1899 in the United States

This article is intended to provide an overview of notable events from the year 1899 in the United States.

Federal government

 * President: William McKinley (R-Ohio)
 * Vice President:
 * Garret Hobart (R-New Jersey) (until November 21)
 * vacant (starting November 21)


 * Chief Justice: Melville Fuller (Illinois)
 * Speaker of the House of Representatives:
 * Thomas Brackett Reed (R-Maine) (until March 4)
 * David B. Henderson (R-Iowa) (starting December 4)


 * Congress: 55th (until March 4), 56th (starting March 4)

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" ! Governors and lieutenant governors

Governors
• Governor of Alabama: Joseph F. Johnston (Democratic)

• Governor of Arkansas: Daniel Webster Jones (Democratic)

• Governor of California: James Budd (Democratic) (until January 4), Henry Gage (Republican) (starting January 4)

• Governor of Colorado: Alva Adams (Democratic) (until January 10), Charles Spalding Thomas (Democratic) (starting January 10)

• Governor of Connecticut: Lorrin A. Cooke (Republican) (until January 4), George E. Lounsbury (Republican) (starting January 4)

• Governor of Delaware: Ebe W. Tunnell (Democratic)

• Governor of Florida: William D. Bloxham (Democratic)

• Governor of Georgia: Allen D. Candler (Democratic)

• Governor of Idaho: Frank Steunenberg (Democratic)

• Governor of Illinois: John Riley Tanner (Republican)

• Governor of Indiana: James A. Mount (Republican)

• Governor of Iowa: Leslie M. Shaw (Republican)

• Governor of Kansas: John W. Leedy (Populist) (until January 9), William E. Stanley (Republican) (starting January 9)

• Governor of Kentucky: William O. Bradley (Republican) (until December 12), William S. Taylor (Republican) (starting December 12)

• Governor of Louisiana: Murphy James Foster, Sr. (Democratic)

• Governor of Maine: Llewellyn Powers (Republican)

• Governor of Maryland: Lloyd Lowndes, Jr. (Republican)

• Governor of Massachusetts: Roger Wolcott (Republican)

• Governor of Michigan: Hazen S. Pingree (Republican)

• Governor of Minnesota: David M. Clough (Republican) (until January 2), John Lind (Democratic) (starting January 2)

• Governor of Mississippi: Anselm J. McLaurin (Democratic)

• Governor of Missouri: Lon Vest Stephens (Democratic)

• Governor of Montana: Robert Burns Smith (Democratic)

• Governor of Nebraska: Silas A. Holcomb (Democratic) (until January 5), William A. Poynter (Democratic) (starting January 5)

• Governor of Nevada: Reinhold Sadler (Silver)

• Governor of New Hampshire: George A. Ramsdell (Republican) (until January 5), Frank W. Rollins (Republican) (starting January 5)

• Governor of New Jersey: David Ogden Watkins (Republican) (until January 17), Foster MacGowan Voorhees (Republican) (starting January 17)

• Governor of New York: Theodore Roosevelt (Republican) (starting January 1)

• Governor of North Carolina: Daniel Lindsay Russell (Republican)

• Governor of North Dakota: Joseph M. Devine (Republican) (until January 3), Frederick B. Fancher (Republican) (starting January 3)

• Governor of Ohio: Asa S. Bushnell (Republican)

• Governor of Oregon: William Paine Lord (Republican) (until January 9), T. T. Geer (Republican) (starting January 9)

• Governor of Pennsylvania: Daniel H. Hastings (Republican) (until January 17), William A. Stone (Republican) (starting January 17)

• Governor of Rhode Island: Elisha Dyer, Jr. (Republican)

• Governor of South Carolina: William Haselden Ellerbe (Democratic) (until June 2), Miles Benjamin McSweeney (Democratic) (starting June 2)

• Governor of South Dakota: Andrew E. Lee (Populist)

• Governor of Tennessee: Robert Love Taylor (Democratic) (until January 16), Benton McMillin (Democratic) (starting January 16)

• Governor of Texas: Charles A. Culberson (Democratic) (until January 17), Joseph D. Sayers (Democratic) (starting January 17)

• Governor of Utah: Heber Manning Wells (Republican)

• Governor of Vermont: Edward Curtis Smith (Republican)

• Governor of Virginia: James Hoge Tyler (Democratic)

• Governor of Washington: John Rankin Rogers (Populist)/(Democratic)

• Governor of West Virginia: George W. Atkinson (Republican)

• Governor of Wisconsin: Edward Scofield (Republican)

• Governor of Wyoming: William A. Richards (Republican) (until January 2), DeForest Richards (Republican) (starting January 2)

Lieutenant governors
• Lieutenant Governor of California: William T. Jeter (Democratic) (until January 3), Jacob H. Neff (Republican) (starting January 3)

• Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Jared L. Brush (Republican) (until January 10), Francis Patrick Carney (Populist) (starting January 10)

• Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: James D. Dewell (Republican) (until January 4), Lyman A. Mills (Republican) (starting January 4)

• Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: George F. Moore (Democratic) (until January 2), J. H. Hutchinson (Democratic) (starting January 2)

• Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: William Northcott (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: William S. Haggard (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: James C. Milliman (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Alexander M. Harvey (Populist) (until January 9), Harry E. Richter (Republican) (starting January 9)

• Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: William Jackson Worthington (Republican) (until December 12), John Marshall (Republican) (starting December 12)

• Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Robert H. Snyder (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Winthrop M. Crane (political party unknown)

• Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Thomas B. Dunstan (Republican) (until month and day unknown), Orrin W. Robinson (Republican) (starting month and day unknown)

• Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: John L. Gibbs (Republican) (until January 3), Lyndon A. Smith (Republican) (starting January 3)

• Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: J. H. Jones (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: August Bolte (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Archibald E. Spriggs (political party unknown)

• Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: James E. Harris (Democratic) (until January 5), Edward A. Gilbert (Republican) (starting January 5)

• Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: James R. Judge (political party unknown)

• Lieutenant Governor of New York: Timothy L. Woodruff (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Charles A. Reynolds (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: vacant

• Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Asa W. Jones (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Walter Lyon (Republican) (until January 17), John P. S. Gobin (Republican) (starting January 17)

• Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: William Gregory (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Miles Benjamin McSweeney (Democratic) (until June 2), Robert B. Scarborough (Democratic) (starting June 2)

• Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Daniel T. Hindman (Republican) (until month and day unknown), John T. Kean (Republican) (starting month and day unknown)

• Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: John Thompson (Democratic) (until month and day unknown), Seid Waddell (Democratic) (starting month and day unknown)

• Lieutenant Governor of Texas: George Taylor Jester (Democratic) (until January 17), James Browning (Democratic) (starting January 17)

• Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Henry C. Bates (Republican)

• Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Edward Echols (Democratic)

• Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Thurston Daniels (Populist)

• Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Emil Baensch (Republican) (until January 2), Jesse Stone (Republican) (starting January 2)
 * }

January

 * January 1 – Queens and Staten Island merge with New York City.
 * January 10 – The Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity is founded at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois.
 * January 17 – The United States takes possession of Wake Island.

February

 * February 4 – The Philippine–American War begins as hostilities break out in Manila.
 * February 6 – Spanish–American War: A peace treaty between the United States and Spain is ratified by the United States Senate.
 * February 10 – Spanish–American War: The U.S. receives the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico as a result of the Treaty of Paris.
 * February 12–14 – Great Blizzard of 1899: Freezing temperatures and snow extend well south into North America, including southern Florida. It is the latest in a series of disasters to Florida's citrus industry.
 * February 14 – Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.

March

 * March 2 – In Washington state, Mount Rainier National Park is established.
 * March 24 – George Dewey is made Admiral of the Navy.

April

 * April 13 – Tahoe National Forest is established in California.
 * April 15 – Students at the University of California, Berkeley steal the Stanford Axe from Stanford University yell leaders following a baseball game, thus establishing the Axe as a symbol of the rivalry between the schools.

May

 * May 31 – The launch of the Harriman Alaska Expedition.

June

 * June 7 – Temperance movement crusader Carrie Nation enters a saloon in Kiowa, Kansas, and proceeds to destroy all the alcoholic beverages with rocks.
 * June 12 – New Richmond Tornado: A tornado completely destroys the town of New Richmond, Wisconsin, killing 117 people and injuring more than 200.
 * June 25 – Three Denver, Colorado newspapers publish a story (later proved to be a fabrication) that the Chinese government under the Guangxu Emperor is going to demolish the Great Wall of China.
 * June 30 – Mile-a-Minute Murphy earns his famous nickname this day, after he becomes the first man to ride a bicycle for one mile in under a minute on Long Island.

July

 * July 17 – America's first juvenile court is established in Chicago.
 * July 19 – The Newsboys Strike takes place when the Newsies of New York City go on strike (strike lasts until August 2).
 * July 30 – The Harriman Alaska Expedition ends successfully.

August

 * August 3 – The John Marshall Law School is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
 * August 10 – Major Taylor wins the world 1-mile professional cycling championship in Montreal, securing his place as the first African American world champion in any sport.
 * August 17 – A hurricane makes landfall in North Carolina's Outer Banks, completely destroying the town of Diamond City.

September

 * September 6 – Open Door Policy is a term in foreign affairs initially used to refer to the United States policy established in the late-nineteenth century and the early-twentieth century, as enunciated in Secretary of State John Hay's Open Door Note,
 * September 14 – Henry H. Bliss becomes the first person to be killed by a motor vehicle in the United States. Upon disembarking from a streetcar in New York City, an electric-powered taxicab strikes and crushes him and he dies from his injuries the following morning.

October

 * October 30 – The Augusta High School Building is completed in Augusta, Kentucky; Augusta Methodist College shuts down.

November

 * November 4 – The Alpha Sigma Tau sorority is founded in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
 * November 8 – The Bronx Zoo opens in New York City.
 * November 21 – Vice President Garret Hobart dies of heart failure.

December

 * December 2 – Philippine–American War – Battle of Tirad Pass: ("The Filipino Thermopylae") General Gregorio del Pilar and his troops are able to guard the retreat of Philippine President Emilio Aguinaldo before being wiped out.
 * December 25 – The 6.7 San Jacinto earthquake shook the Inland Empire area of Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing six deaths and $50,000 in damage.

Undated

 * The North Carolina General Assembly incorporates the town of Manteo, which was originally laid out as the Dare county seat in 1870.
 * Gold is discovered in Nome, Alaska.
 * Public Archives Commission established.

Ongoing

 * Gay Nineties (1890–1899)
 * Progressive Era (1890s–1920s)
 * Lochner era (c. 1897–c. 1937)
 * Philippine–American War (1899–1902)
 * Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) Boxer Rebellion

Births

 * January 9 – John A. Danaher, U.S. Senator from Connecticut 1939–1945 (died 1990).
 * January 17 – Al Capone, gangster and crime boss (died 1947).
 * February 4 – Virginia M. Alexander, African American physician (died 1949)
 * February 22
 * Dwight Frye, actor (died 1943).
 * George O'Hara, silent film actor and screenwriter (died 1966).
 * February 27 – Charles Best, medical scientist (died 1978 in Canada).
 * April 11 – Percy Lavon Julian, African American research chemist (died 1975).
 * April 28 – Mary Loveless, née Hewitt, immunologist (died 1991).
 * April 29 – Duke Ellington, jazz musician and composer (died 1974).
 * May 10 – Fred Astaire, né Austerlitz, dancer and singer (died 1987).
 * May 15 – Leonard B. Jordan, U.S. Senator from Idaho 1962–1973 (died 1983).
 * June 4 – Arthur Barker, son of Ma Barker and a member of the Barker-Karpis gang (died 1939)
 * July 7
 * Anna Baetjer, toxicologist (died 1984).
 * Claude P. Dettloff, photographer (died 1978 in Canada).
 * July 6 – Susannah Mushatt Jones, African American supercentenarian, oldest (confirmed) living person 2015–2016 (died 2016).
 * July 17 – James Cagney, film actor (died 1986).
 * July 21
 * Hart Crane, poet (died 1932)
 * Ernest Hemingway, fiction writer and journalist (died 1961).
 * July 23 – Carl G. Fenner, botanist (died 1991).
 * September 9 – Neil Hamilton, actor (died 1984).
 * September 11 – Jimmie Davis, country and gospel singer-songwriter and politician (died 2000).
 * October 3 – Gertrude Berg, American actress, screenwriter and producer (died 1966)
 * November 5 – Margaret Atwood Judson, historian and author (died 1991).
 * November 22 – Hoagy Carmichael, composer and singer (died 1981).
 * December 20 – John Sparkman, U.S. Senator from Alabama 1946–1979 (died 1985).
 * December 25 – Humphrey Bogart, film actor (died 1957).
 * Caroline F. Ware, historian and New Deal activist (died 1990).

Deaths

 * January 23 – Daniel O'Connell, journalist, poet and writer (born 1849)
 * January 26 – Augustus Hill Garland, U.S. Senator from Arkansas 1885–1889 (born 1832).
 * March 1 – Philip W. McKinney, 41st Governor of Virginia (born 1832).
 * March 18 – Othniel Charles Marsh, paleontologist (born 1831).
 * March 19 – Patrick Walsh, Irish-born U.S. Senator from Georgia 1894–1895 (born 1840).
 * April 10 – Horace Tabor, U.S. Senator from Colorado in 1883 (born 1830).
 * April 22 – Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., founder of the Kentucky Derby (born 1846)
 * April 24 – Richard J. Oglesby, U.S. Senator from Illinois 1873–1878 (born 1824).
 * June 7 – Augustin Daly, dramatist and theater manager (born 1838).
 * July 18 – Horatio Alger, Jr., Unitarian minister and author (born 1832).
 * August 8 – Lucy Pickens, socialite, known during and after her lifetime as the "Queen of the Confederacy" (born 1832)
 * August 22 – Caspar Buberl, Bohemian-born sculptor (born 1834).
 * September 9 – James B. Eustis, U.S. Senator from Louisiana 1876–1879 and 1885–1891 (born 1834).
 * September 12 – Cornelius Vanderbilt II, businessman (born 1843).
 * October 4 – Jimmy Logue, Philadelphia based burglar (born 1837).
 * October 5 – James Harlan, U.S. Senator from Iowa 1865–1866 (born 1820).
 * October 14 – Anna Cabot Quincy Waterston, writer of poems, novels, hymns, and a diary (born 1812).
 * October 18 – Gussie Davis, African American songwriter (born 1863).
 * October 28 – Ottmar Mergenthaler, German-born inventor (born 1854).
 * October 30 – William H. Webb, shipbuilder and philanthropist (born 1816).
 * November 21 – Garret Hobart, 24th vice president of the United States from 1897 to 1899 (born 1844).
 * November 25 – Robert Lowry, Baptist minister and hymn writer (born 1826).
 * December 22 – Dwight L. Moody, preacher and publisher (born 1837).