Person report

★04 Dec 1893
First Matabele War: A patrol of British South Africa Company soldiers was ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors.

★27 Nov 1895
Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, setting aside the bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prize after his death.

★21 Sep 1897
In response to a letter written by eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon, The New York Sun published an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church stating, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus".

★07 Jan 1904
The Marconi International Marine Communication Company mandated that CQD be the distress signal use by its operators, although this was replaced by SOS a few years later.

★04 Apr 1905
An earthquake hit the Kangra Valley in India, killing more than 20,000 people and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj, and Dharamshala.

★21 Dec 1910
In the second worst mining accident in England, an underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit killed 344 people.

★19 Mar 1911
Socialist German politician Clara Zetkin established the first International Women's Day.

★24 Apr 1913
The Woolworth Building in New York City opened; at a height of 792 ft, it was the tallest building in the world at the time.

★17 Sep 1914
World War I: The Franco-British and German armies began the "Race to the Sea", reciprocal attempts to envelop the northern flank of the opposing army through northern France and Belgium.

★22 Apr 1915
The Germans released chlorine gas in the Second Battle of Ypres, causing over 6,000 casualties, with many deaths within ten minutes by asphyxiation in the first large-scale successful use of poison gas in World War I.

Historical data by Wikipedia Contributors CC BY-SA 3.0.