Hungarian composer Bela Bartok composes his First String Quartet.

Ecce Homo, the autobiography of German philosopher and poet Friedrich Nietzsche, is published posthumously.

German writer Rudolf C. Eucken wins the Nobel Prize for literature.

The first newsreel is shown in a Paris theater by Charles Pathe.

German chemist Fritz Haber successfully synthesizes ammonia, a breakthrough with major commercial implications.

German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich, soon to discover a chemical treatment for syphilis that becomes known as the "magic bullet," shares the Nobel Prize in medicine with immunologist Elie Metchnikoff.

24 Jan.

1 Feb.

20 Feb.

8 Apr.

27 Apr.

The fourth Summer Olympic Games of the modern era begin in London and are completed on 31 October.

Major deposits of oil are discovered in Persia (present-day Iran), igniting an oil boom is southwestern Asia and leading to the discovery of other large oil supplies in the Middle East.