Japan founds Micronesia’s first public school system, one school per district, and bars German missionaries from teaching school.

What happened

Japanese officials saw schooling as a way to “civilize” islanders and make them loyal and productive. The new schools, one in each district seat, taught mostly Japanese language, with arithmetic and singing. The same month, German missionaries were forbidden to teach school, ending the mission school system that had educated Micronesians under German rule.

Why it matters

Hezel calls it the first public school system ever founded in Micronesia.