1889 in the United States

Federal government

• President:

Grover Cleveland (D-New York) (until March 4)

Benjamin Harrison (R-Indiana) (starting March 4)

• Vice President:

vacant (until March 4)

Levi P. Morton (R-New York) (starting March 4)

• Chief Justice: Melville Fuller (Illinois)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives:

John G. Carlisle (D-Kentucky) (until March 4)

Thomas Brackett Reed (R-Maine) (starting December 2)

• Congress: 50th (until March 4), 51st (starting March 4)

January–March

• January 1 – A total solar eclipse is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
• January 4 – An Act to Regulate Appointments in the Marine Hospital Service of the United States is signed by President Grover Cleveland. It establishes a Commissioned Corps of officers as a predecessor to the current U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
• January 8 – Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine, which will be used in the 1890 United States census.
• January 15 – The Coca-Cola Company, at this time known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.
• January 22 – Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, DC.
• February 15 – The Secretary of Agriculture is raised to a Cabinet-level position.
• February 22 – President Grover Cleveland signs the Enabling Act that plans to admit North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
• March – A German naval force shells a village in Samoa, destroying some American property; three American warships enter the Samoan harbor and prepare to fire on the three German warships found there. Before guns are fired, a hurricane blows in and sinks all the ships, American and German. A compulsory armistice is called because of the lack of warships.
• March 2 – Congress proclaims the entire Bering Sea, an important seal breeding area, to be under US control.
• March 4 – Benjamin Harrison is sworn in as the 23rd president of the United States, and Levi P. Morton is sworn in as the 22nd vice president of the United States.
• March 11
  • The North Carolina Legislature issues a charter for the creation of Elon College.
  • Orange County, California is created.

April–June

• April 22 – At high noon in Oklahoma Territory, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Rush of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed, with populations of at least 10,000.
• May 15 – In Samoa, 3 U.S. and 3 German ships sink in a typhoon because the captains refuse to leave before the others; almost 200 drown. The British steamer Calliope saves itself by pushing into the wind with full speed.
• May 30 – A tornado crossing West Virginia kills two.^[1]
• May 31 – Johnstown Flood: The South Fork Dam collapses in western Pennsylvania, killing more than 2,200 people in and around Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
• June 3 – The first long distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
• June 6 – The Great Seattle Fire ravages through the downtown area without any fatalities.

July–September

• July 7 – Great Bakersfield Fire of 1889 devastates Bakersfield, California, destroying 196 buildings and killing one person.
• July 8
  • The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published in New York City.
  • The last official bare-knuckle boxing title fight ever held as Heavyweight Champion John L. Sullivan, the "Boston Strong Boy", defeats Jake Kilrain in a world championship bout lasting 75 rounds in Mississippi.
• August 1 – The New Hampshire Legislature issues a charter for incorporation of the Order of Saint Benedict of New Hampshire, foundation of Saint Anselm College.
• September 18 – The influential Hull House settlement house opens in Chicago.
• September – Sherman Day Thacher opens The Thacher School, one of America's oldest and most unique boarding high schools, to a small group of students in the mountains of Ojai, California.

October–December

• October 2 – The first International Conference of American States begins in Washington, D.C.
• November 2 – North Dakota and South Dakota become the 39th and 40th states, respectively (see History of North Dakota) and (see History of South Dakota).
• November 8 – Montana becomes the 41st state (see History of Montana).
• November 11 – Washington becomes the 42nd state (see History of Washington (state)).
• November 14 – Pioneer woman journalist Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) begins an attempt to beat travel around the world in less than 80 days, inspired by Jules Verne; she finishes the journey in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes.
• November 23 – The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
• November 27 – Clemson University is founded in Clemson, South Carolina.
• December 14 – In college football, Wofford and Furman play the first intercollegiate football game in the state of South Carolina, starting the Furman–Wofford football rivalry.
• December 1–31 – With 15.80 inches (401.3 mm) of rainfall, Los Angeles has its wettest calendar month since records began in 1877.^[2]

Undated

• The Indian Religious Code is created, which forbids Native Americans to practice their religions.^{[citation needed]}
• The first West Virginia tornado is recorded.
• Brook trout introduced into the upper Firehole River, Yellowstone National Park.
• Valentine-Seaver Company, a furniture manufacturer is co-founded in Chicago.^[3]
• Samuel Marinus Zwemer co-founds the American Arabian Mission.^[4]
• Schools founded include:
  • Plattsburgh Normal School (Plattsburgh, New York)
  • Riverside Elementary School (Wichita, Kansas)
  • Battle Ground Academy Franklin, Tennessee.

Ongoing

• Gilded Age (1869–c. 1896)