WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO DECEMBER 1897
Find out what all happened January to December 1897

The British Colony of Natal annexes Zululand. (30. December 1897)

The town of Ambiky is captured by France from Menabe in Madagascar. (30. August 1897)

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. (22. June 1897)

The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America. (1. September 1897)

The Aurora, Texas UFO incident (17. April 1897)

German chemist Felix Hoffmann discovers an improved way of synthesizing acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). (10. October 1897)

The Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames is officially opened (22. May 1897)

A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later. (16. June 1897)

Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector. (31. August 1897)

Anglo-Afghan War: The Pashtun fakir Saidullah leads an army of more than 10,000 to begin a siege of the British garrison in the Malakand Agency of the North West Frontier Province of India. (26. July 1897)

Oldsmobile, a brand of American automobiles was founded. (21. August 1897)

Elva Zona Heaster is found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The resulting murder trial of her husband is perhaps the only case in United States history where the alleged testimony of a ghost helped secure a conviction. (23. January 1897)

Léo Taxil exposes his own fabrications concerning Freemasonry (19. April 1897)

The "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial is published in the New York Sun. (21. September 1897)

Dracula, a novel by the Irish author Bram Stoker, is published. (26. May 1897)

Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul. (1. February 1897)

Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London. (2. July 1897)

Lattimer massacre: A sheriff's posse kills 20 unarmed immigrant miners in Pennsylvania, United States. (10. September 1897)

The first Library of Congress building opens its doors to the public. The Library had been housed in the Congressional Reading Room in the U.S. Capitol. (1. November 1897)

Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force. (28. February 1897)