Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century
Decades: 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s - 1880s - 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s
Years: 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 - 1887 - 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892
See also:
Events:
- 1887 in film
- 1887 in literature
- 1887 in music
- 1887 in sports
- January 1 - Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India
- January 20 - The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
- January 21 - The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is formed
- February 23 - The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
- January 26 - Battle of Dogali: Abyssinian troops defeat Italians
- February 2 - In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.
- March 4 - Gottlieb Daimler unveils his first automobile
- April 4 - Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna Madora Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
- May 9 - Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show opens in London.
- July 26 - L. L. Zamenhof publishes "Dr. Esperanto's International Language.
- July 27 - Giuseppe Peano marries Carola Crosio
- L. L. Zamenhof completes the creation of the initial version of Esperanto.
- U.S. National Institutes of Health founded
- Thomas Stevens is 1st man to bicycle around the world
- Michelson-Morley experiment was performed
- Gramophone patented by Emile Berliner
- The New Gate was built in Jerusalem.
- Comptometer patented by Dorr Eugene Felt
- January 1 - Wilhelm Canaris, later head of German Abwehr.
- January 3 - August Macke, painter (+ 1914)
- January 19 - Alexander Woollcott, intellectual (+ 1943)
- January 21 - Maude Davis, later Oldest Person in the World (+ 2002).
- January 28 - Artur Rubinstein, musician, conductor (+ 1982)
- February 1 - Charles Nordhoff, author (+ 1947)
- February 3 - Georg Trakl, poet (+ 1914)
- February 6 - Josef Frings, archbishop of Cologne (+ 1978)
- February 11 - Ernst Hanfstängl German/US pianist/politician.
- February 11 - John van Melle South African writer
- February 18 - Nikos Kazantzakis, poet (+ 1957)
- February 20 - Carl Ebert, opera manager and director (+ 1980)
- February 20 - Vincent Massey, Governor-General of Canada) + 1967)
- February 26 - Grover Cleveland Alexander, Baseball Hall of Famer (+ 1950)
- March 3 - Rupert Brooke, poet
- March 5 - Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer (+ 1959)
- March 14 - Sylvia Beach, publisher
- March 22 - Chico Marx, comedian, actor (+ 1961)
- March 23 - Juan Gris, painter and graphic artist (+ 1927)
- March 24 - Fatty Arbuckle, actor (+ 1933)
- May 11 - Paul Wittgenstein, pianist
- May 26 - Paul Lukas, actor (+ 1971)
- June 2 - Orrick Johns, poet & playwright
- July 18 - Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian politician and famous traitor
- July 29 - Sigmund Romberg, composer (+ 1951)
- August 12 - Erwin Schrödinger, physicist
- August 17 - Emperor Karl of Austria
- August 17 - Marcus Mosiah Garvey, publisher, entrepreneur, black nationalist (+ 1940)
- September 1 - Blaise Cendrars, writer
- September 16 - Kamato Hongo, later Oldest Person in the World.
- September 28 - Avery Brundage, American sports official
- October 6 - Le Corbusier, Swiss architect (+ 1965)
- October 8 - Huntley Gordon, pioneer Hollywood actor (+ 1956)
- October 22 - John Reed, journalist (+ 1920)
- November 10 - Arnold Zweig, German writer (+ 1968)
- November 17 - Bernard Montgomery, famous WWII British commander
- December 22 - Srinivasa Aaiyangar Ramanujan, Indian mathematician
- Pat Sullivan, Australian director and producer of animated films, alleged co-creator of Felix the Cat
- February 27 - Alexander Borodin, composer
- October 17 - Gustav Kirchhoff, physicist