The last quagga died at Amsterdam Zoo on 12 August 1883 — two weeks before Krakatoa's catastrophic eruption.
The events
- Death of the last quagga1883 · Artis Zoo, Amsterdam. On 12 August 1883 the last quagga, a South African zebra striped only on its front half, died in Amsterdam's zoo. Settlers had shot out the wild population for hides and meat. Two weeks before Krakatoa erupted, hardly anyone noticed.
- Eruption of Krakatoa1883 · Sunda Strait. On 27 August 1883 Krakatoa exploded with a bang heard 4,800 km away, and tsunamis wiped out hundreds of coastal villages, killing over 36,000 people. For several years, unusually vivid red sunsets were seen around the world.
More amazing facts
- 1868 · 1905 Only 37 years after the Meiji Restoration, when Japan was just leaving its samurai order behind, it defeated Russia in the war of 1904–1905.
- 1868 · 1964 In 1868 Japan was still ruled by a shogun and samurai carried swords.
- 1869 1869: in March Mendeleev presented his periodic table, and in November the Suez Canal opened.
- 1889 The Eiffel Tower opened in spring 1889, and in June van Gogh painted The Starry Night at the Saint-Rémy asylum.
- 1893 · 1918 Women in New Zealand have voted in parliamentary elections since 1893, a quarter of a century before those in Britain, Germany or Russia.
- 1895 In 1895 Popov demonstrated a radio receiver in St Petersburg, and the Lumière brothers held the first paid film screening in Paris.