1905 CE

The Russian Revolution of 1905 erupts after Bloody Sunday, sparking strikes, uprisings, and the creation of the Duma; The First Moroccan Crisis begins with Kaiser Wilhelm II’s visit to Tangier, straining Franco-German relations; The Battle of Tsushima ends in a decisive Japanese victory, reshaping power in East Asia; The Maji Maji Rebellion challenges German colonial rule in East Africa but is brutally suppressed; Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia is assassinated in Moscow; The Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden peacefully grants Norway independence.

In the 1900s, the 20th century.

1905 at a glance

World population: about 1.70 billion Our World in Data
United States: Theodore Roosevelt (President) Wikipedia rev. 1377869146
United Kingdom: Edward VII (King); Arthur Balfour, then Henry Campbell-Bannerman (Prime minister) Wikipedia rev. 1377869146
Russian Empire: Nicholas II (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1377869146
Qing dynasty: Guangxu (Emperor) Wikipedia rev. 1377869146
French Third Republic: Émile Loubet (President); Émile Combes, then Maurice Rouvier (President of the Council of ministers) Wikipedia rev. 1377869146
German Empire: Wilhelm II (Emperor); Bernhard von Bülow (Chancellor) Wikipedia rev. 1377869146

Who led every country in 1905 →

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 3 – Japan formally repossesses Port Arthur, and renames it Ryojun, holding it for the next 40 years. The area will revert in 1945 to China, and become the Lushunkou District.source
January 17 – In France, Prime Minister Émile Combes and his cabinet announce their resignations after being implicated in the Affair of the Cards (L'Affaire des Fiches), a system set up by the War Ministry to purge the French Army officers corps of Jesuits.source
January 21 – The Dominican Republic signs an agreement with the United States to allow the U.S. to administer the collection of customs taxes for Santo Domingo for 50 years, with the U.S. to assume responsibility for payment of the Republic's debts to foreign nations from Dominican income. The agreement is done as an exercise of the "Roosevelt Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine.source
January 26 – Elections are held in Hungary for the Országgyűlés, the Kingdom's parliament within Austria-Hungary. Voters overwhelmingly reject the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister István Tisza, that has ruled Hungary since 1875. The Liberals lose 118 of their 277 seats, but Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary ignores the results and keeps Tisza in power.source
January 27 – The Nelson Act is passed into law in the United States, providing for racial segregation of schools in the Alaska Territory.source
Non-whites are not given voting rights, except in the Cape Colony.South Africa source
12 February – Portuguese legislative election, 1905.Portugal source
February 21 – Sir Wilfrid Laurier introduces a resolution in the Canadian parliament proposing that two new provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, be created out of the Northwest Territories.source
March 3 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia announces the creation of an elected assembly, the Duma, to represent the people of the Russian Empire in an advisory capacity, although the real power to make laws will remain with the Tsar and the cabinet of ministers.source
March 20 – The title Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is officially recognised by King Edward VII by a royal warrant.source
31 March – during the First Moroccan Crisis, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany met with representatives of Sultan Abdelaziz of Morocco in TangierGermany source
April 1 – The British Imperial Penny Post is extended to include Australia.source
April – The Italian government acquired control (from a private Italian company called SACI) of the coastal area around Mogadishu, and creates the colony of Italian Somaliland.Italy source
May 30 – Japan's Prime Minister Katsura Tarō asks U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to moderate peace discussions to end the Russo-Japanese War.source
June 7 – The Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, declares dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden, giving Norway full independence.source
July 5 – Alfred Deakin takes office as the new Prime Minister of Australia.source
5 July – Alfred Deakin resumes office as Prime Minister of Australia after George Reid is unable to form a stable ministry.Australia source
July 27 – The Taft–Katsura agreement is reached in Tokyo.source
August 11 – The Russian Council appointed by Tsar Nicholas II meets at Peterhof and approves a plan for a national Duma, the first representative assembly in the Empire.source
August 20 – Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen forms the first chapter of Tongmenghui, a union of all secret societies determined to bringing down the Manchu dynasty.source
September 1 – The Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan are established from the southwestern part of the Northwest Territories.source
September 5 – Russo-Japanese War: Treaty of Portsmouth – In New Hampshire, a treaty mediated by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt is signed by Japan and Russia. Russia cedes the island of Sakhalin together with port and rail rights in Manchuria to Japan.source
September 5: Treaty of Portsmouth signed, ending Russo-Japanese WarJapan source
September 5 – Russo-Japanese War – Treaty of Portsmouth: In New Hampshire, a treaty mediated by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt is signed by Japan and Russia. Russia cedes the island of Sakhalin and port and rail rights in Manchuria to Japan.Russia source
October 16 – The Partition of Bengal is made by Lord Curzon to separate the region of Bengal into Muslim and Hindu territories until its reunification in 1911.source
October 26 Sweden–Norway agrees to the repeal of the union with Norway, forming the two modern-day countries.source
October 30 (October 17 Old Style) – October Manifesto: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia is forced to announce the granting of his country's first constitution (the Russian Constitution of 1906), conceding a national assembly (State Duma) with limited powers.source
November 4 – Russification of Finland: The application of the February Manifesto, removing the veto of the Diet of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland over matters considered by the Emperor to concern Russian imperial interests, is interrupted by the new November Manifesto. The Senate of Finland is ordered to put forward a proposal for parliamentary reform, based on unicameralism and universal and equal suffrage.source
November 12 – Norway holds a plebiscite on the monarchy, resulting in popular approval of the Storting's decision to authorise the government to make the offer of the throne of the newly independent country.source
November 17 – The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 ("Eulsa Treaty") effectively makes Korea a protectorate of Japan.source
December 23 – The Tampere conference, where Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin meet for the first time, is held in Tampere, Finland.source
Constitutionalization attempts in Iran.Iran source

Conflict & Security

January 1 – In a major defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, Russian General Anatoly Stessel surrenders Port Arthur, located on mainland China, to the Japanese.source
January 2: The Russian Army surrenders at Port Arthur in China.Japan source
January 2 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian Army surrenders at Port Arthur in Qing dynasty China.Russia source
January 22 (January 9 O.S.) – The Bloody Sunday massacre of peaceful Russian demonstrators at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg takes place, leading to an unsuccessful uprising.source
January 22 (January 9 O.S.) – The Bloody Sunday massacre of demonstrators led by Russian Orthodox priest Georgy Gapon trigger the abortive Revolution of 1905.Russia source
January 26 – Russian Revolution of 1905: The Imperial Russian Army opens fire on demonstrators in Riga, Governorate of Livonia, killing 73 people and injuring 200.source
January 29 – Rioting breaks out in Warsaw, at this time under Russian Imperial rule with a Russian Governor-General.source
February 4 – A simultaneous uprising begins at six cities in Argentina against the government of President Manuel Quintana.source
February 4–8: Argentine Revolution of 1905Argentina source
February 20 – In the Russo-Japanese War, the Battle of Mukden begins in Manchuria.source
February 26 – Russia sustains a severe defeat in Manchuria at Tsen-ho-Cheng.source
March 10 – Russo-Japanese War: The Japanese capture of Mukden (modern-day Shenyang) completes the rout of Russian armies in Manchuria.source
March 23 – The Theriso revolt begins in Crete as about 1,500 people led by Eleftherios Venizelos demand unification with Greece.source
April 6 – A violent strike by the Teamsters' Union begins in Chicago.source
April 6–July 19 – The 1905 Chicago Teamsters' strike; 21 people die and 416 are injured in the violence.United States source
April 23 – German General Lothar von Trotha commander of troops in Germany's colony of Südwestafrika (modern-day Namibia), orders the extermination of the Nama people within the colony's borders, ultimately killing 10,000. Von Trotha's proclamation Aan de oorlogvorende Namastamme, proclaims that "The Nama who chooses not to surrender and lets himself be seen in German territory will be shot, until all are exterminated."source
May 10 — Chinese Boycott of 1905 begins, it is a large-scale boycott of American goods in China in reaction to a string of anti-Chinese events in the United States.China source
May 28 – Japanese victory in the Battle of Tsushima, the only decisive battle fought between fleets of battleships; Russian personnel losses were 216 officers and 4,614 men killed; with 278 officers and 5,629 men taken as prisoners of war (POWs). Interned in neutral ports were 79 officers and 1,783 men. Escaping to Vladivostok and Diego-Suarez were 62 officers and 1,165 men. Eight battleships and three coastal battleships were either sunk, scuttled or captured. The Japanese lost three torpedo boats and 117 officers and men killed, with 583 officers and men wounded.source
July 14 – In New Zealand, the first known suicide attack by a civilian (as opposed to sacrifices made in military combat) takes place in Murchison.source
27 July – Edward Joris arrested in Istanbul for his part in the Yıldız assassination attempt.Belgium source
July 30 – At Basel in Switzerland, the International Zionist Conference delegates vote to reject the British offer of land in Uganda for a Jewish homeland.source
August 9 – The peace conference to end the Russo-Japanese War between Russia and Japan begins at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.source
September 2 – The millennia-old imperial examination system for the civil service is abolished in Qing dynasty China.source
October 29 – Russian Revolution of 1905: The Imperial Russian Army opens fire on a meeting at a street market in Tallinn, Governorate of Estonia, killing 94 and injuring over 200 people.source
25 November – Haakon VII and his family arrived in Christiania (present-day Oslo).Norway source
November–December – Russian Revolution of 1905: In the Baltic governorates, workers and peasants burn and loot hundreds of Baltic German manors. The Imperial Russian Army thereafter executes and deports thousands of looters.source
December 7–18 – Moscow Uprising: A Bolshevik-led revolt is suppressed by the army.source
December 11 – In support of the Moscow Uprising, the Council of Workers' Deputies of Kiev stages a mass uprising, establishing the Shuliavka Republic in the city, December 12–16.source
Ranfurly Shield – Wellington successfully defend the shield against Wairarapa (3–3) and Hawkes Bay (11–3) before losing to Auckland (6–10).New Zealand source

Exploration & Expansion

1 February – Free State – Springfontein to Jagersfontein, 48 mi 13 ch.South Africa source
February 5 – The French ship Anjou is wrecked off of the coast of the uninhabited Auckland Island, located 290 mi from the nearest inhabited land in New Zealand. The castaways live on the isle for more than three months until being rescued on May 7.source
May–June – John C. Merriam leads the Saurian Expedition, a paleontological research mission in northern Nevada.United States source
July 10 – A Japanese expedition takes control of the Russian island of Sakhalin after a short battle.source
August 26 – Near Point Barrow, Alaska, the crew of the Norwegian ship Gjoa, led by Roald Amundsen, make the breakthrough of finding the long-sought "Northwest Passage" from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.source
August 26 – Roald Amundsen begins the first to travel through the Northwest PassageCanada source
18 December – Free State – Marseilles to Maseru in Basutoland, 16 mi 32 ch.South Africa source
Lima Barreto - O Subterrâneo do Morro do CasteloBrazil source
Jean Metzinger - Baigneuses: Deux nus dans un paysage exotiqueFrance source
George, Prince of Wales and Princess Mary tour India, 1905–06India source
The first overseas tour by a New Zealand representative team takes place, to Australia.New Zealand source

Religion & Belief

January 11 – Under the supervision of five editors, work begins on the comprehensive Catholic Encyclopedia, subtitled "An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church." The first volume will appear in 1907.source
31 January – 1904–1905 Welsh Revival: Rev Peter Price writes to the Western Mail, criticising the "so-called" revival led by Evan Roberts.Wales source
March 2 – Russia's Committee of Ministers votes to grant religious freedom to the subjects of the Russian Empire.source
12 May – The first meeting of the Australian Council of Defence takes place between the Minister for Defence, the Treasurer, the Inspector-General Army, the Chief of Intelligence, and the Director of the Naval Forces.Australia source
June 11 – Pope Pius X promulgates the encyclical Il fermo proposito, which establishes Azione Cattolica as a non-political lay organization under the direct control of bishops. It was established after an earlier similar organization, Opera dei Congressi was disbanded in 1904 because many of its members were siding with modernism. Catholics were allowed by the pope to vote "to help the maintenance of the social order", but without lifting the Non Expedit of 1868 that prohibited Italian Catholics to participate in political elections in the Kingdom of Italy and, by extension, in Italian national political life. (Because of the Catholic opposition to the unification of Italy and capture of the Papal States).Italy source
12 October – First stone of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels laid.Belgium source
October 13 O.S: The Saint Petersburg Soviet holds its first meeting, the first elected workers' Soviet (council) in Russia.Russia source
October – John W. Taylor and Matthias F. Cowley resign from the Quorum of Twelve in protest, disputing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' stance against polygamy that was reaffirmed in the Second Manifesto (following the Reed Smoot hearings).United States source
Bantamweight – E. Baird (Christchurch)New Zealand source
St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee, raised to cathedral status in the Episcopal Church.Scotland source

Economy & Finance

January 30 – The U.S. Supreme Court renders its unanimous decision in the landmark case of Swift & Co. v. United States, allowing the federal government to regulate monopolies.source
January 30 – The Supreme Court renders its unanimous decision in the landmark case of Swift & Co. v. United States, allowing the federal government to regulate monopolies.United States source
May 22 – Abdul Hamid II, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire establishes the Ullah millet for the Aromanians of the empire. For this reason, the Aromanian National Day is sometimes celebrated on this day. The decision is publicly announced the next day, which is more commonly celebrated.source
September 1: Kobe Steel has founded.Japan source
November 28 – Irish nationalist Arthur Griffith founds Sinn Féin in Dublin, as a political party whose goal is independence for all of Ireland.source
2 December – Norsk hydro-elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab, later known simply as Norsk Hydro, is foundedNorway source
December 3 – Foreign Minister Tittoni resigns over his proposal to reduce the duty on Spanish wine in connection with an Italo-Spanish commercial treaty that created turmoil among the rural classes.Italy source
10 December – David Lloyd George joins the new Liberal Cabinet of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman as President of the Board of Trade.Wales source
Australia loses cricket series to England 0–2Australia source
German company Knorr-Bremse is founded.Germany source
The National Court is founded.Iceland source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 1 – The official opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway.Russia source
January 4 – The city of Bend, Oregon, plotted out in 1900 by Alexander Drake, is incorporated as a town for local logging companies, and will have a population of 536 in 1910. By the year 2020, it will have almost 100,000 residents.source
1 March – John Jenkins resigns as Premier of South Australia to become Agent-General for South Australia in London. He is replaced by Richard Butler.Australia source
April 2 – The Simplon Tunnel through the Alps is opened to railway traffic.source
April 17 – Railroad workers go on strike on the eve of the presentation of the new railway bill to the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Fewer than half of the railwaymen complied. Fortis remained steadfast, and after four days, the strikers gradually returned to work.Italy source
May 15 – Las Vegas, Nevada, is founded when 110 acres of land adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks are auctioned to form what becomes Downtown Las Vegas.source
15 May – The opening of Taichung TRA station in Taichū Prefecture.Taiwan source
August 12 – The first running takes place of the Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb in England, the world's oldest motorsport event to be staged continuously on its original course.source
1 to 6 August – 1905 European Rowing Championships held on the Ghent–Terneuzen Canal in Ghent.Belgium source
October 2 – HMS Dreadnought is laid down in the United Kingdom, revolutionizing battleship design and triggering a naval arms race.source
October 5 – The Wright brothers' third aeroplane (Wright Flyer III) stays in the air for 39 minutes with Wilbur piloting, the first aeroplane flight lasting over half an hour.source
October 29 – The Circum-Baikal Railway is brought into permanent operation, completing through rail communication on the Trans-Siberian Railway.source
November 28 – The Mataafa Storm buffets the Great Lakes region. Named after the SS Mataafa, a boat sunk outside of the Duluth Ship Canal, the storm ultimately destroys 29 vessels, leading to 29 deaths and shipping losses of US$3.567 million (1905 dollars).source
December 2 – Norsk Hydro, predecessor of Equinor, a state-run energy product and grid brand in Scandinavia, is founded in Norway.source
30 December - Law no. 1452 is passed by the National Congress of Brazil, authorizing expenditure of £4,214,550 for new warship construction (£1,685,820 in 1906).Brazil source
The Marlborough Herald begins publication. The Herald continues until 1911. The Marlborough Express stops publishing The Marlborough Times, which started in 1874.New Zealand source
The Natal Government Railways places two Class A 4-6-2 Pacific locomotives in service, designed by Locomotive Superintendent D.A. Hendrie for passenger traffic on the mainline between Ladysmith and Charlestown. In 1912 they will be designated Class 2 on the South African Railways (SAR).South Africa source

Science & Discovery

January 6 – The Lick Observatory announces the discovery on 3 December 1904 of a sixth moon of Jupiter, made by their astronomer Charles D. Perrine.source
16 January – Neil Munro begins publishing his Vital Spark stories in the Glasgow Evening News.Scotland source
January 26 – The Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond in the world at 3,106 carats, is discovered by Captain Frederick Wells at Cullinan.South Africa source
March 13 – Mata Hari introduces her exotic dance act in the Musée Guimet, Paris.source
March 18 – Albert Einstein submits his paper "On a heuristic viewpoint concerning the production and transformation of light", in which he explains the photoelectric effect using the notion of light quanta, for publication.source
29 March – Evan Roberts embarks on his first and only mission outside Wales, spending a three-week period in Liverpool.Wales source
April 20 – The largest ocean liner in the world at this time, the German SS Amerika is launched.source
May 11 – Albert Einstein submits for publication his paper "Über die von der molekularkinetischen Theorie der Wärme geforderte Bewegung von in ruhenden Flüssigkeiten suspendierten Teilchen" ("On the Motion of Small Particles Suspended in a Stationary Liquid, as Required by the Molecular Kinetic Theory of Heat"), based on his doctoral research, delineating a stochastic model of Brownian motion.source
June 30 – Albert Einstein submits for publication his paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", establishing his theory of special relativity.source
August 23 – A. Roy Knabenshue introduces the dirigible to the skies of New York City, piloting the lighter-than-air vehicle within view of hundreds of thousands of spectators.United States source
August 30 – A solar eclipse takes place, with greatest visibility in North Africa.source
September 27 – Albert Einstein submits for publication his paper "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?", in which he puts forward the idea of mass–energy equivalence by publishing the equation E = mc 2 (published November 21).source
7 November – Blue Spec wins the Melbourne Cup.Australia source
Constantin Meunier, The DockerBelgium source
New Zealand Trotting Cup: BirchmarkNew Zealand source
The last Alexander Kielland essay, Omkring Napoleon (On Napoleon), was published.Norway source

Health & Medicine

February 12 – The Switzerland national football team plays its first international game, losing to France, 1 to 0.source
February 28 – Jane Stanford, the co-founder with her husband Leland of Stanford University, is fatally poisoned while visiting the Moana Hotel in Hawaii.source
February – Alf Common becomes the first £1,000 footballer in his transfer from Sheffield United to Middlesbrough.United Kingdom source
April 24 – China's Empress Regent Cixi (Tzu Hsi) abolishes further use in executions of the nation's three most cruel torture execution methods, lingchi ("death by a thousand cuts"), gibbeting (similar to crucifixion, hanging until dying of exposure, thirst or starvation), and desecration of a dying person.source
28 May – The town of Maryborough in Queensland experiences an outbreak of pneumonic plague.Australia source
May 29 - Brooklyn Superbas pitcher Elmer Stricklett introduces the "spitball" to major league baseball.United States source
June 20 – Ernest Henry Starling introduces the word "hormone" into the English language.source
14 July – The government of France institutes its first government assistance program for elderly and disabled persons.France source
26 July – Law promulgated making Sunday an obligatory day of rest in trade and industry.Belgium source
September 2 – Alexander Rutherford becomes the first premier of AlbertaCanada source
Alfred Einhorn introduces novocaine.source
The boycott originated when the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of San Francisco called upon the people of China to pressure the United States into treating the Chinese immigrants in America better.China source
Fritz Schaudinn and Erich Hoffmann discovers the bacterium that is responsible for syphilis—a spiral-shaped spirochete called Treponema pallidum.Germany source

Crime & Justice

February 1 – U.S. Senator John H. Mitchell of Oregon is indicted by a federal grand jury on charges arising from a scandal involving land grants in the state and illegally using his influence for private clients.source
March 10 – In Cleveland, Ohio, Cassie Chadwick is sentenced for 14 years in prison for fraud.United States source
July 15 – The popular fictional character Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief, is introduced in France.source
October 13 – Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst interrupt a Liberal Party (UK) rally at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England, and choose imprisonment when convicted, the first militant action of the suffragette campaign.source
13 October – Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst interrupt a Liberal Party rally at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester and choose imprisonment when convicted, the first militant action of the suffragette campaign.United Kingdom source
October – Fauvist artists, led by Henri Matisse and André Derain, first exhibit their works, at the Salon d'Automne in Paris.source
October – The Fauvist artists, notably Henri Matisse, first exhibit, at the Salon d'Automne in Paris.France source
Pathé Frères colors black and white films by machine.source
Gédéon Bordiau and Charles Girault, Arcade du Cinquantenaire, BrusselsBelgium source
Smarthavicharam of Kuriyedathu Thatri.India source
Men: Arthur Duncan (Wellington) – 4th titleNew Zealand source
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - At the Grave, Op. 61Russia source
Gwyneth Vaughan - O Gorlannau'r DefaidWales source

Disasters & Accidents

January 15 – A series of three 41 m high tsunamis kill 61 people in Norway, after a rockslide sweeps down Mount Ramnefjell and crashes into Lake Lovatnet.source
5 February – General strike in Belgian coal fields begins.Belgium source
10 February – Belgian Labour Party provides striking miners with 12.5 francs each in strike pay.Belgium source
16 February – Explosions caused by petrol fumes after refuelling on board the newly commissioned submarine HMS A5 killed six of the eleven crew at the Royal Navy's base in Haulbowline.Ireland source
March 14 – 23 of the 26 crew of the British barque Kyber die when the ship is wrecked off England's Land's End.source
March 20 – The Grover Shoe Factory disaster kills 58 employees in Brockton, Massachusetts, when a boiler explodes and the factory building collapses.source
March 20 – Grover Shoe Factory disaster: A boiler explosion, building collapse and fire in Brockton, Massachusetts kills 58.United States source
April 3 – A coal mine explosion at Zeigler, Illinois, kills 50 miners.source
April 5 – The body of John Paul Jones, "Father of the American Navy", is located in Paris almost 113 years after his death.source
June 18 – A coal mine explosion in Russia kills 500 employees at the Ivan Colliery at Kharsisk.source
June 21 – New York Central Railroad's 20th Century Limited train is derailed in an apparent act of sabotage, killing 21 people.source
June 25 – The Danish Navy training ship Georg Stage is accidentally sunk in port in Copenhagen after English steamship Ancona collides with it, killing 22 teenage recruits.source
July 11 – National Colliery disaster at Wattstown in the Rhondda valley of Wales: an underground explosion kills 120, with just one survivor.source
11 July – National Colliery disaster at Wattstown in the Rhondda: an underground explosion kills 120, with just one survivor.United Kingdom source
11 July – National Colliery disaster at Wattstown in the Rhondda: an underground explosion kills 120 men, with just one survivor.Wales source
August 22 – The sinking of the Japanese ferry Kinjo Maru kills 160 people after the British ship HMS Baralong collides with it in the Sea of Japan.source
6 September – Last sighting of the clipper ship Loch Vennachar which sinks off Kangaroo Island, killing 32 people. Only one body was found.Australia source
September 11 – 19 die and 48 are seriously injured when the Ninth Avenue Elevated train derails in Manhattan.United States source
December 30 – A bomb kills Frank Steunenberg, ex-governor of Idaho; the case leads to a trial against leaders of the Western Federation of Miners.source

Climate & Environment

15 January – A major rockfall hit the lake Loenvatnet in Sogn og Fjordane, creating a 40 m flood wave that destroyed the villages of Ytre Nesdal and Bødal, killing 61 people.Norway source
April 4 – In India, the 1905 Kangra earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, kills 20,000 and destroys most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala.source
4 April – The 7.8 Ms Kangra earthquake shook the Kangra Valley with a maximum EMS-98 intensity of IX (Destructive), killing more than 20,000 peopleIndia source
April 28 – A tornado strikes Laredo, Texas and kills 100.source
May 10 – The 1905 Snyder tornado destroys the town of Snyder, Oklahoma, killing 97.source
May 10 – The 1905 Snyder, Oklahoma tornado destroys much of Snyder, Oklahoma, killing at least 97.United States source
May 29 – Sawtooth National Forest is established.United States source
June 2 – Lassen National Forest is established.United States source
July 1 – Hundreds of people die in the flooding of Guanajuato in Mexico.source
July 24 – The 1905 Bolnai earthquake (8.4 magnitude) strikes Mongolia, the second-largest on record here.source
September 8 – The 7.2 Mw Calabria earthquake shakes Southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 557 and 2,500 people.source
September 8 – An earthquake strikes southern Italy with a magnitude of 7.2, damaging parts of Lipari Island and Messina Province, and killing between 557 and 2,500 people. The earthquake particularly affects the Calabria region, destroying as many as 25 villages, and 14,000 homes. Fortis visited the area and introduced a special law to aid these southern regions. This measure was the first real acknowledgment by the Italian state of the fundamental problems underlying southern underdevelopment.Italy source
6 November – Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Liège closes.Belgium source
Wolves become extinct in Japan.Japan source

Culture & Society

January 5 – Baroness Emma Orczy's play The Scarlet Pimpernel, the forerunner of her novel, opens at the New Theatre in London, beginning a run of 122 performances and numerous revivals.source
January 31 – "The greatest ball of the Gilded Age" is held by James Hazen Hyde, the heir to the fortune of the founder of the Equitable Life Assurance Association, at New York City's Sherry Hotel, spending $200,000 for a "Louis XV costume ball."source
February 3 – The first performance of A Shropshire Lad, the setting to music of the 1896 set of 63 poems of A. E. Housman by Arthur Somervell as a song-cycle, takes place at Aeolian Hall in London.source
5 February - The football club Clube do Remo is established in Belém.Brazil source
February 9 – Prince A. Morrow begins the movement in the U.S. for sex education, with the founding of the Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis.source
February 23 – Rotary International is founded in Chicago in the U.S.source
March 29 – Jimmy Walsh knocks out Monte Attell, in a controversial six-round bout in Philadelphia, to win recognition of the World Bantamweight Championship by the National Boxing Association, despite being disqualified by the referee.source
April 30 – Albert Einstein completes his doctoral dissertation, A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions (submitted July 30 to the University of Zurich).source
1 May – Season of events to celebrate 75th anniversary of Belgian independence opened.Belgium source
May 4 –The first world championship of professional wrestling takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.source
May 9 – Upon the death of U.S. social activist Ann Reeves Jarvis In West Virginia, her daughter Anna Jarvis resolves to campaign across the United States for a proposed "Mother's Day".source
24 May – Empire Day is first celebrated in Australia.Australia source
June 1 – The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition opens in Portland, Oregon.source
6 June – In Germany's last royal wedding, Crown Prince Wilhelm, son of Kaiser Wilhelm II and heir to the throne, marries Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Berlin.Germany source
June 15 – British Princess Margaret of Connaught marries Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Duke of Skåne, the future King Gustaf VI Adolf.source
June 17 – Austrian Football Club FC Admira Wacker is founded as SK Admira Wien in Vienna.source
June 28 – "Pomp and Circumstance" is first played as a graduation march, after Yale University music professor Samuel Sanford invited its composer, Sir Edward Elgar, to receive an honorary degree.source
June 29 – The Automobile Association is founded in the United Kingdom.source
July 12 –The University of Sheffield is officially opened by King Edward VII in England.source
August 20 — Tongmenghui, a secret society and underground resistance movement, is founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, JapanChina source
September 10 – Crystal Palace F.C. is founded in London.source
September 27 – Da-Qing Bank, predecessor of Bank of China, is founded in Peiping.source
October 1 – Turkish Association football team Galatasaray is founded in Istanbul.source
October 1 – A Czech worker, František Pavlík, is bayoneted to death during a demonstration for a Czech university in Brno. This event is the motivation for a piano sonata, 1. X. 1905, by Leoš Janáček, which premieres on 27 January 1906.source
October 11 – The Institute of Musical Art, predecessor of the Juilliard School, opens in New York City.source
December 15 – The Pushkin House is established in Saint Petersburg, to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin.Russia source
December 30 – Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow is first performed, at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna.source
Verzló, now the oldest private school in Iceland, is founded.Iceland source
Wellington: Diamond WellingtonNew Zealand source

Births

January 2 – Michael Tippett, English composer (died 1998)source
January 2 – Anna May Wong, American actress (died 1961)source
17 January – Guillermo Stábile, football player and manager (died 1966)Argentina source
February 2 – Ayn Rand, Russian-born American author, philosopher (The Fountainhead) (died 1982)source
March 19 – Albert Speer, German Nazi official, architect (died 1981)source
April 5 - Ramón Torrado. (died 1990)Spain source
May 13 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer, politician, 5th President of India (died 1977)source
June 7 – James J. Braddock, American heavyweight boxer (died 1974)source
June 21 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French existentialist (died 1980)source
July 29 – Clara Bow, American film actress (died 1965)source
July 29 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations (died 1961)source
September 11 – Karim Sanjabi, Persian jurist and politician and founder of the National Front.Iran source
September 18 – Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (died 1990)source
October 6 – Helen Wills, American tennis player (died 1998)source
October 11 – Fred Trump, American real estate developer (died 1999)source
October 18 – Félix Houphouët-Boigny, President of Ivory Coast (died 1993)source
December 24 – Howard Hughes, American millionaire, aviation pioneer and film mogul (died 1976)source
Agnes Okoh in Ogba–Egbema–NdoniNigeria source

Deaths

January 9 – Louise Michel, French anarchist (born 1830)source
January 14 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist (born 1840)source
29 January - José do Patrocínio, writer, journalist, activist, orator and pharmacist (born 1854; suffered hemoptysis just after making a speech in honour of Alberto Santos-Dumont)Brazil source
February 6 – Eliel Soisalon-Soininen, the Chancellor of Justice of the Grand Duchy of Finland (at this time part of the Russian Empire) is assassinated at Helsingfors (Helsinki).source
February 8 – John Leary, American businessman, politician, and civic leader (born 1837)source
February 15 – Lew Wallace, American writer (Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ) (born 1827)source
February 17 – Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, the Governor-General of Moscow and uncle of Tsar Nicholas II, is assassinated.source
February 17 – Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (born 1857)source
March 24 – Jules Verne, French science fiction author (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas) (born 1828)source
April 13 – Taguchi Ukichi, historian and economist (born 1855)Japan source
May 21: demonstration consisting of thousands of workers gathered at Constitution Square and marched from there to the Plaza Lavalle, where the concentration was attacked with bullets and sabers. 2 people are killed and 20 are injured.Argentina source
June 3 – James Hudson Taylor, British missionary (born 1832)source
June 13 – Theodoros Deligiannis, Prime Minister of Greece, is assassinated.source
July 1 – John Hay, American diplomat, private secretary to Abraham Lincoln (born 1838)source
July 11 – Muhammad Abduh, Egyptian philosopher, jurist (born 1849)source
August 18 – Joseph Cochran, American missionary.Iran source
September 18 – George MacDonald, Scottish author, poet and Christian minister (born 1824)source
October 13 – Sir Henry Irving, English actor (born 1838)source