1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday in the Gregorian Calendar and a leap year starting on Saturday in the Julian Calendar. It was the last year of the 19th century. Also, the Gregorian calendar went up till 1923 and beyond. As of March 1 (O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar didn't, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 (O.S. February 15), 2100. The year 1900 was also the year of the rat on the Chinese calendar.

Art, music, theatre, literature

• May 17 – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is published.

Events

• February 9 – The Boers defeat the British at Ladysmith, South Africa.
• The Olympic Games took place in Paris.

Births

January

• January 1 – Mieczysław Batsch, Polish footballer (d. 1977)
• January 1 – Paola Borboni, Italian actress (d. 1995)

February

• February 22 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish director (d. 1983)

March

• March 29 – John McEwen, 18th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1980)

April

• April 5 – Spencer Tracy, American actor (d. 1967)
• April 26 – Charles Richter, American geophysicist and inventor (d. 1985)

May

• May 11 - Pridi Banomyong, Prime Minister of Thailand (d. 1983)

June

• June 17 – Martin Bormann, Nazi-German politician (d. 1945)

July

• July 19 – Arno Breker, German sculptor (d. 1991)

August

• August 4 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, queen of George VI of the United Kingdom (d. 2002)

September

• September 3 – Urho Kekkonen, President of Finland (d. 1986)

October

• October 7 – Heinrich Himmler, German Nazi politician (d. 1945)
• October 17 – Jean Arthur, American actress (d. 1991)
• October 20 – Ismail al-Azhari, President of Sudan (d. 1969)
• October 21 – Srinagarindra, Queen Mother of Thailand (d. 1995)
• October 26 – Ibrahim Abboud, President of Sudan (d. 1983)

November

• November 14 – Aaron Copland, American composer (d. 1990)

December

• December 6 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (d. 1974)

Deaths

• June 5 – Stephen Crane, American writer (b. 1871)
• August 25 – Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher and writer (b. 1844)
• November 22 – Sir Arthur Sullivan. English composer (b. 1842)
• November 30 – Oscar Wilde, Irish writer (b. 1854)