Timeline October 1871

Events in October 1871 3

• 1791 – 1871 Charles Babbage (1791-1871) Died 18 October 1871, aged 79 Babbage was an English mathematician and inventor who designed the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine, mechanical devices considered early forerunners of the modern computer. Financial and technical difficulties meant neither machine was completed in his lifetime. His work is now recognised as foundational to the history of computing.
• 1871 Great Chicago Fire Blaze destroys much of Chicago A fire burned through Chicago for three days, killing an estimated 300 people and destroying roughly three square miles of the city, including most of its business district. Legend blamed a cow owned by Mrs. O'Leary for kicking over a lantern, though the true cause was never established. The disaster prompted major reforms in building codes and fire prevention.
• 1871 San Juan Islands boundary dispute resolved Kaiser Wilhelm I arbitrates US-British border dispute German Emperor Wilhelm I, acting as arbitrator, ruled in favour of the United States in the long-running dispute with Britain over ownership of the San Juan Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The decision fixed the final section of the US-Canada border in the Pacific Northwest. It peacefully ended a dispute that had earlier brought the two countries close to conflict during the so-called Pig War.