pioneers of aviation

FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS inventors had been devising ways of flying through the air with the ease of a bird. Although balloons and airships had taken to the skies, it was not until a cold December day in 1903 that the Wright brothers made the first powered, sustained, and heavier-than-air flight. After that, aircraft technology progressed at a rapid rate and aviators crossed first the English Channel and then the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In 1914 the onset of World War I created a demand for fast, agile fighter planes, and by 1918 the aeroplane had become a relatively sophisticated and reliable machine. The introduction of passenger flights between major cities in the 1920s confirmed that a new age of travel had arrived.

ping pong craze hits

Ping Pong fever is sweeping Europe and the United States this year as families convert their tables into indoor tennis courts. The game, originally known as Gossima, failed to catch on until its manufacturer changed its name to Ping Pong. The first tournament was held in December this year.

US president dies

14 SEPTEMBER
United States president William McKinley died early this morning, eight days after he was shot by Polish anarchist Leon Czolgosz while opening an exhibition in Buffalo, New York. At first the president's wounds were not thought to be serious, but in the last few days his condition has deteriorated rapodly. Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt was tracked down in the Adirondack Mountains and brought hastily to buffalo, but arrived a few hours after McKinley's death. He took the presidential oath of office this afternoon. At 42, he is the youngest United States president.

art world disvovers new genius

24 JUNE
An exhibition by a Spanish artist is receiving much praise in Paris, France. Nineteen-year-old Pablo Picasso from Malaga in Spain set up a studio in Montmartre earlier this year, and has become known as "Le Petit Goya" because of his native Andalusian hat. Picasso's paintings show a remarkable range of subjects. Dancers of the Moulin Rouge, children, courtesans, and race meetings are among the subjects that fill the canvases of this talented painter.

High Performance

31 MARCH
The German motor manufacturer Gottlieb Daimler today delivered a remarkable new car to E'mil Jellinek, consul-general of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Nice, France The high-performance car, especially made for the consul-general and named Mercedes after his daughter (above left), is an improved version of a model designed by Daimler two years ago. The Mercedes is quite unlike the horse-drawn carriages that are still a common sight on our roads. The car has a 4 - cylinder, 5.9-litre engine, giving it a top speed of 80km/h (50mph).