Charles Fort: A Fortean Chronology, 1889.

"We, too, collected autographs, sending to Amiens, France, asking Jules Verne for his. Jules Verne sent us a little letter in a hand so minute that we could get no one to translate it." - Charles Fort, autograph hunter.

January

• January 1: A total eclipse of the sun is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
• January 4: An Act to Regulate Appointments in the Marine Hospital Service of the United States is signed by President Grover Cleveland. It establishes a Commissioned Corps of officers as a predecessor to the current U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
• January 5: Preston are declared the winner of the inaugural Football League.
• January 8: Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine.
• January 15: The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is originally incorporated in Atlanta, Georgia.
• January 22: Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, DC.
• January 30: Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera commit a double suicide (or a murder suicide) in the Mayerling hunting lodge.

February

• February 5: The first issue of Glasgow University Magazine is published.
• February 11: The Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted; the 1st Diet convenes in 1890.
• February 22: President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.

March

• A German naval force shells a village in Samoa, destroying some American property; three American warships enter the Samoan harbor and prepare to fire on the three German warships found there. Before guns are fired, a hurricane blows in and sinks all the ships, American and German. A compulsory armistice is called because of the lack of warships.
• March 1: In Barisal, Bengal, the phenomena known as the 'Barisal Guns' that began upon the 28th April the previous year comes to an end. (Books436) 
• March 4: Grover Cleveland, 22nd President of the United States (1885 – 1889) is succeeded by Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893).
• March 9: Yohannes IV is killed in the Battle of Metemma; Sudanese forces, who had been almost defeated, rally and destroy the Ethiopian army.
• March 31: The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated (opens May 6). Contemporary critics regard it as aesthetically displeasing.

April

• April 2: Intense darkness at Aitkin, Minn. Reports of falling chunks of ice and sand. (Books189)
• April 18: A white spot is seen upon the rings of Saturn, its position partly upon one ring and partly over another, showing no distortion. (Books353)
• April 19: Oak leaves fell from a calm sky for fifteen minutes over an "absolutely calm" Loire River, France. (Books255)
• April 20: Upon the rings of Saturn is seen a white spot that lay partly over one ring and parlty over another, no distortion is observed. (Books353)
• April 22: At high noon in Oklahoma Territory, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Run of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed, with populations of at least 10,000.

May

• May 2: Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs a treaty of amity with Italy, giving Italy control over what will become Eritrea.
• May 6: The Eiffel Tower opens in Paris.
• May 15: In Samoa, 3 U.S. and 3 German ships sink in a typhoon because the captains refuse to leave before the others; almost 200 drown. The British steamer Calliope saves itself by pushing into the wind with full speed.
• May 31: Johnstown Flood: The South Fork Dam collapses in western Pennsylvania, killing more than 2,200 people in and around Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

June

• June 3: The first long distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
• June 6: The Great Seattle Fire ravages through the downtown area without any fatalities.
• June 8: The Wall Street Journal is established.
• June 9: A friable substance of a deep, greenish black, fell at Mighei, Russia. (Books77)
• June 11: During a thunderstorm ice fell that "resembled the fragments of icicles" upon Oswego, N.Y. (Books191) 
• June 12: The Armagh rail disaster near Armagh in Northern Ireland kills 78.
• June 13: A fall of fishes in Holland. (Books95) 

July

• July 8: The first issue of the Wall Street Journal is published.

August

• August 1: A fall of ants over Strasbourg. (Books95)
• August 2: Tiny toads fall over Savoy. (Books95)
• August 5: During a storm an object about 15" long and 5" wide fell, slowly, at East Twickenham, England. It exploded. (Books291)
• August 14: The Great London Dock Strike breaks out in England.
• August 26: The Prevention of Cruelty to, and Protection of, Children Act 1889, commonly known as the Children's Charter is passed.

September 

• September 23: The Nintendo Koppai (Later Nintendo Company, Limited) is founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market Hanafuda playing cards.

October

• October 2: In Washington, DC, the first International Conference of American States begins.
• October 24: Sir Henry Parkes, Premier of New South Wales, delivers the Tenterfield Oration calling for the Federation of Australia.
• October 25: In Chesham, England, many flocks of sheep for a thirty mile radius, in common purpose, broke from their folds. (Books448) 

November

• November 2: North Dakota and South Dakota are admitted as the 39th and 40th U.S. states.
• November 8: Montana is admitted as the 41st U.S. state.
• November 11: Washington is admitted as the 42nd U.S. state.
• November 14: Inspired by Jules Verne, pioneer woman journalist Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) begins an attempt to beat travel around the world in less than 80 days (Bly finishes the journey in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes).
• November 15: Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca organizes a military coup, deposes Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and abolishes the Brazilian monarchy.
• November 17: The Brazilian Royal Family is forced to flee to France.
• November 19: The Empire of Brazil officially becomes a Federal Republic and Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca becomes its first president.
• November 20: Argentina is the first country to recognize the abolition of the monarchy in Brazil.
• November 23: The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.

December

• December 1: A rock of banjite fell in Servia, near Jelica, Serbia. (Books446)
• December 14: Wofford and Furman play the first intercollegiate football game in the state of South Carolina.
• December 23: The Spanish football team Recreativo de Huelva is formed (the oldest club in Spain).