The World in 1896 the year a war ended before lunch
2Gears on Ford's first car
16 to 1Silver to gold, Bryan's plan
1stFilms projected in New York
~60¢Bushel of wheat (US)
1stRays found in uranium (France)
355Patents held by Alfred Nobel
~2 miMarconi's wireless range (UK)
~22,000Lost to a tsunami in Japan
~5,800 miThe Trans-Siberian line
Britain and Zanzibar were at war for about 38 minutes, start to surrender. A football match runs 90.
Life back then
Music at home meant somebody playing it. A piano in the parlour was the mark of a comfortable family, and sheet music of the songs from the halls sold in millions. Poorer homes made do with a concertina, a fiddle or just voices. The phonograph cylinder was starting to change that, though one cylinder held about two minutes and wore out after a few dozen plays.
The year in 8 events
- ⭐Jan 4 Utah becomes the 45th state, six years after Mormon leaders gave up plural marriage.
- 🎼Feb 1 Puccini's La Boheme opens in Turin, conducted by a young Arturo Toscanini.
- ⚔️Mar 1 An Ethiopian army destroys an Italian force at Adwa. Italy drops its claim and Ethiopia stays independent.
- 🏅Apr 6 The first modern Olympic Games open in Athens. About 240 men compete and no women are allowed.
- ⚖️May 18 The Supreme Court rules that separate railway cars for black passengers are legal. Plessy v Ferguson stands for 58 years.
- ⏱️Aug 27 British ships shell the palace at Zanzibar. The shortest war on record is over before lunch.
- 🗳️Nov 3 William McKinley beats William Jennings Bryan after a campaign fought over gold and silver money.
- 🕯️Dec 30 Spain shoots the writer Jose Rizal in Manila. His death pushes more Filipinos into the revolt.
pageType:year friendlyName:1896 onDate:in 1896