The beginning of the twentieth century also marked the end of an era—the Victorian Era. Queen Victoria died at the age of eighty-one in 1901 after ruling the United Kingdom for sixty-four years–the longest reign in British history. Her reign is largely remembered as a period of economic and imperial expansion, although her popularity wavered at times.

The American president, William McKinley’s life was also cut short in September 1901 in his second term, when anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot him at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

He was succeeded by his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, who became the youngest president in U.S. history. During his terms as president, Roosevelt earned a reputation as a “trust buster,” who used the Sherman Antitrust Act to dissolve a large railroad monopoly. He also began work on the Panama Canal, fought for conservation of our natural resources, and won a Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War.

Roosevelt’s invitation to Booker T. Washington, president of the Tuskegee Institute, to dine at the White House angered many in 1901. The Atlanta Constitution reported on 18 October 1901 that, “There is a feeling of indignation among Southern men, generally, that the president should, in the face of his declaration of friendliness toward the people of the south, take this early opportunity to show such a marked courtesy and distinction to a negro.” 

Racial tension in Atlanta, Georgia, turned to violence in September, 1906. Before the Atlanta Race Riots were over, there were twenty-five blacks and two whites killed. (Ancestry members with U.S. Deluxe access can read more in the Atlanta Constitution from 24 September 1906  and 25 September 1906).

In Alaska, on the heels of the Klondike Gold Rush, more gold was discovered on the beaches of Nome in 1899, and by 1900 an influx of gold-seekers had arrived in Nome from the Yukon, Seattle, and San Francisco. It’s estimated that at its peak, the population of Nome reached 20,000. According to the 1900 U.S. Federal Population Census, one-third of the white population of Alaska lived in Nome.

On November 16, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory joined together to become the 46th U.S. state. The state had grown with western expansion and demand for the rich lands led to six land runs between 1889 and 1895. The discovery of oil in the state helped further boost the population to the necessary levels to achieve statehood.

The early 1900s produced a number of storms and disasters of note. The decade opened with a deadly hurricane in Galveston that killed more than 6,000 people. The bustling Texas port was devastated in the fifteen-foot storm surged that plowed across the island. Among the casualties were ten nuns and ninety orphans from a Sisters of Charity orphanage. Led by Clara Barton, the Red Cross came to the aid of the city, establishing an orphanage for storm victims and helping to rebuild the area.

In Kansas, heavy rains in the last few weeks of May 1903 brought on historic flooding in the Missouri, Kansas, and lower Republican River Basins. In the aftermath, homes were washed away, along with many bridges, one of which held the water line that supplied Kansas City, Missouri with water.

On 31 January 1906, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Ecuador, creating a tsunami that killed between 500 and 1500 people. It remains the fifth strongest earthquake on record. It was recorded as far away as Japan, and Hawaii saw flooding from the waves. It was also recorded in San Francisco, and sadly this was not to be the only brush with seismic activity that would be felt there in that year.

On 18 April 1906 at 5:12 a.m., the Great San Francisco Earthquake struck.  One of the largest quakes to hit North America, the earthquake and subsequent fires that lasted for three days after the quake caused an estimated 400 million dollars in damages and may have killed as many as 3,000 people.

That same month, Mount Vesuvius, located near Naples in Italy, erupted and caused damage in the surrounding areas, killing an estimated 500 people.

Disaster struck again in Italy on 28 December 1908, when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck in the Messina Strait between Sicily and Calabria. The quake was followed by a tsunami that decimated coastal areas. The death toll is estimated at around 200,000 and many residents of the affected areas were forced to relocate; many immigrated to America.

We’ll continue our look at the decade, 1900-1909, next week with other important events and innovations.

Other articles in the 19 October 2009 Weekly Discovery: 

> Spotlight on the World War I Draft Registration Cards 

> Family History Tip: Digital Recorder 

> Photo Corner