WHAT HAPPENED IN 1879.
Look what happened the 1879.

The Anglo-Zulu War begins. (11. January 1879)

Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Isandlwana – Zulu troops decisively defeat British troops. (22. January 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: the Battle of Rorke's Drift ends. (23. January 1879)

The Bulgarian National Bank is founded. (25. January 1879)

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

The England cricket team led by Lord Harris is attacked during a riot during a match in Sydney. (8. February 1879)

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

Women's rights: American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. (15. February 1879)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gilmores Garden in New York, New York is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue. (31. May 1879)

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