said to haunt the area, looking for his missing head.
In an effort to divide New England from the southern colonies, British General John Burgoyne led a large invasion army up the Champlain Valley from Canada, hoping to meet a similar force marching northward from New York City. The southern force never arrived, and Burgoyne was surrounded by American forces at Saratoga in upstate New York. Burgoyne fought two small battles to break out, on September 19 and October 7, and finally surrendered to the superior American forces on October 17. The Battle of Saratoga marked a great turning point of the American Revolutionary War, because it won foreign assistance for the Americans, which was the last element needed for victory.
General Benedict Arnold, who had originally fought for the American Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War but had defected to the British Army, was court-martialed in Philadelphia on June 1.
♫ Vesperae solennes de Dominica composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Solomon Zebediah Wayne was born, the son of influential Boston merchant Charles Wayne.
Lestat de Lioncourt (b. 1760) was transformed into a vampire by Magnus in Paris.
On March 1, the state of Pennsylvania passed An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, freeing future children of slaves. Those born prior to the Act remained enslaved for life. This became a model for other Northern states.
♫ Vesperae solennes de confessore composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sir William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus.
Benjamin Martin defeated the British by running into enemy fire armed with a flag. People followed him, and luckily some had guns.
On September 4 in the Spanish territory of California, a group of 44 settlers founded El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula (The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Porciúncula River), which today is known as the city of Los Angeles.
The Elder Goddess Gaea selected the fifth human being that she intended to present to the Fourth Host of the Celestials: a 13-year-old Zulu girl from Africa named Chandra Ku. She placed the girl in suspended animation to await the moment she would be needed.
The American Revolutionary War ended with an American victory and European recognition of the independence of the United States of America.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled slavery unconstitutional based on the 1780 Massachusetts constitution, and all slaves in the state were immediately freed. This same year, the state of New Hampshire began a gradual abolition of slavery.
Connor MacLeod, a.k.a. the Highlander, was stabbed over eight times in a duel and survived.
♫ Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major (a.k.a. "Turkish Rondo") composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The states of Connecticut and Rhode Island began the gradual abolition of slavery.
The Bavarian Illuminati were permanently disbanded. However, some claimed that they had regrouped and were responsible for the French Revolution.
The legend of the Blair Witch dates to this time.
The Comanche nation signed a treaty with the Spanish.
♫ Piano Concerto No. 21 composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
David Crockett was born in what is now Greene County, Tennessee.
♫ Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
♫ The Marriage of Figaro (opera) composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Green Lantern Laham was killed during an alien invasion of his planet Scylla. The ring found its way to Starkaðr, who it selected to become the new Green Lantern of Sector 2814, the sector of the universe that includes the Milky Way and 50 million other galaxies.
A Constitutional Convention for the United States of America began deliberations on May 25 in Philadelphia. The final version was signed on September 17. In December, the legislatures of Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey became the to ratify the new Constitution of the United States of America.
♫ Don Giovanni (opera) composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
♫ Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major (a.k.a. "Eine kleine Nachtmusik") composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
European settlers arrived at Sydney, Australia.
The Constitution of the United States of America was ratified by the legislatures of Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia and New York. The Constitution went into effect with its ratification by the ninth state, New Hampshire, on June 21.
♫ Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
♫ Symphony No. 40 in G minor composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
On April 30, George Washington (b. 1732, d. 1799) became the first U.S. President (1789-1797).
The French Revolution began (1789-1799). Its roots lay in the convergence on May 5 of the Estates-General, made up of representatives of the three estates (clergy, nobles and common people). After deadlocking in its deliberations, the estates eventually merged to form a National Assembly. This Assembly was soon operating as a governing body and constitution-drafter for the nation. On July 14, they stormed the Bastille fortress, the symbol of royal power, and became the effective government of France.
In October, schoolmaster Ichabod Crane mysteriously disappeared from Sleepy Hollow, New York. According to the locals, the ghost of the Headless Horseman was to blame.
Lestat turned Louis de Pointe du Lac into a vampire in New Orleans.
On March 4, Vermont was admitted as the 14th state in the Union. It was formed out of land previously claimed by both New Hampshire and New York.
♫ Ave verum corpus composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
♫ Clarinet concerto in A major composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
♫ The Magic Flute (opera) composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
♫ Requiem Mass in D minor composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Over the summer, Baron Victor Frankenstein (b. 1770 in Geneva, Switzerland) discovered the secret of animating dead tissue and decided to create a human being using this knowledge. In November, he collected body parts from graveyards and brought his creation to life in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, where he had been attending university. Because of the limitations he was forced to work with, the creature was eight feet tall and hideous. With no more than a child-like intellect, the creature turned violent and killed, causing an angry mob to apparently chase him to his death in a mill fire. Frankenstein fell ill from the experience, spending the next four months in recovery under the care of his friend Henry Clerval. Meanwhile, the creation survived. Finding himself an outcast from society, he hid in a hut.
Sir Percy Blakeney, disguised as The Scarlet Pimpernel, rescued several families of the French aristocracy from the guillotine.
Kentucky became the 15th U.S. state on June 1.
Though still ill, Victor Frankenstein had recovered his senses by the early spring. He quit his science courses and began studying the Far Eastern languages with his friend Henry Clerval. Meanwhile, the creature began attaining an education of his own and learned that he was one of a kind.
Kit Walker XIII became the 13th Phantom in Bangalla, Tanzania, Africa (1793-1811).
France abolished slavery in all of its possessions.
In the spring, Frankenstein's creation traveled to Geneva, where he killed Victor Frankenstein's younger brother William and framed William's nanny, Justine, for the murder. Justine was hung for the murder, but having returned to Geneva and sighted the monster, Victor became convinced of his guilt. In the summer, the creature finds Victor and tried to convince him to make a female companion for the creature, promising to move to South America if he would do so. In the fall, Victor left for England with his friend Henry Clerval.
Doctor Syn, a.k.a. "The Scarecrow," finally met his match as Captain Collyer discerned that he was both the Scarecrow and the nefarious Captain Clegg. Syn was killed and the Romney Marsh smuggling ring was shattered.
In London, Victor Frankenstein became reacquainted with his former professor, Dr. Septimus Pretorius, a mad scientist whose work had helped Frankenstein discover the secret to creating life. Pretorius had heard rumors about the monster and showed Frankenstein miniature homunculi that he himself had created. He then convinced Frankenstein to create a mate for the monster, according to its wishes. The two men traveled to the Orkney Islands, where they began working on the female creation.
Louis de Pointe du Lac turned a young girl name Claudia into a vampire.
On December 13, a meteorite landed near Wold Newton, Yorkshire, England. Despite some reports to the contrary, there was absolutely nothing remarkable about this event.
♫ Minuet in G major composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Victor Frankenstein and Dr. Septimus Pretorius completed work on their female companion for the Frankenstein's original monster. (Frankenstein had balked several times, but Pretorius coerced him into completing the work.) The monster had spied on them and witnessed "The Bride of Frankenstein" being brought to life. He entered the room, but his companion rejected him, recoiling in horror from him. This sent the monster into a rage, and he killed Dr. Pretorius, who he believed was mocking him. While the monster was killing Pretorius, Victor realized that he could not possibly allow two such creatures to exist, and he stabbed the female repeatedly with his knife until she fell over dead; then he escaped. When the monster saw what Victor had done, he destroyed the laboratory and swore revenge. He began by finding and murdering Frankenstein's friend Henry Clerval. [This is a compromise of the best parts of the novel and film versions of the story.]
Connor MacLeod, a.k.a. the Highlander, began living on Hudson Street in New York City under the name Adrian Montagu. He would continue to live here until at least 1985 under the names Jaques Lefebret, Alfred Nicholson, Rupert Wallingford and Russell Nash.
Tennessee became the 16th U.S. state on June 1.
♫ Trumpet Concerto in E flat major composed by Joseph Haydn
Victor Frankenstein was arrested for the murder of Henry Clerval, for which the monster had framed him. In prison, he had a mental breakdown and fell into a coma. He was eventually acquitted and returned home to Geneva, where he married his fiancée Elizabeth. However, on his honeymoon, the creature reappeared and killed Elizabeth, then fled. This drove Victor insane and he ended up in an asylum.
On March 4, John Adams became the second U.S. President (1797-1801).
The U.S. Department of the Navy was created as an independent organization.
Late in the year, after having been released from the asylum, Victor Frankenstein decided to pursue his creation across Europe, but the monster stayed ever one step ahead of him.
♫ The Creation composed by Joseph Haydn
The state of New York began the gradual abolition of slavery.
On Thursday, August 1, Victor Frankenstein was discovered and rescued by Captain Robert Walton and his men, whose ship had become frozen in the arctic ice during a journey to the North Pole. Frankenstein had been pursuing the creature in a dog sled. He told Captain Walton his story. Frankenstein died onboard Walton's ship on Monday, September 9, urging the Captain to continue pursuing the creature with his dying breath. The monster came aboard the ship four days later, found his creator dead and grieved for him, then drifted away on a raft vowing to kill himself. Instead, however, Frankenstein's monster became frozen in the ice and fell into suspended animation for a hundred years.
The French Revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte (b. 1769) overthrew the French Directory in the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire (November 9) and established a tripartite Consulate with himself as First Consul.
Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the dwarf planet Ceres, the first object discovered in the Asteroid Belt.
On March 4, Thomas Jefferson became the third U.S. President (1801-1809).
♫ Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor (a.k.a. "Moonlight Sonata") composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Napoleon reintroduced slavery in French colonies that grew sugarcane.
The Napoleonic Wars began in Europe (1803-1815).
To help fund their war effort, France sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States.
Ohio became the 17th U.S. state on March 1. Its constitution expressly abolished slavery throughout the state.
Napoleon Bonaparte (age 35) was established as Emperor of France (1804-1815).
Haiti declared its independence from France and abolished slavery.
The state of New Jersey began a gradual abolition of slavery.
Solomon Wayne graduated from Harvard University at age 24.
Natty Bumppo, now in his eighties and going simply by "the trapper," had his last adventure then died a noble death on the American frontier.
♫ Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (a.k.a. Sinfonia Eroica, or the Heroic Symphony) composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Solomon Wayne and his brother Joshua Thomas Wayne purchased a large estate on the outskirts of Boston, which they christened Wayne Manor. The needed extensive repairs and also had a bat infestation from caverns beneath the main residence, so it would be two years before they moved in. In the meantime, Solomon used his extensive social connections to become a federal judge.
Capt. Jack Aubrey led the HMS Surprise in pursuit of the French privateer Acheron.
♫ Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor (a.k.a. the "Appassionata") composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Don Diego de la Vega (b. 1782) returned from Madrid, Spain to his home in Los Angeles, California (which was then a Spanish territory) and became the masked vigilante known as Zorro. Diego defeated his enemies and was set to marry Lolita Pulido, but Lolita's health failed and she was taken back to Spain to recuperate. While she was away, Diego continued to lead a double life as Zorro in Los Angeles, with Capitán Monastario as his main nemesis.
While work continued on Wayne Manor, the new home of Solomon and Joshua Wayne of Boston, the brothers began to form a plan to utilize the caverns beneath their property. Having chased away the bats that had lived there, they began excavating the caverns as a hiding place, a stop along the "underground railroad" where escaped slaves could be sheltered.
Under pressure from the Napoleonic Wars, Francis II abdicated the throne and dissolved the Holy Roman Empire.
The Slave Trade Act of 1807 abolished slave trading throughout the British Empire.
The U.S. abolished international slave trading.
After two years of repairs, the Wayne brothers of Boston, Solomon and Joshua, moved into stately Wayne Manor. Active abolitionists, they soon began using the residence as a stop in the underground railroad. They help many escaped slaves on their way to freedom, hiding them in the caverns beneath Wayne Manor and then using merchant ships that they operated to transport them to Canada or Europe. This practice eventually cost Joshua his life, but did not weaken Solomon's resolve.
♫ Symphony No. 5 in C minor (a.k.a. "Victory Symphony") composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
♫ Symphony No. 6 in F major (a.k.a. the "Pastoral Symphony") composed by Ludwig Van Beethoven
Don Diego de la Vega traveled to Europe to retrieve his bride. There, as Zorro, he had adventures with the descendents of the Three Musketeers and also encountered the vampire lord Dracula. He and Lolita then returned to California and were wed, but Lolita soon thereafter died of a fever.
On March 4, James Madison became the fourth U.S. President (1809-1817).
♫ Caprice No. 24 in A minor composed by Niccolò Paganini
Don Diego de la Vega resumed his adventures. He soon met and married Panchita Canchola and went into semi-retirement, riding as Zorro only when absolutely needed.
♫ Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (a.k.a. "Für Elise") composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
♫ Egmont composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Kit Walker XIV became the 14th Phantom in Bangalla, Tanzania, Africa (1811-1831).
Don Cesar de la Vega was born in Los Angeles, California to Don Diego de la Vega and his wife Panchita, who died giving birth.
♫ The Ruins of Athens composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
The War of 1812 was fought between the U.S. and Britain (1812-1815).
Spain abolished slavery at home and in all of its possessions except Cuba, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo.
Napoleon's forces had conquered most of Europe and seemed unstoppable, but a disastrous campaign in Russia in 1812 proved to be the turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. The reputation of Napoleon was shaken, his army was reduced to a fraction of its initial strength, and Prussia and Austria would soon after break their alliances with France.
Louisiana became the 18th U.S. state on April 30.
♫ Symphony No. 7 in A major composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
David Crockett (b. 1786) joined the Tennessee Militia as a scout.
On June 18, the French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte (age 45) was defeated by a coalition of English and Prussian armies and their allies at the Battle of Waterloo (in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands). Later that year, he surrendered and the Napoleonic Wars ended with the Treaty of Fontainebleau. The victors exiled Bonaparte to the island of Elba, where he remained until his death in 1821.
The War of 1812 ended.
This was the "year without a summer," which was so cold that it even snowed in some places in the summer months.
A global cholera pandemic began (1816-1826).
Shaka (b. 1787, d. 1828) became King of the Zulus in South Africa (1816-1828).
Indiana became the 19th U.S. state on December 11.
♫ The Barber of Seville composed by Gioachino Rossini
On March 4, James Monroe became the fifth U.S. President (1817-1825).
Mississippi became the 20th U.S. state on December 10.
♫ The Thieving Magpie composed by Gioachino Rossini
Many of the colonial powers of Europe signed treaties and undertook additional measures to abolish slave trading, including Britain, France, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.
Illinois became the 21st U.S. state on December 3.
♫ Marche Militaire No. 1 in D major composed by Franz Schubert
All slaves in Upper Canada (Ontario) were declared free.
Alabama became the 22nd U.S. state on December 14.
The continent of Antarctica was discovered.
Mexico won its independence from Spain and formally abolished slavery.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 established 36°30' as the northern limit for slavery to be legal in the territories of the western United States. As part of this compromise, Maine (formerly the northern part of Massachusetts) was admitted as a free state on March 15, making it the 23rd state in the Union. This ensured that once Missouri was admitted as a state the following year (as part of the compromise), there would still be a balance in the Senate between free and slave states.
On September 26, frontiersman Daniel Boone died of natural causes at the age of 85.
California accepted independence from Spain and entered under Mexican rule.
Hoping more settlers would reduce the near-constant Comanche raids, Mexico liberalized its immigration policies in sparsely-populated Texas.
On May 5, Napoleon Bonaparte, the former Emperor of France, died of stomach cancer at the age of 51 while in exile on the island of Elba.
On August 10, Missouri was admitted as a slave state, the 24th state in the Union.
The Elder Goddess Gaea selected the sixth human being that she intended to present to the Fourth Host of the Celestials: a 25-year-old Canadian farm woman, living in the vicinity of Ottawa, named Catherine Moranis. She placed the woman in suspended animation to await the moment she would be needed.
On the planet Spartax in the Triangulum galaxy, Prince Eson (b. 1754 by Earth's calendar) secretly became a space-faring adventurer known as "Star-Lord."
♫ Missa Solemnis in D major composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
Don Diego de la Vega resumed his identity as Zorro, enlisting a legion of masked caballeros as his allies to thwart a plot against Mexican president Guadalupe Victoria. He then returned home to Los Angeles, where he made an enemy of the city's harsh new presidio commandante Rafael Montero. He also became Montero's rival for the affections of a woman named Esperanza.
♫ Symphony No. 9 in D minor (a.k.a. "Choral") composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
On March 4, John Quincy Adams became the sixth U.S. President (1825-1829).
♫ Ellens dritter Gesang (a.k.a. Ave Maria) composed by Franz Schubert
♫ String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor composed by Ludwig van Beethoven
On July 4, the last slaves were freed in the state of New York.
♫ Deutsche Messe ("German Mass") composed by Franz Schubert
Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, Massachusetts stowed aboard the whaling ship Grampus and had various adventures and misadventures before being saved by the crew of the Jane Guy. Aboard this vessel, Pym and a sailor named Dirk Peters continued their adventures, eventually continuing towards the South Pole.
Alan Wayne was born to federal judge Solomon Wayne (age 48) and his second wife, Dorothea, in Boston.
The last slaves were freed in Mexico.
On March 4, Andrew Jackson became the seventh U.S. President (1829-1837).
On May 28, John Cleves Symmes, Jr. faked his own death and then used a substantial sum of U.S. taxpayer money, which had been transferred to him in the waning days of the John Quincy Adams administration, to fund an expedition to the "Hollow Earth."
♫ William Tell (featuring the famous "William Tell Overture") composed by Gioachino Rossini
With the United States interested in acquiring Texas, immigrants outnumbering residents of Mexican descent more than three-to-one, and many of the area's new immigrants openly flouting Mexican law (especially regarding the prohibition of slavery), Mexican authorities decided to prohibit further immigration from the U.S.
Don Diego de la Vega took on his son Don Cesar as an "apprentice Zorro."
♫ The Hebrides composed by Felix Mendelssohn
Kit Walker XV became the 15th Phantom in Bangalla, Tanzania, Africa (1831-1848).
♫ Étude Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor (a.k.a. the Revolutionary Étude) composed by Frédéric Chopin
The Reforms Bill passed in England.
Don Cesar de la Vega traveled to Spain and became accused of the murder of an archduke. His father Diego helped clear him.
♫ Étude in E major (a.k.a. Tristesse, or L'adieu) composed by Frédéric Chopin
♫ Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat major composed by Frédéric Chopin
Texans began openly revolting against Mexican rule and requesting independence.
Don Diego de la Vega returned from Spain and married Esperanza. By this time, his rival Rafael Montero had become convinced that he was really Zorro, but could not prove it.
♫ Symphony No. 4 in A major (a.k.a. the Italian Symphony) composed by Felix Mendelssohn
Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire.
A daughter, Elena, was born to Don Diego de la Vega and his wife Esperanza.
♫ Fantasie-Improptu in C-sharp minor composed by Frédéric Chopin
At age 17, Allan Quatermain (b. 1817) began his adventures in South Africa (1835-1885).
With the aid of powerful telescopes, English astronomer Sir John Herschel witnessed alien activity on Earth's Moon. For reasons of his own, he attempted to keep record of this secret, but one of his associates leaked the information, with many inaccuracies, to the New York Sun daily newspaper. Herschel then worked with the publisher of a rival newspaper, the New York Herald, to discredit the story. The true nature of the alien activity remains a mystery, but may have had something to do with the Kree or others visiting the Blue Area.
Unrest in Texas erupted into armed conflict late in the year at the Battle of Gonzales, launching the Texas Revolution. Within two months, Texas forces had defeated all Mexican troops in the area.
California revolted against Mexican rule. Don Diego de la Vega was imprisoned, Esperanza was killed, the de la Vega hacienda was burned, and Rafael Montero fled to Spain, taking Elena with him to be raised as his own daughter. Having been informed that his father and sister had perished as well, Don Cesar de la Vega remained in Spain and married Dolores de Muro.
Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna personally led an army to end the revolt in Texas. After a 13-day siege (February 23-March 6), Santa Anna's forces overwhelmed Texas defenders at the Battle of the Alamo. David Crockett and Jim Bowie were among those killed in the battle.
On March 2, newly elected delegates signed a Declaration of Independence forming the Republic of Texas.
On April 21, the Texas army, led by General Sam Houston, defeated Santa Anna's forces at the Battle of San Jacinto. Santa Anna was captured and forced to sign the Treaties of Velasco, ending the war and recognizing the new Republic of Texas.
Arkansas became the 25th U.S. state on June 15.
The Early Victorian Era
Queen Victoria (b. 1819) began her reign in Great Britain (1837-1901), marking the beginning of the Victorian Era.
Michigan became the 26th U.S. state on January 26.
On March 4, Martin Van Buren became the eighth U.S. President (1837-1841).
In September, the mischievous "Spring-heeled Jack" debuted in London, England.
In an unexplained mystical event in London, England, Richard Swift gained immortality and the ability to manipulate shadows. He became known as "The Shade."
The young man who would later be known as Max Mercury was enchanted by a dying Indian shaman and gained super-speed powers. He became known to the Indians as Ahwehota ("He Who Runs Beyond The Wind"), and to everyone else as Windrunner. A few years later, he felt the draw of the Speed Force and attempted to enter it, but bounced off and was thrown several decades into the future, arriving in 1891.
The Halbrane and its crew undertook a voyage from the remote Kerguelen Islands searching for answers to what became of Arthur Gordon Pym and the crew of the Jane Guy.
On July 2, Africans on the Cuban schooner Amistad rise up against their captors, kill two crewmembers and seize control of the ship, which had been transporting them to a life of slavery on a sugar plantation at Puerto Principe, Cuba. [Amistad]
♫ Piano Sonata No. 2 in B♭ minor (a.k.a. "The Funeral March") composed by Frédéric Chopin
A new generation of scientists began coming up through the educational system on the planet Krypton (in the Rao system in the Andromeda galaxy). They noted that Krypton, which was outside the natural habitable zone of its host red dwarf star and was heated by geological processes, had begun to grow unstable. However, their research proved very controversial and was banned by the planet's ruling Science Council.
In Paris, C. Auguste Dupin began his career as an amateur detective by solving the mystery of the murders in the Rue Morgue.
On March 4, William Henry Harrison became the ninth U.S. President, but died from pneumonia only 32 days into his term. On April 4, Vice President John Tyler succeeded him as the 10th U.S. President (1841-1845).
♫ Nearer My God to Thee composed by Sarah Flower Adams
Early in their voyage, Captain Ahab revealed to the crew of the Pequod that he was really after just one whale, the one who bit off his leg, a very large sperm whale called Moby Dick. Ahab's crazed desire to find and destroy his nemesis would soon end in disaster for the ship and her crew.
C. Auguste Dupin solved the mystery of Marie Rogêt in Paris.
♫ A Midsummer Night's Dream composed by Felix Mendelssohn
♫ Nabucco (opera) composed by Giuseppe Verdi
♫ Polonaise in A-flat major (a.k.a. Heroic Polonaise) composed by Frédéric Chopin
C. Auguste Dupin solved the mystery of the purloined letter in Paris.
European balloonist Monck Mason crossed the Atlantic Ocean in only 75 hours in a gas balloon. Mason and his balloon almost immediately went missing, making official confirmation of his feat impossible.
♫ Spring Song composed by Felix Mendelssohn
Paul Bunyun, who had grown to extraordinary height, began his career as a lumberjack in the northern U.S., and "Pecos Bill" (b. 1830s), who exhibited uncanny strength and invulnerability, began his adventures as a cowboy in Texas. Both men were most likely early examples of Homo sapiens superior (i.e., mutants).
Florida became the 27th U.S. state on March 3.
On March 4, James K. Polk became the 11th U.S. President (1845-1849).
After much debate by nationalists within Texas and abolitionists with the United States, Texas was finally admitted as the 28th state on December 29.
Urbain Le Verrier and Johann Gottfried Galle discovered the planet Neptune.
Whereas the Republic of Texas had not been able to enforce its border claims with Mexico, the U.S. had the military strength to do so. On January 13, President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor south to the Rio Grande. A few months later, Mexican troops routed an American cavalry patrol in the disputed area, starting the Mexican-American War (1846-1848).
Priest Vallon was killed by Bill "The Butcher" Cutting at Five Points, New York on February 6.
In June, settlers in California rebelled against Mexican rule in what was called the "Bear Flag revolt." The following month, California was occupied by the U.S. military.
Iowa became the 29th U.S. state on December 28.
Slavery was formally abolished in Pennsylvania, thus freeing the few remaining slaves there.
In January, the treaty of Cahuenga secured control of California by the United States.
♫ Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 composed by Franz Liszt
♫ Three Waltzes (including the Minute Waltz) composed by Frédéric Chopin
After a series of decisive victories for the U.S., the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the two-year Mexican-American War. In exchange for $18,250,000, Mexico relinquished all claims to territories north of the Rio Grande, and also ceded the American Southwest to the United States.
Kit Walker XVI became the 16th Phantom in Bangalla, Tanzania, Africa (1848-1869).
Gold was discovered at Sutter's Creek, California (east of San Francisco) on January 24.
Wisconsin became the 30th U.S. state on May 29.
♫ Radetzky March composed by Johann Strauss, Sr.
Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland.
On March 4, Zachary Taylor became the 12th U.S. President (1849-1850).
The "Little Ice Age" (300 years of colder than normal climate) came to an end.
A period of rapid industrialization began in Earth's developed nations.
The Skarka, a nomadic tribe of Homo mermanus from the "Maarzon Lands" east of the sunken continent of Atlantis, invaded the city of Kamuu, the first and largest of the Seven Kingdoms of the aquatic Atlanteans. The Atlanteans repelled the attack, but their city sustained heavy losses. Unwelcome in the other six kingdoms, King Immanu then led his people on a long trek south in search of a new home. Over several decades, they would encounter many hardships.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn took place at this time.
U.S. President Zachary Taylor died on July 9; he was succeeded by his Vice President, Millard Fillmore, who became the 13th U.S. President (1850-1853).
In the Compromise of 1850, the borders of Texas were established in their present form. In exchange for relinquishing its claims to New Mexico and all territories north of the Missouri Compromise Line, the federal government assumed $10 million of debt from the old Republic of Texas. The Compromise also allowed an undivided California to be admitted as a free state after a proposal to divide it at the 35th parallel to create a Southern (slave) territory was rejected. Two new western territories, New Mexico and Utah, were given the right to decide the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty, however. Finally, the Compromise strengthened the Fugitive Slave laws, while outlawing slave trading (although not slavery itself) within the nation's capital. California became the 31st U.S. state on September 9.
♫ Liebestraum No. 3 composed by Franz Liszt
♫ Lohengrin composed by Richard Wagner
In July, 12-year old Jonah Hex (b. November 1, 1838) was sold into slavery to an Apache tribe by his abusive, alcoholic father. (His mother had run away three years earlier with a traveling salesman.)
♫ Rigoletto composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Joam Garral and his family traveled by raft for eight hundred leagues on the Amazon, from the Peruvian-Brazilian border to Belém at the river's mouth, having many adventures along the way.
Rafael Montero returned to California with a plan to carve out a kingdom for himself. Don Diego de la Vega escaped from prison and trained Alejandro Murieta (b. 1815) to be the next Zorro. The two of them defeated Montero, though Diego was fatally wounded. Afterwards, according to Diego's wishes, Alejandro changed his name to Alejandro de la Vega and inherited the de la Vega estate. Later in the year, Elena and Alejandro were married.
Jonah Hex, now 15 years old, saved the chief of his Apache tribe from a puma. In gratitude, the chief adopted him as his second son. This created a rivalry with the chief's first son, Noh-Tante.
On March 4, Franklin Pierce became the 14th U.S. President (1853-1857).
♫ Il trovatore composed by Giuseppe Verdi
♫ La traviata composed by Giuseppe Verdi
William Sherlock Scott Holmes was born on January 6 at a farmstead in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England.
In a rite of passage, Jonah Hex and his adopted Apache brother Noh-Tante raided a nearby Kiowa village to steal ponies. Noh-Tante ambushed Hex and left him to the Kiowas, telling their father that Hex was killed. Hex managed to escape, but did not return to the Apache tribe.
♫ L'enfance du Christ composed by Hector Berlioz
At the age of 27, Alan Wayne founded the Wayne Shipping company and the Wayne Chemical company in Boston, predecessors of modern-day Wayne Corp.
♫ Messe solennelle en l'honneur de Sainte-Cécile (a.k.a. St. Cecilia Mass) composed by Charles Gounod
The Atlanteans who had been driven out of the Kingdom of Kamuu had wandered for six years in search of sanctuary, but had found hostile tribes and sea monsters at every suitable settlement location. When their king, Immanu, perished in one such encounter, his son Thakorr took over leadership and restored the faith of his people.He would continue to lead them for many years more, as they continued their nomadic existence until finally establishing a new permanent home in 1890.
In China, Thomas Caine and his wife Kwai Lin were killed by a warlord. Their son Kwai Chang Caine (b. 1847) went to the local Shaolin temple, where he was accepted as a student. He studied under Master Po, who nicknamed him "Grasshopper." [Kung Fu]
Prince Dakkar of India (who would later become known as "Captain Nemo") took part in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a.k.a. the Sepoy Mutiny (1857-1858). Nemo later related to Miss Wilhelmina Murray that he considered himself to never have surrendered as the Indian rebels had in 1858.
On March 4, James Buchanan became the 15th U.S. President (1857-1861).
In Texas, Dr. King Schultz, a German dentist and bounty hunter, located the slave Django who was the only man able to help him track down the Brittle Brothers collect the bounty on their heads. After catching up with the Brittle Brothers in Tennessee, the two men agreed to partner through the winter, and Schultz taught Django the bounty hunter trade.
Agon of the Inhumans (b. 1833) was elected to the Genetics Council of Attilan.
Minnesota became the 32nd U.S. state on May 11.
♫ Orpheus in the Underworld composed by Jacques Offenbach
♫ Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka composed by Johann Strauss II
At age 20, Jonah Hex was engaged to Cassie Wainwright, but she was killed by Indians the day before their wedding.
Dr. King Schultz accompanied Django to Greenville, Mississippi, where they tracked down Django's wife and planned to secretly buy her freedom. However, their plan was discovered, Schultz was killed and Django was sold back into slavery. Django managed to escape again, though, and finally rescued his wife.
A young John Reid (b. 1850) traveled with his parents from their homestead in Texas to Topeka, Kansas. His father has been talking with Indian tribes along the cattle driving trails in-between, and had negotiated safe passage for his business partners to the railroad in Topeka. The Reids settle in the newly chartered town of Topeka, right next to the lands of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians, who had only recently relocated there themselves after being forcibly relocated several times. Their older son Dan (b. 1842) did not accompany them, as he had traveled to Richmond, Virginia to attend college.
Trans-Atlantic slave trading came to an end.
Oregon became the 33rd U.S. state on February 14.
♫ Tristan und Isolde (opera) composed by Richard Wagner
In Topeka Kansas, the Reid family was attacked by outlaw raiders. Their house was burned and John's parents were killed. John escaped and followed the outlaws as they then attacked the Potawatomi tribe. During the raid, John saved the life of a Potawatomi boy named Tonto ("wild one," b. 1854), who was the chief's son and descendant of the great Potawatomi hero Makade-bakii ("black partridge"). John was adopted into the tribe as Tonto's blood brother, and Tonto gave him the name Kemo Sabe, meaning "trusted scout" or "trusted friend." Later in the year, John's brother Dan came searching for him and sent him to Detroit to live with their Aunt Martha.
By this time, Vulcans had rebuilt their society and resumed space travel.
Kenneth Wayne was born to Alan Wayne and his wife in Boston. He would be their only surviving child.
The Green Lantern Starkaðr successfully defended the planet Ungara from would-be conqueror Devlos Ungol, but lost his life in the process. The ring then passed to a native of that planet, Abin Sur, whom it selected to become the new Green Lantern of Sector 2814, the sector of space that includes the Milky Way and 50 million other galaxies.
John Henry (b. 1840s) first displayed his latent mutant powers while working on a chain gang in a U.S. prison.
On April 3, the Pony Express mail service began delivering messages, newspapers, mail, and small packages from St. Joseph, Missouri, across the Great Plains, over the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada to Sacramento, California, by horseback, using a series of relay stations. During its 18 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about 10 days. Until October 1861, when the telegraph was established, it was the most direct means of east–west communication and was vital for tying the new state of California with the rest of the country.
On December 24, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the United States of America.
Dan Reid returned to Richmond, Virginia early in the year to find it on the brink of war. Like many others who did not support slavery, he made the trip north to Washington, D.C., and it was on this journey that he met and fell in love with a fine woman from Richmond named Linda. They were soon married, but before the year was over he had sent her to live with his family in Michigan while he went to fight with the Union Army in the Civil War.
Kansas became the 34th U.S. state on January 29.
Abraham Lincoln (b. 1809) became the 16th U.S. President (1861-1865). Before he had taken office on March 4, a total of seven Southern slave states had declared their secession from the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. On February 4, they established a new government, the Confederate States of America, with Jefferson Davis as president. South Carolina demanded that the U.S. abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor, but the U.S. refused. Lincoln took the position that secession was illegal. On April 12-14, South Carolina forces attacked the U.S. Army at Fort Sumter, forcing them to evacuate. The battle galvanized both sides of the conflict, as Northerners rallied behind the President while an additional four Southern slave states declared their secession and joined the Confederacy: Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee. The American Civil War had begun (1861-1865).
On April 12, Scarlet O'Hara met Rhett Butler in Clayton County, Georgia.
At the Wheeling Conventions in May and June, 50 counties of northwestern Virginia decided to reject secession and remain loyal to the Union. They would soon petition to become the new state of West Virginia.
In October, the first trans-continental telegraph line was completed, connecting the eastern United States with California. With near-instantaneous communication now possible, the Pony Express mail service was made obsolete and was quickly discontinued.
Scholar and explorer Dr. Samuel Fergusson, accompanied by his manservant Joe and his friend professional hunter Richard "Dick" Kennedy, set out to travel across the African continent with the help of a hot-air balloon filled with hydrogen. He had invented a mechanism that, by eliminating the need to release gas or throw ballast overboard to control his altitude, allowed very long trips to be taken. On this journey, they are able to spend five weeks in a balloon.
Abraham Lincoln politely declined an offer from the King of Siam to send elephants to aid the Union in its war against the Confederacy.
A killer the newspapers dubbed the "Boston Butcher" murdered several people in the city before disappearing. The murders were never solved by the police. They were secretly the work of Felix Harmon, one of the "Talons" of the Court of Owls, a recently formed, ultra-secret society of wealthy and influential Bostonians. The Court would spend the next decade in hiding after Harmon's indiscretions, then return even stronger than before.
Fu Manchu (b. 1841) first traveled from his native China to the West, where he would earn doctorates at several reputable universities across Europe.
Construction began on railroad lines from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Oakland, California, which would connect the western United States with rail lines in the east.
German professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel and their guide Hans descended deep into the Earth at the Icelandic volcano Snæfellsjökull, encountering many adventures, including prehistoric animals and natural hazards, before eventually coming to the surface again in southern Italy at the Stromboli volcano.
As a wartime measure, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, which abolished slavery in those states that had seceded.
West Virginia became the 35th U.S. state on January 29.
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1-3 in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and became the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's invasion of the North.
In New York City, discontent over new draft laws passed by Congress boiled over into violent riots July 13–16. The riots remain the largest civil insurrection in American history, aside from the Civil War itself. President Abraham Lincoln had to divert several regiments of militia and volunteer troops from following up after the Battle of Gettysburg to control the city. The rioters were overwhelmingly working-class men, primarily ethnic Irish, resentful that wealthier men, who could afford to pay a $300 commutation fee to hire a substitute, were spared from the draft. The protests soon turned into a race riot, with white rioters attacking blacks wherever they could find them. At least 119 blacks were killed, more than 2,000 people were injured, 50 buildings were burned to the ground, and total property damage was estimated at $1–5 million. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison later wrote that the riots were "equivalent to a Confederate victory." Afterwards, the demographics of the city changed significantly as hundreds of blacks left New York City, many of them settling in Brooklyn (still a separate city at that time) and New Jersey.
During the New York Draft Riots, Amsterdam Vallon killed Bill "The Butcher" Cutting.
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and 272 of his troops, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, were killed in an assault on Fort Wagner, Charleston, South Carolina on July 18. The unit was notable for being the first formal unit of the U.S. Army to be made up entirely of African American men.
On August 19, the government resumed the draft in New York, and it was completed without further incident.
President Abraham Lincoln visited Gettysburg and delivers his historic Gettysburg Address on November 19.
During the Battles for Chattanooga on November 23-25, Union cavalry Major Bartholomew Cavendish earned the nickname "Butcher" (later shortened to "Butch") due to the brutality he displayed toward the rebel forces.
Early in the year, Bartholomew "Butch" Cavendish was court-martialed and dismissed from the Union Army.
"The Man with No Name" (going by the nickname "Blondie") and two other men (going by the names "Angel Eyes" and "Tuco") searched for buried gold during the American Civil War.
Nevada became the 36th U.S. state on October 31.
♫ Persian March composed by Johann Strauss II
Although designers had been producing artificial limbs as early as the 1500s, the field had not advanced significantly. That changed in the 1860s due to the spike in demand due to an estimated 70,000 amputees from the American Civil War, spurring rapid technological advances in medical prosthetic devices.
Prince Dakkar of India, now calling himself "Captain Nemo," launched the submersible boat Nautilus, severing ties with any and all land-based governments and becoming a free-roaming science-pirate.
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, ending slavery in the nation forever. Shortly thereafter, on April 9, General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate States of America surrendered to U.S. General Ulysses S. Grant in the Appomattox Court House, Virginia, bringing an end to hostilities between the North and South and ending the American Civil War with a victory for the Union. Just five days later, on April 14, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., dying of his wounds on the morning of April 15 after nine hours in a coma. Vice President Andrew Johnson succeeded him as the 17th U.S. President (1865-1869).
That same day, a half-man, half-fish hybrid was abandoned in a special, secret chamber under the city with a note that read "Homo Icthyus, April 14, 1865." He would not be discovered for over a century.
With a reported one third of U.S. currency in circulation being counterfeit at the time, the Secret Service Division of the Department of the Treasury was created by President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, the day of his assassination. Artemus Gordon (b. 1829) and James T. West (b. 1842) were among the first employees and were given the special assignment of safely delivering Lincoln's body to Illinois for burial.
Lt. John Dunbar was transferred to the western frontier (modern-day Colorado) at his own request, "to see it before it's gone."
The war finally over, Dan Reid received his discharge from the U.S. Army and returned to his family in Michigan.
Captain Nemo's Nautilus submersible was first sighted.
Jonah Hex (age 27) returned to the Apache tribe that raised him and told the chief how his adopted brother Noh-Tante had betrayed him in 1854. The chief decreed that the matter be settled by a tomahawk battle. Noh-Tante secretly sabotaged Hex's tomahawk, so that it would break during the fight. Hex then pulled a knife and killed Noh-Tante. For breaking the rules of the fight, Hex was bound and a heated tomahawk was pressed to the side of his face giving him the "Mark of the Demon." Hex was then banished from the tribe. Later that year, he took his first job as a bounty hunter.
Dan and Linda traveled to Texas, where Dan still owned some land that his parents had left him near the town of San Felipe del Rio. His younger brother John (now age 16) joined them for a time.
On February 20, Scarlet O'Hara Kennedy paid a $300 tax bill and said her plantation, Tara, in Clayton County, Georgia.
On Monday, March 5, John Carter of Virginia, a former soldier for the Confederate Army, was transported to Mars (known as "Barsoom" to the natives) by mysterious means, beginning his adventures on that planet. He soon met Princess Dejah Thoris of the city Helium, whom he would marry later that year. On October 9 (by Earth's calendar), Dejah Thoris would lay the egg of their first child, which would take nearly five Martian years to hatch.
♫ The Bartered Bride (opera) composed by Bedřich Smetana
♫ The Blue Danube composed by Johann Strauss II
♫ Light Cavalry composed by Franz von Suppé
Bounty hunter Django teamed up with an aged Zorro (Alejandro de la Vega, age 52). [Django/Zorro]
Jesse James (b. September 5, 1847) and his gang began their campaign of robberies.
In the company of ex-Ranger Jim Blane, John and Dan Reid spent some time prospecting and found a rich silver mine on their land in Texas—possibly the legendary San Saba mine sought by James Bowie. They agreed to keep its location secret while they took care of other matters.
In China, Kwai Chang Caine (age 20) became a Shaolin priest. He left the temple where he had been raised and began tending to local villages. [Kung Fu]
The first actual encounter was had with Captain Nemo, as he saved Professor Pierre Aronnax at sea.
Nebraska became the 37th U.S. state on March 1.
♫ Night on Bald Mountain composed by Modest Mussorgsky
Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant was elected as the next U.S. President. At his request, he was immediately assigned two agents of the Secret Service, Artemus Gordon and James T. West, who would be answerable only to him.
Now age 18, John Reid went east to study law, while his older brother Dan became a Texas Ranger.
Teenage inventor Johnny Brainerd debuted his "Steam Man of the Prairies," an early, crude attempt at a mechanical man.
Professor Pierre Aronnax and his crew escaped the Nautilus.
♫ Piano Concerto in A minor composed by Edvard Grieg
♫ Tales from the Vienna Woods composed by Johann Strauss II
♫ Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, gute Nacht (a.k.a. "Brahms' Lullaby") composed by Johannes Brahms
Artemus Gordon and James T. West first encountered Dr. Miguelito Loveless.
Kit Walker XVII became the 17th Phantom in Bangalla, Tanzania, Africa (1869-1889).
The Suez Canal was opened in Egypt.
The Butch Cavendish gang of outlaws began operating in Texas.
The Elder Goddess Gaea selected the seventh human being that she intended to present to the Fourth Host of the Celestials: a 15-year-old boy from Colombia named Raoul Hernandez. She placed him in suspended animation to await the moment he would be needed.
On March 4, Ulysses S. Grant became the 18th U.S. President (1869-1877).
In the U.S., the first Transcontinental Railroad was completed, connecting California with the rest of the nation. The "last spike" ceremony was held on May 10, after which the railroad was opened for traffic.
♫ Das Rheingold composed by Richard Wagner
♫ Egyptian March composed by Johann Strauss II
♫ Hungarian Dances composed by Johannes Brahms
The Gilded Age / Late Victorian Era
In London, a young artist named Basil Hallward painted a portrait of a handsome young man named Dorian Gray. The painting began to age, while Gray stayed young and beautiful.
The modern nature conservation movement began due to environmental problems caused by industrialization.
Impey Barbicane, president of the Baltimore Gun Club, designed a cannon that he believed could shoot a projectile that could reach the moon. An old enemy of Barbicane, Captain Nicholl of Philadelphia, a designer of plate armor, declared that the enterprise was absurd and made a series of bets with Barbicane. Eventually, Nicholl challenged Barbicane to a duel, but the duel was stopped when Michel Ardan, a French adventurer, suggested that the three of them travel to the moon together aboard the projectile.
At the Opera of Paris, a mysterious man threatened the famous lyric singer Carlotta, and thus forced her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) to unknown Christine Daaé. This "Phantom of the Opera" was a deformed man who lived in the catacombs beneath the opera house. He later kidnaps Christine and declared his love for her.
Evil genius Fu Manchu (age 29) began his criminal career, slowly building an opium trade that stretched from one end of the British Empire to the other.
The Franco-Prussian War began on July 19.
In September, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac met Armand for the first time in Paris. Claudia and Madeline were murdered by the Theatre des Vampires, whom Louis de Pointe du Lac then murdered in kind.
♫ Die Walküre composed by Richard Wagner
The Opera of Paris was devastated by fire when the Phantom of the Opera caused the chandelier to shatter.
The Barbicane projectile rocket was launched from Tampa, Florida out of the massive Columbiad cannon carrying three men: Impey Barbicane, Captain Nicholl and Michel Ardan. Unbeknownst to everyone, Nicholl had sabotaged the flight. When the communications systems failed, those on Earth believed that the men aboard had been killed on take-off. Ground-based telescopes also showed the rocket off course. In actuality, the men managed to correct course and successfully orbit the moon before finally crash-landing on it due to Nicholl's sabotage. The Columbiad was disassembled.
In California, Leonidas Parker murdered Gregory Summerfield by pushing him in front of a train. The murder case was dismissed by a judge in Sacramento after Parker's documents proved that Summerfield had invented a substance that could burn water and blackmailed the leaders of San Francisco, threatening to set the Pacific Ocean aflame and thus destroy the world. Later in the year, Charles Earl Bowles, a prospector who would later become known as the outlaw "Black Bart," somehow acquired the last remaining vial of Summefield's deadly substance, which he planned to use for revenge against Wells, Fargo & Company. However, he never did use it (it is possible that the substance did not work as intended), and instead perpetrated 28 robberies of Wells Fargo stagecoaches across northern California between 1875 and 1883.
The Cardassian Union was founded.
A development company completed construction of a series of irrigation canals in and around San Felipe del Rio, Texas. Trying to control the action and squeeze the developers for money, the Butch Cavendish gang threatened, bribed and blackmailed government officials, including Sheriff Wyatt of San Felipe del Rio, and Collins, a member of Dan Reid's Ranger troop.
On January 18, Germany was formally unified into a single nation, with Wilhelm I of Prussia declared German Emperor. This Second Reich would last until the end of World War I (1871-1918), when the Kaiser would abdicate his rule and Germany would become a republic.
On January 28, France and Germany signed an armistice, ending hostilities in the Franco-Prussian War. The definitive Treaty of Frankfurt was signed on May 10. The French Empire was dissolved and replaced by a republic, while the new German Empire gained numerous concessions, including the control of he Alsace-Lorraine region.
The Great Chicago Fire occurred October 8-10.
♫ Aida (opera) composed by Giuseppe Verdi
John Reid finished law school and became a lawyer. In Texas, Dan and Linda Reid had a son and named him Dan Jr.
Blaine Colt debuted as Kid Colt, and Johnny Bart debuted as the Rawhide Kid.
Englishman Phileas Fogg (b. 1832) journeyed around the world in 80 days.
In England, The last confirmed sighting was made of "Spring-heeled Jack."
In China, Kwai Chang Caine (age 25) returned on a pilgrimage to the Shaolin temple where he was raised. While there, his former teacher Master Po was killed, and in his anger, Caine killed the Emperor's nephew. [Kung Fu]
♫ Funeral March of a Marionette composed by Charles Gounod
♫ Messe à trois voix (revised version, containing the famous aria "Panis Angelicus") composed by César Franck
Kwai Chang Caine fled China to the land of his father, the United States. There, he found his paternal grandfather, Henry Caine, who told him that he had a half-brother. He then began wandering the West in search of this brother. [Kung Fu]
Fearing for her baby's safety, Linda Reid returned with him to Richmond, Virginia. Dan Sr. was by now a captain in the rangers and stayed behind to end the growing threat of the Cavendish gang. John returned to Del Rio and briefly joined his brother's Ranger troop, but quit in disgust when he learned of the massacre of a band of Indians. The massacre had been ordered by the corrupt Sheriff Barrett. Unbeknownst to John, among the Indians killed were Tonto's wife and child. (As it turned out, Tonto – whose name in Pottawatomi meant "wild one" – had always had an adventurous spirit and had traveled extensively outside of his tribal lands. He had learned many Indian languages, as well as fluent English, and had ended up marrying a woman from the Kickapoo tribe in Kansas. Later, he had accompanied her and several of the tribe to join other Kickapoo Indians in Texas, and he had learned additional Indian languages and Spanish in the process.)
"The Man with No Name" (now going by the name of "Joe") arrived in the Mexican village of San Miguel at the U.S. border and befriended the owner of the local bar Silvanito. There, he discovered that the town was torn between two factions: one run by John Baxter and one by the cruel Ramón Rojo. The stranger played both sides off of the other, getting a fistful of dollars for himself in the bargain.
Carter Slade debuted as the Phantom Rider.
On July 27, Frank Miller and his gang of killers arrived in Hadleyville, Arizona and were all killed in a shootout with retired marshal Will Kane.
♫ Wiener Blut (waltz) composed by Johann Strauss II
On New Year's Day, January 1, Captain Dan Reid and his ranger troop were pursuing some of Butch Cavendish's men who were wanted for murder. On that day, John had chosen to ride with them again. Unfortunately, the rangers were led into a trap, ambushed at the bottom of Bryant's Gap where they are all gunned down. Tonto witnessed the ambush and afterward found John to be the only ranger still alive. Tonto dug six graves, so the gang would not know that one of the men had survived. He then nursed John back to health and told him, "The others are all dead; you are the lone ranger now." While recovering from his wounds, John and Tonto realized that they knew each other from childhood and had been brought together by fate. They agreed to spend their lives fighting injustice together. They began by tracking down the members of the Cavendish gang who participated in the ambush and bringing them to justice. John wore a mask, so he would not be recognized and identified himself only as the "Lone Ranger."
"The Man with No Name" was by this time going by the name "Monco" and working as a bounty hunter for a few dollars more. While chasing El Indio and his gang, he decided to team up with another bounty hunter, Col. Douglas Mortimer and split the reward.
While traveling in Madagascar, botanist Karl Leche discovered a a carnivorous, "man-eating tree," which would suddenly spring to life, wrap its human prey in powerful tendrils and squeeze them to death.
♫ Danse macabre composed by Camille Saint-Saëns
♫ Die Fledermaus (operetta) composed by Johann Strauss II
♫ Messa da Requiem composed by Giuseppe Verdi
♫ Pictures at an Exhibition composed by Modest Mussorgsky
Don Alejandro de la Vega (age 60), who had retired from being Zorro, suited up once again in order to bring some bushwhackers to justice who had captured a mission inhabited by the Chumash Indians. However, their numbers overwhelmed him and he was killed. News of his death reached the Lone Ranger (age 25) and Tonto (age 21), who had been tracking the bushwhackers, as well as La Justicia, a group of freedom fighters who had been allies of Zorro. These men joined forces with more of the local Chumash to avenge the legendary swashbuckler and ensure that he did not die in vain. [The Lone Ranger: The Death of Zorro]
Kwai Chang Caine found his nephew Zeke, who eventually led him to his long-lost brother Danny. [Kung Fu]
Paul Bunyun died.
Inventor Johnny Brainerd retired due to failing health and sold his the patents for his Steam Man to fellow inventor Frank Reade (b. 1840).
Jonah Hex married Mei Ling and promised to give up bounty hunting and gunfighting.
♫ Carmen composed by Georges Bizet
♫ Peer Gynt composed by Edvard Grieg
♫ Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
This year marked the U.S. Centennial.
The Colt .45 caliber double-action cavalry pistol was introduced.
Inventor Frank Reade (age 36) debuted his updated version of Johnny Brainerd's Steam Man.
Carter Slade was killed, and his sidekick Jamie Jacobs became the second Phantom Rider. Jacobs was soon killed as well, and Carter Slade's brother Lincoln Slade became the third Phantom Rider.
Joaquin "Ken" Mason (b. 1854), the grandson of Don Diego de la Vega, briefly adopted the identity of Zorro. [Ghost of Zorro]
Early in the year, while touring the western states, President Grant was kidnapped by Butch Cavendish. He was rescued by the Lone Ranger, Tonto, Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, George Armstrong Custer and a contingent of the Seventh Calvary. Cavendish was arrested.
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was founded on February 2.
On Sunday, March 5, John Carter died on Mars just after reactivating the Air Factory to save the planet. His body instantaneously re-awakened in a cave on Earth, just where he had been 10 years prior when he had been transported to Mars. That same day, the egg of his son Carthoris, hatched on Mars.
On Tuesday, March 7, Alexander Graham Bell was awarded a patent for the electric telephone.
In the spring, Jonah Hex's son, Jason, was born. A month later, Jonah's wife Mei Ling took Jason and left.
On June 25–26, the Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army in eastern Montana. A force of 700 men led by George Armstrong Custer (b. December 5, 1839) suffered a severe defeat and Custer himself was killed.
Colorado became the 38th U.S. state on Tuesday, August 1.
On Wednesday, August 2, Wild Bill Hickok was murdered by Jack McCall in Deadwood, South Dakota.
In October, the Lone Ranger foiled an assassination plot against President Grant.
Artemus Gordon and James T. West went on their last official mission together for the Secret Service before retiring. Afterwards, President Ulysses S. Grant was defeated for reelection by Rutherford B. Hayes, and Gordon and West had a falling out and went their separate ways.
♫ Siegfried composed by Richard Wagner
♫ Götterdämmerung composed by Richard Wagner
♫ La Gioconda composed by Amilcare Ponchielli
♫ Marche Slave composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
♫ Swan Lake composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
♫ Sylvia composed by Léo Delibes
Jax-Ur, one of the new generation of Kryptonian scientists who warned against the impending destruction of the planet, conducted a research experiment that accidentally destroyed the Kryptonian moon of Wegthor, presumably killing more than 500 colonists living there. Believing it to be a doomsday cult, the Kryptonian Science Council began cracking down hard on anyone espousing similar views about the impeding doom of planet Krypton.
On January 8, outnumbered and outgunned, Crazy Horse and his Lakota warriors fought their last battle against the U.S. Cavalry in Montana.
On March 4, Rutherford B. Hayes became the 19th U.S. President (1877-1881).
On May 10, the first telephone was installed in the White House.
At age 39, Jonah Hex was transported for several months to the post-apocalyptic alternate future of Earth-G, where it was the year 2050.
On Lincoln Island, Captain Nemo and his crew launched the Nautilus II, a much more advanced submersible.
The Danvers State Insane Asylum opened in Danvers, Massachusetts. (It would later change its name to the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane in 1921.)
Thomas Edison patented the phonograph.
Reformed outlaw William Munny's wife died of the smallpox on their small, family farm in Wyoming.
In Victoria, Australia, Ned Kelly and his gang were declared outlaws.
Agon of the Inhumans (age 45) became the ruler of Attilan.
♫ Slavonic Dance Nos. 1–8 composed by Antonín Dvořák
Thomas Edison patented the electric light bulb.
Patrick Wayne, the first son of Kenneth Wayne and his wife, was born in Boston.
Frank Reade, Jr. (age 18) improved upon the designs of Johnny Brainerd and his father and debuted an all-new version of the Steam Man.
♫ Má vlast ("My Country") composed by Bedřich Smetana
Allan Quatermain (aged 62-63 at the time) led an expedition to help find the brother of Sir Henry Curtis, who was lost while on a quest through unexplored Africa seeking the fabled King Solomon's Mines.
The third Phantom Rider (Lincoln Slade) was killed.
Jonah Hex's mother died and he learned that he had a half-brother, Joshua Dazzleby, who was the sheriff and preacher in the town of Heaven's Gate, Colorado.
In Victoria, Australia, the outlaw Ned Kelly was arrested, convicted and hanged.
On October 5, a drifter named Tom Chaney murdered Frank Ross in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Ross' daughter Mattie swore revenge and pursued Chaney, enlisting the help of U.S. Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn (b. July 15, 1825) and a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf.
♫ Funiculì, Funiculà composed by Luigi Denza
♫ Romeo and Juliet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
♫ Tales of Hoffmann (opera) composed by Jacques Offenbach
♫ Waves of the Danube composed by Ion Ivanovici
♫ The Year 1812, festival overture in E♭ major (a.k.a. "1812 Overture") composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Sherlock Holmes (b. 1854) opened a detective agency in London, England. Later, he met Dr. John Hamish Watson (b. Aug. 7, 1852, d. 1939), who would accompany him on many of his cases.
Aging gunfighter William Munny came out of retirement to exact revenge and collect a bounty in the town of Big Whisky, Wyoming. He then moved with his two small children to San Francisco, where he prospered in dry goods.
Jesse James committed the last of over 25 robberies of his career as an outlaw.
The Inhuman known as Phaeder, a member of the genetics council, was exiled from Attilan for engaging in the banned practice of cloning.
On March 4, James A. Garfield became the 20th U.S. President. He was shot four months into his term on July 2 by Charles J. Guiteau, and died of his wounds on September 19. His Vice President, Chester A. Arthur, succeeded him as the 21st U.S. President (1881-1885).
On October 26, the legendary gunfight took place at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.
Allan Quatermain's son Harry Quatermain died.
Lieutenant Gullivar Jones, of the United States Navy, was transported to Mars via a magic carpet.
On April 3, the outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed by Robert Ford, a member of his gang hoping to collect a reward offered for James.
♫ Frühlingsstimmen ("Voices of Spring") composed by Johann Strauss II
♫ Lakmé composed by Léo Delibes
♫ Les Patineurs ("Skater's Waltz") composed by Émile Waldteufel
♫ The Skaters' Waltz composed by Émile Waldteufel
The Brooklyn Bridge was completed, connecting the borough to Manhattan.
In London, Dr. Henry Jekyll (b. 1838), seeking to separate his good side from his darker impulses, discovered a way to transform himself periodically into a creature free of conscience. By drinking a special potion, he was able to transform himself into an ugly, uninhibited man who went by the name of Mr. Edward Hyde. At first, Jekyll delighted in becoming Hyde, but he soon found that he was turning into Hyde involuntarily in his sleep, even without taking the potion.
The Lincoln Island incident took place, which the French authorities believed saw the end of Captain Nemo. In actuality, he had faked his death with the assistance of the Lincoln Island colonists.
The Orient Express transcontinental railroad opened, running from Paris to Istanbul.
Thomas Wayne, the younger son of Kenneth Wayne and his wife, was born in Boston.
Solomon Wayne died at the age of 104, leaving Wayne Manor to his grandson, Kenneth Wayne.
Federal Marshall Rex Fury became the fourth Phantom Rider, a.k.a. "The Ghost Rider" and "The Haunted Horseman." Although he adopted the look of the first three, he was unrelated to them.
In the Vega star system (25 light years from Earth), the planet known as the Citadel reached a treaty with the planet Tamaran, making it a puppet state. This gave the Citadel control over the 22 terrestrial planets in the star's habitable zone.
In August in London, the mutant (Homo sapiens superior) Joseph Merrick (b. August 5, 1862) began to earn a living on display as a public curiosity as "The Elephant Man."
Doctor Alphonse Moreau, formerly an eminent physiologist in London, established a new home on a remote island where he began experiments to create human-like beings from animals via vivisection.
Frank Reade, Jr. (age 24) converted his Steam Man designs to electricity, calling his new automoton the "Electric Man."
On March 4, Grover Cleveland became the 22nd U.S. President, the first of two non-consecutive terms he would serve (1885-1889; he would also serve as President from 1893-1897).
Grover Cleveland recruited Artemus Gordon and James T. West back into the Secret Service to oppose Miguelito Loveless, Jr., the son of their recently deceased arch-enemy. They also investigated a John Wilkes Booth imitator named Cassius Lear before returning to retirement.)
On June 18, Allan Quatermain faked his own death (at age 67) in order to "escape the world."
The mysterious, brilliant inventor Robur intruded on a meeting of a flight-enthusiasts' club called the Weldon Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He then abducted three of its members and took them around the world in his heavier-than-air flying machine, the Albatross.
Dr. Henry Jekyll, and his alter-ego Edward Hyde, disappeared from London after a scandal, feigning suicide. They would resurface years later in Paris.
Artemus Gordon and James T. West were once again recalled from retirement back into the Secret Service, this time to oppose Albert Paradine II. This time, they would remain on the job for another few years.
John Carter appeared to die on Earth, but was actually transported back to Mars, his Earthly body kept in a state of suspended animation under the care of his nephew Edgar Rice Burroughs.
In June, Joseph Merrick (a.k.a. the Elephant Man, age 23) came under the care of physician Frederick Treves at the London Hospital, where he would live for the remainder of his life.
In September, private investigator Nick Carter debuted in New York City.
♫ Russian March composed by Johann Strauss II
♫ Symphony No. 3 in C minor ("Organ Symphony") composed by Camille Saint-Saëns
Dr. John Watson married Mary Morstan in London, England.
Wearing a mask made of chain mail, misunderstood outlaw Homer Wayne (b. 1868 in Texas) began fighting injustice in and around the Arizona Territory as "Copperhead." [Mysterious Doctor Satan]
John Henry died while demonstrating his superhuman mutant abilities, digging a railroad tunnel with a pickaxe faster than a steam-powered machine could do the job.
♫ Carnival Of The Animals composed by Camille Saint-Saëns
♫ Prince Igor (unfinished opera) composed by Alexander Borodin
The "Jack the Ripper" killings began in London, England (1888-1891). In response, the "New Illuminati" were founded. Initial members included Sherlock Holmes, Phileas Fogg, Abraham Van Helsing and C. Auguste Dupin. The case of Jack the Ripper, however, would never be solved.
In May, John Clayton, the Earl of Greystoke, and his pregnant wife Alice sailed from Dover, England to west equatorial Africa (modern-day Gabon). There, they were marooned by mutineers. Their son was born later that year (November 22), and they named him John.
♫ Kaiser-Walzer ("Emperor Waltz") composed by Johann Strauss II
♫ Over the Waves composed by Juventino Rosas
♫ Scheherazade composed by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov
♫ Semper Fidelis composed by John Philip Sousa
The Asiatic Flu pandemic began; it would kill one million worldwide (1889-1890).
Kit Walker XVIII became the 18th Phantom in Bangalla, Tanzania, Africa (1889-1908).
Sherlock Holmes solved the case of "The Hound of the Baskervilles."
Jonah Hex (age 50) met his long-lost son Jason (age 23) in Mexico.
Mars was invaded by an alien species that John Carter soon nicknamed the "Molluscs." The aliens began using various native Martian species for food and slave labor, and also began performing biological experiments on them. They were especially fond of the taste of the Sorns. [The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume II]
Marooned in west equatorial Africa, Alice Clayton died from malaria and her husband John, Earl of Greystoke, was killed by apes. Those same apes then adopted their one-year-old son John and raised him as their own. He would become known as Tarzan.
By this point, Dorian Gray was still young and beautiful in appearance but had become ruled by his indulgences, and his portrait had grown as hideous as his sins. He had even murdered its painter, Basil Hallward. Finally, wishing the debauchery to end, he stabbed the portrait with the same knife that killed Hallward. The action caused Gray himself to become stabbed in the heart and die, suddenly aged, withered and horrible, while the portrait reverted to its original form.
Randy Meredith, great-grandson of Don Diego de la Vega, adopted the Zorro-like guise of "The Whip" to battle criminals trying to prevent Idaho from becoming a state. He was soon killed, but his sister Barabara took over the identity and eventually defeated the villains.
The first known graboids, a subterranean species of giant sandworms, were discovered by miners in Nye County, Nevada. The locals called them "dirt dragons." [Tremors 4: The Legend Begins]
On March 4, Benjamin Harrison became the 23rd U.S. President (1889-1893).
North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th U.S. states on November 2, Montana became the 41st on November 8, and Washington became the 42nd on November 11.
♫ Sleeping Beauty (ballet) composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
♫ The Washington Post composed by John Philip Sousa
The Antitrust Act was signed into law in the U.S.
In Africa, two explorers found the fabled lost Heart of Darkness, a gigantic priceless black diamond rumored to attract evil, left alone by the natives due to its surrounding superstition. One of them murdered the other to possess it, thus freeing the spirit of Eclipso.
Thanos was born on Saturn's moon Titan to the Eternals known as Mentor and Sui-San. As he displayed Deviant genetic characteristics, his mother Sui-San tried to kill him at birth, but she was prevented from doing so.
King Thakorr and the wandering Atlanteans finally reached a location where they felt safe to establish a new underwater city. Located off the coast of Antarctica in the south Atlantic, they named it Thakorr after the leader who had led them there.
On April 11, Joseph Merrick (a.k.a. the Elephant Man, age 27) died of asphyxiation in his room at the London Hospital after his neck was dislocated by the weight of his own head.
In July, Captain Nemo and his crew traveled to the Cape of Good Hope in the Nautilus II submersible and encountered several strange islands along the way, including Nacumera.
Idaho became the 43rd U.S. state on July 3, and Wyoming became the 44th on July 10.
The last major Indian battle in the U.S. occurred at Wounded Knee, South Dakota on December 29.
♫ Cavalleria rusticana (opera) composed by Pietro Mascagni
♫ United States Marine Band conducted by John Philip Sousa, "The Washington Post March" (multiple recordings on Edison wax cylinders; no catalog numbers)
Thomas Edison patented the radio.
James Naismith invented basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The man who would eventually be known as Max Mercury arrived in 1891 after bouncing off the Speed Force earlier in the 1800s and being thrown into the future. Here he created a new identity for himself as Whip Whirlwind. Later in the decade, he again attempted to enter the Speed Force and was again cast into the future, landing in 1921.
Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty appeared to die on May 4 in Switzerland. Moriarty was gravely injured and returned to England in secret, where he would eventually rise to become the head of British Intelligence. Holmes, meanwhile, faked his death but lived on the run for several years, hunted by Moriarty's men.
On Mars, a Mollusc experiment combined genetic material from all of the planet's native species to create a new species to use as weapons against the natives. There were two basic breeds of these children, one with green skin and one with white, but otherwise very similar in appearance. Both were essentially humanoid, with two arms and two legs, but somewhat angularly built. And all exhibited unusual abilities, including much stronger telepathic abilities than normal Martians (for all Martians had a limited form of telepathic empathy), heightened speed and strength, and molecular control that allowed them, among other things, to shapeshift. They were, however, exceptionally vulnerable to fire, both physically and mentally. Fire, of course, was the Molluscs' primary weapon and what they used to control their new slave race. [This explains how the Martians of the John Carter stories morphed into the DC Comics versions.]
♫ Carnival composed by Antonín Dvořák
Ellis Island began accepting immigrants to the U.S.
Thomas Edison patented two-way telegraph.
James Howlett was born in Alberta, Canada. James was the illegitimate son of Elizabeth Howlett (wife of John Howlett) and her groundskeeper Thomas Logan. As a boy, he was notably frail and sickly.
A Green Martian known as J'onn J'onzz was born this year to be a slave for the Molluscs.
♫ The Nutcracker composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
♫ Prelude in C sharp minor composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff
♫ Billy Golden, "Turkey in the Straw" (Columbia recording; no catalog number)
Humphrey van Weyden was rescued by Wolf Larsen, the captain of the seal-hunting schooner Ghost, and began his adventures as a member of Larsen's crew.
With her fiancé Jonathan Harker and Dutch vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, Wilhelmina Murray fought the vampire Count Dracula (b. 1430, undeath 1476) in England and across Europe in a battle for her very soul. They managed to defeat Dracula and believed him to be destroyed when they stabbed him through the heart and decapitated him. However, since the knives they used to do this were neither wooden nor silver, Dracula had only been somewhat injured and not permanently killed. He did, however, relinquish his control over Wilhelmina and used his powers to transform into mist to trick his attackers into believing him dead. After defeating Dracula, Jonathan and Wilhelmina returned to London and were married.
The New York Stock Exchange crashed.
U.S. Marines overthrew the government of Hawaii.
Women gained the right to vote in New Zealand.
A World's Fair known as "The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition" was held in Chicago. Among the other exhibits, local inventor Archibald Campion unveiled a prototype mechanical man, nicknamed "Boilerplate," which he hoped would revolutionize warfare and prevent the deaths of soldiers in the future. Although his idea was widely dismissed as a stunt and never funded, the prototype itself would have a fascinating career over the next 25 years before being destroyed in World War I.
On March 4, Grover Cleveland became the 24th U.S. President, the second of two non-consecutive terms he served (1893-1897; he also served as President from 1885-1889).
In December, Sexton Blake (b. 1873) opened a detective business in London, England.
♫ Karelia Suite composed by Jean Sibelius
♫ The Liberty Bell composed by John Philip Sousa
♫ Requiem in D minor composed by Gabriel Fauré
♫ Symphony No. 6 in B minor (a.k.a. Pathétique) composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
♫ Symphony No. 9 in E minor (a.k.a. "New World Symphony") composed by Antonín Dvořák
Captain Nemo made extensive explorations of Antarctica, circumnavigating the continent and making extensive explorations of the interior.
Coca-Cola was first sold in bottles.
Hugo Danner was born to Abednego and Matilda Danner in Colorado. Due to scientific experiments performed on him in the womb by his father, Hugo was born with super strength and near invulnerability. He would spend his childhood wrestling with the psychological implications of these powers and the differences between him and other children.
Sherlock Holmes returned to England three years after his supposed death. While he would take an occasional case, his return was kept secret from the public. He would spend the next few years helping his brother Mycroft (b. 1847) plan a takeover of British Intelligence, which had been taken over by his old nemesis James Moriarty.
The first Sino-Japanese War began (1894-1895).
Butch Cavendish escaped from prison and followed the Lone Ranger (now age 44) to Bryant's Gap, where he had taken his nephew Dan to visit his father's grave on the 20th anniversary of his death. Cavendish ambushed the two, but the Lone Ranger fought back and mortally wounded him. As Cavendish was dying, the Lone Ranger revealed to him his true identity. The outlaw's last words were, "I wish I could have died not knowing." The Lone Ranger would retire soon after this and bequeath the silver mine to Dan Reid, Jr., who was by this time living in Detroit, Michigan.
♫ Humoresques composed by Antonín Dvořák
♫ Memory of Circus Renz composed by Gustav Peter
♫ Thaïs (opera) composed by Jules Massenet
The first professional American football game took place in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
Wilhelm Röntgen discovered the existence of X-rays.
After studying it extensively by telescope, American astronomer Percival Lowell published a book titled Mars. It described the arid, dying landscape of our neighboring planet and the canals thousands of miles long that the inhabitants had built to bring water from the polar caps to irrigate the remaining arable land. The book was met by skepticism by many in the scientific community.
Charles Foster Kane (b. 1863) began to build his media empire with his first newspaper, The New York Inquirer.
A Japanese army captain (b. 1864) stationed in Manchuria faced a Chinese captive in unarmed combat. Fearing that his superior officer would lose the battle, a Japanese soldier shot the captive in the middle of the fight. This horrified the captain, who condemned the action, asserting that disgrace had been brought upon the entire Japanese army for this act. To atone, the captain honored the dying man's final request, pledging himself to take the man's place. He resigned his position in the Japanese army and began living a life of austerity, studying the ancient scriptures and martial arts. He would eventually return to his native Japan and open a dojo near Kyoto, where he would teach others as "O-Sensei."
♫ Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks composed by Richard Strauss
Henri Becquerel discovered naturally occurring radiation when some uranium salts emitted rays that resembled X-rays in their penetrating power. Inspired by this, Marie Curie (b. 1867) began her research into radiation.
The first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens, Greece.
A shipwrecked man named Edward Prendick was rescued by a passing boat and left on Nobel Island, the home of Doctor Alphonse Moreau. There he learned about Moreau's gruesome vivisection experiments. After Moreau's apparent death, Prendick lived among the Beast Folk for many months before being rescued. Meanwhile, a grievously injured Moreau was returned to England and reinstated to the South Downs at the behest of British Intelligence.
In Britain, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi filed his first patent for radio. Over the next few years, he would make several key contributions to improving wireless, long distance telegraphy.
U.S. Supreme Court upheld segregation, the doctrine of "separate but equal," in its ruling on Plessy v. Ferguson.
Utah became the 45th U.S. state on January 4.
♫ Also sprach Zarathustra composed by Richard Strauss
♫ The Stars and Stripes Forever composed by John Philip Sousa
In Iping, West Sussex, England, Dr. Hawley Griffin discovered a way to render the human body virtually invisible and tested it on himself. Unfortunately, the process was irreversible and also affected his sanity, driving him to crime. Griffin was believed to be killed later in the year, at which point his body turned visible again, but in fact the man who was killed was another man that Griffin had turned invisible, allowing Griffin to make his escape.
In Alberta, Canada, James Howlett's older brother John Howlett, Jr. (b. 1885) died. John's death was most likely due to the manifestation of mutant abilities similar to those that James would later demonstrate as "Wolverine." Unable to cope with John's death, their mother Elizabeth was institutionalized for a while.
By this time, Wilhelmina and Jonathan Harker had gotten divorced. Both were still haunted by their experiences fighting Dracula, and Jonathan could not get past the scars on her neck. Wilhelmina went back to her maiden name, Murray, and started working for a top-secret British government intelligence project.
As they do every 88 years, the pocket dimensions known as the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven converged to occupy the same space, forming the "Heart of Heaven." Each of the cities brought together their representative Immortal Weapons to do combat in a tournament for the right to earn a spot on the Earthly realm. The winner's city would be allowed to appear on Earth once every decade, as opposed to once every 50 years as normal. Orson Randall, "The Iron Fist," champion of the city of K'un-Lun, won this tournament, earning that city the right to appear on Earth in 1902, 1912, 1922, 1932, 1942, 1952, 1962, 1972 and 1982, before the next convergence in 1985.
On March 4, William McKinley became the 25th U.S. President (1897-1901).
On June 22, the United Kingdom celebrated Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, her sixtieth anniversary on the throne. The previous year, she had surpassed her father as the longest reigning monarch in British history.
♫ Entrance of the Gladiators composed by Julius Fučík
♫ The Sorcerer's Apprentice composed by Paul Dukas
♫ Len Spencer with Vess L. Ossman, "Hot Time in the Old Town" (Columbia 7266)
The frozen body of Frankenstein's monster was discovered by explorer Robert Walton IV, preserved in suspended animation in the arctic ice. Freed from the ice, the monster revived and set off across Europe to find the heir of the Frankenstein estate. Eventually, he was deceived by the gypsy woman Madame Marguerita, who was secretly a vampire and led him to the tomb of Dracula in Transylvania. Marguerita removed the stake from Dracula's heart and revived him so that he could feast on the monster's blood, but the monster proved too strong for him and overcame him once again. During the battle, however, the monster's vocal chords were badly damaged. The monster began a life of solitary wandering.
The U.S. was victorious in the Spanish-American War and gained the former Spanish colonies of the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, Cuba gained its independence from Spain.
The U.S. annexed Hawaii.
Pepsi-Cola debuted.
Marie Curie and her husband Pierre discovered the elements polonium and radium, and coined the word "radioactivity."
Between January and May, Wilhelmina Murray traveled to Lincoln Island where she managed to recruit Captain Nemo into Britain's new "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." In June, Miss Murray and Captain Nemo arrived in Cairo, Egypt, where they, with some minor difficulty, recruited and detoxified Allan Quatermain, who at age 80 had become a pathetic opium addict in his later years. The three of them then travelled to Paris, France, where they, with the help of the aged C. Auguste Dupin, captured Edward Hyde (as well as his alter-ego Dr. Henry Jekyll), and then returned to England.
In early July, a unified coalition of Martian armies under the command of John Carter and Gullivar Jones made one final attack on the alien creatures that had plagued Mars for some time (which they called "Molluscs"). The siege was successful only by using the combined strength of all the significant armies of Mars, including the giant Sorns. Unfortunately, the Molluscs managed to escape in several cylinder-shaped refugee ships bound for Earth. The launch of these craft were seen on Earth, and believed to be volcanic eruptions, and were reported as such in the London papers.
After the Molluscs left Mars, the full extent of their genetic experiments was discovered. In one experiment, they had grafted wings onto a Sorn. Most of their experiments were euthanized, but many of the Green and White Martians, who were still just children, used their shapeshifting abilities to avoid detection and escape. Among them was a young J'onn J'onzz. The Green and White Martians would live in fear for years as they tried to blend into the established Martian society to avoid detection. As they grew older, they would eventually form their own clandestine communities.
On July 3, Wilhelmina Murray, Allan Quatermain and Captain Nemo arrived in Edmonton, London, at Miss Rosa Coote's Correctional Academy for Wayward Gentlewomen, where they captured Dr. Hawley Griffin, the Invisible Man. On July 5, the three official members of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen arrived at what would become their base of operations, the Secret Annex of the British Museum in Bloomsbury, London, where they officially inducted Hyde/Jekyll, and Hawley Griffin into their League. Over the next month, the League became embroiled in a war between Fu Manchu (a.k.a. the "Devil Doctor," a.k.a. the "Lord of Limehouse") who controlled the criminal faction in London's East End, and Professor James Moriarty, who controlled London's West End. The confrontation ended in an "Air War," which left both faction leaders presumed dead. In the aftermath, Mycroft Holmes (Sherlock's brother) assumed control of British Intelligence.
After Moriarty's death, his deputy Col. Sebastian Moran founded the secret organization THRUSH, and continued to secretly put in motion plans to conquer the world.
From August 5-9, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen defeated the invasion of the Molluscs, falsely called "Martians" by the public of Earth. Wilhelmina Murray and Allan Quatermain had a brief affair during this time. Griffin and Hyde/Jekyll were killed. The surviving League members then went their separate ways. The League officially dissolved on September 30. Soon after that, Wilhelmina Murray returned to her ex-husband Jonathan Harker and re-married him.
The Great Blizzard of 1899 affected the southeastern U.S.
The Philippine-American War began (1899-1913).
The boroughs of Queens and Staten Island merged with New York City.
Two youths were rescued from a Satanic cult by a shadowy group called "The Seven." For their own safety, the Seven gave them new identities (they eventually became known as "Doctor Occult" and "Rose Psychic") and taught them the use of magic.
Sidney Reilly (b. 1873, d. 1925), a Jewish-Russian adventurer and secret agent, began the career in espionage that would earn him the nickname "The Ace of Spies." He would go on to work as a spy for four different governments.
After recovering from wounds sustained in his near-fatal "Air War" with James Moriarty the prior year, evil genius Fu Manchu (age 58) relocated from England to Burma and began rebuilding his criminal empire.
In June, Jonathan and Wilhelmina Harker had a son and named him Quincey. Unknown to Jonathan, the child's biological father was actually Allan Quatermain.
Inventor Frank Reade, Jr. (age 38) was by now retired, but his children Frank Reade III (b. 1882) and Kate Reade (b. 1883) built a state-of-the-art airship and had their first adventure searching for a missing family friend. ["Young Frank Reade and his Electric Air Ship; or, a 10,000 Mile Search for a Missing Man," Happy Days #261-268, October4-December 2, 1899]
Nikola Tesla, with the aid of his financial backer, J.P. Morgan, set up an experimental laboratory in Colorado Springs, Colorado containing high-voltage, radio transmission equipment. The lab had a 200-ft. tower for transmission and reception of radio waves and the best receiving equipment available at the time. Using this equipment, Tesla was able to detect radio signals sent from Mars.
The first Hague Conference opened on May 18 at The Hague in the Netherlands. The conference produced the first international treaties that addressed the conducts of warfare, which were signed on July 29.
Henry Walton Jones "Junior" (who would later become known as Indiana Jones) was born July 1 in Princeton, New Jersey.
♫ Enigma Variations composed by Edward Elgar
♫ Finlandia composed by Jean Sibelius
♫ Maple Leaf Rag composed by Scott Joplin
♫ Wiener Blut (operetta) composed by Johann Strauss II, et al., arranged by Adolf Müller
♫ Arthur Collins, "Hello, Ma Baby" (Edison 5470)