Philadelphia International Exposition of 1876

Centenary of U.S. independence

Name
:Centennial International Exhibition
Period
: May 10, 1876 - November 10, 1876
Venue
: Philadelphia (Fairmount Park)
No. of visitors
: 9,789,000

This was held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of U.S. independence. The exposition preparation was conducted by volunteer groups, with the funds mainly raised by the private sector.. The venue comprised seven main halls and hundreds of other pavilions. On the opening day, at the Machinery Hall, the U.S. President and the Brazilian Emperor set Corliss Steam Engine to work, followed by a simultaneous start of the operation of various machinery exhibited in the hall. Approximately 80% of the items at the hall were exhibited by the United States. Also, one-third of the industrial products at the Main Exhibition Building were displayed by the United States. The inventions exhibited included a typewriter by Remington Co., a telephone by A. G. Bell, and a quadruplex telegraph by T. A. Edison, as well as agricultural and heavy industrial machinery.

References:

Findling, J. E., Pelle, K. D. ed.: Historical dictionary of world's fairs and expositions, 1851-1988 (Greenwood Press ,1990) <D7-B3>
Hirano, Shigeomi.: Kokusai hakurankai rekishi jiten (Uchiyama kobo, 1999) <D7-G26>
Ito, Mamiko.: Meiji nihon to bankoku hakurankai (Yoshikawa kobunkan, 2008) <D7-J8>
Yoshida, Mitsukuni.: Bankoku hakurankai: Gijutsu bunmeishiteki ni Revised ed. (Nihon hoso shuppan kyokai, 1985) <D7-67>