Top News Stories from 1909

World Events

• North Pole reportedly reached by American explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew Henson. Quiz: Explorers & Adventurers
• Turkish parliament deposes sultan Abd al-Hamid II and replaces him with his brother, Muhammad V. Background: Ottoman Empire
• Japan begins 36-year occupation of Korea. Japanese prince Hirobumi Ito assassinated by Korean nationalist.

U.S. Events

• The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is founded by prominent black and white intellectuals and led by W. E. B. Du Bois.
• Congress enacts Republican-sponsored Payne-Aldrich Tariff, which is met by the public with disappointment.

Economics

Sports

World Series

Stanley Cup

Wimbledon

Kentucky Derby Champion

NCAA Football Champions

Entertainment

Events

• The New York Times publishes the first movie review, a report on D.W. Griffith's Pippa Passes.
• Serge Diaghilev opens the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev, which begins the era of modern ballet and his 20-year reign as ballet's leading figure. Mikhail Fokine, Diaghilev's choreographer, is considered the most influential choreographer of the 20th century.

Science

• German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich finds a cure for syphilis.

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