-
American Statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open-Door Policy to promote trade with China. -
The United States and United Kingdom sign a treaty for the Panama Canal. -
The German liner SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse becomes the first ship to send wireless telegraph signals to shore. -
Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin the four-day siege of Catubig in Northern Samar Catubig, Philippines. -
Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State. -
The Reichstag (German Empire) approves a second law that allows the expansion of the German navy. -
Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a siege of the International Legations called the 55-day Siege of the Beijing Legation Quarter or Legation Quarter in Beijing, China. -
In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci. -
Filipinos, under Juan Cailles, defeat the United States under Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham at Mabitac. -
The Royal Canadian Dragoons win three Victoria Crosses at the Battle of Leliefontein. -
The Australian Colonies Federate. -
Edward VII becomes King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India upon the
death of Queen Victoria. -
Platt Amendment limits the autonomy of Cuba in exchange for withdrawal of American troops. -
William McKinley is assassinated and Vice President Theodore Roosevelt assumes office as President of the United States following McKinley's death on September 14th. -
The Boxer Rebellion is defeated by international coalition. They impose heavy financial sanctions on China. -
Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal. -
Unification of Saudi Arabia begins. -
Cuba is given independence by the United States. -
The Second Boer War ends in British victory. -
Arthur Balfour becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. -
Willis Carrier invents the first modern electrical air conditioning unit. -
The first teddy bear is invented. -
King Alexander I of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga are assassinated in a military coup. -
The first Tour de France is held. -
Pius X becomes the Pope. -
Independence of Panama, the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama. -
First controlled heavier-than-air flight of the Wright Brothers. -
A Japanese surprise attack on Port Arthur (Lushun) starts the Russo-Japanese War. -
Entente cordiale signed between Britain and France. -
Trans-Siberian railway is completed. -
The Revolution of 1905 in Russia erupts. -
The Norwegian Parliament declares the union with Sweden dissolved, and Norway achieves full independence. -
The Russo-Japanese War ends in Japanese victory. -
Albert Einstein's formulation of special relativity. -
The British Indian Province of Bengal, partitioned by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, despite strong
opposition. -
Liberal Henry Campbell-Bannerman becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. -
An earthquake in San Francisco, California, magnitude 7.9, kills 3,000. -
Alfred Dreyfus is exonerated and reinstated as a major in the French Army; the Dreyfus Affair ends. -
An earthquake in Valparaíso, Chile, magnitude 8.2, kills 20,000. -
The US begins the Second Occupation of Cuba. -
Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont takes off and flies his 14-bis to a crowd in Paris. -
The Muslim League is formed by Nawab Salimullah Khan of Dacca. -
Elections to the new Parliament of Finland are the first in the world with woman candidates, as well as
the first elections in Europe where universal suffrage is applied. -
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907. -
Liberal H. H. Asquith becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. -
First commercial Middle-Eastern oilfield established, at Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia. -
The Tunguska impact devastates thousands of square kilometres of Siberia. -
Young Turk Revolution in the Ottoman Empire. -
Founding of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI). -
The Ford Motor Company invents the Model T. -
Independence of Bulgaria. -
Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China, assumes the throne. -
The 1908 Messina earthquake in southern Italy, magnitude 7.1, kills 70,000 people. -
William Howard Taft is inaugurated as President of the United States; deep divisions in his Republican Party
over tariffs. -
Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 signed (effective on July 9). -
Indian Councils Act passed. -
Robert E. Peary claims to have reached the North Pole though the claim is subsequently heavily contested. -
A countercoup fails in the Ottoman Empire. -
A revolution forces Mohammad Ali Shah, Persian Shah of the Qajar dynasty, to abdicate in favor of his son, Ahmad Shah Qajar. -
Boy Scouts of America is founded. -
George V becomes King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India upon the death
of Edward VII. -
Union of South Africa created. -
Kingdom of Montenegro is proclaimed independent. -
Imperial Japan annexes Korea. -
The October 5, 1910 revolution in Portugal and proclamation of the First Portuguese Republic. -
Beginning of the Mexican Revolution (Plan of San Luis Potosí). -
Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco harbor, marking the first time an aircraft lands on a ship. -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City results in the deaths of 146 workers and leads to sweeping
workplace safety reforms. -
The Italo-Turkish war which led to the capture of Libya by Italy, begins. -
Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Qing dynasty of China, begins. -
Swiss race car driver and automotive engineer Louis Chevrolet co-founds the Chevrolet Motor Company in
Detroit with his brother Arthur Chevrolet, William C. Durant and others. -
New Delhi becomes the capital of British India. -
Roald Amundsen is the first to reach the South Pole. -
The African National Congress is founded. -
End of the Chinese Empire. Republic of China established. -
Arizona becomes the last state to be admitted to the continental Union. -
Morocco becomes a protectorate of France. -
Sinking of the RMS Titanic. -
Emperor Meiji dies, ending the Meiji Era; his son, the Emperor Taishō, becomes Emperor of Japan. -
The Kuomintang, the Chinese nationalist party, is founded. -
The First Balkan War begins. -
In the 1913 Ottoman coup détat, Ismail Enver comes to power. -
La Decena Trágica in Mexico City. -
Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as President of the United States. -
Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring infamously premiers in Paris. -
Treaty of London. -
Treaty of Bucharest. -
Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line. -
The Federal Reserve System is created.