1901
From ArticleWorld
The year 1901 was the first official year of the 20th century and was also a year punctuated by political upheaval and technological breakthroughs.
Important Events
On January 22nd Queen Victoria, the ruler of the British Isles and the Commonwealth died at the age of 81. Victoria was and still is the longest reigning monarch of Britain sitting on the throne for 63 years from 30th June 1837 until the day of her death in 1901. Victoria is succeeded by her eldest son Edward, who would later become King Edward VII.
The famous American car manufacturer the Cadillac Motor Company was founded in Detroit, Michigan on August 21st. The name of Cadillac became synonymous with prestigious motor cars, which are primarily bought in the US. The Cadillac was initially a part of the Ford Motor Company before being purchased by General Motors in 1909, to become their prestige motor.
On September 6 the 25th US president William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by Anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York at the Pan-American Exposition. McKinley died 8 days after the shooting and was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.
December 10th marked the first presentation of the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden as well as pioneering Chemist Marie Curie receiving her doctorate. The Nobel Prize was named after Swedish born chemist Alfred Nobel who had died 5 years previous to the first award ceremony. The awards are presented for literature, physical science, chemistry, medical science and a special award for peace given to a person or persons responsible for a contribution to world harmony.
On December 12th the first transatlantic radio message was received by Guglielmo Marconi, at a station in Newfoundland, Canada. It was a simple Morse code message, reading simply ‘’s’’. This pioneering message gave rise to modern day global communication network that we have today.
Births and Deaths
The year also saw the births of some of the 20th centuries great icons including, actors Gary Cooper on May 7th (D. 1961), Clark Gable February 1 (D. 1960), Actress Marlene Dietrich on December 21 (D. 1992), Jazz musician Louis Armstrong on August 4th (D. 1970) and American animator and film director Walt Disney on December 5th (D. 1966). 1901 saw the deaths of the previously mentioned Queen Victoria, 25th President of the United States William McKinley as well as French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec on September 9th and Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi on January 27th.