Tchaikovsky, is premiered at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. December 22 – The Newcastle East End F.C. is renamed Newcastle United F.C., following the demise of the Newcastle West End F.C. and East End's move to St James' Park, formerly West End's home, in the north east of England. Date unknown Andrew Carnegie combines all of his separate businesses into the Carnegie Steel Company, allowing him to gain a monopoly in the United States steel industry. Diplomat Henry Galway secures a treaty by which Ovonramwen, Oba of Benin, ostensibly accepts British protection for his kingdom. A cholera outbreak occurs in Hamburg, Germany. A 50-year-old tortoise called Timothy, previously serving as a naval mascot, is brought to the estate of Powderham Castle in England, where she lives until her death in 2004. Viruses are first described by Russian biologist Dmitri Ivanovsky. Births January January 1 Artur Rodziński, Polish conductor (d. 1958) Manuel Roxas, 5th President of the Philippines (d. 1948) January 3 – J. R. R. Tolkien, English professor, linguist, philologist, conlanger and author of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion (d. 1973) January 12 – Mikhail Kirponos, Soviet general (d. 1941) January 14 Martin Niemöller, German prisoner in the Nazi Holocaust (d. 1984) Hal Roach, American film, television producer (d. 1992) January 15 – Rex Ingram, Irish film director (d. 1950) January 18 Oliver Hardy, American comedian, actor (d. 1957) Paul Rostock, German surgeon (d. 1956) January 19 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic politician, 5-times prime minister (d. 1964) January 22 – Marcel Dassault, French aircraft industrialist (d. 1986) January 25 – Takeo Takagi, Japanese admiral (d. 1944) January 26 – Zara Cully, American actress (d. 1978) January 28 Luke Jordan, American blues singer, guitarist (d. 1952) Ernst Lubitsch, German-born film director (d. 1947) Fyodor Raskolnikov, Soviet revolutionary, writer, journalist, naval commander and diplomat (d. 1939) January 31 – Eddie Cantor, American actor, singer (d. 1964) February February 3 – Juan Negrín, Spanish physician, politician and 67th Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1956) February 4 – Yrjö Kilpinen, Finnish composer (d. 1959) February 5 – Shunji Isaki, Japanese admiral (d. 1943) February 6 Sir John Carden, 6th Baronet, English tank, vehicle designer (d. 1935) William P. Murphy, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1987) February 9 – Peggy Wood, American actress (d. 1978) February 10 – Alan Hale