1900
| File:Decade.png ( 1900s: ) 1900 link | |
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| File:Hanlin library.png During the "siege" of the International Legations in Peking, the imperial Hanlin library is looted and burnt down, destroying thousands of precious Chinese books and manuscripts, some being the only copy. | |
| year 1900 |
In 1900 in the UK, the Fabian Society founded the Labour Party.
Events
- January 2 - U.S. Secretary of State John Hay announces the Open Door Policy, to promote American trade with China.
- January 3 – The United States Census estimates the country's population to be about 70 million people.
- January 8 – President William McKinley of the United States places Alaska under military governance.
- January 27 – Boxer Rebellion: Foreign diplomats in Peking, Qing Dynasty China, demand that the Boxer rebels be disciplined.
- February 3 - Governor William Goebel of Kentucky dies of wounds after being shot by several assassins on January 30. Goebel, who had prevailed in a dispute over the winner of the election in November 1899, had been sworn in on his deathbed. The former Secretary of State of Kentucky Caleb Powers is later found guilty in the conspiracy to kill Goebel.
- February 5 – The United Kingdom and the United States sign a treaty for the building of a Central American shipping canal, across Central America in Nicaragua.
- February 27 - The British Labour Party is officially established, at a meeting in the Congregational Memorial Hall in London, and Ramsay MacDonald is appointed as its first secretary.
- February 27 - Second Boer War: British military leaders accept the unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronjé.
- March 5 – Two U.S. Navy cruisers are sent to Central America to protect American interests in a dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
- March 31 – In France, the length of a legal workday for women and children is limited to 11 hours.
- April 4 – An anarchist shoots at The Prince of Wales during his visit to Belgium.
- April 14 – The Exposition Universelle, a world's fair, opens in Paris.
- May 24 – Second Boer War: The British annex the Orange Free State, as the Orange River Colony.
- May 31 – Boxer Rebellion: "Peacekeepers" from various European countries arrive in China, where they join with Japanese forces.
- June 5 – Second Boer War: British soldiers take Pretoria.
- June 14 – The Reichstag approves the second of the German Naval Laws allowing expansion of the Imperial German Navy.
- June 20 – Boxer Rebellion: Boxers gather about 20,000 people near Peking, and kill hundreds of European citizens, including, after gross provocations from the diplomat, the German ambassador.
- July 23–25 – The First Pan-African Conference is held in London.
- July 29 – King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by Italian-born anarchist Gaetano Bresci in Monza.
- August 14 – Boxer Rebellion: An international contingent of troops, under British command, invades Peking and relieves the diplomatic compound.
- September 12 – Admiral Fredrik von Otter becomes Prime Minister of Sweden.
- September 17 – Philippine–American War – Battle of Mabitac: Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat the Americans, under Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham.
- September 25 – In the British general election, the recently formed Labour Party gains two seats. Winston Churchill is also elected to Parliament for the first time.
- October 25 – The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
- November 6 – U.S. presidential election, 1900: Republican incumbent William McKinley is reelected by defeating Democratic challenger William Jennings Bryan in a rematch.
- November 29 – Herbert Kitchener succeeds Frederick Roberts as commander-in-chief of the British forces in South Africa and implements a scorched earth strategy.<ref>
Date unknown
- Australasian prospector Albert Fuller Ellis identifies phosphate deposits on the Pacific Islands of Nauru and Banaba Island (Ocean Island).
- In New Haven, Connecticut, U.S., Louis Lassen of Louis' Lunch makes the first modern-day hamburger sandwich.
- The Indian Civil Service, which administers the Presidencies and provinces of British India, consists of fewer than 3,500 overwhelmingly European officials, with power over a native population of some 300 million.