WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO JULY 1909
Find out what all happened January to July 1909

Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from (Calais to Dover, England, United Kingdom) in 37 minutes. (25. July 1909)

Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London. (26. February 1909)

Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is forced out as Shah of Persia and is replaced by his son Ahmad Shah Qajar. (16. July 1909)

Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome. (18. April 1909)

The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity. (26. June 1909)

Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announces the creation of Bakelite, the world's first synthetic plastic. (5. February 1909)

RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day. (23. January 1909)

Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole. (16. January 1909)

Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's and form the Imperial Cricket Conference. (15. June 1909)

Richard Strauss's opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera. (25. January 1909)

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded. (12. February 1909)

The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act. (9. April 1909)

Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reach the North Pole. (6. April 1909)

Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. (5. January 1909)

The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire. (23. February 1909)

Drilling begins on the Lakeview Gusher. (1. January 1909)

United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish–American War. (28. January 1909)

The Turkish military reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. (13. April 1909)

Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society. (23. March 1909)

Sultan of Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V. (27. April 1909)