The temperature on December 3, 1908 was between -1.3 °C and 1.4 °C and averaged 0.3 °C. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) 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.
March 4 » The Collinwood school fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
April 14 » Hauser Dam, a steel dam on the Missouri River in Montana, U.S., fails, sending a surge of water 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1m) high downstream.
May 10 » Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.
June 30 » The Tunguska Event, the largest impact event on Earth in human recorded history, resulting in a massive explosion over Eastern Siberia.
July 25 » Ajinomoto is founded. Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University discovers that a key ingredient in kombu soup stock is monosodium glutamate (MSG), and patents a process for manufacturing it.
November 25 » A fire breaks out on SSSardinia as it leaves Malta's Grand Harbour, resulting in the ship's grounding and the deaths of at least 118 people.
Christening day May 16, 1909
The temperature on May 16, 1909 was between 0.9 °C and 15.3 °C and averaged 9.3 °C. There was 6.3 mm of rain. There was 7.7 hours of sunshine (49%). The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the east-northeast. Source: KNMI
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.
June 26 » The Science Museum in London comes into existence as an independent entity.
August 28 » A group of mid-level Greek Army officers launches the Goudi coup, seeking wide-ranging reforms.
December 10 » Selma Lagerlöf becomes the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Day of death June 30, 1909
The temperature on June 30, 1909 was between 10.4 °C and 15.3 °C and averaged 12.5 °C. The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the northwest. Source: KNMI
January 25 » Richard Strauss's opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
February 20 » Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
February 22 » The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USSConnecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.
April 9 » The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act.
August 24 » Workers start pouring concrete for the Panama Canal.
August 30 » Burgess Shale fossils are discovered by Charles Doolittle Walcott.
Day of burial July 3, 1909
The temperature on July 3, 1909 was between 5.0 °C and 22.2 °C and averaged 15.2 °C. There was 12.8 hours of sunshine (77%). The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the southwest. 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.
April 27 » Sultan of Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V.
May 31 » The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), convenes for the first time.
June 2 » Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
August 28 » A group of mid-level Greek Army officers launches the Goudi coup, seeking wide-ranging reforms.
November 18 » Two United States warships are sent to Nicaragua after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) are executed by order of José Santos Zelaya.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hans Weening, "Family tree Weening", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-weening/I66481.php : accessed October 24, 2026), "Doetje van der Merk (1908-1909)".
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