January
•
Republican incumbent William Taylor and Democratic contender
William Goebel battle for the governorship of Kentucky. A highly suspect
election resulted with both Taylor and Goebel claiming the State House. With
the state assembly charged with deciding the winner, Taylor barricaded himself
in the State House, protected by an armed militia. Attempting to confront the
militia, Goebel was shot. As he hovered near death, the state assembly finally
declared him the rightful winner of Kentucky's governorship. Goebel did not
live to serve out his term and was succeeded by his lieutenant governor.
•
In Chicago, seven US cities agree to form the American Association
of Baseball Clubs, which would later become known as the American League. The
American League teams hailed from Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago,
Detroit, Milwaukee, and St. Louis.
February
•
Henry Ford unveils the first Detroit-made automobile.
•
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line tests "The Wind Splitter," which
reaches speeds of over 102 mph.
•
As debate over military engagement in the Philippines intensifies
in the US Senate, Richard F. Pettigrew of South Dakota is accused of treason
when he attempts to read the statements of Emilio Aquinaldo, leader of the
Filipino insurgents, into the congressional record.
•
Chicago contends with its heaviest snowfall on record. The city is
brought to a standstill as railroad cars filled with livestock are stranded on
Madison Street.
•
Seven thousand Chicago construction workers go out on
strike demanding an 8-hour work day.
March
•
An Elkhart, Indiana, minister, Rev. Dr. E.H. Gwynne of the
First Presbyterian Church, preaches to Francis Hoover, who was at home ill with
rheumatism, by telephone via a transmitter placed on his pulpit.
•
The Social Democratic Party holds its national convention in
Indianapolis, Indiana, nominating Eugene V. Debs of Indiana for president
and Job Harrison of California for vice-president.
•
Minnesota state agricultural officials predict a record grain
harvest, exceeding that of Great Britain and Ireland, combined.
•
Theodore Dreiser publishes "Sister Carrie," a realistic novel concerning
a young country girl's use of sexual prowess to pull herself up the social
ladder. The book is taken out of circulation after selling 456 copies.
April
•
As the number of pedestrians hit by automobiles increases, the
city of Chicago considers a bill requiring cars to have fenders.
•
Labor unrest dominates the news as ironworkers in Cincinnati,
tinners and sheet-metal workers in Kansas City, boilermakers in Akron,
Ohio, and Italian blacksmiths in Croton Landing, New York go out on strike,
sometimes turning violent.
•
Baseball season gets under way as teams from the newly formed American
League take to the field. Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee,
Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Buffalo make up the charter cities with
teams in the upstart league.
May
•
Louisville, Kentucky, is the site of a reunion of 40,000 veterans
of the Confederate Army. More than 100,000 people attend the event.
June
•
The Prohibition Party chooses John G. Wooley of Illinois as
their presidential candidate and Henry B. Metcalf of Rhode Island as
their vice-presidential contender.
•
Carrie Nation begins her crusade against liquor by hurling a rock
through the window of a Kiowa, Kansas, saloon.
July
•
Delegates arrive in Kansas City for the Democratic
convention. They go on to nominate William Jennings Bryan as their presidential
candidate and Adlai E. Stevenson as vice-president.
August
•
Farmers meeting in Topeka, Kansas, agree to form a trust to
control agricultural output within the Mississippi Valley.
September
•
An essay written by Theodore Roosevelt praising football is
published around the time of the death of a football player at Lake Forest
University in Illinois who is killed during a game.
•
Hennepin County, Minnesota, holds the US's first direct primary.
November
•
Tragedies on the football gridiron occur in Lowell, Massachusetts
and Chicago, Illinois. In Lowell, 18 year-old Louis Gilmore is killed
during the annual Thanksgiving Day game, while 16 year-old William Bartlett of
Chicago dies during a neighborhood contest. Both boys succumbed to injuries to
the spine.
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