- March 17
- First practical submarine submerges for first time, at New York City, New York (for 1 hour 40 minutes). [1]
- March 24
- First automobile is sold. [1]
- April 8
- Battle of Atbara River, Anglo-Egyptian forces crush 6,000 Sudanese. [1]
- April 11
- President William McKinley asks for Spanish-American War declaration. [1]
- April 20
- US Congress adopts a Joint Declaration of War against Spain. [985.347]
- April 22
- First Spanish-American War action: USS Nashville takes enemy ship. [1]
- US President William McKinley orders blockade of Cuban harbors. [1]
- April 23
- US President William McKinley calls for 125,000 volunteers for war duty. [985.349]
- April 24
- Spain declares war on US rejecting ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba. [1] [985.347]
- US fleet under commodore Dewey sails from Hong Kong to Philippines. [1]
- April 25
- US declares war on Spain over Cuba. [1] [689.67] [717.22]
- May 1
- US Navy Commodore George Dewey aboard Olympia with four cruisers and two gunboats engage Spanish fleet in Manila Harbor, Philippines, annihilating the Spanish fleet of ten ships; 167 men killed, 214 wounded. [1] [648.41] [985.350]
- May 23
- First Philippine Expeditionary Troops sail from San Francisco. [1]
- June 9
- China leases Hong Kong's new territories to Britain for 99 years. [1]
- June 10
- US Marines land in Cuba, during Spanish-American War. [1]
- June 12
- Emilio Aguinaldo declares independence of the Philippines from Spain. [548.101]
- June 13
- Yukon Territory of Canada is organized, Dawson chosen as capital. [1]
- June 24
- American troops drive Spanish forces from La Guasimas, Cuba. [1]
- June 27
- Canadian Joshua Slocum completes the first solo circumnavigation of the globe. [5]
- June 29
- In Near Islands, Alaska, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurs. [53]
- July 1
- Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders charge up San Juan Hill. [1]
- July 3
- US Navy destroys Spanish fleet as it attempts to leave Santiago harbor, Cuba. [1] [985.350]
- July 4
- US flag hoisted over Wake Island (Spanish-American War). [1]
- July 7
- President McKinley signs resolution of annexation of Hawaiian Islands. [1]
- July 13
- Guglielmo Marconi patents the radio. [1]
- July 15
- Spaniards surrender to US at Santiago, Cuba. [985.350]
- July 22
- Belgica ship's crew see first sunrise in 1600 hours-first to endure Antarctic winter. [1]
- July 25
- First US troops land and occupy Puerto Rico, at Guanica Bay. [1] [462.10]
- August 12
- Peace protocol is signed, ending Spanish-American War. [1] [985.350]
- August 13
- US Army forces of General Wesley Merritt capture Manila, Philippines. [985.350]
- August 16
- Roller coaster patented. [1]
- August 28
- Caleb Bradham renames his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola". [5]
- September 2
- Lord Kitchener retakes Sudan for Britain. [1]
- October 1
- Jews are expelled from Kiev, Russia. [1]
- October 18
- Spain formally cedes Puerto Rico to the USA. [1] [462.10]
- November 27
- Side-wheeler Portland sinks off Cape Cod, 190 die. [1]
- December 10
- Signing of the Treaty of Paris ends war between the USA and Spain. Under terms of the treaty, control of the Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico, and Cuba are turned over to the USA. [1] [486.94] [548.101] (December 12 [129])
- December 18
- Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat sets the first recognized land speed record going 39.245 mph (63.159 km/h). [1] [5]
- December 21
- Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium. [1]
- Crete declares an autonomous government, with Prince George, second son of Greece's George I, assuming the office of high commissioner. [540.15]
- December 25
- The British Post Office introduces Imperial Penny Postage, 1 pence postage per half ounce to most parts of the British Empire. [729.38]
- December 26
- Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium. [5]
1899
- January 1
- Cuba liberated from Spain by US (National Day). [1]
- January 17
- US takes possession of Wake Island in Pacific. [1]
- January 19
- Anglo-Egyptian Sudan forms. [1]
- January 24
- Belgium government of Vandenpeereboom forms. [1]
- February 4
- Revolt against US occupation of Philippines. [1]
- February 6
- Spanish-American War ends, peace treaty ratified by Senate. [1]
- February 10
- US-Spain peace treaty signed by President McKinley; US gets Puerto Rico and Guam. [1]
- February 11
- George Morgan is first English motorist to die in an motor accident. [1]
- March 6
- German pharmaceutical company Friedrich Bayer registers Aspirin (brand name for acetylsalicylic acid) with the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin. [1] [5] [129]
- March 10
- French Ministry of Travaux Publics requires all motorists of France to carry a driving license. [55.51]
- March 17
- Windsor luxury hotel in New York City, USA catches fire; 92 die. [1]
- March 18
- Phoebe, a moon of Saturn, is discovered by Pickering. [1]
- March 21
- British and French reach accord about West-Africa. [1]
- April 11
- Treaty of Paris is ratified, ending Spanish-American War; Spain cedes Puerto Rico to US. [1]
- April 16
- West of Eureka, California, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs. [53]
- April 24
- Transvaal British Uitlanders ask Queen Victoria for aid. [1]
- May 9
- The lawn mower is patented. [1]
- May 18
- World Goodwill Day: 26 nations meet in first Hague Peace Conference. [1]
- May 24
- First auto repair shop opens (Boston, Massachusetts, USA). [1]
- May 31
- Conference of Bloemfontein fails. [1]
- June 2
- The government of the Philippines declares war on the USA. [548.101]
- June 29
- Brazo River in Texas, USA, floods 12 miles wide causing $10 million in damage. [1]
- (month unknown)
- Britain's White Star line launches the Oceanic passenger liner. At 17,200 tons, the two-funnel ship is the world's largest. [260.18]
- In San Francisco, California, American mechanic Charles A. Fey, invents the first general (non-poker) coin-operated slot machine, called Liberty Bell, which is first used in a San Francisco gambling saloon. The machine employs three spinning reels, and costs 5-cents to operate. A window displays the selected symbol of each reel, and there are ten symbols on each reel. [187.331] [818.110] (1887 [87.203]) (1895 [39] [80.70] [806.162])
- July 1
- The Gideon Society is established to place bibles in hotels. [1]
- July 14
- In Cook Inlet, Alaska, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurs. [53]
- July 17
- NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital. [5]
- September 4
- Near Cape Yakataga, Alaska, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurs. [53]
- September 10
- In Yakutat Bay, Alaska, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurs. [1] [53]
- September 14
- Death of Henry Bliss in New York, USA; first automobile fatality. [1]
- September 20
- In Menderes Valley, Turkey (Ottoman Empire), a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurs. 1,100 deaths. Severe damage to buildings, bridges, railroad and telegraph lines; many landslides. [53]
- September 23
- In Cape Yakataga, Alaska, a magnitude 6.9 - 7.0 earthquake occurs. [53]
- October 12
- Civil war breaks out in Colombia. (By the end, it will be called Los Mil Dias, the Thousand Days war, with over 100,000 dead.) [989.752]
- November 23
- First jukebox (Palais Royal Hotel, San Francisco, California). [1]
- December 2
- US and Germany agree to divide Samoa between them. [1]
- December 8
- Natal: British fall/burst out of beleagered Ladysmith. [1]
- December 10
- First defeat of "Black Week" - Battle at Stormberg, South Africa - Boers vs British army; nearly 3000 British troops killed. [1]
- December 11
- Second defeat of "Black Week" - Battle of Magersfontein - Boer leader Cronjé versus General Methuen. [1]
- December 12
- First case of plague on Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. [1]
- December 15
- Third defeat of "Black Week" - Battle at Colenso, South Africa (Boers-British army). [1]
- December 18
- Fieldmarshal Lord Roberts appointed British supreme commander in South Africa. [1]
- December 23
- Tentative Turkish and German treaty on construction of Baghdad railway. [1]
- December 25
- In Hemet-San Jacinto, California, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurs. [53]
- December 26
- Mafeking: Bathe-Powells assault up fort Game Tree fails; 24 killed. [1]
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