1901

January 1901 January 1 The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minister of Australia. Nigeria becomes a British protectorate. January 9 – Lord Kitchener reports that Christiaan de Wet has shot one of the "peace" envoys, and flogged two more, who had gone to his commando to ask the Burgher citizens of South Africa to halt fighting. January 22 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom dies at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. She is 81 years old and, having ruled for nearly 64 years, will be the second longest-reigning monarch in British history. Her eldest son, Prince Albert Edward, "Bertie", the longest-serving Prince of Wales to this time, succeeds his mother at the age of 59, reigning as King Edward VII, of the United Kingdom and in innovation the British Dominions, Canada and Australia and also becoming Emperor of India. February 1901 February 2 – The State funeral of Queen Victoria, held at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, UK, is attended by many European royals, including Kaiser Wilhelm II and Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. February 5 – The Hay–Pauncefote Treaty is signed by the United Kingdom and United States, ceding control of the Panama Canal to the United States. February 12 – Viceroy of India Lord Curzon creates the new North-West Frontier Province in the north of the Punjab region, bordering Afghanistan. February 14 – Edward VII opens his first parliament of the United Kingdom. February 16 – Bulgaria: Macedonian demonstrators in Sofia demand independence from Turkey. February 20 – The Hawaii Territory Legislature convenes for the first time. February 22 – The Pacific Mail Steamship Company's sinks entering San Francisco Bay, killing 128. February 23 – The United Kingdom and Germany agree on the frontier between German East Africa and the British colony of Nyasaland. February 25 – U.S. Steel is incorporated by industrialist J. P.