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2nd January: American Statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open-Door Policy to promote trade with China.
Hay argued that establishing equal access to commerce would benefit American traders and the U.S. economy, and hoped that the Open Door would also prevent disputes between the powers operating in China. -
5th February: The United States and the United Kingdom sign a treaty for the Panama Canal.
relinquishes American control over the canal by the year 2000 and guarantees its neutrality. -
7th March: The Germany German liner SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse becomes the first ship to send Wireless telegraphy wireless signals to shore.
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the first liner to have a commercial wireless telegraphy system when the Marconi Company installed one in February 1900. -
15th April: Philippine–American War: Filipinos Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a Siege of Catubig four-day siege of Catubig, Northern Samar Catubig, Philippines.
In the Siege of Catubig, Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack against a detachment of American soldiers, and after a four-day siege, Americans evacuate the town of Catubig in Samar. -
24th May: Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
In 1899, the Orange Free State declared war upon the British and fought alongside its sister Boer republic, the South African Republic, during the Boer War (1899-1902). -
14th June: The Reichstag (German Empire) called Reichstag approves a second law that allows the expansion of the German navy.
The Reichstag became a working parliament, whose extensive body of legislation played a key part in establishing a national legal and economic area as well as laying the foundations for the welfare state by creating insurance schemes for sickness, accidents, old age and invalidity. -
20th June: Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a Siege of the International Legations called 55-day siege of the Beijing Legation Quarter or Legation Quarter in Beijing, China.
Placed under siege by Chinese soldiers, the foreign legations in Peking (Beijing, China) held out for fifty-five days until relieved by an international expeditionary force. -
29th July: In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the Anarchism or anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
Assassination. On the evening of 29 July 1900, Italian-American anarchist Gaetano Bresci assassinated Umberto in Monza by shooting him four times. Bresci claimed he wanted to avenge the people killed in Milan during the suppression of the riots of May 1898. -
7th November: Battle of Leliefontein, a battle during which the Royal Canadian Dragoons win three Victoria Crosses.
The Battle of Leliefontein was an engagement between British-Canadian and Boer forces during the Second Boer War on 7 November 1900, at the Komati River 30 -
17th September: Philippine–American War: Filipino people Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat United States Americans under Colonel (United States) Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham at Mabitac.
On Sociego Street in Santa Mesa, a Filipino private named Will Grayson spots Corporal Anastacio Felix -
January 1: The Australian colonies federate.
when the Constitution of Australia came into force, on 1 January 1901, the colonies collectively became states of the Commonwealth of Australia. -
January 22: Edward VII becomes King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India upon the death of Queen Victoria.
When Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, Edward became King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India and, in an innovation, King of the British Dominions. -
March 2: Platt Amendment limits the autonomy of Cuba in exchange for withdrawal of American troops.
The Platt Amendment, an amendment to a U.S. army appropriations bill, established the terms under which the United States would end its military occupation of Cuba (which had begun in 1898 during the Spanish-American War) and "leave the government and control of the island of Cuba to its people." While the amendment. -
September 6: Assassination of William McKinley. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt assumes office as President of the United States following McKinley's death on September 14.
After about eight days, President McKinley died early on September 14 from an infection caused by a gunshot wound to the abdomen, -
September 7: Boxer Rebellion defeated by international coalition. They impose heavy financial sanctions on China.
The Boxer Protocol of 7 September 1901 provided for the execution of government officials who had supported the Boxers, provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in Beijing, and 450 million taels of silver—more than the government's annual tax revenue—to be paid as indemnity over the course of the next 39 years -
December 12: Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal.
On 12 December 1901, Guglielmo Marconi and his assistant, George Kemp, heard the faint clicks of Morse code for the letter "s" transmitted without wires across the Atlantic Ocean. This achievement, the first reception of transatlantic radio signals, led to considerable advances in both science and technology. -
January 13: Unification of Saudi Arabia begins.
With the capture of his family's ancestral home, Ibn Saud proved he possessed the qualities necessary to be a sheikh or emir: leadership, courage, and luck. -
May 20: Cuba given independence by the United States.
Following the defeat of Spain in 1898, the United States remained in Cuba as an occupying power until the Republic of Cuba was formally installed on May 19, 1902. On May 20, 1902, the United States relinquished its occupation authority over Cuba, but claimed a continuing right to intervene in Cuba. -
May 31: Second Boer War ends in British victory.
By 1902, the British had crushed the Boer resistance, and on May 31 of that year, the Peace of Vereeniging was signed, ending hostilities. The treaty recognized the British military administration over Transvaal and the Orange Free State, and authorized a general amnesty for Boer forces. -
July 12: Arthur Balfour becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
After Salisbury's retirement, Balfour served as prime minister from July 12, 1902, to December 4, 1905. He sponsored and secured passage -
July 17: Willis Carrier invents the first modern electrical air conditioning unit.
On July 17, 1902, Willis Carrier solved one of mankind's most elusive challenges by controlling the indoor environment through modern air conditioning. His invention enabled countless industries while promoting global productivity, health and personal comfort. -
February 15: The first teddy bear is invented.
On February 15, 1903, toy store owner and inventor Morris Michtom places two stuffed bears in his shop window, advertising them as Teddy bears. Michtom had earlier petitioned President Theodore Roosevelt for permission to use his nickname, Teddy. -
July 1: The first Tour de France is held.
Assassination of Alexander I, King of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga (1903) On June 11, 1903, 26-year-old Alexander I, King of Serbia and his 38-year-old wife Queen Draga were brutally shot, mutilated, and thrown out a window at the Stari Dvor (Old Palace) in Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia. -
June 11: King Alexander I of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga are assassinated in a military coup.
Assassination of Alexander I, King of Serbia and his wife Queen Draga (1903) On June 11, 1903, 26-year-old Alexander I, King of Serbia and his 38-year-old wife Queen Draga were brutally shot, mutilated, and thrown out a window at the Stari Dvor (Old Palace) in Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia. -
August 4: Pius X becomes Pope.
Pope Leo XIII made him bishop of Mantua (1884) and in 1893 cardinal and patriarch of Venice. He was elected pope on August 4, 1903. Tepid toward Leo's social reforms, Pius decided to concentrate on apostolic problems and to make the defense of Roman Catholicism his cause. -
November 18: Independence of Panama, the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama.
Bunau-Varilla Treaty, (Nov. 18, 1903), agreement between the United States and Panama granting exclusive canal rights to the United States across the Isthmus of Panama in exchange for financial reimbursement and guarantees of protection to the newly established republic. -
December 17: First controlled heavier-than-air flight of the Wright Brothers.
After several unsuccessful attempts, on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville Wright completed the first powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft known as the Wright Flyer. The flight lasted just 12 seconds, traveled 120 feet, and reached a top speed of 6.8 miles per hour. -
February 8: A Japanese surprise attack on Port Arthur (Lushun) starts the Russo-Japanese War.
8, 1904. President Theodore Roosevelt. Armed conflict between Russia and Japan began on this day in 1904 when the Japanese navy launched a surprise attack on Port Arthur and blockaded the Russian Far East fleet in what is now northeast China. -
April 8: Entente cordiale signed between Britain and France.
Entente Cordiale, (April 8, 1904), Anglo-French agreement that, by settling a number of controversial matters, ended antagonisms between Great Britain and France and paved the way for their diplomatic cooperation against German pressures in the decade preceding World War I (1914–18). -
June 21: Trans-Siberian railway is completed.
Trans-Siberian Railroad, the longest single rail system in the world, stretching 5,771 miles (9,288 km) across Russia between Moscow and Vladivostok. If its connection to the port station of Nakhodka is also included, the system reaches a total of 5,867 miles (9,441 km). -
September 5: The Russo-Japanese War ends in Japanese victory.
Under the terms of the treaty, which was signed by both parties on September 5, 1905, Russia turned over Port Arthur to the Japanese, while retaining the northern half of Sakhalin Island, which lies off its Pacific coast (they would gain control of the southern half in the aftermath of World War II). -
October 23: Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont takes off and flies his 14-bis to a crowd in Paris.
On October 23rd 1906, the Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont, with his 14- Bis at Bagatelle Field in France, won the Archdeacon Prize, given to the first manned airplane to take off and fly a minimum distance of 25 meters by its own means. -
January 22: The Revolution of 1905 in Russia erupts.
The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, began on 22 January 1905. A wave of mass political and social unrest then began to spread across the vast areas of the Russian Empire. The unrest was directed primarily against the Tsar, the nobility, and the ruling class. -
June 7: The Norwegian Parliament declares the union with Sweden dissolved, and Norway achieves full independence.
On 7 June the Storting passed a resolution unilaterally dissolving the union. The resolution was confirmed by a referendum, which resulted in 368,208 votes in favour of dissolution and 184 against. -
September 26: Albert Einstein's formulation of special relativity.
Einstein postulated in this study that the speed of light is immutable, constant, and independent of the observer's motion. Therefore, with the exception of the speed of light constant, everything is relative, including time, distance, and mass. -
October 16: The British Indian Province of Bengal, partitioned by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, despite strong opposition.
The Partition of Bengal was a controversial administrative decision by the British government in India, announced on October 16, 1905, which divided the province of Bengal into two separate entities - East Bengal and Assam, and West Bengal. The main objective was to weaken the growing nationalist movement in Bengal. -
December 5: Liberal Henry Campbell-Bannerman becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
On this day, 5th December 1905, Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Member of Parliament for Stirling Burghs and leader of the Liberal Party began a two and a half year term as United Kingdom's first 'Prime Minister', one of the most recognised titles in modern world politics. -
April 18: An earthquake in San Francisco, California, magnitude 7.9, kills 3,000.
More than 3,000 people died, and over 80% of the city was destroyed. The event is remembered as the deadliest earthquake in the history of the United States. The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history and high on the lists of American disasters. -
July 13: Alfred Dreyfus is exonerated and reinstated as a major in the French Army; the Dreyfus Affair ends.
After Esterhazy's acquittal, a French newspaper published an open letter titled “J'Accuse…!” by well-known author Emile Zola in which he defended Dreyfus and accused the military of a major cover-up in the case. -
August 16: An earthquake in Valparaíso, Chile, magnitude 8.2, kills 20,000.
It is subducting under (that is, being forced under) the South American plate. A sudden breaking in the rocks along a roughly 560–620-mile (900–1,000-km) stretch of the Nazca Plate caused the earthquake, which has been generally agreed to have had a magnitude of 9.5—the largest earthquake recorded in the 20th century. -
September 28: The US begins the Second Occupation of Cuba.
The Second Occupation of Cuba or the Cuban Pacification was a major American military operation that began in September 1906. After the collapse of President Tomás Estrada Palma's regime, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered an invasion of Cuba and established an occupation that would continue for nearly four years. -
December 30: The Muslim League is formed by Nawab Salimullah Khan of Dacca.
On 30 December 1906, the All-India Muslim League was officially founded at the educational conference held in Dhaka. The convention was held at Ahsan Manzil, the official residence of the Dhaka Nawab Family. Sir Salimullah was a key patron of education for the Eastern Bengal. -
March 15 – 16: 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.
New Zealand is the first nation in the world to enshrine universal woman suffrage. -
July 24: Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907.
The treaty provided that Korea should act under the guidance of a Japanese resident general. The effect of the treaty's provisions was that the administration of internal affairs was turned over to Japan. -
July: Young Turk Revolution in the Ottoman Empire.
They led a rebellion against the absolute rule of Sultan Abdulhamid II ( r. 1876–1909) in the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. With this revolution, the Young Turks helped to establish the Second Constitutional Era in the same year, ushering in an era of multi-party democracy for the first time in the country's history. -
April 8: Liberal H. H. Asquith becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Early in April 1908 Campbell-Bannerman resigned and died some days later. Asquith, generally regarded as his inevitable successor, became prime minister and was to hold the office for nearly nine years. He appointed David Lloyd George to the Exchequer and made Winston Churchill president of the Board of Trade. -
June 30: The Tunguska impact devastates thousands of square kilometres of Siberia.
On June 30, 1908, an asteroid plunged into Earth's atmosphere and exploded in the skies over Siberia. Local eyewitnesses in the sparsely populated region reported seeing a fireball and hearing a large explosion. They also reported massive forest fires, and trees blown over for miles. -
May 26: First commercial Middle-Eastern oilfield established, at Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia.
The groundwork for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, which was the first company to drill for oil in the Middle East, was laid in 1901 when William Knox D'Arcy and then-Persian leader, Mozaffar al-Din Shah Qajar, struck a deal granting D'Arcy exclusive rights to the country's oil and natural gas stockpiles. -
July 26: Founding of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) enforces federal law, and investigates a variety of criminal activity including terrorism, cybercrime, white collar crimes, public corruption, civil rights violations, and other major crimes. -
October 1: The Ford Motor Company invents the Model T.
On October 1, 1908, the first production Model T Ford is completed at the company's Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit. Between 1908 and 1927, Ford would build some 15 million Model T cars. It was the longest production run of any automobile model in history until the Volkswagen Beetle surpassed it in 1972. -
October 5: Independence of Bulgaria.
Bulgaria proclaimed its full independence from the Ottoman Empire on September 22 (October 5), 1908. That same day Horace G. Knowles, U.S. Minister to Romania and Serbia and Diplomatic Agent in Bulgaria, sent a telegram to the Secretary of State informing him that Bulgaria had proclaimed her independence. -
December 2: Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China, assumes the throne.
Bulgaria proclaimed its full independence from the Ottoman Empire on September 22 (October 5), 1908. That same day Horace G. Knowles, U.S. Minister to Romania and Serbia and Diplomatic Agent in Bulgaria, sent a telegram to the Secretary of State informing him that Bulgaria had proclaimed her independence. -
December 28: The 1908 Messina earthquake in southern Italy, magnitude 7.1, kills 70,000 people.
The epicentre was in the Strait of Messina which separates Sicily from the Italian mainland. The cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria were almost completely destroyed and between 75,000 and 82,000 people died. It was the most destructive earthquake ever to strike Europe. -
March 4: William Howard Taft is inaugurated as President of the United States; deep divisions in his Republican Party over tariffs.
William Howard Taft was inaugurated as the 27th President of the United States. Because of a snowstorm, Taft took the oath indoors, becoming the first American president to do so since Andrew Jackson. -
March 10: Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 signed (effective on July 9).
Bangkok Treaty signed on March 10, 1909, with ratifications exchanged in London on July 9, 1909. (Great Britain, Foreign Office, Treaty Series 1909, No. 19, Command 4703, London.) The Treaty formally ceded the four southern Malay states under Siamese suzerainty to the protection of Great Britain. -
March 12: Indian Councils Act passed.
The Articles of the Act, among other things, did the following: increased the size of various provincial legislative councils, created executive councils in the provinces of Bombay, Madras and West-Bengal, and introduced the office of a 'Vice-President' at both at the centre and the provinces. -
April 6: Robert E. Peary claims to have reached the North Pole though the claim is subsequently heavily contested.
Peary and his companions purportedly reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909. Peary returned to civilization only to discover that his former colleague, Cook, was claiming to have reached the North Pole independently in April 1908. Cook's claim, though subsequently discredited, marred Peary's enjoyment of his triumph. -
April 13: A countercoup fails in the Ottoman Empire.
Additionally, this period was characterised by continuing military failures by the empire. Despite military reforms, the Ottoman Army met with disastrous defeat in the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912) and the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), resulting in the Ottomans being driven out of North Africa and nearly out of Europe. -
July 16: A revolution forces Mohammad Ali Shah, Persian Shah of the Qajar dynasty to abdicate in favor of his son Ahmad Shah Qajar.
1 In 1905-1906, the first revolution in the modern history of Iran changed the power structure of the country. Known as the Constitutional Revolution, this movement was a nationwide political struggle for the consolidation of the rule of law and the restriction of the power of the Qajar monarchy (1796-1925). -
February 8: Boy Scouts of America is founded.
Boy Scouts, organization, originally for boys from 11 to 14 or 15 years of age, that aimed to develop in them good citizenship, chivalrous behaviour, and skill in various outdoor activities. The Boy Scout movement was founded in Great Britain in 1908 by a cavalry officer, Lieutenant General Robert S.S. -
May 6: George V becomes King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India upon the death of Edward VII.
George VI became King unexpectedly following the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, in December 1936. A conscientious and dedicated man, he worked hard to adapt to the role into which he was suddenly thrown. -
May 31: Union of South Africa created.
Summary. On May 31, 1910, four colonies were joined together to create the Union of South Africa, a self-governing Dominion in the British Empire. While the new nation was sovereign when it came to its domestic affairs, the United Kingdom maintained control over its relations with the wider world. -
August 28: Kingdom of Montenegro is proclaimed independent.
In June 2006 Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia and Montenegro following an independence referendum, creating Montenegro and Serbia as they exist today. Montenegro is therefore one of the newest internationally-recognised countries in the world. -
August 29: Imperial Japan annexes Korea.
Japan set up a government in Korea with the governor-generalship filled by generals or admirals appointed by the Japanese emperor. The Koreans were deprived of freedom of assembly, association, the press, and speech. Many private schools were closed because they did not meet certain arbitrary standards. -
October 5: The 5 October 1910 revolution in Portugal and proclamation of the First Portuguese Republic.
The 5 October 1910 revolution was the overthrow of the centuries-old Portuguese monarchy and its replacement by the First Portuguese Republic. It was the result of a coup d'état organized by the Portuguese Republican Party. -
November 20: Beginning of the Mexican Revolution (Plan of San Luis Potosí).
Written by Francisco I. Madero while in exile in Texas, the Plan called for an end to Porfirio Díaz's long presidential reign known as the Porfiriato, the provisional presidency for legitimate winner Madero, and for Mexicans to unite against despotism on November 20, 1910. -
January 18: 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.
The first aircraft landing onboard a ship takes place when pilot Eugene Ely lands onboard the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania. -
March 25: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City results in the deaths of 146 workers and leads to sweeping workplace safety reforms.
Workers in the factory, many of whom were young women recently arrived from Europe, had little time or opportunity to escape. The rapidly spreading fire killed 146 workers. The building had only one fire escape, which collapsed during the rescue effort. Long tables and bulky machines trapped many of the victims. -
September 29: The Italo-Turkish war which led to the capture of Libya by Italy, begins.
Nine days later, the Italian ambassador in Istanbul gave an ultimatum to the Ottoman government: Libya had to be ceded to the Kingdom of Italy in 24 hours. The Turks did not respond in time to the ultimatum and on 29 September 1911, the war began. Armies of the Italian-Turkish War is out today! -
October 10: Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Qing dynasty of China, begins.
The flash-point came on 10 October 1911, with the Wuchang Uprising, an armed rebellion among members of the New Army. Similar revolts then broke out spontaneously around the country, and revolutionaries in all provinces of the country renounced the Qing dynasty. -
November 3: Swiss race car driver and automotive engineer Louis Chevrolet co-founds
The Chevrolet Motor Car Company was founded on November 3, 1911 in Detroit. It was co-founded by Louis Chevrolet, a Swiss race car driver and automotive engineer, and William C. Durant, the ousted founder of General Motors. -
December 12: New Delhi becomes the capital of British India.
On 12th December, 1911, at the historic Delhi Durbar, the George V, the Emperor of the British Empire proclaimed the shifting of the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi. After announcement of Delhi as the Capital of India, the preparation for the building a new city started with majesty, pomp and show. -
December 14: Roald Amundsen first reaches the South Pole.
At around 3pm on 14 December 1911, Amundsen raised the flag of Norway at the South Pole. He had reached the Pole a full 33 days before Captain Scott arrived. Amundsen and his crew returned to their base camp on 25 January 1912, 99 days and roughly 1400 nautical miles after their departure. -
February 8: The African National Congress is founded.
Founded on 8 January 1912 in Bloemfontein as the South African Native National Congress, the organisation was formed to agitate for the rights of black South Africans. -
February 12: End of the Chinese Empire. Republic of China established.
On February 12, 1912, Hsian-T'ung, the last emperor of China, is forced to abdicate following Sun Yat-sen's republican revolution. A provisional government was established in his place, ending 267 years of Manchu rule in China and 2,000 years of imperial rule. -
February 14: Arizona becomes the last state to be admitted to the continental Union.
In 1911, President Taft vetoed its admission because their constitution included a provision for the recall of judges, which “he stated went against the need for an independent judiciary.” Arizona voters removed the recall provision and on February 14, Taft signed the statehood bill. -
March 30: Morocco becomes a protectorate of France.
The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the Treaty of Fez, though the French military occupation of Morocco had begun with the invasion of Oujda and the bombardment of Casablanca in 1907. -
April 15: Sinking of the RMS Titanic.
Titanic, launched on May 31, 1911, and set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton on April 10, 1912, with 2,240 passengers and crew on board. On April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg, Titanic broke apart and sank to the bottom of the ocean, taking with it the lives of more than 1,500 passengers and crew. -
July 30: Emperor Meiji dies, ending the Meiji Era; his son, the Emperor Taishō, becomes Emperor of Japan.
Reigning from 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. -
August 25: The Kuomintang, the Chinese nationalist party, is founded.
Founded in 1912 by Sun Yat-sen, the KMT helped topple the Qing dynasty and promoted modernization along Western lines. The party played a significant part in the first Chinese first National Assembly where it was the majority party. However the KMT failed to achieve complete control. -
October 8: The First Balkan War begins
On October 8, 1912, Montenegro declared war on Turkey; Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece followed suit on October 17. Surprisingly, the Ottoman army was quickly and decisively defeated, as the Balkan forces drove the Turks from almost all of their territory in southeastern Europe over the course of a month. -
February 9 – 19: La Decena Trágica in Mexico City.
"The Decena Trágica is the best-known episode of Madero's life and movement." It instigated a new phase of the Mexican Revolution. The ten days of violence, the aim was to "create the illusion of chaos necessary to induce Madero to step down" from the presidency. -
January 23: In the 1913 Ottoman coup d'état, Ismail Enver comes to power.
The 1913 Ottoman coup d'état (January 23, 1913), also known as the Raid on the Sublime Porte (Turkish: Bâb-ı Âlî Baskını), was a coup d'état carried out in the Ottoman Empire by a number of Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) members led by Ismail Enver Bey and Mehmed Talaat Bey, in which the group made a surprise -
March 4: Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as President of the United States.
The first inauguration of Woodrow Wilson as the 28th president of the United States was held on Tuesday, March 4, 1913, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 32nd inauguration and marked the commencement of the first four-year term of Woodrow Wilson as president and Thomas R. -
May 29: Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring infamously premiers in Paris.
The work's premiere on May 29, 1913, at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, was scandalous. In addition to the outrageous costumes, unusual choreography and bizarre story of pagan sacrifice, Stravinsky's musical innovations tested the patience of the audience to the fullest. -
May 30: Treaty of London.
On May 30, 1913, a peace treaty is signed ending the First Balkan War, in which the newly aligned Slavic nations of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece had driven Turkish forces out of Macedonia, a territory of the Ottoman Empire located in the tumultuous Balkans region of southeastern Europe. -
August 10: Treaty of Bucharest.
The Treaty of Bucharest, signed August 10, was negotiated by local states, rather than by the great powers. By its terms, Bulgaria lost a considerable amount of territory and Serbia and Greece received control of most of Macedonia. -
October 7: Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line.
On October 7, 1913, the chassis also went on the moving assembly line, so that all the major components of the Model T were being assembled using this technique. Ford rapidly improved its assembly lines, and by 1916 the price of the Model T had fallen to $360 and sales were more than triple their 1912 level. -
December 23: The Federal Reserve System is created.
By December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law, it stood as a classic example of compromise—a decentralized central bank that balanced the competing interests of private banks and populist sentiment.