The course of American history changed dramatically on Sept. 6, 1901, when President William McKinley was shot and fatally wounded by an anarchist assassin at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. The torch passed from McKinley, a calm and measured leader, to Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, the most dynamic man ever to hold the nation’s highest office – ushering in a period of explosive growth and change that led to a renaissance in U.S. coinage art.

In other news of 1901:

• Famine killed an estimated 5 million people in central India following an extended drought caused by an unusually dry monsoon season. Britain’s colonial ruler was accused of withholding needed aid because of budget concerns.
• Oil was discovered in Texas.
• Winston Churchill delivered his first speech in the British House of Commons.
• New York became the first state to require auto license plates. It imposed a $1 fee.
• The Hall of Fame for Great Americans was dedicated on the campus of New York University.
• A 19-year-old Spanish painter named Pablo Picasso opened the first exhibition of his modernistic artwork in Paris.
• Short-story writer O. Henry was released from prison in Texas after serving three years for embezzlement from a bank.
• Baseball’s American League held its inaugural season. The eight teams that played during that first season were the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Americans, Chicago White Stockings, Cleveland Bluebirds, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators. Chicago won the pennant. Milwaukee became the St. Louis Browns in 1902, and Baltimore became the New York Highlanders in 1903.

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