May 28, 1900 (Monday)
- At noon, the Orange Free State was annexed to the British Empire, in a proclamation at Bloemfontein by its new Military Governor, Major General George T. Pretyman. Located in Southern Africa, the Orange Free State had existed as an independent republic from 1854 until Britain's victory in the Second Boer War. President Martinus Steyn, who had fled Bloemfontein in March, claimed control over the unoccupied areas of the state until surrendering in 1902. Adding an area of 48,326 square miles (125,200 km2) to the Empire, the area was renamed the Orange River Colony. The colony became part of the Union of South Africa in 1910.
- At the 1900 Paris Exposition, Gare d'Orsay opened as the first electrified urban rail terminal.
- Millions of observers turned out to watch a total eclipse of the sun, visible in a pathway that ran through Mexico and the southeastern United States and to Spain. As the first since the introduction of the Brownie camera, and with more advance publicity than ever before, the eclipse became the most photographed event up to that time. "Amateur photographers throughout the city are making extensive preparations for the event," noted the New York Times, "and it would be hard to estimate the number of snapshots that will be taken to-day." "It has been eleven years since a similar event was witnessed, but the advancement of astronomical science and the marvelous improvements in telescopes, photography, and electrical apparatus insured more complete observations than eyer before known." The eclipse began at about 7:26 a.m. Eastern time with totality at 8:36 in the morning.
- Born: Tommy Ladnier, American jazz trumpeter, in Florenceville, Louisiana (d. 1939)
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