1899
Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century
Decades: 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s - 1890s - 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s
Years: 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 - 1899 - 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904
Events
- January 1 - End of Spanish rule in Cuba.
- January 1 - Queens and Staten Island merge with New York City
- January 3 - The first known use of the word "automobile", in an editorial in the New York Times
- January 17 - United States takes possession of Wake Island
- January 19 - Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed
- January 21 - Opel Motors opens for business
- January 22 - Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation
- February 2 - The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne agrees Australia's capital (Canberra) should be located between Sydney and Melbourne.
- February 4 - Philippine-American War
- February 6 - Spanish-American War: A peace treaty between the United States and Spain is ratified by the United States Senate.
- February 14 - Voting machines are approved by the United States Congress for use in federal elections.
- March 2 - In Washington, Mount Rainier National Park is established.
Art, Culture & Fashion
Births
- January 7 - Francis Poulenc, composer
- January 10 - Axel Eggelbrecht, journalist (+ 1991)
- January 11 - Eva LeGallienne, actress (+ 1991)
- January 12 - Paul Hermann Müller, chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1948 (+ 1965)
- January 15 - Goodman Ace, actor, comedian, writer (+ 1982)
- January 17 - Al Capone, gangster, nicknamed "Scarface" (+ 1947)
- January 17 - Nevil Shute, author (+ 1960)
- February 6 - Ramon Novarro, actor (+ 1968)
- February 15 - Georges Auric, composer, member of Les Six
- February 23 - Erich Kästner, lyricist and narrator (+ 1974)
- February 23 - Elisabeth Langgässer, lyricist, narrator and novelist (+ 1950)
- February 27 - Charles Best, medical scientist (+ 1978)
- April 22 - Vladimir Nabokov, (writer)
- April 29 - Duke Ellington
- July 11 - E. B. White, (writer)
- August 13 - Alfred Hitchcock, (film director)
- August 24 - Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian writer
- December 18 - Peter Wessel Zapffe
- December 25 - Humphrey Bogart (actor)
Deaths
- February 25 - Paul Julius Reuter, founder of the Reuters News Agency
- June 3 - Johann Strauss II, composer
- August 16 - Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, chemist