Royal Coronation
Jan 1 In Delhi, a great durbar, or formal reception, marks the coronation of King Edward VII as Emperor of India; the British release some 16,000 prisoners in honor of the occasion
Event of Interest
Jan 1 President Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Roosevelt unveil new renovations to The White House, including a new West Wing
- Jan 2 US President Theodore Roosevelt shuts down post office in Indianola, Mississippi, for refusing to accept its appointed postmistress because she was black
Topsy the Elephant is Electrocuted
Jan 4 Topsy the elephant is electrocuted by her owners at Luna Park, Coney Island and filmed by Edison Manufacturing movie company [1]
Music Premiere
Jan 7 Vincent d'Indy's opera "L'etranger" premieres in Brussels
- Jan 9 Baseball's National & American Leagues make peace
- Jan 9 Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchase the American League's Baltimore baseball franchise for $18,000 and move it to NYC (later the NY Yankees)
- Jan 9 Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, established
Magic Show
Jan 12 Harry Houdini performs at Rembrandt theater, Amsterdam
- Jan 13 Rhodes Opera House burns in Boyertown, Pennsylvania killing 170
- Jan 18 The first transatlantic radio transmission to originate in the United States is sent by a transmitter in Massachusetts
- Jan 19 1st regular transatlantic radio broadcast between US & England
- Jan 19 French newspaper L'Auto announces new 5-stage, long distance bicycle race, "Tour de France"
- Jan 21 Harry Houdini escapes from Halvemaansteeg police station in Amsterdam
- Jan 21 International Theater (Majestic, Park) opens at 5 Columbus Circle, NYC
- Jan 22 The Hay-Herran Treaty concerning the USA's right to the Panama Canal is signed by the Colombian Charge d'affaires in Washington, D.C. (never ratified)
- Jan 29 Dutch railroad workers strike
- Feb 3 Frederick Lugard occupies Kano, West Africa
- Feb 4 Stanley Cup: Montreal HC beats Winnipeg Victorias, 4-1 for a 2-1 challenge series win
- Feb 7 VVV '03 soccer club is established in the Dutch southeastern city of Venlo
Music Premiere
Feb 11 Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony premieres by the Wiener Concertvereinsorchester, under conductor Ferdinand Löwe, in his own unauthorized arrangement, at Wiener Musikvereinssaal in Vienna, Austria
- Feb 11 US Congress adopts the Expedition Act, which authorizes the Attorney General to 'expedite' anti-trust cases through the courts, reflecting growing popular support for President Theodore Roosevelt's "trust busting" campaign
- Feb 14 President Theodore Roosevelt signs bill into law establishing US Department of Commerce & Labor
- Feb 15 1st Teddy Bear introduced in America, made by Morris & Rose Michtom
- Feb 16 -59°F (-51°C), Pokegama Dam, Minnesota (state record)
Music Premiere
Feb 18 "In Dahomey" the first African American musical to perform on Broadway opens at the New York Theater, starring George Walker and Bert Williams with music by Will Marion Cook
Event of Interest
Feb 18 Dutch government of Abraham Kuyper launches anti-strike laws
- Feb 20 Nick Young remains as NL president as AG Spalding ends challenge
- Feb 21 Cornerstone laid for US army war college, Washington, D.C.
- Feb 23 The Sultan agrees to an Austro-Russian plan to reform the government of Macedonia in yet another effort to stifle the rising disorder among the rival Bulgarian
- Feb 23 The US and Cuba sign an agreement by which Cuba releases Guantanamo and Bahia Hondo to the US for naval stations
- Feb 28 Barney Dreyfuss & James Potter buy Philadelphia Phillies for $170,000
- Mar 1 Major League Baseball Rules Committee rule that pitcher's mound must not be more than 15 inches higher than the baselines or home plate
Event of Interest
Mar 2 Martha Washington Hotel, catering to women only, opens in NYC
- Mar 3 North Carolina becomes 1st state requiring registration of nurses
- Mar 4 Stanley Cup, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Montreal HC beats Winnipeg Victorias, 4-1 for a 2-1 challenge series victory
- Mar 5 Definitive treaty for construction of Baghdad railway drawn up
- Mar 10 Harry Gammeter of Cleveland patents multigraph duplicating machine
- Mar 12 New York Highlanders (Yankees) baseball franchise is approved as a member of the American League
- Mar 13 Fall of the Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria, the British claim supremacy on over 500,000 square miles
- Mar 14 1st national bird reservation established in Sebastian, Florida
- Mar 14 Stanley Cup, Dey's Arena, Ottawa, Ontario: Ottawa HC beats Rat Portage Thisles, 4-2 for a 2-0 challenge series sweep
- Mar 14 WB Yeats & Lady Gregory's "Hour-glass" premieres in Dublin
- Mar 18 Following through on its attacks on Roman Catholic institutions, the French Government dissolves the Catholic religious orders
- Mar 22 US Anthracite Coal Commission, set up by President Theodore Roosevelt, submits its recommendations for shorter hours, a 10-per cent wage increase, and an 'open shop'
- Mar 23 The Wright brothers 1st file a patent for a flying machine, which is granted 3 years later
- Mar 25 Racing Club de Avellaneda, one of the big five of Argentina, is founded.
- Mar 26 American Hotel opens in Amsterdam
- Mar 27 65th Grand National: Percy Woodland aboard 13/2 chance Drumcree wins by 3 lengths from Detail
- Mar 31 Richard Pearse flies a monoplane several hundred yards in New Zealand
- Apr 6 General railroad strike against "worgwetten" (anti-strike laws)
- Apr 6 In Holland, railroad and dock workers go out on strike, but the government passes anti-strike bills, calls out troops, and promptly ends the strike on the 13th April
- Apr 6 The Kishinev pogrom in Bessarabia begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Israel and the Western world.
- Apr 20 7th Boston Marathon won by Irishman John Lorden in 2:41:29.8
- Apr 22 American Power Boat Association forms
- Apr 22 NY Highlanders (Yankees) first MLB game; lose 3-1 before 11,950 vs Washington Senators at American League Park
- Apr 23 NY Highlanders (Yankees) win their first game; beat Washington Senators, 7-2 at American League Park
- Apr 27 1st Highlander (Yankee) shut-out, Philadelphia A's win 6-0
- Apr 27 Long Island's Jamaica Race Track opens
- Apr 29 Limestone slide at Turtle Mountain drops 30 million cubic metres (82 million tons) on to town of Frank, Alberta, Canada, kills 70-90 residents
- Apr 30 NY Highlanders (Yankees) inaugural home opener at Hilltop Park, Manhattan; beat Washington Senators, 6-2
- May 1 King Edward VII of Great Britain visits Paris, where he is feted in a first step toward improving Anglo-French relations, culminating in the signing of the Entente Cordiale on 8 April, 1904
- May 2 29th Kentucky Derby: Hal Booker riding Judge Himes wins in 2:09
- May 3 AVC Heracles (SC Heracles '74) soccer team forms in Almelo
- May 6 Chicago White Sox commit 11 errors against Detroit Tigers but win 10-9 at South Side Park. Chicago
- May 14 President Theodore Roosevelt visits San Francisco
- May 16 1st transcontinental motorcycle trip began in San Francisco by George A. Wyman (arrives in New York July 6)
- May 17 Cleveland Indians beat NY Highlanders 9-2 in Columbus Ohio
- May 20 Britain's House of Commons begins a debate on the charges of poor administration and ill treatment of natives in Belgium's colony in the Congo Free State
- May 22 Launch of the White Star Liner SS Ionic.
- May 23 1st automobile trip across US leaves San Francisco for New York, (arrives July 26)
- May 23 1st direct primary election law in US adopted, by Wisconsin
- May 27 37th Belmont: John Bullman aboard Africander wins in 2:21.75
Event of Interest
May 27 Queen Wilhelmina opens Berlages Merchants bureau in Amsterdam
- May 29 May coup d'etat: Alexander Obrenovich, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization
- May 30 28th Preakness: W Gannon aboard Flocarline wins in 1:44.8
- Jun 6 President Emile Loubet of France and Minister of Foreign Affairs Theophile Declasse visit London, furthering the cause of Entente Cordiale between Britain and France
Sports History
Jun 11 British Open Men's Golf, Prestwick GC: Harry Vardon wins his 4th Open title by 6 strokes from younger brother Tom Vardon
- Jun 12 Niagara Falls, Ontario incorporated as a city
- Jun 12 The Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity is founded at the University of Michigan School of Music
- Jun 15 The Serbian Assembly meets and elects Prince Peter Karageorgevich king
- Jun 16 1st Highlander (Yankee) shut-out victory 1-0 over White Sox
Event of Interest
Jun 16 Ford Motors under Henry Ford incorporates
- Jun 16 Pepsi Cola company forms
- Jun 16 Reichstag elections with gains for the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Event of Interest
Jun 16 Roald Amundsen commences the first east-west navigation of the Northwest Passage by leaving Oslo, Norway
- Jun 24 Russia prohibits meetings dealing with Zionism
- Jun 25 Boston Beaneater Wiley Piatt is only 20th-century pitcher to lose 2 complete games in one day, falling to Pittsburgh 1-0 & 5-3
- Jun 25 NY Yanks & Chicago White Sox end deadlocked game at 6-6 in 18
- Jun 27 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Philadelphia CC: Elisabeth Moore beats Marion Jones 7-5, 8-6 for her third of 4 US singles titles
- Jun 29 British government protests against abuses in Belgian Congo
- Jun 29 US Open Men's Golf, Baltusrol GC: Willie Anderson of Scotland first to win the Open twice; beats countryman David Brown by 2 strokes in an 18-hole playoff
Wimbledon Men's Tennis
Jun 30 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Laurence Doherty beats Frank Riseley 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 for his second consecutive title
- Jun 30 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Dorothea Chambers beats Ethel Larcombe 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, the first of 7 titles
- Jul 1 Tour de France: Inaugural race begins in Montgeron, a south-eastern suburb of Paris
- Jul 2 National League MLB batting champion Ed Delahanty, disappears after being removed intoxicated from a train by force; found dead at bottom of Niagara Falls 2 weeks later
- Jul 2 Pitcher Jack Doscher, debuts for the Chicago Cubs, the first son of a major leaguer to play MLB, father Herm 1882-92
- Jul 4 Pacific Cable (San Francisco, Hawaii, Guam, Philippines) opens, President Theodore Roosevelt sends a message
- Jul 6 George Wyman arrives in NYC by motorcycle 51 days out of San Francisco
- Jul 17 The Russian Social Democratic Workers Party meets, first in Brussels and then London because their leaders have been forced into exile by the Russian Government
- Jul 19 1st Tour de France: French rider Maurice Garin wins inaugural event
- Jul 25 Castle on top of Telegraph Hil, San Francisco closes
- Jul 26 Horatio Nelson Jackson, Sewall K. Crocker, and a bulldog named Bud complete 1st automobile trip across the United States; San Francisco to New York in a 2-cylinder Winton (63 days, 12 hours, and 30 minutes)
- Aug 2 Unsuccessful uprising of Macedonians against Turkey
- Aug 4 Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto of Venice elected Pope Pius X
- Aug 4 Giuseppe Sarto elected Pope Pius X, known as the 'pope of the poor and humble'
- Aug 7 Tommy Corcoran sets MLB record for shortstops when he records 14 assists in Cincinnati's 4 - 2 win v St. Louis Cardinals
- Aug 8 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Boston, MA: Laurence Doherty beats William Larned 6-3, 6-8, 6-0, 2-6, 7-5 to give British Isles an unassailable 3-1 lead over US (ends 4-1)
- Aug 12 The Japanese Minister to Russia presents a note to the Russian Government protesting against its failure to evacuate Manchuria
Boxing Title Fight
Aug 14 Champion James J. Jeffries scores a 10th round TKO win over former champion James J Corbett in San Francisco; his 6th heavyweight boxing title defense
- Aug 15 New Zealand's All Blacks play their first Rugby Test Match against Australia's Wallabies at the Sydney Cricket Ground; New Zealand win 22-3
- Aug 17 Joe Pulitzer donates $1 million to Columbia University & begins the Pulitzer Prizes in America
- Aug 19 Philadelphia Phillies suffer record 9th straight postponed game
Event of Interest
Aug 23 6th Zionist Congres, Theodor Herzl declares Jewish state
- Aug 26 Phillies walk 17 Dodgers in a game
- Aug 26 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Newport, RI: Englishman Laurence Doherty beats American defending champion William Larned 6-0, 6-3, 10-8; first non-American champion
- Aug 29 The Finance Minister, Count Witte, is dismissed in what is seen as a victory for those in Russia who want their country to expand into Manchuria and Korea in defiance of the Japanese
- Aug 31 New York Giants future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Joe McGinnity wins his 3rd doubleheader of month, beating the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 and 9-2 at the Polo Grounds
- Sep 3 American yacht Reliance (largest gaff-rigged cutter ever built) defends America's Cup for the NYYC beating UK challenger Shamrock III off the New Jersey shore for a 3-0 series win
- Sep 7 Federation of American Motorcyclists organized in NY
- Sep 9 6 km long Engadin-railroad tunnel in Switzerland inaugurated
- Sep 11 The first race at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. The oldest major speedway in the world.
- Sep 15 Queen Wilhelmina calls railroad strikers "criminals"
- Sep 17 Boston Pilgrims clinch AL pennant, beating Cleveland, 14-3
- Sep 18 Phillies' Chick Fraser no-hits Chicago Cubs, 10-0
- Sep 19 King Leopold II denies Belgian cruelty in Congo
- Sep 21 First cowboy film "Kit Carson" premieres in US
Event of Interest
Sep 24 Alfred Deakin succeeds Edmund Barton as Australian Prime Minister
- Sep 24 Bill Bradley becomes 1st Cleveland baseball player (Cleveland Naps) to hit for cycle
- Sep 27 Wreck of the Old 97, a train crash made famous by the song of the same name.
- Sep 30 New Gresham's School officially opened by Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood in Norfolk, England (expansion of original school founded 1555)
- Oct 5 Samuel Griffith is appointed the first Chief Justice of Australia and Sir Edmund Barton and Richard O'Connor are appointed as foundation justices
- Oct 6 The High Court of Australia sits for the first time.
- Oct 8 J M Synge's play "In the Shadow of the Glen" premieres in Dublin
- Oct 9 11" (28.4 cm) rainfall in 24 hrs (NYC)
Event of Interest
Oct 10 The Women's Social and Political Union is formed by Emmeline Pankhurst to fight for women's rights in Britain
- Oct 12 Lyric Theater opens at 213 W 42nd St NYC
- Oct 13 1st Baseball World Series: Boston Americans beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 in Game 8 at Huntington Avenue for a 5-3 series victory
- Oct 13 Victor Herbert and by Glen MacDonough's operetta "Babes in Toyland" premieres at Majestic Theater, New York City
- Oct 16 Homel, 1st Jewish self defense organization founded in Russia
- Oct 20 US wins disputed boundary between District of Alaska & Canada
- Oct 23 8th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 18-6 in Montgomery
- Oct 24 First trotter to run a mile under 2 minutes (Lou Dillon 1:58.1)
- Oct 24 George Sutton becomes billards champion
- Oct 26 Yerba Buena is first Key System ferry to cross San Francisco Bay
- Oct 30 In violation of their promise to evacuate Manchuria, the Russian reoccupy Mukden and reinforce their troops in Manchuria
- Nov 2 British newspaper "Daily Mirror" begins publishing
- Nov 2 Lyceum Theater (New Lyceum) opens at 149 W 45th St NYC
- Nov 2 New Amsterdam Theater opens at 214 W 42nd St NYC
- Nov 3 Colombia grants independence to Panama
- Nov 3 Giovanni Giolitti becomes Prime Minister of Italy; a progressive liberal, he will hold his post through most of the next decade and introduce social, agrarian and labor reforms
- Nov 4 Panama and Colombia wake up to news that the insurrectionists have declared an independent Republic of Panama
- Nov 6 USA recognizes independence of Panama
- Nov 15 Eugen d'Albert's opera "Tiefland" premieres in Prague
- Nov 16 V Herbert & H Smith's musical "Babette" premieres in NYC
- Nov 17 Dahomey (Benin) becomes a French protectorate
- Nov 17 In the Treaty of Petropolis, Bolivia cedes the territory of Arce to Brazil; Bolivia gains rail and water outlets in the east
- Nov 18 Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty gives US exclusive canal rights in Panama
- Nov 19 Temperance activist Carrie Nation attempts to address the US Senate
Event of Interest
Nov 22 Franklin Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt are engaged
- Nov 23 Colorado Governor James Peabody sends the state militia into the town of Cripple Creek to break up a miners' strike.
Music History
Nov 23 Enrico Caruso makes his US debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, in New York in Verdi's "Rigoletto"
- Nov 24 Clyde Coleman of NYC patents automobile electric starter
- Nov 24 George Ade's "County Chairman" premieres in NYC
Music History
Nov 27 Opera "Die Neugierigen Frauen" by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari is produced in Munich
- Dec 1 "The Great Train Robbery" the 1st Western film, released starring Justus D. Barnes and G. M. Anderson
- Dec 3 The Sultanate of Aceh's Panglima Polim surrenders to Dutch Army Captain Hendrikus Colijn at Atjeh
- Dec 6 Sumatra Atjehs guerilla leader Panglima Polim surrenders
- Dec 9 Norwegian parliament votes unanimiously for female suffrage
Nobel Prize
Dec 10 Nobel Prize for physics awarded to Pierre and Marie Curie for their study of spontaneous radiation
- Dec 11 British forces under MacDonald & Younghusband march into Tibet
- Dec 12 Roger Casement completes report about abuses in Belgian Congo
- Dec 14 England cricket batsman R. E. Foster completes 287 on debut in 1st Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground
- Dec 14 The Wright brothers attempt to fly the Wright Flyer for the first time at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
- Dec 15 NY Wall Street vendor Italo Marchiony [Marcioni] granted patent for a mound for making ice cream cones
- Dec 16 Majestic Theater, NYC, becomes 1st in US to employ women ushers
- Dec 16 The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel opens its doors to guests for the first time
1st Airplane Flight
Dec 17 The Wright brothers make the 1st sustained motorized aircraft flight at 10:35 AM, piloted by Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
Theater Premiere
Dec 28 Clyde Fitch's play "Glad of It" premieres in NYC
- Dec 29 French Equatorial Africa separates into Gabon, Chad and Ubangi-Shari
- Dec 30 American Political Science Association founded at New Orleans
- Dec 30 Electric arc lamp sets fire to Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, leaving 602 dead in one of the deadliest single-building blazes in American history