Jan 1 A new century begins, continuing tough working conditions for laborers and Europe's conflict between nationalism and empire. Europe's elite and the Church are giving moral support to empire. Austria-Hungary's emperor, Franz Joseph, sees himself as most ethical.
Jan 10 Oil is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
Jan 22 Queen Victoria dies at age eight-one. Edward VII is crowned.
Jan 30 In Kansas, Carrie Nation, age 54, 6 feet tall and 175 pounds, accompanied by hymn singing women, is smashing up saloons.
Feb 1 In this month's issue of North American Review, Mark Twain has an essay titled "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." The article is critical of the Boer War, activities regarding the Boxer Rebellion and the US war in the Philippines. Some others are calling for support for "our troops." An American general in the Philippines complains about the loyalty of some at home.
Feb 5 Recognizing their diminishing influence in Central and South America and wanting to cultivate the United States as a counterweight to Germany's influence in that region, the British sign the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty with the United States. With this treaty they approve US construction of a canal so long as the US recognizes neutrality of access.
Feb 23 Britain and Germany agree to a border between German East Africa and the British colony of Nyasaland.
Feb 26 In China, the Boxer rebellion is winding down and foreign powers are asserting control. In Beijng two leaders of the Boxer Rebellion, Chi Hsui and Hsu-Cheng-yuo, are beheaded.
Mar 1 Britain, Germany, Japan and the US are unhappy about China's government letting Russia build railways in Manchuria.
Mar 2 The United States Congress passes the Platt Amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops. The amendment declares the right of the US to intervene militarily in Cuban affairs.
Mar 4 President McKinley begins his second term.
Mar 15 Britain's Lord Kitchener is haggling with the Boer general, Louis Botha, over conditions for ending the Second Boer War. No agreement has been reached as the Boers continue to want autonomy if they are to be within the British Empire.
May 3 Fire destroys 1,700 buildings in Jacksonville, Florida. It started as a boiler explosion in a candle factory. Next it spread to a mattress factory and beyond, out of control. Fires are often big because of poor equipment and use of horsedrawn wagons.
May 9 Australia opens its first parliament in Melbourne.
May 23 The US military captures the Filipino independence leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, at his headquarters in the northeast of Luzon Island.
Jun 12 Cuba, occuppied since the Spanish American War in 1898, becomes a United States protectorate, meaning the US assumes responsibily for protecting Cuba from other counties while Cuba supposedly remains a sovereign power.
Aug 14 Aviation pioneer Gustave Whitehead flies a motor-powered aircraft in Connecticut. In 2013 Jane's All The World's Aircraft will recognize Whitehead as making the first manned, powered, controlled flight.
Aug 25 A US army nurse, Clara Maass, age 25, dies after having volunteered for medical experiments that prove mosquitoes carry yellow fever.
Sep 6 At the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, an anarchist mill worker, Leon Czolgosz, shoots President William McKinley. On the ground and bleeding, McKinley calls Czolgosz a "poor, misguided fellow" and asks that he not be hurt. McKinley will die eight days later.
Sep 7 The Boxer Rebellion in China officially ends with the signing of the Boxer Protocol. In China, the Dowager Empress, Cixi, signs an agreement with foreign powers formally ending the Boxer Rebellion. Boxer leaders other than she will soon be executed. Chinese nationalism will, however, live on.
Sep 14 Theodore Roosevelt succeeds William McKinley as President of the United States.
Sep 28 A surprise attack by anti-US forces on Samar Island in the Philippines kills 48 US soldiers.
Oct 16 US President Theodore Roosevelt invites African American leader Booker T. Washington to the White House. Many southern whites react angrily to the visit. In the South racial violence increases.
Oct 29 In New York, Leon Czolgosz is executed in the electric chair. His having claimed that Emma Goldman influenced him philosophically has made her a target of hostile public opinion.
Dec 3 President Roosevelt delivers a 20,000-word speech to the House of Representatives asking Congress to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits."
Dec 10 It is the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. In Stockholm the first Nobel Prize ceremony is held.
Dec 12 The first Morse code radio signal is sent across the Atlantic Ocean, from England to Newfoundland.
Dec 20 The Mombasa-Victoria-Uganda Railway is completed with a final spike at the Lake Victoria port city of Kisumu, Kenya.
Copyright © 1998-2018 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.