April 21 » Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
April 22 » Spanish–American War: The USSNashville captures a Spanish merchant ship.
June 27 » The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.
July 7 » US President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.
July 8 » The death of crime boss Soapy Smith, killed in the Shootout on Juneau Wharf, releases Skagway, Alaska from his iron grip.
August 11 » Spanish–American War: American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
Day of death May 20, 1898
The temperature on May 20, 1898 was about 13.2 °C. The airpressure was 75 cm mercury. The atmospheric humidity was 96%. Source: KNMI
January 1 » New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
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.
August 29 » The Goodyear tire company is founded.
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.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: R.A.Hemerik, "Descendants Hemerik-Broekhuizen-Huner-Koper-Barink", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/parenteel-hemerik/I164801.php : accessed February 9, 2026), "Wilhelmina Petronella Plu (1898-1898)".
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