What happened in 1901

16 entries recorded for 1901, listed by date. That was 125 years ago.

1901 at a glance

January 10
Blowout (well drilling)
Historical event
The first great gusher of the Texas oil boom was discovered in the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont.

March 2
U.S. Steel
Historical event
U.S. Steel, the first billion-dollar corporation and once the world's largest producer of steel, was founded by financier J. P. Morgan.
March 6
Wilhelm II
Historical event
An anarchist assassin tries to kill German Emperor Wilhelm II.
March 18
House with Chimaeras
Historical event
The construction of the House with Chimaeras (pictured) commenced in Kyiv.
March 31
Moment magnitude scale
Historical event
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Black Sea, the most powerful ever recorded in the area.

May 28
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar
Historical event
Mozaffar ad-Din, Shah of Persia, granted exclusive rights to prospect for oil in the country to businessman William Knox D'Arcy (pictured).

August 10
Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers
Historical event
The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers began an ultimately unsuccessful strike to reverse its declining fortunes and organize large numbers of new members.

September 2
Theodore Roosevelt
Historical event
U.S. vice president Theodore Roosevelt first publicly used the phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick" (cartoon pictured) at the Minnesota State Fair, describing his philosophy of negotiating peacefully while simultaneously threatening to use military force.
September 3
Royal Exhibition Building
Historical event
At the Royal Exhibition Building (pictured) in Melbourne, the flag of Australia flew for the first time.
September 6
William McKinley
Historical event
U.S. president William McKinley was fatally shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, and died eight days later.
September 7
Eight-Nation Alliance
Historical event
With Beijing occupied by foreign troops from the Eight-Nation Alliance, Qing China was forced to sign the Boxer Protocol, an unequal treaty that ended the Boxer Rebellion.
September 14
Theodore Roosevelt
Historical event
Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States at age 42, the youngest person ever to do so, eight days after William McKinley was fatally wounded in Buffalo, New York.
September 28
Philippine–American War
Historical event
Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas killed more than forty American soldiers in a surprise attack on the town of Balangiga on the island of Samar.

November 25
Gustav Mahler
Historical event
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 4 premiered in Munich.

December 10
Alfred Nobel
Historical event
On the fifth anniversary of the death of their founder, Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel, the first Nobel Prizes were awarded in Stockholm.
December 16
Beatrix Potter
Historical event
English writer Beatrix Potter privately published 250 copies of The Tale of Peter Rabbit (illustration shown) after several publishers' rejections.

This site records 16 entries for 1901, including Blowout (well drilling) on January 10. They are listed below by date.

125 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1901 turns 125 this year.

1901 falls in the 20th century, in the 1900s.

Greatest Generation (1901–1927). Grew up in the Depression and fought in the Second World War.

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