January 28 » Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8mph (13km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2mph (3.2km/h).
February 21 » An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fought an Irishman, Peter Maher, in an American promoted event which technically took place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.
June 2 » Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.
July 9 » William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetallism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
December 17 » Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Schenley Park Casino, which was the first multi-purpose arena with the technology to create an artificial ice surface in North America, is destroyed in a fire.
December 30 » Canadian ice hockey player Ernie McLea scores the first hat-trick in Stanley Cup play, and the Cup-winning goal as the Montreal Victorias defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 6–5.
Day of death February 7, 1902
The temperature on February 7, 1902 was between -6.5 °C and 0.9 °C and averaged -1.3 °C. Source: KNMI
January 30 » The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance is signed in London.
May 8 » In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
May 31 » Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
August 22 » Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to make a public appearance in an automobile.
November 29 » The Pittsburgh Stars defeated the Philadelphia Athletics, 11–0 to win the first championship associated with an American national professional football league.
December 28 » The Syracuse Athletic Club defeated the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Charles Olson, "Olson's Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/olsons-tree/P18038.php : accessed February 2, 2026), "Ruth Sargent (1896-1902)".
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