1901
common year starting on Tuesday
1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday in the Gregorian calendar, and starting on a Monday in the Julian calendar. It was also the first year of the 20th century.
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | 19th century – 20th century – 21st century |
| Decades: | 1870s 1880s 1890s – 1900s – 1910s 1920s 1930s |
| Years: | 1898 1899 1900 – 1901 – 1902 1903 1904 |
Big Events of 1901 change
- On January 1, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and Tasmania form the Commonwealth of Australia. John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow becomes the first Governor-General and Edmund Barton becomes the 1st Prime Minister of Australia. The first Australian parliament meets in Melbourne on May 9.
- In the United Kingdom, on January 22, Queen Victoria dies at the age of 81, having reigned for 63 years, 7 months and 2 days, longer than any British monarch before her. In the United Kingdom and the British Empire, her death marks the end of the Victorian era. Her 59-year-old son succeeds her as King Edward VII of the United Kingdom.
- In China, the Boxer Rebellion is crushed and China is forced to accept Peace terms decided by Western Powers, Japan and Russia.
- 25th President of the United States, William McKinley, is shot by Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American exposition in Buffalo, New York and dies 8 days later. Theodore Roosevelt succeeds him as president.
- The first Nobel Prizes are given in Stockholm on December 10, the 5th anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen wins the Prize in Physics for the discovery of X-rays, and the Nobel Peace Prize is shared between Frederic Passy and Jean-Henri Dunant, founder of the International Red Cross.
Events change
January - June change
- January 1 – First day of the 20th century.
- January 1 – Australia becomes a country, as New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania form the Commonwealth of Australia.
- January 1 – Nigeria becomes a British Protectorate.
- January 5 – A typhoid outbreak occurs in a Seattle jail.
- January 10 – China accepts Peace terms by Western Powers, Japan and Russia, as the Boxer Rebellion is crushed.
- January 22 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom dies on the Isle of Wight at the age of 81. Her son, Edward VII of the United Kingdom, succeeds her.
- January 28 – Baseball's American League declares itself a Major League.
- February 2 – The funeral of Queen Victoria takes place.
- February 6 – The first public telephones are installed at railway stations in Paris.
- February 14 – Edward VII of the United Kingdom opens his first parliament.
- February 22 – A Pacific Mail Steamer sinks in the Golden Gate Harbor, killing 128 people.
- February 23 – The United Kingdom and Germany agree on the border between German East Africa (present-day Tanzania) and the British colony of Nyasaland (present-day Malawi).
- March 4 – William McKinley starts his second term as President of the United States. Theodore Roosevelt becomes Vice President of the United States.
- March 6 – Wilhelm II of Germany survives an assassination attempt in Bremen.
- March 17 – The showing of 71 Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris creates a sensation.
- March 31 – The United Kingdom's 1901 census is held.
- April 25 – The State of New York becomes the first to require automobile license plates.
- April 29 – Hirohito is born. He later becomes the longest-reigning Japanese Emperor, dying in 1989.
- May 3 – Jacksonville, Florida is destroyed by fire, as 10,000 people are made homeless.
- May 9 – Australia opens its first Parliament in Melbourne.
- May 17 – The US Stock Market crashes.
- May 24 – 78 miners die in the Caerphilly pit disaster in South Wales.
- May 25 – River Plate football club, in Buenos Aires, is founded.
- June 2 – Katsura Taro becomes Prime Minister of Japan.
- June 12 – Cuba becomes a US protectorate.
July - December change
- July 4 – The Covered Bridge at Hartland, New Brunswick, Canada, is opened. At 390 metres long, it is the longest covered bridge in the world.
- July 4 – William Taft becomes Governor-General of the Philippines.
- August 6 – Robert Falcon Scott, on board the RRS Discovery, sets sail on his expedition to the Ross Sea in Antarctica.
- August 11 – Under Erich von Drygalski, Germany's first Antarctic expedition begins.
- August 30 – Hubert Cecil Booth patents an electric vacuum cleaner.
- September 6 – Assassination of William McKinley: US President William McKinley is shot by Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
- September 7 – The Boxer Rebellion officially ends in China.
- September 14 – William McKinley, 8 days after being shot, dies of his injuries. Theodore Roosevelt becomes the 26th President of the United States.
- October 2 – The first Royal Navy submarine is launched.
- October 24 – Michigan school teacher Annie Taylor goes down Niagara Falls in a barrel, and survives.
- October 29 – Leon Czolgosz is executed at Auburn State Prison, New York, for the assassination of William McKinley.
- November 9 – Future King George V of the United Kingdom is made Prince of Wales.
- November 25 – Auguste Deter is first examined by Alois Alzheimer in Germany. She becomes the first-known sufferer of what is later called Alzheimer's disease.
- December 10 – The first Nobel Prizes are given in Stockholm on the 5th anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
- December 12 – Guglielmo Marconi receives the first Trans-Atlantic radio signal, sent from Poldhu, England to Newfoundland, Canada.
- December 13 – Modern 32-bit computers will incorrectly set their clocks to this time on January 19, 2038
- December 20 – The final spike is driven into the Mombasa-Victoria-Uganda railway in what is now Kisumu, Kenya.
Other Events change
- Boer War (1899 - 1902)
- Norway allows women to vote in local elections.
- Pablo Picasso creates the first paintings of his Blue Period.
- Rudyard Kipling's Kim (book) published.
Births change
January change
- January 3 – Ngo Dinh Diem, 1st President of South Vietnam (d. 1963)
- January 9 – Chic Young, American cartoonist (d. 1973)
- January 9 – Ishman Bracey, American blues singer and guitarist (d. 1970)
- January 10 – Toshio Irie, Japanese politician and bureaucrat (d. 1972)
- January 14 – Bebe Daniels, American actress (d. 1971)
- January 14 – Alfred Tarski, Polish logician and mathematician (d. 1983)
- January 16 – Frank Zamboni, American inventor (d. 1988)
- January 16 – Fulgencio Batista, Cuban leader (d. 1973)
- January 21 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer (d. 1979)
- January 24 – A. M. Cassandre, Ukrainian-born artist, designer and teacher (d. 1968)
- January 29 – Arcady Aris, Russian Chuvash writer and literary critic (d. 1941)
- January 30 – Rudolf Caracciola, German racing driver (d. 1959)
February change
- February 1 – Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)
- February 1 – Frank Buckles, last-surviving American World War I veteran (d. 2011)
- February 10 – Stella Adler, American actress (d. 1992)
- February 17 – Philotheus Boehner, German monk and medieval scholar (d. 1955)
- February 19 – Florence Green, British supercentenarian and last-surviving World War I service veteran (d. 2012)
- February 20 – Mohamed Naguib, President of Egypt (d. 1984)
- February 22 – Ken G. Hall, Australian movie director (d. 1994)
- February 25 – Zeppo Marx, American comedian (d. 1979)
- February 28 – Linus Pauling, American chemist (d. 1994)
March change
- March 3 – Claude Choules, British-Australian supercentenarian and last-surviving World War I combat veteran (d. 2011)
- March 3 – Gino Cervi, Italian movie actor (d. 1974)
- March 7 – Beatrice Roberts, American actress (d. 1970)
- March 18 – Helmut Fink, German World War I veteran (d. 2009)
- March 18 – Manly Hall, Canadian writer (d. 1990)
- March 21 – Karl Arnold, German politician (d. 1958)
- March 24 – Ub Iwerks, American cartoonist (d. 1971)
- March 25 – Ed Begley, American actor (d. 1970)
- March 27 – Carl Barks, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
- March 27 – Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (d. 1963)
- March 27 – Eisaku Satō, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1975)
- March 27 – Kenneth Slessor, Australian poet (d. 1971)
- March 28 – Martha of Sweden, mother of King Harald V of Norway (d. 1954)
April change
- April 1 – Francisco Ascaso, Spanish anarcho-syndicalist (d. 1936)
- April 13 – Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist (d. 1981)
- April 18 – Elene Akhvlediani, Georgian painter (d. 1975)
- April 18 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (d. 1967)
- April 23 – E.B. Ford, British ecological geneticist (d. 1988)
- April 29 – Hirohito, Emperor of Japan (d. 1989)
- April 30 – Simon Kuznets, Ukrainian-born economist (d. 1985)
May change
- May 5 – Blind Willie McTell, American musician (d. 1959)
- May 7 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
- May 9 – Fuzzy Knight, American actor (d. 1976)
- May 17 – Werner Egk, German composer (d. 1983)
- May 18 – Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist (d. 1978)
- May 20 – Max Euwe, Dutch chess player (d. 1981)
- May 21 – Manfred Aschner, German-born Israeli microbiologist and entomologist (d. 1989)
- May 21 – Sam Jaffe, American movie producer (d. 2000)
- May 21 – Suzanne Lilar, Belgian writer (d. 1992)
- May 24 – Jose Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1968)
June change
- June 6 – Sukarno, 1st President of Indonesia (d. 1970)
- June 8 – Salustiano Sánchez, The world's oldest living man (d. 2013)
- June 10 – Frederick Loewe, German-born composer (d. 1988)
- June 13 – Tage Erlander, Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1985)
- June 16 – Henri Lefebvre, French sociologist and philosopher (d. 1991)
- June 18 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
- June 19 – Piero Gobetti, Italian publicist and political activist (d. 1926)
- June 24 – Harry Partch, American composer (d. 1974)
July change
- July 9 – Barbara Cartland, British novelist (d. 2000)
- July 28 – Rudy Vallee, American singer, actor, bandleader and entertainer (d. 1986)
August change
- August 4 – Louis Armstrong, American jazz musician (d. 1971)
- August 5 – Thomas Ryan, American naval officer (d. 1970)
- August 8 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist (d. 1958)
- August 10 – Franco Dino Rasetti, Italian scientist (d. 2001)
- August 18 – Jean Guitton, French writer and philosopher (d. 1999)
- August 20 – Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian writer (d. 1968)
- August 26 – Chen Yi, Chinese military commander and politician (d. 1972)
September change
- September 2 – Adolph Rupp, college basketball coach (d. 1977)
- September 9 – Agostinho Fortes Filho, Brazilian footballer (d. 1966)
- September 9 – Hendrik Verwoerd, South African politician (d. 1966)
- September 17 – Francis Chichester, British adventurer (d. 1979)
- September 22 – Charles B. Huggins, Canadian cancer researcher and Nobel Prize winner (d. 1997)
- September 23 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech politician (d. 1986)
- September 28 – Ed Sullivan, American television personality (d. 1974)
- September 28 – William S. Paley, American businessman (d. 1990)
- September 29 – Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist (d. 1954)
October change
- October 1 – Jose Leandro Andrade, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1957)
- October 6 – Aslak Brekke, Norwegian singer (d. 1978)
- October 7 – Souvanna Phouma, Laotian leader (d. 1984)
- October 7 – Frank Boucher, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1977)
- October 10 – Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor (d. 1966)
- October 24 – Gilda Gray, Polish-born dancer and actress (d. 1959)
November change
- November 3 – Leopold III of Belgium (d. 1983)
- November 4 – Masako Nashimoto, Crown Princess of Korea (d. 1989)
- November 4 – Max Wagner, Mexican-born American actor (d. 1975)
- November 9 – Marvel Rea, American actress (d. 1937)
- November 11 – Magda Goebbels, wife of Joseph Goebbels (d. 1945)
- November 15 – Bunny Roser, American baseball player (d. 1979)
- November 16 – Ernest Nagel, Czech-born philosopher (d. 1985)
- November 17 – Lee Strasberg, Austrian-American actor (d. 1982)
- November 18 – George Gallup, American statistician and opinion pollster (d. 1984)
- November 22 – Joaquin Rodrigo, Spanish composer (d. 1999)
- November 29 – Mildred Harris, American actress (d. 1944)
December change
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- December 2 – Raimundo Orsi, Argentine-Italian footballer (d. 1986)
- December 5 – Walt Disney, American animator and movie producer (d. 1966)
- December 5 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
- December 9 – Odon von Horvath, Austro-Hungarian writer (d. 1938)
- December 14 – King Paul of Greece (d. 1964)
- December 16 – Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (d. 1978)
- December 19 – Rudolf Hell, German inventor (d. 2002)
- December 25 – Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, British royal (d. 2004)
- December 27 – Marlene Dietrich, German actress (d. 1992)
- December 31 – Karl-August Fagerholm, Prime Minister of Finland (d. 1984)
Deaths change
January - June change
- January 11 – Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian composer (b. 1866)
- January 14 – Victor Balaguer, Spanish politician and writer (b. 1824)
- January 17 – Frederic William Henry Myers, English scholar, poet, philosopher and psychologist (b. 1843)
- January 20 – Zenobe Gramme, Belgian electrical engineer (b. 1826)
- January 21 – Elisha Gray, American inventor (b. 1835)
- January 22 – Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India (b. 1819)
- January 27 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
- February 11 – Milan I of Serbia (b. 1854)
- February 17 – Ethelbert Nevin, American pianist and composer (b. 1862)
- March 13 – Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States (b. 1833)
- April 3 – Richard D'Oyly Carte, English impresario (b. 1844)
- April 4 – George T. Anderson, American Confederate general (b. 1824)
- May 1 – Lewis Waterman, American inventor and businessman (b. 1837)
- May 5 – Mariano Ignacio Prado, former President of Peru (b. 1826)
- May 13 – Leopoldo Alas, Spanish writer (b. 1851)
- May 22 – Gaetano Bresci, Italian anarchist (b. 1869)
- May 24 – Charlotte Mary Yonge, English novelist (b. 1823)
- June 15 – Max Weber, German-American general (b. 1824)
July - December change
- July 6 – Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfuerst, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1819)
- July 7 – Johanna Spyri, Swiss writer (b. 1827)
- August 5 – Victoria, Princess Royal (b. 1840)
- August 12 – Francesco Crispi, former Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1819)
- August 12 – Adolf Erik Nordenskiold, Swedish explorer (b. 1832)
- September 9 – Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French painter (b. 1864)
- September 14 – William McKinley, 25th President of the United States (assassinated) (b. 1843)
- October 1 – Abdor Rahman Khan, Emir of Afghanistan (b. 1844)
- October 10 – Lorenzo Snow, American Mormon leader (b. 1814)
- October 29 – Leon Czolgosz, Polish-American assassin (b. 1873)
- November 6 – Kate Greenaway, English writer (b. 1846)
- November 30 – Edward John Eyre, English explorer of Australia and colonial Governor of Jamaica (b. 1815)
- December 12 – Nawab Muhammad Hayat Khan, British Indian administrator (b. 1833)
- December 16 – William Gregory, American politician (b. 1849)
- December 17 – Josep Manyanet i Vives, Catalan Saint and priest (b. 1833)
- December 24 – Lev Ivanov, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1834)
Nobel Prizes change
