Joseph Conrad publishes Nostromo.

French sculptor Auguste Rodin creates one of his best-known works, The Thinker.

In Britain the Rolls-Royce automobile company is established.

Italian Giacomo Puccini composes his opera Madame Butterfly.

In Dublin, Ireland, the Abbey Theatre opens.

Russian playwright Anton Chekhov writes The Cherry Orchard.

French writer Frederic Mistral and Spanish writer Jose Echegaray y Eizaguirre share the Nobel Prize for literature.

Silicone is developed by F. S. Kipping.

Sigmund Freud publishes The Psychopathology of Everyday Life.

British scientist John Fleming invents the diode vacuum tube, a crucial step in the development of radio.

Several industrial cartels merge to form the German Steel Union. With monopoly control of steel markets at home, it sells its products for lower prices on world markets. Its existence aids Germany's expanding military.

8-9 Feb.

The Russo-Japanese War begins when Japanese launch an attack on the Russian fleet. Japan officially declares war...