1890: U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act, which in the years that follow will be used to break up large monopolies.
1891: Construction of Trans-Siberian Railway begins. Meanwhile, crop failures across Russia lead to widespread starvation.
1895: German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovers X rays.
1896: First modern Olympic Games held in Athens.
1897: In the midst of a nationwide depression, Mrs. Bradley Martin, daughter of Carnegie Steel magnate Henry Phipps, throws a lavish party at New York's recently opened Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where she has a suite decorated to look like Versailles. Her 900 guests, dressed in Louis XV period costumes, consume 60 cases of champagne.
1898: United States defeats Spain in the three-month Spanish American War. As a result, Cuba gains it independence, and the United States purchases Puerto Rico and the Philippines from Spain for $20 million.
1899: U.S. Secretary of State John Hay proposes an "Open Door" policy—meaning that all foreign powers with an economic interest in China should have an equal sharein the benefits. This meets with the agreement of other nations involved, including western European countries and Japan.
1900: China's Boxer Rebellion, which began in the preceding year with attacks on foreigners and Christians, reaches its height.
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