What Happened in 1902 — Events, Births & Deaths

The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C., with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.

The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance is signed in London.

Second Boer War: Australian soldiers Harry "Breaker" Morant and Peter Handcock are executed in Pretoria after being convicted of war crimes.

Second Boer War: Boers, led by Koos de la Rey, defeat the British at the Battle of Tweebosch.

Macario Sakay issues Presidential Order No. 1 of his Tagalog Republic.

A stand box collapses at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) in Glasgow, Scotland, which led to the deaths of 25 and injuries to more than 500 supporters during an international association football match between Scotland and England.

The 7.5 Mw Guatemala earthquake shakes Guatemala with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing between 800 and 2,000.

Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.

In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.

Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.

Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the country's first President.

Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.

The U.S. Congress passes the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt to acquire rights from Colombia for the Panama Canal.

Peruvian explorer and farmer Agustín Lizárraga discovers Machu Picchu, the "Lost City of the Incas".

The Campanile in St Mark's Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.

Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Cadillac Motor Company is founded.

Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to make a public appearance in an automobile.

At least 6,000 people are killed by the magnitude 7.7 Kashgar earthquake in the Tien Shan mountains.

A stampede at Shiloh Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, leads to the death of 115 attendees.

The opening of the reservoir of the Aswan Dam in Egypt.

The Commercial Pacific Cable Company lays the first Pacific telegraph cable, from San Francisco to Honolulu.

The Syracuse Athletic Club defeat the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden.

The Discovery Expedition under Robert Falcon Scott attains a Farthest South at 82°17′S in Antarctica.

Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (born 1812)