February 10, 1906. The biggest and fastest battleship in the world, the HMS Dreadnought, is launched in Britain by King Edward VII. Also in February, the Japanese government announces that it will double the size of its navy within the next three years. For more information about these huge warships of the early twentieth century, read Robert Massie’s Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the Coming of the Great War.
February, 1906. William K. Kellogg forms a company to market and distribute his corn-based breakfast cereal, called Cornflakes.
March, 1906. At the Spanish seaport of Algeciras, a conference is held to determine what European power will govern Morocco (in Northern Africa). THe conference recognized France’s “special position” in Morocco and gave the French and the Spanish joint responsibility for overseeing the government of Morocco.
April 18, 1906, The San Francisco Earthquake: “At almost precisely 5:12 a.m., local time, a foreshock occurred with sufficient force to be felt widely throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The great earthquake broke loose some 20 to 25 seconds later, with an epicenter near San Francisco. Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of Los Angeles and inland as far as central Nevada.”
April 27, 1906. The British and the Chinese agree that no foreign powers will be allowed to do business in Tibet without British permission. The agreement is meant to keep the Russians, in particular, out of Tibet. (The Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, are not consulted.)
May 10, 1906. The Duma, Russia’ first democratically elected parliament, opens at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.
July, 1906. Czar Nicholas dissolves the Duma because the members dared to suggest governmental and agrarian reforms. The more radical members of the Duma then meet in Finland and issue a manifesto calling on all Russians to refuse to pay taxes or serve in the army.
August 18, 1906. An earthquake in Valparaiso, Chile kills thousands and levels the city. Santiago also suffers severe damage.
September-October, 1906. Following disputed elections, the first president of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, faces an armed revolt by independence war veterans who defeat the meager government forces. The U.S. intervenes in the civil war by sending troops to Cuba to restore peace.
December 24, 1906. The first known radio broadcast is made in the U.S. by R.A. Fessenden from a radio tower in Brant Rock, Massachusetts. He broadcasts Christmas music and a reading from Luke, chapter 2, in the Bible.
Ken Burns’ Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio is a two hour documentary on the history of radio. Engineer Husband and I found it fascinating.