of global climate to atmospheric carbon dioxide (the "Greenhouse effect"), as he presents his paper "On the Influence of Carbonic Acid in the Air Upon The Temperature of the Ground" to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. December 15 – The railways of the Cape of Good Hope, Colony of Natal, the Orange Free State, the South African Republic and southern Mozambique are all linked at Union Junction near Alberton. December 18 – The Laurin & Klement automobile brand, predecessor of Škoda Auto, is founded as a bicycle manufacturer in Central Bohemian Region, Kingdom of Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic). December 24 Kingstown lifeboat disaster: 15 crew are lost when their life-boat capsizes, while trying to rescue the crew of the Palme off Kingstown (modern-day Dún Laoghaire), near Dublin, Ireland. George Washington Vanderbilt II officially opens his Biltmore Estate, inviting his family and guests to celebrate his new home in Asheville, North Carolina. December 28 – Auguste and Louis Lumière show their first moving picture film in Paris. Date unknown The world's first portable handheld electric drill is developed, by brothers Wilhelm and Carl Fein in Germany. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposes a space elevator. Grace Chisholm Young becomes the first woman awarded a doctorate at a German university. W. E. B. Du Bois becomes the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University. The Swarovski Company is founded by Armand Kosman, Franz Weis and Daniel Swarovski in the Austrian Tyrol, for the production of crystal glass. The name HP Sauce is first registered in the United Kingdom for a brown sauce. The Duck Reach Power Station opens in Tasmania (the first publicly owned hydroelectric plant in the Southern Hemisphere). The first Boxer dog show is held at Munich, Germany. A huge crowd at the first Welsh Grand National at Ely Racecourse, Cardiff, breaks down barriers and almost overwhelms police trying to keep out gatecrashers. German trade unions have c. 270,000 members. The Raiffeisen model of Cooperative Credit and Saving Bank, as predecessor of Rabo Bank, a worldwide multiple financial service is founded in Netherlands. Births January January 1 Bert Acosta, American aviator (d. 1954) J. Edgar Hoover, American Federal Bureau of Investigation director (d. 1972) January 4 – Leroy Grumman, American aeronautical engineer, test pilot and industrialist (d. 1982) January 5 – A. Edward Sutherland, English film director and actor (d. 1973) January 9 – Lucian Truscott, American general (d.