Category Archives: 1900s

Oscar Straus becomes first Jewish Cabinet member 110 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 17 1906)


Videos: 'Oscar Straus'

(Monday, December 17, 1906, 9:00 a.m. local time)Oscar Straus, nominated by President Theodore Roosevelt, became the first Jewish Cabinet member today when he was sworn in as the third U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Continue reading Oscar Straus becomes first Jewish Cabinet member 110 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 17 1906)

Millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw murders architect Stanford White 110 years ago this hour (June 25 1906)


Videos: 'The Crime of the Century'

(Monday, June 25, 1906, 11:05 p.m. local time) — Architect Stanford White was shot to death tonight atop New York’s (second) Madison Square Garden, which he had designed, by millionaire Harry K. Thaw, who was apparently enraged over what he viewed as White’s defilement of his wife, Evelyn Nesbit (when Nesbit was a teenager) just as the first performance of the musical comedy Mam’zelle Champagne was drawing to a close. Continue reading Millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw murders architect Stanford White 110 years ago this hour (June 25 1906)

Devastating earthquake strikes San Francisco 110 years ago this hour (Apr 18 1906)


Videos: 'San Francisco Earthquake And Fire - April 18, 1906'

(Wednesday, April 18, 1906, 5:12 a.m. PST) — A major earthquake (with an estimated “moment magnitude” of 7.8) struck the coast of Northern California this morning on the San Andreas Fault, followed by raging fires, killing between 3,000 and 6,000 (with another 227,000-3000,000 left homeless) and causing more than $400 million in damages. Continue reading Devastating earthquake strikes San Francisco 110 years ago this hour (Apr 18 1906)

‘The Gift of the Magi’ short story published 110 years ago today (Dec 10 1905)


Video: 'THE GIFT OF THE MAGI by O. Henry, presented by classic-tales.net'

(Sunday, December 10, 1905) — The O. Henry short story “The Gift of the Magi” about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money was published today in the New York Sunday World magazine under the title “Gifts of the Magi.”

New version of Ku Klux Klan founded 100 years ago tonight (Nov 25 1915)


Video: 'Ku Klux Klan - A Secret History' (Nov. 25, 1915, at 18:19)

(Thursday, November 25, 1915, Thanksgiving Day) — A new version of the Ku Klux Klan, targeting blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants, was founded tonight by William Joseph Simmons, who proclaimed himself the Imperial Wizard of the group as he staged a cross-burning on Stone Mountain outside Atlanta.

New York Giants win World Series in seven games 110 years ago this afternoon (Oct 14 1905)


Video: 'New York Giants: Final Game of the 1905 World Series'

(Saturday, October 14, 1905, afternoon local time) — The New York Giants won the 1905 World Series today, beating the Philadelphia Athletics 2-0 at the Polo Grounds (III) in upper Manhattan, New York, in the fifth and deciding game.

It was the first of eight World Series titles for the Giants (1905-2014).

Portsmouth Peace Conference begins in Kittery, Maine 110 years ago today (Aug 9 1905)


Video: 'Scenes and Incidents, Russo-Japanese Peace Conference, Portsmouth, N.H.'

(Wednesday, August 9, 1905) — Japanese and Russian delegations convened the Portsmouth Peace Conference today at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, (by invitation of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt) to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War. A total of twelve sessions were held between Aug. 9-30.