1900-1920

  • The first major oil discovery in Texas occurs near Spindletop in Beaumont.

  • President William H. McKinley is shot at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York while shaking hands with fair visitor

  • The first Rose Bowl is held, between Michigan and Stanford

  • The island of Cuba gains independence from the United States.

  • The Louisiana Purchase Exposition opens

  • President Theodore Roosevelt is inaugurated for his second term

  • The Boy Scouts of America is founded

  • The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified

  • Woodrow Wilson won a second term as President

  • The influenza epidemic Spanish flu spans the globe, killing over twenty million worldwide.

  • The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending World War I.