An icon of New York City, the Grand Central station, opened on February 2nd, 1913. The building of metal frame coated with plaster and marble replaced the demolished, original train station that was built in 1871 in the 42nd Street with Park Avenue, in the middle of Manhattan by Cornelius Vanderbilt.

A layout that separated the trains and 48 railroads for pedestrians' transit were its main characteristic feature. The Reed & Stern firm was responsible for the logistic planning of the work, and the Warren & Wetmore company was responsible for the frame overall design. Architects with Beyer Blinder Belle worked on restoration.

A sculpture by Jules-Alexis Countans which depicted the Roman gods of Hercules, Minerva and Mercury, crowned the station main entry.

The vaulted roof was 75 feet high. A Zodiac design by artist Paul Helleu, based on medieval designs, decorated the dome with 2,500 stars. Twin stairs made of marble replicated the design of the stairs at the Paris Opera House. Gustavian yellow floor tiles decorated one of the restaurants at the terminal. Golden candelabra and a pink marble roof decorated the Vanderbilt Hall, honoring the original builder. Today, 500,000 passengers visit the station on a daily basis.

Other news in 1913 was the donation of a plane to the Venezuelan army as proposed by El Universal. The initiative was aimed at donating a first aircraft to the armed forces on the occasion of July 5th, by means of a public notice. The newspaper and its editor, poet Andrés Mata, recommended Luis Camilo Pérez, who was close to complete in France his aviation studies, as trainer. El Universal forwarded to Venezuela's President, General Juan Vicente Gómez, a check -a facsimile was published- for USD 17.59 to buy the aircraft, as well as an account of the collected money.

The 13th Dalai Lama Thuben Gyatzo declared independence of Tibet backed by the Tibetan National Assembly. The decision was made in January. The territory was invaded again by China in 1951.

Women's fight for the right to vote claimed on June 4th its first casualty. Militant suffragette Emily Davison died after throwing herself in front of King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby to attract the monarch's attention towards women's expectations. Another militant suffragette, Emmeline Pankhurst, was sentenced to three years in prison for attacking British Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George.

Henry Ford started up at his Michigan-based Highland Park plant the first assembly line. From manufacturing 160,000 cars a year -11 per worker- now a car could be assembled and equipped every 93 minutes. As the method was fixed, Ford Motors Company managed to manufacture a Ford T model in 24 seconds.