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 22 » Spanish–American War: In a chaotic operation, 6,000 men of the U.S. Fifth Army Corps begins landing at Daiquirí, Cuba, about 16 miles (26km) east of Santiago de Cuba. Lt. Gen. Arsenio Linares y Pombo of the Spanish Army outnumbers them two-to-one, but does not oppose the landings.
July 8 » The death of crime boss Soapy Smith, killed in the Shootout on Juneau Wharf, releases Skagway, Alaska from his iron grip.
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.
August 23 » The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London.
September 13 » Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film.
Christening day September 5, 1898
The temperature on September 5, 1898 was about 18.7 °C. The airpressure was 77 cm mercury. The atmospheric humidity was 90%. 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.
March 16 » In Melbourne the representatives of five colonies adopted a constitution, which would become the basis of the Commonwealth of Australia.
April 20 » U.S. President William McKinley signed a joint resolution to Congress for declaration of war against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War.
June 21 » The United States captures Guam from Spain. The few warning shots fired by the U.S. naval vessels are misinterpreted as salutes by the Spanish garrison, which was unaware that the two nations were at war.
August 29 » The Goodyear tire company is founded.
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.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Gert Esterhuizen, "Family tree Eric Esterhuizen", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-eric-esterhuizen/I15662.php : accessed January 8, 2026), "Louis Johannes PRETORIUS (1898-????)".
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