Explore 705 historical events from 1900–1909.
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal cou…
The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar was the fifth Qajar shah of Iran, reigning from 1896 until his death in 1907. He is often credited with the creation of the Persian Constitution of 1906,…
Mozaffar ad-Din (pictured), Shah of Persia, granted exclusive rights to prospect for oil in the country to William Knox
The Hull-Ottawa fire of 1900 was a devastating fire in 1900 that destroyed much of Hull, Quebec, and large portions of Ottawa, Ontario.
Fires destroy Canadian cities Ottawa and Hull, reducing them to ashes in 12 hours
Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspectio…
The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than on any other day
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was a major earthquake which struck the coast of Northern California at 05:12 am Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. With an estim…
The 7
The 1902 Guatemala earthquake occurred on April 18 at 8:23 pm with a moment magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The rupture was initiated at a depth…
The 7
The Scofield Mine disaster was a mining explosion that occurred at the Winter Quarters coal mine on May 1, 1900. The mine was located at 39°42′57″N 111°11′17″W near the town of Sco…
The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in Un
Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, it is t…
Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B
Lim Bo Seng was a resistance fighter who played a crucial role in the anti-Japanese fund raising and movement in Singapore and Malaya during World War II. Born in Fujian, China, he…
Lim Bo Seng, Chinese businessman, resistance fighter of Force 136 and war hero of Singapore (died 1944)
The 1909 Benavente earthquake occurred on 23 April at 17:39 GMT with an epicenter in the Lisbon region of Portugal. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of 6.0 and had …
In Portugal, a magnitude 6
Joan of Arc is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of Fran…
Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome
The 1909 Benavente earthquake occurred on 23 April at 17:39 GMT with an epicenter in the Lisbon region of Portugal. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of 6.0 and had …
In Portugal, a magnitude 6
Sultan is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun سلطة su…
Sultan of Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V
The 1909 Giro d'Italia was the 1st edition of the Giro d'Italia, organized and sponsored by the Italian major sport newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The event began in Milan on 1…
The first edition of the Giro d'Italia, a long-distance multiple-stage bicycle race, began in Milan; the Italian cyclist
Alain Émile Louis Marie Poher was a French politician who served as President of the Senate from 1968 to 1992. In this capacity, he was twice briefly acting President of France, in…
Alain Poher, French politician, President of France (died 1996)
Rita Levi-Montalcini was an Italian neurobiologist. She was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with colleague Stanley Cohen for the discovery of nerve g…
Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2012)
Indro Alessandro Raffaello Schizogene Montanelli was an Italian journalist, historian, and writer.
Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian (died 2001)
The National Negro Committee was created in response to the Springfield race riot of 1908 against the black community in Springfield, Illinois. Prominent black activists and white …
The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), conv
Alfred Deakin was an Australian politician who served as the second prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of t…
Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time
Spyridon "Spyros" Markezinis was a Greek politician, longtime member of the Hellenic Parliament, and briefly the Prime Minister of Greece during the aborted attempt at metapolitefs…
Spyros Markezinis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (died 2000)
William Leonard Pereira was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Fra…
William Pereira, American architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid (died 1985)
Marianne Hoppe was a German theatre and film actress.
Marianne Hoppe, German actress (died 2002)
Lim Bo Seng was a resistance fighter who played a crucial role in the anti-Japanese fund raising and movement in Singapore and Malaya during World War II. Born in Fujian, China, he…
Lim Bo Seng, Chinese businessman, resistance fighter of Force 136 and war hero of Singapore (died 1944)
Arthur Võõbus was an Estonian theologian, orientalist, scholar, author, professor, and church historian.
Arthur Võõbus, Estonian-American theologist and orientalist (died 1988)
Frederick Edward McWilliam, was a Northern Irish surrealist sculptor. He worked chiefly in stone, wood and bronze.
F
Juliana was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980.
Juliana of the Netherlands (died 2004)
Endel Karlovich Puusepp was a Soviet bomber pilot of Estonian origin who completed over 30 nighttime strategic bombing campaigns during World War II. He was a recipient of the Hero…
Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (died 1996)
Yiannis Ritsos was a Greek poet and communist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II. While he disliked being regarded as a political poet, he has been ca…
Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet and playwright (died 1990)
Edwin Herbert Land, ForMemRS, FRPS, Hon.MRI was an American scientist and inventor, best known as the co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation. He invented inexpensive filters for po…
Edwin H
"Mother" Maybelle Carter was an American country musician and "among the first" to use the Carter scratch, with which she "helped to turn the guitar into a lead instrument." It was…
Maybelle Carter, American autoharp player (died 1978)
Tom Ewell was an American film, stage and television actor, and producer. His most successful and most identifiable role was that of Richard Sherman in The Seven Year Itch, a chara…
Tom Ewell, American actor (died 1994)
Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino was a Comanche teacher from Oklahoma. As a child, she won a landmark education judgment against the Cache Consolidated School District of Comanche County,…
Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino, Native American teacher (died 2005)
Gordon Bunshaft was an American architect, a leading proponent of modern design in the mid-twentieth century. A partner in Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Bunshaft joined the fir…
Gordon Bunshaft, American architect, designed the Solow Building (died 1990)
Kenneth Lorin Darby was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award.…
Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (died 1992)