WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO MAY 1904
Find out what all happened January to May 1904

Charles Stewart Rolls meets Frederick Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, England. (4. May 1904)

Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War. (8. February 1904)

The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine in Europe to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h). (9. May 1904)

The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal. (4. May 1904)

British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the third and final chapter of The Book of the Law. (10. April 1904)

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, using Thomas Edison's phonograph cylinder. (3. March 1904)

Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Port Arthur concludes. (9. February 1904)

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri. (30. April 1904)

The first international rugby league match is played between England and an Other Nationalities team (Welsh & Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan, England. (5. April 1904)

Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style. (23. January 1904)

The Russian minelayer Amur lays a minefield about 15 miles off Port Arthur and sank Japan's battleships Hatsuse, 15,000 tons, with 496 crew and Yashima. (15. May 1904)

Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre. (17. January 1904)

A fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours. (7. February 1904)

British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of The Book of the Law. (8. April 1904)

The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS". (7. January 1904)

The Australian Labor Party becomes the first such party to gain national government, under Chris Watson. (27. April 1904)

The Lithuanian press ban is lifted after almost 40 years. (24. April 1904)

Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan. (17. February 1904)

Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times. (8. April 1904)

The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. (8. January 1904)