What Happened in 1897

Felix Hoffman, an Employee of Bayer Company, Learned How to Isolate Salicin and Make it Pleasant to the Stomach

Once they isolated salicin, they found it was poisonous to the stomach. Then, 80 years later, in 1897, Felix Hoffman, an employee of Bayer Company,... Read more

Isadore H. Heller House Constructed

The Isidore H. Heller House is a house located at 5132 South Woodlawn Avenue in the Hyde Park community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois,... Read more

Frank Lloyd Wright Moves Practice to Steinway Hall

Wright moved out of the Schiller Building and into the nearby and newly completed Steinway Hall Building. The loft space was shared with Robert C.... Read more

Mohandes Gandhi is Nearly Lynched by White Settlers in Durban upon Returning from a Brief Trip to Fetch his Family in India

It is a measure of Gandhi’s success as a publicist that the Indian National Congress Recorded its protest against the disabilities imposed upon the... Read more

William McKinley is inaugurated as the 25th president of the United States

A Civil War officer, and a Governor and Congressman from Ohio, Mr. McKinley took the oath on a platform erected on the north East Front steps at... Read more

Thornton Niven Wilder Is Born

Thornton Niven Wilder was born April 17, 1897, in Madison, Wisconsin. Arguably one of the greatest playwrights of the twentieth century, Wilder is... Read more

'Dracula' is Published

The ending of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (1897) has long troubled readers. Professor Abraham Van Helsing, the Dutch expert on the supernatural,... Read more

Oscar Wilde is Released From Prison

Upon his release, Oscar wrote “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” a response to the agony he experienced in prison. It was published shortly before... Read more

Amelia Earhart is born

Amelia Mary Earhart, daughter of Samuel "Edwin" Stanton Earhart (March 28, 1867) and Amelia "Amy" Otis Earhart (1869–1962), was born in Atchison,... Read more

Thomas Edison Receives A Patent For The Kinetographic Camera

On August 31, 1897, Thomas Edison received a patent for the kinetographic camera, “a certain new and useful Improvement in Kinetoscopes,” the... Read more

Lattimer Massacre

The shooting continued for at least a minute and a half, though some eyewitnesses claimed it may have been three minutes or more. Perhaps as many... Read more

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is Published in the New York Sun

The editorial was the New York Sun’s lyrical and timeless paean to childhood and the Christmas spirit, “Is There A Santa Claus?” It was written by... Read more

William Faulkner Is Born

Novelist William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi on September 25, 1897. He spent much of his youth in Oxford where his father was... Read more

The First Library Of Congress Building Opens Its Doors To The Public

On November 1, 1897, the first Library of Congress building opened its doors to the public. Previously, the Library had been housed in the... Read more

Quentin Roosevelt Is Born

Quentin was the youngest child of the Roosevelt family including half-sister Alice, sister, Ethel, and brothers Theodore Jr., Kermit and Archibald... Read more

Montreal Victorias win Stanley Cup

Victorias from Montreal were the champions for the third consecutive season in the Amateur Hockey Association. The Vics accepted a challenge from... Read more