April 18 » The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria.
May 8 » The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin produced its first play.
July 17 » NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.
July 29 » The First Hague Convention is signed.
November 2 » The Boers begin their 118-day siege of British-held Ladysmith during the Second Boer War.
November 28 » The Second Boer War: a British column is engaged by Boer forces at the Battle of Modder River; although the Boers withdraw, the British suffer heavy casualties.
Day of death November 17, 1903
The temperature on November 17, 1903 was between -0.8 °C and 7.0 °C and averaged 2.9 °C. Source: KNMI
February 11 » Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna, Austria.
April 19 » The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
May 29 » In the May Coup, Alexander I, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.
September 11 » The first race at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin is held. It is the oldest major speedway in the world.
November 3 » With the encouragement of the United States, Panama separates from Colombia.
November 17 » The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party splits into two groups: The Bolsheviks (Russian for "majority") and Mensheviks (Russian for "minority").
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/I8093.php : accessed January 4, 2026), "Maurice Retief PRETORIUS (1899-1903)".
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