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The Brownie Camera brings photography to the public. Priced at $1 with each roll of film at 15 cents, this is the first time that this hobby is financially feasible for much of the world. (KODAK, 2021).
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While technology progressed in this decade, fashion largely remained the same, particularly for men. Most notable was the effect of Eastern textiles on aesthetic dress -- Japanese and Chinese silks, and Middle Eastern embroidery offered a freer and more individualized alternative to the muted colours and soft effects popular in the early 1900s (Reddy, 2020).
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The first Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace (Rosenberg, 2019).
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The 1902 Chinese Exclusion Act is renewed, making Chinese immigration to the US permanently illegal, and extending the rule to cover Hawaii and the Philippines (Rosenberg, 2019). This anti-Asian sentiment is particularly notable due to the Eastern influence in fashion and art.
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The Second Boer War ends, and South Africa falls under British rule. The backlash from the Boer War will later lead to anti-British sentiment throughout Ireland.
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The fifth-most deadly fire in American history (NFPA, 2021) was started when a light ignited the scenery curtains. The fire killed 602, injured 250, and forever changed the safety regulations in theatre buildings.
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Unused to the lack of free press in Japan, forced war correspondants to utilize new technologies in wartime reporting. One such example was Lionel James, who for the first time employed radio in order to transmit from a boat (pictured) outside of both countries' media control. A recent study credits this period with "helping to shape the rise of modern forms of propaganda and censorship" (Rollman, 2020).
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The Trans-Siberian Railway is opened, connecting European Russia to Siberia and the remote far east (Rosenberg, 2019).
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The first rapid transit subway line on the NYC subway makes its first run.
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Albert Einstein proposes his Theory of Relativity, which will have a "profound influence" on the way the universe is understood from this point forward (Rosenberg, 2019).
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Freud's Theory of Sexuality will be rewritten numerous times over the course of his career (Rosenberg., 2019) and will remain a centerpiece in the study of Psychology.
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Craig's Art of the Theatre outlined a "total theatre" where all aspects of the performance are united. The book sets out principles for an "imaginative and suggestive, rather than literal" approach to set design. (USITT, 2021).
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Mt. Vesuvius erupted, killing 100 people. As a result, the 1908 Olympics were moved from Rome, which would be suffering from financial stress.
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Between 1900 and 1910 Art Nouveau was reaching its peak popularity. Pictured is an example of this style by Klimt - The Kiss. Art Nouveau, literally "New Art" took inspiration from nature, and is characterized by breaking away from "the weight of artistic tradition and critical expectations", favouring instead "freedom and release" (Gontar, 2006).
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Intended as a lighthearted offering for the season, this variety show would go on to launch the careers of many a leading lady and become a major milestone in the history of Musical Theatre.
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The "oldest and most recognized civil rights organization in the United States" (Rosenberg, 2019) is founded.
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A period of US history in which major Northern cities saw an increase in their Black populations. These migrants from the South embraced and built their own culture and community amidst racial prejudice, biased economics and politics, and numerous other social challenges.
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First Studio was a theater laboratory inside the Moscow Art Theatre, where Konstantin Stanislavski began to develop his influential System (or Method). Here he "could experiment and practice his concepts with colleagues" (Open City Acting Studio, 2021).
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The largest and poshest ship of the time, The Titanic hit an iceberg and sunk during its first voyage.
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Initiated by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo, the first major battle of World War I -- The Battle of Tannenberg, between Russia and Germany -- occurs August 26-30. This will be followed by the first use of trench warfare.
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D.W. Griffith's film glorifying the KKK is released, reviving national interest in the group.
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The Ottoman Empire systematically exterminates 1.5 million Armenians. About 250 intellectuals and community leaders are deported from Constantinople. (Rosenberg., 2019).
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Prominent buildings seized in Dublin when Irish nationalists established The Irish Republic.
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Adolf Hitler attended his first GWP meeting later that year (Rosenberg, 2019)
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Effectively ending World War I.
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On 7/27/1919, Black teenager drowned in Lake Michigan after being stone by a group of white youth. Following the lack of police response, the Chicago Riots began, lasting through August 3rd. Building off this steadily growing tensions in the country following the Great Migration, additional race riots would break out in Washington D.C., Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska & Chicago. (Rosenberg, 2019)
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To express their "disgust" with WWI, a group of artists met and performed at the Cabaret Voltaire -- this is considered the founding moment of the "anti-art" movement, Dada. (Rosenberg, 2019).
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The Harlem neighborhood in NYC became a "Black cultural mecca", characterized by an explosion of social and artistic life. It is considered a "golden age" in African American culture, resulting in a boom of influential Black literature, stage performance, music and art. (Editors, 2021). The beginning of its end began with the Great Depression. Representative of Black experience and pride, this period will also be consistently appropriated and re-appropriated by White American culture.
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The Moscow Art Theatre tours to America, prompting a cultural exchange of ideas and theatrical form. (Brooks, 2014).
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The first movie which included both dialogue and music on the film itself!
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Brecht/Weill's Threepenny Opera debuts to international success. The 'ballad opera' or 'play with music' remains an example of Brecht's Epic Theatre, or Alienation Effect, in which the songs were intended to distance the audience from the story in order to prompt action.
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Sliced bread was invented!
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The stock market crash of 1929 ushered in the Great Depression.
