6 – Oscar Wilde is arrested in London for "gross indecency", after losing a criminal libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry. April 7 – Nansen's Fram expedition to the Arctic reaches 86°13.6'N, almost 3° beyond the previous Farthest North attained. April 14 – A major earthquake severely damages Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola. April 16 – The town of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, is incorporated. April 17 – The Treaty of Shimonoseki is signed between China and Japan. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea, and to concede the southern portion of Fengtian province, Taiwan, and the Penghu to Japan. The huge indemnity exacted from China is used to establish the Yawata Iron and Steel Works in Japan. April 22 – Gongche Shangshu movement: 603 candidates sign a 10,000-word petition against the Treaty of Shimonoseki. April 27 – The historic Spiral Bridge is constructed to carry U.S. 61 over the Mississippi River, at Hastings, Minnesota. The picturesque bridge is one-of-a-kind, and serves the citizens of Hastings for 56 years, until it is demolished in 1951. May 1 – Dundela Football, Sports & Association Club is formed in Belfast. May 2 – Gongche Shangshu movement: Thousands of Beijing scholars and citizens protest against the Treaty of Shimonoseki. May 9 – Thirteen workers are killed by soldiers of the Russian Empire during the Yaroslavl Great Manufacture strike. May 18 – The first motor race in Italy is held. It runs on a course from Turin to Asti and back, a total of . Five entrants start the event; only three complete it. It is won by Simone Federman in a four-seat Daimler Omnibus, at an average speed of . May 24 – Anti-Japanese officials, led by Tang Jingsong in Taiwan, declare independence from the Qing Dynasty, forming the short-lived Republic of Formosa. May 25 – R. v. Wilde: Oscar Wilde is convicted in London of "unlawfully committing acts of gross indecency with certain male persons" (under the Labouchere Amendment) and given a two years' sentence of hard labour, during which he will write De Profundis. May 27 – In re Debs: The Supreme Court of the United States decides that the federal government has the right to regulate interstate commerce, legalizing the military suppression of the Pullman Strike. June 5 – The Liberal Revolution begins in Ecuador,