Science and technology
- Marie Curie is the , sharing the 1903 award in physics with her husband and Henri Becquerel, for the discovery of radioactivity.
- Russian botanist Mikhail Tsvett invents .
- Dutch physiologist invents the first practical device for recording heart activity, for which he would receive the Nobel Prize in 1924.
- General Electric builds an all-electric House at the GE Realty Plot in Schenectady, New York.
- of Toledo, Ohio, introduces the automatic bottle-blowing machine.