The temperature on August 31, 1908 was between 9.2 °C and 17.2 °C and averaged 13.4 °C. There was 1.1 mm of rain. There was 6.1 hours of sunshine (44%). The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the southwest. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from August 17, 1905 to February 11, 1908 the cabinet De Meester, with Mr. Th. de Meester (unie-liberaal) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from February 12, 1908 to August 29, 1913 the cabinet Heemskerk, with Mr. Th. Heemskerk (AR) as prime minister.
January 15 » The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
May 10 » Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.
May 26 » The first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East was made at Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia. The rights to the resource were quickly acquired by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
July 1 » SOS is adopted as the international distress signal.
July 23 » The Second Constitution accepted by the Ottomans.
September 27 » Production of the Model T automobile begins at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit.
Day of death January 1, 1909
The temperature on January 1, 1909 was between -6.4 °C and 0.4 °C and averaged -1.5 °C. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the south. Source: KNMI
January 9 » Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, plants the British flag 97 nautical miles (180km; 112mi) from the South Pole, the farthest anyone had ever reached at that time.
February 22 » The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USSConnecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.
March 4 » U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution's Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State.
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.
May 13 » The first Giro d'Italia starts from Milan. Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna will be the winner.
October 16 » William Howard Taft and Porfirio Díaz hold the first summit between a U.S. and a Mexican president. They narrowly escape assassination.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Pauline Berens BC, "Local Heritage Book Barger-Compascuum", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/ofb-barger-compascuum/I64298.php : accessed January 28, 2026), "Machiel van Dijk (1908-1909)".
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