The 1900s

Explore 1816 historical events from 1900–1909.

Year by year

1900 225 1901 166 1902 151 1903 169 1904 168 1905 177 1906 173 1907 180 1908 207 1909 200

Notable Events

1901 mozaffar ad din pictured shah of persia granted exclusiv 05 28

1901 125 years ago

Mozaffar ad-Din (pictured), Shah of Persia, granted exclusive rights to prospect for oil in the country to William Knox

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

2008 the u.s. supreme court rules in the baze v

1905

The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v

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

1908

Robert Morley, English actor (died 1992)

Robert Adolph Wilton Morley was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman represent…

Robert Morley, English actor (died 1992)

1900

Fires destroy Canadian cities Ottawa and Hull, reducing them to ashes in 12 hours

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

1909

Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and manager (died 1994)

Sir Alexander Matthew Busby was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He …

Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and manager (died 1994)

1902

Earl Averill, American baseball player (died 1983)

Howard Earl Averill was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1929 to 1941, including 11 seasons for the Cleve…

Earl Averill, American baseball player (died 1983)

1900

The Reichstag approves new legislation continuing Germany's naval expansion program, providing for construction of 38 ba

The Reichstag is a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin that is the seat of the German Bundestag. It is also the meeting place of the Federal Co…

The Reichstag approves new legislation continuing Germany's naval expansion program, providing for construction of 38 ba

1900

Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B

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

1909

Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome

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

1900

The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in Un

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

All Events

1909

Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome

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

1909

The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity

The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 2,817,852…

The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity

1909

Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is forced out as Shah of Persia and is replaced by his son…

The Persian Constitutional Revolution, also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar era. The revolution led to the establi…

Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is forced out as Shah of Persia and is replaced by his son…

1909

Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days…

Alice Huyler Ramsey was an American who was the first woman to drive an automobile across the United States from coast to coast, a feat she completed on August 7, 1909.

Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days…

1909

In Portugal, a magnitude 6

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

1909

Sultan of Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V

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

1909

The first edition of the Giro d'Italia, a long-distance multiple-stage bicycle race, began in Milan; the Italian cyclist

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

1909

The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), conv

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

1909

Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time

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

1909

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for automobile racing. William Bourque and his mechanic are killed during the…

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapoli…

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for automobile racing. William Bourque and his mechanic are killed during the…

1909

Burgess Shale fossils are discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott.

The Burgess Shale is a fossil-bearing deposit exposed in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fo…

Burgess Shale fossils are discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott.

1909

Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Port-Aviation (often called "Juvisy…

Eugène Lefebvre was a French aviation pioneer. He was reportedly the first stunt pilot, the first person to die while piloting a powered airplane, and the second person to be kille…

Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Port-Aviation (often called "Juvisy…

1909

Alain Poher, French politician, President of France (died 1996)

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)

1909

Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from Calais to Dover,…

Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing th…

Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from Calais to Dover,…

1909

Begin of the Tragic Week in Barcelona in response to troop mobilisations for the Rif War.

Tragic Week was a series of violent confrontations between the Spanish army and anarchists, freemasons, socialists and republicans of Barcelona and other cities in Catalonia, Spain…

Begin of the Tragic Week in Barcelona in response to troop mobilisations for the Rif War.

1909

End of the Tragic Week in Barcelona, a series of antiwar and antigovernment protests in Spain and especially in…

The Tragic Week was a series of violent confrontations between the Spanish army and anarchists, freemasons, socialists and republicans of Barcelona and other cities in Catalonia, S…

End of the Tragic Week in Barcelona, a series of antiwar and antigovernment protests in Spain and especially in…

1909

Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal is an artificial 82-kilometer (51-mile) waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmu…

Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.

1909

Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2012)

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)

1909

Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian (died 2001)

Indro Alessandro Raffaello Schizogene Montanelli was an Italian journalist, historian, and writer.

Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian (died 2001)

1909

Spyros Markezinis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (died 2000)

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)

1909

William Pereira, American architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid (died 1985)

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)

1909

Marianne Hoppe, German actress (died 2002)

Marianne Hoppe was a German theatre and film actress.

Marianne Hoppe, German actress (died 2002)

1909

A group of mid-level Greek Army officers launches the Goudi coup, seeking wide-ranging reforms.

The Hellenic Army, formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term Hellenic is the endogenous synonym for Greek. The Hellenic Army is the largest of the three branches of th…

A group of mid-level Greek Army officers launches the Goudi coup, seeking wide-ranging reforms.

1909

Lim Bo Seng, Chinese businessman, resistance fighter of Force 136 and war hero of Singapore (died 1944)

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)