The Year 1900

The Gold Standard Act was a significant event in American history signed into law by President William McKinley on March 14, 1900. The law established gold as the only standard for redeeming paper money which essentially stopped bimetallism, which was in use at the time allowing for both gold and silver standards. This act meant that all forms of money, including coins and paper notes, could be exchanged for a specific amount of gold.

Bailouts were issued for attempts to overvalue silver, which had caused a depletion in the government's gold supply. As a result, the United States shifted from a bimetallic standard to a de facto gold standard, a move which was ultimately codified by the Gold Standard Act of 1900. The act also set a specific price for gold, assigning it a value of $20.67 per ounce.

However, in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt suspended the gold standard, restricting private gold ownership within the continental United States and requiring all gold and gold certificates held by the Federal Reserve to be sold to the United States Treasury. The gold standard was temporarily reinstated after World War II but was ultimately abandoned completely in 1971 during the Nixon Shock, a series of economic measures taken by U.S. President Richard Nixon that effectively ended the international convertibility of the United States dollar to gold.

On April 11th, 1900, the U.S. Government made a significant move in naval history by purchasing the Holland VI, marking its first deployment of a modern submarine for the U.S. Navy. This submarine was not just any vessel – it was the progenitor of a sea change in the way warfare and navy operations would be conducted. With this acquisition, the country embarked on a new chapter in the history of naval defense, showcasing American ingenuity and crafting the basis of modern submarine warfare.

The Holland VI was characterized by a raft of innovative features – some basic, others ground-breaking, many of which would become standard in 20th-century submarines. It was a pioneering craft and a symbol of the inventive spirit of its times. The submarine was named after John Philip Holland, its designer, and embodied his revolutionary idea of an undersea boat capable of submerged, independent operations.

The Holland VI substantially differed from the makeshift submersibles of the era, as it utilized internal combustion engine power for surface navigation and electric motor for submerged operations. Some of its features that made it a blueprint for future submarines include primary motive power provided by a gasoline engine and secondary power by an electric motor, a dual system of steering and dives, a periscope for piloting while submerged, and the capability to launch self-propelled torpedoes. With this purchase, the U.S. Government set the stage for a hundred years of submarine evolution.

The 1900 Summer Olympics, officially known as the II Olympiad, began on May 14th and marked the first time the Olympics were held outside of Greece. Unlike the focused, meticulously planned celebrations we know today, these Olympic games occurred as part of the wider festivities of the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, spanning five months from May through October.

A significant aspect of the 1900 Summer Olympics was its disorganization. Its integration with the World's Fair meant it lacked the focused attention typical of the games in the modern era. There were no opening or closing ceremonies, no medals were awarded (winners received artworks or valuable artifacts), and many events took staggered schedules across months. The participants often didn't realize they were partaking in the Olympics, but believed they were merely competitors at international sporting events integrated into the World's Fair.

Historically, it was crucial for the development of the Olympics as the games provided the first occurrence of women's events and moved the spectacle from its Greek homeland to the international stage. However, it also shines a light on how the Olympics has evolved over time, transitioning from a somewhat ad hoc event into the meticulously organized, globally unifying sports gathering watched by billions around the globe today.

On the ill-fated day of July 29, 1900, King Umberto I of Italy saw his reign come to a harrowing end in Monza, Italy. Umberto, hailed as 'the Good,' was on a customary visit when he was subjected to the deadly gunfire of anarchist Gaetano Bresci. This tragic end was a culminating point of several years of political unrest and turmoil simmering beneath the surface of the Italian kingdom.

The assassination of Umberto I followed two prior unsuccessful attempts on his life. The significance of the persisting threats was underlined by the escalating socio-political atmosphere. The heightened tensions in the kingdom were further exemplified when parliament was suspended in 1899, further aggravating the unrest.

Gaetano Bresci, a silk weaver by trade and an anarchist by belief, held King Umberto I responsible for the general suffering and hardship faced by the Italian populace. Bresci, who had once lived in America, returned to Italy with the determined purpose of eliminating the monarch. His actions on that summer day not only stunned the world but also ushered Italy into an era of transition and further unrest.

On December 14, 1900, a groundbreaking study was published by physicist Max Planck. His research focused on the effect of radiation on a "blackbody," an idealized physical body that absorbs all incident electromagnetic radiation. This body, regardless of frequency or angle of incidence, demonstrates Planck's law that energy is emitted or absorbed in discrete amounts called quanta. This proposition twisted the foundation of physics, introducing quantum theory and drastically changing our understanding of atomic and subatomic processes.

However, Planck himself was reluctant about this radical shift. Despite being the catalyst for the quantum revolution, he was inherently against the idea of uprisings against conventional theories. These included the widely accepted laws of classical physics which had dominated scientific perspective for centuries. Perhaps due to his reverence for traditions and established rules, Planck held an immense antipathy towards the implications of his own discovery.

Despite his contribution, Planck died in 1947, unconvinced about the quantum theory. Until the end of his life, he remained unsatisfied with carving out a revolutionary new pathway in science that debunked time-honored norms. His reluctance to accept the quantum theory, despite being its progenitor, adds a unique complexity to his character and his crucial role in physics.