January 2 – Battle at Doornkop, South Africa: The Boers beat Dr. Jameson’s troops.
January 4 – Utah enters the union as the 45th U.S. State. Also the AFL charters Actors’ National Protective Union in New York City.
January 5 – It is reported by an Austrian paper that Wilhelm Rontgen discovered some sort of radiation. Later on his discovery will be called X-rays. Also, Isaac Albeniz’s opera Pepita Jiminez premiers in Barcelona.
January 6- Cecil Rhodes resigns from his post as premier of the Cape colony.
January 12 – H.L. Smith is credited with taking the first X-Ray photograph.
January 18- The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time. Also, British troops occupy Kumasi, West Africa.
January 28 – Walter Arnold, of England is issued the first speeding fine. He was fined 1 shilling for speeding 13 km/h (8 mph) in a 2 mph (3.2 km/h) zone.
February 11 – Salome , a play by Oscar Wilde, premiers in Paris, France.
February 25- The Italian government attacks governor Baratieri of Eritrea
February 28 – France lets go Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar.
March 1 – Battle of Adowa: Ethiopia defends its independence from Italy.
March 8 – Volunteers of America is formed.
March 20 – Marines land in Nicaragua to protect U.S. citizens
March 23 – Raines Law is passed by the New York State Legislature. Raines law restricts Sunday alcoholic beverage sales to hotels only.
March 25- The first modern Olympics begins in Athens, Greece.
April 3 – The Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport is published for the first time.
April 9 – The National Farm School is chartered in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Later it will become Delaware Valley College
April 23 – At Koster and Bial’s Music Hall in New York City, the premier of motion pictures begins.
Also, the Vitoscope movie projection system is first demonstrated.
May 4- The London Daily Mail is published for the first time.
May 18 – The U.S. Supreme Court introduces “separate but equal” and upholds segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson.
May 26- Charles Dow publishes the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the very first time.
June 4- The very first Ford vehicle is completed. It is called the Ford Quadricycle. This helps Henry Ford to launch his automotive empire.
June 15 – An earthquake and tsunami happen in Sanriku, Japan and kills 27,000.
June 28 – An explosion in the Twin Shaft Mine, in Pennsylvania results in a massive cave in that kills 58 miners.
July 9 – William Jennings Bryan makes his Cross of Gold speech at the Democratic National Convention, which eventually leads to his nomination for President of the United States
July 11- Wilfrid Laurier becomes Canada’s 7th prime minister. He is also the first French-speaking premier of the country.
July 21- Washington D.C: the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs is organized.
July 26 – The International Socialist Works and the Trade Union Congress opens in London.
August 27- The Anglo-Zanzibar War starts at 9 in the morning and lasts for 45 minutes, making it the shortest war in history.
September 17 – The New York Military Academy is founded by a Civil War veteran and former school teacher from New Hampshire named Charles Jefferson Wright.
September 22 – Queen Victoria becomes the longest reigning monarch in British history.
October 1 – Yosemite becomes a National Park.
November 3 – Republican William McKinley defeats William Jennings Bryan in the U.S. Presidential Election. Also, Martha Hughes Cannon of Utah becomes first female senator.
November 19- In the Strand magazine, the beginning of the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire is pubished.
November 24- In Vermont, the first absentee voting law is enacted.
December 25- John Philip Sousa composes Stars and Stripes Forever.
December 30- A Filipino scholar and poet named Jose Rizal is executed in the Philippines.
Date Unknown
Established by decree of the Vatican, the Pontifical University of Maynooth is established.
The New York Telephone Company is formed.
The Republican Party of the United States is realigned.
Philippine Revolution erupts.
Births
January 2- Dziga Vertov, Russian Filmmaker
January 8- Arthur Ford, American psychic spiritual medium, clairaudient
January 12- Rex Ingram, Irish director and actor
January 14 – John Dos Passos, American author
January 20 – George Burns, American comedian
February 18- Andre Breton, French Writer
April 27- Rogers Hornsby, American baseballer
June 19- Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor
July 13- Mordecai Ardon, Israeli Painter
July 16 – Trygvie Lie, Norwegian, first UN Secretary General
August 30- Raymond Massey, Canadian-born actor
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