1870s

The 1870s was the decade that began on January 1, 1870 and ended on December 31, 1879. It is distinct from the decade known as the '''188st decade''' which began on January 1, 1871 and ended on December 31, 1880.

• The invention of the telephone (1876) by Alexander Graham Bell.
• The light bulb was invented.
• The phonograph is invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison.
• Ludwig Boltzmann's statistical definition of thermodynamic entropy
• Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) results in the collapse of the Second French Empire and in the formation of both the French Third Republic and the German Empire
• Continuing expansion of the British Empire; beginning of the New Imperialism
• Bulgaria and Romania declare independence following the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
• In the United States, continuation of post-Civil War reconstruction until its conclusion under President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877

• Emperor Franz Josef (Austria-Hungary)
• Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald (Canada)
• Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie (Canada)
• Tongzhi Emperor (China)
• Guangxu Emperor (China)
• Emperor Wilhelm I (German Empire)
• Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (German Empire)
• King Victor Emmanuel II (Italy)
• King Umberto I (Italy)
• Emperor Meiji (Japan)
• Pope Pius IX
• Pope Leo XIII
• Emperor Alexander II (Russia)
• King Alfonso XII (Spain)
• Queen Victoria (United Kingdom)
• Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (United Kingdom)
• Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (United Kingdom)
• President Ulysses S. Grant (United States)
• President Rutherford B. Hayes (United States)
• Nasser-al-Din Shah of Qajar dynasty (Persia)