February 15 » The battleship USSMaine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing 274. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.
June 12 » Philippine Declaration of Independence: General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines' independence from Spain.
August 13 » Spanish–American War: Spanish and American forces engage in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.
October 18 » The United States takes possession of Puerto Rico from Spain.
December 18 » Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat sets the first officially recognized land speed record of 39.245mph (63.159km/h) in a Jeantaud electric car.
December 26 » Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium.
Day of death August 20, 1898
The temperature on August 20, 1898 was about 27.3 °C. The airpressure was 76 cm mercury. The atmospheric humidity was 70%. Source: KNMI
February 23 » Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J'Accuse…!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
June 11 » The Hundred Days' Reform, a planned movement to reform social, political, and educational institutions in China, is started by the Guangxu Emperor, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. (The failed reform led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.)
June 17 » The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
July 4 » En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives.
August 24 » Count Muravyov, Foreign Minister of Russia presents a rescript that convoked the First Hague Peace Conference.
October 6 » Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the largest American music fraternity, is founded at the New England Conservatory of Music.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: J. van Broekhoven, "Database Van Broekhoven", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/database-van-broekhoven/I57368.php : accessed February 6, 2026), "Josephina Johanna van Hommelen (1898-1898)".
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