| January 1 | 1st date in John dos Passos' USA trilogy (The 42nd Parallel) |
| January 1 | British protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria established |
| January 1 | Compulsory education in Netherlands goes into effect |
| January 2 | E Verlinger begins manufacturing 7" single-sided records (Montreal) |
| January 2 | Gustave Charpentiers opera "Louise," premieres in Paris |
| January 3 | Gerhart Hauptmanns "Schluck und Jau," premieres in Berlin |
| January 3 | Perihelion Passage |
| January 6 | Boers attack at Ladysmith, about 1,000 killed or injured |
| January 6 | Maurice Ravel's "Albaradode Gracioso," premieres in Paris |
| January 10 | Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener reach Capetown |
| January 12 | Freeland Colony founded in US |
| January 14 | Giacomo Puccini's opera "Tosca," premieres in Rome |
| January 15 | SCNEC soccer team forms |
| January 18 | Jan Blockx's "Tol Uilenspiegel" premieres in Brussels |
| January 24 | Battle at Tugela-Spionkop, South Africa (Boers vs British army) |
| January 24 | Newcastle Badminton Club, world's oldest, forms in England |
| January 26 | Henrik Ibsen's "Naar vi Dode Vaaguer," premieres in Stuttgart |
| January 27 | Social Democrat Party of America (Debs' party) holds 1st convention |
| January 29 | American League organized in Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Minneapolis |
| January 29 | Boers under Joubert beat English at Spionkop Natal, 2,000 killed |
| February 2 | Gustave Charpentiers opera "Louise" premieres in Paris |
| February 3 | Rival forces fight for control of the Union Park ball grounds in Balt |
| February 5 | British troops under General Buller occupy Vaal Krantz, Natal |
| February 6 | Battle at Vaalkrans, South Africa (Boers vs British army) |
| February 7 | British troops vacate Vaal Krantz, Natal |
| February 7 | Labour Party forms in England |
| February 9 | Dwight Davis established a new tennis trophy, the Davis Cup |
| February 10 | Peter Ostlund skates world record 500m (45.2 sec) |
| February 14 | Date of events in movie "Picnic at Hanging Rock" |
| February 15 | General French relieves Kimberley/Cecil Rhodes |
| February 16 | 1st Chinese daily newspaper in U.S. publishes (Chung Sai Yat Po-SF) |
| February 16 | Stanley Cup: Montreal Shamrocks beat Winnipeg Victorias, 3 games to 1 |
| February 18 | Ajax soccer team forms in Amsterdam |
| February 18 | Battle at Paardeberg, 1,270 British killed/injured |
| February 18 | British troops occupy Monte Christo Natal |
| February 19 | British troops occupy Hlangwane Natal |
| February 22 | Battle at Wynne's Hill, South Africa (Boers vs British army) |
| February 22 | Hawaii became a U.S. territory |
| February 23 | Battle at Hart's Hill, South Africa (Boers vs British army) |
| February 23 | Steamer "Rio de Janeiro" sinks in San Francisco Bay |
| February 27 | Battle at Pietershoogte |
| February 27 | Boer General Cronje surrenders to English in Pardenberg, South Africa |
| February 27 | British Labour Party forms |
| February 28 | General Buller's troops relieve Ladysmith Natal |
| March 3 | U.S. Steel Corporation organizes |
| March 5 | American Hall of Fame found |
| March 7 | Battle at Poplar Grove South Africa, President Kruger flees |
| March 7 | Stanley Cup: Montreal Shamrocks sweep Halifax Crescents in 2 games |
| March 8 | NL decides to go with 8 teams They exclude Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville and Washington (in 1953 Boston Braves move to Milwaukee) |
| March 10 | Battle at Driefontein, South Africa (Boers vs. British army) |
| March 12 | President Steyn of Orange-Free state flees from Bloemfontein |
| March 13 | British troops occupy Bloemfontein, Orange-Free state |
| March 14 | Hugo de Vries rediscovers Mendel's laws of genetics |
| March 14 | U.S. currency goes on gold standard |
| March 16 | Sir Arthur Evans finds old city of Knossus |
| March 17 | Stanley Cup: Montreal Shamrocks sweep Halifax Crescents in 2 |
| March 18 | Ajax (Amsterdam Football Club), forms |
| March 25 | U.S. Socialist Party forms in Indianapolis |
| March 30 | Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts Compulsory education law |
| March 31 | Brigadier General Broadwoods troops fall into guerrilla hands |
| April 1 | 1st edition of Dutch newspaper "The People" |
| April 2 | 1st edition of The Volk published in Amsterdam |
| April 4 | Assassination attempt on prince of Wales/king Edward VII |
| April 4 | British garrison of Reddersberg surrenders to Boer general De Wet |
| April 5 | Attempted assassination of Prince of Wales in Brussels, fails |
| April 6 | James J Jeffries KOs Jack Finnegan in 1 for heavyweight boxing title |
| April 11 | U.S. Navy's 1st submarine made its debut |
| April 14 | President Loubet opens International Fairs in Paris |
| April 14 | Veteran's Hospital at Ft. Miley forms |
| April 15 | An early 50 mile race is won by an electric car in over 2 hours |
| April 15 | International Exposition opens in Paris |
| April 16 | U.S. Post Office issues 1st books of postage stamps |
| April 17 | 7 high chiefs of American Samoa sign Instrument of Cession |
| April 19 | 4th Boston Marathon won by Jim Caffrey of Canada in 2:39:44.4 |
| April 19 | Highest scoring opening game, Phils beat Braves 19-17 in 10 |
| April 23 | 1st know occurrence of word "hillbillie" (New York Journal) |
| April 24 | Passing of Andrew Halliday, cable car pioneer |
| April 26 | AL opener in Cleveland draws 6,500 |
| April 30 | 165 lb Robert Fitzsimmons KOs 305 lb Ed Dunkhost in a boxing match |
| April 30 | U.S. annexes Hawaii |
| May 1 | Premature blast collapses mine tunnel killing 200 at Scofield, Utah |
| May 1 | Roermond soccer team forms in Roermond |
| May 2 | George Bernard Shaws "You Never Can Tell," premieres in London |
| May 3 | 26th Kentucky Derby: Jimmy Boland aboard Lieut Gibson wins in 2:06 |
| May 5 | "The Billboard" began weekly publication |
| May 8 | 250 grave robbers shot to death |
| May 8 | John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson sign with Cardinals |
| May 11 | James J Jeffries KOs James J Corbett in 23 for heavywgt boxing title |
| May 12 | Boer attack under Sarel Eloff, about 70 killed |
| May 12 | Lord Roberts' troops occupies Crown city |
| May 17 | British troops relieve Mafeking (Cape Colony) |
| May 18 | Britain proclaims protectorate over kingdom of Tonga |
| May 19 | Great Britain annexes Tonga archipelago |
| May 19 | World's longest railroad tunnel (Simplon) links Italy and Switzerland, opens |
| May 20 | 2nd modern Olympic games opens in Paris (lasted 5 months) |
| May 22 | Associated Press organizes in New York City as non-profit news cooperative |
| May 22 | Edwin S Votey patents pneumatic piano player |
| May 23 | Associated Press News Service forms in New York |
| May 24 | 34th Belmont: Nash Turner aboard Ildrim wins in 2:21 |
| May 24 | Britain annexes Orange Free State |
| May 25 | Eyre M. Shaw, 78, becomes oldest gold medalist in Olympics |
| May 26 | British troops under Ian Hamilton attack the Vaal in South Africa |
| May 27 | Lord Roberts' army fights the Vaal in South Africa |
| May 28 | Britain annexes Orange Free State (as Orange River Colony) |
| May 28 | Fire in Cincinnati nearly destroys Reds' grandstand |
| May 28 | Solar eclipse occurs |
| May 29 | 25th Preakness: H Spencer aboard Hindus wins in 1:48.4 |
| May 29 | Trademark "Escalator" registered by Otis Elevator Co |
| May 31 | British troops under Lord Roberts occupy Johannesburg |
| May 31 | Piet de Law captures Lt-colonel Spragges Irish Yeomanry |
| May 31 | Tom Hayward scores 1,000th cricket run of season (sets record 1074) |
| May 31 | U.S. troops arrive in Beijing, help put down Boxer Rebellion |
| June 1 | British army occupiers Pretoria South Africa |
| June 5 | Lord Roberts' army occupies Pretoria |
| June 7 | Boer general Christian de Law occupiers British train depot Roodewal |
| June 8 | Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of 6 Napoleons" |
| June 11 | Battle at Diamond Hill: British troops chase General Botha |
| June 12 | German Navy Law calls for massive increase in sea power |
| June 13 | China's Boxer Rebellion against foreigners and Christians |
| June 14 | Hawaiian Territorial Government begins |
| June 18 | Empress Douairiere orders I-Ho-Chuan (Boxers) to kill all foreigners |
| June 18 | General Luigi Pelloux resigns as premier of Italy |
| June 21 | Dodgers score 7 in top of 11th to go ahead of Phillies, 20-13, In bottom of 11th Phillies stalls so umpire forfeits game to Dodgers |
| June 24 | Dutch Social-Democratic Worker's party and Socialistenbond merge |
| June 26 | Dr. Walter Reed begins research that beats Yellow Fever |
| June 30 | 4 German liners burn at Hobokon Docks, New Jersey, 326 die |
| July 2 | Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin 1st airship LZ-1, flies |
| July 2 | Sibelius' "Finlandia," premieres in Helsinki |
| July 5 | Compulsory education law passes Dutch 1st Chamber |
| July 7 | Boston hurler Kid Nichols notches his 300th career victory |
| July 8 | 1st night baseball, league game (Zanesville at Grand Rapids) |
| July 9 | Australia accepts its constitution |
| July 11 | Boer general De la Rey captures Scots Greys and Lincolns |
| July 12 | 114 degrees F (46 degrees C), Basin, Wyoming (state record) |
| July 13 | Phillies beat Pittsburgh 23-8 |
| July 15 | President Steyn/General De Law escape Brandwater Basin |
| July 17 | New York Giant Christy Mathewson begins career losing to Brooklyn Superbas |
| July 19 | Michel Theato wins 2nd olympics marathon (2:59:45.0-40,260k) |
| July 21 | Pope Leo XIII encyclical to Greek-Melkite rite |
| July 23 | Pan-African Congress meets in London |
| July 24 | Race riot in New Orleans, 2 white policemen killed |
| July 25 | Gilbert Jessop hits his 2nd 100 before lunch in same cricket match |
| July 28 | Hamburger created by Louis Lassing in Connecticut |
| July 31 | Boer Generals Prinsloo and Roux surrenders in Brandwater Basin |
| August 7 | Diamond workers in Amsterdam strike |
| August 8 | 1st Davis Cup tennis competition, named after Dwight Filley Davis, began at Longwood Cricket Club in Massachusetts, and won by U.S. 2 days later |
| August 10 | 1st Davis Cup: USA beats British Isles in Boston (3-0) |
| August 14 | 1st electric tram in Netherland (Leidseplein-Brouwersgracht) |
| August 14 | 2,000 marines land to capture Beijing, ending Boxer rebellion |
| August 19 | Start of the one and only olympic cricket match, in Paris |
| August 20 | Great Britain beats France in cricket in Olympic Games |
| August 22 | Gabriel Faures opera "Promethee," premieres in Beziers |
| August 27 | Battle at Bergendal: General Buller beats Boer general Botha |
| August 30 | Last 2000 British prisoners in Nooitgedagt South Africa freed |
| August 31 | British troops over run Johannesburg |
| August 31 | Dodgers' Brickyard Kennedy walks 6 straight Phillies |
| September 2 | Telegraph use between Germany and U.S. begins |
| September 3 | British annex Natal (South Africa) |
| September 5 | France proclaims a protectorate over Chad |
| September 6 | British General Buller occupies Lydenburg South Africa |
| September 8 | 6,000 killed when a hurricane and tidal wave strikes Galveston, Texas |
| September 10 | 20.3 cm rainfall at Elk Point, South Dakota (state record) |
| September 11 | President Kruger crosses border with Mozambique |
| September 17 | Queen Victoria disbands British parliament |
| September 27 | Victory Theater (Republic, Belasco) opens at 207 W 42nd St. New York City |
| October 2 | Belgium crown prince Albert von Saksen-Coburg weds Elisabeth of Bayern |
| October 3 | Edward Elgar/Cardinal Newmans oratorium premieres in Birmingham |
| October 4 | Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Problem of Thor Bridge" |
| October 5 | 6th U.S. Golf Open: Harry Vardon shoots a 313 at Chicago Golf Club Illinois |
| October 5 | Harry Vardon wins U.S. Open golf tournament |
| October 7 | The term "orienteering" is 1st used for an event |
| October 9 | 8.3 earthquake shakes Cape Yakataga, Alaska |
| October 16 | Queen Wilhelmina leaves duke Heinrich "Henry" von Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
| October 19 | Henry O. Tanner, painter, wins Medal of Honor at Paris Exposition |
| October 19 | South African President Paul Kruger departs for Europe |
| October 24 | General Redvers Buller returns to England |
| October 25 | England annexes Transvaal |
| October 26 | After 4 years of work, 1st section of New York subway opens |
| October 28 | After over 5 months 2nd Olympic games in Paris France, close |
| October 30 | 1st-ever U.S. auto show opens in Madison Square Garden in New York City |
| October 31 | AL President Ban Johnson writes to NL President Nick Young seeking peace |
| November 3 | 1st U.S. automobile show opens at Madison Square Garden (New York City) |
| November 6 | Battle at Bothaville: general-major Charles Knox beats Boers |
| November 6 | President William McKinley (R) re-elected, beating William Jennings Bryan |
| November 8 | Theodore Dreiser's novel "Sister Carrie" is published |
| November 12 | World's Fair in Paris opens, 50 million visitors |
| November 13 | Baltimore Orioles (now New York Yankees) enter baseball's American League |
| November 29 | Lord Kitchener succeeds lord Roberts up as supreme commander in South Africa |
| November 30 | A German engineer patents front-wheel drive for automobiles |
| December 1 | South African president Paul Kruger visits Flanders |
| December 2 | South African president Paul Kruger arrives in Germany |
| December 9 | Dutch President Paul Kruger and Queen Wilhelmina have a triumphant procession |
| December 13 | Battle at Nooitgedacht: generals The la Rey/Smuts beat Britten |
| December 16 | Boer army under General Kritzinger take Cape colony |
| December 17 | 1st prize of 100,00 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials. Martians excluded-considered too easy |
| December 17 | New Ellis Island Immigration station completed costing $1.5 million |
| December 20 | Giacobini discovers a comet (will be 1st comet visited by spacecraft) |
| December 21 | Gerhart Hauptmann's "Michael Kramer," premieres in Berlin |
| December 24 | Herman Heijermans' "Hope of Blessing" premieres in Amsterdam |
| December 25 | Arthur Schnitzlers "Leutnant Gustl" forbidden in Germany |
| December 27 | Carrie Nation's 1st public smashing of a bar (Carey Hotel, Wichita KS) |
| December 29 | General Viljoen surprise attack British garrison to Helvetia |
BrainyHistory
