Events of 1907

January–February

• January

• *The British steamship Pengwern founders in the North Sea; the crew and 24 men are lost.

• *The Prinz Waldemar (Hamburg-American line) runs aground at Kingston, Jamaica, after an earthquake; 3 lives are lost.

• January 1 – Daniel J. Tobin becomes president of the Teamsters, beginning a 45-year presidency.

• January 6 – Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome (Casa dei Bambini in San Lorenzo).

• January 14 – An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000.

• January 21 – The author, editor and journalist, Bertram Fletcher Robinson died aged 36 years and 153 days in London.

• January 23 – Charles Curtis from Kansas becomes the first Native American U.S. Senator.

January 14: Earthquake in Jamaica.

• January 26 – The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the oldest military rifle still in official use.

• February 11 – The French warship Jean Bart sinks off the coast of Morocco.

• February 7- The Mud March, the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), takes place in London.

• February 12 – The steamship Larchmont collides with the Harry Hamilton in Long Island Sound; 183 lives are lost.

• February 21 – The English mail steamship Berlin is wrecked off the Hook of Holland; 142 lives are lost.

• February 24 – The Austrian Lloyd steamship Imperatrix, from Trieste to Bombay, is wrecked on Cape of Crete and sinks; 137 lives are lost.

March–April

• March

• *The steamship Congo collides at the mouth of the Ems River with the German steamship Nerissa; 7 lives are lost.

• *The French warship Jena is blown up at Toulon; 120 lives are lost.

• *The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt breaks out.

• March 5 – The new State Duma opens in St. Petersburg, Russia; 40,000 demonstrators have to be dispersed by Russian troops.

• March 15 – 16 – The parliamentary elections in Finland are the first in the world with woman candidates, as well as the first elections in Europe where universal suffrage is applied.

• March 18 – The first and only train robbery in Sweden (as of 2004) occurs.

• March 22 – The first taxicabs with taxi meters begin operating in London.

April 18: USS Kansas (BB-21).

• April – The April 1907 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine displays the cover price One Dollar a Year (under the title).

• April 7 – Hershey Park opens in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

• April 11 – At Porto Cortez, Honduras, the only war vessel of Honduras, the gunboat Ta Tumbla, steams into the harbor flying the American flag and surrenders with a white flag, when the Nicaraguan gunboat San Jacinto steams out to meet her.

• April 18 – The USS Kansas (BB-21), a Connecticut-class battleship, is commissioned.

May–June

• May 7 – Seattle film maker William Harbeck sets up a camera at the front of a B.C. electric streetcar and films the downtown streets of Vancouver, British Columbia. Pieces of the film, the earliest surviving of the city, have disappeared, only about 7 minutes remain.

• June 1 – Colin Blythe takes 17 wickets for 48 runs against Northamptonshire at Northampton in one day. It is the best analysis ever recorded for a county cricket match (or for a single day's bowling), and not bettered in first-class cricket until 1956.

• June 5 – Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a sect of Hinduism, is established by Swami Yagnapurushdas.

• June 11 – George Dennett, aided by Gilbert Jessop, dismisses Northamptonshire for 12 runs, the lowest total in first-class cricket.

• June 15 – The Second Hague Peace Conference is held.

July–August

• July – The steamship Columbia sinks off Shelton Cove, California, in collision with the steamship San Pedro; 50 lives are lost.

• July 6 – Guardians of the Irish Crown Jewels notice that they have been stolen.

• July 19 – The Turkish sport club Fenerbahce is founded.

• July 25 – Korea becomes a protectorate of Japan.

• August 1–9 – Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, England.

• August 15 – Ordination in Constantinople of Fr. Raphael Morgan, first African-American Orthodox priest, "Priest-Apostolic" to America and the West Indies.

• August 17 – Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington officially opens for business.

• August 24 – August 31 – The International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam meets in the Netherlands.

• August 28 – UPS is founded by James E. (Jim) Casey in Seattle, Washington.

• August 31 – Count Alexander Izvolsky and Sir Arthur Nicolson sign the St. Petersburg Convention, which results in the establishment of the Triple Entente.

September–October

• September 7 – The new passenger liner RMS Lusitania makes its maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.

• September 22 – The transatlantic passenger ship Princess Yolanda sinks during its launch.

• September 26 – New Zealand and Newfoundland become dominions.

• October – A committee of the Delegation for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language, made up of academics including Otto Jespersen, Wilhelm Ostwald and Roland Eotvos meet in Paris to select a language for international use. The committee ultimately decides to reform Esperanto.

• October 17 – Guglielmo Marconi initiates commercial transatlantic radio communications between his high power longwave wireless telegraphy stations in Clifden Ireland and Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.

• October 24 – A major American financial crisis is averted when J. P. Morgan, E. H. Harriman, James Stillman, Henry Clay Frick, and other Wall Street financiers create a $25,000,000 pool to invest in the shares on the plunging New York Stock Exchange, ending the bank panic of 1907.

• October 27 – Černová tragedy: Fifteen people are shot during the consecration of the Catholic Church in Slovakia.

November–December

• November 7 – ΔΣΠ (Delta Sigma Pi) (a co-ed professional business fraternity) is founded at the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, New York University, New York, New York.

• November 16 – Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory become Oklahoma, which is admitted as the 46th U.S. state.

• The new & largest passenger liner RMS Mauretania makes its maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.

• December 6 – Monongah Mining Disaster: A coal mine explosion kills 362 workers in Monongah, West Virginia.

• December 19 – An explosion in a coal mine in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania kills 239.

• December 31 – The first electric ball drops in Times Square.

Undated

• The Diamond Sutra of 868, a Buddhist scripture later dated as earliest example of block printing, is discovered in the Mogao Caves.

• The triode thermionic amplifier invented by Lee DeForest, starting the development of electronics as a practical technology.

• The Autochrome Lumière is the first commercial color photography process.

• The first parliamentary elections are held in the Philippines.

• The Adlon Hotel is finished in Berlin.

• The Moine Thrust Belt in Scotland becomes the first thrust belt to be discovered in the world.

• The Lockport Powerhouse is built.

• James Murray Spangler invents the first Hoover vacuum cleaner.

• The Finnish epic Kalevala is published for the second time in English, this time by William Forsell Kirby.

Ongoing

• Herero and Namaqua Genocide in German South-West Africa (modern Namibia).

Births

January–February

• January 2 – Ray Milland, Welsh actor (d. 1986)

• January 12 – Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1966)

• January 18 – Lina Haag, German WWII resistance fighter

• January 20 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (d. 2000)

• January 22 – Dixie Dean, English football player (d. 1980)

• January 23 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)

• February 1 – Günter Eich, German writer (d. 1972)

• February 12 – Clifton C. Edom, American photojournalism educator (d. 1991)

• February 13 – Katy de la Cruz, Filipino singer (d. 2004)

• February 15

• *Jean Langlais, French composer and organist (d. 1991)

• *Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)

• February 17 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (d. 1983)

• February 18 – Oscar Brodney, American screenwriter (d. 2008)

• February 21 – W. H. Auden, English poet (d. 1973)

• February 22

• *Sheldon Leonard, American actor, writer, director, and producer (d. 1997)

• *Robert Young, American actor (d. 1998)

• February 25 – Kathryn Wasserman Davis, American philanthropist

• February 27 – Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)

March–April

• March 8 – Constantine Karamanlis, Greek politician (d. 1998)

• March 9 – Mircea Eliade, Romanian religious historian and writer (d. 1986)

• March 12

• *Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer (d. 2007)

• *Arthur Hewlett, British actor (d. 1997)

• March 15 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (d. 1981)

• March 16 – Hans Kleppen, Norwegian ski jumper (d. 2009)

• March 18 – John Zachary Young, English biologist (d. 1997)

• March 22 – Lucia dos Santos, Portuguese nun and visionary (d. 2005)

• March 23 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born scientist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)

• March 29 – "Braguinha", Brazilian songwriter (d. 2006)

• March 30 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German Luftwaffe officer (d. 1994)

• April 1 – Dr. Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji, Indian born social reformer

• April 11 – Ivor Spencer-Thomas, English farmer, entrepreneur and inventor (d. 2001)

• April 12 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-born sculptor (d. 2003)

• April 13 – Harold Stassen, American politician (d. 2001)

• April 15 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)

• April 18 – Bert Hazell, British politician (d. 2009)

• April 21 – Wade Mainer, American singer and banjoist

• April 23 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (d. 1975)

• April 24 – William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)

• April 29

• *Tino Rossi, French singer (d. 1983)

• *Fred Zinnemann, Austrian director (d. 1997)

May–June

• May 1 – Oliver Hill, American lawyer (d. 2007)

• May 2 – Pinky Lee, American comedian (d. 1993)

• May 3 – Dorothy Young, American entertainer

• May 9 – Baldur von Schirach, Nazi official (d. 1974)

• May 11 – Rose Ausländer, German poet (d. 1988)

• May 12 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)

• May 13 – Dame Daphne du Maurier, English author (d. 1989)

• May 14

• *Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 1974)

• *Johnny Moss, American poker player (d. 1995)

• May 22

• *Hergé, Belgian comics author (d. 1983)

• *Lord Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen actor and director (d. 1989)

• May 25 – U Nu, Burmese politician (d. 1995)

• May 26

• *John Wayne, American actor (d. 1979)

• *Rachel Carson, American environmental writer (d. 1964)

• May 30

• *Elly Beinhorn, German pilot (d. 2007)

• *Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist, member of French Resistance (d. 2008)

• June 1 – Frank Whittle, British jet engine developer (d. 1996)

• June 14

• *Nicolas Bentley, British writer and illustrator (d. 1978)

• *René Char, French poet (d. 1988)

• June 19 – Clarence Wiseman, Salvation Army general (d. 1985)

• June 23 – James Meade, English economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)

• June 25 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)

• June 28 Franciszka Themerson, Polish, later British, artist and filmmaker (d. 1989)

July–August

• July 6 – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (d. 1954)

• July 7 – Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction author (d. 1988)

• July 15 – Yang Shangkun, President of the People's Republic of China (d. 1998)

• July 16

• *Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (d. 1990)

• *Orville Redenbacher, American botanist and popcorn businessman (d. 1995)

• July 19 – Paul Magloire, President of Haiti (d. 2001)

• July 22 – Zubir Said, Singaporean composer of Singapore's national anthem (d. 1987)

• July 27

• *Richard Beesly, British Olympic gold medal rower (d. 1965)

• *Ross Alexander, American actor (d. 1937)

• August 2 – Mary Hamman, American writer and editor (d. 1984)

• August 7 – Albert Kotin, American painter (d. 1980)

• August 8 – Benny Carter, American musician (d. 2003)

• August 12 – Joe Besser, American comedian (d. 1988)

• August 13 – Viscount William Waldorf Astor, British politician (d. 1966)

• August 21 – Hy Zaret, American lyricist and composer (d. 2007)

• August 24 – Bruno Giacometti, Swiss architect

• August 31 – Augustus F. Hawkins, American politician and civil rights lawmaker (d. 2007)

September–October

• September 2 – Evelyn Hooker, American psychologist (d. 1996)

• *Miriam Seegar, American actress

• September 3 – Loren Eiseley, American author (d. 1977)

• September 4 – Frances Griffiths, Cottingley Fairies girl (d. 1986)

• September 12

• *Spud Chandler, American baseball player (d. 1990)

• *Louis MacNeice, Northern Irish poet (d. 1963)

• September 15

• *Jimmy Wallington, American radio personality (d. 1972)

• *Fay Wray, Canadian-born actress (d. 2004)

• September 18

• *Leon Askin, Austrian actor (d. 2005)

• *Edwin McMillan, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)

• September 23 – Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, Pretender to the throne of Portugal (d. 1976)

• September 26 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (d. 1992)

• September 27 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and writer (d. 2003)

• September 29

• *Gene Autry, American actor, singer, and businessman (d. 1998)

• *George W. Jenkins, American businessman (d. 1996)

• October 2

• * Víctor Paz Estenssoro, President of Bolivia (d. 2001)

• * Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)

• October 5 – Mrs. Miller, American singer (d. 1997)

• October 6 – Francisco Gabilondo Soler, (d. 1990)

• October 9 – Lord Hailsham, British politician (d. 2001)

• October 15 – Varian Fry, American journalist and rescuer (d. 1967)

• October 19 – Roger Wolfe Kahn, American bandleader (d. 1962)

• October 28 – John Harold Hewitt, Irish poet (d. 1987)

• October 30 – Sol Tax, American anthropologist (d. 1995)

November–December

• November 4 – Draga Matkovic, German concert pianist

• November 10 – John Moore, British author (d. 1967)

• November 14

• *Howard W. Hunter, American religious leader (d. 1995)

• *Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's writer (d. 2002)

• *William Steig, American cartoonist (d. 2003)

• November 15 – Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, German aristocrat and military officer (d. 1944)

• November 16 – Burgess Meredith, American actor (d. 1997)

• November 18 – Compay Segundo, Cuban musician (d. 2003)

• November 18 – Gustav Nezval, Czech actor (d. 1998)

• November 23 – Run Run Shaw, Hong Kong media mogul

• November 26 – Ruth Patrick, American botanist

• November 27 – L. Sprague de Camp, American writer (d. 2000)

• November 28 – Alberto Moravia, Italian novelist (d. 1990)

• November 30 – Jacques Barzun, French born historian

• December 10 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer (d. 2005)

• December 12 – Roy Douglas, British composer

• December 15 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect

• December 19 – Jimmy McLarnin, Irish-born boxer (d. 2004)

• December 22 – Peggy Ashcroft, British actress (d. 1991)

• December 23 – James Roosevelt, American businessman and politician (d. 1991)

• December 25 – Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (d. 1988)

• December 27 – Johann Wilhelm Trollmann, German boxer (d. 1943)

• date unknown

• *Rafael Godoy, Colombian composer (d. 1973)

• *Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer and composer (d. 1991)

• *Zhang Chongren, Chinese artist (d. 1998)

• probable – Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, King of Malaysia (d. 1979)

Deaths

January–June

• January 14 – Hermann Iseke, German doctor (b. 1856)

• January 21 – Bertram Fletcher Robinson, English journalist, editor and author (b. 1870)

• January 31 – Timothy Eaton, Canadian department store founder (b. 1834)

• February 2 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (b. 1834)

• February 16

• *Giosuè Carducci, Italian writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1835)

• *Clémentine of Orléans, daughter of King Louis-Philippe of France (b. 1817)

• February 20 – Henri Moissan, French chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1852)

• February 26 – C. W. Alcock, English footballer, journalist, and football promoter (b. 1842)

• March 10 – George Douglas-Pennant, 2nd Baron Penrhyn, industrialist (b. 1836)

• March 11 – Jean Casimir-Perier, President of France (b. 1847)

• March 19 – Thomas Bailey Aldrich, American poet and novelist (b. 1836)

• March 23 – Konstantin Pobedonostsev, statesman (b. 1827)

• April 23 – Alferd Packer, American cannibal (b. 1842)

• May 12 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (b. 1848)

• May 26 – Ida Saxton McKinley, American First Lady (b. 1847)

• June 6 – J. A. Chatwin, English architect (b. 1830)

• June 25 – John Hall, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1824)

July–December

• July 13 – Heinrich Kreutz, astronomer (b. 1854)

• August – Dinqinesh Mercha, empress consort of Ethiopia (b. 1815)

• August 3 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Irish-American Beaux-Arts sculptor (b. 1848)

• August 15 – Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (b. 1831)

• August 16 – James Hector, Scottish geologist (b. 1834)

• August 25 – Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, British poet and novelist (b. 1861)

• August 30

• *Ilia Chavchavadze, Georgian writer and saint of the Georgian Orthodox Church (b. 1837)

• *Richard Mansfield, Anglo-American actor (b. 1857)

• September 4 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (b. 1843)

• September 6 – Sully Prudhomme, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1839)

• September 9 – Ernest Roland Wilberforce, English bishop (b. 1840)

• September 19 – Jacob Morenga, Namibian rebel leader (b. c. 1875)

• November 16 – Robert I, Duke of Parma, last ruling Duke of Parma (b. 1848)

• November 28 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish writer, painter, and architect (b. 1869)

• December 8 – King Oscar II of Sweden (b. 1829)

• December 15 – Carola of Vasa, queen consort of Saxony (b. 1833)

• December 17 – Lord Kelvin, Irish-born physicist and engineer (b. 1824)

• December 21 – Klara Hitler, Austrian mother of Adolf Hitler (b. 1860)

Nobel Prizes

• Physics – Albert Abraham Michelson

• Chemistry – Eduard Buchner

• Medicine – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran

• Literature – Rudyard Kipling

• Peace – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Louis Renault

Notes and References