1902 Trivia, History and Fun Facts

Firsts, Inventions and Wonders: 
The Fuller Building (now called the Flatiron Building) at 175 Fifth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, was completed.

The Texas Oil Company (Texaco) formed.

(oops!) – The Greek symbol Caduceus (two snakes on a winged pole) was mistakenly used as the emblem for the US Medical Corps instead of the Rod of Asclepius (one snake climbing a pole), the true Greek symbol for medicine. We still use the wrong one.

J C Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) was founded in Chicago.

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) first invented the term ‘Middle East’ in the September 1902 issue of London’s monthly National Review.

Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS) was founded in Washington, DC witha $10 Million grant from Andrew Carnegie.

Denmark became the first country to adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals.

The Electric Theatre, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opened in Los Angeles, California.

Pop Culture News: 
A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage Dans la Lune), directed by Georges Méliès, is recognized as the first Science Fiction film.

The Cecil Rhodes Scholarship fund was established.

Brooklyn, NY toymaker Morris Michtom named his Teddy Bear doll after US President Teddy Roosevelt.

Paleontologist Barnum Brown discovered remains of a Tyrannosaurus Rex near the town of Jordan, Montana.

Michigan beat Stanford 49-0 in the Tournament East-West Football Game, which would later be known as the Rose Bowl Game

1902 was about the time Trains were used more than Horses for transportation.

Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium chloride.

Grawlix, or obscenicons (like #@$%&!) as swear words in comics were first seen in The Katzenjammer Kids in 1902.

The Horrible:
The volcanic eruption of Mt. Pelée on the French-Caribbean island of Martinique on May 8, 1902 killed between 30 and 40 thousand people.

The Yacolt Burn is the collective name for dozens of fires in Washington state and Oregon in September, killing ~70 people.