April 1900 Explained
The following events occurred in April 1900:
April 1, 1900 (Sunday)
April 2, 1900 (Monday)
April 3, 1900 (Tuesday)
- Admiral George Dewey, hero of the Spanish–American War, announced his candidacy for President of the United States, bringing the cancellation of a celebrated tour of the United States. In an exclusive interview with the New York World, Dewey made the mistake of saying, "I am convinced that the office of the president is not a very difficult one to fill, his duties mainly to execute the laws of congress."[5] Dewey withdrew his candidacy the next month, after revealing that he had never voted in an election.[6]
- The United States Senate passed the Foraker Act, providing for the government of Puerto Rico, 49–31, and sent the measure to the House of Representatives,[7] which approved it 161–153.[8]
- Born: Camille Chamoun, Lebanese state leader, second President of Lebanon; in Deir al-Qamar, Ottoman Empire (d. 1987)
April 4, 1900 (Wednesday)
- In Brussels, an assassin fired two shots at the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) as the Prince's railroad car was preparing to leave Brussels-North railway station for Copenhagen. Identified as a 16-year-old Jean-Baptiste Sipido, the would-be killer, protesting against the Second Boer War, jumped upon the footboard of the carriage and fired through the window, but missed.[9] Sipido was tried and acquitted, and lived until 1959.
- The Convention Hall in Kansas City, which was three months away from hosting the Democratic Convention, was destroyed in a fire that consumed the building in 30 minutes.[10]
- Queen Victoria visited her subjects in Dublin, Ireland (at the time, a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) after landing the night before at Kingstown on the yacht Victoria and Albert.[11]
- At Reddersburg in South Africa, Boer troops led by General Christiaan de Wet forced the surrender of the Royal Irish Rifles after a 24-hour battle, taking 546 prisoners.[12]
April 5, 1900 (Thursday)
April 6, 1900 (Friday)
- World heavyweight boxing champion Jim Jeffries retained his title in a bout that lasted only 55 seconds. In Detroit, challenger Jack Finnegan was TKO'd less than a minute into the first round, a record that still stands.[16] Finnegan, who was outweighed by Jeffries 250 pounds to 180, got up after each of three knockdowns before the towel was thrown in.[17] In 1988, Mike Tyson would KO Michael Spinks in 91 seconds, the last heavyweight title fight to be decided in the first round.[18]
- The city of Havana, Cuba banned the playing of African drums, a prohibition that remained in effect until 1940, when conga drums again became part of Cuban music.[19]
- Kentucky's highest court declared J. C. W. Beckham to be the Governor, ruling against William S. Taylor. Taylor had been sworn in as Governor earlier in the year after being certified the winner of the 1899 state election, but a lower court ruled William Goebel to be the winner. Goebel was assassinated, and Lt. Governor Beckham was sworn in during February.[20]
April 7, 1900 (Saturday)
- More than 100 people were killed near Austin, Texas, when the McDonald Dam burst at 11:15 in the morning and sent a torrent of waters from the Colorado River rushing through the state capital. The dam had been constructed only seven years earlier, and burst following four days of rain. The town of Circleville was reported to have been washed away. Flooding of the Concho River had destroyed the town of Watervalley the day before.[21]
- At Thomas Edison's laboratory, an agent of the Goldschmidt Chemische-Thermo Industrie of Essen, Germany, demonstrated a process to melt iron in five seconds. "Louis Dreyfus of Frankfort-on-Main ... showed Mr. Edison his new process for attaining an enormous degree of heat in an incredibly short period of time by the combustion of a certain chemical compound which the inventor keeps a secret," The New York Times reported, "then placed a six-inch long iron wrench in a crucible and created a fire that reached 3,000 degrees centigrade."[22]
- General Arthur MacArthur was named to replace General Elwell Stephen Otis as military governor of the Philippines.
- The gunboat USS Wheeling arrived at Taku Forts to reinforce the American military presence in China.[23]
April 8, 1900 (Sunday)
- In the first major event associated with the introduction of Buddhism to the United States, The Buddha's birthday was celebrated in an elaborate ceremony in San Francisco. The Buddhist mission had begun its outreach to European-Americans in weekly lectures beginning on January 4.[24]
April 9, 1900 (Monday)
April 10, 1900 (Tuesday)
April 11, 1900 (Wednesday)
- King Leopold of Belgium, by declaration made on April 9, turned over to the nation all of his properties "which contribute to the charms and beauty of the localities in which they are situated" on condition that they be preserved as park land, creating the Royal Trust of Belgium. More were turned over in 15 November 1900.
- The United States Navy purchased its first submarine, the USS Holland, for $150,000.[29] Commissioned on October 12, the sub was 50feet long, held a crew of six, and ran on electric batteries when submerged.[30]
April 12, 1900 (Thursday)
April 13, 1900 (Friday)
- For the fourth time since 1893, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution to provide that U.S. senators be elected by popular vote rather than by the individual state legislatures, by a margin of 242–15. As with the previous resolutions, the measure failed in the Senate. It was not until 1913 that the law changed, by the amendment of the United States Constitution.[31]
- At Knossos, workmen first excavated the royal palace of Minos.[32]
April 14, 1900 (Saturday)
- French President Émile Loubet formally opened the Paris World Exhibition.[33] The fair would close on November 12. The first Michelin Guide was published to coincide with the opening of the exposition[34] and the first modern step-type escalator, designed by Charles Seeberger, was in use.
- The Automobile Club of America staged the first car race in U.S. history, a 50miles race on Long Island, starting at in Springfield to Babylon, New York, and back. As one of nine drivers, A.L. Riker won the race in 2 hours, minutes, and a silver cup provided by Leonce Blanchet.[35]
- The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the controlling body for bicycling events around the world, was founded in Switzerland.[36]
- Charlie Williams, playing for Manchester City against Sunderland, became the first goalkeeper to score a goal in the history of the English Football League.
- Born: Nina Petrovna Khrushchev, wife of Nikita Khrushchev (d. 1984)
- Died: Osman Nuri Pasha, Ottoman army officer, field marshal and hero of the Siege of Plevna (b. 1832)
April 15, 1900 (Sunday)
April 16, 1900 (Monday)
- The first book of stamps in the United States was placed on sale in American post offices. According to the 1900 report of the United States Postmaster General, "These books are issued in three sizes, containing, respectively, 12, 24, and 48 2-cent stamps in sheets of six stamps each, with paraffined paper interleaved between the sheets ..."[40]
- Born: Polly Adler, famed brothel operator in New York City, recounted in A House Is Not a Home; in Yanow, Russian Empire (d. 1962)
April 17, 1900 (Tuesday)
April 18, 1900 (Wednesday)
- In British India, the organization Nagari Pracharini Sabha succeeded in its mission to promote the official recognition of the Devanagari script in official documents. Sir Antony Macdonald, Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh issued an executive order providing that the Devanagari and Persian scripts be used for government documents, summons and notices.[42]
- In American law as of October 31, 1988, "the term 'Native American Samoan' means a person who is a citizen or national of the United States and who is a lineal descendant of an inhabitant of the Samoan Islands on April 18, 1900. For purposes of this section, Swains Island shall be considered part of the Samoan Islands."[43]
April 19, 1900 (Thursday)
- In China, the Empress Dowager Cixi issued an imperial edict to all Chinese viceroys and governors, directing them to in turn issue warnings to the Boxers and other armed groups to refrain from "hostile and lawless acts toward native Christians", subject to severe punishment. However, the Empress issued another edict prohibiting soldiers from firing on Boxers.[44]
- The first anti-Japanese meeting was held in the United States, taking place in Seattle.[45]
- The 1900 National League baseball season opened, with all eight teams playing.[46] For the first time, home plate was a five-sided base, pointing toward the pitcher's mound.[47]
April 20, 1900 (Friday)
April 21, 1900 (Saturday)
April 22, 1900 (Sunday)
April 23, 1900 (Monday)
- King Chulalongkorn of Siam (now Thailand) decreed an end to the phrai system, a form of serfdom in rural provinces.[53]
- The United States Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections unanimously approved a report to the Senate recommending that the election of Senator William A. Clark of Montana be declared null and void.[54] Clark would resign on May 11, bringing an end to debate in the Senate.[55]
- According to one source, the word "hillbilly" was introduced on this date, appearing in the New York Journal.[56]
- The town of Pánuco, Veracruz in Mexico was destroyed by fire, leaving more than 2,000 homeless.[57]
April 24, 1900 (Tuesday)
- By a vote of 33 to 32, the United States Senate refused to allow Matthew Quay to take office as Senator from Pennsylvania. The roll was called at 4:00 in the afternoon, with Senator Wellington of Michigan casting the deciding vote.[58]
- The Daily Express, an afternoon tabloid newspaper in London, published its first issue [59] and would become, during part of the 20th century, "the biggest selling newspaper in the world". Founded by Sir Arthur Pearson, the Express was the first British newspaper to use the front page for news headlines instead of advertisements.[60]
April 25, 1900 (Wednesday)
April 26, 1900 (Thursday)
- The city of Hull, Quebec, and the western side of Ottawa, were destroyed by a kitchen fire that broke out in a Bank Street restaurant during the morning and by 11:30, and swept north towards Hull's Main Street and through the lumber mills. By 1:00 in the afternoon, the flames spread over the Ottawa River to the Chaudiere Flats section of the Canadian capital. The property loss was estimated at $15,000,000 (c. in 2008 monies) and twelve thousand people were left homeless, though only seven people were killed.[63]
- Guglielmo Marconi was awarded British patent No. 7,777 for wireless radio.
- President Manuel Antonio Sanclemente of Colombia extended the deadline for completion of the Panama Canal from October 31, 1904, to October 31, 1910.[64] The executive decree was granted without consent of the Colombian Congress.[65]
- Born:
April 27, 1900 (Friday)
April 28, 1900 (Saturday)
- The wife of Major General James H. Wilson, Military Governor of the Matanzas-Santa Clara Department of Cuba, was killed in a freak accident in Havana. Mrs. Wilson alighted from a carriage and stepped on a match that had been burning in the street, and her dress caught fire. She died shortly thereafter of her burns.[68]
- Alfred M. Jones, a noted 70-year-old engraver who had attained worldwide fame, was killed when a cab struck him on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Jones was walking to a dinner engagement at the Century Club at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He died at the New York Hospital of a fractured skull.[69]
- Born:
April 29, 1900 (Sunday)
April 30, 1900 (Monday)
- "On April 30, 1900, that rainy morn, Down in Mississippi near the town of Vaughn, Sped the Cannonball Special only two minutes late, Traveling" 70miles "an hour when they saw a freight."[72] Songwriter Wallace Saunders would immortalize "a relatively minor disaster on the Illinois Central"[73] in "The Ballad of Casey Jones". John Luther "Casey" Jones, driving a passenger train from Memphis, Tennessee, to Canton, Mississippi, was speeding when he encountered two stalled freight trains on the main track at Vaughan, Mississippi. Although he was unable to avoid a collision, Jones slowed the train sufficiently that he was the only fatality of the accident, which happened at [74]
- At 12:40 in the afternoon,[75] U.S. President William McKinley signed into law "An act to provide a government for the Territory of Hawaii". All persons who had been citizens of Hawaii as of April 12, 1898, were declared to be citizens of the United States. By its terms, the law was to take effect on June 14, 1900.[76]
Notes and References
- Web site: Bayern 100 . 2009-01-03 . 2011-06-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110622101743/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/news/2000/02/25/bayern_100/ . dead .
- http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/RWE-AG-Company-History.html RWE-AG Company History
- "New College Degree", The New York Times, April 1, 1900, p2
- "Automobile Club Plans Vast Roads", The New York Times, April 2, 1900, p. 1
- News: DEWEY WILL RUN – Has Decided to Be Candidate For Presidency – Is Not Difficult to Fill . . April 4, 1900 . 1.
- Book: Sweetman, Jack . The Great Admirals: Command at Sea, 1587–1945 . . 1997 . 321.
- News: Senate Passes the Puerto Rican Bill . The New York Times . April 3, 1900 . 1.
- Book: The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1901 . 93.
- "Assassin Fires at Prince of Wales", The New York Times, April 5, 1900, p. 1
- "Convention Hall Destroyed by Fire", The New York Times, April 5, 1900, p. 1
- Siobhán Marie Kilfeather, Dublin: A Cultural History (Oxford University Press, 2005) pp. 160–61The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year 1901, p. 10
- Thomas Pankenham, The Boer War (Random House, 1979) p. 417
- https://patents.google.com/patent/US682692 "Method of manufacturing electric lamps"
- http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=5304 Internet Broadway Database
- The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year 1901, p. 10
- Lindy Lindell, Metro Detroit Boxing, (Arcadia Publishing, 2001), p. 11
- "The Biggest Brute Won", The New York Times, April 7, 1900, p. 9
- "Wait a Minute, or Two", The New York Times, June 28, 1988
- "Cuban Musicians Honored at the Smithsonian Institute ", Latin Beat Magazine, April 1999
- The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1901, p. 101
- News: Texans Perish in Disastrous Floods . The New York Times . April 8, 1900 . 1 . subscription.
- News: Whole Town Wiped Out . The New York Times . April 8, 1900 . 2 . subscription. ; News: Texans Perish in Disastrous Floods . The New York Times . April 8, 1900 . 1. ; News: Disastrous Floods in Texas . The New York Times . April 7, 1900 . 1 . subscription.
- "Iron Melts in Five Seconds", The New York Times, April 9, 1900, p. 1
- Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States (G.P.O. 1902) p. 119
- Thomas A. Tweed, The American Encounter with Buddhism, 1844–1912: Victorian Culture & the Limits of Dissent (UNC Press, 2000), p. 38
- High-energy Spectroscopic Astrophysics (Springer 2005) p83
- Book: Cutler, James Elbert . Lynch-Law: An Investigation Into the History of Lynching in the United States . . 1905 . 249.
- Book: Purdy, Barbara A. . Barbara A. Purdy . The Art and Archaeology of Florida's Wetlands . . 1991 . 53.
- Web site: Frank Cushing . 2009-01-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081201075113/http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/cushing_frank.html . 2008-12-01.
- Book: Friedman, Norman . Norman Friedman . U.S. Submarines Through 1945: An Illustrated Design History . Naval Institute Press . 1995 . 11.
- Book: Sherry . Sontag . Christopher . Drew . Christopher Drew (journalist) . Annette Lawrence . Drew . Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage . Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage . . 2000 . xvi.
- Book: Zelizer, Julian E. . Julian E. Zelizer . The American Congress: The Building of Democracy . . 2004 . 358–362.
- Book: Grimbly, Shona . Encyclopedia of the Ancient World . . 2000 . 72.
- News: Paris Exposition Formally Opened . The New York Times . April 15, 1900 . 1.
- Book: Landa, Robin . Advertising by Design: Generating and Designing Creative Ideas Across Media . . 2010 . 51.
- "Automobiles to Race", The New York Times, April 13, 1900, p8; "First Automobile Fifty-Mile Race Ever Run in America", The New York Times, April 15, 1900, p. 11; Web site: Copiague-Transportation . 2009-01-03 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080907145839/http://copiaguechamber.org/MicheleGrande/transportation.htm . 2008-09-07 .
- http://cyclingnutz.com/events-new{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
- Annual Reports of the War Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1902 (GPO 1903) p. 294
- [Eric G. Swedin]
- http://www.soccerpulse.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=318 SoccerPulse.com
- Annual Reports of the Post-Office Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1900, pp. 683–684
- "Tutuila (U.S.)", by David Starr Jordan and Vernon Lyman Kellogg, The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. XCIV, p. 207
- Book: Fishman, Joshua A. . Joshua Fishman . The Earliest Stage of Language Planning: The "first Congress" Phenomenon . . 1993 . 125.
- https://law.justia.com/codes/us/2008/title16/chap1/subchaplix-o/sec410qq-3/ "'Native American Samoan' defined"
- Book: Library of World History: Containing a Record of the Human Race from the Earliest Historical Period to the Present Time; Embracing a General Survey of the Progress of Mankind in National and Social Life, Civil Government, Religion, Literature, Science and Art . X . Western Press Association . 1914 . 4676.
- Book: Daniels, Roger . The Politics of Prejudice: The Anti-Japanese Movement in California and the Struggle for Japanese Exclusion . . 1977 . 125., quoting McKenzie, Oriental Exclusion, p. 30.
- News: Champion Season Opens . . April 19, 1900 . 4.
- Book: Trey . Strecker . etal . Understanding Baseball: A Textbook . . 2015 . 12.
- Appletons' Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1902, p. 326
- The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Vol. 10 (The Biographical Society, 1904)
- Book: Moore, John Bassett . John Bassett Moore . A Digest of International Law . GPO . 1906 . 423.
- Book: Gilson, Richard . The Cook Islands 1820–1950 . IPS Publications . 1980 . 98.
- Virginia McLean Thompson, Richard Adloff, The Emerging States of French Equatorial Africa (Stanford University Press, 1960), pp. 10–11
- Book: Renard, Ronald D. . The Differential Integration of Hill People into the Thai State . Civility and Savagery: Social Identity in Tai States . Routledge . 2000 . 75.
- News: Senate Committee Against Mr. Clark . The New York Times . April 24, 1900 . 10.
- Book: Bacon, J.D. . The National Nonpartisan League Debate: An Original Anthology . 1918 . 15.
- Book: Dennis E. . Fehr . Kris . Fehr . Karen . Keifer-Boyd . Karen Keifer-Boyd . Real-World Readings in Art Education: Things Your Professor Never Told You . Taylor & Francis . 1999 . 57.
- News: Mexican Town Destroyed . The New York Times . April 24, 1900 . 1.
- "Senate Declares Against M.S. Quay", The New York Times, April 25, 1900, p. 1
- Benjamin Vincent, Haydn's Dictionary of Dates and Universal Information Relating to All Ages and Nations (Ward, Lock & Co., Ltd., 1906) p. 938
- https://web.archive.org/web/20160204160245/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/974835.stm "Daily Express: A chequered history", BBCNews, January 25, 2001
- Book: Fleming, Fergus . Ninety Degrees North: The Quest for the North Pole . . 2001 . 320–22.
- News: King Takes the Oath; Utah Now Has Representative in the House . . April 26, 1900 . 1.
- "Ottawa and Hull Swept By Flames", The New York Times, April 27, 1900, p. 1
- Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution (1903), p. 541
- Captain Miles P. Duval, Cadiz to Cathay, Stanford University Press, p. 171
- News: Gov. Allen in San Juan . The New York Times . April 28, 1900 . 10.
- News: Secretary of War Foresees a Fight . . . April 28, 1900 . 1.
- News: Mrs. Wilson Burned to Death . The New York Times . April 29, 1900 . 1.
- News: Artist Killed in Fifth Avenue . The New York Times . April 29, 1900 . 1.
- "Nine Killed at the Paris Exposition", The New York Times, April 30, 1900, p. 1
- Book: Eisenbath, Mike . The Cardinals Encyclopedia . . 1999 . 22.
- reprinted in Michael Ryall, Read & Understand Poetry, Grades 4–5 (Evan-Moor Educational Publishers, 2005), pp. 73–74
- Book: Solomon, Brian . Railroad Signaling . MBI Publishing Company . 2003 . 42.
- Encyclopedia: John Luther Jones . The Kentucky Encyclopedia . . 1992 . 479.
- News: Hawaiian Bill Signed . The New York Times . May 1, 1900 . 7.
- The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1901, p. 97