1900 - 1909
The first
decade of the 20th century saw the expansion or
creation
of new media: newspaper cartoons, film, and radio. While some
of
these media already existed for several years, the technology
and
application of the medium grew more sophisticated.
Also, the various political maneuverings, agreements, and
revolutions in the world began to set the stage for conflict
and
change in the next few decades. More and more people began
demanding
and succeeding to live under more democratic forms of
government
1900 - Kurt Weill Born
1900 - Kodak Clicks
Eastman Kodak Company introduced the Brownie. Because of its
cheap
price and ease of use, the American public made the Brownie
the
first popular camera. The Brownie predates the first 35mm
camera,
the German Leica, by 14 years. http://www.leica-camera.com/untern/tradi/trad_e.htm
1900 - Zepplin Takes
off
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin invents the semi-rigid airship.
Though
the Zepplin airships were the most technologically advanced in
the
world (leading to the first commercial air passenger service),
their
weaknesses became evident in World War I and 1937 when the
hydrogen-filled Hindenburg was destroyed in a fireball in a
New
Jersey airfield.
1901 - Radio Traverses the
Atlantic
Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi sent the first radio
signals
across the Atlantic Ocean. Also, Canadian Reginald Fessenden
patents
a device that will broadcast continuous radio waves instead of
Marconi's spark-gap transmitter.
1901 - Marlene Dietrich
Born
1902 -- Croce Publishes
"Philosophy Of
The Spirit"
Italian philosopher Benedetto Croce began publishing his
philosophic
thoughts in a major 4 volume work that touched on aesthetics,
logic,
ethics, and the philosophy of history. An anti-fascist, Croce
opposed Benito Mussolini and helped restore freedom and
independence
to the Italian people as a member of senate and as the moral
ideal
for people to rally behind.
1904 - Entente
Cordiale
This agreement between England and France ended several
diplomatic
disputes between the two countries. It also allowed them to
form a
political bond to counter the rise of Germany as a dominating
power.
1905 - Russian Revolution of
1905
Unhappy with czarist autocratic rule, unarmed workers
demonstrated
peacefully in Saint Petersburg, the Russian capital.
Government
troops fired on the workers and killed hundreds. Workers
throughout
the country continued to strike. To avoid further troubles,
Czar
Nicholas II allowed the creation of an assembly elected by the
people, the Duma. However, he also dissolved the first 2 Dumas
as
they pressed for broader reforms.
1906 - First Radio Voice
Broadcast
Using his 1901 invention Reginald Fessenden broadcast the
first
radio programme on Christmas Eve from Brant Rock,
Massachusetts.
1906 - The
Jungle
In an attempt to enlighten the public to exploited immigrant
labor
in the Chicago stockyards, Upton Sinclair published The
Jungle.
Unfortunately, instead of bringing about social reform as
Sinclair
planned, the book actually helped create food inspection
laws.
1907 - First Daily Comic
Strip
Mutt and Jeff
1907 - Triple Entente
England and France joined with Russia to counterbalance the
growing
threat of the Europe dominating Triple Alliance: Germany,
Austria-Hungary, and Italy. This alliance also allowed the
three
powers to peacefully colonize other parts of the world without
interfering with each other's plans.
1908 - Cubism
The art form known as Cubism started from Paris. Cubism is
based on
Paul Cézanne's belief that "Everything in nature takes
its
form from the sphere, the cone, and the cylinder." http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/5/0,5716,22535+2+22192,00.html
1908 - Young Turk
Revolution
Reform groups in the Ottoman Empire succeeded in overthrowing
sultan
Abdülhamid II. Under the leadership of these groups
industrialization was promoted, women were educated, and
Turkish
nationalism began to rise.
1909 - Plastics
American Leo Hendrik Baekeland created the first successful
synthetic plastic, Bakelite.
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