Music recorded in 1905
The year 1905 saw the simultaneous surge of war, revolution, and technological and cultural advances that ushered in the "Age of the Masses." In international politics, the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) reached its climax, and the Battle of Tsushima (May 27–28, 1905) left a powerful impression as a decisive battle between modern steel battleship fleets. Peace was concluded with the Treaty of Portsmouth (September 5, 1905), which significantly reorganized the distribution of power in South Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula. In Korea, the Second Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905 (November 17, 1905, also known as the "Eulsa Treaty") was signed, solidifying tensions over sovereignty and diplomacy in East Asia.
Meanwhile, Imperial Russia was experiencing the strain of foreign warfare and social contradictions. Bloody Sunday (January 22, 1905) sparked a wave of nationwide uprisings and strikes. The October Manifesto (October 30, 1905) promised parliamentary democracy and civil liberties, but the unrest that followed that year shook the very foundations of imperial rule. The Potemkin Mutiny (June 27, 1905) also signaled that discontent within the military had reached a critical point. These strains on the "mobilized state" resonated with the international reorganization of the labor movement. In the United States, the Industrial Workers of the World (June 27, 1905) was formed, renewing the language surrounding labor and rights in industrial society.
In Europe, the very structure of the state was quietly restructured. Norway declared its dissolution of the union with Sweden (June 7, 1905), and a referendum (Norwegian union dissolution referendum, August 13, 1905) overwhelmingly supported independence, leading to its recognition (October 26, 1905). In France, the Law of 9 December 1905 on the Separation of Churches and State (December 9, 1905) was passed, institutionalizing a new separation between religion and state. At the same time, imperialist rivalries increased tensions, and the First Moroccan Crisis (1905–1906) tested the alliances of the great powers. In British India, the Partition of Bengal (October 16, 1905) demonstrated how administrative rationalization of colonial rule could clash with the rise of nationalist movements. In the Middle East, protests linked to the Persian Constitutional Revolution (1905–1911) expanded in Iran (then Persia), bringing into focus political participation and the redesign of governance.
Science and culture further accelerated the pace of society. Albert Einstein (1879–1955) published several papers in 1905, rapidly expanding the foundations of 20th-century physics, including the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special theory of relativity, and the equivalence of mass and energy. In the arts, the Salon d'Automne (1905) established the term "Fauves," visualizing a radical renewal of color and sensation. On the entertainment side, the Nickelodeon (opened June 19, 1905), considered Pittsburgh's first permanent movie theater, emerged, incorporating visual entertainment that could be experienced repeatedly at short notice and at low cost into the urban circuit. The penetration of recording and playback technology into consumer culture in homes and cities accelerated on the same timescale as film theaters, popular magazines, advertising, and the reorganization of work hours. Furthermore, Bertha von Suttner (1843–1914) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905, furthering the internationalization of ideas aimed at opposing the times of war.
