1900s (decade)


The 1900s was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 1900, and ended on December 31, 1909. The term "nineteen-hundreds" is often also used to mean the entire century of years from 1900 to 1999. The Edwardian era covers a similar span of time.
The decade saw the widespread application of the internal combustion engine including mass production of the automobile, as well as the introduction of the typewriter. The Wright Flyer performed the first recorded controlled, powered, sustained heavier than air flight on December 17, 1903. Reginald Fessenden of East Bolton, Quebec, Canada made what appear to be the first audio radio broadcasts of entertainment and music ever made to a general audience.
First-wave feminism saw progress, with universities being opened for women in Japan, Bulgaria, Cuba, Russia, and Peru. In 1906, Finland granted women the right vote, the first European country to do so. The foundation of the Women's Social and Political Union by Emmeline Pankhurst in 1903 led to the rise of the Suffragettes in Great Britain and Ireland. Cuba, Bulgaria, and Norway became independent. The First Moroccan and Bosnian crises led to worsened tensions in Europe that would ultimately lead to the First World War in the next decade.
Wars of this decade included the Second Boer War, the Philippine–American War, the Russo-Japanese War, the Saudi–Rashidi War, and the Kuwaiti–Rashidi war. The Scramble for Africa continued, with the Orange Free State, South African Republic, Ashanti Empire, Aro Confederacy, Sokoto Caliphate and Kano Emirate being conquered by the British Empire. Failed uprisings and revolutions that took place included the Russian Revolution of 1905, an uprising in French Madagascar, the Bailundo revolt, the 1904 Sasun uprising, the Persian Constitutional Revolution, the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising, the Maji Maji Rebellion, 1907 Romanian Peasants' revolt, and the Wad Hubaba Revolt. A more successful revolution took place in the Ottoman Empire, where the Young Turks movement restored the Ottoman constitution of 1876, establishing the Second Constitutional Era. The Herero and Namaqua genocide saw 24,000 to 100,000 Hereros and 10,000 Namaqua killed by German colonial forces, while Atrocities in the Congo Free State continued until 1908 with the establishment of the Belgian Congo. The Adana massacre of 1909 saw up to 30,000 civilians, mainly Armenians, massacred by Ottoman Muslims in the city of Adana.
Major disasters in this decade included the 1908 Messina earthquake, the Chinese famine of 1907, the San Francisco earthquake and fire and the Great Baltimore Fire. The first huge success of American cinema, as well as the largest experimental achievement to this point, was the 1903 film The Great Train Robbery, directed by Edwin S. Porter, while the world's first feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang, was released on 26 December 1906 in Melbourne, Australia. Popular books of this decade included Anne of Green Gables and The Tale of Peter Rabbit, which sold 50 million and 45 million copies respectively.

Pronunciation varieties

There are several main varieties of how individual years of the decade are pronounced. Using 1906 as an example, they are "nineteen-oh-six", "nineteen-six", and "nineteen-aught-six". Which variety is most prominent depends somewhat on global region and generation. "Nineteen-oh-six" is the most common; "nineteen-six" is less common. In American English, "nineteen-aught-six" is also recognized but not much used.

Politics and wars

Major political changes

Disasters

Natural disasters

Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:
shooting U.S. President William McKinley.
The cost of an American postage stamp was worth 1 cent.

Science and technology

Science

beginning production in 1903.
made on December 17, 1903.
is shown in this photograph from 1907
becomes the first commercial color photography process.
set 1908 as the historic year that the automobile came into popular usage as it is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile.

Literature and art

Fashion

Sports

The Tour de France starts for the first time in 1903.

Food

World leaders

Modern artists

Baseball

The following articles contain brief timelines which list the most prominent events of the decade:
1900 • 1901 • 1902 • 1903 • 1904 • 1905 • 1906 • 1907 • 1908 • 1909