References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 August 1.

1903 January 2 President T Roosevelt shuts down post office in Indianola Michigan, for refusing to accept its appointed postmistress because she was black. [1] January 4 Geo[rge J H] Poggenbeek Dutch surrealist painter, dies at age 49. [1] January 5 San Francisco-Hawaii telegraph cable opens for public use. [1] January 6 Dutch Press museum opens in Amsterdam. [1] January 7 Vincent d'Indy's opera "L'etranger" premieres in Brussel. [1] January 9 Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota established. [1] January 12 Harry Houdini performs at Rembrandt theater, Amsterdam. [1] January 19 First regular transatlantic radio broadcast between US and England. [1] January 21 "Wizard of Oz" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] Harry Houdini escapes police station Halvemaansteeg in Amsterdam. [1] Hermanus J A M Schaepman Dutch clergyman/politician, dies at age 58. [1] International Theater (Majestic, Park) opens at 5 Columbus Circle New York City, New York. [1] January 28 Augusta Mary Anne Holmes composer, dies at age 55. [1] Jean Robert Planquette composer, dies at age 54. [1] January 29 Dutch railroad workers strike. [1] February 1 George G Stokes British physicist/presidential Royal Society, dies at age 83. [1] February 3 Frederick E Kitziger composer, dies at age 59. [1] Frederick Lugard occupies Kano West Africa. [1] February 11 Anton Bruckner's 9th Symfonie premieres in Vienna. [1] Henryk Szulc composer, dies at age 67. [1] February 14 US Dept of Commerce and Labor established. [1] February 15 First Teddy Bear introduced in America, made by Morris and Rose Michtom. [1] Julie Verstraete-Lacquet Flemish actress, dies at age 69. [1] February 16 -59 degrees F (-51 degrees C), Pokegama Dam Minnesota (state record). [1] February 17 Joseph Parry composer, dies at age 61. [1] February 18 Kuyper government launches anti strike laws. [1] February 21 Cornerstone laid for US army war college, Washington DC. [1] February 22 Due to drought the US side of Niagara Falls runs short of water. [1] Frederick William Farrar writer/dean (Canterbury 1895-1903), dies. [1] Hugo Filipp Jakob Wolf Austrian composer (Corregidor), dies at age 42. [1] February 23 Albert Cahen composer, dies at age 57. [1] Cuban state of Guantanamo leased to USA. [1] Friedrich Grutzmacher composer, dies at age 70. [1] February 24 US signs agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay Cuba. [1] February 26 Richard J Gatling US inventor (Gatling Gun), dies at age 84. [1] February 28 Barney Dreyfuss and James Potter buys Philadelphia Phillies for $170,000. [1] Girolamo/Jeromin de Rada Albanian poet, dies at age 88. [1] March 2 Martha Washington Hotel, catering to women only, opens in New York City, New York. [1] March 3 North Carolina becomes first state requiring registration of nurses. [1] March 4 Joseph H Shorthouse English writer (John Inglesant), dies at age 68. [1] March 5 Definitive treaty for construction of Baghdad railway drawn. [1] March 10 Harry Gammeter, Cleveland, patents multigraph duplicating machine. [1] March 13 Nicolas Beets [Hildebrand] Dutch writer (Camera Obscura), dies at age 88. [1] March 14 First national bird reservation established in Sebastian Florida. [1] Johannes H Weissenbruch Dutch landscape painter, dies at age 88. [1] WB Yeats and Lady Gregory's "Hour-glass" premieres in Dublin. [1] March 15 Frederick Lugard occupies Sokoto West Africa. [1] March 22 Niagera Falls runs out of water because of a drought. [1] March 23 Wright brothers obtain airplane patent. [1] March 26 American Hotel opens in Amsterdam. [1] March 31 Richard Pearse flies monoplane several hundred yards (New Zealand). [1] April 6 General railroad strike against "worgwetten" (anti-strike laws). [1] April 11 Gemma Galgani Italian saint, dies at age 25. [1] April 13 Derk J A Haspels Dutch actor, dies at age 65. [1] April 14 Dr Harry Plotz discovers vaccine against typhoid (New York City, New York). [1] April 22 American Power Boat Association forms. [1] April 27 Long Island's Jamaica Race Track opens. [1] April 29 Limestone slides at Turtle Mountain kills 9 (Frank Alberta). [1] April 30 François Crépin Belgian botany, dies at age 72. [1] May 1 Luigi Arditi violist/composer, dies at age 80. [1] May 8 Eugène-Henri-Paul Gauguin French painter (Tahiti), dies. [1] May 9 Rudolf Serkin Bohemian/US pianist, dies. [1] May 14 President Theodore Roosevelt visits San Francisco. [1] May 16 First transcontinental motorcycle trip begins at San Francisco (George Wymann). [1] Eduard Rappoldi composer, dies at age 72. [1] May 23 First automobile trip across US from San Francisco to New York, ended April 1. [1] First direct primary election law in US adopted, by Wisconsin. [1] May 27 Queen Wilhelmina opens Berlages Merchants bureau in Amsterdam. [1] June 10 King Alexander I and Queen Dragia of Serbia are assassinated. [1] June 12 Niagara Falls, Ontario incorporated as a city. [1] June 16 Ford Motors incorporates. [1] June 18 First transcontinental auto trip begins in SF; arrives New York three months later. [1] June 21 Birth of Al Hirschfeld cartoonist (1975 Tony Award). [1] June 23 M Wolf discovers asteroid #512 Taurinensis. [1] July 4 Pacific Cable (San Francisco, Hawaii, Guam, Phil) opens, President TR sends message. [1] July 6 George Wyman arrives in New York City by motorcycle 51 days out of San Francisco. [1] July 20 Ford Motor Company ships its first car. [5] Giuseppe Sarto elected Pope Pius X. [1] July 25 Castle on top of Telegraph Hill closes. [1] August 1 First coast-to-coast automobile trip (San Francisco-New York) completed. [1] August 2 Unsuccessful uprising of Macedonians against Turkey. [1] August 14 In Great Britain, the Motor Car Act introduces driving licenses. Minimum age is 17 for cars, 14 for motorcycles. [55.51] August 31 Joe McGinnity wins his third doubleheader of the month. [1] September 7 Federation of American Motorcyclists organized in New York. [1] September 18 Phillie's Chick Fraser no-hits Chicago Cubs, 10-0. [1] September 22 Italo Marchiony granted patent for the ice cream cone. [1] October 9 11" rainfall in 24 hours (New York City). [1] October 20 US wins disputed boundary between the District of Alaska and Canada. [1] October 23 Francis Ellingwood Abbot theologian (Scientific Theism), dies at age 66. [1] October 24 First trotter to run a mile under two minutes (Lou Dillon 1:58.1). [1] George Sutton becomes billiard champ. [1] October 25 US Senate begins investigating Teapot Dome scandals of Harding admin. [1] October 26 Yerba Buena is first Key System ferry to cross San Francisco Bay. [1] November 3 Colombia grants Panama independence. [1] [150.60] November 18 Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty gives US exclusive canal rights in Panama. [1] November 19 Carrie Nation attempts to address the Senate. [1] November 23 Enrico Caruso US debut (Metropolitan Opera House, New York) in "Rigoletto". [1] November 24 Clyde Coleman of New York City patents automobile electric starter. [1] November 27 The opera "Die Heugierigen Frauen" is produced (Munich). [1] December 1 "The Great Train Robbery", the first Western film, released. [1] December 2 Victor Roger composer, dies at age 50. [1] December 3 Panglima Polim surrenders to Captain Colijn at Atjeh. [1] December 6 Frederick Grant Gleason composer, dies at age 54. [1] Sumatra Atjehs guerilla leader Panglima Polim surrenders. [1] December 8 Herbert Spencer British engineer/philosopher, dies at age 83. [1] December 9 Norwegian parliament vote unanimiously for female suffrage. [1] December 10 Nobel for physics awarded to Pierre/Marie Curie. [1] December 11 British forces under MacDonald and Young march into Tibet. [1] December 12 Roger Casement completes report about abuses in Belgian Congo. [1] December 13 Italo Marcioni patents the ice cream cone (New Jersey). [1] Wright Brothers make first flight at Kittyhawk. [1] December 14 William Ennis first cop to die in the electric chair. [1] December 16 Majestic Theater, New York City, New York, becomes first in US to employ women ushers. [1] December 17 At 10:35 AM, the first sustained, controlled, powered aircraft flight is made by Orville Wright in 12hp Flyer I at Kill Devil Hills, Kittyhawk, North Carolina. The flight lasts 12 seconds. [1] [55.10] December 19 Williamsburg suspension bridge opens between Brooklyn and Manhattan. [1] December 20 Gavriil Musicescu composer, dies at age 56. [1] December 25 Albert Schäffle German sociologist, dies at age 72. [1] December 27 "Sweet Adeline", a barbershop quartet favorite, is first sung. [1] December 28 Clyde Fitch's "Glad of It" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] Electric lamp sets fire to Iroquois theater in Chicago; 602 die. [1] George [Robert] Gissing English novelist, dies at age 46. [1] December 29 French Equatorial Africa separates into Gabon, Chad and Ubangi-Shari. [1] December 30 602 die as flames swept through Iroquois Theater in Chicago Illinois. [1] American Political Science Association founded at New Orleans Louisiana. [1] 1904 January 1 In Great Britain, the Motor Car Act comes into effect (requires driving licenses). [55.51] Netherlands Indies colony begins opium production. [1] January 2 James Longstreet Confederate General, dies at age 82. [1] January 4 US Supreme Court rules Puerto Ricans cannot be denied admission to US. [1] January 5 -34 degrees F (-36.7 degrees C), River Vale New Jersey (state record). [1] -42 degrees F (-41.1 degrees C), Smethport Pennsylvania (state record). [1] England beat Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Rhodes 7-56 and 8-68. [1] Karl A von Zittel German geologist/paleontologist (Libya), dies at age 64. [1] January 7 Marconi Co establishes "CQD" as first international radio distress signal. [1] January 8 Birth of Peter Arno New York City, New York, cartoonist (New Yorker). [1] Pope Pius X banned low cut dresses in the presence of churchmen. [1] January 11 Herero people of South West Africa, now Namibia, begin uprising. [1] January 12 Southwest-Africa uprising under Samuel Maherero against German garison. [1] January 15 Eduard Lassen composer, dies at age 73. [1] January 17 Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" opens at the Moscow Art Theater. [1] January 21 Leos Janacek's opera "Jenufa" premieres in Brno Czechoslovakia. [1] January 24 Franz Coenen composer, dies at age 77. [1] January 25 179 die in coal mine explosion at Cheswick Pennsylvania. [1] J M Synge's "Ruders to the Sea" premieres in Dublin. [1] January 26 John P R Tak Dutch liberal politician, dies at age 64. [1] January 27 Adam Minchejmer composer, dies at age 73. [1] January 31 Béla Bartók's symphony "Kossuth" premieres. [1] February 1 Peter PM Alberdingk Thijm Dutch historian/writer, dies at age 76. [1] February 2 US blues singer Gertrude Pridgett marries comic William Rainey. [1] February 4 John Millington Synges "Well of Saints" premieres in Dublin. [1] February 5 American occupation of Cuba ends. [1] February 6 Russian-Japanese war began. [1] February 7 Baltimore catches fire (1500 buildings destroyed in 80 blocks). [1] February 8 Outbreak of hostilities in Russo-Japanese war. [1] February 9 Japan declares war on Russia. [1] February 10 Japan and Russia declares war after Japan's surprise attack on Russian fleet at Port Arthur disabled 7 Russian warships. [1] February 17 Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" premieres in Milan. [1] February 20 Gustav Adolf Heinze composer, dies at age 83. [1] February 21 National Ski Association formed, Ishpeming MI. [1] February 23 Control of Panamá Canal Zone acquired by US for $10 million. [1] February 25 J M Synge's "Riders to the Sea" opens at Irish National Theatre Society. [1] February 28 Vincent d'Indy's second Symphony in B, premieres. [1] February 29 Theodore Roosevelt, appoints 7 man committee to study Panamá Canal. [1] March 2 Gabriele d'Annunzio's "La figlia di Iorio" premieres in Milan. [1] March 5 Alfred von Waldersee Prussian field marshal/chief-staff, dies at age 71. [1] March 12 First main line electric train in United Kingdom (Liverpool to Southport). [1] Andrew Carnegie establishes Carnegie Hero Fund. [1] March 13 Bronze statue of Christ on Argentine-Chilian border dedicated. [1] March 18 First performance of Edward Elgar's "In the South (Alassio)". [1] April 8 Great Britain and France sign Cordial Entente concerning colonial matter. [1] Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square (after The New York Times). [5] April 9 Isabella II Queen of Spain (1833-68), dies at age 73. [1] April 13 Battle at Oviumbo Africa Herero's chase away German army. [1] US Congress authorizes Lewis and Clark Expo $1 gold coin. [1] Vasili Vereshtshagin Russian painter (War and Peace), dies. [1] April 14 George Bernard Shaw's "Candida", premieres in London. [1] April 18 L'Humanité, under Jean Jaurès begins publishing. [1] April 19 Much of Toronto destroyed by fire. [1] April 20 George Bernard Shaw's "Candida", premieres in London. [1] Louisiana Purchase Exposition opens in Saint Louis. [1] April 21 Ty Cobb makes his pro debut for Augusta (South Atlantic League). [1] April 23 American Academy of Arts and Letters forms. [1] April 24 Friedrich Siemens German industrial, dies at age 77. [1] April 26 Bell Telephone Company of Antwerp Belgium forms. [1] April 30 Ice cream cone makes its debut. [1] May 1 Antonín Dvorak Czechoslovakia, composer (Slavic Dancing), dies at age 62. [1] May 4 Americans begin canal construction work in Panama. [150.61] May 5 Cy Young of Boston pitches perfect game against Philadelphia Athletics (3-0). [1] May 6 American Lung Association holds its first meeting. [1] Franz von Lenbach German painter, dies at age 67. [1] May 7 Flexible Flyer trademark registered. [1] Peter Hille writer, dies. [1] May 8 Eadweard Muybridge English photographer (horse trot), dies. [1] May 9 The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine to exceed 100mph. [5] May 10 Henry M Stanley [John Rowlands] British explorer, dies. [1] May 11 Andrew Carnegie donates $1.5 million to build a peace palace. [1] May 13 Jan Boissevain ship owner/politician, dies. [1] May 14 Richard Hol Dutch composer/organist/conductor, dies at age 78. [1] May 16 N I Bobrikov Russian Governor-General in Finland, dies. [1] May 17 Maurice Ravel's "Shéhérazade" premieres in Paris France. [1] May 18 American Ion Perdicaris kidnapped in Morocco. [1] June 6 National Tuberculosis Association organized, Atlantic City, New Jersey. [1] June 15 Side-wheeler "General Slocum" burns in New York's East River (1,031 die). [1] June 16 Bloomsday (date of events in James Joyce's Ulysses). [1] July 7 A Charlois discovers asteroid #537 Pauly. [1] July 15 First Buddhist temple in US established, Los Angeles. [1] July 16 Islands of the Manu'a group (Samoa) ceded to US by their chiefs. [1] July 18 P Gotz discovers asteroid #538 Friederike. [1] July 21 Camille Jenatzy sets world auto speed record at 65.79 MPH. [1] July 23 Ice cream cone created by Charles E Menches during La Purchase Expo. [1] August 23 Automobile tire chain patented. [1] September 15 Wilbur Wright makes his first airplane flight. [1] September 26 Lafcadio Hearn multinational author, dies. [1] October 3 Mary McLeod Bethune opens Daytona Normal and Industrial School. [1] October 4 Frederic Auguste Bertholdi French sculptor ("Statue of Liberty"). [1] October 8 First Vanderbilt Cup auto race (Hicksville, Long Island, New York). [1] October 17 Bank of Italy (Bank of America) opens its doors. [1] October 27 World's first subway, the IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit), opens in New York City, subway/bus fare is set at one nickel. [1] October 28 Saint Louis police try a new investigation method-fingerprints. [1] October 29 First intercity trucking service (Colorado City and Snyder, Texas). [1] November 2 British newspaper, "The Daily Mirror," begins publishing. [1] November 8 President Theodore Roosevelt (Republican) defeats Alton B Parker (Democrat). [1] November 9 First airplane flight to last more than 5 minutes. [1] November 16 John Ambrose Fleming invents the vacuum tube. [5] December 6 Theodore Roosevelt confirms Monroe-doctrine (Roosevelt Corollary). [1] December 10 King Peter I of Sweden named nationalist regime. [1] December 12 CMS McClellans "Leah Kleschna" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] December 24 German SW Africa abolishes slavery of young children. [1] Juliaan Dillens Flemish sculptor, dies at age 55. [1] December 25 Per Jonas Fredrik Vilhelm Svedbom composer, dies at age 61. [1] December 27 Duke of York Theatre opens in London (first musical Peter Pan). [1] W B Yeats/Lady Gregory's "On Baile's Strand" premieres in Dublin. [1] December 28 First daily wireless weather forecasts published (London). [1]