| Jan 12 | Edison's central station on Holborn Viaduct in London begins operation. |
| Jan 17 | Edison's exhibit opens at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in London. |
| Winter | Establishes companies in London and Paris to manufacture electric light system components and to install central stations in Europe and the United Kingdom. |
| Establishes electric light companies in Latin America. | |
| May 8 | Begins at the Menlo Park laboratory an extensive series of electric lighting experiments that he considers beyond the capacity of the newly established Edison Machine Works. |
| Spring-Summer | Executes fifty-three patent applications covering electric lighting, electric railways, and secondary batteries. |
| Sep 4 | Opens the Pearl Street central station in the Wall Street district of New York. |
| Oct 4-Nov 28 | Executes thirty-four patent applications covering electric lighting and electric railways. |
| Nov | Closes his Menlo Park laboratory and establishes a laboratory on the top floor of the Bergmann and Company factory in New York City. |
