Events January–March January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedition against Benin. January 7 – A cyclone destroys Darwin, Australia. January 8 – Lady Flora Shaw, future wife of Governor General Lord Lugard, officially proposes the name "Nigeria" in a newspaper contest, to be given to the British Niger Coast Protectorate. January 22 – In this date's issue of the journal Engineering, the word computer is first used to refer to a mechanical calculation device. January 23 – Elva Zona Heaster is found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The resulting murder trial of her husband is perhaps the only capital case in United States history, where spectral evidence helps secure a conviction. January 31 – The Czechoslovak Trade Union Association is founded in Prague. February 10 – Freedom of religion is proclaimed in Madagascar. February 16 – The French conquer the island of Raiatea and capture the rebel chief Teraupoo, ending the Leeward Islands War and bringing all of the Society Islands under their control. February 18 – Benin is put to the torch by the British Army's Benin Expedition. Ovonramwen, Oba of Benin, is exiled from his kingdom and the Benin Bronzes are carried off to London. February 24 – The Čekan Mekenroff 1897 association football club is founded in Pozsony, in the Kingdom of Hungary. February 26 – The Sigma Pi fraternity is founded in Vincennes, Indiana. February 27 – The French military governor of Madagascar, Joseph Gallieni, exiles Queen Ranavalona III to Réunion, abolishing the monarchy the next day. March 4 – William McKinley is sworn in as the 25th president of the United States. March 13 – San Diego State University is founded. March 22 – Emilio Aguinaldo unseats Andrés Bonifacio at the Tejeros Convention, becoming the new head of the Filipino revolutionary group Katipunan. April–June April 15 Drillers near Bartlesville, Oklahoma strike oil for the first time, in the designated "Indian Territory", on land leased from the Osage Indians. The gusher, at the Nellie Johnstone Number One well, leads to rapid population growth. Yamaichi Securities founded in Japan; it will cease trading a hundred years later. April 19 – The first Boston Marathon is held in the United States, with fifteen men competing, and won by