events 1900-1912

1 January 1913, Wednesday (-11,815) Film censorship began in Britain.

=====================================================================================

25 December 1912, Wednesday (-11,822) Italy sent troops to Albania to suppress unrest there.

23 December 1912, Friday (-11,824) Lord Hardinge, Governor-General of India, was seriously injured in a bomb explosion.

22 December 1912, Thursday (-11,825) Tony Martin, US singer, was born in Oakland, California.

18 December 1912. Wednesday (-11,829) The Piltdown Man was discovered in Sussex, claimed to be the fossilised skull and other remains of the earliest known European man. On 21 November 1953 it was revealed as� a hoax, the skull was that of an orang-utan.

16 December 1912, Monday (-11,831) The Balkan Peace Conference began in London.

12 December 1912, Thursday (-11,835) Conroy Maddox, surrealist painter, was born (died 14 January 2005).

11 December 1912, Wednesday (-11,836) (Aviation) R Garros, France, set a new aviation record of 18,406 feet.

10 December 1912, Tuesday (-11,837) Charles Nash was elected President of General Motors.

9 December 1912, Monday (-11,838)

8 December 1912, Sunday (-11,839) The German Kaiser held a secret meeting with his military chiefs. It was agreed that the Schlieffen Plan, to quickly conquer France before turning east on Russia, should not be delayed much beyond 1914 because after that swifter Russian mobilisation would cause a collapse of the German Eastern Front before France fell. . The Schlieffen Plan, named after Graf Schlieffen, Chief of the German General Staff 1890-1905, was to attack France through Belgium, by-passing the heavily-fortified Franco-German frontier. German troops defending this frontier were to be reduced, possibly even allowing for French advances into Germany here. However the German advance through Belgium would then swing eastwards to the south west of Paris and come round to hit the French Army in the rear. Schlieffen allowed for ten German divisions to hold the Russian front until France could be crushed (six weeks allowed for this task); also for a British Expeditionary Force of 100,000 to assist the French.

7 December 1912, Saturday (-11,840) (Astronomy) Sir George Howard Darwin, English astronomer, was born in Cambridge.

6 December 1912, Friday (-11,841) (Egypt) �Archaeologists found a bus of Nefertiti near the River Nile.

5 December 1912, Thursday (-11,842) Italy, Germany and Austria renewed their Triple alliance for a further six years.

4 December 1912. Wednesday (-11,843) Turkey concluded an armistice with Bulgaria and Serbia; Greece also ceased fighting.

=====================================================================================

30 November 1912, Saturday (-11,847) Bulgaria and Turkey signed an armistice.

28 November 1912. Thursday (-11,849) Albanian independence was proclaimed and confirmed in London on 20 December 1912 in principle and the new state�s borders were confirmed on 29 July 1913. However these borders included less than half of the ethnic Albanians.

27 November 1912. Wednesday (-11,850) France and Spain agreed on their respective spheres of influence in Morocco.

24 November 1912, Sunday (-11,853) Theodore (Teddy) Shaw Wilson, US jazz pianist, was born in Austin, Texas (died 31 July 1986 in New Britain, Connecticut)

22 November 1912, Friday (-11,855) The wives of striking Welsh coal miners in� joined their husbands in rioting against the police, during the 1912 National Coal Strike.

21 November 1912, Thursday (-11,856) Eleanor Powell, actress, was born.

20 November 1912, Wednesday (-11,857) Wilfred Wooller, rugby player, was born.

19 November 1912, Tuesday (-11,858) (Biology) Rumanian-US physiologist George Emil Palade was born in Iasi, Rumania. In 1956 he discovered the that the small bodies within cells now known as ribosomes, are mostly RNA. It was soon afterwards found that this was where the cell manufactures proteins.

18 November 1912. Monday (-11,859) The Serbs occupied Monastir.

16 November 1912. Saturday (-11,861) Suffragettes, who had walked from Edinburgh to London, presented a petition to the Prime Minister.

11-16 November 1912. First International Motor Show, at Olympia.

12 November 1912, Tuesday (-11,865)

8 November 1912. Friday (-11,869) The Greeks occupied Salonika.� This was during the First Balkan War, and ended 482 years of Turkish occupation.

7 November 1912, Thursday (-11,870) The Deutscher Opernhaus (now Deutsche Oper Berlin) opened in Charlottenburg, Berlin.

6 November 1912, Wednesday (-11,871)

5 November 1912, Tuesday (-11,872) (1) The British Board of Film Censors was appointed.

(2) Woodrow Wilson was elected US President, the first Democrat President for 20 years. The Republican vote was split between Roosevelt and Taft, allowing Wilson to win with only 42% of the vote.

(3) Women gained the vote in the US States of Arizona, Kansas and Wisconsin.

(4) The Serbs and Greeks routed the Turkish Army at Monastir. Turkey lost some 20,000 men.

4 November 1912, Monday (-11,873) Austria proposed the creation of an independent Albania.

3 November 1912. Sunday (-11,874) (1) Turkey appealed for mediation in the war with Italy, by the great European powers.

(2) Alfredo Stroessner, President of Paraguay, was born.

2 November 1912, Saturday (-11,875) An explosion on the battleship USS Vermont near Norfolk, Virginia killed 2 and injured 4.

1 November 1912. Friday (-11,876) The Greeks occupied Samothrace.

===================================================================================

31 October 1912, Thursday (-11,877) Bulgarian forces defeated the Turks at Lule Burgas.

28 October 1912, Monday (-11,880) Birth of Sir Richard Doll, British cancer specialist who proved the link between cigarette smoking and cancer.

25 October 1912, Friday (-11,083) Minnie Pearl, comedian, was born.

24 October 1912, Thursday (-11,884) Serbian forces defeated the Turks at Kumanovo.

23 October 1912. Wednesday (-11,885) The Greeks routed the Turks at Sarandaporos.

21 October 1912, Monday (-11,887)

19 October 1912. Saturday (-11,889) Allied Balkan armies invaded Turkey.

18 October 1912. Friday (-11,890) (Greece-Turkey, Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia) The Ottoman Turks agreed to cede Tripoli and Cyrenaica (now Libya) to Italy, at the Peace of Lausanne.� Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia declared war on Turkey. The Greek Army had been well-equipped under Venizelos, and the Turks were pushed back, to the point where Istanbul itself was threatened; the city was only saved by bad weather making the roads impassable and a cholera outbreak, halting military operations.

17 October 1912, Thursday (-11,891) Pope John Paul I was born.

16 October 1912, Wednesday (-11,892)

15 October 1912, Tuesday (-11,893) Turkey made peace with Italy at Ouchy.

14 October 1912. Monday (-11,894) (1) President Roosevelt was shot and seriously wounded by a demented man in Milwaukee.

(2) The Turks invaded Serbia.� Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria issued ultimatums to Turkey demanding the demobilisation of the Turkish Army in the Balkans.

8 October 1912. Tuesday (-11,900) Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire.

4 October 1912, Friday (-11,904) 14 died on board the British submarine B2, after it collided with the German liner Amerika.

1 October 1912, Tuesday (-11,907) Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia prepared to fight Turkey.

==================================================================================

30 September 1912, Monday (-11,908) Russia mobilised its forces in response to unrest in the Balkans.

29 September 1912, Sunday (-11,909) British and French forces quelled riots on Samos, after Turkey withdrew troops from there.��

28 September 1912, Saturday (-11,910) A week of rallies and speeches in Ulster ended with a pledge to defeat Home Rule. Sir Edward Carson vowed to fight Home Rule, collecting 471,414 signatures, some people signing in their own blood. See 9 May 1912.

23 September 1912. Monday (-11,915) Mack Sonnett released the first Keystone Cops film.��

21 September 1912, Saturday (-11,917) Ian McGregor, chairman of British Steel and British Coal, was born.

19 September 1912, Thursday (-11,919) The first scheduled international airline service began, when Count Zeppelin�s airships started a regular service between Hamburg, Germany, and Copenhagen, Denmark, and on to Malmo, Sweden.

18 September 1912, Wednesday (-11,920) In Northern Ireland, anti-Home Rule for Ireland demonstrations began at Enniskillen, led by Edward Carson.

17 September 1912, Tuesday (-11,921)

12 September 1912, Thursday (-11,926) Carl Fisher and James Allison announced a plan to build a motor road across the USA from New York to San Francisco, 3,389 miles (5,454 km) long. They hoped to get backing from henry Ford but he declined. Then they decided to name the road after former US President Abraham Lincoln, making it eligible for a Government grant. They secured US$ 1.7 million this way, and the Lincoln Highway was officially designated on 31 October 1913.

11 September 1912, Wednesday (-11,927) The Barbour Clothing Company, making waterproof clothing, was founded.

10 September 1912, Tuesday (-11,928)

5 September 1912, Thursday (-11,933) Composer John Cage was born

4 September 1912, Wednesday (-11,934) The first tube train collision in London, 22 were injured.

3 September 1912, Tuesday (-11,935)

2 September 1912, Monday (-11,936) Professor David Daiches, author and literary critic, was born (died 15 July 2005)

1 September 1912, Sunday (-11,937) French troops quelled an uprising in Morocco.

===================================================================================

30 August 1912, Friday (-31,939) Edward Mills Purcell, US atomic physicist, was born.

27 August 1912. Tuesday (-11,942) Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first went into print as a magazine serial.

26 August 1912. Monday (-11,943) (Weather) Britain�s heaviest August rainfall on record occurred at Norwich, where six inches fell in twelve hours. Floods in East Anglia made 10,000 homeless.

23 August 1912, Friday (-11,946) Gene Kelly, US singer and dancer, was born

20 August 1912, Tuesday (-11,949) (Space exploration) US physicist Edward Mills Purcell was born in Taylorville, Illinois. In 1951 he was among the first to observe the 21 cm line caused by hydrogen atoms in space.

19 August 1912. Monday (-11,950) William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, born on 10 April 1829, died aged 83. He was succeeded as leader of the Salvation Army on 21 August 1912 by Mr Bramwell Booth.

18 August 1912, Sunday (-11,951) The Ottoman Empire granted autonomy to its Albanian minority, in the Scutari Vilayet (province), capital Tirana.

17 August 1912, Saturday (-11,952) Britain called on China not to send a military expedition to Tibet.

16 August 1912, Friday (-11,953) Edward Drake, footballer, was born (died 30 May 1995).

15 August 1912, Thursday (-11,954) Eduardo Schaerer became �the 26^th President of Paraguay. He served a full four-year term.

14 August 1912, Wednesday (-11,955) Leopold Demers, Canadian Liberal politician, was born (died 21 November 1990),

13 August 1912, Tuesday (-11,956) In Paris, Dr Gastin Odin discovered a microbe capable of causing cancer.

12 August 1912, Monday (-11,957) Samuel Fuller, US film director, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts (died 1997)

11 August 1912, Sunday (-11,958) In Morocco, Sultan Mulai Hafid abdicated.

10 August 1912, Saturday (-11,959) The Republic of China's provisional government enacted its election law, creating a lower house of Parliament, and limiting voting rights to male citizens aged over 21, had two years residency in their district, and met property and educational restrictions.

9 August 1912. Friday (-11,960) Earthquake in Constantinople, Turkey, killed 6,000.

8 August 1912, Thursday (-11,961) The Pope issued an encyclical about abuse of the indigenous tribes in the Putumayo region of Peru.

7 August 1912. Wednesday (-11,962) Japan and Russia reached agreement on their spheres of influence in Mongolia and Manchuria.

6 August 1912, Tuesday (-11,963) U.S. President Taft asked Congress to fix maximum tolls for the Panama Canal.

5 August 1912, Monday (-11,964) In Chicago, the Progressive Party, nicknamed the "Bull Moose" Party to rival the Republican elephant and Democrat donkey, called itself to order as its founding convention opened at noon.

4 August 1912, Sunday (-11,965) Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat, was born to a wealthy family in Stockholm.� He is famed for saving Jews scheduled for Nazi death camps by giving them Swedish documentation, enabling them to flee to that neutral country. In 1945 he was taken from Budapest as the Soviets occupied the city; he was suspected of espionage and his fate has never been determined.

3 August 1912. Saturday (-11,966) The Ottoman Turks granted Albania limited autonomy.

2 August 1912, Friday (-11,967) Tibetans were routed by Chinese soldiers at Lhasa.

1 August 1912, Thursday (-11,968) The Jungfrau rail tunnel, Switzerland, 7.5 km long, opened.

====================================================================================

31 July 1912, Wednesday (-11,969) Milton Friedman, US economist and Nobel Prize winner in 1976, was born in Brooklyn, New York.

30 July 1912, Tuesday (-11,970) In Japan, Meiji Emperor Mutsuhito died aged 60, after a 45-year reign during which Imperial power was restored to Japan (the Meiji Restoration). He was succeeded by his son, Yoshihito, aged 33, who reigned until 1926.

28 July 1912. Sunday (-11,972) Thomas Wilby began the first trans-Canada journey by car

26 July 1912, Friday (-11,974) Samuel Goldberg Clark, US singer, was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts (died 1 October 1949 in Los Angeles)

24 July 1912, Wednesday (-11,976) Emma Cons, British social worker and philanthropist, died at Hever, Kent (born 4 March 1838 in London).

23 July 1912, Tuesday (-11,977) In the US, the �Modesty League� protested against tight dresses.

22/ July 1912. Monday (-11,978) To counter the growing German naval threat, the British Admiralty recalled warships from the Mediterranean to begin patrols in the North Sea.

21 July 1912, Sunday (-11,979) Second reading of the Franchise Bill, giving all men over 21 the vote.

18 July 1912, Thursday (-11,982)

17/71912, Wednesday (-11,983) Henri Poincare, mathematician, died.

15 July 1912. Monday (-11,985) National Insurance, or social payments, devised by Lloyd George, began in Britain.

14 July 1912. Sunday (-11,986) Woody Guthrie, US folk singer, was born in Oklahoma.

13 July 1912, Saturday (-11,987) (Aviation) J Vedrines, France, set a new aviation speed record of 106.12 mph.

12 July 1912, Friday (-11,988) 12,000 Ulstermen demonstrated against Home Rule for Ireland.

11 July 1912, Thursday (-11,989) Immingham Docks, Lincolnshire, were opened by King George V. Construction had begun in 1906.

9 July 1912, Tuesday (-11,991)

6 July 1912, Saturday (-11,994) The 5^th Olympic Games opened in Stockholm.

5 July 1912, Friday (-11,995)

3 July 1912, Wednesday (-11,997) The Board of Trade Inquiry into the Titanic disaster found Captain Smith (who went down with his ship) guilty of negligence.

2 July 1912, Tuesday (-11,998) Serbia allied with Greece and Bulgaria against Ottoman Turkey, see 29 May 1912.

1 July 1912, Monday (-11,999) The first Royal Command Performance took place at the Palace Theatre, London, watched by King George V and Queen Mary.

=====================================================================================

28 June 1912, Friday (-12,002) The suffragettes began a window-smashing campaign at Post Offices and Labour Exchanges.

26 June 1912, Wednesday (-12,004) The first Alexandra Day.

25 June 1912, Tuesday (-12,005) Asquith was attacked in the Commons over the force-feeding of suffragettes on hunger strike in prison.

24 June 1912, Monday (-12,006)

23 June 1912, Sunday (-12,007) (1) A bridge over the Niagara Falls collapsed, killing 47.

(2) Alan Mathison Turing, British mathematician who invented the Turing Machine, was born. He was the son of Julius and Sara Turing.

22 June 1912, Saturday (-12,008) William Taft was nominated for a 2^nd term as President.

19 June 1912, Wednesday (-12,011) The 8-hour workday became the norm in the USA, having been established in Australia and New Zealand in the 1840s and 50s. Previously the US workday had been commonly 10 hours long, sometime sup to 16 hours.

17 June 1912. Monday (-12,013) Discovery of the production of synthetic rubber on a commercial scale.

16 June 1912. Sunday (-12,014) Enoch Powell was born in Stechford, Birmingham.

14 June 1912, Friday (-12,016) King Frederick VIII of Denmark died after a 6-year reign, aged 69. He was succeeded by his son, 41-year old Christian X, who reigned until 1947.

9 June 1912, Sunday (-12,021) Edgar Evans, tenor singer, was born.

8 June 1912. Saturday (-12,022) In Los Angeles, Carl Lemmie founded Universal Studios.

6 June 1912, Thursday (-12, 024) A huge volcanic eruption began at Mount Katmai, Alaska, creating the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

======================================================================================

31 May 1912. Friday (-12,030) (1) The first motor car museum was opened in London, at 175 Oxford Street. The oldest exhibits were an 1861 Crompton steam car and an 1894 Bremer petrol car. In March 1914 the museum moved to the Crystal Palace. However when the First World War broke out the space was needed for storage; some cars were returned to their owners but others were left on open waste ground near Charing Cross Station and allowed to disintegrate.

(2) US marines landed in Cuba to suppress a slave revolt.

30 May 1912, Thursday (-12,031) Wilbur Wright, older of the two Wright Brothers who invented the airplane, died aged 45 �of typhoid fever at Dayton, Ohio. Wilbur had become ill on 4 May 1912 while on a business trip to Boston. On 17 December 1903 Wilbur became the second man to pilot an airplane, after his brother Orville made the first flight.

29 May 1912, Wednesday (-12,032) Greece signed an anti-Ottoman alliance with Bulgaria. Serbia joined the alliance on 2 July 1912.

28 May 1912, Tuesday (-12,033) The Titanic enquiry in the US gave a verdict of negligence.

27 May 1912, Monday (-12,034) Sam Snead, US golfer, was born.

26 May 1912, Sunday (-12,035), The UK was paralysed by a transport strike.

25 May 1912, Saturday (-12,036)

24 May 1912, Friday (-12,037) Joan Hammond, New Zealand soprano singer, was born.

23 May 1912, Thursday (-12,038) Betty Astell, actress, was born (died 27 July 2005).

21 May 1912, Tuesday (-12,040)

16 May 1912, Thursday (-12,045) MPs backed a Bill that would disestablish the Church in Wales, despite opposition by church leaders.

15 May 1912, Wednesday (-12,046) Crown Prince Christian, brother of King Haakon VII of Norway, was proclaimed as King Christian X of Denmark

14 May 1912, Tuesday (-12,047) August Strindberg, playwright, died in Stockholm, Sweden.

13 May 1912, Monday (-12,048) Gil Evans, Canadian jazz pianist, was born on Toronto (died 20 March 1988 in Mexico)

11 May 1912, Saturday (-12,050) Phil Silvers, US actor famous for his role as Sergeant Bilko, was born.

9 May 1912, Thursday (-12,052) In Britain the Liberal Government�s plans to give Ireland Home Rule came closer this day when the House of Commons gave the Home Rule Bill a second reading, voting for it by 360 votes to 266. Tory MPs were firmly opposed and the Liberals relied on Irish Nationalist and Labour MPs to get the Bill passed. The Parliament Act, passed in 1911, ensured Conservative opposition in the House of Lords would not block the Bill. Ireland might have Home Rule by 1914. However the Home Rule issue had sharpened divisions between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. Belfast, with its flourishing shipbuilding industry, was now the largest city in Ireland, and both merchants and workers there were opposed to rule from Dublin. Sir Edward Carson, a Dublin-born Protestant, planned to recruit some 80,000 armed volunteers to fight for Ulster to remain in the UK, see 28 September 1912.

8 May 1912, Wednesday (-12,053) Pilot Lieutenant Samson, flying a Short S38, made the first ever take off from a moving ship.� The HMS Hibernia, off Weymouth, was moving at 10 knots.

7 May 1912, Tuesday (-12,054)

5 May 1912. Sunday (-12,056) The first issue of Pravda, meaning Truth, appeared in Russia.

4 May 1912. Saturday (-12,057) The Italians occupied the island of Rhodes, formerly held by the Ottoman Turks.

====================================================================================

30 April 1912, Tuesday (-12,061)

21 April 1912, Sunday (-12,070) Marcel Camus, film director, was born.

20 April 1912, Saturday (-12,071) Bram Stoker, Dublin-born creator of Dracula in 1897, died aged 65 in London.

19 April 1912, Friday (-12,072) The U.S. Hydrographic Office and representatives of the steamship lines agreed that the winter time course of ships would be 270 miles south of the course taken by the Titanic, adding between 9 and 14 hours to the trip. The new route would be 3,080 miles rather than 2,858 miles.

18 April 1912, Thursday (-12,073) The liner Carpathia arrived in New York, carrying survivors of the Titanic disaster.

17 April 1912, Wednesday (-12,074) The Lena massacre: Russian soldiers fired into a crowd of gold miners, who had gone on strike in Siberia to demand a reduction in the workday and improved food and sanitation. According to official figures, 270 miners were killed and another 250 wounded, and the dead were buried in a mass grave.

16 April 1912, Tuesday (-12,075) (1) The Channel was first flown by a woman, Harriet Quimby.

(2) The Daily Herald began publication in London.

15 April 1912. Monday (-12,076) The Titanic, steaming too fast through a sea full of icebergs, sank on her maiden voyage. Of the 2,340 passengers and crew, 1,513 perished in the icy seas; only 732 survived. The first lifeboat to get away was almost empty, occupied only by the director of the line and their friends. Many first class passengers got priority over cheaper �steerage� passengers. However there was also heroism; John Jacob Astor stayed behind after ensuring his bride was on a lifeboat, and the band, who played hymns as the ship sank beneath it. With 16 watertight compartments the Titanic, 270 metres long, was considered �unsinkable� and so only had enough lifeboat places for 1,178. Before she sailed from Southampton on 10 April 1912, an engineer stated �God himself could not sink this ship�. Off Newfoundland, a lookout reported an iceberg, the First Officer ordered a turn to port, and the Titanic missed the berg, but an underwater projection of ice struck her below the waterline, ripping open� five of the sixteen watertight compartments. With this many compartments flooded, the ship began to sink, flooding further compartments. Many passengers could not accept that the ship was sinking, and only 800 only got aboard the lifeboats, and one lifeboat was sucked under as the Titanic sank. However later theories suggest that the real cause was poor rivets, that popped, causing a seam along the ship to split open.

14 April 1912, Sunday (-12,077) China's President Yuan Shih-kai issued a manifesto asking the five separate race groups in the nation to unite through intermarriage.

13 April 1912, Saturday (-12,078) In Britain the Royal Flying Corps, forerunner of the Royal Air Force, was formed.

12 April 1912, Friday (-12,079) Clara Barton (born 25 December 1812 near Oxford, Massachusetts) died at Glen Echo, Maryland. She founded the American Red Cross in 1881, having worked in Europe with the Red Cross there to alleviate the suffering caused by the Franco-Prussian War.

11 April 1912. Thursday (-12,080) Irish Home Rule Bill introduced to the UK Parliament.

10 April 1912, Wednesday (-12,081) Troops were called out to quell riots in Wigan.

9 April 1912. Tuesday (-12,082) (Ireland) Major demonstration by 200,000 people against Irish Home Rule Bill in Belfast.

8 April 1912, Monday (-12,083) Emily Soldene, British actress, died in London (born 9 March 1840 in Islington, London)

7 April 1912, Sunday (-12,084) Easter Sunday. Jack Lawrence, US composer, was born in New York

4 April 1912. Thursday (-12,087) (China) A Chinese republic was declared in Tibet.

1 April 1912, Monday (-12,090) (Technology) Pyotr Nicolaievich Lebedev, Russian physicist, died in Moscow.

====================================================================================

31 March 1912. Sunday (-12,091) (Ireland) Major demonstration in Dublin for Irish Home Rule; 100,000 present.

30 March 1912. Saturday (-12,092) By the Treaty of� Fez, Morocco became a French protectorate. This Treaty was terminated on 2 March 1956.

29 March 1912. Friday (-12,093) (Antarctic) Captain Robert Falcon Scott died in his tent in Antarctica, returning from his expedition to the South Pole.

28 March 1912, Thursday (-12,094) In the Boat Race, both Oxford�s and Cambridge�s boats sank. The race was re-run.

27 March 1912. Wednesday (-12,095) British Labour leader and Prime Minister 1976-1979,, James Callaghan, was born in Portsmouth.

26 March 1912, Tuesday (-12,096) Tennessee Williams, US playwright, was born (died 1983).

25 March 1912, Monday (-12,097) The Greek Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos won a majority of seats in elections in Greece.

24 March 1912, Sunday (-12,098) (Biology) Biochemist Sidney Walter Fox was born in Los Angeles, California.

23 March 1912, Saturday (-12,099) (Space exploration) Wernher von Braun, German rocket scientist, was born in Wirsitz.

21 March 1912, Thursday (-12,101) (London) The London Museum was opened, in Kensington Palace, by King George V.

17 March 1912, Sunday (-12,105) (Antarctic) Lawrence Oates died heroically during the return journey from the South Pole. On his 32^nd birthday he left the tent, saying, �I am just going outside, and I may be some time�.

16 March 1912, Saturday (-12,106) (USA) Thelma Nixon, wife of America�s 37^th President, was born in Ely, Nevada, as Thelma Ryan.

15 March 1912, Friday (-12,107) Francis Gruber, French painter, was born.

14 March 1912, Thursday (-12,108) Clifford Bastin, footballer, was born (died 3 December 1991)

13 March 1912, Wednesday (-12,109) (Bulgaria, Greece-Turkey, Yugoslavia) Under Russian influence (wanting to undermine Austro-Hungary), Serbia and Bulgaria buried their territorial rivalries for the time being (but see 29 June 1913), and, along with Greece and Montenegro, formed the Balkan League. Originally directed against the large multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire (which contained many ethnic Serbs within its borders), the League redirected its efforts against Ottoman Turkey, ultimately aiming to oust the Turks entirely from all its European territories. Serbia and Bulgaria signed a mutual defence pact. Balkan nationalism was on the rise. The pact also divided northern Macedonia between them. It was assumed that southern Macedonia would be divided between Bulgaria and Greece. On 30 May 1913 the Treaty of London divided up the Balkans amongst the members of the Balkan League, leaving Ottoman Turkey with only a sliver of European territory immediately west of Istanbul.

12 March 1912, Tuesday (-12,110) The Girl Guide movement was founded in America by Juliette Gordon Low.

11 March 1912, Monday (-12,111) Chinese Republican Government established in Lanchow, capital of Kansu Province. This was one of the last areas to see the new Republican administration established.

10 March 1912, Sunday (-12,112)

8 March 1912, Friday (-12,114) The foundation stone of London�s County Hall was laid.

7 March 1912. Thursday (-12,115) Henri Semiet made the first non-stop flight from London to Paris, taking three hours.

6 March 1912, Wednesday (-12,116) The National Biscuit Company (now Nabisco) introduced the Oreo cookie.

5 March 1912, Tuesday (-12,117) British police raided the offices of the Women�s Social and Political Union.

4 March 1912, Monday (-12,118) 96 women were arrested after a suffragette raid on the House of Commons.

3 March 1912, Sunday (-12,119) Mexican General Pascual Orozco, who had helped Francisco I. Madero win the revolution of 1911 and become President of Mexico, declared a revolt against the Madero government after having been denied a major role. Orozco and his followers, the "Orozquistas", then assisted Victoriano Huerta in overthrowing Madero.

2 March 1912, Saturday (-12,120) As rioting broke out in response to the fall of the Manchu Dynasty in China, Beijing was placed under martial law. Foreign troops arrived the next day to protect the citizens of their respective nations.

1 March 1912, Friday (-12,121) (1) Suffragettes smashed windows in the West End of London. Co-ordinated attacks by groups of women with stones or hammers hidden under their muffs saw a trail of destruction emerge within 20 minutes from Oxford Street to The Strand and Piccadilly;� two women also threw stones at 10 Downing Street. 120 were arrested, including Emmeline Pankhurst. Suffragette militancy had increased after they saw the Government grant concessions to striking railworkers and miners, after strikes had escalated into civil disorder.

(2) The first parachute jump from a moving plane was made, over Missouri, USA, by Albert Berry. He jumped at 1500 feet over Jefferson Barracks, St Louis.

=====================================================================================

29 February 1912, Thursday (-12,122) Military revolt in Beijing.

28 February 1912, Wednesday (-12,123) (Innovation-Military) The Austrian, Gunter Burstyn, patented an armoured vehicle that preceded the Tank. Although it did not have the continuous track that enabled Tanks to traverse trenches and shell-holed ground, it did have front and rear ancillary wheels on long pivots held above ground. These could be lowered to lever the vehicle up and over steep edges.

27 February 1912, Tuesday (-12,124) British poet and writer Lawrence Durrell was born.

20 February 1912, Tuesday (-12,131)

19 February 1912, Monday (-12,132) Saul Chaplin, US composer, was born in Brooklyn, New York

18 February 1912, Sunday (-12,133) The German Kaiser, Wilhelm, declined to meet the Socialist winners of the General Election.

17 February 1912, Saturday (-12,134) Andre Norton, science fiction writer, was born (died 17 March 2005)

16 February 1912, Friday (-12,135) Gwydion Brooke, bassoonist, was born (died 27 March 2005).

15 February 1912, Thursday (-12,136) An attempt by the British Labour Party to institute a Minimum Wage was defeated in the House of Commons.

14 February 1912. Wednesday (-12,137) Arizona became the 48^th state of the USA.

13 February 1912, Tuesday (-12,138) Margaretta Scott, actress, was born (died 15 April 2005).

12 February 1912, Monday (-12,139) The Chinese Manchu dynasty came to an end when the weeping Empress, Dowager Longyu, read out an edict of abdication on behalf of the 5-year-old Chinese boy-Emperor, Pu-Yi. However the Imperial family were allowed to continue to live in the Forbidden City, with a stipend of US$ 4 million a year.

11 February 1912, Sunday (-12.140) The Niger-Chad border was delineated by the Governors-General of French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa.

10 February 1912. Saturday (-12,141) Charles Lister. Lord Joseph Lister, surgeon and discoverer of antiseptics, died aged 84 at Walmer, Kent.

6 February 1912, Tuesday (-12,145) Eva Braun, mistress of Adolf Hitler, was born.

4 February 1912, Sunday (-12,147) John Byron Nelson, golfer, was born (died 26 September 2006).

2 February 1912, Friday (-12,149) Burton Lane, US composer, was born in New York

======================================================================================

30 January 1912, Tuesday (-12,152) The UK House of Lords rejected Irish Home Rule Bill.

28 January 1912, Sunday (-12,154) US artist Jackson Pollock was born.

20 January 1912, Saturday (-12,162) Lutske Wester, Dutch speed skater, died (born 1870).

12 January 1912, Friday (-12,170) James Osborne (Trummy) Young, US jazz trombonist, was born in Savannah, Georgia (died 10 September 1984 in San Jose, California)

10 January 1912, Wednesday (-12,172) The first flying boat, designed by Glenn Curtis, made its maiden voyage at Hammondsport, New York.

8 January 1912, Monday (-12,174) (South Africa) The Africa National Congress (ANC) was formed in Bloemfontein, South Africa. It was originally known as the South Africa Native National Congress (SANNC), changing its name in 1923. Its aim was to restore the Zulu Nation, which had been reduced to virtual slavery by the British after the war of 1879. Pixley ka Isaka Seme was one of the founders, along with Alfred Mangena, D Montsoia and RW Msimang.

6 January 1912. Saturday (-12,176) (USA) New Mexico became the 47^th State of the USA.

5 January 1912, Friday (-12,177)

4 January 1912, Thursday (-12,178) (Geology) Clarence Edward Dutton, US geologist, died in Eaglewood, New Jersey.

3 January 1912, Wednesday (-12,179) The UK Cabinet was divided over votes for women.� Ulster Unionists said they would ignore Irish Home Rule.

2 January 1912, Tuesday (-12,180)

1 January 1912. Monday (-12,181) (1) The Republic of China was officially proclaimed.

(2) The British Post office took over the National Telephone Company, for the sum of �12,515,264.

(3) Harold �Kim� Philby, the British traitor who spied for Soviet intelligence, was born.

======================================================================================

31 December 1911. Sunday (-12,182) Marie Curie received her second Nobel prize, unprecedented in the history of the award.

29 December 1911, Friday (-12,184) Chinese revolutionary Dr Sun Yat Sen (1866-1925) became the first President of the Republic of China.

22 December 1911, Friday (-12,191) A Chinese Republican Government was established in Kaifeng, capital of Honan Province.

21 December 1911, Thursday (-12,192) Paul Burkhard, Swiss composer, was born in Zurich (died in Zell, near Zurich, 6 July 1977)

19 December 1911, Tuesday (-12,194) Lu Watters, US jazz trumpeter, was born in Santa Cruz, California (died 5 November 1989 in Santa Rosa, California)

14 December 1911. Thursday (-12,199) (1) Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen beat the British team, led by Captain Scott, to the South Pole. The British relied on motorised transport and ponies, the Norwegians on dog sleds. Captain Scott arrived at the South Pole on 17 January 1912 to find the Norwegians had beaten him to it. Scott set out with 11 men from Cape Evans, Antarctica, on 24 October 1911; his motorised sledges soon broke down, and the ponies had to be shot due to the cold. Therefore the hardest part of Scott�s journey, the part from the final food dump (left for the return journey) to the South Pole, 240 kilometres, and back, had to be done on foot with barely a month�s provision for the five men attempting the journey. On the return journey blizzards slowed Scott�s team, reducing their daily rations.

(2) Miss Eleanor Davies Colley, MB London, became the first woman to be admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons.

13 December 1911, Wednesday (-12,200) The P & O liner Delhi foundered with the Princess Royal on board, but she and most of the other passengers on board were rescued.

12 December 1911, Tuesday (-12,201) King George V was crowned Emperor of India, and founded the city of New Delhi, as new capital to replace Calcutta.

11 December 1911, Monday (-12,202) Naguib Mahfouz, novelist, was born (died 30 August 2006)

10 December 1911, Sunday (-12,203)

7 December 1911, Thursday (-12,206) China abolished men�s pigtails.

6 December 1911. Wednesday (-12,207) Russia announced that Mongolia was a Russian protectorate.

4 December 1911, Monday (-12,209)

3 December 1911, Sunday (-12,210) Nino Rota, Italian composer, was born in Rome (died 10 April 1979 in Rome)

2 December 1911, Saturday (-12,211) Chinese Republicans captured Nanking.

1 December 1911, Friday (-12,212) Franz Binder, Austrian footballer, was born.

=====================================================================================

29 November 1911, Wednesday (-12,214) US journalist Joseph Pulitzer died.

22 November 1911. Wednesday (-12,221) Chinese Republican Government established in Chengtu, capital of Szechuan Province.

21 November 1911, Tuesday (-12,222) Suffragette riots in Whitehall, London.

19 November 1911, Sunday (-12,224)

16 November 1911, Thursday (-12,227) In China, Prime Minister Yuan Shikai formed a Cabinet.

15 November 1911, Wednesday (-12,228) The Chevrolet car company was founded in Detroit, USA,

14 November 1911, Tuesday (-12,229)

13 November 1911. Monday (-12,230) Bonar Law became leader of the Tory Party, succeeding Arthur James Balfour.

12 November 1911. Sunday (-12,231) Rev. Chad Varah, founder of The Samaritans, was born

11 November 1911. Saturday (-12,232) The British King and Queen left Britain for the sea voyage to India. On 12 December 1911 there was a splendid ceremony at the Delhi Durbar, at which it was announced that henceforth Delhi would be the capital of India in place of Calcutta.

10 November 1911, Friday (-12,233) The first regular civil airmail service began between Hounslow (London) and Paris. Mail was surcharged at 2s 6d an ounce, of which the airline received b2s. The high price deterred customers, and an average of only 46 letters a day were carried.

9 November 1911, Thursday (-12,234) A squadron of soldiers, the 18^th Hussars, with rifles, patrolled the streets of Tonypandy, south Wales, after clashes between striking miners and the police, in which the police had been stoned.

8 November 1911, Wednesday (-12,235) Arthur Balfour, Conservative leader, resigned.

7 November 1911, Tuesday (-12,236) (Jewish) Walter Schlomo Gross, Jewish journalist, was born.

6 November 1911, Monday (-12,237) The US state of Maine banned alcohol.

5 November 1911. Sunday (-12,238) Italy announced that it had taken from Turkey the territories of Libya, Tripolitania, and Cyrenaica. This was taken as a sign of Turkish weakness by the Balkan States.

4 November 1911, Saturday (-12,239) Germany settled the Morocco crisis with France. Germany agreed to allow France a free hand in Morocco, in exchange for territory in the Congo.

3 November 1911, Friday (-12,240) Death of Norman Jay Colman, the first US Secretary of Agriculture (born 16 May 1827).

2 November 1911, Thursday (-12,241) London cab drivers went on strike.

1 November 1911. Wednesday (-12,242) (1) The world�s first air raid. The Italian, Lt Guilio Gavotti, took off from Tripoli and dropped a 2 kg bomb on the Turks at Ain Zara, Tripolitania; he then dropped three more such bombs on Turkish troops at Tagiura. A second air raid on Ain Zara three days later brought a strong protest from the Turks that the Italians were contravening the Geneva Convention, and considerable world-wide discussion ensued on the ethics of air bombardment.

(2) The first edition of Woman�s Weekly was published. See 2 November 1903, Daily Mirror as woman�s newspaper. See also 2 November 1924, first British crossword.

=====================================================================================

31 October 1911, Tuesday (-12,243) J.J. Montgomery, 55, American aeronautical engineer, died in a plane crash

30 October 1911, Monday (-12,244) Guided by the Regent, Prince Chun, the Emperor Pu Yi granted China a constitution. This was to combat growing support for the rebel Republican army of Sun Yat Sen.

29 October 1911. Sunday (-12,245) (1) First stone of the Drury Lane Theatre laid.

(2) Joseph Pulitzer, US newspaper publisher who instituted an annual journalism prize, died.

(3) In Honduran Presidential elections, Bonilla was chosen.

28 October 1911, Saturday (-12,246) China's new National Assembly demanded three reforms: a cabinet of ministers without Manchu nobility; an amnesty for persons who committed political offences, and a permanent constitution.

27 October 1911, Friday (-12,247) After a bank robbery in Paris, the three criminals involved made the first ever getaway in a motor car.

26 October 1911, Thursday (-12,248) Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer, was born.

25 October 1911. Wednesday (-12,249) The last horse bus ran in London, from London Bridge station to Moorgate Street.

24 October 1911, Tuesday (-12,250) The advance team for Robert Scott's British Antarctic Expedition, Bernard Day, Tom Lashly, F.J. Hooper and Teddy Evans, set off with food and supplies from Cape Evans. Scott and his party set off on November 1

23 October 1911. Monday (-12,251) (1) First aerial reconnaissance in warfare. The Italian Captain Piazza, during the Italian Turkish war of 1910-11, took off from Tripoli and flew over Turkish troops camped at Aziza.

(2) Winston Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty.

(3) Ford Model T production began at Trafford Park, Manchester, England. By the early 1920s, 41% of all cars registered in Britain were Fords. Ford opened its Dagenham, England, plant in 1923, with deep water access.

22 October 1911, Sunday (-12,252) A Chinese Republican Government was established in Sian, capital of Shansi Province.

20 October 1911. Friday (-12,254) Italy defeated the Turks at Tripoli, Libya.

18 October 1911, Wednesday (-12,256) Wrigleys launched their Spearmint Gum in the UK. They set up a factory in Wembley in 1927, moving to Plymouth in 1970.

13 October 1911, Friday (-12,261) Le Duc Tho, Vietnamese politician, was born.

11 October 1911. Wednesday (-12,263) Earthquake in California killed 700.

10 October 1911, Tuesday (-12,264) The Imperial Manchu Dynasty, which had ruled China since 1644, was forced to abdicate �voluntarily� and a Kuomintang Republic was proclaimed at Wuchang, under Sun Yat-Sen.

9 October 1911, Monday (-12,265) The King George V, Britain�s biggest battleship to date, was launched.

8 October 1911, Sunday (-12,266)

7 October 1911, Saturday (-12,267) Jonathan Jones, US jazz drummer, was born in Chicago (died 3 September 1985 in New York)

6 October 1911. Friday (-12,268) Barbara Castle, British Labour politician, was born.

5 October 1911, Thursday (-12,269) Italian troops landed at Tripoli, Libya, as Italy invaded the country, taking it from Turkey.

4 October 1911. Wednesday (-12,270) Britain�s first escalators were introduced, connecting the District and Piccadilly lines at Earl�s Court station in London.

1 October 1911, Sunday (-12,273)

=====================================================================================

30 September 1911. Saturday (-12,274) Italian troops attacked the Turks in Tripoli harbour.

29 September 1911. Friday (-12,275) (Italy, Greece, N Africa) Italy declared war on Turkey, having been assured of the neutrality of other European countries.� The Italian Navy bombarded Preveza, and Italian forces landed at Tripoli and in Cyrenicia. This was in retaliation for the alleged mistreatment of Italians in Libya. The Italians expected the Arabs to welcome them as liberators from Turkish rule, but instead the Arabs sided with the Turks in resisting Italian rule. In May 1912 Italy invaded some islands off Turkey, including Rhodes, to put further pressure on Turkey. Then Italy had some unexpected good fortune when in 1912 Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece started the Balkan War against Turkey, forcing the Ottomans to surrender Libya to Italy. However Arab resistance continued and despite a permanent Italian garrison of 50,000 troops Italian rule only covered Tripoli and other major towns. At least, though, Italy could now claim to have its own African colony.

26 September 1911, Tuesday (-12,278) Mildred Shay, actress, was born (died 15 October 2005).

24 September 1911, Sunday (-12,280) William Morgan Shuster, an American serving as Persia�s Treasurer-General and financial advisor, was dismissed after Russian demands to oust him. The Persian National Assembly (Majlis) had originally resisted Russian pressure for this move, but a coup in Tehran this day suspended the Majlis and Shuster was dismissed.

19 September 1911, Tuesday (-12,285) British writer William Golding was born.

18 September 1911, Monday (-12,286) A General Strike began in Valencia, Spain.

16 September 1911, Saturday (-12,288)

14 September 1911, Thursday (-12,290) Russian Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin was assassinated when a police double agent shot him at the opera in Kiev; he died on 18 September 1911. He had held the post for 6 years; his predecessor managed only one year, in the turmoil of Russian politics. He was ruthless and simply crushed any opposition, which made him unpopular and he fell out with the Tsar, Nicholas, also his Council of Ministers and the Duma (Parliament).

13 September 1911, Wednesday (-12,291) Bill Monroe, US country guitarist, was born in Rosine, Kentucky.

9 September 1911, Saturday (-12,295) The first experimental airmail service in Britain began, operating between Hendon aerodrome and Windsor, 19 miles . The service was discontinued on 26 September 1911.

6 September 1911. Wednesday (-12,298) The British TUC condemned the use of troops in strikes.

5 September 1911, Tuesday (-12,299) The first adult literacy school in the United States began, when Cora Wilson Stewart, school superintendent for Rowan County, Kentucky, began what she called the Moonlight Schools. The night classes at the county's 50 schools took place so long as the Moon was bright enough for students to safely travel. She had expected that 150 might come; however, 1,200 signed up.

4 September 1911. Monday (-12,300) Flooding along China�s Yangtze River killed 100,000 people.

3 September 1911, Sunday (-12,301)

2 September 1911, Saturday (-12,302) John Peterson, boxer, was born (died 22 November 1990).

1 September 1911, Friday (-12,303) Mary Dees, actress, was born (died 4 August 2005).

====================================================================================

31 August 1911, Thursday (-12,304) the Director of the Louvre art gallery, Paris, was sacked following the theft of the Mona Lisa (22 August 1911). The painting was not recovered until two years later.

30 August 1911, Wednesday (-12,305)

29 August 1911, Tuesday (-12,306) A man believed to be the last indigenous American to make contact with White Americans, called Ishi, last of the Yahi people, was discovered in north-eastern California.

28 August 1911, Monday (-12,307) A heat wave sent the mortality rate in London soaring to 19 per 1,000.

27 August 1911. Sunday (-12,308) At Hamburg the German Kaiser made his �place in the sun� speech, foreshadowing a large increase in the German navy. Britain responded by increasing its navy, although Anglo-German relations remained friendly.

26 August 1911, Saturday (-12,309) A heatwave killed 2,500 children in London.

24 August 1911, Thursday (-12,311)

23 August 1911, Wednesday (-12,312) Violent anti-Semitic riots in Wales.

22 August 1911, Tuesday (-12,313) The Mona Lisa was stolen from The Louvre, Paris.

21 August 1911, Monday (-12,314)

18 August 1911. Friday (-12,317) In the UK, the Official Secrets Bill got Royal Assent.

17-19 August 1911. Railway strike in the UK. Armed troops were called out to assist the police in safeguarding the nation�s food supplies. Food convoys left main railway goods junctions under heavy guard.

16 August 1911, Wednesday (-12,319) E F Schumacher, German economist and statistician, was born (died 1977).

15 August 1911, Tuesday (-12,320)

14 August 1911, Monday (-12,321) South Wales miners ended their strike after 14 months.

13 August 1911, Sunday (-12,322) Rioting broke out in Liverpool after Tom Mann and other trade unionists held mass meetings near St George�s Hall.

12 August 1911, Saturday (-12,323)

10 August 1911, Thursday (-12,325) In the House of Lords Tory peers abstained, thereby allowing passage of the controversial budget delayed from a year ago. MPs salaries were now �400 a year.

9 August 1911, Wednesday (-12,326) (Aviation) Captain Felix, France, set a new aviation record of 10,466 feet.

8 August 1911. Tuesday (-12,327) Violence flared in Liverpool�s streets as a nationwide strike continued. The strike by railwaymen, dockers, and other transport workers threatened a nationwide famine, and warships stood by to help merchant ships off Liverpool to unload. 50,000 troops stood by in Liverpool.

7 August 1911, Monday (-12,328)

6 August 1911, Sunday (-12,329) Lucille Ball, US TV actress, was born.

5 August 1911, Saturday (-12,330) The entire Kowloon to Canton railway opened.

4 August 1911, Friday (-12,331)

3 August 1911. Thursday (-12,332) Aeroplanes were put to military use, when Italian planes reconnoitred the Turkish lines near Tripoli.

2 August 1911, Wednesday (-12,333) The Honduran civil war was inconclusive and both sides agreed to an armistice and elections to choose a new President.

1 August 1911. Tuesday (-12,334) Germany began to fortify Heligoland, a small island in the North Sea.

=====================================================================================

31 July 1911, Monday (-12,335) The Mason Motor Company was founded in Flint, Michigan, USA.

28 July 1911, Friday (-12,338) The French Chief of Staff resigned over the Dreyfus Affair.

24 July 1911, Monday (-12,342) The lost city of Machu Picchu, Peru, was rediscovered by Hiram Bingham.

21 July 1911, Friday (-12,345) Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, warned Germany not to threaten British interests in the western Mediterranean, or Gibraltar.� See 1 July 1911.� Germany denied such ambitions, but Britain began preparing for war with Germany.

20 July 1911, Thursday (-12,346) 20 rioters in Wales shot dead by troops.

19 July 1911, Wednesday (-12,347) The Liver Building in Liverpool was opened.

18 July 1911, Tuesday (-12,348) Hermann Adler, British chief rabbi (born 30 May 1839) died.

16 July 1911, Sunday (-12,350) US actress Ginger Rogers was born.

11 July 1911, Tuesday (-12,355) In Paris, 60,000 stonemasons went on strike.

10 July 1911, Monday (-12,356) Russia warned Germany that it supported France in the Morocco crisis.

9 July 1911, Sunday (-12,357) (Astronomy) John Archibald Wheeler was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He coined the term Black Hole to describe an object so massive not even light can escape.

8 July 1911, Saturday (-12,358) (Aviation) M Loridan, France, set a new aviation altitude record of 10.,423 feet.

7 July 1911, Friday (-12,359) In Washington, DC, the USA, Russia, the UK and Japan signed the Convention on the International Protection of Fur Seals, prohibiting hunting of the endangered animals in the North Pacific Ocean. In the first six years afterwards, the fur seal population increased by 30%.

6 July 1911, Thursday (-12,360) Laverne Andrews, singer, was born.

5 July 1911. Wednesday (-12,361) (France) Birth of Georges Pompidou, in Montboudif, Auvergne. He was French President from 1969 until his death in 1974.

4 July 1911, Tuesday (-12,362) (Aviation) The first air cargo was delivered; a box of Osram lamps.

3 July 1911, Monday (-12,363) Joseph Hardstaff, cricketer, was born (died 1 January 1990).

2 July 1911, Sunday (-12,364) Diego Fabbri, Italian playwright, was born in Forl�.

1 July 1911, Saturday (-12,365) (1) The Shops Act provided for a half-day holiday for shop workers.

(2) (Morocco, France-Germany) Germany sent the gunboat Panther to Agadir, Morocco, to protect German commercial interests there from French expansion in Morocco.� Britain was concerned about Germany�s ambitions in Africa so close to Gibraltar.� See 21 July 1911.

=====================================================================================

30 June 1911, Friday (-12,366) In London, the population of Barnet was 11,335; in 1901 it had been 3,375.

28 June 1911, Wednesday (-12,368) Japan signed a commercial treaty with France.

24 June 1911, Saturday (-12,372) Argentinean racing driver Juan Fangio was born.

23 June 1911. Friday (-12,373) Coronation of King George V.

22 June 1911, Thursday (-12,374) Liverpool�s Liver Clock, called �Great George�, began showing the time.

21 June 1911, Wednesday (-12,375) The ship RMS Olympic completed its first transatlantic trip, arriving in New York after a voyage of 5 days, 16 hours and 42 minutes.

20 June 1911, Tuesday (-12,376) Britain�s first trolley bus ran, in Leeds.

19 June 1911, Monday (-12,377)

17 June 1911. Saturday (-12,379) (1) In the UK, 60,000 women demonstrated for women�s suffrage, marching through London to a meeting at the Albert Hall.

(2) The University of Iceland was established, on the centenary of the birth of Jon Sigurdsson.

16 June 1911. Friday (-12,380) The French army occupied Fez, in Morocco.

15 June 1911, Thursday (-12,381) (1) The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company was established. This later became IBM., see 14 February 1924.

(2) Henry Leland, founder of Cadillac, heard that his friend Byron Carter (founder of CarterCar) had been killed when he went to help a stranded motorist and when he restarted the car by crank the crank handle jumped back and broke his jaw. Leland now developed an electric starter for cars, which was standard on Cadillacs from 1912.

14 June 1911, Wednesday (-12,382) Johan Svendsen, Norwegian composer, died aged 70.

13 June 1911, Tuesday (-12,383) First performance of Stravinsky�s ballet, Petrushka.

12 June 1911, Monday (-12,384) (Aviation) A Leblanc, France, set a new aviation speed record of 77.68 mph.

11 June 1911, Sunday (-12,385) Thomas Price, speedway champion, was born.

10 June 1911, Saturday (-12,386) Terence Rattigan, playwright, was born.

9 June 1911, Friday (-12,387) Carry Amelia Nation, US campaigner for abstention from alcohol, died aged 64.

8 June 1911, Thursday (-12,388) The Birkbeck Bank, London, crashed.

7 June 1911. Wednesday (-12,389) A severe earthquake shook Mexico City, killing over 100.

6 June 1911. Tuesday (-12,390) Edward Harrigan, US comedian, died in new York (born 26 October 1844 in New York)

3 June 1911, Saturday (-12,392) Paulette Goddard, actress, was born.

====================================================================================

31 May 1911. Wednesday (-12,396) The Titanic was launched at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

30 May 1911, Tuesday (-12,397) The Indianapolis motor race was first held.

29 May 1911, Monday (-12,398) W S Gilbert, English poet and dramatist, died aged 75.

28 May 1911, Sunday (-12,399)

27 May 1911, Saturday (-12,400) Hubert Humphrey, US politician, was born (died 1978).

26 May 1911, Friday (-12,401) The German Reichstag granted the former French territory of Alsace-Lorraine its own legislature and a large measure of autonomy.

25 May 1911, Thursday (-12,402) (1) Mexican dictator Portofirio Diaz was ousted after 45 years rule.

(2) (Aviation) Britain passed the Aerial Navigation Act, giving powers to ban hostile flights.

23 May 1911, Tuesday (-12,404) The New York Public Library opened on 5^th Avenue.

20 May 1911, Saturday (-12,407) Edward Grace, cricketer, died (born 28 November 1841).

18 May 1911. Thursday (-12,409) Composer Gustav Mahler died of heart disease in Austria, aged 51.

17 May 1911, Wednesday (-12,410) Maureen O�Sullivan, actress, was born.

16 May 1911, Tuesday (-12,411) The Victoria Memorial in London was unveiled.

15 May 1911, Monday (-12,412) (1) (USA) After a long legal battle the US Supreme Court ordered that Standard Oil be broken up into 34 smaller companies, including Mobil Oil, Chevron and Exxon. Standard Oil had become a huge monopoly through trust agreements signed by its leader John D Rockerfeller in 1882, that gave it control over 75% of US refining capacity, 90% of US pipelines, and 15% of creude oil products. Standard Oil also had interests in gas, copper, iron, steel, shipping, banks, and railroad companies. The State of Ohio challenged this monopoly in Court , and in 1890 US Congress passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, giving the Federal US Government the power to regulate corporate trusts that extended across State boundaries, In the 1904 Presidential Election Theodore Roosevelt began a trust-busting campaign, culminating in the 1911 Supreme Court decision against Standard Oil.

(2) King George V and his cousin the Kaiser reasserted their friendship.

14 May 1911, Sunday (-12,413)

13 May 1911, Saturday (-12,414) Maxine Sullivan, US singer, was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania (died 7 April 1987 in New York)

12 May 1911. Friday (-12,415) Display of military aviation at Hendon. The Festival of Empire opened at Crystal Palace.

11 May 1911, Thursday (-12,416) The Mexican rebel Francisco Madero established a new capital at Ciudad Juarez.

10 May 1911, Wednesday (-12,417)

9 May 1911, Tuesday (-12,418) The British Parliament agreed to Home Rule for Ireland.

8 May 1911, Monday (-12,419) A direct telephone link was established between New York and Denver.

6 May 1911, Saturday (-12,421)

5 May 1911, Friday (-12,422) James A Bland, US composer, died in Philadelphia (born 22 October 1854 in Flushing, New York)

4 May 1911, Thursday (-12,423) Britain�s first airship was wrecked at Aldershot.

3 May 1911, Wednesday (-12,424) In Britain, Lloyd George introduced a National Health Insurance Bill.

===================================================================================

30 April 1911, Sunday (-12,427) Women got the vote in Portugal.

25 April 1911, Tuesday (-12,432) Jack Ruby, killer of Lee Harvey Oswald, was born.

19 April 1911, Wednesday (-12,438) Ursula Moray Williams, children�s writer, was born (died 17 October 2006)

16 April 1911, Sunday (-12,441) Easter Sunday. Guy Burgess, English civil servant who spied for the Russians, was born in Devonport. He died in August 1963 in a Moscow hospital.

10 April 1911, Monday (-12,447) Charles Zwar, Australian composer, was born in Broadford, Victoria (died 2 December 1989 in Oxford)

8 April 1911, Saturday (-12,449) (Biology) Melvin Calvin was born in St Paul, Minnesota, USA. In 1945 he investigated photosynthesis in plants using carbon-14.

7 April 1911, Friday (-12,450) The House of Commons gave a second reading to a Bill giving copyright during an author�s lifetime and for 50 years after their death.

6 April 1911, Thursday (-12,451) (Biology) Feodor Lynen, medical researcher, was born in Munich., Germany.

5 April 1911, Wednesday (+12,452) Gordon Jones, actor, was born in Alden, Iowa, USA.

4 April 1911, Tuesday (-12,453) (1) The Duke of Marlborough and other former pupils at Eton opposed the abolition of birching at the school.

(2) Massachusetts refused to give women the right to vote.

3 April 1911, Monday (-12,458) Japan and Britain signed a commercial treaty.

2 April 1911, Sunday (-12,459) Myrtle Maclagan, cricketer, was born (died 11 March 1993).

=====================================================================================

31 March 1911. Friday (-12,457) UK shop-workers won the fight for a 60-hour week.

28 March 1911, Tuesday (-12,460) Herve de Toulgoet, French entomologist, was born (died 14 September 2009)

26 March 1911, Sunday (-12,462) Tennessee Williams, US playwright, was born in Columbus, Mississippi.

25 March 1911, Saturday (-12,463) 146 employees died in a major fire at the Triangle shirt factory in Manhattan. It was a multi-storey building. Although the owners were held not liable in a� Court case, the incident caused fire prevention measures to be undertaken in all US factories.

24 March 1911. Friday (-12,464) Denmark abolished the death penalty.

21 March 1911, Tuesday (-12,467) Augustus Risman, rugby player, was born (died 17 October 1994).

18 March 1911, Saturday (-12,470) Italian Prime Minister Luzzatti resigned.

17 March 1911. Friday (-12,471) In Norway, Anna Rogstadt took her place as the country�s first woman MP.

16 March 1911, Thursday (-12,472) Sybille Bedford, writer, was born (died 17 February 2006).

15 March 1911, Wednesday (-12,473)

14 March 1911, Tuesday (-12,474) Akira Yoshizawa, creator of modern origami, was born (died 14 March 2005).

13 March 1911, Monday (-12,475) (USA) L Ron Hubbard, US science fiction writer who founded the scientologists, was born.

12 March 1911, Sunday (-12,476)

10 March 1911. Friday (-12,478) France adopted Greenwich Mean Time as standard time across the country.

9 March 1911, Thursday (-12,479) The British Government announced that five more battleships were to be built.

8 March 1911, Wednesday (-12,480) Britain stated it would not assist France if it was attacked by Germany.

7 March 1911, Tuesday (-12,481) (Atomic) New Zealand physicist Ernest Lord Rutherford (1871-1937) discovered the atomic nucleus. He conducted an experiment in which he fired alpha particles (helium nuclei) at a sheet of gold foil just 0.0004 mm thick, with detectors placed around the sheet, Some particles passed through but some were deflected or even bounced back. This suggested that atoms had a small region of strong central resistance in a much less dense area occupied by the electrons.

3 March 1911, Friday (-12,485) Jean Harlow, actress, was born.

1 March 1911, Wednesday (-12,487) Harry Golombek, chess player, was born (died 7 January 1995).

=====================================================================================

28 February 1911, Tuesday (-12,488) Denis Parsons Burkitt, surgeon, was born.

26 February 1911, Sunday (-12,490)

24 February 1911, Friday (-12,492) The Reichstag voted to increase the German Army by half a million men.

23 February 1911, Thursday (-12,493) Quanah Parker, 65, Principal Chief of the Comanche Nation, died.

22 February 1911, Wednesday (-12,494) Canada voted to remain a part of the British Empire.

21 February 1911, Tuesday (-12,495) Japan and the US signed a commercial treaty in Washington.

20 February 1911, Monday (-12,496)

18 February 1911. Saturday (-12,498) The first official airmail flight. Henri Pecquet flew a load of 6,000 letters and cards 5 miles from Allahabad, India, to Naini Junction, where they were transferred to the railway.

17 February 1911, Friday (-12,499) The city of Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, was incorporated.

16 February 1911, Thursday (-12,500) The first Monte Carlo car rally started.

11 February 1911, Saturday (-12,505)

6 February 1911. Monday (-12,510) (1) Ronald Reagan, American Republican and 40^th President, was born in Tampico, Illinois.

(2) The Labour Party elected Ramsay MacDonald as its leader, replacing Kier Hardie.

(3) A large part of Constantinople was destroyed in a fire.

5 February 1911, Sunday (-12,511) Revolution in Haiti was suppressed after its leader, General Montreuil Guillaume, was captured by government troops and shot.

4 February 1911, Saturday (-12,512) Rolls Royce adopted the Sprit of Ecstasy statuette on their cars, made in Derby, England.

3 February 1911, Friday (-12,513)

2 February 1911, Thursday (-12,514) Jussi Bjoerling, Swedish operatic singer, was born (died 1960).

1 February 1911, Wednesday (-12,515) HMS Thunderer, the last battleship to be built on the Thames, was launched from the old Thames Ironworks at Silvertown.

=====================================================================================

31 January 1911, Tuesday (-12,516)

30 January 1911, Monday (-12,517) Jack Besford, swimmer, was born.

29 January 1911, Sunday (-12,518) Bernard Hermann, US composer, was born in New York (died 24 December 1975 in Los Angeles)

28 January 1911, Saturday (-12,519) The first Monte Carlo car rally was run.

27 January 1911, Friday (-12,520)

26 January 1911, Thursday (-12,521) Glenn H Curtis flew the first successful seaplane.

25 January 1911. Wednesday (-12,522) US troops were sent to Rio Grande in the Mexican Civil War.

24 January 1911, Tuesday (-12,523)

23 January 1911, Monday (-12,524) Marie Curie, Nobel prize winner, was refused admission to the all-male French Academy of Sciences. She went on to win a second Nobel prize.

22 January 1911, Sunday (-12,525) Lady Mary Hayley Bell Mills, writer, was born (died 1 December 2005)

21 January 1911. Saturday (-12,526) The first Monte Carlo Rally began. It was won, seven days later, by Henri Rougier from France.

20 January 1911, Friday (-12,527) Ecuador refused to allow the Hague Tribunal to arbitrate in its boundary dispute with Peru.

19 January 1911, Thursday (-12,528)

18 January 1911. Wednesday (-12,529) US pilot Eugene Ely, in a Curtiss aircraft, made the first landing on the deck of a ship; the cruiser Pennsylvania in San Francisco Bay.

17 January 1911, Tuesday (-12,530) An attempt was made on the life of the French Prime Minister, Aristide Briand.

16 January 1911, Monday (-12,531) Major oil find in Borneo.

14 January 1911, Saturday (-12,533)

13 January 1911, Friday (-12,534) Sir John Bjelke Peterson, Australian politician, was born in New Zealand (died 23 April 2005).

12 January 1911, Thursday (-12,535) Thelma Kingsbury, badminton champion, was born.

11 January 1911, Wednesday (-12,536) (1) The Jehovah�s Witnesses released their film, The Photodrama of Creation, in New York. By the end of 1911 nine million people had seen it, mainly in N America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

(2) 18 killed in riots in Bombay, India.

6 January 1911, Friday (-12,541)

4 January 1911, Wednesday (-12,543) Noro Sanabia Morales, Puerto Rican composer, was born in San Juan (died 4 January 1964 in San Juan).

3 January 1911. Tuesday (-12,544) The siege of Sydney Street took place when 1,000 police and soldiers besieged three anarchists suspected of killing three policemen at a house in London�s East End. 2 Anarchists were killed as the house caught fire; the ringleader, �Peter the Painter�, escaped.

2 January 1911, Monday (-12,545) US President Taft formally recognised the new Estrada government in Nicaragua and withdrew its marines.

1 January 1911, Sunday (-12,546)

======================================================================================

29 December 1910, Thursday (-12,549) Reginald Doherty, tennis champion, died (born 14 October 1872).

26 December 1910, Monday (-12,552) The London Palladium Theatre opened, specialising in revues and vaudeville.

22 December 1910, Thursday (-12,556) The Fisher Closed Body Company was founded to manufacture enclosed automobile cabs.

20 December 1910. Tuesday (-12,558) Liberals and Tories tied in the UK general election. Liberals and Conservatives got 272 seats each (from 397 Liberal MPs). The Liberals under Herbert Asquith remained in power with the backing of 42 Labour MPs and 84 Irish Nationalists. The Tories lost support because their blocking of the Budget landed Britain with a �10 million debt. If the House of Lords still blocked the Budget, Asquith threatened to create 300 new peers to ensure it passed, a measure reluctantly agreed to by King George V. Reform of the powers of the House of Lords has now become a major political issue. This issue sidelined Liberal policies for home rule for Wales and Scotland. In the event, World War One also delayed home rule for Ireland.

19 December 1910, Monday (-12,559) Jean Genet, novelist, was born.

18 December 1910. Sunday (-12,560) Mr Tom Sopwith won a �4,000 aviation prize by flying from Eastchurch, Sheppey, to Beaumont, Belgium. He covered the 177 miles in 3 � hours.

17 December 1910, Saturday (-12,561) Spade Cooley, violinist, was born in Oklahoma (died 23 November 1969 in Oakland, California)

16 December 1910, Friday (-12,562) US marines forced the Nicaraguan President to resign.

15 December 1910, Thursday (-12,563) John Hammond, US record producer, was born in New York (died 10 July 1987 in New York)

13 December 1910, Tuesday (-12,565)

11 December 1910, Sunday (-12,567) In elections for the Greek National Assembly, supporters of Venizelos received 300 seats out of 364.

10 December 1910, Saturday (-12,568) In the UK, the Liberal agenda included Irish Home Rule and abolition of the House of Lords.

9 December 1910, Friday (-12,569) The Turks suppressed an Arab uprising in Palestine.

8 December 1910, Thursday (-12,570) (Aviation) G Legagneux, France, set a new aviation altitude record of 10,171 feet.

7 December 1910, Wednesday (-12,571) Edmundo Ros, bandleader, was born in Venezuela.

6 December 1910, Tuesday (-12,572)

5 December 1910, Monday (-12,573) A convoy of barges on the River Volga sank, killing 350 workmen.

4 December 1910, Sunday (-12,574) Alex North, US composer, was born.

3 December 1910. Saturday (-12,575) (1) The first neon lighting was used, at the Paris Motor Show. In 1910, in Britain, an Austin car, �Ascot� model, cost �420. It had 15 horsepower, and the hood, windscreen, windshield, and headlights were extra.

(2) Mary Baker Eddy, American founder of the Christian Scientists, died.

(3) France occupied the Moroccan port of Agadir.

====================================================================================

29 November 1910, Tuesday (-12,579) Sir Hans Singer, economics writer, was born (died 26 February 2006).

27 November 1910, Sunday (-12,581) Pregnant French women were now legally entitled to 8 weeks leave from work.

26 November 1910, Saturday (-12,582) Cyril Cusack, actor, was born.

23 November 1910, Wednesday (-12,585) The American Dr Hawley Crippen was hanged in London�s Pentonville Prison for the murder of his wife, Cora.

21 November 1910, Monday (-12,587) Eleanor Powell, US actress, was born in Springfield, Masachusetts.

20 November 1910, Sunday (-12,588) (Mexico) Francisco Madero began a rebellion against the corrupt and repressive regime of Porfirio Diaz.

19 November 1910, Saturday (-12,589) Alessandro Mussolini, father of the Italian dictator, died, aged 56.

18 November 1910, Friday (-12,590) (Women�s Rights) Black Friday, when 119 suffragettes stormed the House of Commons. Mrs Mary Clarke, sister of Emmeline Pankhurst, and Cecelia Wolsey Haig both died as a result of this incident, The enxt day Winston Churchill ordered that charges against 100 women from this episode be dropped.

17 November 1910, Thursday (-12,591)

15 November 1910, Tuesday (-12,593) Geoffrey Toone, actor, was born (died 1 June 2005).

14 November 1910. Monday (-12,594) (1) There were more than 100 arrests when suffragettes tried to storm the House of Commons.

(2) Pilot Eugene Ely, in a Curtiss biplane, made the first take-off from a ship, the US light cruiser Birmingham, at anchor in Chesapeake Bay.

11 November 1910, Friday (-12,597) Leonidas da Silva, Brazilian footballer, was born.

8 November 1910, Tuesday (-12,600) Fulke Walwyn, champion jockey, was born (died18 February 1991).

7 November 1910, Monday (-12,601) Leo Tolstoy, author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, died.

2 November 1910, Wednesday (-12,606)

=====================================================================================

31 October 1910, Monday (-12,610) (Aviation) R Johnston, USA, set a new aviation altitude record of 9,711 feet.

30 October 1910. Sunday (-12,609) Henri Durant, Swiss founder of the Red Cross in 1863, died.

29 October 1910, Saturday (-12,610) A J Ayer, British philosopher, was born (died 1989).

26 October 1910, Wednesday (-12,613)

23 October 1910, Sunday (-12,616) Vajiravudh (1881-1925) was crowned Rama VI, King of Thailand.

22 October 1910. Saturday (-12,617) American born Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen was convicted at the Old Bailey of poisoning his wife Belle Elmore. The trial began on 18 October 1910. Born in Michigan, USA, Crippen achieved notoriety as a poisoner. He graduated from Michigan University, and married. He then moved to England where he worked as a dentist and medicine salesman. After a party at his home in Holloway, London, on 31 January 1910, he poisoned his wife. The police began inquiries after he brought a young typist, Ethel Le Neve, to live in the house. The couple fled, and the remains of Crippen�s wife Belle were found in the cellar on 14 July 1910. Crippen was caught after the captain of the ocean liner Montrose radioed a message about two suspicious passengers to Scotland Yard. He was arrested on SS Montrose on 31 July 1910, with Ethel dressed as a boy. He was charged on 29 August 1910. This was the first time radio had been used to track down a criminal. Crippen was hanged on 23 November 1910 at Pentonville Prison, still protesting his innocence.

21 October 1910, Friday (-12,618)

20 October 1910, Thursday (-12,619) (Maritime) The Titanic�s sister ship, RMS Olympic, was launched from the Harland and Wolf shipyard in Belfast. She didn�t sink, earning the nickname �Old Reliable�.

19 October 1910, Wednesday (-12,620) (Astronomy) Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian astronomer, was born in Lahore. In 1931 he predicted that white dwarf stars can only exist if their mass is below 1.4x the Sun, now known as the Chandrasekhar�s Limit.

18 October 1910, Tuesday (-12,621) Elentherios Venizelos became Prime Minister of Greece.

17 October 1910, Monday (-12,622) Julia Howe, US author, died (born 27 May 1819).

15 October 1910, Saturday (-12,624) Mr Wellman made the first attempt to cross the Atlantic by balloon, taking off from the US this day. He was picked up 3 days later by an ocean liner and the balloon abandoned. He had covered 438 miles.

13 October 1910, Thursday (-12,626) Art Tatum, US jazz pianist, was born.

11 October 1910, Tuesday (-12,628) Theodore Roosevelt became the first US President to fly in plane.

9 October 1910, Sunday (-12,630) 24 April 1838, Tuesday (-39,095) John Peile, English scholarly writer, died in Cambridge (born 24 April 1838 in Whitehaven)

3 October 1910, Monday (-12,636) (Portugal) A revolution in Portugal ousted King Manoel II after a 2-year reign. The monarch, set up in 1128, ended. He and his mother left for England, where he died in 1932, and Portugal became a Republic under 67-year-old Teofilo Braga, on 7 October 1910.

2 October 1910, Sunday (-12,637) (Space Exploration) The asteroid Interamnia, seventh largest in the Solar System (300 km in diameter) was discovered by Italian astronomer Vincenzo Cerulli from an observatory in Teramo.

1 October 1910, Saturday (-12,638) (1) (Railway Tunnels) The Ricken rail tunnel, Switzerland, 8.603 km long, opened on the Wattwil-Uznach line.

(2) Bonnie Parker, US outlaw of the Bonnie and Clyde duo, was born in Rowena, Texas.

(3) The line from the tip of Kowloon, Hong Kong, to the Sino-British border opened, see 5 August 1911.

======================================================================================

30 September 1910, Friday (-12,639) US terrorist J.B. McNamara planted a time bomb in a passage beneath the headquarters of the Los Angeles Times newspaper, with 16 sticks of dynamite set to explode after working hours. Two other bombs were placed outside the homes of the Times owner and the secretary of the Merchants and Manufacturers Association. The bomb outside the Times building detonated shortly after 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, triggering an explosion of natural gas lines and setting a fire that killed 20 newspaper employees.

29 September 1910, Thursday (-12,640) US artist Winslow Homer died at his studio in Maine.

23 September 1910, Friday (-12,646) (Aviation) First crossing of the Alps by aeroplane.

19 September 1910, Monday (-12,650) Nellie Halstead, athlete, was born.

17 September 1910, Saturday (-12,652) A London doctor stated that if lunacy kept increasing at the current rate, the sane would be outnumbered by the insane within 40 years.

16 September 1910, Friday (-12,653) (Innovation) Ole Evinrude patented the outboard motor.

15 September 1910, Thursday (-12,654) Louis Botha, an Afrikaner (Boer), became Prime Minister of South Africa.

14 September 1910, Wednesday (-12,655) Lehman Engel, US author, was born.

13 September 1910, Tuesday (-12,656)

12 September 1910. Monday (-12,657) The world�s first policewoman, Alice Stebbins Wells, formerly a social worker, joined the Los Angeles Police.

11 September 1910, Sunday (-12,658) An attempt to repeal Prohibition laws in Maine failed.

10 September 1910. Saturday (-12,659) William C Durant lost control of General Motors for the first time.

7 September 1910, Wednesday (-12,662) The first pure sample of radium was isolated by Marie Curie.

5 September 1910, Monday (-12,664) Julian Edwards, British composer, died in Yonkers, New York (born 11 December 1855 in Manchester)

3 September 1910,� Saturday (-12,666) Samuel Barber, US composer, was born.

2 September 1910, Friday (-12,667) Henri �Le Douanier� Rousseau, French painter, died.

1 September 1910, Thursday (-12,668)

======================================================================================

29 August 1910, Monday (-12,671) Dr Crippen was charged with murder.

28 August 1910. Sunday (-12,672) (Eastern Europe, Turkey)Montenegro declared independence from Turkey under King Nicholas I, 69, who ruled for 9 years.

27 August 1910. Saturday (-12,673) (1) Thomas Edison, in New Jersey, demonstrated talking movie pictures for the first time in his New Jersey laboratory. He used a device that was part phonograph, part camera, to record sounds and pictures simultaneously. He predicted that moving pictures with sound in colour would soon be possible.

(2) Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who dedicated her life to the relief of the poor in India, was born in Skopje (Yugoslavia), of Albanian parents.

26 August 1910, Friday (-12,674) (Medical) William James, US psychologist, was born in Chocorua, new Hampshire.

24 August 1910, Wednesday (-12,676)

23 August 1910, Tuesday (-12,677) Guiseppe Meazza, Italian footballer, was born.

22 August 1910. Monday (-12,678) Japan formally annexed Korea.

21 August 1910, Sunday (-12,679) First meeting of the Greek National Assembly (officially opened by the King on 14 September 1910).

17 August 1910, Wednesday (-12,683)

14 August 1910, Sunday (-12,686) A fire at the World Exhibition, Brussels, destroyed some paintings.

13 August 1910. Saturday (-12,687) Florence Nightingale, born 12 May 1820, died in London aged 90. See 16 March 1908, 29 November 1907, and 4 November 1854.

12 August 1910, Friday (-12,688) Yusof bin Ishak, first President of Singapore 1965�70, was born in Perak State (died 1970)

11 August 1910. Thursday (-12,689) Mr Drexel set a new aviation altitude record, reaching 6,750 feet in a Bleriot monoplane.

9 August 1910, Tuesday (-12,691)

7 August 1910, Sunday (-12,693) Frederic Charles Slack, US composer, was born in Lacrosse, Wisconsin (died 10 August 1965 in Hollywood)

6 August 1910, Saturday (-12,694) Friedrich Schroder, composer, was born in Naefels, Switzerland (died 25 September 1972 in Berlin)

3 August 1910. Wednesday (-12,697) Muslim Druzes killed 100 Jews in Palestine.

=====================================================================================

31 July 1910, Sunday (-12,700) The murderer Dr Crippen was arrested aboard the SS Montrose just before docking in Quebec.� He was the first criminal to be captured by the use of wireless.

27 July 1910. Wednesday (-12,704) (Greece) Turkey threatened Greece with war if it accepted Cretan representatives in Parliament.

15 July 1910, Friday (-12,716) Ronald Binge, British composer, was born (died 6.9/1979).

14 July 1910, Thursday (-12,717) William Hanna, animator, was born.

13 July 1910, Wednesday (-12,718)� Loren Pope, US author, was born.

12 July 1910, Tuesday (-12,719) (Road Travel) Charles Stewart Rolls, aviator and co-founder of Rolls Royce, died at an air crash in Bournemouth.

11 July 1910, Monday (-12,720) (Newspapers) Henry Dexter, founder of American News Company, died.

10 July 1910, Sunday (-12,721) Johann Galle, German astronomer who made the first observation of the planet Neptune, died.

9 July 1910, Saturday (-12,722) (Aviation) Walter Brookins set a� new aviation altitude record of 6,175 feet. By flying over a mile high, he won a prize of US$ 5,000.

8 July 1910, Friday (-12,723) Alexander Burgener, 65, Swiss mountaineer, died in an avalanche

7 July 1910, Thursday (-12,724) (Aviation) H Latham, France set a new aviation altitude record of 4,540 feet.

6 July 1910, Wednesday (-12,725) The city of Redmond, Oregon, was incorporated.

5 July 1910, Tuesday (-12,726) (Railways) The St Moritz to Tirano railway, Italy, opened.

4 July 1910. Monday (-12,727) Russia recognised Japanese occupation of Korea in return for a free hand in Manchuria.

3 July 1910, Sunday (-12,728) (USA) Esau Jenkins, African-American educator was born (died 1972).

2 July 1910, Saturday (-12,729) Frederick Furnivall, English writer, died (born 4 February 1825),

1 July 1910. Friday (-12,730) South Africa became a dominion of the British Empire.

====================================================================================

30 June 1910, Thursday (-12,731) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia signed legislation bringing the Grand Duchy of Finland under Russian rule.

29 June 1910, Wednesday (-12,732) Frank Loesser, US composer, was born in New York (died 28 July 1969)

28 June 1910. Tuesday (-12,733) Westminster Cathedral, Catholic, was consecrated.

26 June 1910, Sunday (-12,735)

24 June 1910, Friday (-12,737) Alfa Romeo became an independent company this day. Italian car designer Guiseppe Merosi was hired by the French company Darraq to design cars for the Italian market but Merosi�s success in Italy ;led him to break away as Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (ALFA) this day. The company became ALFA Romeo after Nicola Romeo bought the company in 1918.

23 June 1910, Thursday (-12,738) Jean Anouilh, French dramatist, was born (died 1987).

22 June 1910, Wednesday (-12,739) Paul Erlich announced his cure for syphilis, Salvarsan.

20 June 1910, Monday (-12,741)

19 June 1910. Sunday (-12,742) Father�s Day was instituted in the USA.

18 June 1910, Saturday (-12,743) The city of Glendale, Arizona, was incorporated.

17 June 1910, Friday (-12,744) The United States Lighthouse Service was created as federal agency to regulate lighthouses throughout the nation. The office of the Commissioner was transferred to the United States Coast Guard in 1935.

16 June 1910, Thursday (-12,745) A cloudburst in Hungary added to existing flood waters, killing 800 people in villages in the Kronstadt district, another 180 in Temesvar and 100 in Moldava.

15 June 1910, Wednesday (-12,746) Captain Scott set out on his ill-fated second expedition to the South Pole, on the ship Terra Nova.

14 June 1910, Tuesday (-12,747) The University of the Philippines Los Ba�os was opened as a college of agriculture, with 50 students taught by Dr. Edwin Copeland.

13 June 1910, Monday (-12,748) Mary Whitehouse, General Secretary of the National Viewers and Listeners Association, was born.

12 June 1910, Sunday (-12,749) Torrential rains caused floods throughout central Europe. The Ahr River overflowed in Germany, killing 200 people around Oberammergau.

11 June 1910, Saturday (-12,750) Jacques Cousteau, French underwater explorer who invented the aqualung, was born in Saint Andre, Gironde, France.

10 June 1910, Friday (-12,751) Sir Charles Hardinge, British Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, was appointed as the Viceroy of India, succeeding the Earl of Minto.

9 June 1910, Thursday (-12,752) The first trials of aircraft reconnaissance. During a record-breaking2 � hour, 145 km, flight from Camp de Chalons, Mourmelon, to Vincennes, Captain Marconnet, squeezed between the pilot and the engine, took aerial photographs of the territory below.

7 June 1910, Tuesday (-12,754) Goldwin Smith, British historical writer, died in Toronto (born 13 August 1823 in Reading, Berkshire)

5 June 1910, Sunday (-12,756) Death of American short-story writer O. Henry (real name William Sydney Porter).

4 June 1910, Saturday (-12,757) Christopher Cockerell, who invented the amphibious hovercraft, was born in Cambridge.

3 June 1910, Friday (-12,758) Ecuador and Peru withdrew their troops from the border between the two nations as the first step in the mediation of their dispute.

2 June 1910. Thursday (-12,759) Mr C S Rolls flew from Dover to Calais and back without landing in France, taking 90 minutes for the whole return journey.

1 June 1910, Wednesday (-12,760) The first white settlements on the banks of Alaska's Iditarod River were made when a steamer brought gold prospectors to within 13 km of a gold strike. By August, there were two towns, each with 2,000 people: Iditarod and Flat.

=====================================================================================

31 May 1910. Tuesday (-12,761) (1) The colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, the Transvaal, and the Orange River Colony united to form the Union of South Africa, see 31 May 1902.

(2) Lord Baden Powell�s sister, Agnes, announced the formation of the Girl Guides.

(3) Elizabeth Blackwell, English-born American doctor, the first woman to gain an MD degree in 1849, from Geneva College, New York State, died. Despite hostility during her education and career, she succeeded in opening up the field of medicine to women. She retired to Hastings, UK, where she died.

29 May 1910, Sunday (-12,763)

28 May 1910, Saturday (-12,764) Aaron Thibeaux (T-Bone) Walker, US blues singer, was born in Linden., Texas (died 16 March 1975 in Los Angeles)

27 May 1910, Friday (-12,765) Robert Koch, German bacteriologist and Nobel Prize Winner who discovered the tuberculosis bacillus, died.

26 May 1910, Thursday (-12,766) Pope Pius X issued the encyclical Editio Saepe. This angered many German Protestants because of its derogatory comments about Luther and the Reformation. On 11 June 1910, after protests by Prussia, the Pope expressed regrets over the encyclical and ordered bishops in Germany to stop circulating it.

25 May 1910, Wednesday (-12,767)

24 May 1910, Tuesday (-12,768) In South Africa, L Starr Jameson founded the Unionist Party, on an imperialist ideology.

23 May 1910, Monday (-12,769) Artie Shaw, US composer, was born in New York.

21 May 1910, Saturday (-12,771)

19 May 1910, Thursday (-12,773) (London) Westminster Court, London, banned cabbies from asking for tips.

18 May 1910. Wednesday (-12,774) (1) The first Air Traffic Conference opened in Paris.

(2) The Earth passed through the tail of Halley�s Comet; some people feared disaster.

17 May 1910, Tuesday (-12,775)

15 May 1910, Sunday (-12,777) Constance Cummings, actress, was born (died 22 November 2005)

14 May 1910, Saturday (-12,778) Britain and Belgium agreed that the western shore of Lake Albert, Africa, was part of the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo).

13 May 1910, Friday (-12,779)

12 May 1910, Thursday (-12,780) Dorothy Hodgkin, British chemist, was born (died 1994).

11 May 1910, Wednesday (-12,781) An explosion at a coal mine in Whitehaven cut off 132 men underground. They had to be abandoned; in fact none of them probably survived the explosion anyway.

10 May 1910, Tuesday (-12,782) In Britain the House of Commons resolved that the House of Lords should have no power to veto money Bills, limited power to postpone other Bills, and that the maximum lifetime of a Parliament should be reduced from seven to five years.

9 May 1910, Monday (-12,783) Leslie Julian Jones, British composer, was born in London.

8 May 1910, Sunday (-12,784)

6 May 1910. Friday (-12,786) Accession of King George V, 44, to the British throne. His coronation was on 22 June 1911. He succeeded Edward VII, who died aged 68, from pneumonia. The funeral of Edward VII was on 20 May 1910.

5 May 1910. Thursday (-12,787) (Earthquake) Earthquake in Nicaragua killed 500.

4 May 1910. Wednesday (-12,788) Lloyd George introduced a National Health Insurance Bill.

3 May 1910, Tuesday (-12,789) (Medical) Howard Taylor Ricketts, US pathologist, died in Mexico City from the typhus he caught whilst researching the disease.

2 May 1910, Monday (-12,790) Lottie Collins, British comedienne, died in London

1 May 1910, Sunday (-12,791) The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) was launched. It was an organisation of African-American Liberals; it published Crisis, edited by W E B Du Bois.

=======================================================================================

30 April 1910, Saturday (-12,792) Emil Schurer, German religious writer, died (born 2 May 1844 in Augsburg)

29 April 1910, Friday (-12,793) Andrew Fisher was sworn in as the 5th Prime Minister of Australia, succeeding Alfred Deakin.

28 April 1910. Thursday (-12,794) (Aviation) M Paulham flew from London to Manchester, winning the Daily Mail prize of �10,000 for the first person to accomplish this.

27 April 1910, Wednesday (-12,795) In Britain the �People�s Budget� was passed again� by the Commons; after three hours of debate it was also passed by the Lords, and received Royal Assent.

26 April 1910, Tuesday (-12,796) Bjornstjerne Bjornson, Norwegian writer, died (born 8 December 1832).

25 April 1910, Monday (-12,797) King Albert I opened the World Exhibition in Brussels.

24 April 1910, Sunday (-12,798) Sidney Lee, billiards champion, was born (died 10 November 1988).

23 April 1910, Saturday (-12,799) (Aviation) H Latham, France, set a new aviation speed record of 48.21 mph.

22 April 1910, Friday (-12,800) Norman Steenrod, US mathematician (algebraic topology), was born in Dayton, Ohio (died 1971)

21 April 1910. Thursday (-12,801) Mark Twain, American author, died in Reading, Connecticut, aged 74.

16 April 1910, Saturday (-12,806)

13 April 1910, Wednesday (-12,809) Sir William Quiller Orchardson, British painter, died in London (born 1835 in Edinburgh)

12 April 1910, Tuesday (-12,810) Sir Robert Giffen, Scottish economics writer, died (born 1837)

11 April 1910, Monday (-12,811) (Australia) Labour won the Australian general elections.

9 April 1910, Saturday (-12,813) Alan Melville, British songwriter, was born in Berwick on Tweed (died 27 December 1983 in London)

8 April 1910, Friday (-12,814)

5 April 1910. Tuesday (-12,817) France banned kissing on its railways, because it caused delays.

(2) (Railways) A Trans-Andean railway from Mendoza, Argentina to Los Andes, Chile was completed.

4 April 1910, Monday (-12,818) The first Commons reading of a Bill to abolish the Lords� power of veto.

3 April 1910, Sunday (-12,819) While in Rome, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt announced that he would not meet with Pope Leo XIII because of the Vatican's request that Roosevelt not meet first with local Methodists. In March, former Vice-President Charles W. Fairbanks declined an audience for the same reason.

2 April 1910. Saturday (-12,820) A German scientist made artificial rubber.

1 April 1910, Friday (-12,821) Harry Carney, US jazz saxophonist, was born in Boston (died in New York 8 October 1974)

======================================================================================

31 March 1910, Thursday (-12,822) Jean Moreas, French poet, died (born 15 April 1856).

30 March 1910, Wednesday (-12,823) The Mississippi Legislature chartered Mississippi Normal College in Hattiesburg. The school, known since 1962 as the University of Southern Mississippi, opened for classes on 18 September 1912.

29 March 1910, Tuesday (-12,824) The world�s largest oceanographic museum opened in Monaco.

28 March 1910. Monday (-12,825) The first seaplane took off, from near Marseilles. Called the Hydravion, it was designed by Frenchman Henri Fabre. It flew 1,650 feet.

27 March 1910. Sunday (-12,826) Easter Sunday. Mount Etna in Italy erupted.

26 March 1910, Saturday (-12,827) (Aviation) Plans for Aeropolis, an aerodrome at le Bourget, Paris, were announced.

25 March 1910, Friday (-12,828) Magda Olivero, Italian opera soprano, was born in Saluzzo (died 2014)

24 March 1910, Thursday (-12,829) Noel Murless, horse racing champion, was born (died 9 May 1987).

23 March 1910, Wednesday (-12,830) Akira Kurosawa, Japanese film maker, was born.

20 March 1910, Sunday (-12,833)

18 March 1910, Friday (-12,835) Harry Houdini made the first successful flight in Australia.

17 March 1910, Thursday (-12,836) James Dear, rackets champion, was born (died 7 November 1981).

15 March 1910, Tuesday (-12,838) Stanley Brogden, rugby player, was born.

11 March 1910, Friday (-12,842) A dam burst in The Rhondda, Wales, sweeping away 500 children; 494 were rescued.

10 March 1910. Thursday (-12,843) (1) D W Griffith made the first Hollywood film. He discovered an obscure location near Los Angeles called Hollywood where the light was very good, for shooting the film Old California; the film industry then took off rapidly here.

(2) The world�s first night aeroplane flight was made, in Argentina by Aubrun.

9 March 1910, Wednesday (-12,844) Madame. Ekaterina Breshkovskaya, 66, sometimes referred to as the "Grandmother of the Russian Revolution" was convicted on charges of conspiracy and sentenced to exile in Siberia, but her co-defendant Nikolai Tchaikovsky was acquitted.

8 March 1910. Tuesday (-12,845) The French Baroness de Laroche became the first woman pilot.

7 March 1910, Monday (-12,846) (Electricity) Neon lighting was patented by Georges Claude. Neon was only discovered in 1898.Other gases can be added to give different colours; a trace of argon makes blue light, and adding helium makes white or yellow light.

6 March 1910, Sunday (-12,847) Thomas Collier Platt, US politician, died in New York City (born 15 July 1833 in New York State)

1 March 1910, Tuesday (-12,852) British actor David Niven was born.

=====================================================================================

25 February 1910, Friday (-12,856) Millicent Fenwick, US diplomat, was born.

23 February 1910. Wednesday (-12,858) The Dalai Lama and several noted Tibetans fled from Lhasa to India, as Chinese troops occupied Tibet.

21 February 1910, Monday (-12,860) Douglas Bader, World War Two fighter pilot and squadron leader, was born in London.

20 February 1910, Sunday (-12,861) Egypt�s Christian PM, Butros Ghali, was assassinated by a Nationalist.

19 February 1910. Saturday (-12,862) Manchester United played their first Football League match at their new stadium, Old Trafford

18 February 1910, Friday (-12,863)

17 February 1910, Thursday (-12,864) Marc Lawrence (Max Goldsmith), actor, was born (died 28 November 2005).

16 February 1910. Wednesday (-12,865) Madame Curie succeeded in isolating one tenth of a milligram of Polonium, which was more radioactive than Radium. She named the element after her native Poland.

15 February 1910, Tuesday (-12,866)

9 February 1910, Wednesday (-12,872) J L Monod, French biochemist, was born (died 1976).

8 February 1910. Tuesday (-12,873) W Boyce founded the Boy Scout movement in America.

5 February 1910, Saturday (-12,876)

2 February 1910, Wednesday (-12,879) The British army was concerned about a possible shortage of horses if war should break out with Germany.

1 February 1910. Tuesday (-12,880) Britain�s first Employment Exchanges were set up. The 80 Exchanges were flooded by people seeking work.� See 1 January 1910.

======================================================================================

31 January 1910. Monday (-12,881) (1) Britain and Russia intervened as political unrest shook Iran.

(2) Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen poisoned his wife Belle Elmore, music hall singer, then cut her in small pieces and buried her in the cellar. See 22 October 1910. Telling suspicious friends of Elmore that she had gone to America, Dr Crippen brought secretary Ethel Le Neuve, 27, into his house as his lover.

(3) China abolished slavery. In 1906 Chou Fu, Viceroy at Nanking, called on the Emperor of China to abolish slavery. At that time all Chinese citizens had to belong to one of four classes. These were 1) the Bannermen (ruling class, 2) Free Chinese subjects, 3) Outcasts, 4) Slaves; there were severe penalties for not fulfilling the duties of their class. Fu�s recommendations were finally accepted in 1910, despite opposition from Manchu nobles. However the former slaves were still compelled to live in their master�s households for the rest of their lives, although as �free labourers�.

29 January 1910, Saturday (-12,883)

27 January 1910, Thursday (-12,885) Thomas Crapper, toilet inventor, died.

26 January 1910. Wednesday (-12,886) Thousands fled their homes in Paris as the Seine flooded. The river rose 8 metres above normal, causing 400 million Francs damage (over Euro 1 billion in 2015 prices).

23 January 1910, Sunday (-12,889) Django Reinhardt, Belgian jazz guitarist, was born near Charleroi (died 16 May 1953 in Fontainebleau)

20 January 1910, Thursday (-12,892) Joy Adamson, writer, was born.

17 January 1910, Monday (-12,895) Sidney Catlett, US jazz drummer, was born in Evansville, Indiana (died 24 March 1951 in Chicago)

16 January 1910, Sunday (-12,896) Dizzy Dean, baseball player, was born.

15 January 1910. Saturday (-12,897) UK General Election. German rearmament, the power of the Lords, and Irish Home Rule were major issues. The Liberals won with a reduced majority of 275 seats, against Labour with 40, the Irish nationalists with 82, and the Unionists with 273 seats.

11 January 1910, Tuesday (-12,901)

7 January 1910. Friday (-12,905) (Aviation) H Latham, France, set a new aviation altitude record of 3,281 feet.

6 January 1910, Thursday (-12,906) Loretta Young, actress, was born.

5 January 1910, Wednesday (-12,907) Jack Lovelock, athlete, was born.

4 January 1910, Tuesday (-12,908) The first Juvenile Courts in Britain opened in London.

3 January 1910, Monday (-12,909)

1 January 1910, Saturday (-12,911) Britain passed the Labour Exchange Act, see 1 February 1910.

======================================================================================

31 December 1909, Friday (-12,912) (1) Henry Ferguson made the first aeroplane flight from Irish soil, at Hillsborough near Belfast.

(2) New York�s Manhattan Bridge opened; it cost US$ 31 million to build.

30 December 1909, Thursday (-12,913) The first aeroplane flight of over 100 miles was made.

26 December 1909, Monday (-12,916) Frederick Remington, US artist, died in Connecticut (born 4 October 1861 in Canton, New York)

23 December 1909. Thursday (-12,920) Prince Albert took the oath of fidelity of the Belgian constitution and became King Albert I of Belgium. He was born on 8 April 1875 at Brussels.� He died from a fall whilst rock climbing at Namur on 17 February 1934.

21 December 1909, Tuesday (-12,922) Dr Jose Madriz became president of Nicaragua.

20 December 1909, Monday (-12,923) The first cinema opened in Ireland, the Volta in Dublin.

19 December 1909, Sunday (-12,924) Juan Gomez seized power in Venezuela.

18 December 1909, Saturday (-12,925) (Aviation) Albert Kimmerling became the first pilot in South Africa.

17 December 1909, Friday (-12,926) Albert I, 34, succeeded his uncle Leopold II as King of Belgium, who died, aged 74, this day. Leopold II had ruled for nearly 41 years and amassed great personal wealth from his exploitation of the Congo. Albert I ruled until 1934.

16 December 1909, Thursday (-12,927) US marines forced the resignation of President Jose Santos Zelaya of Nicaragua. He was rumoured to be about to permit Japan to build a rival Panama Canal. Zelaya was replaced by Jose Madriz, but civil war continued until 1912, when the US intervened again to secure the appointment of the more compliant Adolfo Diaz.

15 December 1909, Wednesday (-12,928) (Companies) The first Radisson Hotel was opened in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 16 story building was constructed by heiress Edna Dickerson and had 425 rooms. By 2009, there were 420 Radisson hotels worldwide.

14 December 1909, Tuesday (-12,929) Frederick Greenwood, English writer, died (born 4/1830).

13 December 1909, Monday (-12,930) (Marine) Sir Alfred Jones, British ship owner, died (born 1845).

12 December 1909, Sunday (-12,931) Armand Boni, Flemish poet and writer, was born in Antwerp, Belgium (died 1991)

11 December 1909, Saturday (-12,932) Ludwig Mond, British chemist, died (born 7 March 1839).

10 December 1909, Friday (-12,933) Herbert Asquith, British Prime Minister, promised self-rule for Ireland in a speech at the Royal Albert Hall.

9 December 1909, Thursday (-12,934) Douglas Fairbanks Jr, actor, was born

7 December 1909, Tuesday (-12,936) A proclamation was read on the steps of the Royal Exchange, London, announcing the creation of the self-governing Union of South Africa.

3 December 1909, Friday (-12,940) Dana Suesse, US composer, was born in Kansas City.

1 December 1909, Wednesday (-12,942) (Aviation) H Latham, France, set a new aviation altitude record of 1,486 feet.

======================================================================================

30 November 1909, Tuesday (-12,943) The House of Lords threw out a Budget by Liberal Chancellor Lloyd George they considered too left-wing. Prime Minister Herbert Asquith now faced a General Election. The controversial Budget proposed taxing the highest 10,000 earners with incomes over �5,000 a year in Britain an extra 6d in the � income tax, over and above the rate of 1 shilling 2d in the � paid by all earners above �2,000 a year, a rise from 1 shilling in the �. Unearned income was also to be taxed at 1s 2d in the �. Death duties were to be doubled. The tax money would fund rearmament and old age pensions. The Tories described the Budget as a tax on the propertied classes. On 3 December 1909 King Edward VII dissolved Parliament, and taxes on alcohol, tobacco and cars were suspended as no Budget had been passed. For half a century it had been accepted that the unelected Lords could not veto a money Bill from the elected Commons, but the Tories argued this Bill had too many non-financial measures to come under this rule.

29 November 1909, Monday (-12,944) John Brown, boxer, was born (died 15 March 1971)

28 November 1909, Sunday (-12,945) In France, a law was passed giving pregnant women 8 weeks maternity leave.

23 November 1909, Tuesday (-12,950) (Sea, canal) The New Kings Dock at Swansea opened.

18 November 1909, Thursday (-12,955) Richard Gilder, US poet, died (born 8 February 1844).

16 November 1909, Tuesday (-12,957) The first aviation enterprise in the world was founded. It was the Deutsche Luftschiffahrts AG, better known as DELAG.

14 November 1909. Sunday (-12,959) The US President, William Taft, announced that a naval base would be built on Hawaii at Pearl Harbour to protect the US from attack from Japan.

13 November 1909, Saturday (-12,960) Two bombs were thrown at the Viceroy of India, The Earl of Minto.

10 November 1909, Wednesday (-12,963) Johnny Marks, US author, was born� in Mount Vernon, New York (died 3 September 1985 in New York)

8 November 1909, Monday (-12,965) Katherine Hepburn, US actress, was born.

6 November 1909, Saturday (-12,967) William Court Gully Selby, Speaker of the House of Commons, Britain, died (born 29 August 1835)

5 November 1909. Friday (-12,968) The first Woolworth store opened in Britain, in Lord Street, Liverpool.

2 November 1909, Tuesday (-12,971) William Frith, English painter, died (born 9 January 1819).

=======================================================================================

31 October 1909, Sunday (-12,973) (1) The National University of Ireland, Dublin, came into being.

(2) Queens University, Belfast, came into being.

30 October 1909, Saturday (-12,974) The 5^th Vanderbilt Cup race was held on Long Island, New York, USA.

28 October 1909, Thursday (-12,976) Francis Bacon, Irish-born artist, was born (died 1992).

26 October 1909, Tuesday (-12,978) (1) Ahn Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist and independence activist, shot dead Hirobumi Ito, the Japanese colonial governor of Korea, on a station platform at Harbin.

(2) General Motors purchased Cartercar

22 October 1909. Friday (-12,982) Elise Deroche, who used the self-created title Baronne de la Roche, became the first woman to fly solo.

21 October 1909, Thursday (-12,983) Halley�s Comet was sighted from Cambridge Observatory, UK.

20 October 1909, Wednesday (-12,984) Adelaide Hall, US singer, was born in Brooklyn., New York

19 October 1909, Tuesday (-12,985) Cesare Lombroso, Italian criminological writer, died.

18 October 1909, Monday (-12,986) (Aviation) Comte de Lambert, France, set a new aviation altitude record of 984 feet.

17 October 1909, Sunday (-12,987) Cozy Cole, US jazz drummer, was born

16 October 1909, Saturday (-12,988) The first commercial airline began. Count Zeppelin�s Deutsche Luftschiffahrt Aktiengesellschaft, or Delag, flew airships between the major German cities.

13 October 1909, Wednesday (-12,991) Yerren, leader of the anti-clerical party in Spain, was executed.

9 October 1909, Saturday (-12,995) (Britain) Donald Coggan, 101^st Archbishop of Canterbury, was born.

6 October 1909, Wednesday (-12,998) Dudley Buck, US composer, died (born 10 March 1839).

2 October 1909. Saturday (-13,002) The first Rugby match at Twickenham was played � Harlequins versus Richmond.

=======================================================================================

30 September 1909, Thursday (-13,004) Benny Goodman, US bandleader, was born in Chicago (died in New York 13 June 1986)

28 September 1909. Tuesday (-13,006) London confirmed that suffragettes were being force-fed.

20 September 1909, Monday (-13,014) The South Africa Act received the Royal Assent.

18 September 1909, Saturday (-13,016) Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana�s first Prime Minister, was born in Ankroful. He was President from independence in 1957 until an army coup sent him into exile in Guinea in 1966.

17 September 1909, Friday (-13,017) Ed Cole, GM executive, was born this day. He developed the small-block V8 engine, and pioneered research into alternative fuels to petrol. He retired from the GM board in 1974.

16 September 1909, Thursday (-13,018)

15 September 1909, Wednesday (-13,019) In 1895 George Selden received a patent for the petrol driven car, meaning he must be paid royalties every time pone was made. He set up the ALAM (Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers) to arrange payments of these royalties. Henry Ford, however, was excluded from the ALAM, because he was disliked by former business partners. Ford built the cars anyway, and was sued by Seldon, who won his case this day. However Ford then appealed, as his cars used a different engine to that in the Seldon patent, and he won the appeal, ending Seldon�s monopoly.

14 September 1909, Tuesday (-13,020) Peter Scott, yachtsman, was born (died 29 August 1989).

11 September 1909, Saturday (-13,023) Halley�s Comet was first observed, at Heidelberg.

9 September 1909, Thursday (-13,025) (Railways) Edward Harriman, US rail magnate who turned the Union Pacific Railway around from near-bankruptcy in 1898, died (born 25 May 1848).

6 September 1909, Monday (-13,028) Severino Minelli, Swiss footballer, was born.

4 September 1909. Saturday (-13,030) The first Boy Scout rally took place at Crystal Palace, south London. The Boy Scout movement was begun in 1908 by Baden Powell; he set up a Scout camp for 20 boys on Brownsea Island in 1908. In 1910 the Scout movement spread to the USA, and became so successful that in 1911 Baden-Powell left the army to develop it; the Scout movement received a Royal Charter in 1912.

=======================================================================================

30 August 1909, Monday (-13,035) Floods in Mexico killed 1,400.

29 August 1909, Sunday (-13,036) (Aviation) H Latham, France, set a new aviation altitude record of 509 feet.

27 August 1909, Friday (-13,038) Lester Willis Young, US jazz saxophonist, was born (died 15 March 1959 in New York)

25 August 1909, Wednesday (-13,040) Ruby Keeler, US actress, was born in Halifax, Nova scotia.

24 August 1909, Tuesday (-13,041) (Aviation) Bleriot set a new aviation speed record of 46.18 mph.

23 August 1909, Monday (-13,042) (Aviation) G Curtiss, USA, set a new aviation speed record of 43.38 mph.

22 August 1909, Sunday (-13,043) 5 US workers died in steel industry riots.

20 August 1909, Friday (-13,045)

18 August 1909, Wednesday (-13,047) Sir Theodore Martin, British author, died (born 16 September 1816).

17 August 1909, Tuesday (-13,048) Larry Clinton, US composer, was born in Brooklyn, New York (died 2 May 1987 in Tucson Arizona)

16 August 1909, Monday (-13,049) The Conservative leader Arthur Balfour argued that giving equal rights to South African Black people would undermine White civilization.

15 August 1909, Sunday (-13,050)

14 August 1909, Saturday (-13,051) The first motorcycle race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was held, the second day of the race was cancelled as the gritty surface caused many of the bike tyres to puncture.

13 August 1909, Friday (-13,052) Skinnay Ellis, US singer, was born in Salisbury, North Carolina (died 3 June 1963 in Beverly Hills, California)

10 August 1909, Tuesday (-13,055) Claude Thornhill, US composer, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana (died 1 July 1965 in Caldwell, New Jersey)

8 August 1909, Sunday (-13,057) William Voce, cricketer, was born (died 6 June 1984).

6 August 1909, Friday (-13,059) Adalbert Merx, German scholarly writer, died (born 2 November 1838).

5 August 1909, Thursday (-13,060) Patrick Prendergast, champion jockey, was born (died 20 June 1980).

3 August 1909, Tuesday (-13,062)

2 August 1909. Monday (-13,063) (Aviation) The US military accepted its first heavier-than-air flying machine, built by the Wright Brothers.

1 August 1909, Sunday (-13,064) (Spain) End of the �Tragic Week� in Barcelona; from 26 July 1909 over 100 civilians had been killed and many buildings destroyed in rioting in Barcelona.

=======================================================================================

31 July 1909, Saturday (-13,065) The Zion National Park, 24.75 square miles, was established by order of US President William Howard Taft.

30 July 1909, Friday (-13,066) (1) (Britain) Northcote Parkinson, British author, historian and journalist, best known for stating Parkinson�s Law that work expands to fill the time available, was born.

(2) (Earthquake) Earthquake in Mexico; Acapulco destroyed.

29 July 1909, Thursday (-13,067) General Motors purchased Cadillac for US$ 4.5 million.

28 July 1909, Wednesday (-13,068) Martial Law was declared in Spain.

27 July 1909, Tuesday (-13,069) (South Africa) MPs gave the South African Union Bill its second reading, but deplored the fact that the Bill would deny the Black population the right to vote.

26 July 1909, Monday (-13,070) (Spain) A general strike began in Barcelona, lasting until 26 September 1909. There was rioting across Catalonia.

25 July 1909. Sunday (-13,071) (Aviation) Louis Bleriot became the first man to fly across the English Channel.� He flew from Les Barques near Calais to Northfall Meadow near Dover Castle, covering 26 miles in 43 minutes.� Aged 37, born on 1 July 1872 in Cambrai, France, Bleriot won �1,000 for his flight, in a plane designed by himself, a prize awarded by the Daily Mail for the first person to perform this feat. Bleriot died in August 1936.� The British now realised that the Channel was less of a defensive barrier than it used to be.

24 July 1909, Saturday (-13,072) (France) Aristide Briand became French PM.

18 July 1909, Sunday (-13,078) Don Carlos, claimant to the Spanish throne, died (born 30 March 1848).

16 July 1909, Friday (-13,080) (Iran) Ali Kuh Khan, leader of the Bakhtari tribe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakhtiari_people

deposed Ali Shah, the Shah of Persia. The Russian Army then invaded northern Persia, occupying the city of Tabriz, ostensibly on behalf of the deposed Shah. They antagonised the Bakhtari. Ali Kuh Khan replaced the Shah with his son, 12-year-old Ahmad.

15 July 1909, Thursday (-13,081) George Tyrrell, Irish religious writer, died (born in Dublin 6 December 1861)

14 July 1909, Wednesday (-13,082) In Germany, Berhard von Bulow resigned as Chancellor and was replaced by Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg.

13 July 1909, Tuesday (-13,083) Dorothy Round, tennis champion, was born (died 12 November 1982).

11 July 1909, Sunday (-13,085) Simon Newcomb, US astronomer, died (born 12 March 1835).

8 July 1909, Thursday (-13,088) Gaston Galliffet, French General, died (born 23 January 1830).

7 July 1909, Wednesday (-13,089) (Railway Tunnels) The Tauern rail tunnel, Austria, 8.551 km long, opened on the Bad Gastein-Spittal line.

6 July 1909, Tuesday (-13,090) (Russia) Andrei Gromyko, President of the USSR, was born near Minsk, to a peasant family.

4 July 1909, Sunday (-13,092) Alec Templeton, pianist, was born in Cardiff, Wales (died 28 March 1963 in Greenwich, Connecticut)

2 July 1909, Friday (-13,094) �Fritz Haber succeeded in sustaining his ammonia production process for 5 hours, proving that it could produce commercial quantities of ammonia.

1 July 1909, Thursday (-13,095) Indian terrorist assassinated Anglo-Indian Sir Curzon Wylie.

=====================================================================================

30 June 1909, Wednesday (-13,096)

29 June 1909. Tuesday (-13,097) 120 suffragettes arrested outside the Houses of Parliament, London.

28 June 1909, Monday (-13,098) Jackie Berg, boxer, was born (died 22 April 1991).

27 June 1909, Sunday (-13,099) Daimler introduced their three-point Mercedes logo.

26 June 1909. Saturday (-13,100) King Edward VII opened the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

24 June 1909, Thursday (-13,102) Sarah Jewett, US novelist, died (born 3 September 1849).

22 June 1909, Tuesday (-13,104) Joe Loss, British bandleader, was born in London (died 6 June 1990 in London)

20 June 1909, Sunday (-13,106) The German Army adopted the Zeppelin as its first air arm.

18 June 1909, Friday (-13,108) Joan of Arc was beatified by the Pope, 478 years after the English burnt her at the stake in Rouen.

15 June 1909, Tuesday (-13,111) The first motorised hearse was introduced by Crane and Breed in Cincinatti, Ohio, USA

14 June 1909, Monday (-13,112) Burt Ives, musician, was born.

13 June 1909, Sunday (-13,113) Shackleton arrived back in Dover after his Antarctic expedition.

12 June 1909. Saturday (-13,114) Natal voted for union with South Africa.

11 June 1909. Friday (-13,115) Earthquake killed 60 in Provence, France.

10 June 1909, Thursday (-13,116) The SOS distress signal was used for the first time, when the Cunard liner Slavonia was wrecked off the Azores.

9 June 1909, Wednesday (-13,117)

7 June 1909. Monday (-13,119) France joined the arms race by announcing it was to spend �120 million on new naval ships.

6 June 1909, Sunday (-13,120) Isaiah Berlin, Russian-British political philosopher, was born.

5 June 1909, Saturday (-13,121) A manned balloon race was held from the recently-constructed Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. The winner of the race, judged by the furthest distance travelled, was a balloon that landed 382 miles away in Alabama, over 24 hours after take-off.

4 June 1909, Friday (-13,122)

2 June 1909, Wednesday (-13,124) June MacCloy, actress, was born (died 5 May 2005).

1 June 1909, Tuesday (-13,125) The Seattle World Fair opened.

=====================================================================================

30 May 1909, Sunday (-13,127) Benny Goodman, US jazz band leader, was born.

27 May 1909, Thursday (-13,130) (Clothes, Fashion) The first electric washing machine, the Thor was patented by Alva Fisher for the Hurley Washing Machine Company.

26 May 1909, Wednesday (-13,131) Sir Matthew Busby, footballer, was born (died 20 January 1994).

25 May 1909, Tuesday (-13,132) Stewart Morris, yachting champion, was born (died 4 February 1991).

24 May 1909, Monday (-13,133) (Education, University) Bristol University received a Royal Charter.

23 May 1909, Sunday (-13,134) US police broke up a lecture given by the anarchist Emma Goldman.

18 May 1909, Tuesday (-13,139) Frederick Perry, tennis champion, was born (died 2 February 1995).

15 May 1909, Saturday (-13,142) British actor James Mason was born.

10 May 1909, Monday (-13.147) Maybelle Addington Carter, US musician, was born (died 23 October 1978)

8 May 1909, Saturday (-13,149) Friedrich von Holstein, German statesman, died (born 1837)

7 May 1909, Friday (-13,150) Edwin Land, American inventor of the Polaroid lens and the instant camera, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

4 May 1909, Tuesday (-13,153)

1 May 1909, Saturday (-13,156) George Melachrino, British composer, was born in London (died 18 June 1965 in London)

======================================================================================

30 April 1909, Friday (-13,157) (Netherlands) Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands, was born to Princess Wilhelmina.

29 April 1909. Thursday (-13,158) A radical budget presented by the Liberal government of Britain, under David Lloyd-George, chancellor of the Exchequer, angered the Tories. It contained provisions for a new �supertax� of 6d in the pound on the 10,000 people in Britain with incomes of over �5,000 a year, to pay for old age pensions and re-armament. The standard rate of income tax remained at 9d in the pound for income up to �2,000 and one shilling per pound for income above that. Luxury taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and petrol also rose. The idea was to shift taxation from the workers as producers of wealth to its possessors, the wealthy bosses.

28 April 1909, Wednesday (-13,159) (Aviation) The Aerial League of Australia held its first meeting.

27 April 1909, Tuesday (-13,160) (Turkey) Mehmed V (1844-1918) succeeded his father, Abdul Hamid II (born 1842, died 1918; Sultan from 1876 � 1909) as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

26 April 1909, Monday (-13,161) Marcus Dods, Scottish religious writer, died (born 1834).

25 April 1909, Sunday (-13,162) Jaroslav Doubrava, composer, was born in Chrudim, Czech Republic (died 1960)

24 April 1909, Saturday (-13,163) The Turkish Army coup of 13 April 1909 was suppressed, and its leaders executed.

23 April 1909. Friday (-13,164) Moslem fanatics backed by the sultan massacred at least 30,000 Armenians.

22 April 1909, Thursday (-13,165) In Westminster a Bill was introduced to abolish censorship in plays.

20 April 1909, Tuesday (-13,167)

19 April 1909. Monday (-13,168) Turkey recognised Bulgarian independence. On 27 April 1909, Germany, Austria, and Italy also recognised Bulgarian independence.

18 April 1909, Sunday (-13,169) Joan of Arc was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church; she was canonised in 1920.

17 April 1909, Saturday (-13,170) The first patent for a catalytic converter on a car internal combustion engine was filed by Michel Frenkel, a French chemist. He used a ceramic honeycomb with 30g of platinum; modern convertors use the same principle but with a thinner lighter metal honeycomb and only need 3g of platinum, rhodium or palladium. Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons are catalysed with extra oxygen into carbon dioxide and water.

15 April 1909, Thursday (-13,172)

13 April 1909, Tuesday (-13,174) Army insurrection in Constantinople. The First Army Corps deposed Hussein Hilmi Pasha. See 24 April 1909.

12 April 1909, Monday (-13,175) Lionel Hampton, US jazz musician, was born in Louisville, Kentucky

11 April 1909, Sunday (-13,176) Easter Sunday.

10 April 1909. Saturday (-13,177) British forces landed at Tabriz, Iran, as famine caused fears of unrest.

9 April 1909, Friday (-13,178) The first closed-top double-decker buses ran in Britain, in Widnes. In London there were police restrictions against roofed-in upper decks and such buses did not run there until 2 October 1925.

7 April 1909, Wednesday (-13,180)

6 April 1909.� Tuesday (-13,181) Commander Peary of the USA became the first person to reach the North Pole, with a Black assistant, Matthew Henson, and four Eskimos.. It was his sixth attempt in 15 years.

5 April 1909, Monday (-13,182) The Aerial League of the British Empire was founded, to promote British superiority in the air.

4 April 1909, Sunday (-13,183) The Young Turk, Mahmud Shevket, entered Constantinople, and imposed his will on the National Assembly and the Old Turks.

3 April 1909, Saturday (-13,184) Pascual Cervera, Spanish Admiral, died (born 18 February 1839).

1 April 1909, Thursday (-13,186)

======================================================================================

31 March 1909, Wednesday (-13,187) Serbia formally recognised Austria�s annexation of Bosnia-Hercegovina.

30 March 1909, Tuesday (-13,188) New York�s Queensboro Bridge opened; it cost US$ 17 million to build.

28 March 1909, Sunday (-13,190)

27 March 1909, Saturday (-13,191) Benjamin Francis Webster, US jazz saxophonist, was born in Kansas City (died 20 September 1973 in Amsterdam)

26 March 1909, Friday (-13,192) Martin Hodgson, rugby player, was born (died 19 July 1991).

25 March 1909, Thursday (-13,193) Egypt imposed press censorship, to control the Nationalists.

24 March 1909, Wednesday (-13,194) Clyde Barrow, one of the Bonnie and Clyde outlaws, was born in Toledo, Texas.

23 March 1909, Tuesday (-13,195) John Davidson, British writer, died (born 11 April 1857).

21 March 1909, Sunday (-13,197) Reginald McKenna, First Lord of the Admiralty, caused dismay in the House of Commons when he stated that the UK Government had underestimated Admiral von Tirpitz�s programme to expand the German navy.

19 March 1909, Friday (-13,199) Britain�s first international aircraft exhibition opened.

18 March 1909, Thursday (-13,200) Henry Longhurst, golfing champion, was born (died 21 July 1978).

17 March 1909, Wednesday (-13,201)

16 March 1909, Tuesday (-13,202) The first meeting of the Port of London Authority.

15 March 1909. Monday (-13,203) The new Selfridges (American-owned) store opened on a 6 acre site in Oxford Street, London.

7 March 1909, Sunday (-13,211) Andre Abegglen, Swiss footballer, was born.

4 March 1909, Thursday (-13,214) William Taft was inaugurated as US President.

===================================================================================

28 February 1909, Sunday (-13,218) Professor Linus Pauling, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize winner, was born.

26 February 1909, Friday (-13,220) Artist Emmanuel Poire, pseudonym Caran D�Ache (lead pencil), born 1858, died.

25 February 1909, Thursday (-13,221) (Atomic) Lev Andreevich Artsimovich, Soviet physicist, was born in Moscow. He developed the Tokamak fusion design.

24 February 1909. Wednesday (-13,222) (1) Serbia made demands on Austria for Bosnia-Hercegovina.

(2) Colour films were shown to the public for the first time, in Brighton.

23 February 1909, Tuesday (-13,223)

21 February 1909, Sunday (-13,225) Ferdinand I of Bulgaria visited Russia to obtain the financial aid he needed to pay Ottoman Turkey an indemnity for Bulgarian independence.

20 February 1909, Saturday (-13,226) The Hudson Motor Company was founded. Its first factory was in Detroit, Michigan.

17 February 1909. Wednesday (-13,229) (1) A Royal Commission on Britain�s Poor Laws said no more children should live in workhouses. In urban areas, up to a third of older people also died in Poor Law institutions, which included children�s homes, infirmaries and lunatic asylums as well as workhouses. The Old Age Pension, which started on 1 January 1909, should ease the financial destitution of poorer older people.

(2) Geronimo, the last Apache chief to surrender, died at his ranch on an Oklahoma reservation, aged 90.

14 February 1910, Sunday (-13,232) John Macallan Swan., English painter, died (born 1847)

13 February 1909, Saturday (-13,233) (Turkey) In Turkey, Kiamil Pasha, 76-year-old Ottoman Grand Vizier, was deposed and replaced by Hussein Hilmi Pasha.

12 February 1909, Friday (-13,234) Bernabe Ferreyra, Argentinean footballer, was born.

11 February 1909, Thursday (-13,235) Joseph Mankiewicz, film director, was born.

10 February 1909, Wednesday (-13,236) Chick (William Henry) Webb, US composer, was born in Baltimore (died 16 June 1939 in Baltimore)

9 February 1909. Tuesday (-13,237) In London a court ruled that a woman could not have a divorce even if her husband had deserted her.

8 February 1909, Monday (-13,238) The UK Government announced that six more Dreadnought battleships were to be built for the Navy.

3 February 1909, Wednesday (-13,243) French philosopher Simone Weil was born.

1 February 1909, Monday (-13,245) US control of Cuba ended.

=====================================================================================

25 January 1909, Monday (-13,252) Leone Kingsbury, badminton champion, was born.

22 January 1909, Friday (-13,255) U Thant, diplomat and Secretary General to the United Nations, was born in Pantanaw, Burma.

21 January 1909. Thursday (-13,256) Tennessee adopted alcohol prohibition.

18 January 1909. Monday (-13,259) New Zealand brewers abolished barmaids and banned women from buying alcohol in bars.

16 January 1909. Saturday (-13,261) The magnetic south pole was found by Sir Ernest Shackleton, who was knighted later the same year.

15 January 1909, Friday (-13,262) Gianroberto Bugatti, son of the car designer Ettore Bugatti, was born this day in Germany. This day also his father founded Automobiles E Bugatti. Aged 23, Gianroberto (Jean) designed several Bugatti models. He was killed in a car accident on 11 August 1939.

14 January 1909, Thursday (-13,263) Joseph Losey, US film director, was born (died 1984).

13 January 1909, Wednesday (-13,264) Danny Barker, US composer, was born in New Orleans.

12 January 1909. Tuesday (-13,265) Turkey accepted Austria�s offer of 2.5 million Turkish Pounds for Bosnia-Hercegovina.

11 January 1909. Monday (-13,266) Four murderers were publicly guillotined in northern France.

9 January 1909, Saturday (-13,264) The Badger 4-Wheel Drive Auto Company was founded.

5 January 1909. Tuesday (-13,272) (1) Hindus and Moslems rioted in Calcutta.

(2) The Colombian Government formally recognised Panamanian independence.

3 January 1909, Sunday (-13,274) Victor Borge, musician, was born.

1 January 1909. Friday (-13,276) In Britain, men and women over 70 began to draw Old Age Pensions.� The rate was 5 shillings (25p) a week.� See 7 May 1908.

=====================================================================================

31 December 1908, Thursday (-13,277) (1) Wilbur Wright set a new aeroplane flight duration time of 2 hours 20 minutes.

(2) Simon Wiesenthal, noted hunter of Nazi war criminals, was born; he died in 2005.

30 December 1908, Wednesday (-13,278)

29 December 1908, Tuesday (-13,279) Dr Magnus Pyke, nutritional scientist, was born.

28 December 1908. Monday (-13,280) An earthquake killed more than 75,000 people in Messina, Sicily, over half the population. This was the most violent earthquake ever recorded in Europe.

26 December 1908, Saturday (-13,282) Claus Spreckels, US industrialist, died in San Francisco (born 1928 in Hanover)

24 December 1908, Thursday (-13,284) In Paris, President Armand Fallieres opened the first international aviation show.

22 December 1908. Tuesday (-13,286) In New York, Katie Mulcaney became the first woman arrested under a new law prohibiting women from smoking in public.

21 December 1908, Monday (-13,287) The Port of London Authority was constituted.

20 December 1908, Sunday (-13,288)

19 December 1908, Saturday (-13,289) (Aviation) Port Aviation, the world�s first aerodrome, wad completed, 12 miles from Paris.

18 December 1908, Friday (-13,290) Wilbur Wright became the first man to attain the height of 360 feet in a plane.

17 December 1908, Thursday (-13,291) (1) Birth of US chemist Willard Frank Libby, who developed radio-carbon dating.

(2)The new Turkish Parliament convened, with a Young Turk majority. The various ethnic groups within the Ottoman Empire now resisted centralised government, however liberal it was, and resented the Turkish language

16 December 1908, Wednesday (-13,292) Frances Day, US actress, was born in New Jersey State.

14 December 1908, Monday (-13,294)

12 December 1908, Saturday (-13,296) Fred Elizalde, Spanish composer, was born in Manila, Philippines (died 16 January 1969 in Madrid)

11 December 1908, Friday (-13,297) Elliott Carter, US composer, was born.

10 December 1908. Thursday (-13,298) (1) Ernest Rutherford was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on radioactivity and the atom.

(2) In Britain, the National Farmers Union was founded.

9 December 1908, Wednesday (-13,299) Germany introduced restrictions on the hours that women and children could work in factories.

7 December 1908, Monday (-13,301) (Military) Major explosion at the Dum Dum arsenal in India, killing some 50 Indian workmen. It was here in around 1898 that �Dum Dum� bullets were first manufactured by the British. They have a hollow nose and so expand on impact, causing a more serious wound than ordinary bullets. These bullets were used by the Russians against Japan in 1904/5, and after protests by Japan the Second Hague Convention subsequently banned their use. This convention was signed by most States, but not the UK or USA.

4 December 1908, Friday (-13,304) The world�s leading ten maritime nations met� for a Naval Conference in London (until 26 February 1909). They agreed on rules for blockade, convoys and seizure of contraband; however not all nations ratified the agreement.

2 December 1908. Wednesday (-13,306) In China, the child emperor Pu Yi succeeded to the throne, aged 2. His father, the Regent Prince Chun, held the real power.� Pu Yi was forced to abdicate in 1912 aged 5 as Republican forces gained strength in China.

1 December 1908, Tuesday (-13,307) Italy demanded that Austria pay compensation for the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, see 7 October 1908.

======================================================================================

29 November 1908, Sunday (-13,309)

28 November 1908. Saturday (-13,310) The Court of Appeal in Britain ruled that Unions could not use their funds for political purposes. Many Labour MPs depended on sponsorship by the Unions.

27 November 1908, Friday (-13,311) Jean Gaudry, French geological writer, died (born 16 September 1827).

26 November 1908, Thursday (-13,312) Charles (Lord) Forte, hotelier, was born.� He opened Newport Pagnell services on the M1 in 1959, and died in 2007.

25 November 1908, Wednesday (-13,313) (Christian) The Christian Science Monitor began publication at Boston, USA.

23 November 1908, Monday (-13,315)

20 November 1908, Friday (-13,318) Joe McAvoy, boxer, was born (died 20 November 1971).

19 November 1908, Thursday (-13,319) A court in St Petersburg was adjourned when the prosecuting council refused to deal with Russia�s first female barrister.

18 November 1908, Wednesday (-13,320) AE Gaudron, Captain EM Maitland and CC Turner made a balloon flight from England to Russia, covering 1,117 miles in 31.5 hours.

17 November 1908, Tuesday (-13,321) Sir Henri Joly de Lotbiniere, Canadian politician, died (born 5 December 1829).

16 November 1908, Monday (-13,322) (Christian) Soeur Emmanuelle, French nun who gave much aid to the poor in Egypt and Turkey, was born (died 2008)

15 November 1908. Sunday (-13,323) (1) Death of the Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi, at 37 years of age. Her suspicious demise (she was not unhealthy) greatly reduced the chances of a smooth transition to a constitutional monarchy in China.

(2) Austria sent troops to the Serbian frontier.

14 November 1908, Saturday (-13,324) Joseph McCarthy, US politician and lawyer noted for his purge against Communists, was born in Grand Chute, Wisconsin.

13 November 1908, Friday (-13,325) C Vann Woodward, US historian, was born (died 1992).

12 November 1908, Thursday (-13,326) General Motors purchased Oldsmobile.

11 November 1908, Wednesday (-13,327) Martin Held, German television and film actor, was born (died 31 January 1992)

10 November 1908, Tuesday (-13,328) The Khedive of Egypt appointed Boutros Ghali, a Coptic Christian, as the country�s first indigenous Prime Minister, Muslim rioting ensued.

9 November 1908, Monday (-13,329) Britain�s first woman Mayor, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, was elected, at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.

8 November 1908, Sunday (-13,330) (Electrical) William Edward Ayrton, English electrical physicist, (born 14 September 1847 in London) died in London.

7 November 1908, Saturday (-13,331) The British Navy launched its biggest battleship to date, the HMS Collingwood.

6 November 1908, Friday (-13,332) A cotton workers strike in Lancashire ended after seven weeks with the workers accepting a pay cut.

5 November 1908, Thursday (-13,333) The Cullinan Diamond was cut for Queen Alexandra, Britain.

4 November 1908, Wednesday (-13,334) Sir Joseph Rotblat, scientist who helped develop the atomic bomb, was born (died 29 August 2005)

3 November 1908. Tuesday (-13,335) William Howard Taft, Republican candidate, was elected 27^th President of the USA.

2 November 1908, Monday (-13,336) Bunny Berigan, US trumpeter and bandleader, was born in Hilbert, Wisconsin (died 2 June 1942 in New York)

1 November 1908, Sunday (-13,337) Edward Caird, British religious writer, died (born 22 March 1835).

=====================================================================================

31 October 1908, Saturday (-13,338)

28 October 1908, Wednesday (-13,341) Enver Hoxha, Stalinist dictator of Yugoslavia from the end of World War Two till his death in 1985, was born.� He declared the country atheist in 1967.

27 October 1908, Tuesday (-13,342) (Germany) Emperor William II made comments that the German people were hostile to Britain; the daily Telegraph published these comments, worsening German-UK relationships.

26 October 1908, Monday (-13,343)

25 October 1908, Sunday (-13,344) Lewis Campbell, British classical scholar (born 3 September 1830) died.

24 October 1908. Saturday (-13,345) The suffragettes Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel were jailed.

23 October 1908, Friday (-13,346) (Science) Pavel E Cherenkov, physicist, was born in St Petersburg, Russia.

21 October 1908. Wednesday (-13,348) (1) The Prime Minister of Britain, Herbert Asquith, announced emergency measures to deal with unemployment.� The jobless were to be recruited into the Post Office, the dockyards, and the Army Special Reserve.

(2) (Aviation, Women�s Rights) Over London the suffragettes made the first ever leaflet raid, hiring an airship and throwing out leaflets demanding �Votes for Women!�.

19 October 1908, Monday (-13,350) Spike Hughes (Patrick Cairns), British composer, was born in London (died2 February 1987 in London)

16 October 1908, Friday (-13,353) (1) The first powered aeroplane flight in Britain, at Farnborough, piloted by the American Samuel Franklin Cody. He flew 1,390 feet in 27 seconds.

(2) A new harbour at Dover was opened as part of a national system of defence.

15 October 1908, Thursday (-13,354) The Royal College of Surgeons decided to allow women to obtain the Licence in Dental Surgery.

14 October 1908, Wednesday (-13,355) (USA) George Harold Brown, US engineer, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

13 October 1908, Tuesday (-13,356) Daniel Gilman, US educational writer, died (born 6 July 1831)

12 October 1908, Monday (-13,357) (Electricity) London hosted an international conference to agree on standardised electrical units, with 18 countries attending.

11 October 1908, Sunday (-13,358) Armen Carapetyan, US and composer, was born in Isfahan, Iran (died 1992)

10 October 1908, Saturday (-13,359) John Green, US composer, was born in New York (died 15 May 1989 in Los Angeles)

9 October 1908, Friday (-13,360) Jacques Tati, French comedian who created Monsieur Hulot�s Holiday, was born.

8 October 1908. Thursday (-13,361) The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame�s children�s book, was published. It was still in print in 2001.

7 October 1908. Wednesday (-13,362) (East Europe, Greece-Turkey) Austria annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, taking advantage of instability within the Ottoman Empire. Though formally part of the Ottoman Empire, its Serb-Croat population favoured union with Serbia. Other European countries were shocked at Austria�s move. Serbia was especially angry that Serbs in the region had not got autonomy. However Russia agreed with Austria not to oppose this annexation in return for Austria supporting the opening of the Dardanelles to Russian warships. Turkey accepted cash compensation for the loss of Bosnia and Hercegovina on 12 January 1909. See 1 December 1908.

6 October 1908. Tuesday (-13,363) Crete declared itself independent of Turkey and joined Greece.

5 October 1908. Monday (-13,364) (East Europe, Greece-Turkey) Prince Ferdinand declared Bulgaria independent of Ottoman Turkey; Bulgaria had been under Ottoman rule since the late 1300s.� Russia wanted Turkey weak so as not to block its plans for expansion.

4 October 1908, Sunday (-13,365) Georges Monneret, French motorcycle racer, was born.

3 October 1908, Saturday (-13,366) Johnny Burke, US author, was born in Antioch, California (died 25 February 1964 in Mew York)

2 October 1908, Friday (-13,367) The Ohio Automobile Company was renamed the Packard Motor Car Company.

1 October 1908, Thursday (-13,368) Ford opened a sales office in Paris, France.

=====================================================================================

29 September 1908. Tuesday (-13,370) (1) In Switzerland, the international conference on worker�s rights banned night shifts for children under 14.

(2) Cheshire Cricket Club was founded.

27 September 1908, Sunday (-13,372) Eddie Hapgood, English footballer, was born.

25 September 1908, Friday (-13,374) In Morocco the Casablanca Affair began when German deserters from the French Foreign Legion, who had been given refuge and safe conduct by a German consular official in Casablanca, were now arrested by the French.

24 September 1908, Thursday (-13,375) Persons over 70 in Britain began applying for pensions, see 1 January 1909.

22 September 1908, Tuesday (-13,377)

21 September 1908, Monday (-13,378) Nicolas Salmeron y Alfonso, Spanish statesman, died in Pau (born 10 April 1838 in Almeria)

20 September 1908, Sunday (-13,379) Pablo de Sarasate, violinist and composer, died

19 September 1908, Saturday (-13,380) Mika Waltari, Finnish novelist, was born in Helsinki, Finland (died 1979)

18 September 1908, Friday (-13,381) (Railways) The railway from Oroya to Huanco opened.

17 September 1908. Thursday (-13,382) (Aviation) The first plane crash fatality occurred when a passenger of Orville Wright died.� The fatality was Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, of the US signal corps, and the accident happened near Fort Meyer, Virginia, when a propeller broke in mid-flight and the plane plunged 150 foot to the ground.

16 September 1908. Wednesday (-13,383) William C Durant founded General Motors this day as a holding company. Initially GM held only the Buick Motor Company, of which Durant was the owner. However GM soon acquired a number of other car manufacturers, including Cadillac, Cartercar, Oakland, Oldsmobile and Reliance Motor Truck Company. Oakland later became Pontiac. Durant tried to acquire Ford, the purchase price of US$ 8 million being approved by the GM Board, but Durant could not get financing for the purchase as GM already was already significantly in debt from other purchases. This led to Durant�s removal from the Board, however he later regained control as part of a deal to have GM purchase Chevrolet, a company he co-founded in 1911. GM in 2017 owned the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands.

15 September 1908, Tuesday (-13,384) John Collins, English literary critic, died (born 26 March 1848).

14 September 1908, Monday (-13,385) Clayton Moore, actor, was born in Chicago, Illinois.

13 September 1908, Sunday (-13,386) (Germany) In Germany the Social Democrats staged a rally at Nuremberg.

12 September 1908, Saturday (-13,387) (Britain) Winston Churchill married Clementine Hosier.

11 September 1908, Friday (-13,388) Everhardus Jacobus van Romondt, Netherlands Antilles Government Mminister, was born in Willemstad, Cura�ao (died 1960)

10 September 1908, Thursday (-13,389) Raymond Harry Warnow Scott, US composer, was born in Brooklyn, New York.

9 September 1908, Wednesday (-13,390) Cesare Pavese, poet and novelist, was born.

8 September 1908, Tuesday (-13,391) Emrys Lloyd, champion fencer, was born (died 28 June 1987).

7 September 1908, Monday (-13,392) (Britain) Frederick Blayes, English classical scholar, died in Southsea (born Hampton Court Green 29 September 1818).

4 September 1908, Friday (-13,395) Jan Savitt, composer, was born in St Petersburg, Russia (died 4 October 1948 in Sacramento, California)

1 September 1908, Tuesday (-13,398) (Railways) The Hejaz railway opened between Damascus and Medina � see railways, Saudi Arabia, 1864, for more details.

=====================================================================================

31 August 1908, Monday (-13,399) (Railways) The Haifa to Derraa railway opened. It closed in 1949.

30 August 1908, Sunday (-13,400) Willie Bryant, US bandleader, was born in New Orleans

28 August 1908, Friday (-13,402)

27 August 1908, Thursday (-13,403) (USA) Lyndon Baines Johnson, American Democrat and 36^th President, was born in Johnson City, Texas.

26 August 1908, Wednesday (-13,404) Tony Pastor, US entertainer, died in New York (born 28 May 1837 in New York)

25 August 1908, Tuesday (-13,405) Henri Becquerel, French scientist who studied radioactivity, died (born 1852).

23 August 1908, Sunday (-13,407) The Battle of Marrakesh. Abd-al-Aziz IV, Sultan of Morocco, was defeated by his elder brother, Mulay Hafid, who had been proclaimed Sultan in May.

20 August 1908, Thursday (-13,410) The USA�s Great White Fleet arrived to huge welcoming crowds in Sydney, Australia. A week later the Fleet sailed to Melbourne, and then on to Japan. 221 US sailors deserted to remain in Australia.

19 August 1908, Wednesday (-13,411) King Leopold II of Belgium, under pressure from other European monarchs, handed over control of the Belgian Congo (Congo Free State), later known as Zaire, to the Belgian State. Leopold had ruled the region autocratically for 24 years. The region had been explored by Henry Stanley, the expedition financed by a European consortium headed by King Leopold. This consortium sought to make financial gains from the Congo�s agricultural and mineral wealth, including ivory, rubber and palm oil. Trade agreements were made with the Congo�s tribal leaders and by 1884 Leopold claimed the colony as a personal possession. The rest of Europe consented to this claim. However by the 1890s Leopold saw fit to treat the Congo�s inhabitants as he liked; slavery was introduced, many brutalities were committed and under his rule the Congo population fell to 8 million, an estimated drop of 70%. The Brussels parliament agreed to pay Leopold 120 million Francs for the territory, and it became the Belgian Congo until independence in 1960.

18 August 1908, Tuesday (-13,412) (Biology) English plant pathologist Frederick Charles Bawden was born in North Tawton.

17 August 1908, Monday (-13,413) Kurt Hessenberg, German composer, was born in Frankfurt, Germany (died 1994)

16 August 1908, Sunday (-13,414) The Committee of Union and Progress, the �Young Turks�, announced a programme of reform and respect for the rights of all within the Ottoman Empire, regardless of race or religion.

15 August 1908, Saturday (-13,415) Winston Churchill announced his engagement to Clementine Hosier.

14 August 1908, Friday (-13,416) (1) An airship blew up over London, killing one person.

(2) The first international beauty contest was held at the Pier Hippodrome, Folkestone, Kent. Contestants included six English, three French, one Irish, and one Austrian.

13 August 1908, Thursday (-13,417) King Edward VII of Britain met with Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria at Ischl. Edward tried to persuade the Emperor to advise the German Kaiser against aggressive policies aimed at Britain.

12 August 1908, Wednesday (-13,418) (Price, Roads, USA) The Model T Ford began rolling off the production line. Priced at US$ 825, the cost was kept low by mass production using standardised parts. Instead of one man assembling an entire car, each worker preformed just one task as the car moved along a conveyor belt. By this production line method, the time to assemble a car was cut from 14 hours to 2. To motivate his workforce, Henry Ford raised wages from US$ 2.34 for a 9 hour day to US$ 5 for an 8 hour day. Productivity improvements meant Ford could reduce the car�s price to US$ 300. Over 15 million Model Ts were built and by the time production ceased in 1927 half the cars in the US were Fords.

11August 1908, Tuesday (-13,419) (Britain, Germany) King Edward VII of Britain met Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany at Friedrichshof, Germany. The main point of contention was the increasing size of the German Navy.

10 August 1908, Monday (-13,420) Louise Moulton, US poet, died.

8 August 1908, Saturday (-13,422)

6 August 1908, Thursday (-13,424) The British Admiralty stated that the new battleships being built by the Germans would be the most heavily armed in the world.

5 August 1908, Wednesday (-13,425) Harold Holt, Australian Prime Minister 1966-7 who backed US intervention in Vietnam and sent Australian troops there, was born.

4 August 1908, Tuesday (-13,426) (USA) William Boyd Allison, US legislator, died in Dubuque, Iowa (born 2 March 1829 in Perry, Ohio).

1 August 1908, Saturday (-13,429)

=======================================================================================

27 July 1908, Monday (-13,434) Nancy Hamilton, US author, was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

26 July 1908, Sunday (-13,435) (1) The Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, was established in Washington DC. Before this date the US Department of Justice often called on Secret Service �operatives� to help in its investigations. These operatives were well trained and dedicated but expensive. They reported not to the Attorney General but to the chief of the Secret Service. Bonaparte created a special agents force, to report not to the chief of the Secret Service but to the Chief Examiner, Stanley Finch, later head of the FBI. This force of 34 agents later became a permanent part of the Department of Justice.

(2) Salvadore Allende, President of Chile 1970-3, was born.

25 July 1908, Saturday (-13,436) William Bowes, cricketer, was born (died 5 September 1987).

24 July 1908, Friday (-13,437) Sultan Abdulhamid II, ruler of the Ottoman Empire, was forced to implement reforms by the Young Turk (Jonturkler) Movement. This included the reinstatement of the 1876 constitution and the recall of Parliament, both suspended under the Sultan�s autocratic rule. The Young Turk Movement began in 1889 when a group of medical students at the Istanbul Academy started a campaign to overthrow the Sultan. The Movement spread to other colleges, and the authorities tried to suppress it; they exiled many Young Turks to Paris, where they continued to plan for a revolution.

23 July 1908, Thursday (-13,438)

22 July 1908, Wednesday (-13,439) Brothers Fred and Charles Fisher founded the car body company Fisher Body in Detroit, Michigan.� Prior to this they had built horse drawn carriages. They supplied Cadillac.

21 July 1908, Tuesday (-13,440) (USA) Henry Codman Potter, Bushop of Iowa, died in New York State (born 25 Nay 1835 in New York State)

18 July 1908, Saturday (-13,443) Otto Pfleiderer, German religious writer, died near Berlin (born 1 September 1839)

16 July 1908, Thursday (-13,445) Fire at Moorgate tube station.

13 July 1908, Monday (-13,448) (1) An explosion 1,000 x greater than Hiroshima flattened 80 million trees over 800 square miles near the River Tungaska, Siberia.� It is thought to have been a meteor or comet.

(2) The 4^th Olympic games opened at the newly-built White City Stadium in west London. The Games were originally scheduled for Rome, but Italy was facing financial issues, including costs arising from a 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius (7 April 1906).� The Finnish team made a political point by refusing to carry the Russian flag; the Olympic Committee refused to allow them to carry their own flag, so they marched flagless. Also some athletes with Irish Republican sympathies refused to compete in the British team.

12 July 1908, Sunday (-13,449) Milton Berle, US comedian, was born in New York.

11 July 1908, Saturday (-13,450) Evi Maltagliati, Italy actor, was born.

10 July 1908, Friday (-13,451) (1) The British announced the deployment of a new torpedo, with a four mile range and a speed of four knots.

(2) Britain passed the Invalid and Old Age Pensions Act, giving non-contributory pensions for those over 70. See 1 January 1909.

9 July 1908, Thursday (-13,452) (Sea and Canal) (1) The Royal Edward Dock, Avonmouth, Bristol opened.

(2) Rolls Royce opened its factory in Derby, England.

8 July 1908. Wednesday (-13,453) The German Navy was catching up in strength with the British, according to the 'World Navy List'.

7 July 1908, Tuesday (-13,454) The US Democratic Party Convention started their 3 day meeting in Denver, and nominated William Jennings Bryan as Presidential candidate.

6 July 1908, Monday (-13,457) Joel Chandler Harris, US writer, died aged 60.

5 July 1908, Sunday (-13,456) Jonas Lie, Norwegian novelist, died (born 6 November 1833).

4 July 1908, Saturday (-13,457) Eberhard Schrader, German Orientalist writer, died (born in Brunswick 7 January 1836)

3 July 1908, Friday (-13,458) In Ottoman Turkey, Major Ahmed Niyazi revolted against the provincial authorities, under the autocratic rule of Sultan Abdulhamid II. The rebellion quickly spread to other army divisions, forcing concessions by the Sultan.

2 July 1908, Thursday (-13,459) Thurgood Marshall, US lawyer, was born (died 1993)

1 July 1908, Friday (-13,460) Ed Gordon Jr, US athlete, was born in Jackson, Mississippi (died 1971)

======================================================================================

30 June 1908. Tuesday (-13,461) (Women�s� Rights) Suffragettes attempted to present a petition to the UK Prime Minister. When he refused, windows at his residence were broken.

29 June 1908, Monday (-13,462) Leroy Anderson, US composer, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (died 18 May 1975 in Woodbury, Connecticut).

27 June 1908, Saturday (-13,464)

25 June 1908, Thursday (-13,466) The railway from Guayaquil, on the Pacific,� to Quito fully opened. Construction began in 1871.

24 June 1908, Wednesday (-13,467) Grover Cleveland, American Democrat, �22^nd and 24^th President, between 1865 and 1897, died in Princeton, New Jersey.

23 June 1908, Tuesday (-13,468) Mohammed Ali Shah of Persia mounted a successful coup with the help of the Cossack brigade; he then imposed martial law in Tehran.

22 June 1908, Monday (-13,469) Six Black people accused of murder were lynched in the USA.

21 June 1908, Sunday (-13,470) (1) A crowd of 230,000 in Hyde Park demonstrated for votes for women.

(2) Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer, died at Lyubensk.

20 June 1908, Saturday (-13,471) Frederico Chueca, Spanish composer, died in Madrid (born 5 May 1846 in Madrid)

18 June 1908, Thursday (-13,473)

17 June 1908, Wednesday (-13,474) Edward Phelps, rowing champion, was born (died 1 November 1983).

16 June 1908, Tuesday (-13,475) The US Republican Party began a 4-day conference at Chicago. President Theodore Roosevelt, who had promised not to seek another term in 1904, now chose William Howard Taft as his successor.

15 June 1908� Monday (-13,476) The World congress for Women's Rights opens in Amsterdam

14 June 1908, Sunday (-13,477) A fourth German naval Bill authorised expenditure on four more large naval vessels.

13 June 1908, Saturday (-13,478) (Women�s� Rights) Suffragettes staged a march from The Embankment to the Albert Hall.

12 June 1908. Friday (-13,479) London's Rotherhithe Tunnel opened.� It runs between Rotherhithe and Stepney.

11 June 1908, Thursday (-13,480) (Poland) Georg Adler, Polish economist, died.

10 June 1908, Wednesday (-13,481) The Gravehals rail tunnel, Norway, 5.5 km long, opened.

9 June 1908, Tuesday (-13,482) King Edward VII of Britain met Tsar Nicholas II of Russia at Reval, Russia. The Tsar agreed to introduce social reform in Macedonia (which was still nominally under Ottoman Turkish control).

8 June 1908, Monday (-13,483) US President Roosevelt appointed Gifford Pinchot as head of the National Conservation Commission. This was the start of� US Government involvement in the nation�s environment.

6 June 1908. Saturday (+13,485) France passed a law decreeing that divorce was automatic after three year�s separation.

4 June 1908. Thursday (-13,487) An attempt was made to assassinate Major Alfred Dreyfus.

3 June 1908, Wednesday (-13,488) Sir Robert Gillespie Reid, Canadian railway contractor, died.

2 June 1908, Tuesday (-13,489) (Britain) Sir Redvers Buller, British General, died (born 1839).

1 June 1908, Monday (-13,490) Louis Frechette, French Canadian poet, died (born 16 November 1839).

=====================================================================================

31 May 1908, Sunday (-13,491) Sir John Evans, British archaeological writer, died (born 17 November 1823).

30 May 1908, Saturday (-13,492) Bernard Fitz Alan Howard, 16^th Duke of Norfolk, British statesman, was born.

29 May 1908, Friday (-13,493) Pierre-Henri Teitgen, French lawyer, educator, and resistance fighter, was born.

28 May 1908, Thursday (-13,494) Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, was born in London.

27 May 1908, Wednesday (-13,495) Harold Rome, US composer, was born in Hartford, Connecticut

26 May 1908. Tuesday (-13,496) (1) Significant oil fields were found in Persia (Iran), the first oil strike in the Middle East.

(2) The US State of North Carolina introduced Prohibition, banning alcohol.

25 May 1908, Monday (-13,497) The Central American Court of Justice was inaugurated at Cartago, Chile.

24 May 1908, Sunday (-13,498) Tom Morris, golfer, died (born 17 June 1821)).

23 May 1908, Saturday (-13,499) Famine in Uganda killed 4,000.

22 May 1908, Friday (-13,500) W G Hoskins, English historian, was born (died 1992)

20 May 1908, Wednesday (-13,502) US actor James Stewart was born.

16 May 1908, Saturday (-13,506) The UK launched its first diesel submarine, called D-1, from Barrow in Furness.

15 May 1908, Friday (-13,507) Monet destroyed some of his own paintings, then worth �20,000, because he was not happy with them.

14 May 1908, Thursday (-13,508) The Franco-British exhibition opened on 200 acres of land at Wood Lane, north of Shepherd�s Bush, London. The site, called White City, was served by an extension of the Central Line from Shepherds Bush. The Prince of Wales opened the exhibition, which was also used for the 1908 Olympic Games.

13 May 1908, Wednesday (-13.509) Eugen Kapp, Estonian composer, was born.

12 May 1908, Tuesday (-13,510) Wireless Radio Broadcasting was patented by Nathan B Stubblefield.

11 May 1908, Monday (-13,511) The foundation stone of the Liver Building, Liverpool, was laid.

10 May 1908. Sunday (-13,512) Mother�s Day was first celebrated in the USA.

9 May 1908, Saturday (-13,513) The first motor race for women was held at Brooklands.

8 May 1908, Friday (-13,514) Ludovic Halevy, French author, died (born 1 January 1834).

7 May 1908. Thursday (-13,515) Old Age Pensions were introduced in Britain, at 5 shillings (25p) a week, by Prime Minister Asquith, for people over 70.� A married couple would get 7 shillings 6d. Only those earning under ten shillings a week �were eligible. See 1 January 1909.� At this time, renting a single room cost 2s 6d a week, a half cwt (25kg) of coal cost 6d, 4 loaves of bread cost 6d, a quarter lb (110g) of tea cost 6d, a quart of milk cost 3d, a half lb of sugar cost 1d, 7lbs of potatoes cost 3d, 1lb of cheese cost 2d, and a half lb of meat cost 3d.� Total cost, 5 shillings.

6 May 1908, Wednesday (-13,516) Necil Kazım Akses, Turkish classical composer, was born in Istanbul, Turkey (died 1999)

5 May 1908, Tuesday (-13,517) Albert Lapparent, French geologist died.

1 May 1908, Friday (-13,521)

=====================================================================================

29 April 1908, Wednesday (-13,523) Jack Williamson, science fiction writer, was born (died 10 November 2006)

28 April 1908, Tuesday (-13,524) Oskar Schindler, Austrian-German industrialist who saved many Jews from death, was born.

27 April 1908, Monday (-13,525) The First International Congress of Psychoanalysis opened in Salzburg.

25 April 1908, Saturday (-13,527) Edward R Murrow, journalist, was born.

22 April 1908, Wednesday (-13,530) Henry Campbell-Bannerman, British politician, died aged 72.

20 April 1908, Monday (-13,532) The first British Motor Cycle Club race was held at Brooklands, England.

19 April 1908, Sunday (-13,533) Easter Sunday.

17 April 1908, Friday (-13,535)

16 April 1908, Thursday (-13,536) The first Oakland car was sold.

15 April 1908, Wednesday (-13,537) French troops in Algeria repelled Moroccan raiders.

14 April 1908, Tuesday (-13,538)

13 April 1908, Monday (-13,539) Floods in China killed 2,000.

12 April 1908, Sunday (-13,540) Herbert Asquith was appointed Prime Minister, replacing Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who had resigned through ill-health. David Lloyd George became Chancellor of the Exchequer.

11 April 1908, Saturday (-13,541) Tel Aviv, Israel, was founded by 60 settlers.

10 April 1908, Friday (-13,542)

9 April 1908, Thursday (-13,543) Victor Vasarely, painter, was born.

8 April 1908. Wednesday (-13,544) In the US, President Roosevelt issued an injunction allowing Black people to use the same train carriages as Whites in the South.

7 April 1908, Tuesday (-13,545) Laurie West, TV weatherman, was born (died 16 March 2005)

6 April 1908, Monday (-13,546) Byron Carter, founder of Cartercar, died aged 44 from injuries received when a vehicle�s starter crank kicked back and broke his jaw.

5 April 1908, Sunday (-13,547) (Britain) Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, English Prime Minister, resigned due to ill health (born 7 September 1836).

3 April 1908, Friday (-13,549)

2 April 1908, Thursday (-13,550) The destroyer HMS Tiger collided with the cruiser HMS Berwick near the Isle of Wight, killing 35 sailors.

1 April 1908, Wednesday (-13,551) The Territorial Army was officially founded, as the Territorial Force, by Lord Haldane.

=====================================================================================

31 March 1908, Tuesday (-13,552) Kenneth Norville, US musician, was born in Beardstown, Illinois.

28 March 1908, Saturday (-13,555)

26 March 1908, Thursday (-13,557) Louis Chauvin, US composer, died in Chicago (born St Louis, Missouri, 13 March 1881)

24 March 1908, Tuesday (-13,559) John Colvin, Governor of the North-West Provinces of India, died.

23 March 1908, Monday (-13,560) Birth of US actress Joan Crawford.

22 March 1908, Sunday (-13,561)

21 March 1908, Saturday (-13,562) (1) Frenchman Henri Farman piloted the world�s first passenger flight, over Paris.

(2) Abraham Maslow, US psychologist, was born (died 1970).

20 March 1908, Friday (-13,563) Sir Michael Redgrave, actor, was born.

16 March 1908. Monday (-13,567) Florence Nightingale, aged 87, was awarded the Freedom of the City of London. Born in 1820 to a middle class family in Derbyshire, she became interested in hygienic care for the sick after visiting a German religious hospital in 1850 which specialised in hygiene and care. In 1854 she was disturbed by terrible reports of the conditions in military hospitals there. She took 37 nurses and arrived at the hospital at Scutari, arriving on 4 November 1854. The military did not at first take her seriously, but her determination won through and she reduced the hospital�s death rate from 42% to just 2%. After the Crimean War she trained nurses in London and worked to improve the care for the sick.

12 March 1908, Thursday (-13,571) Edmondo de Amicis, Italian writer, died in Bordighera (born 21 October 1846 in Oneglia)

9 March 1908, Monday (-13,574) Henry Clifton Sorby, English geologist, died (born near Sheffield 10 May 1826)

8 March 1908, Sunday (-13,575) Will Hudson, US composer, was born in Barstow, California

7 March 1908, Saturday (-13,576) Germany launched its first Dreadnought battleship.

6 March 1908, Friday (-13,577)

5 March 1908, Thursday (-13,578) Sir Rex Harrison, actor, was born.

4 March 1908. Wednesday (-13,579) The whip was banned as a means of corporal punishment in US schools.

3 March 1908, Tuesday (-13,580)

1 March 1908, Sunday (-13,582) John Adrian, 1^st Marquess of Linlithgow, died.

=====================================================================================

29 February 1908, Saturday (-13,583) Onnes, a Dutch scientist in Leyden, announced he had liquefied helium.

28 February 1908, Friday (-13,584) the Shah of Persia survived an assassination attempt.

27 February 1908, Thursday (-13,585) Elisabeth Welch, US actress, was born in New York

26 February 1908, Wednesday (-13,586) Johann Kirchhoff, German scholarly writer, died.

25 February 1908, Tuesday (-13,587) The first railway tunnel under Hudson River, New York, opened

24 February 1908. Monday (-13,588) Japan and the USA agreed to limit Japanese migration to the US. President Roosevelt was concerned at working-class migration into the US following an influx of Chinese coolies. Chinese migration began to fall from its peak of 107,000 a year; Japanese migration only began more recently and in 1900 there were only 25,000 Japanese in the whole of the USA.

23 February 1908, Sunday (-13,589) Sir William McMahon, Australian Liberal and 25^th Prime Minister, was born.

22 February 1908, Saturday (-13,590) Birth of actor John Mills.

21 February 1908, Friday (-13,591) Harriet Hosmer, US sculptor, died (born 9 October 1830).

20 February 1908, Thursday (-13,592) The Russian General Stossel was sentenced to death for surrendering to the Japanese.

18 February 1908, Tuesday (-13,594) (USA) The Japanese Government sent a note to the US Ambassador in Japan accepting President Roosevelt�s order of 14 March 1907 restricting Japanese immigration t the USA.

13 February 1908, Thursday (-13,599) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was encouraging anti-Semitism.

12 February 1908, Wednesday (-13,600) Sir Richard Stracey, British colonial administrator of India, died (born 24 July 1817 in Somerset)

11 February 1908, Tuesday (-13,601) (Women�s� Rights) Suffragettes attempted to force entry to the House of Commons.

10 February 1908, Monday (-13,602) Mustapha Kamal of Egypt died.

9 February 1908, Sunday (-13,603)

8 February 1908. Saturday (-13,604) Czar Nicholas II ordered Russian troops to the Iranian border after Turkey made incursions into Iran.

7 February 1908, Friday (-13,605) In Britain the Liberal newspaper Tribune ceased publication.

5 February 1908, Wednesday (-13,607) Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twin actresses, were born.

3 February 1908, Monday (-13,609) (Unions) The US Supreme Court ruled, in Loewe vs Lawlor (The Danbury hatters Case) that a secondary union boycott, a tactic first used from 1902, was an unlawful restraint of trade and that the Sherman anti-trust Act applied to combinations of labour as well as capital. This curbed the growing power of the unions in the USA.

1 February 1908, Saturday (-13,611) (Portugal) Carlos I, King of Portugal, was assassinated along with his son, Prince Luiz, by soldiers after a failed revolution. He was succeeded by his 18-year old younger son, Manoel II.

======================================================================================

31 January 1908, Friday (-13,612) (Medical) Karl von Voit, physiologist, was born in Munich, Germany.

30 January 1908. Thursday (-13,613) Mohandas Ghandi, who led a campaign against the requirement for all Asian people to register, was released from a South African prison by General Smuts.

29 January 1908, Wednesday (-13,614) Piero Leonardi, Italian geologist, was born

28 January 1908, Tuesday (-13,615) Jimmy Shand, Scottish bandleader, was born in east Wemyss, Fife.

27 January 1908, Monday (-13,616) Austria announced plans to build a railway south towards Salonika, to assist trade and extend Austro-Hungarian political influence.

26 January 1908, Sunday (-13,617) The first Boy Scout troop was registered, in Glasgow.

25 January 1908, Saturday (-13,618) Louise de la Ramee, English novelist (pen name Ramee) died aged 67.

24 January 1908, Friday (-13,619) Edward MacDowell, US composer, died (born 18 December 1861).

23 January 1908, Thursday (-13,620) A 7,000 mile telegraph line from Britain to India began operations.

22 January 1908. Wednesday (-13,621) The British Labour Party decided to adopt Socialism.

21 January 1908, Tuesday (-13,622)

19 January 1908, Sunday (-13,624) 18 February 1842, Friday (-37,699) Charles Emory Smith, US journalist, died in Philadelphia (born 18 February 1842 in Connecticut)

18 January 1908, Saturday (-13,625) Edmund Clarence Stedman, US poet, died in New York (born 8 October 1833 in Hartford, Connecticut)

17 January 1908, Friday (-13,626) (Women�s� Rights) Suffragettes raided 10 Downing Street, London, during a Cabinet meeting.

16 January 1908. Thursday (-13,627) The first issue of Scouting For Boys, Baden-Powell�s fortnightly journal of the scouting movement, was published.

15 January 1908, Wednesday (-13,628) Edward Teller, who invented the Hydrogen Bomb, was born in Budapest.

14 January 1908, Tuesday (-13,629) Holger Drachmann, Danish poet, died (born 9 October 1846).

11 January 1908, Saturday (-13,632) Gandhi was imprisoned in Johannesburg for refusing to register as an Asian.

9 January 1908, Thursday (-13,634) Simone de Beauvoir, French feminist writer and philosopher, was born (died 1986).

8 January 1908, Wednesday (-13,635) Count Von Zeppelin announced plans to build an airship capable of carrying 100 people.

7 January 1908, Tuesday (-13,636) Sir Frederick Gibberd, town planner who designed Harlow New Town, was born (died 1984).� He also designed Didcot power station (1968), the Intercontinental Hotel at Hyde Park Corner, London (1975), Liverpool�s Catholic cathedral (1967), and the Regent�s Park Mosque (1977).

6 January 1908, Monday (-13,637) 2,000 textile workers went on strike in Oldham, Lancashire.

5 January 1908, Sunday (-13,638) (Crime) Serious prisoner mutiny at Dartmoor Prison; several warders injured.

4 January 1908, Saturday (-13,639) Mulay Hafid proclaimed himself Sultan of Morocco at Fez, Abdul Aziz had lost support because he seemed more interested in model trains than in governing, and had failed to stand up to Fran ce and Spain. Mulay Hafid was more austere and conservative.

3 January 1908, Friday (-13,640) A total solar eclipse was visible across the south-western Pacific.

2 January 1908, Thursday (-13,641) John Knight, English landscape painter, died.

1 January 1908. Wednesday (-13,642) The US state of Georgia introduced prohibition, banning alcohol.

====================================================================================

31 December 1907. Tuesday (-13,643) 167 Duma (Parliament) deputies jailed for treason in Russia. See 14 October 1907.

29 December 1907, Sunday (-13,645)

26 December 1907, Thursday (-13,648) The first session of the Indian National Congress was halted after clashes between moderates and extremists.

25 December 1907, Wednesday (-13,649) Cab Calloway, band leader, was born.

24 December 1907, Tuesday (-13,650) IF Stone, US journalist was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (died 1989)

23 December 1907, Monday (-13,651) Pierre Janssen, French astronomer, died (born 22 February 1824).

22 December 1907, Sunday (-13,652) Dame Peggy Ashcroft, actress, was born.

21 December 1907, Saturday (-13,653) In Iquique, Chile, some 3000 striking workers and their families were massacred by the Chilean army on government orders.

20 December 1907, Friday (-13,654) The Conference of Central American States, called 13 November 1907 in response to the war between Honduras and Nicaragua, ended. It tried to settle disputes between Central American states, even promote unification, and it set up a Central American Court in 1908 to settle international disputes. However this Court lacked influence and power.

19 December 1907, Thursday (-13,655) Sir John Strachey, British colonial administrator in India, died (born 5 June 1823 in London)

18 December 1907, Wednesday (-13,656) US racing car driver Bill Holland was born.

17 December 1907, Tuesday (-13,657) Lord Kelvin, physicist and inventor, died.

16 December 1907, Monday (-13,658) The US sent a fleet of 16 battleships on a round-the-world tour, to demonstrate the military might of the USA.

15 December 1907, Sunday (-13,659) The new Shah of Persia attempted to depose the new liberal Chief Minister. However, popular protests forced him to reverse this move.

14 December 1907, Saturday (-13,660) In St Petersburg, 38 soldiers were sentenced to life imprisonment for surrendering to the Japanese at Port Arthur.

13 December 1907, Friday (-13,661) The liner Mauretania ran aground at Liverpool.

12 December 1907, Thursday (-13,662) Dinizulu, King of the Zulus, surrendered to the British; a Zulu rebellion had been triggered by the imposition of a poll tax.

11 December 1907, Wednesday (-13,663) Fire destroyed the Parliament buildings at Wellington, New Zealand.

10 December 1907. Tuesday (-13,664) Rudyard Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, the first time it had been awarded to an English writer.

9 December 1907, Monday (-13,665) (Electrical) Noel Walton Bott, pioneer of wave energy for electrical power, was born. (died 7 June 1996)

8 December 1907, Sunday (-13,666) King Oscar II of Sweden died, aged 78, after a 35-year reign; he also ruled Norway until 1905. His eldest son, Gustav V, 49, became King, and ruled until 1950.

7 December 1907, Saturday (-13,667) The first congress of the Egyptian Nationalist movement, under Mustafa Kamil.

6 December 1907, Friday (-13,668) The USA suffered its worst mine disaster.� 361 died at Monongah, West Virginia.

3 December 1907, Tuesday (-13,671) Connee Boswell, US singer, was born in New Orleans (died 11 October 1976 in New York).

=====================================================================================

29 November 1907. Friday (-13,675) Florence Nightingale, aged 87, the �Lady with the Lamp�, was presented with the Order of Merit by Edward VII for her work during the Crimean War, see 4 November 1854.

28 November 1907, Thursday (-13,676) Alberto Moravia, Italian novelist, was born (died 1990).

27 November 1907, Wednesday (-13,677) Eric Brook, footballer, was born (died 29 March 1965).

23 November 1907, Saturday (-13,671) The Rockefeller institute was founded, with a US$ 2.5 million gift from John Rockefeller.

18 October 1907, Monday (-13,686) An International Court of Justice at the Hague was first proposed.

17 November 1907, Sunday (-13,687) Sir Francis McClintock, British Arctic explorer, died (born 8 July 1819).

16 November 1907. Saturday (-13,688) (1) Suffragettes shouted down Herbert Asquith, Chancellor of the Exchequer, at a meeting in Warwickshire. An Act was passed in 1907 allowing women to sit as councillors, but they still lacked the vote. Despite divisions within the Women�s Social and Political Union, with some members seeing Mrs Pankhurst as too domineering, the campaign for female suffrage continued unabated.

(2) Oklahoma was admitted as the 46^th State of the USA.

15 November 1907, Friday (-13,689) Moncure Conway, author, died in Paris (born 17 March 1832 in Virginia, USA).

14 November 1907, Thursday (-13,690) The Third Duma met in Russia; it sat until 1912. Elected on a restricted franchise, it suppressed revolutionary activities.

13 November 1907, Wednesday (-13,691) In France, Mr Paul Cornu built a prototype helicopter, or �direct lifter� as he called it. It rose 4 feet into the air and stayed there for 60 seconds.

8 November 1907, Friday (-13,696) In Australia, the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration ruled that the Sunshine Harvester Works must pay �fair and reasonable� wages, i.e. a living wage. This �Harvester Judgement� was to establish wage levels for all Australian labourers.

4 November 1907, Monday (-13,700) Bennie Benjamin, West Indian composer, was born in Sat Croix, Virgin Islands.

1 November 1907, Friday (-13,703) The first women councillors were elected in England, in local elections.

=====================================================================================

29 October 1907, Tuesday (-13,706) Gerald Massey, English poet, died (born 29 May 1828).

28 October 1907, Monday (-13,707) Thomas Hampson, athlete, was born (died 4 September 1965)

27 October 1907, Sunday (-13,708) The first trial in Germany�s Eulenberg Affair ended today. Prince Eulenberg, a close friend of the Kaiser whose closeness with him inspired jealousy in von Bulow, also in Count Holstein (the diplomat whom the Kaiser had fired for his belligerency at the Algeciras Conference) was now accused of homosexuality in the magazine Die Zukunft. This magazine was run by Maximilian Harden, a supporter of Holstein. The Kaiser initially ignored the allegations, but then undertook legal action against Harden when public opinion began to shift against the Kaiser. This day the trial found in favour of Harden, but subsequent legal actions uncovered scandals that harmed all concerned.

26 October 1907, Saturday (-13,709) The UK�s� Territorial Army was conceived by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane.

24 October 1907, Thursday (-13,711) (Earthquake) Severe earthquake hit Calabria, southern Italy.

21 October 1907, Monday (-13,724) George Bodley, English architect, died in Water Eaton, Oxford (born 1827).

19 October 1907, Saturday (-13,716) Roger Wolfe Kahn, bandleader, was born.

18 October 1907, Friday (-13,717) (1) Plans were announced for an International Court of Justice, to be set up in The Hague.

(2) Wireless telegraphy began between the USA and Ireland.

17 October 1907, Thursday (-13,718)

16 October 1907, Wednesday (-13,719) The first Filipino Legislature met (elected 30 July 1907)

15 October 1907, Tuesday (-13,720) The US town of Fontanet was almost totally destroyed when its gunpowder factory exploded.

14 October 1907, Monday (-13,721) Third parliament (Duma) formed in St Petersburg. See 31 December 1907.

13 October 1907, Sunday (-13,722)

11 October 1907, Friday (-13,724) The British luxury liner Lusitania broke the record for crossing the Atlantic by 11 hours 46 minutes, making the crossing to New York in just 4 days, 19 hours, and 52 minutes. With 1,200 passengers and 650 crew, she averaged 24 knots.

10 October 1907, Thursday (-13,725) Demonstrations and strikes in Budapest, Hungary, as Parliament opened there, demanding universal adult suffrage.

6 October 1907, Sunday (-13,729) Henry Brampton, English judge, died in London (born in Hitchin 14 September 1817).

4 October 1907, Friday (-13,731) Riots in India were blamed on a visit by UK MP Kier Hardie to the colony

2 October 1907, Wednesday (-13,733) Johann Mojsisovics, geological writer, died (born 18 October 1839)

1 October 1907, Tuesday (-13,734) A downturn in the US stock market led to a banking crisis that led to a year-long depression.

=======================================================================================

29 September 1907, Sunday (-13,736) Gene Autry, entertainer, was born.

26 September 1907, Thursday (-13,739) New Zealand became a dominion. It had become a colony of Britain in 1840. A series of wars between the British and the native Maoris ended with peace in the 1870s. Full independence was achieved in 1947.

23 September 1907, Monday (-12,742) Albert Ammons, US pianist, was born in Chicago (died 2 December 1949 in Chicago)

21 September 1907, Saturday (-13,744) (Namibia) Morenga was killed in a brief battle with British forces. He had escaped back into Namibia in 8/1907, causing alarm on both sides of the frontier, but then returned to British-controlled territory. A British task force was sent to arrest him and he died in an exchange of fire in the Kalahari Desert.

15 September 1907, Sunday (-13,750) Fay Wray, actress, was born.

13 September 1907, Friday (-13,752) The British ocean liner Lusitania arrived in New York on her maiden voyage, having crossed the Atlantic in a record 5 days, at average speed 23 knots.

12 September 1907, Thursday (-13,753) Louis Macneice, Irish poet, was born (died 1963).

10 September 1907, Tuesday (-13,755) Britain�s first military airship flew successfully at Farnborough.

7 September 1907, Saturday (-13,758) Bogdan Hasdeu, Romanian scholarly writer, died (born 1836).

6 September 1907, Friday (-13.,759) Donald Hume, badminton champion, was born (died 3 May 1986)

5 September 1907, Thursday (-13,760) (Britain, Russia) King Edward of Britain met the Russian Foreign Minister, Alexander Izvolski, at Marienbad (now, Czech Republic), to strengthen mutual relations.

4 September 1907, Wednesday (-13,761) Edward Greig, Norwegian composer, died in Bergen.

1 August 1907, Sunday (-13,764)

======================================================================================

31 August 1907, Saturday (-13,765) (Britain, Russia, France-Germany) The UK and Russia agreed an entente, defining spheres of influence in Persia, Tibet, and Afghanistan.� There was an implicit agreement that Britain would not allow Russia to control the Bosporus, and the entente opened up the London money markets to Russia, allowing it to recover from the Japanese defeat of 1904/5. France was also part of this agreement, forming a Triple Entente to contain the newly unified Prussian-dominated Germany.

30 August 1907, Friday (-13,766) (Computing) John William Mauchly was born in Cincinatti, Ohio. In 1946, along with John Prosper Eckert, he completed ENIAC, the first all-purpose computer.

29 August 1907, Thursday (-13,767) After four years construction, the Quebec Bridge, still being built, collapsed. 75 workers were killed and half the bridge had gone.

16 August 1907, Friday (-13,780) In Morocco, Mulay Hafid, brother of the Sultan of Morocco, was proclaimed Sultan by a German-backed faction. This started a civil war, against the French-backed faction who supported the original Sultan.

13 August 1907, Tuesday (-13,783) (1) An Anglo-Russian agreement recognised Afghanistan as an independent Kingdom; a Republic since 1973.

(2) Two civilians were killed by British troops in Belfast. The docks strike in Belfast had been called by James Larkin the dockworkers union leader in May 1907, in response to pay rates as low as 10 shillings a week, and he had urged mill workers to join the strike. A local magistrate, Major Martin Thackeray, attempted to read the Riot act to a crowd of 500 strikers who were throwing stones at police, but he had to admit he was inaudible. Four soldiers were injured by stones. Unrest grew and on 11 August 1907 a police van was ambushed on Grosvenor Road. A crowd of 2,000 gathered and attacked a barracks. The Government sent in 2,600 soldiers as well as 80 cavalry and 500 police. Some soldiers smashed doors and windows of homes. Whilst stationed to protect workers in the Catholic Falls Road area, soldiers shot dead a woman looking for her child and a man returning from his work.

10 August 1907, Saturday (-13,786)The world�s longest and hardest motor race, from Beijing to Paris, ended with victory by Prince Borghese of Italy, who completed the 8,000 mile course in 62 days. He faced desert, swamps, mountains, a bushfire, and a Belgian policeman who stopped him for speeding.

8 August 1907, Thursday (-13,788) Benny Carter, US jazz saxophonist, was born in New York

6 August 1907, Tuesday (-13,790) The Imperial Motor Company was founded in Jackson, Michigan.

4 August 1907, Sunday (-13,792) The French navy bombarded the Moroccan port of Casablanca, after anti-Western demonstrations there.

3 August 1907, Saturday (-13,793) Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II met at Swinemunde to discuss the Baghdad Railway.

2 August 1907, Friday (-13,794) Dr Herbert Tidswell, a Devon GP, spoke out at a meeting of the British Medical Association about the undesirability of allowing children to smoke. He claimed smoking could cause cancer, but other doctors were unconvinced that moderate smoking was dangerous.

=====================================================================================

30 July 1907, Tuesday (-13,797) British troops sent in to quell rioting in Belfast.

28 July 1907, Sunday (-13,799) Russia and Japan agreed to stop culling seals and sea-lions.

27 July 1907, Saturday (-13,800) Molly Phillips, figure skater, was born (died 15 December 1994).

26 July 1907, Friday (-13,801) US author Mark Twain was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by Oxford University.

25 July 1907. Thursday (-13,802) (1) Sir Robert Baden-Powell�s experimental camp, to test the feasibility of scouting, was set up on Brownsea Island, near Poole; 20 boys attended. The Boy Scout�s association was created on 29 July 1909.� The camp closed for the winter on 9 August 1907.

(2) Japan made Korea a protectorate. The Korean Emperor Kojong (I T�ae Wang) who had ruled since 1864 abdicated 19 July 1907, aged 55 under pressure from Japan, who was occupying Korea.

21 July 1907, Sunday (-13,814) AD Hope, poet, was born

19 July 1907, Friday (-13,816) Kojong, Emperor of Korea for 43 years, aged 55, abdicated under pressure from the Japanese, who were occupying his country.

15 July 1907, Monday (-13,812) London�s first electric buses began operating, between Victoria and Liverpool Street. Unfortunately the electric bus industry was riddled with swindlers promising false returns to investors, and petrol and diesel buses took over.

14 July 1907, Sunday (-13,813) (Chemistry) Sir William Henry Perkin, English chemist, died in Sudbury, Middlesex.

13 July 1907, Saturday (-13,814)

12 July 1907, Friday (-13,815) Sir Edward �Weary� Dunlop, surgeon who provided medical care to Allied PoWs in Japan during World War Two, was born in Australia.

11 July 1907, Thursday (-13,816) Leonard Harvey, boxer, was born (died 28 November 1976).

9 July 1907, Tuesday (-13,818)

8 July 1907, Monday (-13,819) The first of the Ziegfield Follies was performed at the New York Theater, staged by promoter Florence Ziegfield. The revues, of scantily-clad women, ran almost annually on Broadway until 1931.

7 July 1907, Sunday (-13,820) Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy renewed their Triple Alliance for another 6 years.

6 July 1907. Saturday (-13,821) Brooklands motor racing track, near Weybridge, Surrey, opened. It closed in 1939.

4 July 1907, Thursday (-13,823) Ernst Fischer, German philosophical writer, died (born 23 July 1824).

1 July 1907, Monday (-13,826) The US established the world�s first air force.� The aeronautical division of the US Army�s Signal Office was set up under the command of Captain Chandler. The force consisted of one officer, one NCO, and one enlisted man. It had one aircraft, which had to be capable of flying for one hour at 36 mph. The biplane was delivered to Fort Meyer, Virginia, for test flights in August 1908. It crashed in September 1908 and a new Wright Flyer was ordered. This was delivered on 2 August 1909. By 1914 the US air force had just 6 planes.

=====================================================================================

28 June 1907, Friday (-13,829) Jimmy Mundy, US musician, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

20 June 1907. Thursday (-13,837) Lillian Hellman, US author, was born (died 1984).

17 June 1907, Monday (-13,840) (Road) Brooklands, the world�s first motor racing circuit, opened at Weybridge, Surrey. The circuit is 3.75 miles long.

16 June 1907. Sunday (-13,841) The Russian parliament (Duma) was dissolved by Tsar Nicholas II on grounds of treason after reactionary parties attempted to force concessions. An electoral reform in Russia increased the representation of the propertied classes, and reduced the representation of national minorities.

15 June 1907, Saturday (-13,842) (UN-international) The Second Peace Conference opened at The Hague (until 18 October 1907). The conference had been called by US President Roosevelt, originally for October 1904 but was postponed due to the Russo-Japanese War 1904-05. Germany now resisted calls by some of the 46 nations to stop the international arms race. It was agreed not to go to war over international debts, and to formulate rules of war and the rights of neutrals.

14 June 1907, Friday (-13,843) (1) Norway gave women the vote (General Elections).

(2) The UK Government announced a Bill to curb the House of Lords.

(3) The Transvaal Government decided to repatriate some 50,000 Chinese labourers brought in since 1903, who had been the focus of unrest in some areas.

12 June 1907, Wednesday (-13,845)

11 June 1907, Tuesday (-13,846) Clovis Hugues, French poet, died (born 3 November 1851).

10 June 1907, Monday (-13,847) (China) France and Japan signed a treaty guaranteeing equal trading rights for both in China, and recognising Japan�s �special interests� in Manchuria, Fukien and Mongolia.

9 June 1907, Sunday (-13,848)

7 June 1907, Friday (-13,850) Sir Carl Douglas Aarvold, rugby union player, was born (died 17 March 1991).

6 June 1907. Thursday (-13,851) (1) Persil washing powder went on sale for the first time, in Dusseldorf, Germany.

(2) The British Government said it would never leave India.

5 June 1907, Wednesday (-13,852)

4 June 1907, Tuesday (-13,853) Rosalind Russell, actress, was born.

3 June 1907, Monday (-13,854) In Britain the Irish Council Bill, giving a degree of self-rule to Ireland, was defeated.

2 June 1907, Sunday (-13,855)

1 June 1907, Saturday (-13,856) Sir Frank Whittle, inventor of jet propulsion, was born in Coventry.

=======================================================================================

31 May 1907, Friday (-13,857) Taxicabs began running in New York. The word �taxi� derives from the invention of the taximeter, in 1891, which calculated the cost or tax for the journey.

30 May 1907, Thursday (-13,858)

28 May 1907, Tuesday (-13,860) The first Isle of Man TT motorcycle race was held. The average speed of the winner was 38 mph.

27 May 1907, Monday (-13,861) Rachel Louise Carson, marine biologist and US author, author of Silent Spring, was born.

26 May 1907, Sunday, (-13,862) John Wayne, actor, was born.

25 May 1907. Saturday (-13,863) (1) In Finland, the world�s first Parliament with women members opened.

(2) The first 24-hour motor race, the Endurance Derby, was held in Philadelphia. The winning car covered a distance of 791 miles.

23 May 1907, Thursday (-13,865)

22 May 1907, Wednesday (-13,866) Birth of British actor, Laurence Olivier.

21 May 1907, Tuesday (-13,867) Sir Joseph Fayrer, English physician, died (born 6 December 1824).

20 May 1907, Monday (-13,868)

19 May 1907, Sunday (-13,869) (Britain) Sir Benjamin Baker, British engineer, died in Pangbourne, Berkshire (born 1840).

18 May 1907, Saturday (-13,870) John Ingram, Irish scholarly writer, died (born 7 July 1832).

16 May 1907, Thursday (-13,872) (1) Nairobi was chosen as capital of British East Africa (Kenya) because of its location on the Mombasa-Uganda railway.

(2) Spain signed the Cartagena Pact with Britain and France, to counter a perceived German threat to annex the Balearic and Canary Islands.

14 May 1907, Tuesday (-13,874) Muhammad Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan, was born (died 1974).

13 May 1907, Monday (-13,875) US President Roosevelt persuaded the Mayor of San Francisco to rescind the segregation of Japanese, Chinese and Korean schoolchildren (11 October 1906). However the underlying fears of a reduction in US wages caused by Japanese and Chinese immigration remained.

12 May 1907, Sunday (-13,876) Katharine Hepburn, US actress, was born.

10 May 1907, Friday (-13,878) Walter (Pee Wee) Hunt, US trombonist, was born in Mount Healthy, Ohio (died22 June 1979 in Plymouth, Massachusetts)

6 May 1907, Monday (-13,882) John Watson, writer, died (born 3 November 1850).

4 May 1907, Saturday (-13,884) Denmark made the use of the metric system of weights and measures compulsory, for official use by 1910 and for the general public by 1912.

2 May 1907, Thursday (-13,886) (1) Rioting in Rawalpindi and East Bengal, India.

(2) King Edward VII of Britain met the French President in Paris.

1 May 1907, Wednesday (-13,887) Death of Canadian Neil Brodie, reportedly the �world�s dirtiest man�, who only bathed when legally ordered to do so.

======================================================================================

30 April 1907, Tuesday (-13,888) King Edward VII of Britain visited Rome and The Vatican.

28 April 1907, Sunday (-13,890) Raymond Braine, Belgian footballer, was born.

25 April 1907, Thursday (-13,893) The UK�s Channel Tunnel Bill was defeated because of War Office opposition and lack of popular support.

24 April 1907, Wednesday (-13,894) Winston Churchill, Colonial Under-Secretary, was made a Privy Councillor.

23 April 1907, Thursday (-13,895) Claude Theuriet, French poet and novelist, died (born 8 October 1833)

21 April 1907, Sunday (-13,897)

18 April 1907, Thursday (-13,900) Miklos Rosza, composer, was born in Budapest.

17 April 1907, Wednesday (-13,901) A record all time high of 11,747 immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, New York, this day.

16 April 1907, Tuesday (-13,902)

15 April 1907. Monday (-13,903) Japan handed Manchuria back to China under the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese war.

14 April 1907, Sunday (-13,904) Francois Duvalier, Haitian President and dictator, was born.

13 April 1907, Saturday (-13,905) The Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, referred to as 40/50, was unveiled.

12 March 1907, Friday (-13,906) Switzerland reorganised its army and made military training compulsory for all males.

8 April 1907, Monday (-13,910) Britain and France� confirmed the independence of Siam (Thailand).

5 April 1907, Friday (-13,913) Malcolm MacColl, religious writer, died.

3 April 1907. Wednesday (-13,915) Russia reported that 20 million people were starving in the worst famine on record.

======================================================================================

31 March 1907, Sunday (-13,918) Easter Sunday.

30 March 1907, Saturday (-13,919) The first commercially produced aircraft was delivered to its purchaser, marking the start of the world�s aviation industry. Paris sculptor Leon Delagrange ordered the biplane from Voisin Freres, Billancourt, France.

29 March 1907, Friday (-13,920) A train derailed near Colton, California; 26 were killed and about 100 injured.

28 March 1907, Thursday (-13,921)

27 March 1907, Wednesday (-13,922) Vauxhall Motors Ltd was registered in Great Britain.

26 March 1907, Thursday (-13,923) Leigh Harline, US composer, was born in Salt Lake City (died 10 December 1969 in Long Beach, California)

25 March 1907, Monday (-13,924) The British Government killed off a Channel Tunnel Bill.

24 March 1907, Sunday (-13,925)

23 March 1907, Saturday (-13,926) (Medical) Daniele Bovet was born in Neuch�tel, Switzerland. In 1936 he discovered the effectiveness of sulphanilamide in treating streptococci.

22 March 1907, Friday (-13,927) (1) 75 suffragettes jailed in Britain for refusing to pay fines.

(2) Mohandas Ghandi 1869-1948) started a civil disobedience campaign in South Africa.� He was campaigning against a rule that all Indians in South Africa had to be finger-printed and carry an ID certificate at all times.� Ghandi had spoken to the British Colonial Secretary, Winston Churchill, whom assured Ghandi he disagreed with this law. However Transvaal was soon to become self-governing so this reassurance was of little significance.� The Transvaal jailed Ghandi, when he refused to comply with the new rules, but he was soon more of a problem to them inside jail than out.� Jan Smuts, Attorney General for Transvaal, had secret discussions with Ghandi, a compromise was reached, and Ghandi released.

18 March 1907, Monday (-13,931) In Honduras, war broke out with Nicaragua; the battle of Namasigiue opened the war, and this was the first time machine guns were used in conflict in Central America.. Although El Salvador supported Honduras, Nicaragua gained the upper hand, occupied Tegucigalpa, and imposed a President of its choice, the Liberal, Miguel R Davila (died 1927).

15 March 1907, Friday (-13,934) The Finns elected their first woman MP; in Britain, women still had not got the vote.

14 March 1907, Thursday (-13,935) The US President forbade Japanese labourers from entering the USA.

13 March 1907, Wednesday (-13,936) The New York Stock Exchange collapsed.

12 March 1907, Tuesday (-13,937) The French battleship Jena exploded at Toulon, killing 118.

11 March 1907, Monday (-13,938) (Bulgaria) The Bulgarian Prime Minister was assassinated by a disaffected youth, who had been dismissed from a post in one of the country�s agricultural posts.

10 March 1907, Sunday (-13,939) Francisco Orlich Bolmarcich, Costa Rican President 1962 to 1966, was born.

9 March 1907, Saturday (-13,940) John Alexander Dowie, Scottish evangelist and faith healer (born 25 May 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland) died in Chicago, Illinois.

8 March 1907, Friday (-13,941) Keir Hardie�s Women�s Enfranchisement Bill was defeated in the House of Commons.

6 March 1907, Wednesday (-13,943)

5 March 1907, Tuesday (-13,944) Second Parliament (Duma) met in St Petersburg.

4 March 1907, Monday (-13,945) Following the victory of the Het Volk Party in Transvaal elections, Botha became PM. The Boers regained some power that they had lost in the Boer war against Britain.

2 March 1907, Saturday (-13,947)

1 March 1907, Friday (-13,948) The New York Salvation Army Bureau set up a suicide counselling service.

======================================================================================

28 February 1907, Thursday (-13,949) Britain�s Royal Navy ordered three more Dreadnought warships.

27 February 1907, Wednesday (-13,950) London�s Central Criminal Court (The Old Bailey) was opened on the site of Newgate Prison, by King Edward VII.

26 February 1907. Tuesday (-13,951) President Roosevelt put the US army in charge of building the Panama Canal.

24 February 1907, Sunday (-13,953)

22 February 1907, Friday (-13,955) The first taxi cabs with meters began operating in Britain.

21 February 1907, Thursday (-13,956) W H Auden, English poet, was born.

20 February 1907, Wednesday (-13,957) (Chemistry) Ferdinand Frederic Henri Moissan died, probably as a result of his experiments with fluorine, see 1886.

18 February 1907, Monday (-13,959)

16 February 1907, Saturday (-13,961) Giosue Carducci, Italian poet (born 27 July 1836) died.

15 February 1907, Friday (-13,962) Cesar Romero, actor, was born.

14 February 1907, Thursday (-13,963)

13 February 1907, Wednesday (-13,964) A large crowd of suffragettes stormed the Houses of Parliament as they attempted to hand a petition to the Government. It took a battalion of mounted police five hours to subdue the demonstration; 57 suffragettes were arrested, including Emmeline and Christine Pankhurst, but 15 of them did manage to enter the Commons.

12 February 1907, Tuesday (-13,965) In the UK, the Liberal Government put Home Rule for Ireland on the agenda, along with better public housing.

11 February 1907, Monday (-13,966) (London) Explosion at the chemical research department, Woolwich Arsenal, caused much damage.

10 February 1907, Sunday (-13,967) Death of British journalist Sir William Howard Russell.

9 February 1907, Saturday (-13,968)

8 February 1907, Friday (-13,969) Ray Middleton, US actor, was born in Chicago.

7 February 1907, Thursday (-13,970) German elections called by von Bulow after a constitutional crisis in the Reichstag produced a Conservative rally against the Socialists, and a Conservative-majority Government was elected.

5 February 1907, Tuesday (-13,972)

3 February 1907, Sunday (-13,974) James A Michener, novelist, was born.

2 February 1907, Saturday (-13,975) Walter Donaldson, snooker champion, was born (died 24 May 1973).

1 February 1907, Friday (-13,976) Leon Serpollet, steam automobile developer, died aged 48.

======================================================================================

31 January 1907, Thursday (-13,977) The Paris newspaper le Matin issued a challenge, for a motorist to drive from Peking (now Beijing) to Paris. See 10 August 1907.

30 January 1907, Wednesday (-13,978) Henri Murray, French actor, was born.

29 January 1907, Tuesday (-13,979) Charles Curtis became U.S. Senator for Kansas, the first Indigenous American to become a Senator.

28 January 1907, Monday (-13,980) 164 miners died in a pit explosion at Saarbrucken, Germany.

27 January 1907, Sunday (-13,981) Albert Arthur Roberts, English footballer for Southampton, was born..

26 January 1907, Saturday (-13,982) Austria introduced universal male suffrage, for men aged over 24.

25 January 1907, Friday (-13,983) Rene Pottier, French racing cyclist, died aged 27.

24 January 1907, Thursday (-13,984) Alexander Russell Alger, US soldier and politician (born 27 February 1836 in Lafayette, Ohio) died in Washington DC.

23 January 1907, Wednesday (-13,985) In the UK, Lloyd George advocated reducing the power of the House of Lords.

22 January 1907, Tuesday (-13,986) In London, a strike by music hall artists disrupted theatre performances.

21 January 1907, Monday (-13,987) Toivo Kauppinen, Finnish writer, was born.

20 January 1907, Sunday (-13,988) Agnes Clerke, English astronomer, died (born 10 February 1842).

19 January 1907, Saturday (-13,989) Captain Henry Singleton Pennell, English soldier who received the Victoria Cross, died.

18 January 1907, Friday (-13,990) Hispano-Suiza cars first went on sale in Britain.

17 January 1907, Friday (-13,991) Hispano

16 January 1907, Wednesday (-13,992) Henk Badings, Dutch opera composer, was born in Bandung, Java, Dutch East Indies (died 1987)

15 January 1907, Tuesday (-13,993) Gold dental inlays were first described by William Taggart, who invented them.

14 January 1907. Monday (-13,994) (Earthquake) Major quake hit Kingston, Jamaica. Most of the city was destroyed and over 1,000 died. On 22 January 1907 the islands British Governor rejected an offer of food and medical aid from the US navy.

13 January 1907, Sunday (-13,995) Jeff Morrow, US actor, was born in New York city (died 1993)

12 January 1907, Saturday (-13,906) Adolf Hilgenfeld, German religious writer, died (2 June 1823).

11 January 1907, Friday (-13,997) Pierre Mendes-France, French politician, was born (died 1982)

10 January 1907, Thursday (-13,998) Austria passed a Bill giving the vote to all males aged 24 and over.

9 January 1907, Wednesday (-13,999) Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, Queen of Hanover, died aged 88.

8 January 1907, Tuesday (-14,000) Persian Shah Muzaffar ud-Din died aged 54 after a weak reign of 11 years. He was succeeded by his 35-year-old son who reigned until 1909 as Mohammed Ali.

7 January 1907, Monday (-14,001) Anton Urspruch, German composer, died aged 56.

6 January 1907, Sunday (-14,002) Maria Montessori, Italian educator and humanitarian, opened her first school and day-care centre for working-class children in Rome.

4 January 1907, Friday (-14,004)

3 January 1907, Thursday (-14,005) (Russia) The Prefect of St Petersburg was assassinated at the Institute of Experimental Medicine.

2 January 1907, Wednesday (-14,006) Anti-clerical laws in France forbade the crucifix in schools.

1 January 1907, Tuesday (-14,007) In China, 4 million people were starving due to heavy rains and crop failure.

=====================================================================================

30 December 1906, Sunday (-14,009) (India) (1) In India the Muslim League was founded, to call for separate Muslim areas and counter the Pan-Indian ideals of the Indian National Congress. The separate Muslim electoral areas were delivered under the Indian Councils Act of 1909. Ultimately this paved the way for the Partition of India in 1947

(2) The Shah of Iran signed the new Constitution (7 October 1906). However he died shortly afterwards and was succeeded by his son, Mohammed Ali Shah, who was hostile to the new constitutional movement.

27 December 1906, Thursday (-14,012) Oscar Levant, US composer, was born in Pittsburgh (died 14 August 1972 in Beverly Hills, California)

For dates up to 31 December 1899 click here

Back to top