A period of time featuring technological innovation and opulent wealth, the late 1800s in America was an era of change. Below, find out what was happening as new money, like the Russell family in the HBO Original The Gilded Age, started leaving its mark on American society.
APRIL 9, 1865
The Civil War ends.
MAY 10, 1869
Construction for the first transcontinental railroad is completed.
1870s
The Gilded Age begins.
1872
Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale open the East Side Bazaar.
1872
Christopher Latham Sholes invents the first practical typewriter.
1873-1896
The Long Depression, a period of worldwide economic recession.
MARCH 7, 1876
Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for the first telephone.
NOVEMBER 21, 1877
Thomas Edison announces the creation of the first cylinder phonograph.
DECEMBER 31, 1879
Thomas Edison demonstrates the first practical incandescent light bulb.
MAY 21, 1881
Clara Barton and other associates launch the American Red Cross.
AUGUST 22, 1881
The American Red Cross establishes its first local chapter in Dansville, NY.
SEPTEMBER 4, 1882
Thomas Edison debuts the first power station on Pearl Street in New York City.
MARCH 26, 1883
The Vanderbilts host an elaborate ball where hundreds of guests attend.
OCTOBER 22, 1883
The Metropolitan Opera House opens on Broadway and 39th St.
OCTOBER 28, 1886
The Statue of Liberty is dedicated.
1886
Bloomingdale's moves to 59th St. and Lexington Ave.
1888
George Eastman introduces the Kodak #1 camera, a simple box camera that came with a 100-exposure roll of film.
1892
Vogue magazine is founded.
FEBRUARY 16, 1892
The New York Times publishes "The Four Hundred" list.
AUGUST 1892
A fire destroys The Metropolitan Opera House's interior, forcing it to close until November of the following year.
1892
Ellis Island opens and serves as an immigration station.
1893
The failure of Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the National Cordage Company sets off the Panic of 1893.
1895
The New York Public Library opens its doors to the public.
