Great question for a Friday afternoon. I'll face the cannons...
I vote for the "turn of the 20th century" or "dawn of the 20th century."
Both being synonyms for 1900.
Would there be any doubt of when the "turn of the 16th century" (1500)
occurs?
Melissa Diamanti
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I have a question about terminology or usage.The period around 1900 Ad used
to be referred to simply as "the turn of the century." Now that we have
turned another century, it is necessary to specify which one.So, would the
time around 1900 Ad be the turn of the 19th century or the turn of the
twentieth century?
This question is apparently unclear to many. For example, the wikipedia
entry on this topic is still being hashed out. So what do the
historians/historical archaeologists on this list recommend?
Meli Diamanti