1907

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Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar.

Events

January–April

January 14: Earthquake in Jamaica.

• January 6 – The first Montessori school and daycare center for working class children opens in Rome.
• January 14 – An earthquake, in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000.
• March – The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt results in possibly as many as 11,000 deaths.
• March 5 – At the opening of the new State Duma in St. Petersburg, Russia 40,000 demonstrators are dispersed by Russian troops.
• March 15–March 16 – Elections to the new Parliament of Finland are the first in the world with woman candidates, as well as the first elections in Europe where universal suffrage is applied. Nineteen women are elected.
• March 22 – The first taxicabs with taxi meters begin operating in London.

May–August

• June 15 – The Second Hague Peace Conference opens at The Hague.
• June 26 – Tiflis bank robbery: Bolsheviks attack a cash-filled bank coach in the centre of Tiflis, Georgia, killing forty people.
• July 21 – The SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the lumber schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, U.S.A., resulting in 88 deaths.
• July 24 – The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907 brings the government and military of the protectorate of Korea more firmly under Japanese control.
• August 1–9 – Robert Baden-Powell leads the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, England.
• August 29 – The partially completed superstructure of the Quebec Bridge collapses entirely, claiming the lives of 76 workers.
• August 31 – Count Alexander Izvolsky and Sir Arthur Nicolson sign the Anglo-Russian Entente in Saint Petersburg, bringing a pause in The Great Game in Central Asia and establishing the Triple Entente.

September–December

• September 7 – The passenger liner RMS Lusitania makes its maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City.
• September 26 – New Zealand and Newfoundland become dominions.
• October – A committee of the Delegation for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language, made up of academics including Otto Jespersen, Wilhelm Ostwald and Roland Eötvös meet in Paris to select a language for international use. The committee ultimately decides to reform Esperanto.
• October 17 – Guglielmo Marconi initiates commercial transatlantic radio communications between his high power longwave wireless telegraphy stations in Clifden Ireland and Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.
• October 18 – Hague Convention revised by (second) Hague Peace Conference (effective 26 January 1910).
• October 27 – Černová incident: Fifteen people are shot during the consecration of a Catholic church in Hungary.
• November 16 – British passenger liner RMS Mauretania, the world's largest and fastest at this date, sets out on her maiden voyage from Liverpool (England) to New York.
• December 6 – Monongah Mining disaster: A coal mine explosion kills 362 workers in Monongah, West Virginia, United States.
• December 8 – Upon the death of Oscar II, he is succeeded by his son Gustaf V as king of Sweden.
• December 19 – An explosion in a coal mine in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania kills 239.
• December 21 – Santa María School massacre. In Chile soldiers fire at striking mineworkers gathered in the Santa María School in Iquique, over 2000 are killed.

Date unknown

• The Diamond Sūtra, a woodblock printed Buddhist scripture dated 868, is discovered by Aurel Stein in the Mogao Caves in China; it is "the earliest complete survival of a dated printed book".^[1]
• The triode thermionic amplifier invented by Lee de Forest, starting the development of electronics as a practical technology.
• The Autochrome Lumière is the first commercial color photography process.
• Peking to Paris motor race, won by Prince Scipione Borghese driving a 7 litre 35/45 hp Itala.
• The Moine Thrust Belt in Scotland is identified, one of the first to be discovered anywhere.^[2]
• Henri Matisse begins to teach at the Académie Matisse in Paris, a private and non-commercial art school.

Births

January–February

• January 3 – Ray Milland, Welsh actor (d. 1986)
• January 12 – Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1966)
• January 18 – Lina Haag, German WWII resistance fighter (d. 2012)
• January 20 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
• January 22 – Dixie Dean, English football player (d. 1980)
• January 23 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
• February 1 – Günter Eich, German writer (d. 1972)
• February 5 – Pierre Pflimlin, French politician (d. 2000)
• February 9 – Trường Chinh, President of Vietnam (d. 1988)
• February 12 – Clifton C. Edom, American photojournalism educator (d. 1991)
• February 13 – Katy de la Cruz, Filipino singer (d. 2004)
• February 15
  • Jean Langlais, French composer and organist (d. 1991)
  • Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)
• February 17 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (d. 1983)
• February 18 – Oscar Brodney, American screenwriter (d. 2008)
• February 21 – W. H. Auden, English poet (d. 1973)
• February 22
  • Sheldon Leonard, American actor, writer, director, and producer (d. 1997)
  • Robert Young, American actor (d. 1998)
• February 25 – Kathryn Wasserman Davis, American philanthropist (d. 2013)
• February 26 – Dub Taylor, American actor (d. 1994)
• February 27 – Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)
• February 28 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)

March–April

• March 8 – Constantine Karamanlis, Greek politician (d. 1998)
• March 9 – Mircea Eliade, Romanian religious historian and writer (d. 1986)
• March 12
  • Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer (d. 2007)
  • Arthur Hewlett, British actor (d. 1997)
• March 15 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (d. 1981)
• March 16 – Hans Kleppen, Norwegian ski jumper (d. 2009)
• March 17 – Takeo Miki, former Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1988)
• March 18 – John Zachary Young, English biologist (d. 1997)
• March 22 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun and visionary (d. 2005)
• March 23 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born scientist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
• March 27 – Mary Treen, American actress (d. 1989)
• March 29 – "Braguinha", Brazilian songwriter (d. 2006)
• March 30 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German Luftwaffe officer (d. 1994)
• April 1 – Dr. Shivakumara Swamiji, Indian born social reformer
• April 11 – Ivor Spencer-Thomas, English farmer, entrepreneur and inventor (d. 2001)
• April 12 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-born sculptor (d. 2003)
• April 13 – Harold Stassen, American politician (d. 2001)
• April 15 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
• April 18 – Bert Hazell, British politician (d. 2009)
• April 21 – Wade Mainer, American singer and banjoist (d. 2011)
• April 23
  • Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (d. 1975)
  • James Hayter, British actor (d. 1983)
• April 24 – William Sargant, British psychiatrist (d. 1988)
• April 29
  • Tino Rossi, French singer (d. 1983)
  • Fred Zinnemann, Austrian director (d. 1997)

May–June

• May 1 – Oliver Hill, American lawyer (d. 2007)
• May 2 – Pinky Lee, American comedian (d. 1993)
• May 3 – Dorothy Young, American entertainer (d. 2011)
• May 5 – Iryna Vilde, Ukrainian writer (d. 1982)
• May 9 – Baldur von Schirach, Nazi official (d. 1974)
• May 11 – Rose Ausländer, German poet (d. 1988)
• May 12 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
• May 13 – Dame Daphne du Maurier, English author (d. 1989)
• May 14
  • Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 1974)
  • Johnny Moss, American poker player (d. 1995)
• May 22
  • Hergé, Belgian comics author (d. 1983)
  • Lord Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen actor and director (d. 1989)
• May 25 – U Nu, Burmese politician (d. 1995)
• May 26 – John Wayne, American actor (d. 1979)
• May 27 – Rachel Carson, American environmental writer (d. 1964)
• May 30
  • Elly Beinhorn, German pilot (d. 2007)
  • Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist, member of French Resistance (d. 2008)
• June 1 – Frank Whittle, British jet engine developer (d. 1996)
• June 4 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)
• June 14
  • Nicolas Bentley, British writer and illustrator (d. 1978)
  • René Char, French poet (d. 1988)
• June 19 – Clarence Wiseman, Salvation Army general (d. 1985)
• June 23 – James Meade, English economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
• June 24 – Jean Schlumberger (jewelry designer) (d. 1987)
• June 25 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
• June 28 – Franciszka Themerson, Polish-born British artist and filmmaker (d. 1989)

July–August

• July 5 – Yang Shangkun, President of the People's Republic of China (d. 1998)
• July 6 – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (d. 1954)
• July 7 – Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction author (d. 1988)
• July 16
  • Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (d. 1990)
  • Orville Redenbacher, American botanist and popcorn businessman (d. 1995)
• July 19 – Paul Magloire, President of Haiti (d. 2001)
• July 22 – Zubir Said, Singaporean composer of Singapore's national anthem (d. 1987)
• July 27
  • Richard Beesly, British Olympic gold medal rower (d. 1965)
  • Ross Alexander, American actor (d. 1937)
• August 2 – Mary Hamman, American writer and editor (d. 1984)
• August 3 – Irene Tedrow, American actress (d. 1995)
• August 7 – Albert Kotin, American painter (d. 1980)
• August 8 – Benny Carter, American musician (d. 2003)
• August 12 – Joe Besser, American comedian (d. 1988)
• August 13 – Viscount William Waldorf Astor, British politician (d. 1966)
• August 20 – Alan Reed, American actor and voice actor (d. 1977)
• August 21 – Hy Zaret, American lyricist and composer (d. 2007)
• August 24 – Bruno Giacometti, Swiss architect (d. 2012)
• August 29 – Lurene Tuttle, American character actress (d. 1986)
• August 31
  • Argentina Brunetti, Argentinian actress and writer (d. 2005)
  • Augustus F. Hawkins, American politician and civil rights lawmaker (d. 2007)

September–October

• September 2
  • Evelyn Hooker, American psychologist (d. 1996)
  • Miriam Seegar, American actress (d. 2011)
• September 3 – Loren Eiseley, American author (d. 1977)
• September 4
  • Frances Griffiths, Cottingley Fairies girl (d. 1986)
  • Reggie Nalder, Austrian actor (d. 1991)
• September 12
  • Spud Chandler, American baseball player (d. 1990)
  • Louis MacNeice, Northern Irish poet (d. 1963)
• September 15
  • Jimmy Wallington, American radio personality (d. 1972)
  • Fay Wray, Canadian-born actress (d. 2004)
• September 18
  • Leon Askin, Austrian actor (d. 2005)
  • Edwin McMillan, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
• September 23 – Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, Pretender to the throne of Portugal (d. 1976)
• September 26
  • Anthony Blunt, British art historian and spy (d. 1983)
  • Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (d. 1992)
• September 27 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and writer (d. 2003)
• September 29
  • Gene Autry, American actor, singer, and businessman (d. 1998)
  • George W. Jenkins, American businessman (d. 1996)
• October 1 – Ödön Pártos, Hungarian-Israeli violist and composer (d. 1977)
• October 2
  • Víctor Paz Estenssoro, President of Bolivia (d. 2001)
  • Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
• October 5 – Mrs. Miller, American singer (d. 1997)
• October 6 – Francisco Gabilondo Soler, (d. 1990)
• October 9 – Lord Hailsham, British politician (d. 2001)
• October 15 – Varian Fry, American journalist and rescuer (d. 1967)
• October 19 – Roger Wolfe Kahn, American bandleader (d. 1962)
• October 28 – John Hewitt, Irish poet (d. 1987)
• October 30 – Sol Tax, American anthropologist (d. 1995)

November–December

• November 1 – Homero Manzi, Argentine Tango lyricist and author (d. 1951)
• November 4 – Draga Matković, German concert pianist (d. 2013)
• November 6 – Charles W. Yost, American ambassador (d. 1981)
• November 10 – John Moore, British author (d. 1967)
• November 14
  • Howard W. Hunter, American religious leader (d. 1995)
  • Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's writer (d. 2002)
  • William Steig, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
• November 15 – Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, German aristocrat and military officer (d. 1944)
• November 16 – Burgess Meredith, American actor (d. 1997)
• November 18
  • Compay Segundo, Cuban musician (d. 2003)
  • Gustav Nezval, Czech actor (d. 1998)
• November 23 – Run Run Shaw, Hong Kong media mogul (d. 2014)
• November 26 – Ruth Patrick, American botanist (d. 2013)
• November 27 – L. Sprague de Camp, American writer (d. 2000)
• November 28 – Alberto Moravia, Italian novelist (d. 1990)
• November 30 – Jacques Barzun, French-born American historian (d. 2012)
• December 5 – Lin Biao, Chinese communist leader (d. 1971)
• December 7 – Arch Oboler, American actor, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, and director (d. 1987)
• December 10 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer (d. 2005)
• December 12 – Roy Douglas, British composer
• December 15 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect (d. 2012)
• December 19 – Jimmy McLarnin, Irish-born boxer (d. 2004)
• December 22 – Peggy Ashcroft, British actress (d. 1991)
• December 23 – James Roosevelt, American businessman and politician (d. 1991)
• December 25 – Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (d. 1988)
• December 27 – Johann Wilhelm Trollmann, German boxer (d. 1943)

Date unknown

• Rafael Godoy, Colombian composer (d. 1973)
• Zhang Chongren, Chinese artist (d. 1998)
• probable – Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, King of Malaysia (d. 1979)

Deaths

January–June

• January 13 – Jakob Hurt, Estonian folklorist, theologian, and linguist (b. 1839)
• January 14 – Hermann Iseke, German doctor (b. 1856)
• January 21 – Bertram Fletcher Robinson, English journalist, editor and author (b. 1870)
• January 31 – Timothy Eaton, Canadian department store founder (b. 1834)
• February 2 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (b. 1834)
• February 16
  • Giosuè Carducci, Italian writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1835)
  • Clémentine of Orléans, daughter of King Louis-Philippe of France (b. 1817)
• February 20 – Henri Moissan, French chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1852)
• February 26 – C. W. Alcock, English footballer, journalist, and football promoter (b. 1842)
• March 9 – Frederic George Stephens, English art critic (b. 1828)
• March 10 – George Douglas-Pennant, 2nd Baron Penrhyn, industrialist (b. 1836)
• March 11 – Jean Casimir-Perier, President of France (b. 1847)
• March 19 – Thomas Bailey Aldrich, American poet and novelist (b. 1836)
• March 23 – Konstantin Pobedonostsev, statesman (b. 1827)
• March 25 – Ernst von Bergmann, Baltic German surgeon (b. 1836)
• April 23 – Alferd Packer, American cannibal (b. 1842)
• May 4 – John Watts de Peyster, American author, philanthropist, and soldier (b. 1821)
• May 12 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (b. 1848)
• May 19 – Sir Benjamin Baker, English civil engineer (b. 1840)
• May 26 – Ida Saxton McKinley, American First Lady (b. 1847)
• June 6 – J. A. Chatwin, English architect (b. 1830)
• June 14 – Bartolomé Masó, Cuban patriot (b. 1830)
• June 25 – John Hall, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1824)

July–December

• July 13 – Heinrich Kreutz, astronomer (b. 1854)
• August – Dinqinesh Mercha, empress consort of Ethiopia (b. 1815)
• August 3 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Irish-American Beaux-Arts sculptor (b. 1848)
• August 15 – Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist (b. 1831)
• August 25 – Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, British poet and novelist (b. 1861)
• August 30 – Richard Mansfield, Anglo-American actor (b. 1857)
• September 4 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (b. 1843)
• September 6 – Sully Prudhomme, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1839)
• September 9 – Ernest Roland Wilberforce, English bishop (b. 1840)
• September 12 – Ilia Chavchavadze, Georgian writer and saint of the Georgian Orthodox Church (b. 1837)
• September 19 – Jacob Morenga, Namibian rebel leader (b. c. 1875)
• November 6 – James Hector, Scottish geologist (b. 1834)
• November 16 – Robert I, Duke of Parma, last ruling Duke of Parma (b. 1848)
• November 28 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish writer, painter, and architect (b. 1869)
• December 4 – Luis Sáenz Peña, 12th President of Argentina (b. 1822)
• December 8 – King Oscar II of Sweden (b. 1829)
• December 15 – Carola of Vasa, queen consort of Saxony (b. 1833)
• December 17 – Lord Kelvin, Irish-born physicist and engineer (b. 1824)
• December 21 – Klara Hitler, Austrian mother of Adolf Hitler (b. 1860)

Nobel Prizes

• Physics – Albert Abraham Michelson
• Chemistry – Eduard Buchner
• Medicine – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran
• Literature – Rudyard Kipling
• Peace – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Louis Renault

References

• International Year Book: 1907 (1908) 1002pp, worldwide coverage online edition