listed in
Chronological History of Principal Events
from January 1 to December 31, 1878
in Langley's 1879 San Francisco City Directory
| Jan. 1 | Hoodlums murder James LYONS, corner Fifth and Tehama streets |
| Jan. 6 | State Senator Nathan PORTER dies at Sacramento |
| Jan. 9 | Martin PENDERGAST attempts to murder Mrs. PRICE, and then suicides |
| Jan. 16 | Charles E. HOOK suicides by poison |
| Jan. 18 | William PETERSON suicides |
| Jan. 20 | Henry J. COOLIDGE suicides |
| Jan. 21 | John W. NELSON suicides |
| Jan. 23 | Wilhelmina JONES dies from the effect of an assault by Albert ONTIVIRAS |
| Jan. 23 | William H. PATTERSON suicides |
| Jan. 25 | Maria M. HOWARD suicides by chloroform |
| Jan. 30 | Joseph MEYER drowned in the bay |
| Feb. 1 | Adolph GOETZIN suicides |
| Feb. 2 | John W. NELSON suicides by drowning |
| Feb. 6 | J. ANTONIA suicides by strychnine |
| Feb. 8 | A. TASSARO attempts to murder A.D. SPLIVALO, and then suicides by pistol |
| Feb. 8 | Charles GAVE dies of injuries received in a fight with Hugh O'NEIL |
| Feb. 10 | George E. FENTON, 17 years old, suicides by pistol |
| Feb. 10 | The body of E. BUSHWICK, supposed suicide, found near Ocean Beach House |
| Feb. 10 | George E. McCARTY suicides |
| Feb. 11 | John KJELDSTROM suicides |
| Feb. 11 | John SHORTREED suicides |
| Feb. 12 | Florence HOFFER suicides |
| Feb. 13 | William H. FOX suicides |
| Feb. 15 | John BRADLEY is killed by a windlass |
| Feb. 17 | James N. McCUNE, a member of the San Francisco Produce Exchange, dies |
| Feb. 18 | Frederick BECK suicides |
| Feb. 20 | Francis HARVEY suicides |
| Feb. 21 | John SCOTT suicides |
| Feb. 25 | John McGUIRE sentenced for the murder of Thomas WILLIAMS |
| Feb. 25 | Police Officer COPPOLA dies from pistol shot fired by his wife |
| March 1 | Charles C. NAHL, the eminent figure painter, and and "Argonaut" of 1850, dies. |
| March 2 | John BRARENS found dead |
| March 3 | Guy R. SKINNER suicides |
| March 3 | William INKHEN drowned in the bay |
| March 3 | Thaddeus HONAN, a training-ship boy, suicides by drowning |
| March 5 | The body of Joseph D. OLESEN recovered from the bay |
| March 8 | Lerenzo ALLONI dies from knife wound |
| March 11 | Several severe accidents occur from runaway horses, by one of which Miss HYDE is killed |
| March 11 | James HAMILTON, a distinguished marine painter, dies |
| March 16 | Emma C. DOWNES dies from aborton by Mrs. C.L. HODGDON |
| March 17 | Dr. Samuel DUNCAN suicides |
| March 17 | P.J. McGINN suicides by drowning. |
| March 17 | J.A. LINEHAN suicides by pistol |
| March 19 | Mrs. Cynthia L. HODGDON is held for the murder of Emma C. DOWNES |
| March 19 | Adam ZWECKLER suicides by hanging |
| March 19 | Joseph MAGUIRE, musician, dies in Oakland |
| March 22 | Jeanette DELPODIA suicides by strychnine |
| March 24 | John LANGE suicides |
| March 26 | William FAULKNER dies |
| March 27 | John DUNN suicides by pistol |
| March 27 | John DONNELLY suicides by pistol |
| March 27 | A.J. JEGHERS, for many years Deputy County Clerk, dies |
| March 29 | Mark HOPKINS, Treasurer Central Pacific R.R. Co., dies at Fort Yuma, A.T. |
| March 31 | James E. DEMING suicides by pistol |
| March 31 | John SMITH accidentally drowns in the bay |
| April 5 | Louis ALBISCHER suicides by strychnine |
| April 5 | William REGAN found dead |
| April 6 | John W. AMES, United States Surveyor-General for California, dies |
| April 7 | A.R. WATTERSON suicides by poison |
| April 9 | Patrick FARRALLY suicides |
| April 10 | Mrs. STEWART and two children burned to death at 1214 Stockton street |
| April 13 | Cortland WOOD suicides |
| April 16 | Street car runs over and kills John CALLAHAN |
| April 20 | Frank SPEARMAN killed by a dummy of the California Street R.R. |
| April 22 | Matthais HOLLEBACH suicides |
| April 26 | John RUNK is hanged in the County Jail for the murder of policeman COOTS |
| April 28 | John WALL drops dead |
| April 29 | George H. HOWARD dies at San Mateo |
| May 2 | W.S. O'BRIEN, of the bonanza firm, dies. |
| May 4 | The funeral of the late W.S. O'BRIEN is largely attended |
| May 10 | John TUTTLE suicides with aconite |
| May 12 | Louis HEYMAN suicides |
| May 12 | James MANNATYNE accidentally drowns in the bay |
| May 14 | Christopher MYRTENS suicides |
| May 15 | Dr. W.G. WAYMAN, member of the Board of Health, dies |
| May 18 | Mrs. B. ST. DENIS killed by fall from a balcony |
| May 20 | Michael SHANNON dies from stab by parties unknown |
| May 21 | Andrew SPOHR murders his wife, Lena |
| May 22 | James BAXTER dies from wounds inflicted by A.P. CHURCH |
| May 23 | Gustav A. KEMPEL suicides by drowning |
| May 24 | Thomas ROSE suicides |
| May 26 | John MURPHY drowned in the bay |
| May 26 | Edward DRUMMOND drowned in the bay |
| May 26 | Moritz MARKS drowned off North Beach |
| May 27 | Dr. R.B. TODD accidentally shoots and kills William E. STURGES |
| May 31 | Denis DONNELLY suicides |
| June 1 | William H. BUTLER suicides |
| June 6 | Ellen WEYERMILLER suicides by drowning |
| June 6 | Thomas J. ARNOLD dies |
| June 7 | Adah L. VAN HEUSSEN dies from aborthon |
| June 8 | Sol. A. SHARP, a distinguished member of the San Francisco bar, dies |
| June 9 | James DOWNEY suicides by drowning |
| June 10 | Charles WARNER suicides by drowning |
| Jun 11 | John G. GERDING suicides |
| June 11 | John B. STEVENSON found dead |
| June 18 | P.J. KEDROLIVANSKEY dies from fracture of skull |
| June 21 | Edward HANRAHAN kills both his wife and cousin, Michael SHEEHAN, with an axe |
| June 24 | Pierce NEAGLE shoots Bridget T. HARDNETT and then suicides |
| June 26 | William HERBOLD suicides |
| June 27 | Thomas DOWNING suicides |
| June 28 | Augustus HAHN suicides |
| July 5 | Luis VARGAS suicides |
| July 11 | Isaac FRIEDLANDER, a prominent merchant, dies |
| July 11 | John H. RUBY suicides |
| July 16 | William OAKS dies from a fractured skull |
| July 16 | Honora LYNCH dies from a stab inflicted by her husband |
| July 20 | Thomas N. STARR suicides by drowning |
| July 24 | John HEIDEMANN suicides |
| Aug. 1 | Henry DROGE murders his wife and suicides |
| Aug. 3 | A telegram announces the death of Michael REESE in Germany |
| Aug. 4 | John B. WARNER shoots and kills William J. WILSON |
| Aug. 9 | Geroge SMITH suicides |
| Aug. 11 | Henry J. MONTAGUE, distinguished society actor, dies |
| Aug. 12 | Thomas THOMPSON suicides |
| Aug. 15 | Louis COLEN suicides |
| Aug. 18 | Ferd. T. BREWSTER killed at South Pacific Coast R.R. landing, Alameda |
| Aug. 20 | P.J. BOARDMAN suicides |
| Aug. 20 | N.R. MIDDLETON fatally injured by street car horses |
| Aug. 23 | Sophia WAHR, aged 13, suicides by strychnine |
| Aug. 14 [sic.] | John McGOWAN dies from stab inflicted by William HOWARD |
| Aug. 27 | A.H. MANSON suicides when about to be arrensted for the attempted murder of his wife |
| Aug. 27 | Joseph [B?]RUSHER suicides |
| Aug. 29 | A shooting affray between ex-Supervisor M.J. KELLY and his brother-in-law, John RUSSELL |
| Sept. 1 | John RUSSELL dies of his wound |
| Sept. 1 | Jacob KISTER accidentally shoots and kills Frank HEIGLE |
| Sept. 2 | Ex-Governor H.H. HAIGHT dies |
| Sept. 7 | Higinio de CIMIA suicides |
| Sept. 11 | Alexander AUSTIN, ex-Tax Collector, suicides at San Mateo |
| Sept. 14 | Hattie L. RUSSELL suicides |
| Sept. 17 | Gustav MAHE, Director General French Bank, suicides |
| Sept. 17 | Captain Albert G. JONES dies |
| Sept. 19 | Mary Ann BURNS suicides by poison |
| Sept. 26 | Julius A. KEEFE suicides |
| Sept. 30 | Daniel MERKLE, a hoodlum, aged 19, shot and killed by Edward A. VON SCHMIDT |
| Sept. 30 | Maude McNEAL suicides |
| Oct. 1 | J.H. MONTGOMERY suicides |
| Oct. 4 | Charles M. MARTIN dies from having been thrown from a balcony |
| Oct. 9 | David D. COLTON, Financial Director of the C.P.R.R. Co., and Vice President of S.P.R.R. Co., dies |
| Oct. 16 | Julius KNOPF suicides |
| Oct. 17 | Andrew SPOHR sentenced for life for wife murder |
| Oct. 18 | Guiseppe CARIFFINA suicides |
| Oct. 19 | Thomas L. SMITH accidentally shot and killed by E.H. LADD |
| Oct. 22 | Thomas P. KETTELL, journalist, dies |
| Oct. 23 | George BUXTON suicides |
| Oct. 26 | Heinrich BUSCHER suicides |
| Oct. 26 | Andrew SANDEY dies from injuries received by a Market street car |
| Oct. 28 | Colonel Richard REALF suicides in Oakland |
| Oct. 31 | Frank H. ROSCOE suicides |
| Nov. 2 | W.H. RULOFSON, Sr., photographer, killed by a fall |
| Nov. 6 | Moses KULLMAN suicides |
| Nov. 7 | Ann M. BARRY murdered by Michael SULLIVAN, alias "Red Mike" |
| Nov. 12 | Henry S. SMITH, Vice-President Mechanics' Institute, dies |
| Nov. 17 | John CORNING, Assistant General Superintendent C.P.R.R., dies at Los Angeles |
| Nov. 21 | Geroge M. SMITH kills his wife for refusing to live with him |
| Nov. 21 | Bernard F. KENNY, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, des |
| Nov. 22 | Charles H. FRENCH, hackman, killded by the overturning of his hack |
| Nov. 23 | Giovanni MIRASOLE suicides |
| Nov. 24 | Mary RODRIGUEZ dies from wounds infrlicted by J.B. AYRES |
| Nov. 28 | Wilhelm TAURECK suicides |
| Nov. 30 | Louis DEVERGER suicides |
| Dec. 1 | Jean PAPON suicides |
| Dec. 1 | Charles A. BAUER suicides |
| Dec. 5 | George GARDINER suicides |
| Dec. 7 | William K. BLACK dies |
| Dec. 8 | Ernest A. BLACKBURN suicides |
| Dec. 9 | Patrick THORNTON suicides |
| Dec. 11 | N. LANDRY, real-estate agent, suicides |
| Dec. 13 | Carsten H. WARMHOLZ suicides |
| Dec. 15 | General B.S. ALEXANDER, U.S.A., President Board of Engineers Pacific Coast, dies |
| Dec. 18 | Andrew J. POPE dies |
| Dec. 24 | Charles E. GORHAM suicides |
| Dec. 24 | Jerome BARABINO suicides |
| Dec. 26 | William S. WELLS drowns in Lake Merritt |
| Dec. 30 | Thomas CROSSLEY shoots his wife and then suicides |
| Dec. 30 | John H. COOVER suicides |