Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: James S. Slingerland (political party unknown) (until January 2), Frank Denver (political party unknown) (starting January 2)
September 2 – The disastrous Polaris expedition reaches 82°45′N, the northernmost latitude of any ship to this time.
September 3 – New York City residents, tired of the corruption of the "Tammany Hall" political machine and "Boss" William M. Tweed, its "Grand Sachem", meet to form the 'Committee of Seventy' to reform local politics.[1]
October 27 – Boss TweedofTammany Hall is arrested for bribery, ending his grip on New York City.
c. November – The South Improvement Company is formed in Pennsylvania by John D. Rockefeller and a group of major railroad interests, in an early effort to organize and control the petroleum industry in the U.S.