Ulysses S. Grant, Eighteenth U.S. President
(1869-1877)
Education: Dictionary and Spelling Books
Noah Webster (1758-1843)
a teacher who "had the greatest influence on education in the new republic. Of his textbooks, (including the world-famous American Dictionary of the English Language), the most important was the Elementary Spelling Book, published in 1783, often
referred to as the "blue-black speller" because of the color of the binding. By 1875, 75 million copies of the
speller had been sold, many of which were used again and again."
Source: Foundations of American Education, Sixth Edition page 127 / L. Dean Webb, Arlene Metha. Published by Pearson Education. 2010
see 1880 for next event...
Entertainment: The first Kentucky Derby is run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, on May 17, 1875.
News: Jesse James Gang well publicized in newspapers nationwide. Missouri
being called the "robber state". Source: PBS "American Experience: Jesse James"
Technology:
Brooklyn Bridge
June: Brooklyn tower is completed. 6 years down, 8 to go to finish.
It's magnificent twin towers, breathtaking span, cutting edge
technology, and sheer beauty make Brooklyn Bridge the grandest,
and perhaps the most important structure built in America during
the nineteenth century. It was called "the eighth wonder of the
world."
Curlee, Lynn Brooklyn Bridge New York: Atheneum Books, 2001.