to England with her son. September 6 – Louisa Swain of Laramie, Wyoming, becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally since 1807. September 18 – Old Faithful Geyser is observed and named by Henry D. Washburn, during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition to Yellowstone in Wyoming. September 19 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris (1870–1871) begins. From September 23, balloon mail is sent out of the city. September 20 – Capture of Rome; With Bersaglieri soldiers entering Rome at Porta Pia, the unification of Italy is completed, ending the last remnant of the Papal States and Papal temporal power. October–December October 2 – A plebiscite held in Rome supports, by 133,681 votes to 1,507, the annexation of the city by Italy. October 6 – Rome becomes the capital of unified Italy. October 8 – Léon Gambetta escapes besieged Paris in a hot-air balloon. October 20 – The First Vatican Council adjourns. October 20 – A 6.6 earthquake shakes the Canadian province of Quebec, killing 6 people. October 26 – The Chinese leaders of June's Tianjin Massacre of foreigners are executed by China's Imperial government. October 27 – Franco-Prussian War: Siege of Metz – Marshal François Achille Bazaine, commanding the French left wing, is forced by starvation to surrender the fortifications of Metz. November 1 – In the United States, the newly created Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorological forecast: "High winds at Chicago and Milwaukee... and along the Lakes". November 12 – Dresdner Bank is founded in Germany. November 16 – The Spanish Cortes Generales proclaims Amadeo de Saboya as King Amadeo I of Spain. December 12 – Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the second black U.S. congressman (following Hiram Rhodes Revels in February). December 28 – Juan Prim, prime minister of Spain, is shot by unknown assassins on leaving the Cortes, dying two days later. December 31 Sir Henry Barkly is appointed Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa. The Fréjus Rail Tunnel through the Alps is completed. Date unknown Japanese yen currency is introduced to supersede the mon. David Kenyon invents the fireman's pole in Chicago. Graeter's ice cream is originated in Cincinnati, Ohio. Just one of the 916 members of the Indian Civil Service is Indian. Births January–June January 2 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor, graphic artist