Umberto of Italy, king since 1878, is assassinated and is succeeded by his son, Victor Emmanuel III, who will remain titular ruler of Italy until 1946.

12 Aug.

Wilhelm Steinitz, the world's first acknowledged chess champion, dies.

25 Aug.

Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher and poet and bitter critic of Christianity, dies.

31 Aug.

Johannesburg in southern Africa is occupied by British forces. The process of forcing Boers into concentration camps, which continues until 1902, is begun.

18 Oct.

Bernhard von Bulow becomes chancellor of Germany, succeeding Chlodwig Karl Hohenlohe, who resigned two days earlier. Von Bulow's aggressive foreign policy strains Germany's relations with Russia, France, and Great Britain, driving those three countries into closer union.

22 Nov.

English composer Arthur Sullivan, best known for his collaboration with W. S. Gilbert on popular comic operas, including H.M.S. Pinafore (1878) and The Pirates of Penzance (1879), dies. 30 Nov. Irish-born writer Oscar Wilde, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray...