WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO DECEMBER 1909
Find out what all happened May to December 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)

Alice Huyler Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip, taking 59 days to travel from New York, New York to San Francisco, California. (7. August 1909)

The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the South Africa Act 1909, creating the Union of South Africa from the British Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and the Transvaal Colony. (20. September 1909)

Itō Hirobumi, four time Prime Minister of Japan (the 1st, 5th, 7th and 10th) and Resident-General of Korea, is assassinated by Ahn Jung-geun at the Harbin train station in Manchuria. (26. October 1909)

The first automobile race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway takes place. (19. August 1909)

Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity is founded at Boston University. (2. November 1909)

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

French troops capture Abéché (in modern-day Chad) and install a puppet sultan in the Ouaddai Empire. (6. June 1909)

The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, convenes for the first time. (31. May 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)

Burgess Shale fossils are discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott. (30. August 1909)

A group of mid-level Greek Army officers launches the Goudi coup, seeking wide-ranging reforms. (28. August 1909)

New South Wales Premier Charles Wade signs the Seat of Government Surrender Act 1909, formally completing the transfer of State land to the Commonwealth to create the Australian Capital Territory. (14. December 1909)

Two United States warships are sent to Nicaragua after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) are executed by order of José Santos Zelaya. (18. November 1909)

The Phantom of the Opera (original title: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra), a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux, is first published as a serialization in Le Gaulois. (23. September 1909)

The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, the oldest surviving professional hockey franchise in the world, is founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association. (4. December 1909)

Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal. (24. August 1909)

In Canadian football, the First Grey Cup game is played. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeat the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club, 26–6. (4. December 1909)

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

Eugene Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Juvisy, south of Paris, becoming the first 'pilot' in the world to lose his life in a powered heavier-than-air craft. (7. September 1909)