First International Conference of American States And so, as Secretary of State, Blaine sent invitations to all the nations of the Hemisphere to come to Washington in November 1881 with the principal goal of considering and discussing methods to prevent war between the nations of the Hemisphere. But destiny intervened: President Garfield was assassinated on 19 September 1881 and the new President Chester A. Arthur, who was no friend of Blaine's, quickly removed him from the State Department. Shortly afterward, the Conference invitations were withdrawn on the grounds that the unsettled situation at home and abroad would make such an event impossible. Now a private citizen,
1881 Haiphong typhoon 1881 Haiphong typhoon The 1881 Haiphong typhoon was a typhoon that struck Haiphong, in Dai Nam (now Vietnam), and the northern part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines (now the Philippines) on October 8, 1881. The Gulf of Tonkin is one of the most frequently used paths for Pacific typhoons to strike the Asian Mainland. In 1881 Haiphong Typhoon traveled this route after it originated near the Spanish East Indies. The city of Haiphong lies about 10 miles from the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin and also on the Red River in a low elevation area (delta), connected