1891

LIFE: Sergei Prokofiev is born on 23 April in the Yekaterinoslav district (in modern-day Ukraine). His father, an agronomist, is manager of the Sontsovska estate.

TIMES: In Vladivostok on Russia’s eastern coast, Tsarevich Nicholas (the future Tsar Nicholas II) inaugurates the construction of the Trans-siberian Railway, set to become the longest in the world.