February 9
February 9
Davis Cup competition established
On February 9, 1900, the solid silver trophy known today as the Davis Cup is first put up for competition when American collegian Dwight Filley Davis challenges British tennis players…
A Year In History: 1900
This Year in History:
1900
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
March 6
March 6
Auto pioneer Gottlieb Daimler dies
Gottlieb Daimler, the German engineer who invented an early version of the internal combustion engine and founded an auto company bearing his name, dies at the age of 65 on…
May 23
May 23
William Carney becomes first Black American to earn the Medal of Honor
Recognized for heroically protecting the American flag during the Civil War, Army Sgt. William Harvey Carney receives the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, on May 23, 1900. …
May 23
May 23
Forgotten Civil War hero honored
Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery on July 18, 1863, while fighting for the Union cause as a member of the 54th Massachusetts…
June 17
June 17
Future President Hoover caught in Boxer Rebellion
For nearly a month beginning June 17, 1900, future President Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou are caught in the middle of the Boxer Rebellion in China, when the community…
June 20
June 20
Boxer Rebellion reaches Peking’s diplomatic quarter
On June 20, 1900, Chinese nationalists behind the so‑called Boxer Rebellion occupy the capital city of Peking (later Beijing), kill several Westerners—including German ambassador Baron von Ketteler—and besiege the foreign…
June 25
June 25
Lord Louis Mountbatten is born
On this day in 1900, Lord Louis Mountbatten, British admiral and second cousin to King George VI, is born. Louis Mountbatten was born in Windsor, England, the fourth child of…
June 30
June 30
Fire breaks out at New Jersey pier
On this day in 1900, four German boats burn at the docks in Hoboken, New Jersey, killing more than 300 people. The fire was so large that it could be…
July 2
July 2
Zeppelin demonstrates airship
In the sky over Germany’s Lake Constance, Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, a retired Prussian army officer, successfully demonstrates the world’s first rigid airship. The 420‑foot, cigar‑shaped craft was lifted…
July 6
July 6
Warren Earp killed in Arizona
Warren Earp, the youngest of the famous clan of gun fighting brothers, is murdered in an Arizona saloon. Nicholas and Virginia Earp raised a family of five sons and four…
July 29
July 29
Italian American assassinates Italian king
In Monza, Italy, King Umberto I is shot to death by Gaetano Bresci, an Italian‑born anarchist who resided in America before returning to his homeland to murder the king. Crowned…
August 14
August 14
Peking relieved by multinational force
During the Boxer Rebellion, an international force featuring British, Russian, American, Japanese, French, and German troops relieves the Chinese capital of Peking after fighting its way 80 miles from the…
September 3
September 3
Charles Wisner’s “Buzz‑Wagon” debuts in Flint
On September 3, 1900, the first car ever made in Flint, Michigan makes its debut in the town’s Labor Day parade. Designed and built by a county judge and weekend…
September 8
September 8
Deadly hurricane batters Galveston, Texas
One of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history hits Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900, killing more than 6,000 people. The storm caused so much destruction on the Texas coast…
September 8
September 8
Deadly hurricane destroys Galveston
On this day in 1900, a Category 4 hurricane rips through Galveston, Texas, killing an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 people. A 15‑foot storm surge flooded the city, then situated at…
October 26
October 26
Henry James and Edith Wharton begin corresponding
On this day in 1900, writer Henry James first writes to Edith Wharton, whom he will finally meet in 1903. Wharton, then 38, had published her first collection of stories,…
November 8
November 8
Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone with the Wind,” is born
On November 8, 1900, Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind (1936), is born in Atlanta, Georgia. Mitchell worked as a journalist for the Atlanta Journal for six years.…
November 14
November 14
American classical composer Aaron Copland is born in Brooklyn, New York
On November 14, 1900, composer Aaron Copland is born in Brooklyn, New York. “The sound and the spirit of this music is so familiar to us that we think it…
November 22
November 22
First Mercedes goes for a test drive
On November 22, 1900, the first car to be produced under the Mercedes name is taken for its inaugural drive in Cannstatt, Germany. The car was specially built for its…
December 14
December 14
The birth of quantum theory
German physicist Max Planck publishes his groundbreaking study of the effect of radiation on a “blackbody” substance, and the quantum theory of modern physics is born. Through physical experiments, Planck…
