Editing 1900 (section)

== Summary ==

=== Political and military ===
The year 1900 was the end of the [[19th century]] and the beginning of the [[20th century]]. Two days into the new year, the [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] [[John Hay]] announced the [[Open Door Policy]] regarding [[Qing dynasty|China]], advocating for equal access for all nations to the Chinese market. The [[1900 Galveston hurricane|Galveston hurricane]] would become the [[List of disasters in the United States by death toll|deadliest]] [[natural disaster]] in United States history, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 people, mostly in and near [[Galveston, Texas]], as well as leaving 10,000 people homeless, destroying 7,000 buildings of all kinds in Galveston. As of [[2025]], it remains the [[Atlantic hurricane|fourth deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record]].
An ongoing [[Boxer Rebellion]] in China escalates with multiple attacks by the [[Boxer movement|Boxers]] on Chinese and European civilians, killing hundreds; the rebellion would progress with the [[Russian invasion of Manchuria|Russian Empire's invasion of Manchuria]] and the [[Battle of Peking (1900)]]. During the [[Scramble for Africa]], the [[Battle of Kousséri]] would see [[French Third Republic|French]] forces secure their domination of [[Chad]], which would become a [[French Chad|French colony]]. Britain would annex the [[South African Republic]] and the [[Orange Free State]] in Southern Africa, becoming the [[Orange River Colony]] until 1910.

For [[British Empire|Britain]], developments such as the [[Siege of Ladysmith#Battle of Platrand|Battle of Platrand]], [[Battle of Spion Kop]] and the [[Battle of Paardeberg]] in the [[Second Boer War]] highlighted the harsh nature of [[Boers|Boer]] [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla tactics]]. The British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] was founded in 1900, emerging out of the [[Labour movement]] and [[History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom|socialist parties of the 19th century]]; it would go on to become a major political force in Britain after the [[World War I|First World War]]. The [[Federation of Australia]] is enacted, marking the unification of its colonies into a single country.

=== Science ===
Four main scientific discoveries were achieved in the year 1900:

# [[Max Planck]] formulates [[Planck's law of black-body radiation]], marking the birth of modern [[quantum mechanics]], which would revolutionize humanity's understanding of the [[universe]], leading to groundbreaking discoveries in [[technology]], [[energy]], and the fabric of [[reality]] itself.
# [[Botany|Botanist]] [[Hugo de Vries]] would rediscover [[Mendelian inheritance|Mendel's laws of heredity]], laying the foundation for the field of [[genetics]].
# The [[ABO blood group system]], which becomes fundamental in transfusion medicine is discovered by [[Karl Landsteiner]], saving [[Blood transfusion|countless]] numbers of lives across the globe.
# [[Gamma ray|Gamma Rays]] are discovered by French physicist [[Paul Ulrich Villard|Paul Villard]], while studying [[Uranium carbide|uranium decay]], unveiling the mystery of the universe's most powerful phenomena and marking an important advancement in [[nuclear physics]].

=== Cultural and artistic ===
[[Giacomo Puccini]]'s opera ''[[Tosca]]'' premiers, one of the most frequently performed [[Opera|operas]] worldwide, a [[Melodrama|melodramatic]] piece set in Rome in June 1800, with the [[Kingdom of Naples]]'s control of Rome threatened by [[Napoleon]]'s [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|invasion of Italy]]. It contains depictions of torture, murder, and suicide, as well as some of Puccini's best-known lyrical [[Aria|arias]].{{Year nav|1900}}
[[L. Frank Baum]], an American author, publishes ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'', a cornerstone of American children’s literature, marking the first book of the [[List of Oz books|Oz series]].

=== Miscellaneous ===
The [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] accepts the British-German Treaty of 1899 on January 14. This formally ended U.S. claims to the [[Samoan Islands]]. The [[Attempts to build a canal across Nicaragua|U.S.-UK Treaty for a Central American Canal]] would be signed on February 5. While the initial plan for a Nicaraguan canal did not materialize, this treaty laid the groundwork for the construction of the [[Panama Canal]], a project of immense geopolitical and economic importance. 

The year 1900 also marked [[Rat (Zodiac)|the Year of the Rat]] on the Chinese calendar.
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