January 1 » The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister.
January 10 » The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
January 22 » Edward VII is proclaimed King after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
March 23 » Emilio Aguinaldo, only President of the First Philippine Republic, was captured at Palanan, Isabela by the forces of General Frederick Funston.
September 2 » Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair.
December 12 » Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal (the letter "S" [***] in Morse Code), at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
Christening day July 24, 1909
The temperature on July 24, 1909 was between 10.5 °C and 18.7 °C and averaged 14.6 °C. There was 0.4 mm of rain. There was 11.3 hours of sunshine (71%). The average windspeed was 5 Bft (very strong wind) and was prevailing from the southwest. Source: KNMI
February 22 » The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USSConnecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.
April 6 » Robert Peary and Matthew Henson become the first people to reach the North Pole; Peary's claim has been disputed because of failings in his navigational ability.
April 9 » The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act.
September 7 » Eugène Lefebvre crashes a new French-built Wright biplane during a test flight at Juvisy, south of Paris, becoming the first aviator in the world to lose his life in a powered heavier-than-air craft.
October 16 » William Howard Taft and Porfirio Díaz hold the first summit between a U.S. and a Mexican president. They narrowly escape assassination.
October 26 » An Jung-geun assassinates Japan's Resident-General of Korea.
Day of death January 6, 1954
The temperature on January 6, 1954 was between -8.2 °C and -3.4 °C and averaged -6.0 °C. There was 5.6 hours of sunshine (71%). The partly clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the north-northeast. Source: KNMI
April 22 » Red Scare: Witnesses begin testifying and live television coverage of the Army–McCarthy hearings begins.
May 13 » The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.
May 13 » The original Broadway production of The Pajama Game opens and runs for another 1,063 performances. Later received three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Choreography.
August 10 » At Massena, New York, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Saint Lawrence Seaway is held.
September 8 » The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established.
December 2 » The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Taiwan, is signed in Washington, D.C.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Louis Kramer, "Kramer Family Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/kramer_stamboom/I577668.php : accessed January 12, 2026), "Benny Josefine Melhus (1901-1954)".
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