Date in year · 1903 · The 1900s
September 27, 1903
On September 27, 1903, "Wreck of the Old 97": an American rail disaster, in which 11 people are killed; it later becomes the subject of a popular ballad.
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1903
1900s
Featured · September 27, 1903
"Wreck of the Old 97": an American rail disaster, in which 11 people are killed; it later becomes the subject of a popular ballad.
The Wreck of the Old 97 was an American rail disaster involving the Southern Railway mail train, officially known as the Fast Mail, while en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, on September 27, 1903. Travelling at an excessive speed in an attempt to maintain schedule, the train derailed at the Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia, where it careened off the side of the bridge, killing 11 on-board personnel and injuring seven others. The wreck inspired a famous railroad ballad, which was the focus of a copyright lawsuit and became seminal in the genre of country music.
Around 1903
The year in brief
1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 1903rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 903rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 3rd year of the 20th…
What happened
On September 27, 1903
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1903 "Wreck of the Old 97": an American rail disaster, in which 11 people are killed; it later becomes the subject of a popular ballad. 1903 Southern Railway mail train disaster
The Wreck of the Old 97 was an American rail disaster involving the Southern Railway mail train, officially known as the Fast Mail, while en route from Monroe, Virginia, to Spencer, North Carolina, on September 27, 1903. Travelling at an excessive speed in an attempt to maintain schedule, the train derailed at the Stillhouse Trestle near Danville, Virginia, where it careened off the side of the bridge, killing 11 on-board personnel and injuring seven others. The wreck inspired a famous railroad ballad, which was the focus of a copyright lawsuit and became seminal in the genre of country music.
Elsewhere that year
Other moments from 1903
- April 19 The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
- April 26 Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded.
- April 29 A landslide kills 70 people in Frank, in the District of Alberta, Canada.
- August 18 German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright brothers.
- August 19 The Transfiguration Uprising breaks out in East Thrace, resulting in the establishment of the Strandzha Commune.
- August 2 The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottoman Empire begins.
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