WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO OCTOBER 1879
Find out what all happened January to October 1879

Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Rorke's Drift – 139 British soldiers successfully defend their garrison against an onslaught by three to four thousand Zulu warriors. (22. January 1879)

Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus. (29. March 1879)

Shō Tai formally abdicated his position of King of Ryūkyū, under orders from Tokyo, ending the Ryukyu Kingdom (11. March 1879)

In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of 5 and dime Woolworth stores. (22. February 1879)

Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific. (5. April 1879)

Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state. (26. May 1879)

Cetshwayo, last king of the Zulus, is captured by the British. (28. August 1879)

War of the Pacific: the Chilean Navy defeats the Peruvian Navy in the Battle of Angamos, Peruvian Admiral Miguel Grau is killed in the encounter. (8. October 1879)

Sandford Fleming first proposes adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute. (8. February 1879)

War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topáter, the first battle of the war is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru. (23. March 1879)

Charles Taze Russell publishes the first edition of the religious magazine The Watchtower. (1. July 1879)

Sailing ship USS Jeannette departs San Francisco carrying an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole. (8. July 1879)

The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the  Leonidas. (14. May 1879)

Germany and Austria-Hungary sign the "Twofold Covenant" and create the Dual Alliance. (7. October 1879)

Napoleon Eugene, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War. (1. June 1879)

The Blackpool Illuminations are switched on for the first time. (19. September 1879)

War of the Pacific: Two Chilean ships blocking the harbor of Iquique (then belonging to Peru) battle two Peruvian vessels in the Battle of Iquique. (21. May 1879)

Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Isandlwana – Zulu troops decisively defeat British troops. (22. January 1879)

The War of the Pacific breaks out when Chilean armed forces occupy the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta. (14. February 1879)

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is founded in Casa Labra Pub (city of Madrid) by the historical Spanish workers' leader Pablo Iglesias. (2. May 1879)