Wednesday, October 30, 1901. Battle of Bakenlaagte.

Eastern Transvaal Boer Commandos under the command of General Louis Botha,overwhelmed the British Army No. 3 Flying Column, led by Lieutenant Colonel George Elliot Benson in the Battle of Bakenlaagte.  The battle against the specialized British unit resulted in the loss of 66 British troops dead, 165 wounded, and 120 taken prisoner.

The battle reflected a change in Boer tactics featuring a mounted charge with a close range dismount.

Dr. Emil von Behring was chosen for the first award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He had discovered the antitoxin to cure the disease of diphtheria and then applied the same principles of blood serum isolation to create a cure for tetanus.

Last edition:

Sunday, October 29, 1911. Train wreck at Rock River.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, 1904, 1908, 1910s, 1911, 2010s, 2016, Advertising, Art, Chinese 1911 Revolution, Food, Newspapers, Personalities, Racism, Railroads, The Press, Wyoming (Rock River)

Sunday, October 29, 1911. Train wreck at Rock River.

The Cheyenne State Leader reported on a train accident near Rock River.

It also reported on the events of the 1911 Chinese Revolution.

Note that the 1901 entry for this date also features a train accident.  They seem to have been distressingly common at the time.

I debated on the next one, but this blog exists to show how things were.  An advertisement from the same newspaper:

That's not only racist, it's flat out weird.

Post Toasties were introduced into the market in 1904 as Elijah's Manna, which drew objections from religious groups. The name was changed in 1908.  Post discontinued the brand in 2016.

Joseph Pulitzer died at age 64.  His will founded the Pulitzer Prize.  

It was a Sunday and newspapers were starting to have special Sunday supplements.

Last edition:

Saturday, October 28, 1911. The Tsu-Cheng Yuan (资政院), demands democratic reforms.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, Catholic, Chinese 1911 Revolution, Christianity, Democracy, New York (Buffalo), New York (Erie), panoramic, Qing Dynasty, religion, The Big Picture

Tuesday, October 29, 1901. Leon Czolgosz executed.

Leon Czolgosz was executed for murdering William McKinley.

For last words the delusional Czolgosz reportedly stated; "I shot the President and I did it because I thought it would benefit the poor people and for the name of the working people of all nations. I am not sorry for my crime. That is all I have to say."

A train carrying Buffalo Bill's Wild West show was wrecked near Lexington Virginia, killing several of the Sioux party in the show, and injuring Annie Oakley to such an extent it ended her career.

Last edition:

Saturday, October 26, 1901. Depositing the proceeds of a train robbery.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, 1920s, 1926, China, Crime, Manchuria, Montana, Montana (Wagner), Russia, Tennessee (Nashville), The Wild Bunch

Saturday, October 26, 1901. Depositing the proceeds of a train robbery.

Della Moore, girlfriend of the Wild Bunch's Kid Curry Logan, was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, after she attempted to deposit thousands of dollars in cash at the Fourth National Bank of Nashville. 

The teller consulted a list of serial numbers of stolen bills and confirmed that the money was part of the $41,000 taken in a train robbery near Wagner, Montana on July 3.

Her subsequent life is not well known.  Having taken up prostitution at about age 15, she'd left it by this time, but at least temporarily resumed it after being released from prison. She seems to have died in 1926 at about 45 years of age.

This event demonstrates the extent to which at least some people traveled much further than we might supposed in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.  The money she was depositing had been stolen almost clear across the country.

Russia announced it had reached an agreement with China on Manchurian concessions.

Last Edition:

Wednesday, October 23, 1901. A howling wilderness. Ordering atrocity.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, 1902, Army, Boer War, Civil War, Court, Crime, Personalities, Philippine Insurrection, Philippines, Samar, Theodore Roosevelt, United States Marine Corps, War Crimes, Winston Churchill, Yale University

Wednesday, October 23, 1901. A howling wilderness. Ordering atrocity.

Brigadier General Jacob H. Smith directed Major Littleton Waller of the U.S. Marines to lead a battalion of 300 men to take control of Samar Island, and, further, to turn Samar into "a howling wilderness" and "to kill everyone over ten" .

Smith in 1901.

"I wish you to kill and burn, and the more you kill and burn the better you will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in actual hostilities against the United States."

Waller would be court martialed for the death of eleven Filipinos in 1902, at which time Smith's order was revealed.  He was subsequently court martialed as well, but ultimately allowed to retire.

Smith was an old soldier at this time, being 61 years of age.  He volunteered to serve again in 1918 but was rejected due to this event.  He died in 1918.  He was twice wounded during the Civil War.

Waller

Waller was acquitted in his court martial.  He retired in 1920 and a U.S. Navy vessel was named for him in the 1940s.

Member of Parliament Winston Churchill denounced the British involvement in the Boer War.

Yale conferred an honorary Doctor of Law degree upon Theodore Roosevelt, who had in fact studied law but who had not completed his studies.

Last edition:

Tuesday, October 22, 1901. Handcock and Morant arrested.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Australian Army, Boer War, British Army, Crime, Second International Conference of American States

Tuesday, October 22, 1901. Handcock and Morant arrested.

Veterinary Lieutenant Peter Handcock. and Harry Morant.

Bushveldt Carbineer troopers Harry "Breaker" Morant and Peter Handcock were arrested for the  murder of eight Boer prisoners and a German missionary.

It should be noted in this story that both men were technically in the British Army.  The Australian Army only came into existence in March, 1901 and Australian soldiers serving in South Africa up until that time, and in many cases after, were in the British Army.

The Second International Conference of American States (Pan-American Congress) opened in Mexico City.

Last edition:

Wednesday, October 16, 1901 Booker T. Washington dines at the White House with Theodore Roosevelt.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Automobiles, Booker T. Washington, Electrical Power, Ethnicities, France, Infantry, Philippine Insurrection, Racism, Roosevelt, technology

Wednesday, October 16, 1901 Booker T. Washington dines at the White House with Theodore Roosevelt.

Booker T. Washington dined at the White House, an event which sparked controversy and massive discontent in some quarters.

Nearly a quarter of Company E, U.S. 9th Infantry, were killed in an ambush on Samar.  Six were wounded. It was still a better result than occured at Balangiga on September 28.

Jean-Luc Krieger drove 191 miles in France in an electric car without recharging.

Last edition:

Saturday, October 12, 1901. The White House.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, 2025 White House Vandalization, Boer War, Cartoons, Horatio Herbert Kitchener, Qing Dynasty, Theodore Roosevelt

Saturday, October 12, 1901. The White House.

The White House in 1901, which looked considerably better than it does now.

President Theodore Roosevelt officially changed the name of the White House to that, from the Executive Mansion.  

Soon it'll be the Super Trump House of Trump Superdom, for the Greatest Trump in Trumpdom, or something dumb like that.

The mansion should be restored to its appearance at that time, the last time it really looked good.

The Empress Dowager of China, Tzu Hsi, announced two edicts of reform.

Lord Kitchener announced that Boer Commandant Gideon Scheepers had been captured.

Cartoon from this day.

Last edition:

Thursday, October 10, 1901. O'Canada and Henry Ford.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Anthems, Automobile racing, Automobiles, Canada, Canadian Army, Henry Ford, Music

Thursday, October 10, 1901. O'Canada and Henry Ford.

O Canada was sung publically for the first time in Toronto by the band of The Royal Canadian Regiment while troops marched past the visiting Duke of York. The song, which was not yet the CAnadian national anthem, only had French lyrics at the time.

Alexander Winton of Cleveland and Henry Ford of Detroit competed against each other in a car race at a horse racing track in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.  The respective automobiles were a Winton Motor Carriage Company with a 40-horsepower Bullet engine and 26-horsepower Detroit Automobile Company vehicle driven by Ford.  The Ford vehicle was somewhat more technically advanced and he  passed Winton on the eighth lap winning the race with an average speed of 43.5 miles per hour.

It was the only time that Henry Ford himself drove in an automobile race.

Last edition:

Wednesday, October 9, 1901. Martial Law in South Africa.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Boer War, South Africa

Wednesday, October 9, 1901. Martial Law in South Africa.

The British High Commissioner for South Africa, Lord Alfred Milner, declared martial law in South Africa.

Last edition:

Saturday, October 5, 1901. Concern for Presidential Safety.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Connecticut (Hartford), Electrical Power, Grover Cleveland, Immigration, New Years, technology, William McKinley

Saturday, October 5, 1901. Concern for Presidential Safety.

It was a Saturday, and the recent assassination of President McKinley was much in mind.

President Cleveland gave his views on the safety of the President.  Given the recent murder of McKinley, it probably truly was inadequate, as opposed to today, when it's absurdly overdone.

At the time, there was an implicit concern that the President should not be separated from the people, and indeed, the people should have access to the President.  Nothing reflected that more than the New Year's Day custom of the President greeting the public at the steps of the White House to shake people's hands.  It's a far distance from today's imperial Presidency, and not in a good way.

Harpers picked up on the them of it being a radical immigrant. 

Radicalism was strongly present in some immigrant communities in the US at the time, particularly those that hailed from Eastern Europe where people strained to be freed of imperial dominance.  The same populations, however, also featured people of very deep conservative views.  Immigrant populations tend to be grossly stereotyped.

Hartford Connecticut became the first city in the United States to have a steam powered electrical supply.

Steam turbines generate a large volume of electricity today, whether by coal, natural gas, or nuclear powered power plants.

Last edition:

Thursday, October 3, 1901. Victorolas and the Episcopal Church.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Blog Mirror, Christianity, Music, Oxford Movement, Protestant, religion, technology

Thursday, October 3, 1901. Victorolas and the Episcopal Church.

Today In Wyoming's History: October 3: 1901  The Victor Talking Machine Company incorporated.

 A Victrola.

Delegates from the Diocese of Milwaukee and the Diocese of Colorado at the annual meeting of the clergy of the Episcopal Church of the United States, held in San Francisco, urged the church to change its name to "The American Catholic Church".

That's an interesting item in that it indicates that certain sections of the Episcopal Church were quite Anglo Catholic at the time.

Last edition:

Tuesday, October 1, 1901. My paternal grandfather born.

Labels: 1840s, 1900s, 1901, 1910s, 1912, 1940s, 1949, California (San Francisco), Colorado (Denver), Iowa, Iowa (Dyersville), Paderborn Westphalia, Rudyard Kipling, The family, The written word, Westphalia

Tuesday, October 1, 1901. My paternal grandfather born.

My paternal grandfather was born in Iowa, part of a large Westphalian American family that had immigrated to the U.S. in the 1840s.  He was one of 8 children and was their fourth child.

He went to work in 1912 in San Francisco, returning home to Iowa sometime after that, and then moving to Denver where he entered the meatpacking industry, his occupation for the rest of his life.  He died in 1949.

Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim was published in book form.

Last edition:

Saturday, September 28, 1901. Battle of Balangiga.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, 1901. Battle of Balangiga, Army, F. E. Warren AFB, Ft. D.A. Russell, Philippine Insurrection, Saturday, September 28, Wyoming

Saturday, September 28, 1901. Battle of Balangiga.

Today In Wyoming's History: September 28: 1901   At Balangiga on Samar Island, Philippine villagers surprised a the US military Company C, 9th Infantry Regiment, killing 48 out of a command of 74 with edged weapons.  Philippine casualties were estimated at 50-250.  

The city would subsequently be retakane and Church bells, allegedly used to signal the attack from the city's Catholic Churches, were taken by the Americans as prizes.  The bells were installed at Ft. D. A. Russell Wyoming upon the 9th Infantry's return, where they remained until 2018 on the now F. E. Warren AFB.  A member of the Wyoming Veterans Commission lost his seat by stating that he supported their return.  The Filipino representatives maintained that the bells in some cases reflect that they were taken from churches other than those near the battle.

They were, as noted, returned.

King Gillette incorporated the American Safety Razor Company.

Famous television personality Ed Sullivan was born.

Last edition:

Thursday, September 26, 1901. Czolgosz speaks.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Anglo Ashanti Wars, Boer War, British Empire, Concentration camps, Crime, Orange Free State, South Africa, Transvaal Colony

Thursday, September 26, 1901. Czolgosz speaks.

A stunned Leon Czolgosz was sentenced to death for the murder of William McKinley.  He gave a brief statement noting that nobody else was involved in the murder.

The British annexed the territory of the Ashanti Empire into Ghana.  The war that had preceded it, the War of the Golden Stool, did not recover the stool itself, the object of the war.

A report from South Africa indicated that 1,268 Boer civilians had died in concentration camps in the Transvaal, and a further 1,052 in the Orange River Colony.  Most of the dead were children.

Last edition:

Tuesday, September 24, 1901. Czolgosz found guilty.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Crime, law, New York (Buffalo), The Law, William McKinley

Tuesday, September 24, 1901. Czolgosz found guilty.

Leon Czolgosz was found guilty of the murder or President William McKinley.

Last edition:

Monday, September 23, 1901. Czolgosz trial begins.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, law, Medicine, New York (Buffalo), Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley

Monday, September 23, 1901. Czolgosz trial begins.

The murder trial of Leon Czolgosz began in Buffalo, New York.  He was, of course, accused of murdering William McKinley.

At the time, law did not move at the speed of Baby Boomers.  If Boomers were in charge at the time, we'd still be waiting for the trial to occur.

Theodore Roosevelt moved into the White House.  His sisters dined with him that evening in celebration of their late father's 70th birthday.

German gastroenterologist Georg Kelling introduced the minimally invasive diagnostic surgery and demonstrated a modern laparoscopic procedure.

Last edition:

Tuesday, September 17, 1901. Battle of Blood River Poort.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Battle of Blood River Poort, Boer War, William McKinley, World War One