January
•
German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, proclaims his intention to build up the
German navy so that "the German Empire may also be in a position to win the
place it has not yet attained."
•
Russia's Minister of Finance announced that Russia's gold
reserve was diminished over the last year by more than 24 million rubles.
•
V.I. Lenin emigrates to Switzerland and begins a five-year
exile from Russia.
•
Sioux Indian Chief Spotted Tail dies in Paris. He was one of the best
known of the war chiefs of the Sioux tribe. He played a considerable role in
the Native American uprisings of 1876, which led to the massacre of General
Custer and his troops.
•
Great Britain establishes the British Protectorate of Northern
Nigeria. Sir F.D. Lugard is named High Commissioner.
February
•
The boxing world mourns the death, in London, of the
Marquis of Queensbury, the author of the rules under which professional boxing
matches are conducted.
•
In Britain, the Labour Party is founded.
March
•
Minnesota state agricultural officials predict a record grain
harvest, exceeding that of Great Britain and Ireland, combined.
•
In Paris, bombs are thrown into the home of M. Alfred Picard,
Commissioner-General of the Paris Exposition, which is about to begin.
April
•
Enthusiastic crowds greet Queen Victoria as she visits Dublin,
Ireland.
•
An attempt is made on the life of the Prince of Wales during his
visit to Brussels. A sixteen-year-old boy, who claimed to be avenging the
"thousands slaughtered in South Africa," is arrested after firing two
shots at the Prince. Both shots missed.
•
France makes strides toward linking all its possessions in Africa
by defeating Rabah Zubayr in the Battle at Kusseri, thereby gaining control of
the Baguirmi Kingdom. France already controls Algeria, West Africa, and the
French Congo.
•
The Chinese government is issued an ultimatum by France,
Germany, Britain, and the US to suppress the Boxer uprising.
May
•
Paris, France, is the site of the Summer Olympics, called the
International Meeting of Physical Training and Sport. Over 1500 athletes from
22 nations compete for medals. France takes the lion's share of gold medals,
winning 29. The US follows with 20.
•
Italian laborers, imported to Mexico to work on the construction
of the Vera Cruz and Pacific railroads, refuse to work. The Mexican government
made it clear to their Italian counterparts that the non-working laborers would
be deported.
June
•
Spanish cellist Pablo Casals performs at the Salle des Agriculture
during the Paris Exposition.
•
The first international championship motorcar race is held in
France as drivers from Belgium, France, Germany, and the US compete for the
Gordon Bennett Cup on a course running from Paris to Lyon. The race, sponsored
by New York publisher Gordon Bennett, is won by the driver from France, who
maintains an average speed of 38 miles per hour.
•
In China, the Boxer's siege of the legations begins with the
assassination of the German ambassador.
July
•
Italian and French vineyard owners attempt to divert hailstorms by
firing cannons at developing cloud formations.
•
Security is increased in Paris at the Exposition as incidence of
anarchistic violence increase.
•
German Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin launches his 416 foot long aircraft,
called a Zeppelin, over Lake Constance. Capable of carrying up to 10 tons, the
craft carried enough fuel to remain aloft for 10 hours.
•
King Humbert I of Italy is assassinated at Monzo by silk weaver
Gaetano Bresci, an avowed anarchist who had formerly lived in Paterson, New
Jersey.
•
Paris, France, unveils its first subway system. It will expand to become
one the world's three largest.
•
At Wimbledon in London, Reginald Doherty wins the men's singles
competition, while Mrs. Hillyard is the ladies' champ.
August
•
An 8-member Allied relief force ends the siege of legations in
Peking, China. There, the combined forces of the US, France, Germany, Austria,
Italy, Russia, Japan, and Great Britain succeeded in driving the Boxers
and a band of Chinese regulars out of the captured city.
•
German philosopher and poet, Friedrich Nietzsche dies. Nietzsche's
controversial writings were harshly critical of Christianity.
•
Farmers outside of London stage a protest over the introduction of
time-saving and labor-reducing farming devices imported from the United
States.
September
•
The Duke of Abruzzi's polar expedition returns to Norway and
announces to the world that it had reached a destination at 86 degrees, 33
minutes north latitude, the highest point reached to date.
•
In Bradford, England, Sir William H. Preece announces at the British
Association for the Advancement of Science that he has successfully conveyed
audible speech 6 to 8 miles without the use of wires.
October
•
Prussian Bernhard von Bulow becomes chancellor of Germany. He
succeeds Chlodwig Karl Hohenlohe who resigned 2 days earlier.
•
Austrian Sigmund Freud publishes "The Interpretation of Dreams,"
calling dreams "the royal road to the unconscious." Freud maintains that dreams
contain repressed desires that would otherwise be censored in a wakened
state.
•
In Britain, the "Khaki" election results in victory for the
Conservatives, who retain power under the Marquis of Salisbury.
•
French engineers secure a contract to construct the Seoul-Wiju
Railway in Korea.
November
•
Irish-born writer Oscar Wilde dies of cerebral meningitis at the
Hotel d'Alsace in Paris at age 49. Wilde was the controversial author of "The
Picture of Dorian Gray," among other works.
•
News out of Lavidia, Russia, reports the Czar to be in
grave physical condition.
•
The Paris Exposition comes to a close.
December
•
German physicist Max Planck announces what would come to be known
as quantum theory. Planck maintains that light rays are not continuous but are
emitted in discrete amounts called quanta.
•
The British Commonwealth of Australia is declared official
and joins a federal union of six British colonies.
Africa | Asia | Australia | Central America/Carribbean
Europe | North America | South America
USA - Midwest | USA - Northeast | USA - Northwest | USA - Southeast | USA - Southwest
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