January 13 » First Italo-Ethiopian War: the war's opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.
June 27 » The inaugural run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
October 8 » Korean Empress Myeongseong is assassinated by Japanese infiltrators.
October 21 » The Republic of Formosa collapses as Japanese forces invade.
November 28 » The first American automobile race takes place over the 54 miles from Chicago's Jackson Park to Evanston, Illinois. Frank Duryea wins in approximately 10 hours.
December 28 » Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays.
Day of death May 23, 1939
The temperature on May 23, 1939 was between 7.6 °C and 22.3 °C and averaged 15.6 °C. There was 13.1 hours of sunshine (82%). The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the northeast. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from June 24, 1937 to July 25, 1939 the cabinet Colijn IV, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from July 25, 1939 to August 10, 1939 the cabinet Colijn V, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from August 10, 1939 to September 3, 1940 the cabinet De Geer II, with Jonkheer mr. D.J. de Geer (CHU) as prime minister.
February 27 » United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in NLRB v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. that the National Labor Relations Board has no authority to force an employer to rehire workers who engage in sit-down strikes.
March 30 » The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463mph (745km/h).
April 9 » African-American singer Marian Anderson gives a concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
September 3 » World War II: France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, forming the Allies.
September 18 » World War II: The Polish government of Ignacy Mościcki flees to Romania.
November 23 » World War II: HMSRawalpindi is sunk by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: W. Rovers, "Family tree Ro(o)vers", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom_rovers/I13702.php : accessed February 18, 2026), "Petronella Mertens (± 1872-1939)".
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