1902

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1902.

1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1902nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 902nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 2nd year of the 20th century, and the 3rd year of the 1900s decade. As of the start of 1902, the Gregorian calendar was 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

Events

January

Main article: January 1902

January 1: first Rose Bowl college American football game.

Andrew Carnegie

• January 1
  • The first college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California.
  • The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's first registered nurse.
• January 8 – A train collision in the New York Central Railroad's Park Avenue Tunnel kills 17, injures 38, and leads to increased demand for electric trains, and the banning of Steam locomotives in New York City.
• January 12 – The Uddevalla Suffrage Association is officially dissolved.
• January 23 – A snowstorm at Mount Hakkoda, northern Honshu, Japan, kills 199 during a military training exercise.
• January 28 – The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, D.C., with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.

May

Main article: May 1902

May 8: Mount Pelée erupts.

• May 5 – The Commonwealth Public Service Act creates Australia's Public Service.
• May 7 – In Saint Vincent, La Soufrière erupts, devastating the northern portion of the island, killing 2,000 people
• May 8 – In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000.
• May 13 – Alfonso XIII of Spain begins his reign.
• May 20 – Cuba gains independence from the United States.
• May 22 – The White Star Liner, SS Ionic, is launched.
• May 29 – Lord Rosebery opens London School of Economics.
• May 31 – The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the Second Boer War.

May 15: Lyman Gilmore plane.

Births

January

Marjorie Daw

• January 1 – Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (d. 1977)
• January 2 – Dan Keating, Irish republican (d. 2007)
• January 9
  • Sir Rudolf Bing, Austrian-born British opera manager (d. 1997)
  • Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish Roman Catholic priest and saint (d. 1975)
  • Ann Nixon Cooper, African-American civil rights activist (d. 2009)
• January 11 – Maurice Duruflé, French composer (d. 1986)
• January 15
  • Nâzım Hikmet, Turkish poet and director (d. 1963)
  • King Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
• January 16 – Eric Liddell, Scottish runner (d. 1945)
• January 17 – Martin Harlinghausen, German air force general (d. 1986)
• January 19 – Marjorie Daw, American actress (d. 1979)
• January 20
  • Kevin Barry, Irish republican (d. 1920)
  • Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
• January 22 – Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler (d. 1970)
• January 24
  • E. A. Speiser, American biblical scholar (d. 1965)
  • Alan Stuart Paterson, New Zealand cartoonist (d. 1968)
• January 25
  • André Beaufre, French general (d. 1975)
  • Pablo Antonio, Filipino modernist architect (d. 1975)
• January 26 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author, polemicist (d. 1940)
• January 31
  • Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
  • Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1986)

February

Walter Houser Brattain

• February 1 – Langston Hughes, African-American writer (d. 1967)
• February 4
  • Charles Lindbergh, American aviator (d. 1974)
  • Hartley Shawcross, British barrister, politician (d. 2003)
• February 5 – Iwamoto Kaoru, Japanese professional Go player (d. 1999)
• February 6 – George Brunies, American jazz trombonist (d. 1974)
• February 8 – Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (d. 1966)
• February 9
  • Léon M'ba, 1st President of Gabon (d. 1967)
  • Blanche Calloway, American jazz singer (d. 1978)
• February 10 – Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
• February 11 – Arne Jacobsen, Danish architect, designer (d. 1971)
• February 12 – William Collier Jr., American actor (Cimarron, Little Caesar) (d. 1987)
• February 14 – Thelma Ritter, American actress (d. 1969)
• February 19
  • Kay Boyle, American writer (d. 1992)
  • Eddie Peabody, American musician (d. 1970)
• February 20 – Ansel Adams, American photographer (d. 1984)
• February 21 – Arthur Nock, English classicist, theologian, and Harvard University professor (d. 1963)
• February 22 – Herma Szabo, Austrian figure skater (d. 1986)
• February 27
  • Gene Sarazen, American golfer (d. 1999)
  • John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
• February 28 – Vi Robbins, Australian supercentenarian (d. 2014)

March

Will Beer

Flora Robson

• March 4 – Red Reeder, American soldier, author (d. 1998)
• March 7
  • Heinz Rühmann, German actor (d. 1994)
  • Ernő Schwarz, Hungarian-American soccer player (d. 1977)
• March 8 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine (d. 1994)
• March 9 – Will Geer, American actor (d. 1978)
• March 13 – Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer (d. 1991)
• March 15 – Carla Porta Musa, Italian essayist, poet (d. 2012)
• March 16 – Leon Roppolo, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1943)
• March 17 – Bobby Jones, American golfer (d. 1971)
• March 18 – Siegfried Westphal, German general (d. 1982)
• March 19
  • Fuad Chehab, 8th President of Lebanon (d. 1973)
  • Louisa Ghijs, Belgian stage actress, wife of Johannes Heesters (d. 1985)
• March 21 – Son House, American musician (d. 1988)
• March 23 – Philip Ober, American actor (d. 1982)
• March 24 – Thomas Dewey, American politician (d. 1971)
• March 27 – Emile Benveniste, French linguist (d. 1976)
• March 28 – Dame Flora Robson, English actress (d. 1984)
• March 29
  • Marcel Aymé, French writer (d. 1967)
  • William Walton, English composer (d. 1983)
• March 30 – Brooke Astor, American socialite, philanthropist (d. 2007)

May

Alfred Kastler

Richard J. Daley

• May 2
  • Brian Aherne, English actor (d. 1986)
  • Arturo Licata, Italian supercentenarian, world's oldest living man in 2013 and 2014, last surviving man born in 1902 (d. 2014)
• May 3 – Alfred Kastler, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
• May 6
  • Max Ophüls, German-born director (d. 1957)
  • Harry Golden, American journalist (d. 1981)
• May 8 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1994)
• May 10 – David O. Selznick, American film producer (d. 1965)
• May 11 – Dick Curtis, American actor (d. 1952)
• May 15 – Richard J. Daley, American politician, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1976)
• May 18 – Meredith Willson, American composer (d. 1984)
• May 21
  • Earl Averill, American baseball player (d. 1983)
  • Marcel Lajos Breuer, Hungarian-born architect (d. 1981)
  • Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian-born film director (d. 1974)
• May 22 – Al Simmons, American baseball player (d. 1956)
• May 24 – Wilbur Hatch, American music composer, musical director of Desilu Productions (d. 1969)
• May 27 – Peter Marshall, American preacher, 57th Chaplain of the United States Senate (d. 1949)
• May 29 – Henri Guillaumet, French aviator (d. 1940)
• May 30 – Giuseppina Projetto, last surviving person born in 1902 (d. 2018)
• May 31 – Billy Mayerl, English pianist, composer (d. 1959)

September

John Houseman

• September 2 – Peter Pitseolak, Inuit photographer, author (d. 1973)
• September 6 – Sylvanus Olympio, Togolese politician, 1st President of Togo (assassinated) (d. 1963)
• September 7 – Roy Barcroft, American actor (d. 1969)
• September 12 – Juscelino Kubitschek, President of Brazil (d. 1976)
• September 14 – Giorgos Papasideris, Greek singer, composer, and lyricist (d. 1977)
• September 21
  • Luis Cernuda, Spanish poet (d. 1963)
  • Ilmari Salminen, Finnish athlete (d. 1986)
• September 22
  • John Houseman, Romanian-born actor, producer (d. 1988)
  • Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian Shia cleric (d. 1989)
• September 23 – Ion Gheorghe Maurer, Romanian lawyer and politician, 49th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 2000)
• September 26 – Albert Anastasia, American gangster (d. 1957)

November

Eugene Wigner

• November 1 – Eugen Jochum, German conductor (d. 1987)
• November 2
  • Princess Mafalda of Savoy (d. 1944)
  • Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia (d. 1978)
• November 4 – Reg Dean, British supercentenarian (d. 2013)
• November 9 – Anthony Asquith, British film director (d. 1968)
• November 14 – Pua Kealoha, American Olympic swimmer (d. 1989)
• November 17 – Eugene Wigner, Hungarian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
• November 19 – Trevor Bardette, American actor (d. 1977)
• November 21
  • Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish-American novelist, writer and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
  • Mikhail Suslov, Soviet politician (d. 1982)
• November 22 – Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, French general (d. 1947)
• November 23
  • Aaron Bank, American colonel (d. 2004)
  • Victor Jory, Canadian actor (d. 1982)
• November 30 – Hussein ibn Nasser, 8th Prime Minister of Jordan (d. 1982)

Deaths

January–June

Cecil Rhodes

Hans von Pechmann

Esther Hobart Morris

Saint Agostino Roscelli

• January 6 – Lars Hertervig, Norwegian painter (b. 1830)
• January 11 – Johnny Briggs, English cricketer (b. 1862)
• February 1 – Salomon Jadassohn, German composer, pianist (b. 1831)
• February 6 – Clémence Royer, French scholar (b. 1830)
• February 15 – Viggo Hørup, Danish politician (b. 1841)
• February 18 – Albert Bierstadt, German-born American painter (b. 1830)
• February 27
  • Harry 'Breaker' Morant, Australian soldier (executed) (b. 1864)
  • Peter Handcock, Australian soldier (executed) (b. 1869)
• March 7 – Pud Galvin, American baseball player, MLB Hall of Famer (b. 1856)
• March 11 – Friedrich Engelhorn, German industrialist, founder of BASF (b. 1821)
• March 15 – Richard Temple, British colonial administrator of India (b. 1826)
• March 23 – Kálmán Tisza, Hungarian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1830)
• March 26 – Cecil Rhodes, British imperialist (b. 1853)
• March 29 – Sir Andrew Clarke, British army officer and colonial governor (b. 1824)
• April 3 – Esther Hobart Morris, American suffragist judge (b. 1814)
• April 8 – John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley, British politician (b. 1826)
• April 11 – Wade Hampton III, Confederate soldier and South Carolina politician (b. 1818)
• April 12 – Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist (b. 1841)
• April 15 – Jules Dalou, French sculptor (b. 1838)
• April 17 – Francisco de Asís de Borbón, Duke of Cádiz, former king consort of Spain (b. 1822)
• April 19 – Hans von Pechmann, German chemist (b. 1850)
• April 21 – Ethna Carbery, Irish poet (b. 1866)
• April 27 – Nancy H. Adsit, American art lecturer, art educator, and writer of art literature (b. 1825)
• April 28 – Sol Smith Russell, American comedian (b. 1848)
• May 5 – Bret Harte, American writer (b. 1836)
• May 6
  • Martha Perry Lowe, American social activist and organizer (b. 1829)
  • William T. Sampson, American admiral (b. 1840)
  • Emma Augusta Sharkey, American dime novelist (b. 1858)
• May 7 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest, founder of the Institute of Sisters of the Immaculata (b. 1818)
• May 26 – Almon Strowger, American inventor (b. 1839)
• June 10
  • Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan poet (b. 1845)
  • Auguste Schmidt, German educator, activist (b. 1833)
• June 18 – Samuel Butler, British author (b. 1835)
• June 19 – King Albert of Saxony, member of the House of Wettin (b. 1828)

July–December

Saint Maria Goretti

Rudolf Virchow

Émile Zola

Prudente de Morais

• July 4 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian religious leader (b. 1863)
• July 6 – Maria Goretti, Italian Roman Catholic virgin, martyr and saint (b. 1890)
• July 18 – Saigō Jūdō, Japanese general, admiral, and politician (b. 1843)
• August 8 – James Tissot, French artist (b. 1836)
• August 31
  • Grace Hinsdale, American author (b. 1832)
  • Mathilde Wesendonck, German poet (b. 1828)
• September 5 – Rudolf Virchow, German scientist, politician (b. 1821)
• September 6
  • Sir Frederick Augustus Abel, British chemist (b. 1827)
  • Hammerton Killick, Haitian admiral (b. 1856)
• September 19 – Masaoka Shiki, Japanese haiku poet (b. 1867)
• September 26 – Levi Strauss, German-born American inventor of Levi's Jeans (b. 1829)
• September 29
  • William Topaz McGonagall, Scottish doggerel poet (b. 1825)
  • Émile Zola, French author (b. 1840)
• September 30 – James Edward Jouett, American admiral (b. 1826)
• October 6 – Liu Kunyi, Chinese general (b. 1830)
• October 16 – Jeronimo Suñol, Spanish sculptor (b. 1839)
• October 25 – Frank Norris, American novelist (b. 1870)
• October 26 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American activist (b. 1815)
• October 31 – Cornélie Huygens, Dutch writer, social democrat and feminist (b. 1848)
• November 4 – Hale Johnson, American politician (b. 1847)
• November 17 – Hugh Price Hughes, Welsh social reformer (b. 1847)
• November 22
  • Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (b. 1854)
  • Walter Reed, American army physician (b. 1851)
• December 2 – Richard Belcredi, former Prime minister of the Austrian Empire (b. 1823)
• December 3
  • Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (b. 1833)
  • Prudente de Morais, 3rd President of Brazil (b. 1841)
• December 4 – Charles Dow, American journalist, co-founder of Dow Jones & Company (b. 1851)
• December 7 – Thomas Nast, American caricaturist, cartoonist (b. 1840)
• December 11 – Mary Mathews Adams, Irish-born American philanthropist (b. 1840)
• December 14 – Julia Grant, First Lady of the United States (b. 1826)
• December 22 – Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German sexologist (b. 1840)
• December 23 – Frederick Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1821)

Nobel Prizes

• Physics – Hendrik Antoon Lorentz and Pieter Zeeman
• Chemistry – Hermann Emil Fischer
• Medicine – Ronald Ross
• Literature – Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen
• Peace – Élie Ducommun and Charles Albert Gobat

References

Further reading and year books

• 1902 Annual Cyclopedia (1903) online; highly detailed coverage of "Political, Military, and Ecclesiastical Affairs; Public Documents; Biography, Statistics, Commerce, Finance, Literature, Science, Agriculture, and Mechanical Industry" for 1902; massive compilation of facts and primary documents; worldwide coverage; 865pp
• Gilbert, Martin. A History of the Twentieth Century: vol. 1 1900-1933 (1997) pp 55–68; global coverage of politics, diplomacy and warfare.