March 1900 - March 27, 1900 (Tuesday)

March 27, 1900 (Tuesday)

• United States Patent No. 646,375 was granted to William Abner Eddy for the "Eddy kite", the diamond shaped, two stick kite that became the standard for kite flying. Eddy, of Bayonne, New Jersey, had applied for the patent on August 1, 1898.
• Queen Victoria received, at Windsor Castle, delegates from the British colonies in Australia to discuss the Australian Commonwealth Bill in preparation for federation and an independent state, and voiced her disagreement with the word "commonwealth". "She found the title obnoxious to her", wrote one author, "She had an ingrained dislike for the word 'Commonwealth,' which she identified with Cromwell and his Republican form of government." The Queen's suggestion was that the new nation be called the "Dominion of Australia", similar to the title of the Canadian state. The assembled delegates persuaded the Queen that the word "commonwealth" had other meanings beyond those associated with Oliver Cromwell, and she reluctantly dropped further objections, giving her full support for Australian independence.
• As British forces prepared to advance on Pretoria, South Africa's greatest General, Piet Joubert died of peritonitis at the age of 68.
• U.S. Secretary of War Root announced the creation of the Division of the Pacific to administer the Philippines, with sub-departments for Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao & Jolo