1902 -"Boer War" ends between British and Boers; 9,774 casualties. St. Pierre, Martinique destroyed by volcanic fire. Coal strike in U.S.. U.S. acquires control of Panama Canal. "National bankruptcy" declared in Portugal.

1903 - Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully fly the first powered airplane near Kitty Hawk, N.C. on Dec. 17. Distance: 120 feet. Time: 12 seconds. Orville Wright at controls.

Henry Ford founds "Ford Motor Co." with a capital of $100,000. Richard Steiff designs the first "teddy bear", named after President "Teddy" Theodore Roosevelt. Niagara Falls runs dry due to drought. Marie Curie, French scientist, receives Nobel Prize in Physics for study of radiation. "Tour de France" begins when 60 cyclists compete in 2,500 kilometer (1,550 mile) 19-day race.

1904 - Paris Conference on white slave trade. First ultra-violet lamps. New York policeman arrests woman for smoking cigarette in public.

1905 - Albert Einstein announces his Theory of Relativity. Edward Stelchen and Alfred Stieglitz open their famous "Little Galleries of Photography" in N.Y.C., introducing photography as an art form. Japanese destroy Russian fleet off Tsushima Strait.

1906 - Severe earthquake in San Francisco, CA. Vitamin concept suggested. German hairdresser, Charles Nessler, invents the "permanent-wave" in London.

1907 - Henry Ford's "Model T" debuts. The Boy Scout Assoc. is founded. Roman Catholics condemn all sciences. Artists: Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque create "Cubism". Oklahoma joins the U.S.

1908 - Wilbur Wright flies his airplane 30 miles in 40 minutes. Henry Ford releases the "Model T" at selling price of $825.00, 15 million sold. Fountain pens become popular. Crete proclaims union with Greece. Earthquake in Italy kills 150,000. June 13, 7:14 A.M.: an asteroid 10 meters in diameter entered the Earth's atmosphere and exploded with the force of a 12 megaton bomb over Siberia. A column of fire rose twenty kilometers in the sky, as hot and as bright as the sun. The entire forest below was incinerated and blown flat. The shockwave circumnavigated the Earth twice.

June 30: A spacial body, which was later called the "Tunguska meteorite", fell to Earth 65 kilometers off the Vanavara settlement in the Evenkiya Republic. Later rumored to have been a source of alien technology, discovered and utilized by the Nazi Party.

1909 - William Taft inaugurated as 27th President of U.S.A.. Plastic first invented. Regular radio broadcast begins in U.S.. Mohammed Ali, Shah of Persia, deposed; succeeded by Sultan Ahmed Shah (age 12). First kibbutz, a collective agricultural, industrial settlement, founded in Palestine.

1910 - China abolishes slavery. Portugal becomes a republic. Beginning of the "Mexican Revolution". The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is founded in the U.S.

1911 - Marie Curie, French scientist, receives Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovery of Radium and Polonium. Superconductivity observed. Mexican Civil War ends.

1912 - S.S. Titanic "The Unsinkable", the largest, grandest, most elaborate (and expensive) ocean liner ever built, sinks on her maiden voyage to America in the Atlantic, after colliding with an iceberg; 1,513 people died (April 14). The term "vitamins" used. Arizona and New Mexico officially join the U.S. First municipally owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco.

1913 - Woodrow Wilson inaugurated as 28th President of U.S.A.. "Federal Income Tax" introduced in the U.S.. King George I of Greece assassinated; succeeded by Constantine I. Balkan War: Bulgarians take Adrianople and Turkey signs armistice; London Peace Treaty between Turkey and the Balkan states signed; outbreak of Second Balkan War; Bulgarian attacks on Greece and Serbia; Russia declares war on Bulgaria; the Turks recapture Adrianople; Serbia invades Albania; peace treaty between Greece and Turkey. Yüan Shih-kai elected President of Republic of China. "Vitamin A" isolated by biochemist McCollum at Yale. Niels Bohr formulates his theory of atomic structure. Frederick Soddy coins the term "isotope". Friedrich Bergius converts coal dust into oil. Rene Lorin states the basic principles of jet propulsion. "Grand Central" is built in N.Y.C. The Zipper (invented in 1891) first patented, comes into fashion. "The Foxtrot" a popular dance. First woman Magistrate in England.

1914 - World War I begins, following the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo. Panama Canal opens. White dwarf stars discovered, Acetylcholine isolated. Earth's mantle and core distinguished. "Mother's Day" first observed. Federal Trade Commission founded by U.S. Congress. Henry Ford revolutionizes the manufacture of automobiles with the assembly line.

1915 - Ocean Liner "Lusitania" torpedoed and sunk by German submarines; 1,198 killed. German Zeppelin airships bomb Britain. Bacteriophage discovered (before penicillin). Denishawn, first school of modern dance opens. Alexander Graham Bell in New York calls Thomas Watson in San Francisco. Over one million Armenian Christians are exterminated by forced death marches and burnings, committed by the Muslim Ottoman Turks.

1916 - Albert Einstein publishes his General Theory of Relativity. Concept of "Black Holes" first recognized. "Star-Spangled Banner" becomes American National Anthem, adapted from an English song.

1917 - America enters WWI. Ford introduces the "pick-up truck". Nikolai Lenin leads the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Charlie Chaplin signs movie industry's first million-dollar contract to direct and star in eight films. Russian Revolution begins with street rioting in St. Petersburg.

1918 - World War I ends. Congress authorizes "time zones" and approves daylight savings time. Magazines carrying installment of James Joyce's "Ulysses" are seized by the U.S. Post Office.

1919 - 18th Amendment- Alcohol Prohibition begins in U.S.. Deflection of starlight, test of general relativity; total eclipse of the Sun is observed. A mob in Omaha, Nebraska, lynches Will Brown (a "negro") for being accused of raping "a white woman". His body was filled with over 1,000 bullets, then burned. The mob, fed with alcohol, attempts to hang Mayor Smith, of Omaha.

1920 - 19th Amendment to U.S. Constitution ratified, women get the right to vote. Earthquake in China claims 200,000 lives.

1921 - Warren Harding inaugurated 29th President of U.S.A.. Washington Disarmament Conference held. Insulin first isolated. Einstein wins the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the "photoelectric effect". First regular radio programs. Council on Foreign Relations founded in the U.S.. Young Mao Tse-tung forms Chinese Communist Party.

1922 - The Pope declared to be "Jesus Christ" by the Roman Catholics. East, Jones, and Shull perfect a hybrid corn for commercial use that yields far more per acre than conventional varieties. Insulin is first used for diabetes. King Tut's tomb is discovered in Egypt. Greek Holocaust ends- Muslim Ottoman Turks ethnic cleansing ends, which began with the genocide of over one million Armenian Christians in 1915. From 1915-1922, over 350,000 Greek Orthodox Christians of the Pontos and up to 1,500,000 Greek Orthodox Christians of Micra Asia were exterminated by forced death marches and burnings. Holocaust, which comes from the Greek word "olokaftoma", means total consumption by fire.

1923 - U.S. President W.G. Harding dies; Vice-President Calvin Coolidge inaugurated as 30th President of U.S.A.. Harry Houdini thrills New York audiences by struggling free from a straightjacket while hanging upside-down 40 feet above the ground. Severe earthquake in Tokyo.

1924 - U.S. Congress grants Native Americans citizenship. Venizelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece. Greece proclaimed a Republic. Adolf Hitler sentenced to five years imprisonment; released after 8 months. First elections in Italy (under Fascist methods). First Winter Olympic Games opens in Chamonix, France.

1925 - The "Charleston" becomes a popular dance. John Scopes, a biology teacher in Tennessee, goes on trial for teaching evolution. "Exclusion Principle" proposed, gravitational red-shift detected. A.A. Milnie writes: Winnie-the-Pooh.

1926 - John Logle Baird demonstrates his first television system. First trans-atlantic telephone call (London-New York)

1927 - World population at 2 billion. Charles Lindbergh wins the race to cross the Atlantic when he flies his plane "The Spirit of St. Louis", non-stop from New York to Paris in 33.5 hours, making him the first pilot to cross the Atlantic by plane. The first "talkie" (talking movie): "The Jazz Singer", starring Al Jolson. George Herman "Babe" Ruth hits 60 Home Runs, setting the record in Major League Baseball. "Uncertainty Principle" stated.

1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. Mickey Mouse makes his debut in Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie".

1929 - Herbert Hoover inaugurated 31st President of U.S.A.. "Black Friday" in New York:

U.S. Stock Exchange collapses on Oct.28; world economic crisis begins. U.S. securities lose an estimated $26 billion. "The Great Depression" begins in America.

"St. Valentine's Day Massacre": six notorious Chicago gangsters machine-gunned to death by a rival gang. "Receding Galaxies" theory is proposed. Einstein's "Unified Field" theory.

1930 - Computer capable of solving differential equations produced. All public schools are condemned, the use of forbidden by the Roman Catholic church. "Mickey Mouse" comic strip first appears.

1931 - Alphonse "Scarface" Capone, notorious gangster with reputed $20 million annual income, is jailed for tax evasion. Among Capone's many alleged illegal enterprises, he was best known for his alcohol racketeering during the Prohibition. The Empire State Building (tallest building on earth), and the Chrysler building opens in N.Y.C.. Godel's proof presented, existence of neutrino proposed. Viruses cultured. Nylon, the first synthetic fibre on Earth, is invented. The "Star Spangled Banner" becomes U.S. national anthem. Japan invades Manchuria (Sep.18).

1932 - Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo: from Newfoundland to Londonderry, Ireland in 13.5 hours. James Chadwick discovers the neutron. Jack Benny debuts on Radio. 30 million people are unemployed due to Great Depression. The Lindbergh baby is kidnapped.

1933 - Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany. Boycott of Jews begins. Reichstag (Parliament) fire in Berlin (Feb.27)- Nazis blame Communists, assume absolute political control. Boycott of Communists begins. Franklin D. Roosevelt was shot at (Feb.15) in Miami as President-elect; Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was killed. Roosevelt elected 32nd President of U.S.A.. 21st Amendment- Alcohol Prohibition is repealed by U.S. Congress (Dec.5). Alcatraz becomes a Federal Prison, San Francisco, CA. America launches the first aircraft carrier: "Ranger".

1935 - 700,000 members of the Protestant Youth organizations forced to disband in Germany. Cortisone isolated, RADAR developed, "Richter scale" established for measuring earthquake intensitys.

1936 - John Keynes publishes The General Theory of Employment,Interest,and Money, the most famous economics book of the 20th century. The oceanliner "Queen Mary", weighing approx. 81,235 tons, sets new records when it crosses the Atlantic in 3 days, 23 hours, 57 mins. The "Hindenburg" dirigible (aka Zeppelin) begins it's trans-atlantic flight, the largest object to ever fly.

1937 - Marijuana Prohibition becomes Law in the U.S.. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", first full-length animated film, opens. General Motors recognizes the "United Automobile Workers Union". "The Golden Gate Bridge" opens in San Francisco, CA. The Hindenburg explodes while attempting to land in Lakehurst, NJ (May 6); a Hydrogen leak was later blamed (36 dead). Japan at War with China.

1938 - First practical TV camera built. Oil discovered in Saudi Arabia. Discovery of the "Dropa stones" in the Chinese Himalayans. Orson Welles causes national panic by broadcasting dramatization of "The War of the Worlds" about an alien invasion (Oct.31). This brings about new radio broadcasting Laws. Splitting of the uranium atom in Germany (Dec.).

1939 - Germany (Nazis) invades Poland, triggering World War II. Nuclear fission discovered, DDT introduced. Radar used in Britain. Earthquake in Turkey kills 45,000 people. Baseball is first televised in U.S.. Nylon stockings first appear. The "World's Fair" opens in N.Y.C., presenting new technologies, inventions to come in the future.

1940 - U.S. President Roosevelt re-elected for third term. Russian secret police "K.G.B." massacre 15,000 Polish officers in Katyn. Famous Lascaux Paintings discovered in the Lascaux Caves in S.West France accidentally by wandering school boys; they were made by Cro-magnon people, estimated to date between 15-10,000 B.C.. Bugs Bunny debuts. Billboard's first hit-singles chart: "I'll Never Smile Again", by Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey, ranks #1.

1941 - Television begins regular broadcast in the U.S. Japan seizes control of French Indo-China. U.S. freezes all Japanese assets, suspending trade with Japan (July). Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from air and sea in a surprise attack, resulting in over 2,400 casualties; destroying the U.S.S. Arizona, U.S.S. Oklahoma, and a dozen other ships. 188 planes destroyed (Dec.7). First jet plane flown.

Following Pearl Harbor, people of Japanese descent living in the U.S. were subjected to numerous unprovoked attacks and an outpouring of racial hatred and distrust, eventually resulting in the internment of over 120,000 Japanese Americans — over two thirds of whom were U.S. citizens — into concentration camps.

1942 - Sugar, coffee, and gasoline "rationing" begins in U.S.; Elmer Davis is appointed director of newly formed Office of War Information (OWI). OPA freezes rents. The U.S. Department of Agriculture releases the film: "Hemp for Victory", encouraging American farmers to grow Hemp for the war effort.

1943 - President Roosevelt freezes wages, salaries, and prices to forestall inflation. Shoes, meat, cheese, and canned food "rationing" begins in U.S.. "Infantile paralysis" epidemic kills nearly 1,200 in U.S., cripples thousands more. Aqualung invented. "Zoot Suit" comes into fashion in U.S.

1944 - D-day: Allied invasion of Normandy sets out to liberate Europe of Nazi control (June 6). DNA identified as genetic material. Bing Crosby tops the pop music charts for 30 weeks.

1945 - The United Nations is established in N.Y.C. Russian Red Army invades E.Prussia (Jan.), raping an estimated 1.4 Million civilian women in their wake. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies during his fourth term in office (April 12); succeeded by Harry Truman, Vice-President, as 33rd President of U.S.A.. V-E Day (May 8). U.S. Marines raise the flag at Iwo Jima. Atomic bomb invented by Robert Oppenheimer. First Atomic bomb (test) detonated in New Mexico (July 16). Empire State Building bombed from above by a B-25 bomber (July 28). Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima (Aug.6) and Nagasaki (Aug.9), Japan; 200,000 dead. Fission bomb detonated. Japan surrenders; end of W.W.II (Aug.14); war dead estimated at 35 million plus 10 million in Nazi concentration camps. Berlin surrenders to Russian Army. Nazi forces surrender to General Eisenhower in Reims, France. Mussolini killed by Italian partisans. Hitler presumably commits suicide (April 30).

1946 - Federal Employment Act passed in the U.S. ENIAC: first practical computer. Former civil engineer Louis Reard designs the bikini.

1947 - Legendary U.F.O. crash in Roswell, New Mexico (July). CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) established. U.S. airplane first to fly at supersonic speeds. Bell laboritories scientists invent the transistor, replacing the vacuum tube, a major step in technology. Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the major league baseball's skin-color barrier. Christian Dior introduces "the new look" in women's fashion. Al Capone, U.S. gangster, died in prison. Nazi Germany develops tape recording, which they used to broadcast music and propaganda at all hours. Several German tape recorders were recovered and brought back to the U.S. Following the war, an American technician, John Mullin, reassembled the recorders, and Crosby Enterprises finances the development of an American version of the German machine.

1948 - The Ampex company puts tape recorders into production. Idlewild Airport opened on Long Island (renamed Kennedy Airport in 1963). President Truman re-elected. First Polaroid camera sold in the U.S. Jewish state comes into existence. Israel becomes a state, followed by Arab-Israeli conflict.

1949 - U.S. forces withdraw from S.Korea. George Orwell writes 1984, asserting technology is instrument of tyranny.

1950 - N.Korean forces invade S.Korea (June 25). Assassination attempt made on President Harry Truman at the Capitol, during renovations to the White House. (Nov. 2) Einstein's "General Field Theory" expands on his Theory of Relativity.