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| 1882, May 20 |
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| Opening of the St. Gothard Railway, first of the great railroad tunnels through the Alps. | 1 |
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| 1887 |
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| A factory law enforced the 11-hour day and Sundays off, forbade children under age 14 from working in factories, and regulated women's work and the construction and operation of factory buildings. | 2 |
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| 1889, June |
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| As a result of their position of neutrality, the Swiss arrested and expelled a Prussian policeman attempting to capture a spy on Swiss territory. Bismarck immediately demanded an apology and withdrawal of the expulsion from the Federal Council. He threatened to invade Swiss territory and establish his own police force there. The Swiss Federal Council refused, and Bismarck finally dropped the issue. | 3 |
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| 1890, Sept. 12–14 |
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| Radicals rose in Ticino as a result of an election in which, despite a draw, the Conservatives obtained the majority of seats in the Ticinese Great Council. The Radicals revolted, establishing a pro visional government after imprisoning municipal councils in Bellinzona and Lugano. The federal government intervened, sent troops to quell the insurrection, and helped provide proportional representation in the Great Council. The Radicals came to power in Ticino after a new constitution was established in 1892, which extended civil rights. | 4 |
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| 1890–98 |
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| Federal powers increased as the federal government received the right to enact social insurance (1890), purchase privately owned railways (1898), and unify and enforce civil and penal codes (1898). | 5 |
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| 1897, Aug. 21–31 |
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| First Zionist conference. Theodor Herzl, author of The Jewish State, presided. The conference began the Zionist efforts to establish a Jewish state in Israel. | 6 |
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| 1907, April 12 |
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| A new army bill established an army of 281,000 men with a reserve of 200,000, strengthening the Swiss defensive capabilities. However, the Swiss maintained their neutrality, and, in 1911, the army commanders issued a proclamation indicating their support of this policy. | 7 |
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| 1911 |
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| Federal law provided mandatory accident insurance and subsidized health insurance. | 8 |
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| 1914, Aug. 1–4 |
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| Parliament granted the executive unlimited powers in the wake of massive mobilization. Neutrality was proclaimed, and Germany was notified that attempts to violate it would be repelled with armed force. (See Switzerland) | 9 |
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