What Happened in 1897 — Events, Births & Deaths

Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.

The Greco-Turkish War is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

J. J. Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory announces his discovery of the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton (in the atomic nucleus), at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London.

A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later.

British colonial officers Charles Walter Rand and Lt. Charles Egerton Ayerst are assassinated in Pune, Maharashtra, India by the Chapekar brothers and Mahadeo Vinayak Ranade, who are later caught and hanged.

Anglo-Afghan War: The Siege of Malakand ends when a relief column is able to reach the British garrison in the Malakand states.

The first International Congress of Mathematicians is held in Zürich, Switzerland.

The Tremont Street Subway in Boston opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America.

Lattimer massacre: A sheriff's posse kills 19 unarmed striking immigrant miners in Lattimer, Pennsylvania, United States.

London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs.

The British Colony of Natal annexes Zululand.