Historical events from 1900 through 1909.
New York’s Hudson-Fulton celebration opened with the greatest naval parade in world history and a magnificent historical pageant featuring 15,000 costumed performers. The celebration honored Henry Hudson’s 1609 exploration and Robert Fulton’s steamboat innovation.
Three young Americans, including George Vice of Hackensack, New Jersey, were freed from Brazilian death sentences in December 1909. The men had been condemned for their involvement in Sebastian Magali’s failed expedition that authorities viewed as an attempt to capture Brazil.
Mount Pelée’s catastrophic eruption continued to terrorize Martinique in June 1902, with massive ash clouds rolling over Fort-de-France as refugees crowded into camps. The volcanic disaster had already obliterated Saint-Pierre and killed an estimated 30,000 people.
George Pettibone’s trial for conspiracy in Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg’s assassination opened in Boise, following the sensational acquittal of Big Bill Haywood earlier that year.
President McKinley announced conditions for U.S. mediation in the China crisis, demanding proof foreign diplomats were alive. The formal announcement marked a crucial diplomatic moment during the Boxer Rebellion.
In April 1900, a whooping cough epidemic struck the Nevada mining community of Gardnerville, affecting nearly half the children in the school district. The outbreak highlighted the vulnerability of frontier settlements to infectious diseases.
Czar Nicholas II departed for Finland on September 16, 1905, for a two-day visit to his restive northern territories. His journey came amid alarming reports of Jewish communities arming themselves throughout the Russian Empire in response to revolutionary agitation.
Georgia Senator Augustus Bacon launched a fierce attack on the Porto Rican Relief Bill conference report in the Senate. His opposition highlighted fundamental disagreements over America’s relationship with its newest territory.
Attorney J.B. Marcum was shot dead on the courthouse steps in Jackson, Kentucky, as the deadly Cockrell-Hargis feud escalated. His widow wiped up his blood with her handkerchief while no arrests were made.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision, establishing that the State Railroad Commission must conduct investigations and issue adverse rulings before criminal indictments can proceed under the state’s long and short haul law.
