1899
| Years: 1896 1897 1898 - 1899 - 1900 1901 1902 | |
| Decades: 1860s 1870s 1880s - 1890s - 1900s 1910s 1920s | |
| Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century 1899 in art List of state leaders in 1899 | |
Events
January events
- January 1 - End of Spanish rule in Cuba.
- January 1 - Queens and Staten Island merge with New York City.
- January 3 - The first known use of the word "automobile", in an editorial in the New York Times.
- January 6 - Lord Curzon becomes a viceroy of India.
- January 17 - United States takes possession of Wake Island.
- January 19 - Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
- January 21 - Opel Motors opens for business.
- January 22 - Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation.
February events
- February 2 - The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne agrees Australia's capital (Canberra) should be located between Sydney and Melbourne.
- February 4 - Philippine-American War begins as hostilities break out in Manila.
- February 6 - Spanish-American War: A peace treaty between the United States and Spain is ratified by the United States Senate.
- February 14 - Voting machines are approved by the United States Congress for use in federal elections.
March events
- March 1 - in Afghanistan Capt. George Roos-Keppel makes a sudden attack on a predatory band of Chamkannis that have been raiding in the Kurram Valley and captures 100 prisoners with 3,000 head of cattle.
- March 2 - In Washington State, USA, Mount Rainier National Park is established.
- March 6 - Bayer registers aspirin as a trademark.
- March 20 - At Sing Sing, Martha M. Place becomes the first woman executed in an electric chair.
June events
- June 25 - Three Denver newspapers publish a story that the Chinese government is going to demolish the Great Wall of China - later proved to be a fabrication.
- July 29 - The First Peace Conference ends with the signing of the Hague Convention.
September events
- September 19 ? Alfred Dreyfus pardoned.
October events
- October 11 - Boer War begins: In South Africa, a war between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State erupts.
December events
- December 2 - Philippine-American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, termed "The Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.
- December 26 ? Battle of Mafeking begins.
- David Hilbert creates the modern concept of geometry with the publication of his book Grundlagen der geometrie.
- Gordon Douglas is ordained as a Buddhist monk in Myanmar. He is the first westerner to be ordained in the Theravada tradition.
Births
January births
- January 7 - Francis Poulenc, composer (d. 1963)
- January 10 - Axel Eggelbrecht, journalist (d. 1991)
- January 11 - Eva LeGallienne, actress (d. 1991)
- January 12 - Paul Hermann Müller, chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1948 (d. 1965)
- January 15 - Goodman Ace, actor, comedian, writer (d. 1982)
- January 17 - Al Capone, gangster, nicknamed "Scarface" (d. 1947)
- January 17 - Nevil Shute, author (d. 1960)
February births
- February 6 - Ramon Novarro, actor (d. 1968)
- February 15 - Georges Auric, composer, member of Les Six
- February 22 - Dechko Uzunov, painter (d. 1986)
- February 23 - Erich Kästner, lyricist and narrator (d. 1974)
- February 23 - Elisabeth Langgässer, lyricist, narrator and novelist (d. 1950)
- February 27 - Charles Best, medical scientist (d. 1978)
March births
- March 11 - King Frederick IX of Denmark (d. 1972)
- March 18 - Jean Goldkette, jazz musician (d. 1962)
April births
- April 1 - Gustavs Celmins, politician (d. 1968)
- April 7 - Robert Casadesus, French pianist (d. 1972)
- April 22 - Vladimir Nabokov, (writer) (d. 1977)
- April 24 - Oscar Zariski, (mathematician) (d. 1986)
- April 28 - Harold B. Lee, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1973)
- April 29 - Duke Ellington, jazz musician, bandleader (d. 1974)
May births
- May 10 - Fred Astaire, singer, dancer, actor (d. 1987)
- May 10 - Dimitri Tiomkin, composer (d. 1979)
- May 12 - Indra Devi, yogi (d. 2002)
- May 24 ? Suzanne Lenglen, tennis great (d. 1938)
June births
- June 2 - Lotte Reiniger, German and later British silhouette animator (d. 1981)
- June 13 - Carlos Chávez, composer (d. 1978)
- June 30 - Harry Shields, jazz musician (d. 1971)
July births
- July 5 - Marcel Achard, play and scriptwriter
- July 7 - George Cukor, film director (d. 1983)
- July 11 - E. B. White, (writer)
- July 15 - Sean Lemass, Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland (d. 1971)
- July 17 - James Cagney, actor (d. 1986)
- July 21 - Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
August births
- August 4 - Ezra Taft Benson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1994)
- August 13 - Alfred Hitchcock, (film director)
- August 24 - Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian writer
September births
- September 9 - Brassaï, photographer
- September 9 - Waite Hoyt, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1984)
November births
- November 15 - Iskander Mirza, first President of Pakistan (d. 1969)
- November 17 - Douglas Shearer, pioneer motion-picture sound engineer (d. 1971)
December births
- December 2 - John Barbirolli, conductor (d. 1970)
- December 15 - Harold Abrahams, British athlete (d. 1978)
- December 18 - Peter Wessel Zapffe
- December 25 - Humphrey Bogart, actor (d. 1957)
- December 28 - Eugeniusz Bodo, famous Polish actor (killed in 1943)
Deaths
January deaths
February deaths
- February 25 - Paul Julius Reuter, founder of the Reuters News Agency
June deaths
July deaths
- July 21 - Robert G. Ingersoll, American political leader, American Civil War Colonel
August deaths
September deaths
- September 12 - Cornelius Vanderbilt II, railway magnate
December deaths
- December 22 - Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist (b. 1837)
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