1872

1872 was a leap year in the Gregorian calendar and a period of continued industrialization and political change across much of the world. In the United States, conservation and expansion took on new form as the federal government initiated efforts to preserve large tracts of land and natural features.

The year is best remembered for the establishment of Yellowstone National Park on March 1, 1872, following exploration and survey work by the U.S. Army and scientists. Yellowstone became the first national park in the United States and is widely regarded as the first national park in the world designed to protect a landscape and its ecosystems.

In American politics, Ulysses S. Grant was reelected president in 1872, defeating Horace Greeley. Greeley died before the Electoral College vote, and his electors were divided among several candidates, affecting the final tally.

Internationally, nations continued to pursue modernization and imperial expansion, with governments pursuing reforms in administration, industry, and education. In Japan, the Meiji government continued its program of modernization and centralization during this period, including the ongoing transformation of political and administrative structures following the earlier abolition of the han system.

The year also saw ongoing advances in science and culture as part of the broader 19th-century pattern of global change.