WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO DECEMBER 1870
Find out what all happened January to December 1870

Marshal François Achille Bazaine surrenders to Prussian forces at the conclusion of the Siege of Metz along with 140,000 French soldiers in one of the biggest French defeats of the Franco-Prussian War. (27. October 1870)

The first game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club. (14. May 1870)

Franco-Prussian War – Siege of Paris: Leon Gambetta flees Paris in a hot-air balloon. (7. October 1870)

The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire. (28. February 1870)

Franco-Prussian War: the Siege of Metz begins, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory on October 23. (3. September 1870)

Having invaded the Papal States a week earlier, the Italian Army lays siege to Rome, entering the city the next day, after which the Pope described himself as a Prisoner in the Vatican. (19. September 1870)

In the United States, the Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorological forecast. (1. November 1870)

The inauguration of the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. (6. January 1870)

US Congress created the United States Department of Justice (22. June 1870)

Texas is readmitted to the Union following Reconstruction. (30. March 1870)

Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807. (6. September 1870)

John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil. (10. January 1870)

Franco-Prussian War: the Battle of Wörth results in a decisive Prussian victory. (6. August 1870)

The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence. (1. July 1870)

American Civil War: Virginia rejoins the Union. (26. January 1870)

In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre. (23. January 1870)

Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan – Prussian forces take Napoleon III of France and 100,000 of his soldiers prisoner. (2. September 1870)

Adolf Loos, architect, co-founder of modern architecture, baptized in St. Thomas church, Brno, Moravia (1. January 1870)

Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress. (25. February 1870)

Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory are transferred to Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company, and the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are established from these vast territories. (15. July 1870)