December 1903


The following events occurred in December 1903:

[December 1], 1903 (Tuesday)

[December 2], 1903 (Wednesday)

[December 3], 1903 (Thursday)

[December 4], 1903 (Friday)

[December 5], 1903 (Saturday)

[December 6], 1903 (Sunday)

Born:

[December 7], 1903 (Monday)

[December 8], 1903 (Tuesday)

The New York Times reported that there was no truth to the story that Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria had murdered an actress. However, later rumors suggested that the story was in fact true. Archduchess Elisabeth Marie would give birth to a son on March 22, 1904.

[December 9], 1903 (Wednesday)

[December 10], 1903 (Thursday)

[December 11], 1903 (Friday)

[December 12], 1903 (Saturday)

[December 13], 1903 (Sunday)

Born:

[December 14], 1903 (Monday)

  • Police discovered the body of 19-year-old domestic servant Mary Ann Worsman in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal near Bingley, England, the day after a man found her clothing, partially covered by cocoanut matting, near Swine Bridge. The case was believed to be a murder but would never be solved.
  • In North Carolina, the Wright brothers made their first attempt at a powered flight with the Wright Flyer. Wilbur Wright won a coin toss to determine who would make the first flight, but the aircraft stalled and landed after climbing a few feet, sustaining slight damage.Born: Walter Rangeley, British Olympic sprinter; in Salford, Greater Manchester, England

[December 15], 1903 (Tuesday)

[December 16], 1903 (Wednesday)

[December 17], 1903 (Thursday)

[December 18], 1903 (Friday)

[December 19], 1903 (Saturday)

[December 20], 1903 (Sunday)

[December 21], 1903 (Monday)

[December 22], 1903 (Tuesday)

[December 23], 1903 (Wednesday)

[December 24], 1903 (Thursday)

[December 25], 1903 (Friday)

[December 26], 1903 (Saturday)

[December 27], 1903 (Sunday)

[December 28], 1903 (Monday)

[December 29], 1903 (Tuesday)

[December 30], 1903 (Wednesday)

  • In Troy, New York, a fire partially destroyed the Troy club, killing club residents Moses T. Clough and William Shaw and club guest Benjamin W. Kinney of Boston, Massachusetts.
  • A fire at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, killed 602 people, the greatest death toll of any theater fire in the history of the United States. Most of the victims were women and children attending a matinee performance of the musical Mr. Blue Beard, starring Eddie Foy Sr. According to fire survivor Frank Slosson, "The screams of the children for their mothers and mothers for their children I shall carry in my memory to my dying day."
  • Due to the death of actor Jerome Sykes the previous day, the production of The Billionaires in which he was starring at the Illinois Theatre was canceled. Two victims of the Iroquois fire were members of the Billionaires cast who attended the Mr. Blue Beard performance: Harry Hudson, 21, and Arthur Caville, 24. Will J. Davis, the manager of both the Iroquois and Illinois Theatres, was at Sykes' funeral when he received a telephone call informing him of the Iroquois fire.
  • An executive session of leaders of the ongoing liveryman's strike in Chicago determined to permit burial of the dead from the Iroquois fire without obstruction.
  • The body of famed American journalist Margaret Frances Sullivan, who had died on December 28, was taken to Detroit, Michigan, for burial. The news of the Iroquois fire overshadowed that of Sullivan's death, denying her the published tributes she might otherwise have received.Born: Candido Portinari, Brazilian painter; in Brodowski, São Paulo, Brazil Died:
  • * George Deshon, 80, American Catholic priest, co-founder of the Paulist Fathers, died of heart failure.
  • * Dan Leahy, 33, American Major League Baseball shortstop, was shot to death.
  • * Armand Séguin, 34, French painter
  • * John Browne, 4th Marquess of Sligo, 79, Irish politician and naval commander

[December 31], 1903 (Thursday)