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

Last updated: 2008 April 30.

1905 January 1 Nine-hour work day for diamond miners. [1] January 2 Elara, a satellite of Jupiter, discovered by Perrine. [1] Japanese troops capture Port Arthur. [1] January 5 Charles Perrine announces discovery of Jupiter's 7th satellite, Elara. [1] National Association of Audubon Society incorporates. [1] January 9 Bloody Sunday-demonstrators fired on by tsarist troops. [1] January 14 Death of Ernst Abbe in Jena, Germany, at age 64; physicist in optical theory and microscope design. [1] [37] Hubbell, Shubert and Smith's musical "Fontana" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] January 17 Punchboards patented by Charles Brewer and C G Scannell, Chicago Illinois. [1] January 18 French government of Combes falls. [1] January 20 Stanislaw Pilinski composer, dies at 65. [1] January 22 "Bloody Sunday"; Russian demonstrators fired on by tsarist troops. [1] January 26 Arnold Schönberg's "Pelleas und Melissande" premieres in Vienna. [1] Han Yong-woon [Bongwan, Manhae] (1879-1944) ordained a monk in Korea. [1] World's largest diamond, the 3,106-carat Cullinan, is found in South Africa. [1] January 27 Maurice Rouvier forms government in France. [1] January 31 First auto to exceed 100 mph (161 kph), A G MacDonald, Daytona Beach. [1] Carroll Wright appointed first US Commissioner of Labor. [1] February 1 Hungarian premier Tisza resigns. [1] Oswald Aschenbach German painter, dies at 77. [1] February 7 Dominican Republic signs treaty turning over customs collection to US. [1] Oklahoma admitted to statehood. [1] February 8 Cyclone hit Tahiti and adjacent islands, killing some 10,000 people. [1] February 10 Ignacy Krzyzanowski composer, dies at 78. [1] February 11 Pope Pius X publishes encyclical Vehementer nos. [1] February 12 Marcel Schwob French writer/journalist (Coeur double), dies. [1] February 13 -29 degrees F (-34 degrees C) Pond AR (state record). [1] -40 degrees F (-40 degrees C) Lebanon Kansas (state record). [1] -40 degrees F (-40 degrees C) Warsaw Missouri (state record). [1] February 15 First race meet at Oaklawn Park (Hot Springs Arkansas). [1] Lewis Wallace US diplomat/writer (Ben Hur), dies at 77. [1] February 16 First US Esperanto club organizes in Boston. [1] February 17 Frances Willard becomes first woman honored in National Statuary Hall. [1] Serge Alexandrovich Governor-General Moscow, murdered. [1] February 18 Frank Wedekind's "Hidada, oder Sein und Haben" premieres in Munich. [1] Jules de Geyter Belgian poet (International), dies at 75. [1] February 23 Rotary Club International established by four men in Chicago. [1] February 24 Simplon tunnel in Switzerland completed. [1] February 25 Netherlands Workers van Vakverenigingen, (NVV) political party forms. [1] February 28 Joseph C Juglar French physician/economist, dies at 85. [1] March 3 US Forest Service forms. [1] March 4 Gerhart Hauptmann's "Elga" premieres in Berlin. [1] March 6 Birth of Bob Wills Kosse Texas; actor (Lone Prairie, Tornado in the Saddle). [1] March 10 Japanese Army captures Mukden (Shenyang). [1] March 12 Rudolf von Alt Austrian painter, dies at 92. [1] March 15 Arnold Kerdijk Dutch liberal/founder (Social Weekly), dies at 60. [1] B Amalie Skram-Alver Norwegian author (Paa Saint Jørgen), dies at 58. [1] March 17 Eleanor Roosevelt marries Franklin Roosevelt in New York. [1] March 19 Makar Grigori Ekmalyan composer, dies at 49. [1] March 24 Jules Verne sci-fi author (Around the World in 80 Days), dies at 77. [1] March 25 Rebel battle flags captured during war are returned to South. [1] March 28 Paramaribo-Dam railway opens in Suriname, never used. [1] March 31 German emperor Wilhelm II visits Tanger. [1] April 1 British East African Protectorate becomes colony of Kenya. [1] April 2 Cairo-Capetown railway opens. [1] April 4 Constantin Meunier Belgian painter/sculptor, dies at 73. [1] Earthquake in Kangra India, kills 370,000. [1] April 5 James Barrie's "Alice-sit-by-the-fire", premieres in London. [1] April 12 French Dufaux brothers test helicopter. [1] Hippodrome arena opens (New York City, New York). [1] April 17 US Supreme court judges maximum work day unconstitutional. [1] April 18 Juan Valera bon Alcalá Galiano Sp author (Pepita Jiménez), dies at 80. [1] April 22 Operations begin uniting conservatory of Nature Monument in Amsterdam. [1] April 23 Karel Komzak composer, dies at 54. [1] April 25 Jacob Olie Dutch photographer, dies at about 70. [1] Whites win right to vote in South Africa. [1] April 27 World Exposition opens in Luik. [1] April 29 2" rain falls in 10 minutes in Taylor Texas. [1] Ignacio Cervantes composer, dies at 57. [1] Pierre de Brazza lands in Libreville Gabon. [1] May 2 French newspapers publish lists of Jules Vernes unpublished work. [1] May 5 Robert S Abbott published first issue of newspaper "Chicago Defender". [1] May 9 Ernst Pauer composer, dies at 78. [1] May 15 A land auction is held in Las Vegas, Nevada. In two days, 2000 lots are sold for US$265,000. [1] [80.303] Pierre de Brazza reaches Leopoldville. [1] May 19 Italian King Victor Emmanuel and Swiss President open world's longest railroad tunnel (Simplon) links Iselle Italy and Brig Switzerland. [1] May 22 Royal Academy in Delft Holland becomes Technical High School. [1] May 23 Martinus W van AA Meerbeke head-editor (Time), dies at 75. [1] May 26 A pogrom against Jews in Minsk Belorussia. [1] Alphonse de Rothschild French banker, dies. [1] May 27 Japanese fleet destroys Russian East Sea fleet in Straits of Tushima. [1] May 29 Leon Francis Victor Caron composer, dies at 55. [1] Pogrom against Jewish community in Brisk Lithuania. [1] May 31 Emperor Wilhelm II lands in Tanger. [1] June 1 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition opens in Portland, Oregon. [1] June 7 In a session of the Norwegian parliament, a unanimous vote proclaims that "the union with Sweden under one king is dissolved in consequence of the king's ceasing to function as king of Norway". The storting authorizes the Norwegian Council to take over control of the government. [1] June 10 First forest fire lookout tower placed in operation, Greenville, Me. [1] June 11 Pennsylvania Railroad debuts fastest train in world (New York-Chicago in 18 hours). [1] June 17 Máximo Gómez Cuban general, dies at 68. [1] June 28 Russian sailors mutiny aboard the battleship "Potemkin". [1] July 7 127 degrees F (53 degrees C), Parker, Arizona (state record). [1] July 8 Part of Angel Island allocated for Immigration Detention Center. [1] July 11 Black intellectuals and activists organize Niagara movement. [1] July 22 Philadelphia Athletic's Weldon Henley no-hits Saint Louis Browns, 6-0. [1] July 26 P Gotz discovers asteroid #568 Cheruskia. [1] July 27 J Palisa discovers asteroid #569 Misa. [1] July 30 M Wolf discovers asteroid #570 Kythera. [1] August 13 Norwegians hold a referendum on independence. An overwhelming majority favor it. [7] September 1 Alberta and Saskatchewan become 8th and 9th Canadian provinces. [1] September 5 Treaty of Portsmouth USA, ends Russo-Japanese War. [1] September 6 Atlanta Life Insurance Company established. [1] September 22 Race riot in Atlanta Georgia (10 blacks and two whites killed). [1] September 27 First published blues composition goes on sale, WC Handy Memphis Blues. [1] October 5 Wilbur Wright pilots Wright Flyer III 24 miles in 39 minutes. [5] October 20 Great General Strike in Russia begins; lasts 11 days. [1] October 26 First Soviet (workers' council) formed, Saint Petersburg, Russia. [1] By the Karlstad Convention, the Union of Norway and Sweden is formally dissolved. King Oskar renounces the Norwegian throne, and declines to elect a prince of his to the throne. [7] October 30 "October Manifesto" Russian Tsar Nicholas II grants civil liberties. [1] November 18 Prince Carl of Denmark becomes King Haakon VII of Norway. [1] November 23 Henry Watson Furness, an Indiana physician, named minister of Haiti. [1] December 4 British government of Balfour resigns. [1] December 5 Henry Campbell-Bannerman (Liberal) becomes Prime Minister of England. [1] December 9 French Assembly National votes for separation of church and state. [1] Henry Holmes composer, dies at 66. [1] Richard Strauss' opera "Salome" premieres in Dresden. [1] December 11 120 degrees F (49 degrees C), Rivadavia, Argentina (South American record). [1] British government of Campbell-Bannerman forms. [1] December 16 "Variety", covering all phases of show business, first published. [1] December 25 V Herbert/H Blossoms musical "Mlle Modiste" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] December 27 M A Noble scores 281 (369 minutes, 21 fours) New South Wales vs Victoria. [1] 1906 January 1 Dutch law makes driver's license mandatory. [1] Joseph Miroslav Weber composer, dies at 51. [1] January 6 Maurice Ravel's "Miroirs" premieres in Paris. [1] January 8 Jacob C van Marken peanut butter maker (Calvé-Delft), dies at 60. [1] January 12 First time Dow Jones closes above 100 (100.26). [1] January 13 First radio set advertised (Telimco for $7.50 in Scientific American) claimed to receive signals up to one mile. [1] January 16 Conference of Algeciras (about Morocco). [1] January 18 Bartolomé Mitre President of Argentina (1862-70), dies at 84. [1] January 19 Gerhart Hauptmann's "Und Pippa Tanzt!" premieres in Berlin. [1] January 25 Del Valle Inclans "El Marqués de Bradomin" premieres in Madrid. [1] Joseph Wheeler II Confederate General, dies at 70. [1] Pierre L Goossens Belgian archbishop of Malines/Cardinal, dies at 78. [1] January 29 Christaan IX King of Denmark (1893-1906), dies. [1] January 31 Strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake, Colombia, 8.6 Richter. [1] February 1 First federal penitentiary building completed, Leavenworth KS. [1] English Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Grey's wife Dorothy fatally injured. [1] February 2 Pope encyclical against separation of church and state. [1] February 9 Natal proclaims state of siege in Zulu uprising. [1] Paul Laurence Dunbar black dialect poet, dies at 33 in Dayton Ohio. [1] February 10 Britain's first modern and largest battleship "HMS Dreadnought" launched. [1] State of siege proclaimed in Zululand. [1] February 12 George M Cohans musical "George Washington" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] February 15 British Labour Party organizes. [1] February 17 Theodore Roosevelt's daughter Alice marries in the White House. [1] February 18 Vincent d'Indy's "Jour D'été à La Montagne" premieres in Paris. [1] Willem Doorenbos literary/critic, dies at 85. [1] February 19 W K Kellogg and Charles D Bolin incorporate Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, Battle Creek MI. [1] February 22 Black evangelist William J Seymour arrives in Los Angeles California. [1] February 23 Johann Hoch US murderer, executed. [1] February 25 Anton Stepanovich Arensky Russian composer/conductor, dies at 44. [1] February 26 Manuel Fernandez Caballero composer, dies at 70. [1] February 27 France and Britain agree to joint control of New Hebrides. [1] February 28 Birth of Bugsy Siegel gangster created casinos in Las Vegas. [1] March 1 José M de Pereda y Sánchez the Porrúa Spanish writer, dies at 73. [1] Moriz Heyne German germanist (German Wörterbuch), dies at 68. [1] March 3 Vuia I aircraft built by Romanian Traja Vuia tested in France. [1] March 6 Heavy storm bursts dike flooding Vlissingen, Netherlands. [1] Nora Blatch becomes first woman elected to American Society of Civil Engineers. [1] March 7 Finnish Senate accepts universal suffrage, except for poor. [1] March 10 First performance of Maurice Ravel's "Sonatine". [1] Coal dust explosion kills 1,060 at Courrieres France. [1] Eugen Richter German Member of Parliament (Liberal), dies at 67. [1] London Underground opens Bakeroo line (Baker Street to Waterloo Line). [1] March 12 Heavy storm ravages Dutch west coast. [1] March 13 Susan B[rownell] Anthony American suffragist, dies at 85. [1] March 15 Alfred Gilpin Jones Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia (1900-06), dies at 81. [1] Brits Rolls, Royce and Johnson form Rolls Royce Ltd. [1] March 17 Carlos Calvo Argentina diplomat (Calvo Clause), dies at 82. [1] President Theodore Roosevelt uses term "muckraker". [1] March 18 Traian Vuia flies a self-propelled heavier-than-air aircraft, taking off without help of a catapult. [5] March 19 Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's "Quattro Rusteghi" premieres in Munich. [1] March 20 George B Shaw's "Captain Brassbound's Conversion" premieres in London. [1] March 22 Martin Wegelius Finnish musicologist/composer, dies at 59. [1] March 24 "Census of the British Empire" shows England rules 1/5 of the world. [1] March 30 Betsy Perk [Christina E], journalist/writer/feminist, dies at 73. [1] March 31 George Bernard Shaw's German version of "Caesar and Cleopatra" premieres in Berlin. [1] April 2 South Africa completes a 4-1 series drubbing of England. [1] April 5 Saint Pius X encyclical "On the Mariavites or Mystic Priests of Poland". [1] April 6 First animated cartoon copyrighted. [1] Alexander L Kielland Norwegian writer (Working People), dies at 57. [1] April 7 Act of Algeciras drawn between Moroccan police and banking business. [1] April 11 Einstein introduces his Theory of Relativity. [1] Georgi Apollonovitch Gapon Russian-orthodox clergyman/tsarist agent, dies. [1] James A Bailey circus showman (Barnum and Bailey), dies at 58. [1] April 13 Mutiny on Portuguese battleships Dom Carlos and Vasco da Gama. [1] April 14 President Theodore Roosevelt denounces "muckrakers" in US press. [1] April 18 Calvinist Reformed Union in Netherlands Church forms in Utrecht. [1] San Francisco Earthquake (one of the most significant earthquakes of all time) kills over 700 people. [1] San Francisco earthquake and fire kills nearly 4,000 and destroys 75% of the city. [1] April 19 Belgian naval education ship Comte The Stain de Naeyer sets sail. [1] Pierre Curie French physicist/chemist (Nobel Prize 1903), dies. [1] April 20 Australian wombat oldest known marsupial, dies in London Zoo at 26. [1] April 25 John Knowles Paine US composer, dies at 67. [1] April 26 First motion pictures shown in Hawaii. [1] May 3 British-controlled Egypt takes Sinai peninsula from Turkey. [1] May 6 "Temporary" permit to erect overhead wires on Market Steet San Francisco. [1] May 10 Russia's Duma (Parliament) meets for first time. [1] May 13 Bezalel Art School opens in Jerusalem. [1] May 19 Federated Boys' Club (Boys' Club of America) organizes. [1] Portugal's King Carlos I names Joao Franco premier. [1] May 21 Louis H Perlman patents a demountable tire carrying rim for cars. [1] May 22 Wright Brothers patent an aeroplane. [1] May 23 Henrik Johan Ibsen Norwegian playwright (Doll House), dies at 78. [1] May 26 Archaeological Institute of America forms. [1] May 27 First outlining of Gustav Mahler's 6th symphony, in Essen. [1] May 28 Shields/Cobbs musical "His honor, the Mayor" premieres in New York City. [1] May 30 40th Belmont Stakes: Lucien Lyne aboard Burgomaster wins in 2:20. [1] William Yeates Hurlstone composer, dies at 30. [1] May 31 Attack on King Alfonso XIII and Victoria von Battenberg in Madrid. [1] Hermann Schell German theologist (Gott und Geist), dies at 56. [1] King Alfonso XIII assassinated in Madrid. [1] Victoria von Battenberg assassinated in Madrid. [1] June 14 J H Metcalf discovers asteroid #600 Musa. [1] June 26 Alexander Muir poet (The Maple Leaf Forever), dies at 76. [1] June 30 John Hope becomes first black president of Morehouse College. [1] Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act adopted. [1] July 12 Alfred Dreyfus found innocent in France. [1] August 1 Brooklyn Dodger Harry McIntire no-hits Pittsburgh for 10 2/3 loses in 13th. [1] August 13 Black soldiers raid Brownsville Texas. [1] August 15 First freight delivery tunnel system begins, underneath Chicago. [1] August 22 First Victor Victrola manufactured. [1] August 30 Hal Chase became first Yank to hit three triples in a game. [1] September 1 Alberta adopts Mountain Standard Time. [1] Papua placed under Australian administration. [1] September 13 First airplane flight in Europe. [1] September 25 In the presence of the king and before a great crowd, Leonardo Torres Quevedo successfully demonstrates the invention of the Telekino in the port of Bilbao, guiding a boat from the shore, in what is considered the birth of the remote control. [5] September 28 US troops reoccupy Cuba, stay until 1909. [1] October 4 Chicago Cubs win their 116th game (116-36) of the year. [1] October 8 Karl Nessler demonstrates first 'permanent wave' for hair, in London. [1] October 20 Dr Lee DeForest demonstrates his radio tube. [1] October 22 3000 blacks demonstrate and riot in Philadelphia. [1] November 6 Charles Evans Hughes (Republican) elected New York governor beats William Randolph Hearst. [1] November 14 Roosevelt becomes first US President to visit a foreign country (Panama). [1] November 22 International Radio Telecommunications Com adopts "SOS" as new call for help. [1] December 1 Cinema Omnia Pathe, world's first cinema, opens (Paris). [1] Shoemaker Wilhelm Voigt (Captain of Köpenick) sentenced to four years. [1] December 4 Alpha Phi Alpha, first Black Greek Letter Fraternity, forms. [1] December 5 British government-Balfour resigns. [1] December 9 New York American reports Belgian King Leopold II bribed US Senate commission on the Congo. [1] December 10 First American awarded Nobel Peace Prize - President Theodore Roosevelt. [1] December 11 US President Roosevelt attacks abuses in the Congo. [1] December 12 Oscar Straus, first Jewish cabinet member, appointed Secretary of Commerce. [1] December 13 German chancellor Bernhard von Bülow disbands the Parliament. [1] December 14 John A C Oudemans Dutch geographer/astronomer, dies at 78. [1] December 20 Venezuela (under Vice-President Gomez) attacks Dutch fleet. [1] December 21 Adalbert von Goldschmidt composer, dies at 58. [1] December 24 Reginald A Fessenden became first to broadcast music over radio (Massachusetts). [1] December 27 First annual meeting of American Sociological Society, Providence Rhode Island. [1] December 28 Ecuador adopts its constitution. [1] December 30 Iran becomes a constitutional monarchy. [1] December 31 French/British/Italian treaty concerning rights on Abyssinia. [1] 1907 January 1 Cyrill Kistler composer, dies at 58. [1] President Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8,513 hands in one day. [1] January 3 Josef Foerster composer, dies at 73. [1] January 4 George Bernard Shaw's "Don Juan in Hell" premieres in London. [1] January 6 Maria Montessori opens her first (Montessori) school (Rome). [1] January 7 Anton Urspruch composer, dies at 56. [1] Clyde Fitch' "Truth" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] January 8 Theodoor Verstraete Flemish painter/etcher, dies at 57. [1] January 12 Britain grants responsible government to former colony of Transvaal. [1] January 14 Karl von Perfall composer, dies at 82. [1] January 15 3-element vacuum tube patented by Dr Lee de Forest. [1] Gold dental inlays first described by William Taggart, who invented them. [1] January 23 Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes first Native American US senator. [1] January 25 Julia Ward Howe is first woman elected to National Institute of Arts and Letters. [1] January 26 First federal corrupt election practices law passed. [1] J M Synge's "Playboy of the Western World" opens; police are called. [1] February 2 Dmitri I Mendelejev Russian chemist (Periodic Table), dies at 72. [1] February 5 Arnold Schönberg's first string quartet premieres in Vienna. [1] Ludwig Thuille composer, dies at 45. [1] February 8 Hendrik W Bakhuis Roozeboom chemist (fasenleer), dies at 52. [1] February 11 De Master's Dutch government resigns. [1] Passenger ship Larchmont sinks by Block Island, 322 die. [1] Peter J Savelberg Dutch Limbourg monastery founder, dies at 80. [1] February 13 English suffragettes storm British Parliament and 60 women are arrested. [1] Marcel Bertrand French mine engineer, dies at 59. [1] February 14 First US fox hound association forms in New York City, New York. [1] February 16 Giosué Carducci poet (Nobel Prize 1906), dies. [1] February 17 Henry Steel Olcott US co-founder (Theosophist Society-Madras), dies at 74. [1] February 20 [Ferdinand-Frederic-]Henri Moissan chemist (Nobel Prize 1906), dies at 54. [1] February 21 SS Berlin sinks off Hoek van Holland Netherlands (142 dead). [1] February 22 First cabs with taxi meters begin operating in London. [1] Leonid N Andreyev's "Zhizn Cheloveka" premieres in Saint Petersburg. [1] February 24 Otto Goldschmidt composer, dies at 77. [1] February 25 George Bernard Shaw's "Philanderer" premieres in London. [1] US proclaims protectorate over Dominican Republic. [1] February 26 Royal Oil and Shell merge to form British Petroleum (BP). [1] US Congress raised their own salaries to $7500. [1] February 28 Birth of Milton Caniff Hillsboro Ohio, Dutch cartoonist (Terry and the Pirates). [1] March 2 General Louis Botha named premier of Transvaal. [1] Georges Feydeaus' "La Puce à l'Oreille" premieres in Paris France. [1] March 5 First radio broadcast of a musical composition aired. [1] March 7 Victor Alphonse Duvernoy composer, dies at 64. [1] March 9 First involuntary sterilization law enacted, Indiana. [1] Lady Gregory's "Rising of the Moon" premieres in Dublin. [1] March 11 Nikola Petkow premier (Bulgaria), murdered. [1] March 15 Finland is first European country to give women the right to vote. [1] March 19 18.8 cm precipitation at Lewer's Ranch Nevada (state record). [1] Thomas Bailey Aldrich US writer (Stillwater Tragedy), dies at 70. [1] March 21 US invades Honduras. [1] March 23 Constantine P Pobedonostsev Russian reactionary senator, dies at 79. [1] March 28 Pavel Ivanovich Blaramberg composer, dies at 65. [1] March 30 In Bagatelle, France, Voisin Frères delivers the first commercially-produced aircraft, a box-kite bi-plane powered by a 50hp 8-cylinder Antoinette engine. [55.11] March 31 Romanian Army puts down Moldavian farmers' revolt. [1] April 5 Anton G van Hamel founder (Roman philosphy in Netherlands), dies at 65. [1] April 12 Belgium government of De Stain de Naeyer, resigns. [1] April 17 11,745 immigrants arrive at Ellis Island New York. [1] April 18 Augustus Thomas' "Witching Hour", premieres in New York City. [1] Fairmont Hotel opens. [1] April 26 Jamestown Virginia Tercentenary Exposition opens. [1] Pietro Plantania composer, dies at 79. [1] May 1 Belgian Government of De Trooz forms. [1] Indian Mine Laws passes (concessions from Netherlands-Indies). [1] May 2 Belgium Jules baron de Trooz forms Belgian Government. [1] May 7 Charles Collier wins first Isle of Man TT Race (38.22 mph). [1] May 8 Boston's Big Jeff Pfeffer no-hits Cincinnati Reds, 6-0. [1] May 10 Paul Dukas' opera "Ariane et Barbe Bleue" premieres in Paris France. [1] May 11 Bank of San Francisco incorporated. [1] John Albert Delany composer, dies at 54. [1] May 12 J K Huysmans writer, dies at 59. [1] May 22 Birth of Hergé [Georges Rémi] Belgian cartoonist (Kuifje). [1] May 27 Bubonic Plague breaks out in San Francisco. [1] May 31 Taxis first began running in New York City. [1] June 1 -27 degrees F (-33 degrees C), Sarmiento, Argentina (South American record). [1] June 9 K Lohnert discovers asteroid #635 Vundtia. [1] June 13 Lowest temp ever in 48 US states for June, 2 degrees F in Tamarack California. [1] June 15 44 nations meet in second Hague Peace Conference. [1] June 20 First Portland Rose festival. [1] July 8 Florenz Ziegfeld staged first 'Follies' on New York Theater roof. [1] July 15 First electric bus service in London, England, operated by London Electrobus Company; lasts until 1909. [78.10] July 19 K Lohnert discovers asteroid #639 Latona. [1] August 1 Bank of Italy opens first branch at 3433 Mission Street, San Francisco. [1] August 10 Prince Scipone Borchesi wins Peking to Paris, 7,500 mile auto rally. [1] August 13 First taxicab (New York City). [1] August 26 Houdini escapes from chains underwater at Aquatic Park in 57 sec. [1] August 28 United Parcel Service (UPS) is founded by James E. Casey in Seattle, Washington. [1] [5] August 31 England, Russia and France form the Triple Entente. [1] September 7 Sutro's ornate Cliff House in San Francisco destroyed by fire. [1] September 26 New Zealand becomes a dominion. [1] September 29 Construction begins on Washington National Cathedral. [1] October 2 Philadelphia Phillies Eddie Grant goes 7 for 7 in a doubleheader. [1] November 7 Dynamite explodes on locomotive kills engineer Jesus Garcia in Mexico. [1] November 13 French cyclist Paul Cornu flies a twin rotor helicopter. [1] November 15 The daily comic strip "Mr. A. Mutt" by Bud Fisher begins in San Francisco Chronicle. [55.42] November 16 Oklahoma becomes 46th US state. [1] November 30 Pike Place Market dedicated in Seattle. [1] December 3 George Cohan's musical "Talk of the Town" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] December 6 Coal mine explosions in Monongah WV, kills 361. [1] December 8 On the death of Sweden's King Oskar II, Prince Gustav is proclaimed King Gustav V. [1] [7] December 9 First Christmas Seals sold (Wilmington DE post office). [1] Gustav Mahler departs Vienna. [1] December 10 Ruyard Kipling receives Nobel Prize for literature. [1] December 13 George Gunn scores 119 on Test debut vs Australia SCG. [1] German emperor Wilhelm II visits Amsterdam. [1] December 16 Eugene H Farrar is first to sing on radio (Brooklyn Navy Yard New York). [1] Great White Fleet sails from Hampton Downs on its World Cruise. [1] December 17 Kelvin of Largs [William Thomson] British physicist (Kelvin), dies at 83. [1] Ugyen Wangchuck became first hereditary king of Bhutan. [1] December 19 239 workers die in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek Pennsylvania. [1] Gas explosion at Jacobs Creek Pennsylvania coal mine kills 239. [1] December 20 Explosion at Yolande Alabama, coal mine kills 91. [1] December 21 Dutch government of De Master falls due to war budget. [1] Oskar Lassar German dermatologist (public baths), dies at 58. [1] December 22 Saint-Saëns/Fokines ballet "Le Cygne" premieres in Saint Petersburg. [1] December 23 First all-steel passenger railroad coach completed, Altoona Pennsylvania. [1] December 24 Isidor Feinstein "Izzy" Stone journalist (IF Stone's Weekly), dies. [1] December 31 G Mahler conducts the Metropolitan Opera. [1] Jules de Trooz Belgium Prime Minister, dies at 63. [1] For the first time, a ball drops in New York City's Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight. [1] [5]