1903 in the United States
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
: Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
(RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
) - Vice PresidentVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
: vacant - Chief JusticeChief Justice of the United StatesThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
: Melville FullerMelville FullerMelville Weston Fuller was the eighth Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910.-Early life and education:... - Speaker of the House of RepresentativesSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
: David B. HendersonDavid B. HendersonDavid Bremner Henderson , a ten-term Republican Congressman from Dubuque, Iowa, was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1899 to 1903...
(RRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Iowa) (to March 4), Joseph Gurney CannonJoseph Gurney CannonJoseph Gurney Cannon was a United States politician from Illinois and leader of the Republican Party. Cannon served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1911, and historians generally consider him to be the most dominant Speaker in United States history, with such...
(RRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Illinois) (from November 9) - CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
: 57th57th United States Congress-House of Representatives:*Democratic: 151*Republican: 200 *Populist: 5*Silver : 1TOTAL members: 357-Leadership:-Senate:* President: Theodore Roosevelt , until September 14, 1901, vacant thereafter....
(to March 4), 58th58th United States Congress- House of Representatives :* Republican : 209 * Democratic : 176* Silver Republican : 1TOTAL members: 386-Senate:* President: Vacant* President pro tempore: William P. Frye -Members:...
(from March 4)
January–March
- January 19 – The first west-east transatlantic radioRadioRadio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east-west broadcast having been made in 1901). - January 21 – Section of MilitiaMilitia (United States)The role of militia, also known as military service and duty, in the United States is complex and has transformed over time.Spitzer, Robert J.: The Politics of Gun Control, Page 36. Chatham House Publishers, Inc., 1995. " The term militia can be used to describe any number of groups within the...
Affairs within the Adjutant GeneralAdjutant generalAn Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...
's office. - February 11 – The Oxnard Strike of 1903Oxnard Strike of 1903The Oxnard Strike of 1903 describes a labor rights dispute of that year in the California coastal city of Oxnard between local landowners and the majority Japanese and Mexican labor force.-Before the strike:...
becomes the first time in U.S. history that a labor union is formed from members of different races. - February 14 – CensusCensusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
Board within the Department of Commerce and Labor (Census Bureau). - February 14 – Department of Commerce and Labor founded
- February 14 – U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey transferred to the Department of Commerce and Labor.
- February 15 – MorrisMorris MichtomMorris Michtom was a Russian Jewish immigrant, who with his wife Rose invented the Teddy Bear.Mitchtom, who arrived in New York in 1887, was selling candy in his shop at 404 Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn by day and making stuffed animals with his wife Rose at night. The Teddy Bear...
and Rose Mitchom introduce the first teddy bearTeddy bearThe teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
in America. - February 23 – CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity". - March 2 – In New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the Martha Washington HotelMartha Washington HotelThe Martha Washington Hotel was a hotel at 30 East 30th Street between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It opened on March 2, 1903 as the first hotel exclusively for women, and originally had 416 rooms...
, the first hotelHotelA hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
exclusively for women, opens. - March 14 – The Hay-Herran TreatyHay-Herran TreatyThe Hay–Herran Treaty was a treaty signed on January 22, 1903 between United States Secretary of State John M. Hay of the United States and Dr. Tomás Herrán of Colombia...
, granting the United States the right to build the Panama CanalPanama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, is ratified by the United States SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. The Colombian Senate later rejects the treaty.
April–June
- June 12 – The Sigma Alpha IotaSigma Alpha IotaSigma Alpha Iota , International Music Fraternity for Women. Formed to "uphold the highest standards of music" and "to further the development of music in America and throughout the world", it continues to provide musical and educational resources to its members and the general public...
International Music Fraternity is founded at the University of Michigan School of Music. - June 14 – The town of Heppner, OregonHeppner, OregonThe city of Heppner is the county seat of Morrow County, Oregon, United States. It was originally called Standsbury Flat for George W. Standsbury, one of the first white settlers in the area. It was later renamed to honor Henry Heppner, a Jewish pioneer who opened the first general store there in...
, was nearly destroyed by a cloud burst that resulted in a flash floodHeppner Flood of 1903The Heppner Flood of 1903 was a major flash flood along Willow Creek responsible for destroying a large portion of Heppner, Oregon, United States, on June 14, 1903...
.
July–September
- July 1 – U.S. Bureau of Fisheries within Department of CommerceCommerceWhile business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
& LaborWage labourWage labour is the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer, where the worker sells their labour under a formal or informal employment contract. These transactions usually occur in a labour market where wages are market determined...
. - July 23 – Dr. Ernst Pfenning of ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
becomes the first owner of a FordFord Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
Model AFord Model A (1903)The original Ford Model A is the first car produced by Ford Motor Company, beginning production in 1903. Ernst Pfenning of Chicago, Illinois became the first owner of a Model A on July 23, 1903. 1,750 cars were made from 1903 through 1904...
. - August 9 – Commanding General post replaced by that of Chief of Staff of the Army.
- September 11 – The first stock car event is held at the Milwaukee MileMilwaukee MileThe Milwaukee Mile is a -long oval race track in West Allis, Wisconsin that seats about 40,000 spectators. It operated as a dirt track until 1953. The track was paved in 1954....
. - September 27 – The Wreck of the Old 97Wreck of the Old 97Old 97 was a Southern Railway train officially known as the Fast Mail. It ran from Washington DC to Atlanta, Georgia. On September 27, 1903 while en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, the train derailed at Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia...
engine at Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, VirginiaDanville, VirginiaDanville is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It was the last capital of the Confederate States of America. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Danville with Pittsylvania county for...
, which kills 9 people, inspires a ballad and song.
October–December
- October – Frank Nelson ColeFrank Nelson ColeFrank Nelson Cole, Ph.D. was an American mathematician, born in Ashland, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard, where he lectured on mathematics from 1885 to 1887....
proves that 267-1 is composite by factoring it as 193,707,721 * 761,838,257,287 after trying for every Sunday for 3 years. - October 1 – The first modern World SeriesWorld SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
pits the National LeagueNational LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
's Pittsburgh against Boston of the American LeagueAmerican LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
. - November 4 – With the encouragement of the United States, PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
proclaims itself independent from ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. - November 13 – The United States recognizes the independence of PanamaSeparation of Panama from ColombiaThe Separation of Panama from Colombia was formalized on 3 November 1903 with the establishment of the Republic of Panama from the Republic of Colombia's Department of Panama.-Prelude:...
. - November 18 – The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, giving the U.S. exclusive rights over the Panama Canal ZonePanama Canal ZoneThe Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
. - November 23 – ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
Governor James Hamilton PeabodyJames Hamilton PeabodyJames Hamilton Peabody was the 13th and 15th Governor of Colorado, and is noted for his public service in Cañon City.-Family background:...
sends the state militia into the town of Cripple CreekCripple Creek, ColoradoThe City of Cripple Creek is a Statutory City that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Springs near the base of Pikes Peak. The Cripple Creek Historic District, which received National Historic...
to break up a miners' strike. - December 17 – Orville Wright flies an aircraftAircraftAn aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
with a petrol enginePetrol engineA petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol and similar volatile fuels....
at Kitty HawkKitty Hawk, North CarolinaKitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,000 at the 2000 census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk....
, North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
in the first documented, successful, controlled, powered, heavier-than-air flight. - December 30 – A fire at the Iroquois TheaterIroquois Theater FireThe Iroquois Theatre fire occurred on December 30, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois. It is the deadliest theater fire and the deadliest single-building fire in United States history...
in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
kills 600.
Undated
- The Lincoln-Lee LegionLincoln-Lee LegionThe Lincoln–Lee Legion was established by Anti-Saloon League-founder Howard Hyde Russell in 1903 to promote the signing of abstinence pledges by children. The organization was originally called the Lincoln League, named after Abraham Lincoln. However, in 1912 it was renamed the Lincoln–Lee Legion,...
is established to promote the temperance movementTemperance movementA temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
and signing of alcohol abstinence pledges by children. - The first box of CrayolaCrayolaCrayola is a brand of artists' supplies manufactured by Crayola LLC, which was founded in 1885 as Binney & Smith. It is best known for its crayons...
crayons was made and sold for 5 cents. It contained 8 colors; brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and black. - Coca-ColaCoca-ColaCoca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
removes cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
as a key ingredient from their formula. At the time, Coca-Cola contained approximately nine milligrams of cocaine per glass.