February 20
February 20
Ansel Adams is born
The famous western photographer Ansel Adams is born in San Francisco. Adams’ dramatic black and white images of Yosemite and the West are some of the most widely recognized and…
A Year In History: 1902
This Year in History:
1902
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
March 6
March 6
Real Madrid founded
On March 6, 1902, the Madrid Foot Ball Club is founded by a group of fans in Madrid, Spain. Later known as Real Madrid, the club would become the most…
March 17
March 17
Bobby Jones is born
On March 17, 1902, Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. is born in Atlanta, Georgia. Jones, the first great American golfer, was a hero of the so‑called “Golden Age of Sports” in…
April 2
April 2
First woman judge dies in Wyoming
Esther Morris, the first woman judge in American history, dies in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Although widely celebrated as a hero of the early suffragist movement, Esther Morris was hardly a radical…
April 19
April 19
Earthquake rocks Guatemala
The last and most powerful in a series of earthquakes rocks Western Guatemala on this day in 1902. More than 2,000 people were killed and 50,000 left homeless by the…
May 8
May 8
Mount Pelée begins to erupt, burying Caribbean city
On May 8, 1902, Martinique’s Mount Pelée begins the deadliest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. By the following day, the city of Saint Pierre, which some called the Paris…
May 28
May 28
Western novel “The Virginian” is published
Owen Wister’s The Virginian is published by Macmillan Press. It was the first “serious” Western and one of the most influential in the genre. Almost single‑handedly, The Virginian turned the…
May 31
May 31
The Boer War ends in South Africa
In Pretoria, representatives of Great Britain and the Boer states sign the Treaty of Vereeniging, officially ending the three‑and‑a‑half‑year South African Boer War. The Boers, also known as Afrikaners, were…
June 23
June 23
“Mercedes” registered as a brand name
On this day in 1902, German automaker Daimler‑Motoren‑Gesellschaft (DMG) first registers “Mercedes” as a brand name; the name will gain full legal protection the next September. Mechanical engineer Gottlieb Daimler…
August 6
August 6
Mobster Dutch Schultz is born
Arthur Flegenheimer, who will go on to become one of New York’s most feared criminals under the name “Dutch Schultz,” is born in the Bronx. Thirty‑three years later, his life…
September 24
September 24
Fannie Farmer opens cooking school
According to newspaper reporting at the time, on September 24, 1902, pioneering cookbook author Fannie Farmer, who changed the way Americans prepare food by advocating the use of standardized measurements…
November 2
November 2
First four‑cylinder, gas‑powered Locomobile hits the road
Engineer Andrew Riker delivers the first four‑cylinder, gas‑powered Locomobile—a $4,000, 12‑horsepower Model C—to a buyer in New York City on this day in 1902. The Locomobile Company had been known…
November 30
November 30
Harvey “Kid Curry” Logan sentenced
Harvey “Kid Curry” Logan, the second‑in‑command in Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch crew, is sentenced to 20 years hard labor in a Tennessee prison. Though the famous Hollywood movie Butch Cassidy…
