The Cincinnati Red Stockings played their first game, winning with 45-9 against the Great Westerns of Cincinnati.
French inventor Pierre Lallement was awarded his patent for a pedal bicycle.
The Football Association is formed.
Charles Blondin became the first person to cross Niagara Falls by walking across a tightrope.
The National Association of Baseball Players was established in New York.
The First America's Cup is held.
The world's first chess tournament is held in London.
The first-ever all-female golf tournament was held.
The world's first recorded parachute jump occurred from 3,300 feet (1,000 m) above Paris.
A first-of-its-kind boxing match took place to settle a feud between a butler and a butcher.
The US held its first horse race in Long Island, New York.
