The year in history
1896
Someone born in 1896 turns 130 in 2026
1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar and a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 1896th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 896th year of the 2nd millennium, the 96th year of the 19th century, and the 7th year of the 1890s decade. As of the start of 1896, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
What happened in 1896
The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
Devonport High School for Boys is founded in Plymouth (England).
Battle of Adwa: Ethiopia defends its independence from Italy, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
The opening ceremonies of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games, are held in Athens, Greece.
Coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna in the Dormition Cathedral, Moscow; this will be the last coronation of the Russian monarch. The Qing dynasty is represented at the coronation by Chinese official Li Hongzhang who through September goes on to visit Germany, Britain, Canada and the United States.
J. T. Hearne sets a record for the earliest date of taking 100 wickets in cricket, in England (it is equalled by Charlie Parker in 1931).
Wilfrid Laurier becomes Canada's seventh prime minister, and the first French-speaker to hold that office.
The Uganda Railway Act, 1896, is approved in the United Kingdom, for construction of a railway in Africa from Mombasa to Lake Victoria.
Clarkson University holds its first classes, with 17 students attending in Potsdam, New York.
A locomotive in Bulawayo explodes and kills ten prisoners.
Udinese Calcio Association football club is founded in Udine, Italy.
John Philip Sousa composes The Stars and Stripes Forever which will become the national march of the United States.
Famous people born in 1896
Dziga Vertov
Russian filmmaker (d. 1954)
January 2 β
Uberto De Morpurgo
Italian tennis player (d. 1961)
January 12 β
JΓ³zsef Kiss
Austro-Hungarian fighter pilot (d. 1918)
January 26 β
AndrΓ© Breton
French writer (d. 1966)
February 19 β
Dimitri Mitropoulos
Greek conductor, pianist and composer (d. 1960)
March 1 β
Ira C. Eaker
World War II United States Army Air Forces general (d. 1987)
April 13 β
Ernst Udet
German World War I fighter ace, Nazi Luftwaffe official (d. 1941)
April 26 β
Helen of Greece and Denmark
Queen Mother of Romania (d. 1982)
May 2 β
Howard Hawks
American director (d. 1977)
May 30 β
Henry Allingham
British World War I veteran, world's oldest man (d. 2009)
June 6 β
Wallis Simpson
American-born Duchess of Windsor (d. 1986)
June 19 β
Gertrude Welcker
German actress (d. 1988)
July 16 β
Barbara La Marr
American silent actress (d. 1926)
July 28 β
Jean Piaget
Swiss psychologist (d. 1980)
August 9 β
Jack Pickford
Canadian-born American actor, film director, and producer (d. 1933)
August 18 β
Antonin Artaud
French stage actor, director (d. 1948)
September 4 β
Sandro Pertini
President of Italy (d. 1990)
September 25 β
Bud Flanagan
British entertainer, comedian (d. 1968)
October 14 β
Carlos P. Garcia
8th President of the Philippines (d. 1971)
November 4 β
Mamie Eisenhower
First Lady of the United States (d. 1979)
November 14 β
Klement Gottwald
Czechoslovak communist politician (d. 1953)
November 23 β
Manuel A. OdrΓa
79th President of Peru (d. 1974)
November 26 β
Hermannus Reydon
Dutch journalist and Nazi collaborator (d. 1943)
December 6 β
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Italian writer (d. 1957)
December 23 β