Constitutional democracy noted two major milestones in 1887. In Great Britain, Queen Victoria celebrated her 50th anniversary as that nation’s popular monarch – an occasion that was marked by national coinage. And in the United States, it was the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution’s ratification. No commemorative coins were issued then, but there were two commemoratives for the 200th anniversary in 1987.

Additional interesting events of 1887:

• Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act to make railroads subject to federal regulation.
• The U.S. Senate approved a naval base lease at Pearl Harbor in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
• A Kansas developer named Harvey Wilcox subdivided 120 acres he owned in Southern California and started selling lots in what became known as Hollywood.
• Anne Sullivan began teaching a blind and deaf Alabama girl named Helen Keller. The girl was 6 years old at the time.
• Racetrack betting was legalized in New York State.
• Rowell Hodge patented barbed wire. Its primary use wasn’t keeping inmates in prison, but closing the Western frontier to herds of livestock.
• Herman Hollerith, an American statistician and inventor, received a patent for a punch-card calculator.
• Home computers were still about a century away.
• The first Groundhog Day was observed in Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania.
• Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day a holiday.
• During a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world's largest-known snowflakes were reported. They measured 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick.

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