events 1913-1919

1 January 1920, Thursday (-9,259)

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31 December 1919, Wednesday (-9,260)

30 December 1919, Tuesday (-9,261) In London, the first female bar student was admitted to Lincoln�s Inn.

29 December 1919, Monday (-9,262) Sir William Osler, medical teacher, died in Oxford, England.

28 December 1919, Sunday (-9,263) (Science) Johannes Robert Rydberg, Swedish physicist, died in Lund.

25 December 1919, Thursday (-9,266)

23 December 1919, Tuesday (-9,268) (Women�s Rights) In Britain, the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Bill was passed, opening up many professions to women.

22 December 1919, Monday (-9,269) David Lloyd George, the Prime Minister, announced plans for the partition of Ireland.

20 December 1919, Saturday (-9,271)

19 December 1919, Friday (-9,272) The Irish Republican Army (formerly Irish Volunteers) made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Lord French, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

18 December 1919, Thursday (-9,273) Death of British aviation expert Sir John Alcock in a flying accident, six months after his pioneering transatlantic flight with Sir Arthur Brown.

16 December 1919, Tuesday (-9,275) German troops left Latvia and Lithuania.

13 December 1919, Saturday (-9,278) Soviets captured Kharkov from the White Russians under Anton Denikin.

10 December 1919, Wednesday (-9,281) British aviators Ross and Keith Smith completed a 135-hour flight from England to Australia.

3 December 1919, Wednesday (-9,288) Pierre Auguste Renoir, French Impressionist painter, died near Cannes, aged 78.

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30 November 1919, Sunday (-9,291) Women were allowed to vote for the first time in French elections.

28 November 1919. Friday (-9,293) (1) Viscountess (Nancy) Astor became Britain�s first woman MP. She took her seat in the House of Commons on 1 December 1919, elected by a substantial majority. She won the seat of Plymouth Sutton in a by-election caused by the elevation of her husband to the peerage. She retired from Parliament in 1945.

(2) Latvia declared war on Germany. German troops left Latvia and Lithuania on 16 December 1919.

27 November 1919. Thursday (-9,294) (1) Bulgaria signed the Treaty of Neuilly, recognising the independence of Yugoslavia.� Western Thrace was ceded to Greece, thereby cutting off Bulgaria from the Mediterranean, and two small regions were ceded to Yugoslavia.� The southern Dobruja was� retained by Romania.� Bulgaria was liable to pay reparations and its army limited to 20,000 men.

(2) A large meteor landed in Lake Michigan.

25 November 1919, Tuesday (-9,296)

24 November 1919, Monday (-9,297) Proposals to divide Ireland in two, Ulster and the South, were submitted to the UK Cabinet.

23 November 1919, Sunday (-9,298) P F Strawson, English philosopher, was born.

21 November 1919, Friday (-9,300) The Fox Motor Company was founded.

19 November 1919, Wednesday (-9,302) In Italy, Benito Mussolini and 37 Fascists were arrested after rioting at the election of the Socialists.

17 November 1919, Monday (-9,304) A Dorset farm labourer was paid �1.15 a week average.

16 November 1919, Sunday (-9,305) First Italian elections that were contested by the Fascists. However the Fascists did badly, receiving just 4657 votes out of 270,000 cast in Milan, supposedly a Fascist stronghold. In Predappio, Mussolini�s birthplace, not one vote went to the Fascists. The Socialists, however, did very well, gaining 1.76 million votes, their best tally to date; they raised their seats from 52 to 156, and became Italy�s largest single party. Socialist support had been boosted by the suffering of World War One, especially in Germany and the troubles in Russia. The Popolari Party, run by Don Sturzo, representing Catholics, the forerunner of the post-World War Two Christian Democrats, also did well, gaining 100 seats. The Pope, who had previously discouraged Catholics from voting, had now informally encouraged Catholic support for the Popolari. The Socialists were later undermined by the split in their ranks between the reformists (riformisti) and the revolutionaries (Massimilasti), the latter defecting to the Communist Party in 1921. This split allowed the fascists to gain power.

15 November 1919. Saturday (-9,306) The Red Army captured Omsk.

14 November 1919, Friday (-9,307) Romanian forces withdrew from Budapest, Hungary, which they had occupied since 4 August 1919.

13 November 1919, Thursday (-9,308)

12 November 1919. Wednesday (-9,309) Captain Ross Smith, his brother, and two others began the first flight from Britain to Australia. They arrived in Port Darwin, Australia, on 10 December 1919, winning a �10,000 prize from the Australian government for doing this.

11 November 1919, Tuesday (-9,310) Death of Andrew Carnegie, US steel magnate and philanthropist. Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on 25 November 1835, his family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when Andrew was 13. \he gave considerable sums to education and set-up the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

7 November 1919, Friday (-9,314) The Allied War Council demanded the withdrawal of Romanian troops from Hungary.

4 November 1919, Tuesday (-9,317)

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27 October 1919, Monday (-9,325) Lord Curzon succeeded A J Balfour as British Foreign Secretary.

26 October 1919. Sunday (-9.326) Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was born.

22 October 1919, Wednesday (-9,330) The Bolshevik Red Army defeated a White Russian army under Nicolai Yudenich near Petrograd. Yudenich retreated into Estonia.

18 October 1919, Saturday (-9,334) Pierre Trudeau, Canadian Liberal and Prime \Minister, was born in Montr�al, Quebec.

17 October 1919, Friday (-9,335) Zhao Ziyang, Chinese politician, was born (died 17 January 2005).

16 October 1919, Thursday (-9,336) Ivor Allchurch, Welsh footballer, was born.

14 October 1919, Tuesday (-9,338)

13 October 1919. Monday (-9,339) Dock strike in New York.

12 October 1919. Sunday (-9,340) British troops pulled out of Murmansk, Russia.

11 October 1919. Saturday (-9,341) The first airline meals were served, on a Handley-Page flight from London to Paris. They were pre-packed lunch boxes priced at 3 shillings (15p).

10 October 1919, Friday (-9,342) British teachers, their salaries still at pre war levels, asked for a doubling of their pay.

9 October 1919, Thursday (-9,343) (Middle East) The General Company for the Ports of Iraq was established. It was a Government department responsible for the management of Iraqi ports and navigation in Iraqi territorial waters.

8 October 1919, Wednesday (-9,344) Carlos Melendez, 24th President of El Salvador, died (born 1861)

7 October 1919, Tuesday (-9,345) KLM, the Dutch national airline, the oldest established air carrier, was established.� It began flights on 17 May 1920.

6 October 1919. Monday (-9,346) Norway adopted alcohol Prohibition.

5 October 1919, Sunday (-9,347) Frank Peard, badminton champion, was born.

2 October 1919, Thursday (-9,350) US President Wilson suffered a massive stroke, leaving his left side paralysed.

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27 September 1919, Saturday (-9,355) (Russia) The last Anglo-French-US forces pulled out of Archangel, eastern Russia. They had landed there on 2 August 1918 in order to support anti-Bolshevik White Russian forces, since defeat of the Bolsheviks would bring Russia back into the war against Germany. An initial contingent of 1,500 Allied troops was reinforced up to 30,000, but this was still too small a number to control the vast and hostile terrain of the area. With no hope of a White Russian victory against the Bolsheviks, the Allied hold on Archangel became untenable and they were evacuated.

26 September 1919, Friday (-9,358) Henry Johnstone, footballer, was born (died 12 October 1973)

25 September 1919, Thursday (-9,357) The Paris Peace Convention awarded sovereignty of the Spitzbergen Islands to Norway.

22 September 1919. Monday (-9,360) Major steel strike in the USA.

19 September 1919, Friday (-9,363) Women got the vote in� The Netherlands. The first woman to be elected to Parliament there was in 1946.

15 September 1919. Monday (-9,367) China ended its war with Germany.

14 September 1919, Sunday (-9,368) Tim Molony, horse racing champion, was born (died 14 December 1989).

13 September 1919, Saturday (-9,369) Mary Midgley, English philosopher and author, was born.

12 September 1919, Friday (-9,370) An unofficial Italian army under Gabriele d�Annunzio seized Fiume, before it was incorporated in Yugoslavia.

11 September 1919, Thursday (-9,971) In Russia, the White Army foiled attempts by the Red Army to recapture the city of Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd).

10 September 1919, Wednesday (-9,372) (1) The TUC favoured nationalising the coal industry.

(2) The Treaty of St Germain was signed by the Allies with Austria at the Paris Peace Conference. Austria had to pay large reparations to the Allies, and recognise the independence of Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

9 September 1919, Tuesday (-9,373) Boston, USA, police went on strike over low pay. Just 427 of the former 1,544 man force remained on duty, and crime soared. The militia were called in and the strikers sacked.

6 September 1919, Saturday (-9,376)

5 September 1919, Friday (-9,377) Robert Kee, author, was born

2 September 1919, Tuesday (-9,380) White Russian forces under Denikin captured Kiev, and came within 250 miles of Moscow, with backing from the UK.� However a Red Army counter attack in December 1919 forced Denikin out of Kharkov and eventually back to the Caucasus, where he held on until March 1920.� Denikin had a narrow Russophile view, and failed to see the need to link with Ukrainian and Polish anti-Bolshevik forces; he even blockaded Georgia and Azerbaijan, fearing these states would set up independent Republics.

1 September 1919, Monday (-9,381) The first intercontinental air service began, from Toulouse to Barcelona and Tangier.� Services were extended to Casablanca in April 1920.

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31 August 1919. Sunday (-9,382) (1) In Ireland, press censorship was abolished.

(2) The US Communist Party was founded.

30 August 1919, Saturday (-9,383) Kitty Wells, singer, was born.

29 August 1919, Friday (-9,384)

28 August 1919, Thursday (-9,385) Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, who invented the EMI scanner and winner of the Nobel prize for psychology in 1979, was born.

27 August 1919, Wednesday (-9,386) Louis Botha, South African Boer general and first Prime Minister from 1910, died.

26 August 1919, Tuesday (-9,387) Georgia Gibbs (Freda Lipschitz), singer, was born (died 9 December 2006)

25 August 1919. Monday (-9,388) Air service between London (Hounslow) and Paris (Le Bourget) inaugurated. This was the first international scheduled air service from Britain. The single fare was �21 for the 2 � hour journey, compared to the cost of rail and boat at �3 8s 5d. By 1 January 1920 three British companies were operating regular daily air services across The Channel, to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, for passengers, freight, and mail.

23 August 1919, Saturday (-9,390)

21 August 1919, Thursday (-9,392) Afghanistan became independent.

20 August 1919, Wednesday (-9,393) Gregor MacGregor,� cricketer, died (born 31 August 1869).

19 August 1919, Tuesday (-9,394) Malcolm Forbes, publisher, was born.

13 August 1919, Wednesday (-9,400) George Shearing, jazz pianist, was born.

11 August 1919, Monday (9,402) Andrew Carnegie died aged 83 at his Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts, mansion. Out of his fortune, he had given away US$ 350 million in philanthropic donations.

9 August 1919, Saturday (-9,404) Britain guaranteed to preserve the integrity of Persia.

8 August 1919, Friday (-9,405) (1) The Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed. This ended the Third Afghan War, which had begun on 3 May 1919.

(2) F W (Frank Winfield) Woolworth, US merchant and founder of Woolworth stores in 1879, died.

7 August 1919, Thursday (-9,406) Captain Ernest Hoy made the first successful flight over the Canadian Rockies.

6 August 1919, Wednesday (-9,407)

5 August 1919, Tuesday (-9,408) Kemal declared Turkey independent of the Sultan at the Turkish Nationalist Congress.

4 August 1919, Monday (-9,409) Romanian forces occupied Budapest, Hungary (until 14 November 1919).

3 August 1919, Sunday (-9,410) Riots in Liverpool during the policemen�s strike.

2 August 1919, Saturday (-9,411)

1 August 1919, Friday (-9,412) In Hungary, the Socialist regime of Bela Kun was overthrown.

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31 July 1919. Thursday (-9,413) Germany adopted the Weimar Constitution, named after the town where the constitution was drafted.

29 July 1919, Tuesday (-9,415) Vic Lewis, British bandleader, was born in London.

27 July 1919. Sunday (-9,417) Large scale race riots in Chicago. Violent interracial clashes resulted in 38 dead, 537 injured, and 1,000 rendered homeless. The spark for these riots had been a trivial incident when a Black person swam into a part of Lake Michigan that White people had claimed as �their� preserve.

25 July 1919, Friday (-9,419) (China, Russia) The Soviet Assistant Foreign Commissar, Leo Karakhan, issued the Karakhan Manifesto. This renounced all former Tsarist rights and privileges in China. Although Russia did not hand over the Chinese eastern Railway (it in fact sold it to the Japanese in 1935), this Manifesto did much to convince the Chinese radicals that Soviet Russia� was their only ally.

23 July 1919, Wednesday (-9,421) Turkish Nationalists met at Erzurum to resist Allied plans to carve up Turkey.

22 July 1919, Tuesday (-9,422) British MPs formally approved the Treaty of Versailles. Only 4 MPs voted against, 3 of them Irish Nationalists objecting to the omission of Home Rule for Ireland.

21 July 1919, Monday (-9,423)

20 July 1919. Sunday (-9,424) Sir Edmund Hillary, who conquered Mount Everest in 1953 with Tenzing Norgay, was born in Auckland, North Island, New Zealand.

19 July 1919, Saturday (-9,425) (Britain) Allied victory in the Great War was celebrated with parades and banquets, three weeks after the Treaty of Versailles had been signed. However many British demobbed servicemen felt aggrieved at this, being unemployed and without the �Homes for Heroes� they had bene promised. There were civil disturbances in several towns, which escalated into a full riot in Luton, where a crowd burnt down the Town Hall, where a feast had been prepared for local dignitaries. The Mayor was forced to flee the town.

18 July 1919, Friday (-9,426) The first Cenotaph, a temporary structure of wood and plaster, was erected in Whitehall, London, for a parade celebrating the Treaty of Versailles. It was so popular the Government decided to erect a permanent version.

16 July 1919, Wednesday (-9,428)

15 July 1919, Tuesday (-9,429) (Chemistry) Emil Hermann Fischer, German chemist, died in Berlin.

14 July 1919, Monday (-9,430)� Britain legalised passenger flights to and from the Continent. The very next day an executive from Pilkington Glass, who had missed the boat train, arranged to pay �50 for a one-off flight from Hendon, London, to Le Bourget, Paris.

13 July 1919, Sunday (-9,431) The British airship R34 arrived back in Pulham, Norfolk, having made the first transatlantic aerial round trip; she set out from East Fortune, Scotland, on 2 July 1919.

12 July 1919, Saturday (-9,432) Britain and France authorised the resumption of commercial relations with Germany.

11 July 1919, Friday (-9,433) The Turkish Sultan outlawed Kemal.

10 July 1919, Thursday (-9,434) Ian Wallace, actor, was born.

9 July 1919, Wednesday (-9,435)

8 July 1919, Tuesday (-9,436) The new Turkish Sultan Mohammed VI dismissed Mustapha Kemal.

7 July 1919, Monday (-9,437) Jon Pertwee, actor, was born,

6 July 1919. Sunday (-9,438) The British airship R34 became the first to cross the Atlantic, flying from Edinburgh to New York in 108 hours. She had set out from East Fortune, near Edinburgh, on 2 July 1919. She set off from Long Island on 9 July 1919 on the return journey, arriving in Pulham, Norfolk, on 13 July 1919.

4 July 1919. Friday (-9,440) France demobilised its troops.

1 July 1919, Tuesday (-9,443) Iris Murdoch, British author, was born.

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30 June 1919, Monday (-9,444) Lord Rayleigh, British scientist who discovered the inert gas argon in 1894 and won the Nobel prize, died in Witham, Essex, aged 76.

29 June 1919, Sunday (-9,445) Slim Pickens, actor, was born.

28 June 1919. Saturday (-9,446) The Treaty of Versailles was signed. This peace treaty between the Allies and the Germans was signed at Versailles and officially ended World War One, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand started it. Alsace Lorraine was returned to France, German colonies were under mandate, German East Africa went to Britain and German South West Africa (Namibia) to South Africa.� The west bank of the Rhine and a zone 30 miles deep on its east bank was demilitarised. See 7 May 1919.

26 June 1919, Wednesday (-9,448) The New York Daily News began publication.

23 June 1919, Monday (-9,451) The British Government recommended nationalising the coal mines.

22 June 1919, Sunday (-9,452) The German National Assembly at Weimar authorised the signing of the Peace Treaty.

21 June 1919. Saturday (-9,453) (1) German sailors unexpectedly scuttled the captive German fleet, 72 warships, at Scapa Flow. See 19 November 1918.

(2) Francesco Nitti became Prime Minister of Italy.

20 June 1919, Friday (-9,454) The German Chancellor, Schiedemann, fell due to his opposition to the Paris Peace Plan. On 21 June 1919 Gustave Bauer formed a Cabinet comprising Social Democrats, Centre, and Democrats.

19 June 1919, Thursday (-9,455) In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal and other nationalist leaders signed the Amasia Protocol, declaring their resistance to the Allied plans for Turkey and the Sultan�s co-operation with these plans.

17 June 1919, Tuesday (-9,457) The Finnish Republic was officially inaugurated.

15 June 1919. Sunday (-9,459) John Alcock and Arthur Brown completed the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic. It took them 16 hours, 12 minutes, to fly from Lester�s Field, St John�s Newfoundland, to Derrygimla Bog, near Clifden, Ireland. They were both knighted for this achievement.

11 June 1919, Wednesday (-9,463) Richard Todd, actor, was born.

10 June 1919, Tuesday (-9,464) Austria protested against the terns of the Paris Peace Conference.

9 June 1919, Monday (-9,465) Red Army troops took Ufa.

8 June 1919, Sunday (-9,466) Isaac Boleslavsky, Ukrainian chess player, was born in Zolotonosha, Ukraine (died 1977)

7 June 1919, Saturday (-9,467) Anti-British pro-independence riots in Malta.

6 June 1919. Friday (-9,468) Finland declared war on Russia.

5 June 1919, Thursday (-9,469) Richard Scarry, children�s� author, was born.

4 June 1919, Wednesday (-9,470) US Congress approved the 19th Amendment, giving women the right toi vote.

3 June 1919. Tuesday (-9,471) More British troops arrived at Archangel, Russia.

2 June 1919, Monday (-9,472) Albert Einstein, aged 40, married his cousin Elsa Lowenthal, aged 43. See 14 February 1919.

1 June 1919, Sunday (-9,473) Manuel Klein, US composer, died in New York (born in London, UK, 6 December 1876)

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31 May 1919, Saturday (-9,474) In the Estonian War of Independence, the Estonian Army continued a successful campaign against the Red Army with the capture of the Soviet-held towns of Alūksne, Gulbene, and Valmiera in northern Latvia.

30 May 1919, Friday (-9,475) At the Paris Peace Conference, Britain agreed to the transfer of part of German South West Africa to Belgium.

29 May 1919, Thursday (-9,476) (1) German delegates made counter-proposals to the Paris Peace conference,

(2) Charles Strite patented a pop up toaster.

(3) Albert Einstein�s Special Theory of Relativity, asserting that light will be bent as it approaches a massive body, was confirmed by Arthur Eddington�s observations of a solar eclipse on Principe, west Africa.

28 May 1919, Wednesday (-9,477) Armenia declared independence.

27 May 1919. Tuesday (-9,478) Lieutenant Commander Read and a crew of five, flying a Curtiss NC 4 seaplane, arrived in Lisbon via The Azores to complete the first flight across the Atlantic.� They had left Trepassy, Newfoundland, on 16 May 1919.

26 May 1919, Monday (-9,479) North Sea Aerial Navigation Co inaugurated passenger flights between Hartlepool and Hull. In June further routes began, between Hull, Leeds and Hounslow (for London), and Scarborough, Leeds, Harrogate. Businesspeople liked the new fast link between London and the North.

25 May 1919, Sunday (-9,480) Pilots Hanker and Grieve were rescued, 1370 km west of Ireland, having failed to fly the Atlantic.

24 May 1919. Saturday (-9,481) Having defeated Afghan raiders on the Indian border, the British bombed Jalalabad and Kabul.

23 May 1919. Friday (-9,482) The University of California opened its second campus in Los Angeles as its Southern Branch before it was eventually renamed the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

22 May 1919, Thursday (-9,483) Desmond O�Brien, rugby player, was born.

21 May 1919, Wednesday (-9,484) The Oklahoma Hospital Association was established with physician Fred S. Clinton as first president.

20 May 1919, Tuesday (-9,485) Roger Wolcott Hall, US author, was born (died 20 July 2008).

19 May 1919, Monday (-9,486) Turkish war hero Mustapha Kemal resisted the further reduction of Turkish territory, organising military resistance.

18 May 1919, Sunday (-9,487) Margot Fonteyne, English ballerina, was born (died 1991).

17 May 1919, Saturday (-9,488) The first Irish Republican law court was established at Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland.

16 May 1919. Friday (-9,489) Waldzin Valentino Liberace was born in Wisconsin. His father wanted him to be an undertaker.

15 May 1919, Thursday (-9,490) The Greek Army landed at Smyrna, under the protection of British, French, and US fleets, beginning an occupation of the area by massacring Turkish civilians.

14 May 1919. Wednesday (-9,491) Death of the American food manufacturer Henry John Heinz. Heinz founded his company in Pittsburgh in 1869 as a partnership to market and prepare horseradish. This company collapsed in the business panic of 1875 but Heinz reorganised it in 1876 and it re-emerged as a major food company by 1900. By 1905 the Heinz company was the USA�s largest manufacturer of pickles, vinegar, and ketchup, and employed thousands. The company was headed by members of the Heinz family until 1969.

13 May 1919, Tuesday (-9,492)

11 May 1919, Sunday (-9,494) The population of Vorarlberg, the westernmost province of Austria, voted for union with Switzerland by a large majority.� However this transfer was not supported by the Allies or the Swiss Government, and Vorarlberg became one of the nine Austrian Bundeslander.

10 May 1919, Saturday (-9,495) The first airline in Britain started. It flew the 50 miles between Alexander Park, Manchester, and Blackpool in a 2-seater single engine Avro biplane. Services lasted until 30 September 1919, and cost �2 2s single or �4 4s return.

9 May 1919, Friday (-9,496) James Reese Europe, US musician, died in Boston, Massachusetts (born 22 February 1881 in Mobile, Alabama)

8 May 1919, Thursday (-9,497)

7 May 1919, Wednesday (-9,498) Peace terms were dictated to Germany.� Germany had to cede Alsace-Loraine to France; Upper Silesia, most of Poznan, and West Prussia went to Poland.� This separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany as Poland gained a corridor to the sea at Danzig.� North Schleswig went to Germany and Memel went to Lithuania. See 28 June 1919.

6 May 1919. Tuesday (-9,499) Peace conference shared out former German colonies.

5 May 1919, Monday (-9,500)

4 May 1919. Sunday (-9,501) News that the Treaty of Versailles been signed reached China. However, despite the fact that China had declared war on Germany in August 1917, and had over 200,000 soldiers to fight with the Allies, the Treaty stated that German concessions in China would not be returned to the Chinese but would be given to Japan. There were large anti-foreigner demonstrations in China. Over 3,000 students gathered in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, to protest at Japan�s continued occupation of Shantung after World War One had ended.

3 May 1919. Saturday (-9,502) Fighting broke out between Britain and Afghanistan, The Third Afghan War, see 8 August 1919.

2 May 1919. Friday (-9,503) German troops entered Munich to crush the fledgling Soviet Republic in Bavaria.

1 May 1919, Thursday (-9,504) The reclamation of the Zuyder Zee began.

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30 April 1919, Wednesday (-9,505) Oscar Adams, US author, died (born 1855).

28 April 1919, Monday (-9,507) German delegates arrived at the Paris Peace Conference.

25 April 1919, Friday (-9,510)

20 April 1919, Sunday (-9,515) Easter Sunday. A Polish army under Pilsudski took the city of Vilnius, Lithuania, from the Soviets.

19 April 1919, Saturday (-9,516) Battle for the Donbass. The Ninth Red Army was forced to cease operations against the White forces in Kamianske, Ukraine

18 April 1919, Friday (-9,517)

17 April 1919, Thursday (-9,518) The United Artists film distribution company was founded in Hollywood.

16 April 1919, Wednesday (-9,519) Merce Cunningham., choreographer, was born.

15 April 1919, Tuesday (-9,520) Passenger air services on a route between Berlin, Hanover and Rotthausen began, also Berlin to Warnemunde.

13 April 1919. Sunday (-9,522) The British fired on and massacred Indian Nationalist rioters in Amritsar, Punjab. A British officer panicked and ordered his troops to fire at point-blank range into a large crowd. 380 of Ghandi�s followers were killed and over 1200 injured. This massacre turned even moderate Indians against the British. The army had been called in by the police after several days of rioting against new security laws, in which some Europeans had been killed.

11 April 1919. Friday (-9,524) (1) The International Labour Organisation was established.

(2) In a referendum, New Zealand rejected Prohibition.

10 April 1919, Thursday (-9,525) Rioting by Sikhs began at Amritsar, after the British arrested two nationalist leaders, see 13 April 1919.

9 April 1919, Wednesday (-9,526) (Computing) John Presper Eckert was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1945, along with John Mauchly, he developed the ENIAC all-purpose computer.

8 April 1919. Tuesday (-9,527) (1) The Red Army invaded the Crimea.

(2) Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia, was born in Selukwe, then Southern Rhodesia.

7 April 1919, Monday (-9,528)

5 April 1919. Saturday (-9,530) Eamon De Valera became Sinn Fein�s president.

4 April 1919. Friday (-9,531) At Versailles, the Germans agreed to make Danzig a �free city�.

3 April 1919, Thursday (-9,532) Kenneth Swan, founder of the Swan Hellenic sea cruise company, was born (died 21 August 2005)

1 April 1919, �Tuesday (-9,534) British troops supporting White Russian troops defeated a Bolshevik force.

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30 March 1919, Sunday (-9,536) Scientists used a solar eclipse to confirm Einstein�s Theory of Relativity. British astronomer Arthur Edington verified Einstein�s Theory of Relativity by observing stars whose position was close to the Sun, during a solar eclipse in the South Pacific, and confirming that their apparent position had shifted due to the Sun�s gravity as the Theory predicted.

23 March 1919. Sunday (-9,543) �The Italian Fascist Party (Fascio di Combattimento) was founded in Milan by Benito Mussolini. The party aimed to fight both Liberalism and Communism. The Fascists wanted land for the peasants, abolition of the Senate, a seizure of Church property, and tax reform. However most of this agenda was already offered by the Socialists and by December 1919 the Fascists only had 870 members. During 1926 Party membership rose from 600,000 to 938,000. By the end of 1933 there were 1,400,000 members, a figure that went up to 2,633,000 by 1939.

22 March 1919. Saturday (-9,544) Bela Kun declared Hungary a Soviet Republic.

21 March 1919, Friday (-9,545) (1) Edmund Allenby became British High Commissioner in Egypt.

(2) The Western Allies decided to pull out of Russia.

20 March 1919. Thursday (-9,546) Wireless telephone communication established between Ireland and Canada.

19 March 1919, Wednesday (-9,547) Joseph Egan, rugby player, was born in Wigan.

18 March 1919, Tuesday (-9,548) Association football club Valencia was established in Spain.

17 March 1919, Monday (-9,549) Nat King Cole, singer, was born.

16 March 1919, Sunday (-9,550) Wireless telephone now enabled one plane pilot to talk to another in mid-flight.

15 March 1919, Saturday (-9,551) Delegates from the American Expeditionary Force founded the American Legion Organisation of Veterans, to support veteran�s welfare.

14 March 1919, Friday (-9,552) Passenger air services between Berlin and Hamburg began. On 15 March 1919 a service from Berlin via Brunswick and Hanover to Gelsenkirchen began. In June 1919 these services had to be curtailed due to lack of fuel.

13 March 1919, Thursday (-9,553) Amy Woodforde-Finden, British composer, died in London (born 1860 in Valparaiso, Chile)

12 March 1919, Wednesday (-9,554) The Lithuanian Army formed an aviation unit, the precursor to the Lithuanian Air Force.

11 March 1919. Tuesday (-9,555) The Allies agreed to supply famine-hit Germany with food.

10 March 1919, Monday (-9,556) (1) After Nationalist riots in Egypt, the British deported the Nationalist leader, Saad Zaghful.

(2) The UK Government was reported to favour the idea of a Channel Tunnel.

9 March 1919, Sunday (-9,557) The Canadian Grand Trunk Pacific Railway went bankrupt. It was nationalised in 1920.

4 March 1919, Tuesday (-9,562) The Comintern was formed. This was the �Communist International�, to spread Communism worldwide.

1 March 1919, Saturday (-9,565) Anti-Japanese colonialism demonstrations in Seoul, Korea.

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26 February 1919, Wednesday (-9,568) (USA) In the USA, the Grand Canyon National Park opened.

25 February 1919, Tuesday (-9,569) Oregon became the first US State to levy a tax on petrol. The tax revenue was used for road construction and maintenance.

24 February 1919, Monday (-9,570)

23 February 1919, Sunday (-9,571) John Carey, footballer, was born in Dublin.

22 February 1919. Saturday (-9,572) After the murder of the Bavarian Prime Minister, Kurt Eisner, a Soviet Republic was declared in Bavaria.

20 February 1919, Thursday (-9,574)

19 February 1919, Wednesday (-9,575) French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau was shot by an anarchist.

18 February 1919, Tuesday (-9,576) Jack Palance, actor, was born.

17 February 1919, Monday (-9,577) Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canada�s first French-speaking Prime Minister, died.

16 February 1919, Sunday (-9,578)

15 February 1919, Saturday (-9,579) Denikin became Commander of White Russian forces in the soiutheast.

14 February 1919, Friday (-9,580) Albert Einstein, aged 39, divorced his wife Mileva Maric after 16 years marriage, see 6 January 1903, 2 June 1919.

13 February 1919, Thursday (-9,581) Lord John Peyton of Yeovil, UK politician, was born (died 22 November 2006)

11 February 1919, Tuesday (-9,583) The Overman Committee was set up in the US, and played a crucial role in constructing image of the Red Radical Soviet� threat to the US. It was a precursor to the HUAC (House Committee of Un-American Activities).

6 February 1919, Thursday (-9,588) The first regular passenger air service. Planes flew from Berlin to Weimar, carrying mainly mail and newspapers, but some passengers also.

5 February 1919, Wednesday (-9,589) Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece, was born.

4 February 1919, Tuesday (-9,590) The �Soviet Republic of Bremen� was suppressed.

3 February 1919, Monday (-9,591) (1) US President Woodrow Wilson attended the first meeting of the League of Nations in Paris.

(2) London tube workers went on strike for shorter hours.

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31 January 1919, Friday (-9,594) In Glasgow, a sheriff was hit by a bottle as he read the Riot Act; 40 injured in clashes with police.

27 January 1919, Monday (-9,598) Endre Ady, Hungarian poet (born 21 November 1877) died.

26 January 1919, Sunday (-9,599) Valentino Mazzola, Italian footballer, was born in Milan.

25 January 1919. Saturday (-9,600) The League of Nations was founded.

24 January 1919, Friday (-9,601) Battle of Skoczow. Czech forces forced the Polish Army back to the town of Drogomysl, Poland. Also the Battle of Shenkursk. The Red Army was almost surrounding Shenkursk, Russia, and Allied Commander General Edmund Ironside ordered the remaining American, Canadian and British force to break out and escape towards Arkhangelsk, Russia.

23 January 1919. Thursday (-9,602) The socialists won the German elections.

22 January 1919, Wednesday (-9,603) (1) The Red Army occupied Kiev, capital of the Ukraine.

(2) Czechoslovakia occupied Teschen (Tesin).

21 January 1919. Tuesday (-9,604) A Sinn Fein congress declared Irish Independence. Two Royal Ulster Constabularies were also murdered this day in Tipperary.

20 January 1919, Monday (-9,605) �(Arts) Stepan Lucky, composer, was born.

19 January 1919. Sunday (-9,606) A pro-monarchist uprising in Portugal; the monarchy was proclaimed at Oporto.

18 January 1919, Saturday (-9,607) (1) Peace talks opened at Versailles. �See 20 January 1920. 27 nations attended; Germany was excluded.

(2) Bentley Motors Limited was founded by W.O. Bentley in Cricklewood, North London

17 January 1919, Friday (-9,608) Ignacy Paderewski became Prime Minister of Poland.

16 January 1919, Thursday (-9,609) The US ratified the 18^th Amendment, prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors after one year. See 16 January 1920.

15 January 1919, Wednesday (-9,610) A tank containing 8.7 million litres of warm molasses in Boston, USA, burst. A 5-metre high wave of molasses swept through the docks area at 60 mph, wrecking buildings. 21 people were killed and 150 injured. Many died as the molasses cooled and became more viscous, suffocating its victims.

14 January 1919, Tuesday (-9,611) Giulio Andreotti, Italian politician, was born (died 2013).

13 January 1919. Monday (-9,612) Satyendra Prasano Sinha became the first Indian peer of Britain and so the first Indian member of the House of Lords.

12 January 1919, Sunday (-9,613) Delegates arrived in Paris for the Peace talks, see 18 January 1919.

11 January 1919. Saturday (-9,614) Romania annexed Transylvania.

10 January 1919, Friday (-9,615) Bremen declared itself a Soviet Republic; this was crushed on 4 February 1919.

9 January 1919, Thursday (-9,616) (India) Major mill strike began in Mumbai, with 100,000 workers out on strike.

8 January 1919, Wednesday (-9,617) (Arts) Peter Altenberg, writer, died aged 59.

7 January 1919, Tuesday (-9,618) (Britain) Labour began to act as the official opposition in the UK House of Lords.

6 January 1919. Monday (-9,619) US President Theodore Roosevelt died at Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, New York State. He was the 24^th President, from 1901 to 1909, and won the Nobel Prize in 1906. Starting his career as Chief of New York Police, he became President in 1901 when William McKinley was assassinated; he was elected in 1904 for a further term.

5 January 1919. Sunday (-9,620) (1) The Nazi (National Socialist) Party was founded in Germany. Adolf Hitler, a soldier in World War One who was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery, and who was angry at the armistice terms imposed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles, and extremely opposed to Communism, headed the new Party. Hitler was a poor student in the Austrian secondary school system. He became an artist but failed to gain entry to the Academy of Fine Arts; Hitler was a melancholic character, obsessed by fears that Jews, linked to Communists, would take over the world.

(2) The Spartacus League initiated a week of revolt in Berlin. Led by Rosa Luxembburg and Karl Leibknecht, they wanted a Communist workers State� in Germany

(3) Soviet forces entered Vilnius, Lithiania.

4 January 1919, Saturday (-9,821) (London) Major fire at Bethnal Green, London, food warehouses; �1,000,000 damage done.

3 January 1919, Friday (-9,622) (1) Part of the Latvian Army defected to the Communists and Communist forces occupied Riga, capital of Latvia.

(2) Rutherford split the atom. He bombarded nitrogen nuclei with alpha particles.

2 January 1919, Thursday (-9,623) 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey were massacred by Turks.

1 January 1919, Wednesday (-9,624) The early aviation industries in the USA and Europe began to develop in very different directions, after World War One. In the US there was a powerful railway lobby, but no equivalent air industry lobby. However US cities were much further apart than European ones. Therefore the US railways kept the passenger transport market, and US airlines concentrated on the postal delivery sector. Sometimes, US railways had fire beacons placed along their length by night to guide the aircraft. US airlines only got into the passenger market in the mid to late 1920s. By contrast, in Europe the railways had been severely damaged by the War, and European airlines ran comparatively short hop routes between cities, as well as carrying mail.

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31 December 1918, Tuesday (-9,625) The British War Cabinet met for the last time.

30 December 1918, Monday (-9,626) The German Communist Party was founded.� However within a fortnight, irregular German troops had murdered its leaders.

29 December 1918, Sunday (-9,627) In Britain the Sunday Express newspaper was first published.

28 December 1918. Saturday (-9,628) Lloyd George�s coalition was re-elected to government. Lloyd George had the support of 478 MPs; the Opposition had 229 MPs, of whom 63 were Labour. One women was elected, Countess Markievicz, for a Dublin constituency. However as Sinn Fein candidate she would not take the oath of allegiance to the King and did not take her seat in the House.

27 December 1918, Friday (-9,629) (1) King George V and Queen Mary greeted President and Mrs Wilson of the United States.

(2) Poznan rebelled against the Germans, ending a 103-year-old German occupation.

26 December 1918, Thursday (-9,630) (Greece) George Rallis, Prime Minister of Greece, was born (died 2006)

25 December 1918, Wednesday (-9,631) Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, was born in Talah Minufiya.

24 December 1918, Tuesday (-9,632) A UK commission on poverty recommended an end to workhouses.

23 December 1918, Monday (-9,633) Helmut Schmidt, German leader, was born (died 2015)

22 December 1918, Sunday (-9,634) The Red Latvian Rifle Division captured Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia.

21 December 1918, Saturday (-9,635) Kurt Waldheim, President of Austria from 1985, also UN Secretary General 1972-82, was born (died 14 June 2007).

18 December 1918, Wednesday (-9,638) Betty Grable, US actress, was born.

15 December 1918, Sunday (-9,641) The Portuguese President Sidonio Paes was assassinated.

14 December 1918, Saturday (-9,642) (1) Women aged over 30 voted in a general Election in Britain for the first time. Women could also stand as candidates in UK General Elections for the first time. 17 stood but only one was elected. See 6 February 1918.

(2) President Woodrow Wilson arrived in Paris for peace talks.

13 December 1918, Friday (-9,643) Monroe H Rosenfeld, US author, died in new York (born 1862 in Brooklyn, New York)

11 December 1918, Wednesday (-9,645), Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist, was born in Rostov.

10 December 1918, Tuesday (-9,646) Max Planck won the Physics Nobel prize for his work on quantum mechanics.

9 December 1918, Monday (-9,647) Kirk Douglas, US actor, was born.

8 December 1918, Sunday (-9,648) The National Progressive Party of Finland was established.

7 December 1918, Saturday (-9,649) Frank Wilson, 9th Premier of Western Australia, died (born 1859)

6 December 1918. Friday (-9,650) Allied troops occupied Cologne.

5 December 1918, Thursday (-9,651) (Germany) The British Prime Minister demanded that the ex-German Kaiser be prosecuted by an International Court.

4 December 1918. Wednesday (-9,652) (Yugoslavia) The proclamation of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, or Yugoslavia.

3 December 1918, Tuesday (-9,651) (Indonesia) Abdul Haris Nasution, Indonesian general, was born (died 2000)

2 December 1918, Monday (-9,654) One of the last acts of the British War Cabinet; it demanded the extradition of the German Kaiser Wilhelm.

1 December 1918. Sunday (-9,655) (1) Denmark granted independence to Iceland; a 25-year union with Denmark was instituted.

(2) The British Second Army entered Germany.

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30 November 1918. Saturday (-9,656) German occupation of Bucharest, capital of Rumania, ended, see 6 December 1916.

29 November 1918. Friday (-9,657) King Nicholas of Montenegro was deposed and his country was united with Serbia under King Peter.

27 November 1918, Wednesday (-9,659) The Soviet Red Army invaded Narva, Estonia.

25 November 1918, Monday (-9,661) French troops entered Strasbourg.

24 November 1918, Sunday (-9,662) (1) Serbia took control of the Backsa, Baranya and western Banat regions from Hungary.

(2) The Communist Party of Hungary (Kommunistik Magyarorszagi Partja) was founded, and soon after, started publishing its own newspaper, Voros Ujsag (Red News)

23 November 1918, Saturday (-9,663) Mutinous German sailors occupied the Chancellery and took Ebert hostage; he was rescued on 24 November 1918 by soldiers from Potsdam.

22 November 1918, Friday (-9,664) (1) In London, 100 women police officers went on street patrol for the first time.

(2) The Poles took Lvov.

21 November 1918. Thursday (-9,665) Surrender of the German Fleet to the Allies at Scapa Flow, for internment. On 21 June 1919 it was scuttled at Scapa Flow, in the Orkneys.

20 November 1918, Wednesday (-9,666) The Germans surrendered their submarines at Harwich.

19 November 1918, Tuesday (-9.667) The UK government revealed that the War had cost 767,000 deaths and some 2.3 million injured.

18 November 1918. Monday (-9,668) (1) The German occupation of Brussels ended, see 20 August 1914.

(2) Latvia gained independence from Russia, then ruled by Lenin and soon to be known as the USSR.

17 November 1918, Sunday (-9,669) The Communist Party of Greece was founded.

16 November 1918, Saturday (-9,670) Hungary was proclaimed an independent Republic.

15 November 1918, Friday (-9,671) Adolfo Pedernera, Argentinean footballer, was born.

14 November 1918. Thursday (-9,672) Tomas Masaryk was elected first President of Czechoslovakia.

13 November 1918, Wednesday (9,673) Charles, the former Austro-Hungarian Emperor, formally renounced any participation in the Government of Hungary.

12 November 1918, Tuesday (-9,674) The Republic of Austria was declared, ending the Hapsburg Dynasty, as Emperor Charles abdicated.

11 November 1918. Monday (-9,675) (Britain, France-Germany, USA) Armistice Day. World War One ended. Fighting ceased on the Western Front, and Austro-Hungary signed an armistice with the Allies. See 29 September 1918.� Church bells rang out across Britain in celebration. The Allies had not expected such a sudden collapse of Germany; in September 1918 they were planning campaigns for 1919. However General Ludendorff was shaken by the sudden Allied advance (see 8 August 1918) and begged Kaiser Wilhelm to seek an armistice immediately. The Armistice was signed in Marshal Foch�s railway carriage, near Compiegne.� Warsaw became the capital of a restored Polish State. The armistice required Germany to relinquish 5,000 heavy guns, 30,000 machine guns, 2,000 aircraft, all U-boats, 5,000 locomotives,� 150,000 wagons and 5,000 lorries. The surface fleet was to be interned (see 21 November 1918), the Allies were to occupy the Rhineland, and the blockade of German ports would continue. World War One cost 9 million lives, with a further 27 million injured. Britain alone had lost 750,000 men, and a further 200,000 from the Empire, with another 1.5 million seriously injured. The War had cost the Allies an estimated US$ 126 billion, and the Central Powers a further US$ 60 billion. Britons now celebrated, and wages rose, although higher food prices eroded some of those gains. Women, at least those over 30, finally had the vote, and smoking, gambling and movies boomed, with Charlie Chaplin as movie star.

The US was the greatest beneficiary of the War. US losses amounted to 53,000 men, a small number compared to 8,500,000 casualties of the European combatants. US industry had become more efficient, and key sectors such as chemicals had learned to do without Europe; the US aviation industry had been transformed. Economically, The US had needed European capital before 1914; by 1918 Europe owed the US some US$ 10,000 million.

10 November 1918, Sunday (-9,676) (Canal-Sea) The Cunard liner Campania sank in the Firth of Forth during a gale.

9 November 1918. Saturday (-9,677) (Germany) Kaiser William II abdicated and fled to Holland, and a German Republic was founded. On 11 November 1918 the Emperor of Austria, Karl, abdicated and a Republic was founded.

8 November 1918, Friday (-9,678) (Germany) Abdication of the King of Wurttemberg and Duke Ernest of Brunswick.

7 November 1918. Thursday (-9,679) Billy Graham, US evangelist, was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, the son of a dairy farmer.

6 November 1918. Wednesday (-9,680) Republic of Poland proclaimed.

5 November 1918, Tuesday (-9,681) The Poles occupied Lvov, Galicia.

4 November 1918, Monday (-9,862) Italian troops occupied Trieste.� Under the Treaty of London (25 April 1915), The UK, France, and Russia agreed to give Trieste to Italy after the War.

3 November 1918. Sunday (-9,683) Austria signed an armistice with the Allies.

2 November 1918, Saturday (-6,984) Frederick Leboyer, Author, was born.

1 November 1918, Friday (-9,685) (1) In Lvov, the last Austrian Governor, Count Huyn, armed the Ukrainians who proclaimed an independent Republic of West Ukraine, in opposition to the Bolsheviks.

(2) Anglo-French troops took Constantinople.

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31 October 1918. Thursday (-9,686) Ottoman Turkey surrendered to the Allies; the Dardanelles were reopened to Allied shipping. Anglo-French troops occupied Constantinople.

30 October 1918. (1) Wednesday (-9,687) An armistice was concluded aboard the British warship Agamemnon, at Mudros, between Britain and Turkey.� However Turkey was to face some four more year�s fighting with Greece, and effectively with the Western Allies.

(2) Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Lawrence, �Lawrence of Arabia�, shocked King George V by turning down the Order of the Bath and Distinguished Service Order. Lawrence was disappointed at how the Arabs had not achieved independence after World War One but their land had been carved up between Britain and France.� France, Catholic, took the Christian sites of Lebanon and Syria; Britain took Jordan and Iraq.

(3) Austria completed the evacuation of its troops from Italian territory. Austria became an independent German speaking state.� See 23 October 1918.

(4) The Czechoslovak Republic was proclaimed.� It was led by Jan Masaryk and Eduard Benes.

29 October 1918, Tuesday (-9,688) Croatia declared its independence.

28 October 1918, Monday (-9,689) (1) Mutiny broke out amongst German sailors at Kiel, spreading rapidly to Hamburg and Bremen. On 7 November 1918 insurrection broke out at Munich.

(2) Czechoslovakia declared its independence.

27 October 1918. Sunday (-9,690) Poland declared its independence.

26 October 1918. Saturday (-9,691) (1) In London alone, in the past week, Spanish flu claimed 2,225 lives.

(2) Aleppo, Syria, was captured from the Turks by British and Arab troops advancing from the south.

25 October 1918, Friday (-9,692) (1) Arab forces loyal to Prince Faisal captured Aleppo.

(2) Disillusioned by defeats and food shortages in World War One, Hungary now called its troops home and effectively abandoned its allies in the War effort.

24 October 1918, Thursday (-9,693) James Peters, marathon runner, was born.

23 October 1918, Wednesday (-9,694) (1) The House of Commons voted to allow women MPs, by a margin of 274 to 25 votes.

(2) Italian forces counterattacked against the Austrians near Vittorio Veneto, reaching the Piave River on 27 October 1918,� By 30/10.1918 the Italians, with the aid of British forces, had the Austrians in full retreat.

22 October 1918, Tuesday (-9,695) Myrtle Gonzalez, US actress, was born.

21 October 1918. Monday (-9,696) (1) (Railway Tunnels) The Mount Royal Ohara rail tunnel, Canada, 5.073 km long, opened in Montreal.

(2) The Spanish Flu epidemic began in Britain. 150,000 died of this disease in the last quarter of 1918.. It killed twice as many as died in World War One.

20 October 1918. Sunday (-9,697) Germany stopped U-boat warfare.

19 October 1918, Saturday (-9,698) Belgian forces recaptured Zeebrugge and Brugges.

18 October 1918. Friday (-9,699) Lille was recaptured from the Germans.

17 October 1918. Thursday (-9,700) (1) Yugoslavia became independent from Austro-Hungary.

(2) Hungary declared its independence from Austria.

16 October 1918, Wednesday (-9,701) Felix Arndt, composer, died aged 29.

15 October 1918, Tuesday (-9,702) Britain�s first oil well was sunk, at Hardstoft in Derbyshire.

14 October 1918, Monday (-9,703) The Czechoslovak National Council, meeting in Paris, organised a provisional Government headed by Thomas Masaryk as President.

13 October 1918, Sunday (-9,704) British troops occupied Tripoli, Lebanon.

12 October 1918, Saturday (-9,705) Germany and Austria agreed to US President Woodrow�s demand that their troops should return to their own territory before an armistice could be signed.

11 October 1918, Friday (-9,706) In Puerto Rico a major earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale

10 October 1918, Thursday (-9,707) 587 died when the Irish mailboat Leinster was torpedoed by a German U-boat.

9 October 1918, Wednesday (-9,708) British forces took Le Cateau.

8 October 1918, Tuesday (-9,709) The French retook Cambrai, see 26 August 1914.

7 October 1918. Monday (-9,710) �British troops took Beirut and Sidon.

3 October 1918, Thursday (-9,714) Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria abdicated, following the defeat of the Bulgarian Army the previous month in Macedonia. He was succeeded by his 22-year-old son, Boris I.

1 October 1918. Tuesday (-9,716) Arab forces under Emir Faisal, including the British officer T E Lawrence, captured Damascus from the Turks.

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30 September 1918. Monday (-9,717) Slovak Nationalist parties in Hungary voted to join with Czechia.� However the Slovaks soon found the Czech government more centralist than they expected, or desired, and pressure grew for Slovak separation from Czechoslovakia.

29 September 1918. Sunday (-9,718) (1) Allied troops captured part of the Hindenburg Line. Ludendorff called for an armistice to avert a� catastrophe for Germany. Negotiations opened with President Woodrow Wilson of the USA on 4 October 1918 but fighting continued till 11 November 1918.

(2) Bulgaria signed an armistice with the Allies.

28 September 1918, Saturday (-9,719)

27 September 1918, Friday (-9,720) (Space exploration) Martin Ryle, English radio astronomer, was born (died 1984).

26 September 1918, Thursday (-9,721) General Allied offensive on the Western Front; the Germans were fighting now only to cover their retreat.

24 September 1918, Tuesday (-9,723) British forces took Haifa.

22 September 1918. Sunday (-9,725) Turkish resistance in Palestine collapsed.

20 September 1918. Friday (-9,727) The British captured Nazareth.

19 September 1918, Thursday (-9,728) In Britain a Government commission investigated equal pay for women.

18 September 1918, Wednesday (-9,729) (Turkey) The British under General Allenby started a major offensive against the Turks, pushing them north out of Palestine, starting with a British victory at Megiddo. This offensive pushed the Turks out of Palestine, captured Damascus, and forced the Turks to accept an armistice on 30 October 1918.

16 September 1918, Monday (-9,731)

15 September 1918, Sunday (-9,732) Mr C Chubb gave Stonehenge to the nation.

14 September 1918, Saturday (-9,733) Austria-Hungary attempted to negotiate a separate peace deal with the Allies, which was refused.

13 September 1918. Friday (-9,734) In the USA, 14 million men had registered for conscription.

12 September 1918, Thursday (-9,735) At the Battle of St Mihel, the US 1^st Army under Pershing captured the St Mihel salient.

11 September 1918, Wednesday (-9,736) (New Zealand) Desmond James Scott, New Zealand fighter pilot, was born.

10 September 1918, Tuesday (-9,737) Muslim riots in Calcutta (Kolkata), India.

9 September 1918. Monday (-9,738) Allied victory at Megiddo.

8 September 1918, Sunday (-9,739) (Chemistry) Derek Harold Richard Barton was born in Gravesend, England. In 1949 he started research on the shape of complex organic chemical molecules, and how this shape affected their chemical properties.

4 September 1918. Wednesday (-9,743) The Germans retreated to the Siegfried Line.

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31 August 1918, Saturday (-9,747) After a London police strike, and a meeting with the UK Government at Downing Street,, the pensionable pay of a top constable rose to �2.65 / week, also a� 60p War Bonus was granted. Yet the UK Government, fearful of the example of the 1917 Soviet Revolution, was extremely reluctant to recognise any police trades union. On 14 July 1919 a Police Federation of England and Wales was created, so avoiding the use of the term �trades union�.

30 August 1918. Friday (-9,748) (1) London police went on strike. Prisoners had to be taken to court in taxis, but a major crime wave did not materialise. Bus drivers did traffic duty at major junctions. 2,000 police officers marched to a rally at Tower Hill, demanding wage rises and the reinstatement of a colleague dismissed for political activities. The key issue, however, was trade union recognition. Trade Unions had grown significantly during the War, from 4,145,000 members in 1914 to 6,533,000 members in 1918. Now working-class policemen, who kept union disputes in check, wanted their own union representation.

(2) British troops crossed the Somme.

27 August 1918, Tuesday (-9,751) London police prepared to strike. Their wages had been eroded by inflation, and they were forbidden from leaving the force to take up better-paid jobs at munitions factories. The UK Government was strongly against the formation of a police trades union, and threatened that any police officer who joined one would be dismissed, and sent as a soldier to fight in the trenches of World War One.

25 August 1918. Sunday (-9,753) The Hungarian government expelled the Jews and confiscated their assets.

24 August 1918, Saturday (-9,754) An Anglo-Japanese force defatted Soviet Russian troops on the Ussuri River.

19 August 1918, Monday (-9,759) Orville Gibson, US musician, died in Ogdensburg, New York.

17 August 1918, Saturday (-9,761) After rioting occurred, the Japanese Government requisitioned rice stocks.

15 August 1918. Thursday (-9,763) The US severed diplomatic relations with the Bolshevik government of Russia.

14 August 1918, Wednesday (-9,764) Andre Arnaud, French journalist, was born

13 August 1918, Tuesday (-9,765) The Allies formally recognised Czech independence.

11 August 1918, Sunday (-9,767)

9 August 1918, Friday (-9,769) The US Government ordered a halt to all civilian car manufacturing, with effect from 1 January 1919, so resources could be diverted to building military vehicles.

8 August 1918. Thursday (-9,770) General Haig initiated a surprise offensive against the Germans at Amiens which started a continuous retreat of the Germans through to Armistice Day on 11 November 1918. The lessons of The Somme (see 13 November 1916) had finally been learnt. Low flying aircraft drowned out the noise of tank manoeuvres, ammunition dumps were camouflaged, and decoy tank movements distracted the Germans. When the Allies began a major creeping bombardment, the tanks moved in behind to crush the barbed wire and infantry swiftly followed to consolidate the territorial gains. On their part, the Germans were demoralised by the stalling of their great Spring offensive (see 13 April 1918) and also by news of hunger, rioting and strikes back in Germany. Reinforced by US troops, the Allies found the Germans ready to retreat, and advanced eight miles on the first day.� The battle lines had become mobile again, and were moving east. In Ludendorff�s words, it was a black day for the German Army. The Allies were reinforced by US troops and further British troops were returning from Palestine. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, agreed to release reserve divisions of conscripts, which he had held back, now convinced he was not simply sending them into another meat grinder like The Somme or Passchendaele. With an assembly of 456 tanks and 2,000 guns and howitzers the Allies forced the Germans back on a 14-mile front, for 8 miles. 400 German guns were captured, along with 12,000 prisoners. The new Allied tactics continued to work against stiff German resistance and by mid September the Germans had retreated to the massive defences of their Hindenburg Line, 3 miles in depth. However the Germans were demoralised and after 10 days of fighting the Hindenburg Line was broken through at Saint Quentin. German soldiers going on home leave, passing fresh troops travelling west to the front, taunted them with calls of �you�re only prolonging the war�. However casualties on all sides were very high. In the three months following Amiens, August 1918, 531,000� French soldiers died or were wounded or captured, as many as in the eight months of Verdun 1916. The figure for US soldiers for those three months was 127,000, over twice as many as lost in Vietnam. For British and Empire troops, the toll was 411,000, the same as during the 4 � months of The Somme. German losses were even higher; 785,000 killed and wounded, and 386,000 prisoners taken by the Allies. A major issue for Germany was lack of food. Germany had been over 80% self-sufficient in food in 1914, but the military had removed labour from the farms without compensatory inputs of fertiliser or mechanisation. German food production� plummeted and by 1918 German citizens had just 64% of pre-war cereals, 18% of the meat, and 12% of the fats they had consumed in 1913. On the German Home Front, Ludendorff and the other Generals knew the War was lost weeks before the November 1918 Armistice. Although by then Germany was effectively a military dictatorship, the military pretended that surrender was only due to the wishes of civilian politicians. This perpetuated a post-War myth that the German Army had not been defeated at all, but betrayed by left-wing politicians, that the German Army was in fact invincible. Less than 20 years later that myth helped fuel the rise of the Nazis.

6 August 1918, Tuesday (-9,772) Norman Granz, US musician, was born in Los Angeles.

3 August 1918, Saturday� (-9,775) Les Elgart, US bandleader, was born in New Haven, Connecticut

2 August 1918. Friday (-9,776) British, French, and US forces landed at Archangel to support White Russians against the Bolsheviks. Japan invaded Siberia. See 27 September 1919.

1 August 1918, Thursday (-9,777)

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31 July 1918, Wednesday (-9,778) Anglo-French forces occupied Archangelsk, northern Russia.

29 July 1918. Monday (-9,780) Germany severed diplomatic relations with Ottoman Turkey.

28 July 1918, Sunday (-9,781) (Weather) End of the drought in New South Wales. 2,000,000 sheep and lambs had been lost to the drought.

21 July 1918, Sunday (-9,788)

20 July 1918, Saturday (-9,969) Ludendorff postponed his Flanders offensive.

19 July 1918, Friday (-9,790) Honduras, rather belatedly, joined the Allied war effort and declared war on Germany.

18 July 1918. Thursday (-9,791) (1) Allied forces launched a counter offensive on the Marne, capturing Soissons (see 9 April 1918).

(2) Nelson Mandela, South African Black Rights campaigner and leader, was born (died 2013).

17 July 1918. Wednesday (-9,792) The last Tsar, Nicholas II, was murdered by the Bolsheviks along with his entire family, his daughters Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia, and his son Alexis, and domestic staff, and even his dog, in the cellar of a house in Ekaterinburg. Their bodies were thrown down a disused mineshaft. The Bolshevik government was afraid that anti-Bolshevik White Russians or Czechoslovak troops would liberate the Romanov family and restore them to power. Western European powers such as Britain were afraid to give the Romanovs sanctuary (even if they could have been physically extricated from Russia) for fear of sparking workers� uprisings in their own territories.

16 July 1918, Tuesday (-9,793)

15 July 1918, Monday (-9,794) The Second Battle of the Marne began, when General Ludendorff attempted an advance; this was thwarted by British, French, and US troops.� Marshall Ferdinand Foch of France� launched an offensive on the Marne which led the Germans to seek an armistice in November 1918.

14 July 1918, Sunday (-9,795) Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman was born.

12 July 1918, Friday (-7,977)

10 July 1918. Wednesday (-9,799) A provisional government of Siberia was set up.

9 July 1918, Tuesday (-9,800) America experienced its worst train accident.� 101 were killed in Nashville, Tennessee.

8 July 1918, Monday (-9,801) National Savings Stamps went on sale in Britain.

4 July 1918, Thursday (-9,805) Alec Bedser, cricketer, was born

2 July 1918, Tuesday (-9,807) Albert Sirmay, composer, was born in Budapest (died 15 January 1967 in New York)

1 July 1918, Monday (-9,808) A catastrophic explosion at the Chilwell munitions plant near Nottingham killed 134 workers. The women who worked there making nitrogen-based explosives were known as �Canary Girls�, because the chemicals turned their skin yellow and hair green. The blast was heard 30 miles away, but news of it was suppressed. The Chilwell factory had produced 19 million shells, half of those used by British forces during the First World War. Of the 7,000 surviving workers, all but 12 were back working at Chilwell the day after.

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26 June 1918. Wednesday (-9,813) The Bolshevik government in Russia faced enemies on all; sides. In the south, General Anton Denikin had seized large parts of the Caucasus and Ukraine. In the north bands of anti-Bolsheviks roamed at will. Former Czech prisoners of war had organised themselves into the Czech legion and had seized Osmk on the Trans-Siberian railway. Over 100 British marines had landed at Murmansk to keep the Bolsheviks out of that port.

24 June 1918, Monday (-9,815) A large German howitzer called Big Bertha began firing shells on Paris.

22 June 1918, Saturday (-9,817) Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the palliative care movement, was born (died 14 July 2005)

20 June 1918, Thursday (-9,819) After protests, the UK Government cancelled Irish conscription. See 18 April 1918.

18 June 1918, Tuesday (-9,821) The UK Government asked for a further War Loan of �500 million. General rationing in the UK began on 19 June 1918.

17 June 1918, Monday (-9,822) The last German air raid of World War One on London.

15 June 1918, Saturday (-9,824) The Austrians began an offensive against the Italians along the Piave River Front; they were attempting to break through to the fertile farmlands of the Veneto.� See 23 October 1918.

13 June 1918. Thursday (-9,826) A Turkish offensive in Palestine was halted.

10 June 1918, Monday (-9,829) The Battle of Belleau Wood ended.

9 June 1918, Sunday (-9,830) Germany opened an offensive near Compeigne.

8 June 1918, Saturday (-9,831) (Biology) Francis H Crick was born in Northampton, UK. In 1953, along with James Dewey Watson (born Chicago, USA, 6 April 1928) he developed the double-helix model for DNA.

6 June 1918, Thursday (-9,833) Battle of Belleau Wood began. The first major US-German conflict; the USA under General Bundy gained a hrd-won victory over Ludendorff.

4 June 1918, Tuesday (-9,835) Charles Warren Fairbanks, US statesman, died in Indianapolis, Indiana (born 11 May 1852 in Ohio).

3 June 1918. Monday (-9,836) British postal charges were raised from 1d to 1 � d for a letter and 1d for a postcard.

1 June 1918, Saturday (-9,838) Nathalie Krassovska, ballerina, was born (died 8 February 2005).

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28 May 1918, Tuesday (-9,842) Azerbaijan officially proclaimed its independence.� Se 27 April 1920.

27 May 1918, Monday (-9,843) The Germans took Soissons in a thrust towards Paris.

26 May 1918, Sunday (-9,844) The short-lived Transcaucasian Republic broke up.

25 May 1918, Saturday (-9,845)

24 May 1918, Friday (-9,846) First performance of Bela Bartok�s opera A Kekszakallu Herceg Vara (Duke Bluebeard�s Castle) in Budapest.

23 May 1918. Thursday (-9,847) Georgia declared independence from Russia.

21 May 1918, Tuesday (-9,849)

20 May 1918, Monday (-9,850) (Earthquake) Severe earthquake in Chile.

19 May 1918. Sunday (-9,851) Britain jailed 500 Sinn Fein members, including Eamon De Valera.

18 May 1918, Saturday (-9,852) To curb growing revolutionary power in Ireland, the British Government declared Sinn Fein and the Irish Volunteers (now IRA) to be illegal organisations.

17 May 1918, Friday (-9,853) Birgit Nilsson, Swedish opera singer, was born (died 1999)

16 May 1918, Thursday (-9,854) Wilfred Mannion, footballer, was born.

15 May 1918, Wednesday (-9,855) (Aviation) The US inaugurated the world�s first regular air mail service between New York and Washington. The US Navy operated the service, for the US Post Office.

14 May 1918, Tuesday (-9,856)

12 May 1918, Sunday (-9,858) Julius Rosenberg was born (see 19 June 1953).

11 May 1918, Saturday (-9,859) US quantum physicist Richard Feynman was born (died 1988).

10 May 1918, Friday (-9,860) John Thompson, rackets champion, was born.

9 May 1918, Thursday (-9,861) British troops averted a German attack on Ostend, Belgium.

7 May 1918. Tuesday (-9,863) Romania signed a peace treaty with Germany (The Fourth Treaty of Bucharest).� Southern Dobruja was transferred from Romania to Bulgaria; Bulgaria had been seeking the whole of the Dobruja.� See 27 November 1919.

3 May 1918, Friday (-9,867) Mona Inglesby, ballerina, was born (died 6 October 2006)

2 May 1918, Thursday (-9,868) Alastair Forbes, writer, was born.

1 May 1918, Wednesday (-9,869)

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30 April 1918, Tuesday (-9,870) US troops were now arriving in France at the rate of 30,000 a month.

29 April 1918. Monday (-9,871) (1) (Germany) The last big German offensive on the Western Front petered out.

(2) At the Battle of Vyborg the White Army, with German forces, forced a mass surrender of Red Communists. 12.000 were taken prisoner. A short �reign of terror� now began in Finland , as thousands of suspected Communists were killed.

28 April 1918, Sunday (-9,872)

26 April 1918, Friday (-9,874) The Turks captured Kars, Caucasus, from Russia, however their cause was doomed as General Allenby made major gains in Palestine.

25 April 1918, Thursday (-9,875) Ella Fitzgerald, US jazz singer, was born (died 1996).

24 April 1918, Wednesday (-9,876) One of the first tank-to-tank battles occurred near Amiens, northern France.

23 April 1918. Tuesday (-9,877) (1) (Ireland) In Ireland, a one-day strike against conscription was widely supported, except in Ulster.

(2) British forces raided Zeebrugge. They accomplished their objective of sinking concrete-filled British ships in the harbour entrance to block it, bottling up German submarines.

22 April 1918, Monday (-9,878) Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan united to form the short-lived Transcaucasian Republic, see 26 May 1918.

21 April 1918, Sunday (-9,879) Manfred von Richtofen, the �Red Baron�, German World War One air ace, was shot down and died in his famous red tri-plane behind British lines.

20 April 1918, Saturday (-9,880) (Science) Karl Ferdinand Braun, German physicist, died in New York City.

19 April 1918, Friday (-9,881) Alfred Milner became British War Secretary.

18 April 1918, Thursday (-9,882) In Britain, the age of military conscription was raised to 50, and extended to cover Ireland. See 20 June 1918. Sinn Fein, the Nationalists and the British labour Party all resisted this.

17 April 1918, Wednesday (-9,883) William Holden, actor, was born in Illinois, USA.

16 April 1918, Tuesday (-9,884) Spike Milligan, British-Irish actor and comedian, was born.

15 April 1918, Monday (-9,885) 14 German ships were sunk in the Kattegat.

14 April 1918, Sunday (-9,886) (1) Following the collapse of the Russians, Turkey captured Batumi on the Black Sea.� See 26 April 1918.

(2) In Finland, German General Goltz captured Helsinki from the Communists, see 3 March 1918.

13 April 1918, Saturday (-9,887) Battle of the Lys. The First Australian Division halted the German Sixth Army advance towards Hazebrouck, France.

12 April 1918, Friday (-9,888) Battle of the Lys. The German Sixth Army pushed towards Hazebrouck, France, and captured Merville.

11 April 1918, Thursday (-9,889) Austria formally recognised French sovereignty over Alsace and Lorraine.

10 April 1918, Wednesday (-9,890) (Austria) A congress of Austrian-subject peoples was held in Rome.

9 April 1918. Tuesday (-9,891) (1) (Germany) Germany launched a major offensive at Ypres. Reinforced by the arrival of 70 divisions freed up on the eastern front by the capitulation of Russia, Germany tried to knock the western Allies out of the war before new American troops could arrive. However instead of concentrating his attack here on the British forces, Ludendorff ordered secondary attacks on the French sector of the front at Chemin des Dames on 27 May 1918 and west of Reims on 15 July 1918. The Allied line held and a major counter offensive was launched on 18 July 1918.

(2) Latvia declared its independence.

8 April 1918, Monday (-9,892) Betty Ford, US President Ford�s wife, was born.

7 April 1918, Sunday (-9,893) Isaac Rosenberg, English poet, was killed in action in France.

6 April 1918. Saturday (-9,894) (1) US, British, and Japanese troops landed at Vladivostock.

(2) In Finland, German General Mannerheim captured Tampere from the Communists, see 3 March 1918.

5 April 1918, Friday (-9,895) Allied troops landed in Murmansk, Russia.

4 April 1918, Thursday (-9,896) Battle of Rautu. A force of 2,000 Finnish White Guards launched a second offensive against the Finnish Red Guards, who were running low on ammunition and supplies.

3 April 1918, Wednesday (-9,897) Sixten Ehrling, conductor, was born (died 13 February 2005)

2 April 1918, Tuesday (-9,898) (Universities) Cape Town University, South Africa, was inaugurated, with the Price of Wales as its first Chancellor.

1 April 1918. Monday (-9,899) The Royal Air Force was formed, by amalgamating the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.� Lord Rothermere at the Air Ministry in The Strand, London, was in charge.

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31 March 1918, Sunday (-9.900) Easter Sunday. Battle of Rautu, The Finnish Red Guards were able to beat back the Finnish White Guard offensive.

30 March 1918, Saturday (-9,901) First Battle of Amman. A British night attack on Amman, Jordan failed, forcing the Egyptian Expeditionary Force to retreat back to the Jordan River.

29 March 1918, Friday (-9,902) In Quebec, Canada, the Compulsory Military Service Act of September 1917 provoked such severe rioting from this day until 2 April 1917 that 4 civilians were killed.

28 March 1918, Thursday (-9901) Ludendorff launched Operation Mars against the left wing of the British Third Army, to force a salient into Allied lines, but he was repulsed.

27 March 1918, Wednesday (-9,904) Henry Brooks Adams, historian, novelist and philosopher, died (born 16 February 1838).

26 March 1918, Tuesday (-9,905) (1) In Minsk the independent Byelorussian National Republic was declared.

(2) The Battle of Rosieres, northern France, began.

25 March 1918, Monday (-9,906) Claude Debussy, French composer, died of cancer in London aged 55.

24 March 1918, Sunday, (-9,907) The Battle of Baupame, northern France, began.

23 March 1918. Saturday (-9,908) Ludendorff made a tactical error. Believing the Allied forces were already almost defeated, he failed to set definite objectives for his offensive and simply made general thrusts, gaining territory to the north west, west and south west, towards Beauvais and Paris. However he should have concentrated his efforts towards capturing the strategic rail junction of Amiens, whose loss would have forced the Allies to the negotiating table before US troops could be fully deployed. Meanwhile German troops shelled Paris from a distance of 75 miles, using a large gun called �Big Bertha�.

22 March 1918, Friday (-9,909) Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana, was born.

21 March 1918. Thursday (-9,910) Major German offensive began on the Somme. This was Ludendorff�s desperate bid for victory before American troops could become effective.� British casualties were over 300,000, and the Germans advanced on a 50 mile-wide front, in an attempt to reach the Channel ports, and drive a wedge between the British and French Armies, but the German advance was halted.

20 March 1918, Wednesday (-9,911) Marian McPartland, US jazz musician, was born in Slough, England (died 2013)

19 March 1918, Tuesday (-9,912) (USA, Railways Social) US Congress passed the Standard Time Act making the 4 US time zones official.

13 March 1918, Wednesday (-9,918) In Britain, it was announced that the minimum school leaving age was to be raised to 14, from 13; this measure was implemented in December 1918 under the Education Act.

9 March 1918, Saturday (-9,922) Frank Morison Spillane, author, was born (died 17 July 2006)

8 March 1918, Friday (-9,923) Charles Adams, US poet (born 21 April 1842) died.

7 March 1918, Thursday (-9,924) Bonar Law asked the UK Commons for another war loan of �600 million.

6 March 1918, Wednesday (-9,925) (Russia) In Russia, at the 7^th Party Congress in Moscow, the Bolshevik Party was renamed the Communist Party.

5 March 1918. Tuesday (-9,926) (Russia) Moscow was declared the new capital of Russia, in place of Petrograd.

4 March 1918, Monday (-9,927) (Medical) The first recorded case of Spanish flu, in a US soldier at Cape Funston, a military base in Kansas.

3 March 1918. Sunday (-9,928) The Bolshevik government in Russia signed the Treaty of Brest Litovsk with the Germans. Lenin insisted on signing, against the wishes of Trotsky.� Trotsky wanted the Communist Revolution to spread throughout Germany, but Lenin feared the rapid advance of German troops into Russia, approaching Petrograd. Russia lost heavily in terms of land and industry (Russia lost 56 million inhabitants, 79% of its iron, and 89% of its coal production), but the Bolsheviks needed peace at any cost before their new and shaky administration was overthrown, by Germany or by anti-Bolshevik White Russians and Czechoslovak troops.� Under this Treaty, Finland regained its independence from Russia.� The Baltic Republics were ceded to Germany.� Communists (recruited from Finnish labourers) joined Red Guards� to try and re-establish Communist control in Finland.� Germany moved in to repulse them.� See 6 April 1918.� Turkey regained territories lost to Russia even in 1877.

2 March 1918, Saturday (-9,929) Martin Flannery, UK Labour politician, was born (died 16 October 2006).

1 March 1918, Friday (-9,930) Ukrainian military commander Symon Petliura, with support from Germany, pushed Russian forces out of Kiev.

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28 February 1918, Thursday (-9,931) Alfred Burke, actor, was born

27 February 1918, Wednesday (-9,932) The British hospital ship Glenart Castle was sunk by a U-boat.

26 February 1918, Tuesday (-9,933) 604 were killed in Hong Kong when the stands at the Hong Kong Jockey Club collapsed and caught fire.

25 February 1918. Monday (-9,934) (1) Rationing of meat, butter, and margarine began in London and the Home Counties.

(2) Minsk was occupied by the Germans.

24 February 1918. Sunday (-9,935) Estonia declared its independence.

23 February 1918, Saturday (-9,936) Battle of Rautu, Finland. Finnish Red Guards were forced to retreat from Rautu, and were encircled on three sides by Finnish White Guards days later, with the only escape route leading back to Petrograd. The Red Guards dug trenches and began holding off White Guard attacks for several weeks.

22 February 1918. Friday (-9,937) The world�s tallest man, Robert Wadlow, was born, weighing 8 � lbs. He grew to 8 foot 11 � inches in height and weighed 31 stone 5 lbs, when he died in 1940.

21 February 1918. Thursday (-9,938) Australian cavalry captured Jericho from the Turks.

19 February 1918, Tuesday (-9,940)

18 February 1918, Monday (-9,941) Germany launched a big offensive on the Russian Front.

17 February 1918, Sunday (-9,942) the Bolsheviks seized power in Archangel.

16 February 1918, Saturday (-9,943) Lithuania declared its independence from Russia.

15 February 1918, Friday (-9,244) Invasion of Aland. Sweden landed forces at Eckero on the Aland Islands to safeguard Swedish-held territory from the White Guards.

14 February 1918, Thursday (-9,945) The Soviet Union adopted the Gregorian Calendar. The previous day had been 31 January in Russia

13 February 1918, Wednesday (+9,946) Patty Berg, golfer, was born (died 10 September 2006).

12 February 1918, Tuesday (-9,947) In New York, all Broadway theatres closed so as to save coal for the US War effort.

11 February 1918, Monday (-9,948) Chaim Weizmann was appointed to head a commission on Jewish colonies in Palestine.

10 February 1918, Sunday (-9,949) Abdul-Hamid II, Sultan of Turkey from 31 August 1876, died (born 21 September 1842).

9 February 1918. Saturday (-9,950) Ukraine signed a separate peace treaty with Germany.

8 February 1918, Friday (-9,951) The Bolsheviks seized power in Kiev.

7 February 1918, Thursday (-9,952) The Bolsheviks seized power in Astrakhan.

6 February 1918. Wednesday (-9,953) (1) Married women in Britain aged over 30 got the vote, as did all men over 21, under the Representation of the People Act. See 14 December 1918.

(2) A deposit of �150 was required from UK Parliamentary candidates.

5 February 1918, Tuesday (-9,954) Soviet�Ukrainian War. 7,000 Soviet soldiers marched on Kiev but met little resistance from the Ukrainian garrison

4 February 1918, Monday (-9,955) Ida Lupino, actress, was born.

3 February 1918, Sunday (-9,956)

1 February 1918, Friday (-9,958) German air raid on Paris killed 45.

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31 January 1918, Thursday (-9,959) The Bolsheviks seized power in Orenburg.

30 January 1918, Wednesday (-9,960) The Commons rejected the Lords� proposal for proportional representation.

29 January 1918, Tuesday (-9,961) John Forsythe, actor, was born.

28 January 1918. Monday (-9,962) (1) A general workers strike began in Berlin.

(2) Lenin created a Red Army and the Cheka, a security police force.

(3) The Finnish coalition Government, headed by Pehr Svinhufud (1861-1944) was overthrown by Bolshevik-backed Finnish radicals, starting a civil war. The north of Finland was controlled by the Whites under Baron Mannerheim (1867-1951), who opposed Bolshevism; the south was controlled by Red Guards, who helf the capital, Helsinki.

27 January 1918, Sunday (-9,963) The Bolsheviks seized power in Nikolayev.

26 January 1918, Saturday (-9,964) Nicolae Ceausescu, dictator of Romania, was born (died 1989).

25 January 1918, Friday (-9,965)

23 January 1918, Wednesday (-9,967) The UK Government ordered restaurants to have two �meatless� days a week.

22 January 1918, Tuesday (-9,968) (Communications) Radio-telegraphic communication was inaugurated between the USA and Italy.

21 January 1918, Monday (-9,969) The New York Philharmonic Orchestra banned all performances of works composed by living Germans.

20 January 1918, Sunday (-9,970) The German naval base at Ostend was bombarded by Allied ships.

19 January 1918, Saturday (-9,971) (Britain) The training ship Warspite was destroyed by fire.

18 January 1918, Friday (-9,972)

17 January 1918, Thursday (-9,973) (Britain) Sir Keith Joseph, British politician, was born.

16 January 1918, Wednesday (-9,974) Stirling Silliphant, writer, was born.

15 January 1918, Tuesday (-9,975) (Egypt) Gamal Nasser, the first President of Egypt, was born in Alexandria.

13 January 1918, Sunday (-9,977)

12 January 1918, Saturday (-9,978) (Weather) Chicago isolated by a severe blizzard.

11 January 1918, Friday (-9,979) The Bolsheviks seized power in Yekaterinoslav.

10 January 1918, Thursday (-9,980) In Britain the House of Lords approved the Representation of the People Bill, giving women the vote. In Washington the House of Representatives also voted in favour of suffrage for women.

9 January 1918, Wednesday (-9,981) U.S troops engaged Yaqui Amerindian warriors in the Battle of Bear Valley in Arizona, a minor skirmish and one of the last battles of the American Indian Wars between the United States and Indigenous Americans.

8 January 1918, Tuesday (-9,982) Recruiting began in Britain for the WRNS; the Women�s Royal Naval Service.

4 January 1918, Friday (-9,986) Russia recognised Finnish independence.

1 January 1918, Tuesday (-9,989) Sugar rationing began in Britain.

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31 December 1917, Monday (-9,990) (Food, Britain, Germany) During the year 1917 German submarines sank 6,500,000 tons of Allied shipping whilst only 2,700,000 tons was built. In April 1917 Britain had only two months� worth of food stocks. However with US destroyer patrols searching for German submarines, escorted transatlantic convoys and the mining of the seas between Scotland and Norway, Allied losses were dramatically reduced and after April 1918 never exceeded 200,000 tons a month.

30 December 1917, Sunday (-9,991) Election-related riots in Quebec; city placed under martial law.

29 December 1917, Saturday (-9,992) (Earthquake) Earthquake in Guatemala City made 125,000 homeless.

27 December 1917, Thursday (-9,994) The US Government took over the American railways.
24 December 1917, Monday (-9,997) The Bolsheviks seized power in Kharkov.

23 December 1917, Sunday (-9,998) In Australia, a referendum rejected the idea of conscription.

22 December 1917. Saturday (-9,999) The Bolsheviks opened peace talks with Germany and Austria. The Allies accused |Russia of betrayal.

21 December 1917, Friday (-10,000) Wilhelm Trubner, German painter, died (born 1851)

20 December 1917, Thursday (-10,001) The Cheka, a predecessor to the KGB, was established in Russia after a decree issued by Vladimir Lenin.

19 December 1917, Wednesday (-10,002) Graham Sharpe, champion figure skater, was born (died 2/1 /1995).

18 December 1917, Tuesday (-10,003) The United States Congress submitted Prohibition legislation to the states. The 18^th Amendment was known as the Volstead Act, after its chief sponsor, Andrew Volstead of Minnesota. It took a further 13 months for the necessary three quarters of US states to ratify the Act for it to become law, see 16 January 1919.

17 December 1917. Monday (-10,004) Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Britain�s first woman doctor, died.

16 December 1917, Sunday (-10,005) Arthur C Clarke, British science-fiction writer, was born.

15 December 1917, Saturday (-10,006) The Bolsheviks seized power in Kostroma.

14 December 1917, Friday (-10,007) The Bolsheviks seized power in Novorossiysk.

13 December 1917, Thursday (-10,008) The first German airline was founded. Known initially as Deutsche Luft Reederie, it was the forerunner of Lufthansa.

12 December 1917, Wednesday (-10,009) The world�s worst train accident occurred, at Modane, France.� 534 were killed.

11 December 1917, Tuesday (-10,110) (Christian) Owen Snedden, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington from 1962 to 1981, was born in Auckland (died 1981).

10 December 1917, Monday (-10,011) Italy torpedoed the Austrian warship Wien in Trieste.

9 December 1917. Sunday (-10,012) (Turkey) Jerusalem was surrendered by the Turks to the British under General Allenby, who had advanced from Gaza in 10/1917 into Judaea and on to Jerusalem. The Turks had ruled Jerusalem since its capture from the Crusaders in 1244.

8 December 1917, Saturday (-10,013) The Bolsheviks seized power in Vyatka.

7 December 1917. Friday (-10,014) The USA declared war on Austria.

6 December 1917. Thursday (-10,015) (1) Finland declared complete independence from Russia.�

(2) As the Russian Army disintegrated after the October Revolution into bands of raiders, Romania and Russia signed an armistice.

5 December 1917. Wednesday (-10,016) Russia signed an armistice with Germany, at Brest-Litovsk.

4 December 1917, Tuesday (-10,017) British troops encountered no resistance on the main road between Hebron and Jerusalem.

3 December 1917, Monday (-10,018) (1) The Quebec Bridge over the St Lawrence River opened.� 87 lives were lost during its construction.

(2) Britain refused to recognise Bolshevik Russia.� Meanwhile German and Austrian delegates met at Brest-Litovsk to end Russian participation in World War One, see 3 March 1918.

2 December 1917, Sunday (-10,019) The first official handball match was played in Berlin.

1 December 1917. Saturday (-10,020) German East Africa cleared of German forces.

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

30 November 1917, Friday (-10,021) German counter-attack at Cambria.

29 November 1917, Thursday (-10,022) The Inter Allied War Conference opened. Lloyd George of Britain, Georges Clemenceau of France and Baron Sidney Sonnino of Italy were concerned that US soldiers and material quickly reach the front lines against Germany, since post-Revolution Russia had ceased fighting.

28 November 1917, Wednesday (-10,023) Marni Hodgkin, US� children's book editor, was born in New York City (died 2015)

27 November 1917, Tuesday (-10,024) The Bolsheviks seized power in Novgorod.

26 November 1917, Monday (-10,025) The National Hockey League was formed in Canada, with four treams. The first US team was admitted in 1924.

23 November 1917, Friday (-10,028)

21 November 1917, Wednesday (-10,030) Douglas Smith, champion jockey, was born (died 11 April 1989).

20 November 1917. Tuesday (-10,031) (1) Major British tank offensive at Cambrai.� The Battle of Cambrai ended on 3 December 1917.

(2) The Republic of the Ukraine was declared.

19 November 1917. Monday (-10,032) (1) A Revolutionary Council was established in Petrograd, with Leon Trotsky as leader.

(2) Indira Ghandi born in Allahabad.� India�s first woman Prime Minister, she was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru.

18 November 1917, Sunday (-10,033) Pedro Infante, Mexican actor and singer, was born.

17 November 1917, Saturday (-10,034) Death of sculptor Auguste Rodin, aged 77.

16 November 1917. Friday (-10,035) Bolshevik troops took Moscow.

15 November 1917, Thursday (-10,036) General Allenby advanced to within three miles of Jaffa.

14 November 1917. Wednesday (-10,037) Jaffa (Joppa) was captured by the British, under General Allenby, from the Turks.

13 November 1917. Tuesday (-10,038) In London, bankers and Chambers of Commerce called for the decimalisation of the British currency.

12 November 1917, Monday (-10,039) Austrian forces established a bridgehead at Zenson, 20 miles north-east of Venice.

11 November 1917, Sunday (-10,040) Liliuokalani, Queen of Hawaii, died.

10 November 1917, Saturday (-10,041) The Third Battle of Ypres ended, see 31 July 1917. The plans of British General Haig to break through the German lines was in tatters; all the Allies had gained was a few square miles of swamp and an obliterated village, after 156 days of fighting and 250,000 deaths, at Paschaendaele. The tremors from the mining of the� Messines Ridge had been felt in Downing Street. That August had been the wettest in living memory, turning the ground into an impassable quagmire; Allied troops faced death by drowning as much as by gunfire. The constant shelling had disrupted the system of dykes and streams which drained the flat fields of Flanders. Meanwhile in Palestine, British forces captured Tel-Aviv.

9 November 1917. Friday (-10,042) Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, unveiled plans for a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. The message was conveyed to the Zionist representative, Baron Rothschild. The British Wear cabinet, under David Lloyd George, believed that Zionist support would help the war effort, especially against the Ottoman Turks. Arabs outnumbered Jews by ten to one in Palestine but Zionist leaders like Dr Chaim Weizmann would try and build up their numbers.

8 November 1917, Thursday (-10,043) In Russia, The People's Commissars gave authority to Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin.

7 November 1917 (25/10 in Russia). Wednesday (-10,044) The Bolshevik Revolution, which led to the world�s first Communist Government under Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov Lenin. Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky�s government was overthrown. See 6 March 1918.

6 November 1917. Tuesday (-10,045) Canadian troops captured the village of Passchendaele, during the Third Battle of Ypres.

5 November 1917. Monday (-10,046) American troops under General Pershing went into action for the first time on the Western Front.

4 November 1917, Sunday (-10,047) Leopoldo Franchetti, Italian politician, died (born 1847). He was one of the first Italian politicians to lead an inquiry into the Sicilian Mafia

3 November 1917, Saturday (-10,048) Dr Conor Cruise O�Brien, author, was born.

2 November 1917. Friday (-10,049) UK foreign secretary Arthur Balfour stated British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, to Lord Rothschild. The Balfour Declaration gained Jewish support during World War I, and in 1945 sparked a flood of Jewish refugees to Palestine after World War II. This led to clashes with both Arabs and the British administration. Britain withdrew in 1948; the State of Israel was proclaimed on 14 May 1948.

1 November 1917, Thursday (-10,050) In Germany, Count von Hertling was appointed Chancellor.

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

31 October 1917. Wednesday (-10,051) (1) The Italian army was shattered unexpectedly by a German onslaught in northern Italy and was retreating towards the Piave River, just 15 miles from Venice. The Italian Second Army had held the Austrians off during 1916 and had captured the fortress of Monte Santo only 2 months earlier. The Italians had seemed well dug in around the mountains of Caporetto and Udine. However a heavy creeping artillery barrage by the Germans and gas attacks drove the Italians back. Morale collapsed within the Italian army, and despite roadblocks and court martials, up to half a million soldiers deserted.� A further 300,000 Italian soldiers were captured by the Germans, and the Italians lost 10,000 dead and 30,000 wounded in the German attacks.

(2) British forces under General Allenby captured Beersheba from the Turks. This opened the way for the British capture of Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine. Meanwhile on 16 May 1916 Britain and France had secretly signed the Sykes-Picot agreement to divided up the Ottoman Lands in the Middle East after the War. France was to get the north-western half of the Fertile Crescent, that is Syria and Lebanon; Britain was to get the south-east, Jordan and Iraq. The Catholic church wanted French control of the Mediterranean coast, where many Maronite Christians lived, and Britain wanted French lands between them and the Russians to the north. Britain retained an air corridor to Iraq through Jordan; Britain was dropping poison gas on rebellious Iraqi Arabs. France divided off Lebanon as a Christian Republic from Syria; it also divided off Hatay and gave that to Syria, due to lobbying from Hatay�s Turkish minority. The Allies also considered giving Palestine to Belgium. They also, at the Treaty of Sevres (10 August 1920) backed the formation of a Kurdish State, but refused to allow the Kurds in Iraq or Syria to be part of this State; the idea never materialised.

30 October 1917, Tuesday (-10,052) Anna Marly, singer, was born (died 15 February 2006)

29 October 1917, Monday (-10,053) The Merriwa railway line in New South Wales, Australia was completed.

28 October 1917, Sunday (-10,054) Vittorio Orlando became Italian Prime Minister.

26 October 1917, Friday (-10,056)

24 October 1917, Wednesday (-10,058) The Austrian offensive against Italy was halted on the Piave River.� Boroevics army was so reduced by Italian forces during August and September 1917� that Germany and Austria feared a collapse of Austro-Hungary.

23 October 1917, Tuesday (-10,059) The Battle of Caporetto began.

22 October 1917, Monday (-10,060) The Trans-Australia Railway opened, from Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta.

21 October 1917, Sunday (-10,061) Dizzie Gillespie, US jazz musician, was born (died 1993).

20 October 1917. Saturday (-10,062) 4 Zeppelins were shot down over France after raids on the UK.

15 October 1917. Monday (-10,067) The legendary Dutch spy Mata Hari, who danced in the nude, was executed by a firing squad in Paris, having been found guilty of espionage for the Germans.

11 October 1917, Thursday (-10,071) Thelonius Sphere Monk, US jazz pianist, was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina (died 17 February 1982 in Englewood, New Jersey)

10 October 1917, Wednesday (-10,072) Thelonius Monk, jazz pianist, was born.

9 October 1917, Tuesday (-10,073) Stalin joined the Bolshevik Committee.

8 October 1917, Monday ((-10,074) George Webb, British pianist, was born in London

7 October 1917, Sunday (-10,075) Uruguay broke off diplomatic relations with Germany.

6 October 1917, Saturday (-10,076) Fannie Lou Hamer, US Equal Rights activist, chief organizer of Freedom Summer, was born in Montgomery County, Mississippi (died 1977)

5 October 1917. Friday (-10,077) Sir Arthur Lee donated Chequers to the nation as a country retreat for British Prime Ministers.

4 October 1917, Thursday (-10,078) British victory on Passchendaele Ridge.

3 October 1917, Wednesday (-10,079) The Battle of Polygon Wood (Ypres) ended.

2 October 1917, Tuesday (-10,080) (Biology) Rene de Duve, cytologist, was born in Thames Ditton, England. In 1974 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for electron microscopy and cell structure studies.

1 October 1917. Monday (-10,081) (1) Air raids on London.

(2) Damascus fell to General Allenby.

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

30 September 1917. Sunday (-10,082) The ex-Tsar and family were exiled to Siberia.

27 September 1917, Thursday (-10,085) The painter Edgar Degas died, aged 83 (born 19 July 1834, in Paris).

25 September 1917, Tuesday (-10,087) Argentina broke off diplomatic relations with Germany.

20 September 1917. Thursday (-10,092) The first RSPCA animal clinic was opened in Liverpool.

17 September 1917, Monday (-10,095) German forces took Riga.

15 September 1917. Saturday (-10,097) (1) Russia was declared a Republic with a provisional government, by Soviet Party Prime Minister Aleksandr Kerenski.

(2) China offered the Allies 15,000 troops to fight on the Western Front.

14 September 1917. Friday (-10,098) German submarine shelled Scarborough.

13 September 1917, Thursday (-10,099) Robert Ward, American composer, was born (died 2013)

12 September 1917, Wednesday (-10,100) (Atomic) Leo James Rainwater was born in Council, Idaho. In 1949 he worked on the idea that the atomic nucleus was not spherical.

11 September 1917, Tuesday (-10,101) Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines, was born.

10 September 1917, Monday (-10,102) Masahiko Kimura, Japanese wrestler, was born in Kumamoto, Japan (died 1993)

9 September 1917, Sunday (-10,103) Florence Syers, ice skater, died.

6 September 1917, Thursday (-10,106)

4 September 1917, Tuesday (-10,108) (Russia) Trotsky was released from prison on bail, and, with Lenin absent, assumed leadership of the Bolshevik Party. However Trotsky was seen as high-handed, which alienated many Bolsheviks, and Stalin had more support than Trotsky did.

3 September 1917, Monday (-10.109) Gwion Davies, explorer of the Antarctic, was born (died 22 June 2005).

2 September 1917, Sunday (-10,110) Major German night time air raid on Dover.

1 September 1917, Saturday (-10,111) German offensive against Russia; Riga fell to the Germans.

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

30 August 1917. Thursday (-10,113) Denis Healey, British Labour politician, was born.

26 August 1917, Sunday (-10,117) Lord King of Wartnaby, Chairman of British Airways, was born (died 12 July 2005).

25 August 1917, Saturday (-10,118) Lawrence and the Arab forces took Aqaba.

22 August 1917, Wednesday (-10,121) John Lee Hooker, singer, was born.

20 August 1917, Monday (-10,123) (1) Over 100 killed in an air raid on Thanet and Sheppey.

(2) The French broke through the Verdun front on an 11 mile wide offensive.

(3) (Russia) In elections to the Petrograd City Council, the Bolsheviks did well, securing nearly a third of the vote, just behind the Socialist revolutionaries. Kerensky, favoured by the Right and the aristocracy, was looking insecure.

18 August 1917, Saturday (-10,125) Caspar Weinberger, US Republican politician and Secretary of Defence for Ronald Reagan, was born in San Francisco.

17 August 1917, Friday (-10,126) Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo; Italy made minor gains.

16 August 1917, Thursday (-10,127) British forces began a new offensive in Flanders.

15 August 1917, Wednesday (-10,128) In Lausanne Dmowski formed a Polish National Committee, It was almost a government-in-exile, recognised by the Allies as representing Polish interests.

14 August 1917. Tuesday (-10,129) China declared war on Germany and Austria.

13 August 1917, Monday (-10,130) In Spain, Catalonia revolted over demands for home rule.

10 August 1917, Friday (-10,133)

7 August 1917, Tuesday (-10,136) Basil Hood, British dramatist, died in London (born 5 April 1864 in Yorkshire)

6 August 1917, Monday (-10,137) Robert Mitchum, Hollywood actor, was born in Connecticut, USA.

5 August 1917, Sunday (-10,138) Battle of Passchendaele. German troops launched a surprise attack against British units near Hollebeke, Belgium, capturing the village, although it was later abandoned.

4 August 1917. Saturday (-10,139) The US said avoiding conscription could be punished with execution.

3 August 1917, Friday (-10.140) German sailors mutinied at Wilhelmshaven.

2 August 1917, Thursday (-10,141) (Russia) Conclusion of the secretly-held Bolshevik Sixth Congress (from 26 July 1917). Lenin was still in hiding in Finland, which was gaining independence from Russia.

1 August 1917, Wednesday (-10,142) London Underground extended the Bakerloo line with a new tube station at Stonebridge Park.

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

31 July 1917. Tuesday (-10,143) The Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) began, see 10 November 1917.

30 July 1917, Monday (-10,144) An earthquake measuring 6.9 in magnitude struck Sichuan, China, killing an estimated 1,800 people and causing heavy damage to the area.

29 July 1917, Sunday (-10,145) Taking advantage of Revolutionary chaos, the Finns announced they would declare their independence from Russia.

28 July 1917, Saturday (-10,146) The formation of the Royal Tank Corps in the British Army was authorised.

27 July 1917, Friday (-10,147) (Medical) Surgeon Emil Theodor Kocher died.

26 July 1917, Thursday (-10,148) Richard Burnell, champion rower, was born (died 29 January 1995).

25 July 1917, Wednesday (-10,149) Mata Hari, a Dutchwoman called Margaretha Geetruida Macleod (nee Zelle), aged 41, who used her charms to tempt French Army officers to betray military secrets, was found guilty of spying by a military court (despite very little evidence of her guilt) and sentenced to death by firing squad. She was initially hired by the French to spy in German-occupied Belgium.

24 July 1917, Tuesday (-10,150) UK MPs were alarmed to discover the war was costing Britain �7 million per day.

23 July 1917, Monday (-10,151) Russian forces retreated in the face of the Austro-Hungarian and German advance and gave up 240 kilometres of territory in Galicia, ending the Kerensky offensive with an estimated 60,000 casualties.

22 July 1917, Sunday (-10,152) In Greece, King Constantine was forced to abdicate.

21 July 1917, Saturday (-10,153) Alexander Kerensky, formerly Russian Minister for War, now headed a provisional Government in Russia, replacing that of Prince Lviv.

20 July 1917, Friday (-10,154) The Pact of Corfu proclaimed the Union of South Slavs, or Yugoslavia.� When Serbia was invaded in World War One, the Serbs established a government in exile on Corfu.� The Serbian Prime Minister Paslic agreed with the leader of the south Serbs, Ante Trumbic, that the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Montenegrins, should unite to form a single state; Yugoslavia.� In the 1920s, Serbia came to dominate this union, and other national groups claimed Paslic had tricked Trumbic at Corfu.

19 July 1917. Thursday (-10,155) Mutinies broke out in the German Navy. The German Reichstag passed a motion to end the war.

18 July 1917, Wednesday (-10,156) Lou Boudreau, athlete, was born.

17 July 1917. Tuesday (-10,157) Churchill returned to UK government as Minister for Munitions.

16 July 1917. Monday (-10,158) (1) The provisional government in Petrograd, Russia, crushed the Bolshevik uprising. The Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, fled to a series of safe houses, finding refuge in Finland. However on 7 November 1917 Kerensky, leader of the Russian provisional government, was ousted by Lenin.

(2) The War was going badly for the Russians, with low morale and mass desertions, as the Russian revolution progressed.

15 July 1917, Sunday (-10,159) US Congress passed the Espionage Act. Section 1� introduced heavy penalties, of up to 20 years in prison, for anyone causing insubordination or disloyalty in the armed forces, or obstructing recruitment; 2,000 prosecutions were brought under this measure. The Act also empowered the US Postmaster to exclude from the mail any material in violation of Section 1.

14 July 1917, Saturday (-10,160) General Pershing, 57, arrived in Paris to set up the headquarters of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF).

13 July 1917, Friday (-10,161) Thomas Cannon, champion jockey, died (born 23 April 1846).

12 July 1917, Thursday (-10,162) First Battle of Ramadi. Unable to organize any attack on open ground due to searing heat, British forces were forced to retreat during the night while hounded by a force of 1,500 pro-Turkish Arabs.

11 July 1917, Wednesday (-10,163) Yul Brynner, US actor, was born.

9 July 1917, Monday (-10,165) US President Woodrow Wilson placed the export of food, fuel, iron and steel under Government control, and sent warships to join the British blockade of Germany.

7 July 1917. Saturday (-10,167) Air raids on London and Margate killed 97 and injured 193.

5 July 1917, Thursday (-10,169) Joe Gormley, President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), was born.

4 July 1917, Wednesday (-10,170) Lawrence of Arabia reassured the Arabs, who were wary of attacking the Turkish fort of Kethira under a full moon, that �for a while there will be no moon�. Lawrence knew a lunar eclipse was due. Turkish defenders panicked as the moon vanished, and the fort fell to the Arabs.

2 July 1917, Monday (-10,172) Race riots in Illinois, 75 Black people were killed.

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

30 June 1917, Saturday (-10,174) Julian Creus, weightlifter, was born.

29 June 1917. Friday (-10,175) Ukraine declared its independence. Greece declared war on Germany.

27 June 1917. Wednesday (-10,177) 14,000 American troops arrived in France to fight with the Allies.� The American expeditionary force was commanded by General John Pershing.

19 June 1917, Tuesday (-10,185) (1) Large Commons vote in favour of giving women over 30 the vote.

(2) All German titles and names are renounced by the British Royal Family, who adopted the name Windsor. The old name had been Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

17 June 1917, Sunday (-10,187)

16 June 1917. Saturday (-10,188) The first pan-Soviet Congress opened in Petrograd.

15 June 1917, Friday (-10,189) The US passed the Espionage Act, under which persons could be fined or imprisoned for hindering the war effort; the Federal Government took control of the US railways.

14 June 1917. Thursday (-10,190) Air raid on London, the first by German fixed-wing aircraft. In a daylight raid, 162 Londoners died and 432 were injured. 16 children died in a Poplar school.

13 June 1917, Wednesday (-10,191) Large German air raid on Folkestone, Shorncliffe and other Kent towns. 95 died and 260 were injured.

12 June 1917. Tuesday (-10,192) The pro-German King Constantine of Greece, who dismissed the pro-Allied government of Venizelos, was himself forced to abdicate by the Allies.

10 June 1917. Sunday (-10,194) Sinn Fein uprising in Dublin.

8 June 1917. Friday� (-10,196) Haig launched a new Flanders offensive.

7 June 1917, Thursday (-10,197) (1) The British captured the Messines Ridge. The British had begun tunnelling under the Ridge from August 1915, and placed high explosives in the tunnels, detonated at 3.10 am. A million pounds of explosive was used, and the explosion was heard in London and Dublin.

(2)The railway from Addis Ababa to Djibouti was completed.

6 June 1917, Wednesday (-10,198)

4 June 1917. Monday (-10,200) (1) In France, with the co-operation of the provisional Russian government, a Polish army was formed to fight Germany.

(2) Brazil declared war against Germany and seized all German ships in its ports.

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

30 May 1917, Wednesday (-10,205) Pamela May, dancer, was born (died 6 June 2005).

29 May 1917. Tuesday (-10,206) US Democrat and 35th President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the second of nine children. He was America�s first Roman Catholic President, and the youngest to date.

25 May 1917. Friday (-10,210) Air raid on Folkestone.

21 May 1917, Monday (-10,214) Dennis Day, US singer, was born in New York (died 22 May 1988 in Brentwood, California)

20 May 1917, Sunday (-10,215) Menocal was inaugurated as Cuban President.

19 May 1917, Saturday (-10,216)

18 May 1917. Friday (-10,217) (1) Trotsky returned to Russia from the USA

(2) The US introduced conscription under the Selective Service Act. This required every male aged 21 to 31 to register for the draft on 6 June 1917. Local Boards would select half a million men for military service.

17 May 2017, Thursday (-10,218) Kerensky became head of the Soviet interim government.

15 May 1917. Tuesday (-10,220) Henri Petain became French Commander in Chief.

13 May 1917, Sunday (-10,222) At Fatima, a small town in north east Portugal, three shepherd girls aged 10 -� 13 saw a vision of a lady outside the town.� The vision reappeared at monthly intervals and on 13 October 1917 declared itself to be �Our Lady of the Rosary�.

12 May 1917. Saturday (-10,223) The British army began to accept men aged 41-50.

11 May 1917, Friday (-10,224)

10 May 1917, Thursday (-10,225) After heavy losses of Allied shipping, a convoy system of shipping was begun, protected by naval ships.

9 May 1917, Wednesday (-10,226) A French initiative to capture the strategic Chemin des Dames ended in failure.

7 May 1917, Monday (-10,238)

5 May 1917. Saturday (-10,230) The Battle of Arras, 9 April to 5 May. The Allied Spring offensive against the Germans pushed them back 3 to 4 miles from the eastern suburbs of Arras, capturing several important hills.

4 May 1917. Friday (-10,231) Widespread mutiny amongst French units on the Front.

3 May 1917, Thursday (-10,232) US destroyers arrived to join the British navy.

2 May 1917, Wednesday (-10,233) King George V called for national restraint in bread consumption.

1 May 1917, Tuesday (-10,234) The first Nelson Motor Car Company car was manufactured in Detroit.

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

30 April 1917, Monday (-10,235) Britain had lost 196 ships during the month of April 1917 alone.

29 April 1917, Sunday (-10,236) Mutinies broke out in the French Army.

28 April 1917, Saturday (-10,237) Petain was appointed French Chief of Staff.

27 April 1917, Friday (-10,238) A mine explosion in Hastings, Las Animas County, Colorado, killed 121 people.

26 April 1917. Thursday (-10,239) German naval raid on Ramsgate.

25 April 1917, Wednesday (-10,240) Ella Fitzgerald, singer, was born.

24 April 1917, Tuesday (-10,241) In the US the Liberty Loan Act authorised the issue of War Bonds.

22 April 1917, Sunday (-10,243)

20 April 1917. Friday (-10,245) The US broke off relations with Turkey.

19 April 1917, Thursday (-10,246) Battle of the Hills. French forces captured the commune of Aub�rive, France from the Germans.

18 April 1917, Wednesday (-10,247) The Second battle of Gaza; Turkish forces, with German support, forced back British forces.

17 April 1917. Tuesday (-10,248) On his return to Russia (from Zurich) with the other Bolshevik leaders, Vladimir Illyich Lenin demanded a transfer of power to workers Soviets.

16 April 1917, Monday (-10,249) Nivelle�s Champagne offensive failed.

15 April 1917, Sunday (-10,250) Hans Conried, US voice actor, was born in Baltimore (died 1982).

14 April 1917, Saturday (-10,251) Dr Zamenof, Polish linguist and inventor of Esperanto, died.

13 April 1917, Friday (-10,252) Stalin was released from exile in Siberia (imposed 1913).

12 April 1917, Thursday (-10,253) Robert Manzon, French racing driver was born (died 2015).

11 April 1917. Wednesday (-10.254) (1) Brazil broke off relations with Germany after the steamer Parana was torpedoed off France. On 1 June 1917 Brazil revoked its neutrality in the War as a mark of �continental solidarity and friendship with the USA�. After more Brazilian shipping was sunk, Brazil declared war on Germany on 26 October 1917. Brazil�s direct contribution to the war was the dispatch of part of its fleet to European waters and the sending of a medical mission and some aviators to the Western Front. The main contribution was placing its food supplies and other resources at the disposal of the Allies.

(2)� British general Sir Edmund Allenby, commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, occupied Jerusalem following his victory in Palestine over the Turks.

10 April 1917. Tuesday (-10,255) �Canadian troops captured Vimy Ridge in northern France, with heavy casualties. This was a major assault during the Battle of Arras, World War One.

9 April 1917, Monday (-10,256) The Canadians stormed Vimy Ridge, see 10 April 1917.

8 April 1917, Sunday (-10,257) Easter Sunday. Panama declared war on Germany.

7 April 1917. Saturday (-10,258) Cuba declared war on Germany.

6 April 1917. Friday (-10,259) The USA declared war against Germany, with a declaration signed by President Woodrow Wilson. This followed the revealing by the British on 1 March 1917 of the Zimmerman Telegram, a missive from Germany to Mexico urging it to declare war on the USA and recover its lost territories. The German Foreign Minister, Arthur Zimmerman, had sent a coded telegram to the German Ambassador in Mexico offering an alliance against the US, in which Mexico would recover its territories of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. British naval intelligence intercepted and decoded the message and passed it to President Wilson. American shipping bound for Britain had also been attacked by German submarines. The Germans did not believe that the US could raise and equip an effective army quickly enough to make a difference in Europe, and that even if they did, it could not be transported across a submarine-infested ocean. They seriously underestimated the determination and resources of the US. The US did indeed have only a relatively small standing army, 300,000 men including the National Guard and reserves, but conscription was introduced and many willingly signed up. Meanwhile this day the King and Queen of England attended a Thanksgiving service at St Pauls Cathedral for the US�s entry into the �war for freedom�.

4 April 1917, Wednesday (-10,261)

3 April 1917, Tuesday (-10,262) Vladimir Illyich Lenin returned to Moscow from exile.

2 April 1917, Monday (-10,263) US President Wilson asked the US Congress to pass a resolution to declare war on Germany.

1 April 1917, Sunday (-10,264) Scott Joplin, American composer, died in poverty in an asylum.

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

31 March 1917, Saturday (-10,265) The USA purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark for US$25 million, to prevent their occupation by Germany and to guard the Panama Canal.

30 March 1917, Friday (-10,266) �The Russian provisional government guaranteed the independence of Poland.

29 March 1917, Thursday (-10,267) In Britain, Lloyd George announced plans to give women over 30 the vote.

28 March 1917. Wednesday (-10,268) The first women�s service unit, the Women�s Army Auxiliary Corps, was formed.

27 March 1917, Tuesday (-10,269) Moses Jacob Ezekiel, US sculptor, died (born 1844);

26 March 1917. Monday (-10,270) Britain attacked the Turks at Gaza (First Battle of Gaza).

25 March 1917, Sunday (-10,271) In baseball, in the USA, John McGraw signed a record US$50,000 contract to manage the New York Giants for one year.

24 March 1917, Saturday (-10,272) (Biology) John Cowdery Kendrew was born in Oxford, England. In `1960 he determined the molecular structure of myoglobin, similar to haemoglobin.

23 March 1917, Friday (-10,273) Jerry Guarnieri, US jazz composer, was born in New York (died 7 January 1985 in New York)

22 March 1917, Thursday (-10,274) Virginia Grey, US actress, was born.

21 March 1917. Wednesday (-10,275) Ex-Tsar Nicholas II and his family were arrested.

20 March 1917. Tuesday (-10,276) (1) A German U-boat sank a fully-lit hospital ship.

(2) Dame Vera Lynn was born.

19 March 1917, Monday (-10,277) French Prime Minister Briand resigned. Alexandre Ribot formed a Cabinet.

18 March 1917. Sunday (-10,278) Ramsgate and Broadstairs shelled from the sea.

17 March 1917. Saturday (-10,279) The British heavily defeated the Turks near Gaza.

16 March 1917, Friday (-10,280) An interim Soviet Russian government was set up.

15 March 1917. Thursday (-10,281) Czar Nicholas II abdicated in Pskov. The 300-year Romanov dynasty ended (see 8 March 1917).

14 March 1917, Wednesday (-10,282) China broke off diplomatic relations with Germany.

13 March 1917, Tuesday (-10,283) Maria Vlamynck, Flemish author, was born.

12 March 1917, Monday (-10,284) Izvestia, the official daily newspaper of the USSR, was founded.

11 March 1917. Sunday (-10,285) The Allies captured Baghdad from Ottoman Turkey.

10 March 1917, Saturday (-10,286) A Soviet, or council, of workers and soldiers was set up in Russia.

9 March 1917, Friday (-10.287) (USA) Dante Fascell, American politician (U.S. House of Representatives from Florida) was born in Bridgehampton, New York (d. 1998).

8 March 1917. Thursday (-10,288) (1) The Russian �February� (old style calendar) Revolution began at Petrograd. Widespread demonstrations were sparked by food shortages; more ominously for Tsar Nicholas II, soldiers refused to open fire on the crowds. The Russian army had suffered severe casualties against the Germans and was more on the people�s side. Soldiers were defecting and joining the demonstrators. See 15 March 1917.

(2) US marines landed in Cuba to help the civil authorities.

(3) Graf von Zeppelin, German airship pioneer, died in Charlottenburg, near Berlin.

7 March 1917. Wednesday (-10,289) The Dixie Band One-Step was the world�s first jazz record to be released. Ironically it was by the all-white Original Dixieland Jazz Band.

6 March 1917, Tuesday (-10,290) Will Esner, strip cartoonist, was born (died 3 January 2005).

5 March 1917, Monday (-10,291) The 63 km railway from Izingolweni to Harding, South Africa was completed.

4 March 1917, Sunday (-10,292) Pamela Barton, golfer, was born.

3 March 1917, Saturday (-10,293) New York City Subway stations for the White Plains Road Line, including Allerton Avenue, Bronx Park East, Burke Avenue, East 180th Street, Gun Hill Road, Nereid Avenue, Pelham Parkway, 219th Street, 225th Street, and 233rd Street opened.

2 March 1917. Friday (-10,294) The US Congress passed the Jones Act, making Puerto Rico a US territory.

1 March 1917, Thursday (-10,295) Robert Lowell, US poet, was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

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

28 February 1917, Wednesday (-10,296)

26 February 1917. Monday (-10,298) (1) News of the sinking of the Cunard liner Laconia by German U-boats reached Capitol Hill just as Congress was debating measures to protect US shipping from the growing menace of U boats in the Atlantic. Earlier in February 1917� a US ship, the Housatonic was sunk, making a total of 134 neutral ships destroyed by the Germans in the last 3 weeks. The US navy was already mounting patrols to protect its ships in the Atlantic.

(2) US Congress created the McKinley National Park, covering 2,500 square miles. It is now much larger, and known as Denali.

25 February 1917. Sunday (-10,299) The Germans retreated on the Ancre, and on 28 February 1917 the British captured Gommecourt.

23 February 1917, Friday (-10,301)

21 February 1917, Wednesday (-10,303) Victor Marie Marljnen, Dutch Prime Minister from 24 July 1963, was born in Arnhem, Netherlands.

20 February 1917, Tuesday (-10,304) The USA bought the Dutch West Indies.

17 February 1917, Saturday (-10,307)

13 February 1917, Tuesday (-10,311) (1) Britain introduced new regulations to allow women to be taxi drivers.

(2) The Dutch spy Mata Hari was arrested by the French.

12 February 1917, Monday (-10,312) US President Wilson refused to reopen negotiations with Germany until it abandoned its policy of unrestricted naval warfare; on 3 February 1917 the US liner Housatonic had been sunk by a German U-boat.

11 February 1917, Sunday (-10,313) Sidney Sheldon, writer, was born.

10 February 1917. Saturday (-10,314) Weizmann and the British Government discussed plans for a Jewish homeland.

9 February 1917, Friday (-10,315)

7 February 1917. Wednesday (-10,317) All US citizens in Germany were held as hostages.

6 February 1917, Tuesday (-10,318) Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress, was born.

5 February 1917, Monday (-10,319) (USA) Immigrants to the US were now required to pass a literacy test. This law, inspired by the Immigration Restriction League founded in 1894, had been vetoed by US President Wilson, but was passed by Congress anyway. Those fleeing religious persecution were exempted, which allowed more Russian Jews to enter.

4 February 1917, Sunday (-10,320)

3 February 1917. Saturday (-10,321) The USA broke off relations with Germany.

2 February 1917, Friday (-10,322) In the UK, bread rationing began.

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

31 January 1917. Wednesday (-10,324) Germany announced a policy of unrestricted naval warfare. All ships, passenger or cargo, found by Germans could now be sunk without warning. This was a calculated risk by Germany because it was bound to involve US shipping being sunk, and would therefore bring the USA in against Germany. But Germany reckoned on the inevitability of the USA entering the war against here soon anyway, and believed she could win the war before this happened. The German Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Von Holtzendorff, presented a memo to the Kaiser saying that if 600,000 tons of Allied shipping could be sunk each month, within five months Britain would have to surrender. In fact, in the worst month, April 1917, German U-boats sank 869,103 tons of shipping, 373 ships. The British adopted a convoy system, despite fears that a convoy�s speed was limited to that of the slowest ship. The Navy had feared it had too few destroyers for this job but then realised that it had enough if only ocean-going ships, not cross-Channel traffic, was guarded. Meanwhile the British navy deployed Q-ships, gunships disguised as merchant ships which lured U-boats to the surface then opened their gun hatches at the last moment. The first trial convoy ran from Gibraltar on 10 May 1917. The convoy system worked; of 26,604 vessels convoyed in 1917, only 147 were sunk. Meanwhile the Germans lost 65 of their 139 U-boats. Meanwhile Allied shipping blockaded German trade, creating shortages of tea and coffee, but more seriously, fertiliser shortages too. In the final German land offensive of 1918, advancing German troops discovered their privations were not being endured by the enemy, and German morale fell.

29 January 1917. Monday (-10,326) Congress passed the Immigration Act (or, Asiatic Barred Zone Act), requiring all immigrants to know at least 30 words of English and banning all Asian migrants except Japanese. This followed on from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, banning further immigration from China. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1917 for further details.

28 January 1917, Sunday (-10,327) William Gottlieb, photographer, was born (died 23 April 2006).

27 January 1917, Saturday (-10,328) In Costa Rica, General Fredderico Tinoco Granados (1870-1931) overthrew President Flores, objecting to his democratic reforms. Tinoco set up a military dictatorship. The US refused to grant recognition to� Tinoco�s regime, which was threatened by insurrections.

24 January 1917, Wednesday (-10,331) Ernest Borgnine, actor, was born.

22 January 1917, Monday (-10,333) US President Woodrow Wilson delivered a speech to the Senate, �Peace Without Victory�, condemning European imperialism and militarism and calling for a League of Nations.

20 January 1917, Saturday (-10,335) John Raite, baritone singer, was born (died 20 February 2005).

19 January 1917, Friday (-10,336) (London) An explosion at a munitions factory in Silvertown, east London, killed 73 and injured over 400.

15 January 1917, Monday (-10,340)

14 January 1917, Sunday (-10,341) Billy Butterfield, US jazz trumpeter, was born in Middleton, Ohio (died 18 March 1988 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

12 January 1917, Friday (-10,343) Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation Movement,� was born in India (some sources say 12 January 1918).

11 January 1917, Thursday (-10,344) The war was costing Britain �5.7 million per day.

10 January 1917, Wednesday (-10,345) William �Buffalo Bill� Cody died, aged 71. He was a pony express rider before the Civil War, in which he fought; after, he supplied meat to the workers of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, hence his name. As chief of scouts for the US military he fought in several battles against the Indians, which made him famous.

9 January 1917. Tuesday (-10,346) The Russian Prime Minister, Alexander Trepov, resigned in the face of strikes, food shortages, and anti-war protests. He was succeeded by Dimitri Golitzin.

4 January 1917, Thursday (-10,351) Britain and Germany agreed to exchange all internees aged over 45.

1 January 1917, Monday (-10.354) Britain, France and Italy recognised the Kingdom of Hejaz in Arabia.

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

31 December 1916, Sunday (-10,355) By the end of 1916, Russia had seen some 3,600,000 of its citizens killed or wounded in the Great War, and a further 2,000,000 taken prisoner by the Central Powers.

30 December 1916. Saturday (-10,356) In Russia, Gregory Rasputin, the infamous Siberian �seer� and miracle worker, was murdered, aged 47.

29 December 1916, Friday (-10,357) James Joyce�s book A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was published in New York. This semi-autobiographical work became one of his best known publications, despite being initially rejected for publication.

28 December 1916, Thursday (-10,358) Eduard Strauss, Austrian composer, died in Vienna (born 15 March 1835 in Vienna)

23 December 1916, Saturday (-10,363) The Irishmen interned after the Easter Rising were released (see 1 May 1916).

20 December 1916, Wednesday (-10,366) British forces took El Arish.

15 December 1916. Friday (-10,371) The Battle of Verdun, which began on 21 February 1916, ended. 364,000 Allied soldiers and 338,000 German soldiers, had died in this battle.

14 December 1916, Thursday (-10,372) (USA, Denmark) A referendum in Denmark agreed by 64.3% for to 35.7% against to agree to the sale of the Danish West Indies to the US, for the sum of US$ 25 million. These islands became the US Virgin Islands; they were of strategic importance to the US now that the Panama Canal had opened. The islands were formally handed over on 1 April 1917, just before the US declared war on Germany.

13 December 1916. Wednesday (-10,373) New British offensive in Mesopotamia.

12 December 1916, Tuesday (-10,374) Robert Nivelle was appointed Commander in Chief of French armies in N and NE France.

11 December 1916, Monday (-10,375) Allied Salonika offensive ended.

10 December 1916, Sunday (-10,376) The De La Salle College Ashfield was established in Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia.

9 December 1916, Saturday (-10,377) Kirk Douglas, actor, was born.

8 December 1916, Friday (-10,378) Richard Fleischer, US film director, was born in New York City (died 25 March 2006)

7 December 1916. Thursday (-10,379) In Britain, David Lloyd George succeeded Herbert Asquith as Prime Minister (see 8 April 1908). A Coalition government led by the Liberals was formed.

6 December 1916, Wednesday (-10,380) (1) (Rail Tunnels) The Connaught rail tunnel, Canada, 8.5 km long, opened.

(2) The Central Powers occupied Bucharest.

5 December 1916, Tuesday (-10,381) An explosion at the Barnbow munitions factory, Leeds, killed 35 women. The incident was censored and went unreported at the time. War production resumed within a week, with wages on �12 a week, equivalent to over �1,000 a week in 2015.

4 December 1916, Monday (-10,382) US racing car driver Iggy Katona was born.

3 December 1916, Sunday (-10,383) Nivelle succeeded Joffre as French Commander In Chief.

2 December 1916, Saturday (-10,384) Paolo Tosti, Italian composer, died (born 1846)

1 December 1916, Friday (-10,385) The lights of the Statue of Liberty were turned on by President Wilson.

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

30 November 1916, Thursday (-10,386) William Carr, jockey, was born (died 19 October 1985).

29 November 1916, Wednesday (-10,387) The Sheriff of Mecca, Hussein, was proclaimed King of the Arabs.

28 November 1916, Tuesday (-10,388) First German aeroplane raids on London.

26 November 1916, Sunday (-10,390)

24 November 1916, Friday (-10,392) Sir Hiram Maxim, English-born US inventor of the machine gun in 1883, died in London.

23 November 1916, Thursday (-10,393) Michael Gough, actor, was born.

22 November 1916, Wednesday (-10,394) Jack London, author and campaigner for social justice (born 12 January 1876 in San Francisco) died destitute of a drugs overdose.

21 November 1916. Tuesday (-10,395) Emperor Franz Josef, ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire since 1848, died. He was succeeded by his 29-year old grandson, Charles I.

20 November 1916, Monday (-10,396) Railway electrification from London Waterloo reached Claygate.

18 November 1916, Saturday (-10,398) Allied War Conference was held at Chantilly.

16 November 1916, Thursday (-10,400) Polish General Jozef Pilsudski gained recognition of an independent Poland from the Central Powers, he had commanded a Polish Army fighting for Germany against Russia.

14 November 1916, Tuesday (-10,402) H H Munro (Saki) died, aged 45.

13 November 1916, Monday (-10,403) The Battle of the Somme ended.� It had begun on 1 July 1916, and succeeded in driving the Germans north towards the coast, but cost over 600,000 Allied lives; 420,000 British and 200,000 French. German casualties were 450,000. At Verdun, ten months of fighting had cost another 400,000 men from both sides. The Allies gained, at the Somme, some two miles of ground for these casualties, about five lives lost per inch gained. The Germans knew the �Big Push� was coming, and had prepared well by stockpiling ammunition then sitting deep in underground bunkers waiting. The Allied bombardment fully announced this push, but did not destroy the German bunkers. After the bombardment the Allied soldiers walked forward over no man�s land carrying their kit, guns, and grenades, at least 30 kg or 60 lbs per person on a hot summer day. The Germans, as soon as the bombardment ended, climbed back up and scythed down the Allies in a hail of machine gun fire. On the first day of that offensive, the Allies lost 19,000 men with a further 57,000 wounded, the greatest loss ever on a single day. Bad communications and slowness meant the few gains made were mostly lost again.

12 November 1916, Sunday (-10,404) Percival Lowell, US astronomer who predicted the existence of the planet Pluto prior to its discovery in 1930, died in Flagstaff, Arizona.

10 November 1916, Friday (-10,406) Theobald von Bethmann, German Chancellor, made a speech to the Reichstag pledging that Germany would join or even lead a peace league after the War, to prevent such a catastrophic war from ever happening again. In part he was responding to anti-war concerns from Social Democrats within Germany. The German Government was also now open to a peace agreement for the same reason as the Allies opposed it � because Germany was now in control of large swathes of Europe from France to Russia.

7 November 1916. Tuesday (-10,409) (1) Woodrow Wilson was re-elected US President.

(2) Janet Rankin became the first woman member of the US Congress.

6 November 1916, Monday (-10,410) Ray Conniff, US trombonist, was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

5 November 1916, Sunday (-10,411)

4 November 1916, Saturday (-10,412) Walter Cronkite, news broadcaster, was born.

3 November 1916, Friday (-10,413) London�s bakers were accused of profiteering after raising� the price of bread to 10d a loaf. A price freeze was anticipated following a government commission on wheat prices. There was also concern about rising rates of sexually-transmitted diseases in Britain, with 50,000 cases reported amongst servicemen in 1916.

2 November 1916, Thursday (-10,415) French forces recaptured Fort Vaux, which the Germans had taken on 7 June 1916.

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

31 October 1916, Tuesday (-10,416) Charles Taze Russell, who founded the modern-day Jehovah�s Witnesses, died.

28 October 1916, Saturday (-10,419) In Australia, a proposal to introduce compulsory military conscription was narrowly rejected in Parliament.

27 October 1916, Friday (-10,420) Bob de Lange, Dutch actor, was born.

26 October 1916. Thursday (-10,421) Francois Mitterand, President of France from 1981, and founder of the French Socialist Party, was born.

25 October 1916, Wednesday (-10,422) Stanley Cullis, footballer, was born.

24 October 1916. Tuesday (-10,423) French troops broke open a four mile stretch of the German lines at Verdun, and another offensive started there.

19 October 1916, Thursday (-10,428) Jean Dausset, immunologist, was born.

17 October 1916, Tuesday (-10,430) The Allies formally recognised the Greek Venizelos Government.

16 October 1916. Monday (-10,431) (1) The Allies took Athens.

(2) Margaret Sanger, who coined the term �birth control�, opened the first family planning clinic in the US. It faced considerable opposition,

13 October 1916, Friday (-10,434) General Motors Company became the General Motors Corporation

9 October 1916, Monday (-10,438) In Greece, Venizelos formed a provisional government at Salonika.

5 October 1916, Thursday (-10,442) Ronald Leigh-Hunt, actor, was born (died 12 September 2005).

1 October 1916. Sunday (-10,446) (1) A Zeppelin was brought down at Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.

(2) The line from Broad Street (London) to Richmond was electrified

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

29 September 1916, Friday (-10,448) The British Government asked people to observe a �meatless day� to prevent food price rises.

28 September 1916, Thursday (-10,449) John D Rockefeller became the world�s first billionaire.

27 September 1916. Wednesday (-10,450) Greece declared war on Bulgaria, which itself had declared war on Rumania earlier in the month.

26 September 1916, Tuesday (-10,451) Battle of Morval. British forces captured the French villages of Combles and Gueudecourt from the Germans.

25 September 1916, Monday (-10,452) British forces took Thiepval (Somme).

24 September 1916, Sunday (-10,453) The French bombed the Krupp works at Essen.� A second Zeppelin was shot down in England.

23 September 1916, Saturday (-10,454) Kenneth Gee, rugby player, was born (died 17 April 1989).

20 September 1916, Wednesday (-10,457)

17 September 1916, Sunday (-10,460) Manfred von Richtofen, the �Red Baron�, Germany�s greatest air ace, won the first of his 80 confirmed kills over Cambrai, France.

16 September 1916. Saturday (-10,461) A provisional �government of Czechoslovakia� was recognised by Britain and France.

15 September 1916. Friday (-10,462) Tanks went into battle for the first time, for the British Army at the battle of Flers on the� Somme.� They were invented by Sir Ernest Swinton, weighed 30 tons, and travelled at 4mph. It was hoped they would break the stalemate of trench warfare. Some German soldiers fled, thinking the Devil had come. The tank forces achieved their objective but infantry reserves could not arrive in time to consolidate the successes.

14 September 1916, Thursday (-10,463) Seventh Battle of Isonzo; Italian forces made small gains.

13 September 1916, Wednesday (-10,464) Roald Dahl, author of children�s books, was born in Llandaff, Glamorganshire.

12 September 1916, Tuesday (-10,465) British and Serbian forces mounted an attack from Salonika, but were unable to help Romania.

11 September 1916, Monday (-10,466) Battle of Transylvania. The Romanian Army began the third phase of conquering Transylvania, leading to the capture of Merești, forcing a river crossing at Rupea, and establishing a bridgehead to conquer Daișoara.

10 September 1916. Sunday (-10,467) The Allies launched an offensive in Salonika.

9 September 1916, Saturday (-10,468) Battle of Ginchy. The Irish 16th Division captured the German-held village of Ginchy in north eastern France, but �at a cost of 4,330 casualties.

8 September 1916, Friday (-10,469) US President Woodrow Wilson promised women the vote.

7 September 1916, Thursday (-10,470) Clara Bewick Colby, US suffragist and founder of The Woman's Tribune, died.

6 September 1916, Wednesday (-10,471) US retailer Clarence Saunders opened the first �Piggly Wiggly� supermarket, in Memphis, Tennessee.

5 September 1916, Tuesday (-10,472) Mackensen invaded Dobruja.

4 September 1916. Monday (-10,473) British troops took Dar Es Salaam in east Africa.

3 September 1916. Sunday (-10,474) The first Zeppelin was shot down, by Captain Leefe Robinson, at Cuffley, Hertfordshire, using the newly-invented Pomeroy incendiary bullets.

2 September 1916, Saturday (-10,475) Battle of Transylvania. The Romanian Army captured the city of Orșova, Transylvania, then part of Austria-Hungary, before advancing towards Sibiu and completing the first phase of its offense against the Central Powers.

1 September 1916, Friday (-10,476) In the US the Keating-Owen Act was signed, outlawing work in mines and on night shifts by children under 16. Daytime shifts for under-16s were limited to 8 hours, and interstate commerce in articles made by children under 14 was banned.

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

31 August 1916, Thursday (-10,477) Danish news tabloid BT began publishing in Copenhagen.

30 August 1916. Wednesday (-10,478) Paul Von Hindenburg became Chief of General Staff in Germany. He became Commander in Chief on the Western Front on 29 November 1916.

29 August 1916, Tuesday (-10,479) Battle of Transylvania. The Romanian Army captured Brașov, Transylvania.

28 August 1916. Monday (-10,480) Italy declared war on Germany.

27 August 1916. Sunday (-10,481) Romania declared war on Germany, see 6 December 1916. Austria declared war on Rumania.

26 August 1916, Saturday (-10,482) Battle of Delville Wood. After a week�s delay due to rain, the British attacked and captured the German trenches.

25 August 1916, Friday (-10,483) (Medical) Frederick C Robbins was born in Auburn, Alabama. In 1948, along with John Franklin Enders (born 10 February 1897, West Hartford, Connecticut) and Thomas Huckle Wells (born 15 June 1915, Ann Arbor), he discovered how to grow the mumps virus in chick tissue using penicillin to prevent bacterial contamination.

24 August 1916. Thursday (-10,484) Eight people were killed in a Zeppelin raid on London.

23 August 1916, Wednesday (-10,485) The Brazilian Navy established an air force, starting with a naval aviation school.

22 August 1916, Tuesday (-10,486) Romania declared war on Austro-Hungary.� Its troops crossed the passes into Transylvania.

21 August 1916, Monday (-10,487) Peru declared neutrality during World War One.

20 August 1916. Sunday (-10,488) The Allies began an offensive against Turkey in Mesopotamia.

19 August 1916. Saturday (-10,489) German warships bombarded the east coast of England.

18 August 1916, Friday (-10,490) The Second Army of Romania was established. It regrouped in Moldova, the only region of Romania unoccupied by the Central Powers.

17 August 1916, Thursday (-10,491) The UK, France, Russia, and Italy guaranteed Romania the Banat, Transylvania, the Hungarian Plain as far as the Tisza River and Bukovina as far as the Prut River, if it declared war on Austro-Hungary.

12 August 1916, Saturday (-10,496) The first Pikes Peak road race ended. The road ascends 1440 metres with 156 turns and is 20 km long. The record time stands at 8 minutes 13.878 seconds, set in 2013.

9 August 1916. Wednesday (-10,499) Italian troops took Glorizia.

7 August 1916. Monday (-10,501) Iran formed an alliance with Britain and Russia.

6 August 1916, Sunday (-10,502) Dom Mintoff, Labour politician and Prime Minister of Malta, was born.

5 August 1916. Saturday (-10,503) The British defeated the Turks in a naval battle off Port Said.

4 August 1916, Friday (-10,504)

3 August 1916. Thursday (-10,505) Sir Roger Casement, the Irish Nationalist, was hanged in Pentonville |prison, London, for treason, because of his attempts to induce Germany to support the cause of Irish independence. He was a former diplomat who had exposed slavery in the Congo. Casement had been found guilty and sentenced on 29 June 1916. There were intense efforts made for his reprieve, but the prosecution, with the connivance of the British Government, released his �black diaries�, with evidence of his homosexuality, making any reprieve impossible.

2 August 1916, Wednesday (-10,506) Demonstrations demanding peace in several German cities.

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31 July 1916, Monday (-10,508) Ammunition freight wagons exploded in New York, killing 26.

29 July 1916, Saturday (-10.510) The Nash Motor Company was founded, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

28 July 1916, Friday (-10,511) The UK banned imports of cocaine and opium.

27 July 1916, Thursday (-10,512) Russian forces defeated the Turks at Erzinjan.

23 July 1916, �Sunday (-10,516) Sir William Ramsey, chemist who discovered helium, and isolated neon, krypton, and xenon, died in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.� He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1904.

19 July 1916, Wednesday (-10,520) At Fromelles, a preliminary British bombardment of a German salient gave away all hopes of a surprise attack, then troops were ordered to advance across open marshy ground towards a well defended German position. Allied casualties e3xceeded 7,000 with only minor and temporary territorial gains.

15 July 1916, Saturday (-10,524) Edward Boeing set up the Pacific Aero Products Company in Seattle.

14 July 1916, Friday (-10,525) Bazentin le Grand and Bazentin le Petit, villages in the Somme area, were taken by the Allies. They were lost and then recaptured again in 1918.

11 July 1916, Tuesday (-10,528) Gough Whitlam, Australian Prime Minister, was born.

9 July 1916. Sunday (-10,530) British Prime Minister (1970-74) Edward Heath, was born in Broadstairs, Kent.

6 July 1916. Thursday (-10,533) Russia and Japan signed a peace treaty.

4 July 1916, Tuesday (-10,535) Ikugo Toguri, the voice of Japanese propaganda radio during World War two, was born (died 26 September 2006).

3 July 1916, Monday (-10,536) (USA) Hetty Green, the wealthiest women in the USA died aged 80, leaving a fortune of US$ 100 million.

2 July 1916. Sunday (-10,537) Hundreds died in race riots in St Louis, USA.

1 July 1916. Saturday (-10,538) (1) Battle of the Somme began. Britain and France launched a major offensive. This offensive lasted until 8 November 1916, and one million were killed, including 500,000 British. However the Germans were only beaten back ten miles � over one casualty per inch of ground won. �The Germans retained the key rail junction of Bapaume.� On this first day of battle alone, there were over 100,000 casualties, including 60,000 British.� However for the Germans the massive casualties of the Somme made it impossible thereafter to obtain enough trained soldiers, hence it marked the turning point of the War for France.

(2) The US States of Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota brought in Prohibition, bringing the number of states banning alcohol to 24.

(3) Coca Cola introduced its distinctively-shaped bottle.

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

29 June 1916, Thursday (-10,540)

27 June 1916, Tuesday (-10,542) King George V confirmed that women were eligible to receive the Military Medal.

26 June 1916, Monday (-10,543) (Innovation) Peter Nissen (1871-1930) patented the Nissen Hut. He noticed that there was a lack of easy to build housing for the troops in World War One. 100,000 of these huts were built by the end of the War; each one taking 6 men 4 hours to build. Their main drawback was they were very cold in the winter.

25 June 1916, Sunday (-10,544) Thomas C Eakins, US artist, died (born 25 July 1844).

24 June 1916. Saturday (-10,545) A new German offensive began at Verdun.

23 June 1916. Friday (-10,546) A Russian offensive captured most of Galicia.

22 June 1916, Thursday (-10,547) The Germans gassed French artillery positions around Verdun, France, causing 1,600 casualties.

21 June 1916. Wednesday (-10,548) Hussein, the Grand Sheikh of Mecca, declared war on Ottoman Turkey with the aim of achieving Arabia�s independence from Britain.

20 June 1916, Tuesday (-10,549) Germans first used diphosgene gas shells at Verdun.

19 June 1916, Monday (-10,550) William Francis Cody, US architect, major designer of buildings for Palm Springs, California during the Modern architecture movement, was born in Dayton, Ohio (died 1978)

18 June 1916, Sunday (-10,551) (1) Russian forces took Czernowitz (now Chernovtsy, Ukraine).

(2) The Surbiton to Hampton Court branch line was electrified.

17 June 1916, Saturday (-10,552) In Italy a coalition government was formed, including the Catholics and Reformed Socialists, under Paolo Boselli.

16 June 1916, Friday (-10,553) The Ottoman garrison at the Red Sea port of Jeddah surrendered to the Arabs.

15 June 1916, Thursday (-10,554) In the US, the Democratic Convention nominated President Wilson as presidential candidate.

14 June 1916, Wednesday (-10,555) Allied economic conference in Paris.

13 June 1916, Tuesday (-10,556) Jan Smuts captured Wilthemstal in German East Africa (now Tanzania).

12 June 1916, Monday (-10,557) Silvanus P. Thompson, English mathematician, author of Calculus Made Easy, died (born 1851)

11 September 1916, Sunday (-10,558) Jean Webster, US writer, died (born 1876)

10 June 1916, Saturday (-10,559) In the US, the Republican Convention nominated Charles E Hughes as presidential candidate.

9 June 1916. Friday (-10,560) (Greece-Turkey, Islam) Sherif Hussein of Mecca led a revolt against the Ottoman Turks. The Arabs were angered by the Young Turks nationalist and secular policies.

8 June 1916, Thursday (-10,561) Professor Sir Francis Crick, who along with J D Watson discovered DNA, was born.

7 June 1916, Wednesday (-10,562) German forces captured Fort Vaux. Recaptured by the French on 2 November 1916.

6 June 1916, Tuesday (-10,563) Allied forces blockaded Greece.

5 June 1916. Monday (-10,564) Lord Kitchener, British General and conqueror of the Sudan, born 24/6.1850 near Listowel, County Kerry, died when his cruiser HMS Hampshire hit a German mine off the Orkney Islands, en route to Russia. There were no survivors.

4 June 1916, Sunday (-10,565) Russia began the Brusilov Offensive, pushing back Austrian forces south of the Pripet Marshes. German reinforcements halted the Russian advance.

3 June 1916, Saturday (-10,566) US Congress established the Reserve Officers Training Corps for officer training in colleges.

2 June 1916. Friday (-10,567) Second Battle of Ypres.

1 June 1916, Thursday (-10,568) Germany established a War Food Office to set controlled prices for food. A bad harvest in Autumn 1916 led to strict food rationing.

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31 May 1916. Wednesday (-10,569) Battle of Jutland. On 31 May 1916 German Admirals Scheer and Hipper set sail from the Jade and Elbe estuaries. British intelligence� picked up on this and Admirals Beatty and Jellicoe set out to engage them. Beatty happened to meet Hipper�s battle cruiser squadron, and the two main fleets began to engage. Although the British suffered larger losses, the British fleet had been much larger to begin with, and Scheer managed to retreat back to the safety of the Jade estuary. The German fleet rarely ventured to sea after this.

30 May 1916, Tuesday (-10,570)

28 May 1916, Sunday (-10,572) The Sopwith triplane, first triplane fighter to enter military service, was introduced by the British.

27 May 1916, Saturday (-10,573) In the USA, a peacekeeping League of Nations was proposed, to be created at the end of the Great War.

26 May 1916, Friday (-10,574) Bulgarian forces captured Fort Rupel from Greece.

25 May 1916, Thursday (-10,575) Britain extended compulsory military conscription from single men (Military Service Act, given Royal Assent on 27 January 1916) to married men too (a second Military Service Act).

23 May 1916, Tuesday (-10,577)

21 May 1916, Sunday (-10,579) (1) Daylight saving time began in Britain. It was introduced by William Willett, to save coal stocks by reducing the demand for electric lighting.

(2) Keadby swing road bridge, Lincolnshire, opened over the River Trent. It was necessary to serve the growing traffic between Immingham Docks (opened 1912) and the developing coalfields of South Yorkshire.

20 May 1916, Saturday (-10,580) Owen Chadwick, British writer, was born

19 May 1916, Friday (-10,581) Alfred Shaughnessy, scriptwriter, was born (died 2 November 2005).

18 May 1916, Thursday (-10,582)

17 May 1916. Wednesday (-10,583) The Daylight Saving Act was passed. Clocks went forward in Britain for the first time on 21 May 1916, causing some confusion. See 7 August 1925.

16 May 1916, Tuesday (-10,584) (Britain, France, Turkey) French diplomat Francois-Georges Picot and British diplomat Mark Sykes began a secret correspondence to decide how the Middle East would be divided up after World War One (see also 30 October 1917). The Western Powers had already decided that the Ottoman Empire was too vast and too corrupt to be allowed to survive. Britain would claim Jordan, most of Iraq, and the port city of Haifa. France� would take SE Turkey, northern Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Palestine would be jointly administered between Britain and France. Russia would be granted the city of Constantinople and several Armenian-dominated regions. In fact the Russian Revolution of 1917 and further diplomatic developments meant that not all these provisions became reality, but the Sykes-Picot agreement set the scene for many of the issues of the Middle East during the 20^th century.

15 May 1916, Monday (-10,585) Austrian forces began a new offensive at Trentino.

12 May 1916. Friday (-10,588) James Connolly was the last of the seven rebels who signed the proclamation of an Irish Republic during the Easter Rising (see 29 April 1916) to be executed. Wounded in the Easter Rebellion, he was taken to face the firing squad on a stretcher.

10 May 1916, Wednesday (-10,590) Shackleton reached South Georgia (see 9 April 1916).

9 May 1916, Tuesday (-10,591) The UK Government said there would be no conscription in Ireland.

8 May 1916. Monday (-10,592) Australian and New Zealand troops arrived in France.

3 May 1916, Wednesday (-10,597) Padraic Pearse, (1879-1916), leader of the 1916 Easter Rebellion against the British in Dublin, was executed at Kilmainham Gaol.

1 May 1916, Monday (-10,599) 400 Irish rebels arrived at Liverpool docks for internment in Britain. See 23 December 1916.

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

30 April 1916, Sunday (-10,600) The Easter Rebellion in Ireland against the British ended with 450 dead and 3,000 wounded.

29 April 1916. Saturday (-10,601) British troops surrendered to the Ottoman Turks after a siege of 143 days at Kut-el-Amara in Iraq. See 22 November 1915.

28 April 1916, Friday (-10,602) Ferrucio Lamborghini, car maker, was born.

26 April 1916 Wednesday (-10.604)

25 April 1916, Tuesday (-10,605) Anzac Day was first celebrated in London.

24 April 1916. Monday (-10,606) Roger Casement was arrested as he landed in Ireland from a German submarine. The Irish wanted Germany to supply arms for a rebellion against the British and even for a German invasion of Ireland; however German support was lukewarm. The Easter Rebellion began in Dublin against British rule, on Easter Monday. The rebellion ended on 30 April 1916. It was followed by British reprisals, led by the notorious Black and Tans. The rebellion had begun almost unnoticed by the British. The arrest of Roger Casement lulled the British into a false sense of security. On Easter Monday few paid attention to the columns of soldiers marching into central Dublin, where they seized the General Post Office for their headquarters. From the steps of this building General Pearce read a proclamation declaring the establishment of the Republic of Ireland. Many British Army officers were on leave to attend a horse race meeting and the city only contained 1,200 British troops. By the time the British authorities realised what was happening the rebels had taken over the entire city centre and established a cordon of fortified posts in the suburbs. However the might of the British Army soon arrived, with heavy artillery, and bombarded �the city centre; the Post Office caught fire and was destroyed. The rebels had no choice but to surrender unconditionally.

23 April 1916, Sunday (-10,607) Easter Sunday.

22 April 1916, Saturday (-10.608) Yehudi Menuhin, US violinist, was born.

20 April 1916, Thursday (-10,610)

18 April 1916, Tuesday (-10,612) Russian forces captured Trebizond, Turkey.

17 April 1916. Monday (-10,613) The Boer leader Jan Smuts led an anti-German drive from Kenya.

16 April 1916, Sunday (-10,614) Thomas Patrick Horan, cricketer for Australia, died in Melbourne (born in Middleton, Ireland, 8 March 1854)

15 April 1916, Saturday (-10,615) Between November 1914 and this day the British had prosecuted some 500 Irish people under DORA (Defence Of The Realm Act), since World War One broke out. This caused resentment in Ireland, leading to the Easter Rising.

14 April 1916. Friday (-10,616) The Allied bombarded Istanbul.

11 April 1916, Tuesday (-10,619)

9 April 1916, Sunday (-10,621) Shackleton and his crew left the ice floe in small boats. They reached Elephant Island on 12 April 1916 (see 10 May 1916).

8 April 1916, Saturday (-10,622) Racing car driver Rob Burman was killed this day when his open cockpit Peugeot rolled over at a race in Corona, California. This led to the development of the roll cage to protect drivers.

5 April 1916, Wednesday (-10,625) Gregory Peck, US actor, was born.

2 April 1916, Sunday (-10,628) A large explosion occurred at the Uplees explosives factory, Kent, which was producing armaments for World War One. 116 men and boys were killed.

1 April 1916, Saturday (-10,629) A German Zeppelin airship dropped its bombs on Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire.

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

29 March 1916, Wednesday (-10,632) Eugene McCarthy, US Senator, was born.

27 March 1916, Tuesday (-10,634) Allied War Conference began in Paris.

26 March 1916, Sunday (-10,635) William Edrich, cricketer, was born (died 24 April 1986).

24 March 1916. Friday (-10,637) German forces sank a cross-Channel steamer, the Sussex, after a decision in February 1916 that German forces would sink any armed merchant ships on sight. See 31 January 1917.

22 March 1916, Wednesday (-10,639) In China, President Yuan Shikai died.

21 March 1916. Tuesday (-10,640) Austrian soldiers killed 10,000 Serbian civilians.

20 March 1916. Monday (-10,641) (1) Food scarcities in Germany caused rationing to begin.

(2) Einstein�s Theory of Relativity was published in German. The Theoiry accounted for the slow rotation of Mercury, and revolutionised physics and astronomy.

19 March 1916. Sunday (-10,642) German seaplane raids on Deal, Dover, Margate, and Ramsgate.

15 March 1916. Wednesday (-10,646) The US mounted a punitive raid into Mexico in revenge for the raids of Pancho Villa into New Mexico on 9 March 1916.

13 March 1916, Monday (-10,648) Germany loosened its rules on its submarines attacking ships; they could now sink vessels around Britain if they �appeared not to be passenger ships�.

11 March 1916. Saturday (-10,650) British Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire.

10 March 1916, Friday (-10,651) The UK War Office urged women to be less extravagant in their dress. From now until the end of the war there would be no imports of spirits, pianos, or motors.

9 March 1916. Thursday (-10,652) Germany declared war on� Portugal.

8 March 1916, Wednesday (-10,653) French forces regained Corbeaux (Verdun).

6 March 1916, Sunday (-10,655)

2 March 1916, Thursday (-10.659) The Russians took Bitlis, in Turkestan, from the Ottoman Turks. Turkey retook it on 7 August 1916.

1 March 1916, Wednesday (-10,660) Liljevalchs Konsthall art gallery, designed by Swedish architect Carl Bergsten, was opened in Stockholm.

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

29 February 1916, Tuesday (-10,661) Bryan Marshall, horse racing champion, was born (died 9 October 1991).

28 February 1916, Monday (-10,662) Henry James, US novelist, died.

27 February 1916, Sunday (-10,663) Battle of Verdun. The spring thaw turned the ground to swamp and slowed German advances, allowing French time to regroup. German soldiers began suffering from exhaustion and lost 500 soldiers to one day of fighting around the village of Douaumont, France.

26 February 1916, Saturday (-10,664) Jackie Gleason, actor, was born.

25 February 1916, Friday (-10,665) Petain took command of the French forces at Verdun.

24 February 1916, Thursday (-10,666) St. Joseph's College was established in New York City and expanded to a second campus on Long Island, New York.

23 February 1916, Wednesday (-10,667) The British Government urged well-off families to release their servants for �more useful purposes�.

22 February 1916. Tuesday (-10,668) Tsar Nicholas II opened the Duma (Parliament).

21 February 1916 Monday (-10,669) Battle of Verdun began. The Germans launched an all-out attack on the fortress of Verdun, but Petain took over the defence and repulsed the Germans, achieving victory by June 1916. See 15 December 1916. The previous commander, General Joseph Joffre, had ignored intelligence reports and, believing the German attack would come at Champagne, failed to reinforce Verdun.

20 February 1916, Sunday (-10,670) Eddie Arcaro, American jockey, was born in Cincinnati (died 1997)

19 February 1916, Saturday (-10,671) (1) In Britain, National Savings Certificates went on sale.

(2) Ernst Mach, Austrian scientist after whom the speed of sound in air is named, died the day after his 78^th birthday.

18 February 1916, Friday (-10,672), The last German garrison in Cameroon surrendered.

17 February 1916, Thursday (-10,673) Alexander Obolensky, rugby player, was born (died 29 March 1940).

16 February 1916, Wednesday (-10,674) The Russians captured Erzurum, in the Caucasus, from Turkey.

15 February 1916, Tuesday (-10,675) Fifth Battle of Isonzo, between Italy and Austria.

14 February 1916, Monday (-10,676) (Rail Tunnels) A 4.8 km rail tunnel under Buenos Aires, carrying freight only, opened from west of Once de Septembre Station to the Port Zone.

13 February 1916, Sunday (-10,677) In the Erzurum Offensive Russian forces advanced on the Ottoman Third Army, which was too small to defend against the assault.

12 February 1916, Saturday (-10,678) (Mathematics) Julius Wilhelm Richard Dedekind, German mathematician, died in Braunschweig.

11 February 1916, Friday (-10,679) Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered an escalation of the U-boat warfare.

10 February 1916, Thursday (-10,680) George Richardson, Canadian hockey player, died (born 1886)

9 February 1916, Wednesday (-10,681) Former Boer leader General Jan Smuts was appointed Commander of British and South African troops in East Africa.

8 February 1916. Tuesday (-10,682) Food shortages caused riots in Berlin. Food rationing began in Germany on 20 March 1916.� The British blockade deprived Germany of food imports.

7 February 1916, Monday (-10,683) The Erzurum Offensive. Russia� captured the Turkish towns of Hınıs and Mus,

6 February 1916, Sunday (-10,684) South African poet Ruben Dario died.

5 February 1916, Born: Daniel Santos, Puerto Rican-American singer, credited for popularizing the bolero style of singing in the United States, in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico (d. 1992)

4 February 1916, Friday (-10,686) In Turkey, Crown Prince Yussuf Izzedin was assassinated.

3 February 1916, Thursday (-10,687) In Ottawa, Canada, the Parliament Building burnt down.

1 February 1916, Tuesday (-10,689)

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

31 January 1916. Monday (-10,690) Zeppelin raids on Shrewsbury killed 59 persons.

30 January 1916, Sunday (-10,691) The Shepperton branch, SW London, was electrified.

29 January 1916. Saturday (-10,692) (1) Zeppelins bombed Paris for the first time.

(2) Military tanks were trialled at Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

28 January 1916. Friday (-10,693) British and Belgian troops took Yaounde, capital of the German colony of Cameroon.

27 January 1916. Thursday (-10,694) In Berlin, the German Communist Party, Spartacus, was formed.

25 January 1916, Tuesday (-10,696)

24 January 1916. Monday (-10,697) Conscription started in Britain. It was for single men aged 19-30.

23 January 1916, Sunday (-10,698) London�s Natural History Museum and British Museum were closed for the duration of the War.

20 January 2016, Thursday (-10,701)

17 January 1916. Monday (-10,704) Russia began an offensive against Turkey.

16 January 1916, Sunday (-10,705) (Mexico) Supporters of Pancho Villa in Mexico killed 16 US citizens near Chihuahua.

14 January 1916. Friday (-10,707) (Netherlands) Zuider Zee dam in the Netherlands collapsed, causing extensive flooding.

12 January 1916, Wednesday (-10,709) (South Africa) Pieter Botha, South African President, was born in Paul Roux in the Orange Free State.

8 January 1916. Saturday (-10,713) (1) (Railway Tunnels)The Lower Hauenstein rail tunnel, Switzerland, 8.134 km long, opened on the Tecknau-Olten line.

(2) Gallipoli was evacuated by Allied troops. This was the end of an unsuccessful attempt to capture Constantinople. See 20 December 1915.

6 January 1916, Thursday (-10,715) The Commons voted in favour of conscription by 403 votes to 103, although the Home Secretary Sir John Simon resigned over the issue. Single men were to be conscripted first; armed service became compulsory for single men aged between 18 and 41. Many British soldiers had been killed in the War, and volunteering rates had dropped off sharply.

4 January 1916, Tuesday (-10,717) Slim Gaillard, US musician, was born in Detroit.

1 January 1916, Saturday (-10,720) (1) During the German invasion of Russia in World War Two, Field Marshal von Hindenburg decreed that the Byelorussian language had official status., in German-occupied areas of Belarus.

(2) In Britain, women�s employment had risen by two million over the past 12 months.

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

31 December 1915, Friday (-10,721) On the Western Front, positions have scarcely changed for a year amongst the trenches, despite appalling casualties. Major attacks became bogged down in bad weather, and tens or hundreds of thousands died for little territorial gain by either side. France had seen, during 1915, 330,000 soldiers killed and a further one million wounded, in addition to the 900,000 killed or wounded during 1914. In 1915 alone, 170,000 German soldiers were killed and 680,000 wounded. In 1915 alone, Britain saw 73,000 soldiers killed and 240,000 wounded.

30 December 1915, Tuesday (-10,722) The liner Persia was sunk by a U-boat, 400 drowned.

27 December 1915, Monday (-10,725)

25 December 1915, Saturday (-10,727) Professor John McManners, historian of religion, was born (died 4 November 2006)

23 December 1915, Thursday (-10,729) The White Motor Company was incorporated.

21 December 1915, Tuesday (-10,731) William Robertson became British Chief of Staff.

20 December 1915. Monday (-10,732) Australian, New Zealand, and British troops were evacuated from the ill-fated Gallipoli expedition. See 25 April 1915. The aim had been to capture the Dardanelles and Constantinople, and so knock Turkey out of the war, and link up with the Russian Black Sea Fleet. However disease, flies, fever, and mosquitoes, and the incompetence of the Allied commanders, were compounded by the fact that landings were not made until two months after Turkish positions here had been bombarded. Hence the element of surprise was lost, and the Turks had ample time to prepare strong defences. Evacuation was completed by 8 January 1916, without casualties. An ingenious plan involved loading provisions onto the Gallipoli beaches in daylight, but at night men, guns and horses were evacuated, leaving rifles set to fire automatically at intervals. At the last moment an Allied destroyer trained a searchlight on the Turkish lines, the Turks fired back, and under this exchange of fire the Allies slipped away undetected.

19 December 1915, Sunday (-10,733) Douglas Haig replaced John French as British Commander in Chief for France and Flanders.

18 December 1915, Saturday (-10,734) Betty Grable, actress, was born.

17 December 1915, Friday (-10,735)

16 December 1915, Thursday (-10,736) Turk Murphy, US jazz composer, was born in Palermo, California (died 30 May 1987)

15 December 1915, Wednesday (-10,737) Serbian troops retook Belgrade from the Austrians.

14 December 1915, Tuesday (-10,738)

13 December 1915, Monday (-10,739) B J Vorster, President of South Africa, was born.

12 December 1915. Sunday (-10,740) In Germany, Hugo Junkers built the first all-metal aeroplane.� The Junkers J1 first flew at Dessau.

11 December 1915, Saturday (-10,741)

10 December 1915, Friday (-10,742) The one millionth Ford Model T was produced in the River Rouge plant this day. Overall in 1915 Ford produced 308,162 vehicles, with the cheapest model selling for US$ 390. In 1916 production increased by a further 200,000 and the price was reduced by US$ 45. The second largest US car manufacturer, Willys-Overland, produced, in 1915, 91,780 cars, up from 18,200 in 1910.

9 December 1915, Thursday (-10,743) Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano singer, was born.

8 December 1915, Wednesday (-10,744) Turkish forces began a siege of Kut.

7 December 1915, Tuesday (-10,745) Eli Wallach, actor, was born.

6 December 1915. Monday (-10,746) Germany occupied Bucharest, capital of Rumania, ending Rumania�s war effort against Germany. See 30 November 1918.

5 December 1915, Sunday (-10,747)

4 December 1915. Saturday (-10,748) The US state of Georgia officially recognised the Klu Klux Klan.

3 December 1915, Friday (-10,749) German diplomats were expelled from Washington DC, USA.

2 December 1915, Thursday (-10,750) Adolph Green, US singer, was born in New York

1 December 1915, Wednesday (-10,751)

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30 November 1915, Tuesday (-10,752) Brownie McGhee, US blues singer, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee

29 November 1915, Monday (-10,753) Billy Strayhorn, US composer, was born in Dayton Ohio (died� 31 May 1967 in New York)

25 November 1915, Thursday (-10,757) (1) The White supremacist society Klu Klux Klan was revived at Stone Mountain, Georgia, by Colonel William Simmons. The original Klan, from Greek kuklos = circle, was formed as a secret Confederate Army. Its �night riders� in their hooded costumes terrorised Blacks. The new Klan also opposed Catholics, Jews, immigration, birth control, the repeal of Prohibition, pacifism and Darwinism, as well as Black people.

(2) General Augusto Pinochet, Chilean dictator who overthrew Allende in 1973, was born.

23 November 1915, Tuesday (-10,759)

22 November 1915. Monday (-10,760) General Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend was advancing by boat on Baghdad with a force of 9,000 men of the 6^th Indian Division. The land was roadless, an �arid billiard table� as he described it. At Ctesiphon, 20 miles short of Baghdad, Townshend came up against a large, well supplied force. He was short of supplies because a stingy and over-optimistic government in India expected him to get all the supplies he needed in Baghdad.� Townshend�s forces drove out the Turks but at a loss of 40% of his men. He was now unable to withstand any Turkish counter-attack, let alone advance further, so he retreated to Kut with 1,600 Turkish prisoners of war and 4,500 wounded from both sides.� The Invasion of Mesopotamia was to secure the oil but that only required the occupation of a small area around Basra. This would, keep the Turks away from the Iranian port of Abadan, terminus of the Anglo-Iranian pipeline which supplied the Royal navy with oil. Kut was besieged by the Turks, from 8 December 1915. Townshend had 13,500 inside to feed, including some 2,500 Indian non-combatants and 2,000 sick and wounded. There were also 6,000 Arabs. They had to contend with freezing cold and torrential rain. A relief force never got near enough; three relief attempts were made, at a cost of 23,000 casualties. The Indians would not eat meat, although the oxen were slaughtered for food by the British, then the camels, horses, and finally cats, starlings, dogs, and hedgehogs. Gallipoli had been evacuated by the British on 8 January 1916 and elated by this, and now with troops to spare from there, the Turks refused a ransom of �2million (�67million in 2002 prices) to let the defenders leave. Kut was the first siege in which supplies were dropped by air, including flour for the Indian�s chappatis. However the Turks and their German allies had more and better aircraft. Finally Kut surrendered on 27 April 1916, with rations down to seven ounces of grain a day for the 12,000 men there. More Indian and British soldiers died during the forced march from Kut to captivity in Mesopotamia or even all the way to Turkey. However Townshend was in relatively comfortable captivity near Constantinople.� Kut finally fell to the Allies in February 1917, and Baghdad fell in March 1917.

19 November 1915, Friday (-10,763) The Allies asked China to join the entente.

14 November 1915, Sunday (-10,768) Death of Booker T Washington, first principal of the Tuskegee Institute (Alabama) for Blacks.

13 November 1915. Saturday (-10,769) Churchill resigned from the cabinet over the Dardanelles.

12 November 1915, Friday (-10,770) Roland Barthes, French philosopher, was born (died 1980)

11 November 1915, Thursday (-10,771)

10 November 1915, Wednesday (-10,772) (1) A survey showed that women working in UK factories have enabled production to rise by 250%, see 24 February .1915 and 20 October 1915.

(2) Britain annexed the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.

9 November 1915, Tuesday (-10,773) British war casualties now totalled 510,000.

8 November 1915, Monday (+10,774) The Italian liner Ancona was torpedoed off Sardinia, over 200 died.

7 November 1915, Sunday (-10,775) 40,000 people protested in Chicago, USA, at a new law closing bars on Sundays.

1 November 1915, Monday (-10,781)

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31 October 1915, Sunday (-10,782) Famine was reported in some parts of Russia.

30 October 1915, Saturday (-10,783) Gallieni became the French Minister of War.

28 October 1915, Thursday (-10,785) The first performance of Richard Strauss�s �Alpine Symphony� in Berlin.

25 October 1915, Monday (-10,788) The railway between London Waterloo and East Putney was electrified.

24 October 1915, Sunday (-10,789) Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone singer, was born (died 1984)

23 October 1915, Saturday (-10,790) Around 30,000 women marched along 5th Avenue, New York, demanding the right to vote.

22 October 1915, Friday (-10,791)

21 October 1915, Thursday (-10,792) The Battle of Isonzo began; Italian forces made small territorial gains.

20 October 1915, Wednesday (-10,793) UK Prime Minister Lloyd George allowed women to step into many male employment roles, three months after 30,000 women marched down Whitehall demanding �The right to serve�. Trades Unions were concerned in case the move depressed wages.

18 October 1915, Monday (-10,795)

17 October 1915. Sunday (-10, 796) Russia and Italy followed Britain and France in declaring war on Bulgaria.

16 October 1915. Saturday (-10,797) The Allies blockaded Bulgarian ports.� France declared war on Bulgaria.

15 October 1915. Friday (-10,798) Britain declared war on Bulgaria. France declared war on Bulgaria on 16 October 1915.

14 October 1915. Thursday (-10,799) Bulgaria and Serbia each declared war on the other.

13 October 1915, Wednesday (-10,800) The British Government banned �treating� � buying drinks for another � in an effort to curb drunkenness amongst factory workers.

12 October 1915. Tuesday (-10,801) (1) The UK government broke off relations with Bulgaria.

(2) British nurse, Edith Cavell, was executed by a German firing squad in Brussels for helping Allied prisoners escape over the Dutch frontier; she had given medical attention to both Allied and German casualties equally. �The Brussels authorities had ordered her execution, which was opposed by the Kaiser and the German High Command as a political mistake, carried out quickly by the German occupation regime in Belgium before Berlin was informed.� Her death aroused patriotic fervour in Britain against Germany.

11 October 1915, Monday (-10,802) Henri Jean Fabre, French entomologist, died in Serignan, France (born 21 December 1823 in St Leons, France).

10 October 1915, Sunday (-10,803) Harry Edison, Us jazz trumpeter, was born in Columbus, Ohio.

9 October 1915. Saturday (-10,804) The Serbian capital, Belgrade, fell to the Austro-German army.

8 October 1915, Friday (-10,805) Salfords railway station, Brighton main line, opened.

7 October 1915, Thursday (-10,806) Ivy Wallace, author, was born (died 13 March 2006).

6 October 1915, Wednesday (-10,807) Humberto Sousa Medeiros, Archbishop of Boston 1970-83, was born in Arrifes, S�o Miguel Island, Azores (died 1983)

5 October 1915. Tuesday (-10,808) Allied troops landed at Salonika, Greece, to help Serbia (see 26 April 1915). These troops probably dissuaded Greece from joining the German side, and in 1918 took part in an offensive against Bulgaria, but otherwise played little role in the war.

4 October 1915, Monday (-10,809) George Edwardes, British musician, died in Clee, Lincolnshire (born 4 October 1855 in London)

1 October 1915, Friday (-10,812) (Rail Tunnels) The Grenchenberg rail tunnel, Switzerland, 8.578 km long, opened on the Moutier-Grenchen line.

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28 September 1915. Tuesday (-10,815) (1) The British defeated the Turks at Kut El Amara in Mesopotamia.

(2) Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg was born (see 19 June 1953).

26 September 1915. Sunday (-10,817) (1) British and French troops began two big offensives, in Champagne and Flanders.

(2) Kier Hardie, founder of the Labour Party, died.

25 September 1915. Saturday (-10,818) (1) The Battle of Loos began, and the London Regiment�s 18^th battalion went over the top kicking a football.

(2) The British forces used poison gas for the first time. Its first use was by the Germans on 22 April 1915.

24 September 1915, Friday (-10,819)

23 September 1915. Thursday (-10,820) King Constantine of Greece began mobilising against Bulgaria, in aid of Serbia.

22/ September 1915. Wednesday (-10,821) Bulgaria mobilised its army and declared war on Serbia.

21 September 1915, Tuesday (-10,822) Stonehenge was sold at auction for �6,600. A Mr Chubb bought it as a present for his wife.

20 September 1915, Monday� (-10,823)

19 September 1915. Sunday (-10,824) The Germans took Vilna (Vilnius), capital of Lithuania.

18 September 1915, Saturday (-10,825) (1) The Kaiser gave renewed assurances that passenger ships would not be attacked.

(2) The British government revealed that the war was costing �3.5 million daily.

(3) German forces entered Vilnius, Lithuania.

17 September 1915, Friday (-10,826)

16 September 1915, Thursday (-10,827) (1) Bulgaria formed an alliance with Germany.

(2) Haiti became a US Protectorate.

15 September 1915, Wednesday (-10,828) The Entente (France, UK) promised Bulgaria part of Macedonia if she declared war on Turkey.

14 September 1915, Tuesday (-10,829)

13 September 1915. Monday (-10,830) The process for making cornflakes was patented by Frank Martin. The previous combination of corn, oats, and grain proved indigestible for the public.

12 September 1915, Tuesday (-10,831) Billy Daniels, US singer, was born in Jacksonville, Florida (died 7 October 1988 in Los Angeles)

11 September 1915. Saturday (-10,832) The first Women�s Institute in Britain was formed, in Anglesey, Wales.� The first Women�s Institute was founded in Canada in 1897.

9 September 1915, Thursday (-10,834) The USA expelled its Austrian Envoy.

6 September 1915. Monday (-10,837) (1) The first military tank, the No.1 Lincoln, modified and renamed Little Willie, had its first run.

(2) Bulgaria signed a military accord with Germany and Austria.� Bulgaria was seeking territory held by Greece and Serbia that it felt should be Bulgarian, see 10 August 1913.� See 15 September 1915.

5 September 1915, Sunday (-10,838) David Bedell-Sivright, rugby player, died (born 8 December 1880)

4 September 1915, Saturday (-10,839)

3 September 1915, Friday (-10,840) Slim Memphis (Peter Chapman), US blues singer, was born in Memphis, Tennessee.

2 September 1915, Thursday (-10,841) Percy Lucas, golf champion, was born.

1 September 1915, Wednesday (-10,842)

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30 August 1915. Monday (-10,844) The great Russian fortress of Brest-Litovsk fell to the Germans.

29 August 1915. Sunday (-10,845) The UK sent �55,000,000 in gold to pay the USA for munitions.

25 August 1915, Wednesday (-10,849)

22 August 1915, Sunday (-10,852) (Science) Canadian-US physicist James Hillier was born in Brantford, Ontario.

21 August 1915. Saturday (-10,853) Italy declared war on the Ottoman Empire.

20 August 1915, Friday (-10,854) Paul Erlich, bacteriologist, died of a stroke in Bad Homburg, Germany. Born in Strehlen, Silesia (now Poland) on 14 March 1854, he laid the foundations for the use of chemotherapy in treating disease. In 1909 he developed the first compound designed specifically to cure a disease; Salvarsan, for syphilis.

19 August 1915, Thursday (-10,855) Battle of the Gulf of Riga. The German High Seas Fleet was able to clear the Russian minefields and enter the gulf, but withdrew after German cruiser SMS Moltke was hit by a torpedo fired by British submarine HMS E1.

18 August 1915, Wednesday (-10,856) The Germans took the fortress of Novo Georgievsk.

17 August 1915, Tuesday (-10,857) The Germans took Kovno.

16 August 1915, Monday (-10,858) The Allies promised the Kingdom of Serbia, should victory be achieved over Austria-Hungary and its allied Central Powers, the territories of Baranja, Srem and Slavonia from the Cisleithanian part of the Dual Monarchy, along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and eastern Dalmatia from the Krka River to Bar.

15 August 1915, Sunday (-10,859) The Allied landings at Suvla, Dardanelles, were completed.

14 August 1915, Saturday (-10,860) A rail crash in Weedon, England killed ten people.

13 August 1915, Friday (-10,861) George Joseph Smith, the infamous �Brides in the Bath� murderer, was hanged by John Ellis at Maidstone Prison. Smith had �married� three different women, then murdered them to claim on life insurance policies or gain their fortunes.

10 August 1915, Tuesday (-10,864)

7 August 1915, Saturday (-10,867) Philip Snow, author, was born.

6 August 1915. Friday (-10,868) New Allied landings on Gallipoli. See 8 January 1916.

5 August 1915. Thursday (-10,869) Austro-German forces took Warsaw as the Russian abandoned it.

4 August 1915, Wednesday (-10,870) Nurse Edith Cavell was arrested in Brussels, see 12 October 1915.

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

31 July 1915, Saturday (-10.874) George Forest Chichester, US composer, was born in Brooklyn, New York.

28 July 1915, Wednesday (-10,877) (Science) US physicist Charles Hard Townes was born in Greenville, South Carolina. In 1953 he developed the maser, precursor of the laser.

27 July 1915. Tuesday (-10,878) Revolution in Haiti. President Vilbrun Guillaume was killed by a mob.

25 July 1915, Sunday (-10,880) Barmey Oldfield set a record time of 3.0162� minutes driving 5 miles in a Fiat.

20 July 1915, Tuesday (-10,885)

18 July 1915, Sunday (-10,887) Katherine Stinson became the first woman to loop the loop

17 July 1915, Saturday (-10,888) Sir Sandford Fleming, inventor, was born.

16 July 1915, Friday (-10,889) In Britain the National Registration Act made it compulsory for men eligible for military service to register.

15 July 1915. Thursday (-10,890) 200,000 Welsh miners went on strike for more pay.

14 July 1915, Wednesday (-10,891) Chevrolet purchased the Mason Motor Company.

13 July 1915, Tuesday (-10,892)

12 July 1915, Monday (-10,893) The German Government took control of the coal industry.

11 July 1915, Sunday (-10,894) Yul Brynner, actor, was born in Sakhalin (died 10 October 1985)

10 July 1915, Saturday (-10,895) Saul Bellow, US author, was born in Lachine, Quebec.

9 July 1915. Friday (-10,896) German South West Africa (Namibia) was conquered. All German troops surrendered to Botha (South Africa), see 14 April 1915.

8 July 1915, Thursday (-10,897)

7 July 1915, Wednesday (-10,898) Yul Brynner, actor, was born.

6 July 1915, Tuesday (-10,899) Sir Lawrence Hargrave, aviation pioneer, died.

5 July 1915, Monday (-10,900)

4 July 1915, Sunday (-10,901) (USA) As World War One got underway I Europe, the US held a �National Americanization Day� to pull the nation together, promoting nativism amidst fears of subversion.

3 July 1915, Saturday (-10,902) The war was costing Britain �3 million daily.

2 July 1915, Friday (-10,903) Porfirio D�az, 29th President of Mexico (born 1830) died.

1 July 1915, Thursday (-10,904) A packet of aspirin cost 3d (1p) and a pair of silk stockings at Harrods was 3s 11d (19.5p). A British train driver got �2 0s 6d (202.5p) a week. A female cotton weaver got 18s 6d (92.5p) a week. The Secretary of the Lunacy Commission got �800 a year.

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

30 June 1915, Wednesday (-10,905) (Geology) Elso Sterrenberg Barghoorn was born in New York City, USA. In 1954 he discovered, with Stanley A Tyler, very ancient fossils in Gunflint chert in the Canadian shield. These fossils of bacteria and algae were estimated at 2 billion years old.

27 June 1915, Sunday (-10,908)

24 June 1915, Thursday (-10,911) Professor Fred Hoyle, British astronomer and science fiction writer, was born.

23 June 1915, Wednesday (-10,912) Italy launched its first major military campaign in World War One with an army of 225,000 under command of Luigi Cadorna attacking Austro-Hungarian positions above the Isonzo River in the Alps.

22 June 1915. Tuesday (-10,913) The Austrians retook Lemberg (Lvov), capital of Galicia, which they had lost to Russia on 3 September 1914.

20 June 1915, Sunday (-10,915)

19 June 1915, Saturday (-10,916) Iceland gave women aged over 40 the vote. In 1918 the age for women voters was reduced to the same as for men. .

18 June 1915, Friday (-10,917) Red Adair, specialist oil well firefighter, was born.

15 June 1915, Tuesday (-10,920) Eleanor Warren, cellist, was born (died 25 August 2005).

11 June 1915. Friday (-10,924) Serbian troops invaded Albania and took Tirana, the capital.

10 June 1915, Thursday (-10,925) Second Battle of Garua. The remaining 249 German and African troops stationed in garrisons around Garua, Kamerun surrendered to British and French forces.

9 June 1915, Wednesday (-10,926) British troops in France were first issued with hand grenades.

8 June 1915, Tuesday (-10,927) Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, Indian poet, known for his poems and activism work for an independent India, was born in Kayyar, India (died 2015).

7 June 1915, Monday (-10,928) The British air force downed a German Zeppelin. Sub-Lieutenant Warneford took his aircraft over the airship and dropped six 20-pound bombs, one of which hit its target. For this Warneford was awarded the Victoria Cross.

6 June 1915, Sunday (-10,929) The Kaiser promised that in future the German Navy would not attack passenger vessels. However on 28 June 1915 a German submarine sunk the passenger liner Armenia off Cornwall, and the passenger liner Arabic was sunk on 19 August 1915.

5 June 1915, Saturday (-10,930) French sculptor and draughtsman Henri Gaudier-Brzeska was killed in action in World War One, aged 23.

4 June 1915. Friday (-10,931) Austro-German troops retook Premsyl from the Russians.

1 June 1915, Tuesday (-10,934)

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

31 May 1915, Monday (-10,935) German airship bombing raid on London; Stoke Newington was badly damaged and 7 Londoners died.

30 May 1915, Sunday (-10,936) Michael Thwaites, poet, was born (died 1 November 2005)

29 May 1915, Saturday (-10,937) Manuel de Arriaga officially resigned as president of Portugal, allowing Prime Minister Teofilo Braga to take over as the second president of the country.

28 May 1915, Friday (-10,938) John B Gruelle patented the Raggedy Ann doll. It was an early example of merchandise tied in with literary fiction, here an illustrated children�s book.

27 May 1915. Thursday (-10,939) (1) The Turkish government decided to deport the entire Armenian population to Syria and Mesopotamia, suspecting them of lack of loyalty. The deportation involved much cruelty against the Armenians. Of the total Armenian population of 1.8 million, a third were deported, a third escaped deportation, and a third were killed. The Russians conquered Turkish Armenia in 1916 and proclaimed �the liberation of the Armenian people from the Turkish yoke� but prevented the Armenians from returning to their homeland as they planned to settle the area with Cossacks.

(2) Zeppelin raid on Southend, Essex.

26 May 1915. Wednesday (-10,940) The first Zeppelin raids on London. A ton of bombs was dropped from one airship, killing 7 and injuring 15.

25 May 1915. Tuesday (-10,941) (1) Prime Minister Herbert Asquith of Britain formed a wartime Liberal-Conservative coalition, replacing the former Liberal Government; Asquith remained Prime Minister. The Liberal Government had been shaken by the scandal of British troops in the front line facing a shortage of high explosive shells.

(2) The Austrians bombarded Venice.

24 May 1915. Monday (-10,942).� The Austrian fleet bombarded Ancona, N.E. Italy.

23 May 1915, Sunday (-10,943) Italy entered the war on the Allied side, see 25 April 1915.

22 May 1915. Saturday (-10,944) The Gretna Green troop train disaster, the worst on Britain�s railways, took place; 227 died. Three trains had collided at Quintinshill, and 200 of the casualties were Scots Guards on the way to war. The shocked and dishevelled survivors were mistaken for German POWs and stoned by civilians.

21 May 1915, Friday (-10,945) Leonid Gobyato, Russian General who designed the portable mortar, died in combat aged 40.

20 May 1915, Thursday (-10,946) Moshe Dayan, Israeli military commander and politician, was born in Deganya.

19 May 1915, Wednesday (-10.947)

17 May 1915. Monday (-10,949) Zeppelin raid on Ramsgate, Kent.

16 May 1915, Sunday (-10,950) The Mont d�Or rail tunnel, between France and Switzerland, 6 km long, opened.

15 May 1915, Saturday (-10,951) Unsuccessful British and French offensive in NE France.

14 May 1915, Friday (-10,952) Britain began internment of enemy aliens.

13 May 1915, Thursday (-10,953) In Britain, street violence against those suspected of being �aliens� increased following the sinking of the Lusitania on 7 May 1915.

12 May 1915, Wednesday (-10,954) South Africa occupied Windhoek, capital of German South West Africa.

11 May 1915, Tuesday (-10,955) German-owned businesses, shops and restaurants, in the London suburbs of Bethnal Green, Camden Town, Limehouse, Poplar, Stepney and Walthamstow were attacked, burnt and destroyed. Traders at Smithfield Market refused to trade with ethnic Germans, even if they had been naturalised as Britons. An American trader at Smithfield who was inclined to trade with the foreigners was also beaten up. The unrest was in response to the sinking of the Lusitania four days earlier.

10 May 1915. Monday (-10,956) (1) Zeppelin raid on Southend, Essex.

(2) Fierce fighting in the Ypres area.

(3) Denis Thatcher, wife of Margaret, British Prime Minister, was born.

9-25 May 1915, Battle of Aubers Ridge (Second Battle of Artois); the French advanced three miles at great cost.

7 May 1915. Friday (-10,959) The Lusitania, captained by William Thomas Turner, was torpedoed. 1,400 people drowned 8 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, near Cork. 128 Americans were among the 1,208 casualties, including friends of President Woodrow Wilson and the millionaire yachtsman Alfred Vanderbilt, as the ship made its way back to Liverpool on a voyage from New York. America condemned the torpedoing of the ship by a German submarine as an act of piracy and this brought the USA into the War. The 30,000 tonne Lusitania had sailed from New York on 1 May 1915. She carried 1,257 passengers, including 128 Americans; 702 crew; and an estimated 3 stowaways. Her cargo list, later a source of controversy, included small arms cartridges, uncharged shrapnel shells, cheese, furs, and, oddly, 205 barrels of oysters. The Germans later claimed the �oysters� were actually heavy munitions whose explosion had doomed the ship. However there was no second explosion after the torpedo hit; there were no heavy munitions and rifle rounds burned harmlessly, like firecrackers, and did not explode. Cunard had shut down the Lusitania�s fourth boiler room to save on coal but even at the reduced maximum speed of 21 knots it was reckoned she could outrun any German U-boat. Passengers ignored warnings from the German Embassy published in the New York Press not to cross the Atlantic under a belligerent flag, and the lifeboat drills on board were palpably inadequate. The Lusitania had plenty of lifeboats but most were unlaunchable because the ship listed heavily as water poured through lower deck portholes, opened for air despite orders to close them.� She sank within 18 minutes of being hit. The sinking of the Lusitania deepened American hostility towards Germany but President Woodrow Wilson�s administration was split between the hawks and doves, and it was another 2 years before America entered the war.

6 May 1915, Thursday (-10,960) Orson Wells, American actor and film director, was born,

5 May 1915, Wednesday (-10,861) Ronald Poulton, rugby player, died (born 12 September 1889).

4 May 1915, Tuesday (-10,962) Italy denounced the Triple Alliance (Italy, Germany, Austro-Hungary). This was a preparatory move to her entering the War on the Allied side on 23 May 1915.

3 May 1915, Monday (-10,963) The war was costing Britain �2 million per day.

2 May 1915, Sunday (-10,964) German forces broke through on the Eastern Front at Gorlice.

1 May 1915, Saturday (-10,965) (1) Widespread resentment by British workers at alcohol sales restrictions.

(2) The US ship Gulflight was sunk without warning by a German U-boat.

(3) The Austrian commander Mackensen reversed earlier weaknesses of the Austrian Army, which in Spring 1915 was on the verge of collapse after repeated Russian attacks.� At Dunajec-San, he forced the Russians to retreat.

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

30 April 1915. Friday (-10,966) (1) Germany invaded the Russian Baltic provinces.

(2) Zeppelin air raids on Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds.

29 April 1915, Thursday (-10,967) Chevrolet introduced its Model 490, priced at US$ 490.

27 April 1915, Tuesday (-10,969)

26 April 1915. Monday (-10,970) Allied forces established themselves on the Gallipoli Peninsula, having landed the previous day, 25 April 1915. This was an attempt to take control from the Dardanelles from Turkey, and open up a supply route to Russia. The Allies hoped, against all evidence, that the landing itself would provoke a coup in Turkey and remove it from the War. Russian Jews, who saw the ottoman Empire as a barrier to a Jewish Homeland, supported the exercise. Forces landed included 27,500 British, 18,100 ANZACs, and 16,800 French. However the landing site was fully exposed to Turkish fire, and evacuation of Allied troops was the only option. Also on 25 September 1915 the Germans attacked Serbia and Allied forces had to go to Salonika to buttress Serbian resistance (see 5 October 1915). Evacuation began on 8 December 1915 and was completed by 9 January 1916. The Dardanelles expedition cost 70,700 British casualties (26,000 dead), 25,700 Australians (7,800 killed), 23,000 French (8,000 killed), 7,100 New Zealanders (2,445 killed) and 5,500 Indians (1,682 killed). However the evacuation was managed with very little loss of life.

25 April 1915. Sunday (-10,971) Italy signed a secret treaty, the Treaty of London, with Britain, France, and Russia.� Italy agreed to enter the war on the Allied side within one month in return for territorial gains.� Italy was to gain the Austrian provinces of Trentino, South Tyrol, Istria, Gorizia, Gradisca, and Trieste, also a large stretch of the Dalmatian coast and islands, some Albanian territory around Valona, full sovereignty over the Turkish-controlled Dodecanese Islands, the Turkish province of Adalia in Asia Minor, colonial gains in Africa, and a share of war indemnities.� The Allies agreed to this because they believed that Italian intervention would soon destroy Austro-Hungary, opening the �back door to Germany�.� Italy duly entered the war on 24 May 1915, but the expected breakthrough against Austria never materialised.� When the Bolsheviks took over in 1917 they revealed the terms of this secret treaty, which ran totally against the ethnic-determination principles of President Wilson of the USA; he stated he did not consider the treaty terms as binding.� At the Paris Peace Conference the UK and France also opposed implementation of the treaty�s terms, and Italy received far less than originally specified.� This created popular resentment in Italy and was a factor in the rise of Mussolini and Fascism in Italy.

24 April 1915. Saturday (-10,972) The arrest in Constantinople (now Istanbul) of 235 Armenian academics, politicians, lawyers and journalists. Another 600 were later detained. All were sent to Anatolia, most of them slaughtered. Turkey feared they would collaborate with Russia. On this day the Ottoman Interior Minister, Talaat Pasha, gave the order for the Armenian Massacre. Many Armenians were deported to the Syrian desert to die.

23 April 1915, Friday (-10,973) Rupert Brooke, British poet, died at Lemnos.

22 April 1915. Thursday (-10,974) (1) The British began a new offensive at Ypres.

(2) The Germans began using poison gas, chlorine, against the British north of Ypres. 4,000 tons of chlorine were sent over Allied lines, killing 6,000. Many Germans were also killed whilst releasing the gas and they did not press forward, losing any advantage gained from using the gas. The new weapon was used by Britain on 25 September 1915.

21 April 1915, Wednesday (-10,975) Anthony Quinn, actor, was born.

20 April 1915. Tuesday (-10,976) President Wilson declared the USA to be strictly neutral in the Great War.

19 April 1915, Monday (-10,977) The British captured Hill no.60.

14 April 1915. Wednesday (-10,982) (1) Zeppelin air raid on Lowestoft and Maldon, Essex.

(2) South African troops began an offensive to clear the Germans from German south-west Africa (now Namibia).� See 9 July 1915.

9 April 1915, Friday (-10,987) Rudolph Schock, German singer, was born in Duisburg (died13 November 1986 in Berlin)

7 April 1915, Wednesday (-10,989) Billie Holiday, US jazz singer, was born.

6 April 1915, Tuesday (-10,990) (Morals) In Britain, the King ordered a Prohibition on alcohol in all the Royal Households.

5 April 1915. Monday (-10,991) France began a broad offensive from the Meuse to the Moselle.

4 April 1915, Sunday (-10,992) Easter Sunday. Andrew Stoddart, cricketer, died.

2 April 1915, Friday (-10,994)

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31 March 1915, Wednesday (10,996) Wyndham Halswelle, athlete, died (born 30 May 1882).

30 March 1915, Tuesday (-10,997) In Britain King George V offered to give up alcohol as an example to the munitions workers.

29 March 1915, Monday (-10,998) (Chemistry) Stainless Steel was patented by Harry Brearley (1871-1948), of Sheffield, UK. Such steel must contain at least 132% chromium, and also be less than 1% carbon.Nickel is also added to improve the steel.

28 March 1915, Sunday (-10,999) Jay Livingstone, US composer, was born in McDonald, Pennsylvania.

27 March 1915, Saturday (-11,000) Robert Lockwood Jr, blues guitarist, was born (died 21 November 2006).

26 March 1915, Friday (-11,001)

23 March 1915, Tuesday (-11,004) The Hungarian fortress of Przemysl fell to Russian forces.

22 March 1915, Monday (-11,005) London Underground extended the Metropolitan line, with a new station at North Harrow

21 March 1915, Sunday (-11,006) Frederick Winslow Taylor, the inventor of modern scientific time-management, died.

20 March 1915. Saturday (-11,007) German air raid on Deal, Kent.

19 March 1915, Friday (-11,008) The Defence of India Act was passed, giving the colonial government in British India powers to enforce criminal law, to curb nationalist and revolutionary activities in the country during and after World War I.

18 March 1915, Thursday (-11,009) Allied warships tried to force open the Dardanelles.

17 March 1915, Wednesday (-11,010) Yambol association football club was formed in Yambol, Bulgaria.

16 March 1915, Tuesday (-11,011) Britain�s Jockey Club decided that the War should not stop horse racing.

15 March 1915, Monday (-11,012) US soldiers under General Pershing entered Mexico to hunt down the revolutionary Pancho Villa.

14 March 1915, Sunday (-11,013) The German battle cruiser Dresden was sunk.

13 March 1915, Saturday (-11,014)

11 March 1915. Thursday (-11,016) Britain began a naval blockade of Germany.

10 March 1915, Wednesday (-11,017) Battle of Neuve-Chapelle began. By 12 March 1915 the Allies had captured the village and just� 4 square miles of countryside. 40,000 Allied soldiers fought, and of these there were 7,000 British and 4,200 Indian casualties; the Germans lost a similar number. This amounted to one casualty per 5,000 square feet of ground won.

9 March 1915, Tuesday (-11,018) Austro-German forces defeated the Russians at Grodno.

5 March 1915, Friday (-11,022)

1 March 1915. Monday (-11,026) Britain began blockading German ports.

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28 February 1915, Sunday (-11,027) Zero Mostel (Joel Samuel), US actor, was born in Brooklyn, New York.

27 February 1915, Saturday (-11,028) (France) In Paris, the Moulin Rouge burnt down.

26 February 1915. Friday (-11,029) Clydeside armament workers went on strike for more pay.

25 March 1915, Thursday (-11,028) HRH Prince George of Hanover was born (died 8 January 2006).

21 February 1915. Sunday (-11,034) German air raid on Essex.

19 February 1915 �Friday (-11,036) The Dardanelles campaign began. A Franco-British fleet began shelling Turkish fortifications along the Dardanelles, to open up the strategic waterway to get munitions to Russia via the Black Sea, and deliver Russian grain to France and the UK. Spotter planes from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal were directing the gunners by radio.

18 February 1915. Thursday (-11,037) (1) Germany�s blockade of Britain by submarine began.

(2) Shackleton�s ship Endurance became stuck in pack ice.

17 February 1915. Wednesday (-11,038) Germany captured the Polish port of Memel.

16 February 1915, Tuesday (-11,039) Bombardment of the Dardanelles defences began.

15 February 1915, Monday (-11,040) (Technology) Emile Hilaire Amagat, French physicist, died in Saint Satur.

13 February 1915, Saturday (-11,042)

12 February 1915, Friday (-11,043) The French began an offensive in the Champagne region.

11 February 1915. Thursday (-11,044) British seaplanes and airplanes bombarded Bruges and Ostend.

10 February 1915, Wednesday (-11,045) US President Wilson cautioned the WW1 combatants against attacks on US ships.

9 February 1915, Tuesday (-11,046)

7 February 1915-15 February 1915. Sunday (-11,048) Battle of the Masurian Lakes. The Russian 10^th Army was defeated by the Germans under Otto Von Below.

6 February 1915, Saturday (-11,049) Derk Roemers, Dutch politician, was born in Haarlem, Netherlands (died 1983)

5 February 1915, Friday (-11,050) (Atomic) Robert Hofstadter was born in New York City, USA. In 1961 he determined the internal structure of the proton and neutron.

4 February 1915, Thursday (-11,051) (1) British war casualties now stood at 104,000 dead.

(2) Germany began using submarines in warfare to blockade Britain.

(3) The Sarajevo conspirators were executed in Bosnia.

3 February 1915, Wednesday (-11,052) Richard Bales, composer, was born.

2 February 1915. Tuesday (-11,053) The Turks were defeated on the Suez Canal.

1 February 1915, Monday (-11,054) British passport holders were required to carry photographs, not just written descriptions.

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31 January 1915, Sunday (-11,055) Battle of Bolimov; German forces attacked Russian positions near the Polish village of Bolimov, using poison gas. They used liquid xylyl bromide, tear gas, known as T-Stoff. However the chemical froze instead of vaporising and had no impact.

30 January 1915, Saturday (-11,056) John Profumo, British Cabinet Minister involved in the Profumo Affair with Christine Keeler and a Russian attach�, was born.

29 January 1915, Friday (-11,057) Victor Mature, actor, was born.

28 January 1915, Thursday (-11,058) The US Coastguard was founded at Washington DC.

27 January 1915, Wednesday (-11,059) Jack Brymer, English musician, was born� in South Shields, England (died 2003)

26 January 1915, Tuesday (-11,060) William Hopper, actor, was born.

25 January 1915. Monday (-11,061) (1) In Canada, the Northern Railway from Lake Superior to the Pacific Coast was completed.

(2) Mussolini formed the Fasci d�Azione Rivoluzionara in Milan.

24 January 1915. Sunday (-11,062) (1) 1,000 British suffragettes arrived in France to fill factory jobs vacated by men away on the Front, see 10 November 1915.

(2) Admiral Hipper was intercepted by the British navy off Dogger Bank after bombardment of UK coastal towns. The superior British force sank the German battleship, Blucher. After this German naval raids on UK coastal towns ceased.

23 January 1915, Saturday (-11,063) Heavy fighting began in the Carpathian Mountains between Russian and Austro-Hungarian forces. This continued until mid-April.

21 January 1915, Thursday (-11,065)

20 January 1915, Wednesday (-11,066) Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan, was born (died 27 October 2006)

19 January 1915, Tuesday (-11,067) George Claude patented the neon tube, for use in advertising.

18 January 1915. Monday (-11,068) Japan made �21 Demands� on China, which if accepted would virtually give Japan sovereignty over China.

15 January 1915. Friday (-11,071) German Zeppelin airships dropped bombs on villages in Norfolk, killing five people. Great Yarmouth was bombed.

13 January 1915. Wednesday (-11,073) (1) South African troops occupied Swakopmund in German South West Africa.

(2) An earthquake killed 20,000 in central Italy.

12 January 1915. Tuesday (-11,074) The US Congress defeated a Bill for women's suffrage.

11 January 1915, Monday (-11,075) Cyril Holmes, athlete, was born.

10 January 1915, Sunday (-11,076) Buddy Johnson, US composer, was born in Darlington, South Carolina (died 9 February 1977 in New York)

9 January 1915, Saturday (-11,077) Mexico and the US signed a peace treaty, ending border disputes.

8 January 1915, Friday (-11,078) Heavy fighting in the Bassee Canal and Soissons area of France.

7 January 1915, Thursday (-11,079) Heavy rain caused floods in the Thames Valley, turning Windsor Castle into an island.

6 January 1915, Wednesday (-11,080) Ibolya Csak, Hungarian high jumper, was born (died 9 February 2006)

5 January 1915, Tuesday (-11,081)

3 January 1915, Sunday (-11,083) Tear gas was used in warfare for the first time; by Germany against the Russians, in Poland.

2 January 1915, Saturday (-11,084) Armand Peugeot, founder of Peugeot, died aged 65.

1 January 1915, Friday (-11,085) The Ilford rail crash in Essex, England killed ten people and injured another 500 passengers.

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31 December 1914, Thursday (-11,086) At the end of 1914, France alone had seen 900,000 of its citizens killed or hospitalised.

30 December 1914, Wednesday (-31,087) First Battle of Champagne. As the French launched a new assault, the German counterattacked their right flank and took out three lines of defence and inflicted major casualties.

29 December 1914, Tuesday (-11,088) The first Zeppelin appeared over the British coast. The Daily Mail newspaper cost � d.

28 December 1914, Monday (-11,089) (Railways) South Australian Railways opened the Peebinga railway line from Karoonda to Peebinga, South Australia, Australia.

27 December 1914, Sunday (-11,090) (Chemistry) Charles Martin Hall, US chemist, died in Daytona Beach, Florida.

26 December 1914, Saturday (-11,091) The German Government took control of food supplies and distribution.

25 December 1914. Friday (-11,092) In World War One, an informal truce between the combatants ended at midnight.

24 December 1914. Thursday (-11,093) The first air raid on Britain took place (see 1 November 1911). A single bomb fell in the grounds of St James Priory, Dover.

22 December 1914, Tuesday (-11,095) Turkish forces made unsuccessful attacks on Russian forces in the Caucasus.

20 December 1914, Sunday (-11,097) The British Protectorate of Egypt was established, with Hussein Kamil as Sultan.

19 December 1914. Saturday (-11,098) Britain declared Egypt to be a British Protectorate, deposing the ruler, Khedive Abbas II, who had sided with Germany�s ally, Turkey. Abbas II, born 14 July 1874, who succeeded his father on 8 January 1892, died in Geneva on 21 December 1944.

18 December 1914, Friday (-11,099) A meeting was held in Stellenbosch, South Africa to discuss the creation of a national newspaper for the country.

17 December 1914. Thursday (-11,100) Anzac (Australia, New Zealand, army corps) troops occupied Samoa and German New Guinea.

16 December 1914. Wednesday (-11,101) The German navy bombarded Hartlepool, Scarborough, and Whitby with over 1,000 shells, killing 102.

15 December 1914, Tuesday (-11,102) The Iwate Light Railway opened new stations in the Iwate Prefecture, Japan, including Ayaori, Iwanebashi, and Futsukamachi.

14 December 1914, Monday (-11,103) Serbian forces recaptured Belgrade.

13 December 1914, Sunday (-11,104) Fred Coe, US television producer, was born.

12 December 1914� Saturday (-11,105) The New York Stock Exchange reopened, for the first time since World war One began. It was hoped to raise money for the war effort, but stock values plummeted.

11 December 1914, Friday (-11,106) The Royal Flying Corps adopted the roundel now used by the RAF.

10 December 1914, Thursday (-11,107) Dorothy Lamour, actress, was born.

9 December 1914, Wednesday (-11,108) The first warship built as an aircraft carrier was commissioned. HMS Ark Royal, originally designed as a merchant ship, but acquired by The Admiralty whilst under construction at Blyth, was launched in September 1914.

8 December 1914. Tuesday (-11,109) Battle of the Falklands.� Six of the seven ships in the German Pacific Squadron were sunk.� Admiral Sturdee�s victory over Vice-Admiral von Spee ended German naval activity in the southern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, allowing the British navy to concentrate on home waters and the Mediterranean for the remainder of World War One.

7 December 1914, Monday (-11,110) The Barnes-Jewish Hospital opened on its present site in St. Louis, Missouri, USA

6 December 1914. Sunday (-11,111) The Germans captured Lodz, Poland.

5 December 1914, Saturday (-11,112) The Austrians defeated the Russians at Limanova, but failed to break the Russian lines at Krakow.

4 December 1914, Friday (-11,113) George Swindin, footballer, was born (died 27 October 2005).

3 December 1914, Thursday (-11,114) Trevor Foster, rugby league player, was born (died 2 April 2005)

2 December 1914, Wednesday (-11,115) The Austrians took Belgrade from Serbia.

1 December 1914, Tuesday (-11,116) The British Government suppressed anti-enlistment newspapers in Dublin.

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30 November 1914, Monday (-11,117) The Great War was spreading from the Franco-German border to encompass the world. There was fighting in the Dardanelles region of Turkey, Britain has occupied Cyprus, Russia invaded Armenia and naval battles off Sumatra. There were also conflicts in various parts of Africa between German and Allied colonies.

29 November 1914, Sunday (-11,118) Japanese forces seized German territory at Kiaochow, China, thereby winning favour with the Allies.� However Japan then went on to try and establish a virtual protectorate over most of China.

28 November 1914, Saturday (-11,119) Vincent Fago, American comic book artist, was born.

27 November 1914, Friday (-11,120) The UK passed the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA), enabling the government to requisition factories and censor the press. Further restrictions were imposed as the War progressed.

(2) Britain�s first policewoman went on duty, on completion of her training, in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

26 November 1914, Thursday (-11,121) At Sheerness, Kent, the HMS Bulwark exploded, killing 700 people.

25 November 1914, Wednesday (-11,122) Joe Di Maggio, US baseball player who married Marilyn Monroe, was born.

24 November 1914, Tuesday (-11,123) Lynne Chadwick, English sculptor, was born.

23 November 1914. Monday (-11,124) The British navy bombarded Zeebrugge.

22 November 1914, Sunday (-11,125) Peter Townsend, British Air Force officer in World War Two, was born.

21 November 1914. Saturday (-11,126) Indian troops occupied the port of Basra, Persia.

20 November 1914, Friday (-11,127) Emilio Pucci, Italian fashion designer, was born in Naples, Italy.

19 November 1914, Thursday (-11,128) The Battle of Kolubara. Austro-Hungarian forces gained a foothold in Serbia as the opposing armies fell back towards Belgrade.

18 November 1914, Wednesday (-11,129) On the eastern front, the Germans broke the Russian line at Kutno.

17 November 1914, Tuesday (-11,130) Lloyd George announced that Income tax would double in 1915 to pay for the war, then costing Britain �1 million per day.

16 November 1914, Monday (-11,131) The University of Santo Domingo was established in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

15 November 1914, Sunday (-11,132) Peter Lunn, skiing champion, was born.

14 November 1914. Saturday (-11,133) (1) The Sultan of Turkey declared a Jihad, or Holy War, against the Allies.

(2) Lord Roberts, Boer War commander, died whilst visiting British troops in the field in France.

13 November 1914. Friday (-11,134) (1) General Botha�s forces crushed the rebellion of General Christaan de Wet in the Orange Free State, opening the way to march on the German colonists of South West Africa.

(2) The brassiere was patented in the USA by heiress Mary Phelps Jacob.

12 November 1914, Thursday (-11,135) Peter Whitehead, English racing car driver, was born (died 1958).

11 November 1914, Wednesday (-11,136) Howard Fast, US author, was born in New York City.

10 November 1914, Tuesday (-11,137) The Australian cruiser Sydney sank the German cruiser Emden off Sumatra. This cleared the Indian Ocean of German forces.

9 November 1914, Monday (-11,138) Jean-Baptiste Faure, French opera singer, died.

8 November 1914, Sunday (-11,139) Admiral Sturdee sank a German squadron off the Falklands.

7 November 1914. Saturday (-11,140) The German fortified city of Qingdao (Tsingtao)� in China surrendered to the Japanese, see 27 August 1914.

6 November 1914, Friday (-11,141) British troops landed at Fao (now Iraq) and captured the Turkish fort there.

5 November 1914. Thursday (-11,142) Following Russia, Britain and France declared war on the Ottoman Empire. Britain annexed Cyprus. However the Dardanelles were now closed to Allied shipping, and it was vital to be able to get supplies to support Russia. The ports of Archangel and Vladivostock were ice-bound, so an attempt was made to seize the Dardanelles by the Gallipoli campaign (see 25 April 1915).

4 November 1914. Wednesday (-11,143) (1) At the Ritz-Carlton hotel, New York, Edna Chase of Vogue magazine organised the first catwalk fashion show.

(2) The Russians declared war on Turkey and invaded Armenia, part of the Ottoman Empire.

3 November 1914. Tuesday (-11,144) (1) German ships bombarded Yarmouth.

(2) Britain declared the North Sea to be a military area, dangerous to merchant shipping, and mined it. Germany responded on 4 February 1915 by making a similar declaration and also mining, the area of the English Channel and waters around Ireland. Germany began a submarine blockade of Britain. On 1 March 1915 Britain announced that all ships presumed to be carrying goods of enemy origin, destination or ownership would be seized, regardless of ownership or destination of the ship.

2 November 1914, Monday (-11,145) Russia declared war on Turkey.

1 November 1914. Sunday (-11,146) The British fleet was defeated at the Battle of Coronel, Chile.

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31 October 1914, Saturday (-11,147) The front line in the Great War had stabilised into trench warfare, stretching from the Swiss border to the English Channel (see 30 September 1914).� Fierce battles raged for front-line towns such as Ypres, and Paris was bombed by Zeppelins.

30 October 1914, Friday (-11,148) The British hospital ship Rohilla foundered on rocks near Whitby; 40 were drowned.

29 October 1914, Thursday (-11,149) (1) (Germany, Turkey) Turkish warships bombarded the Russian ports of Sevastopol, Odessa and Novorossiysk. In Turkey the Young Turks, in 1908, had had two aims; to pull together the disintegrating remains of the Ottoman Empire, and to recover land lost to Russia. However they found the Turkish Treasury in debt to European banks by the then-colossal sum of �200 million. They sought an alliance with a wealthy European nation that could help rebuild the Turkish economy. Britain, which had helped found Turkey�s National Bank in 1908, was approached, as an enemy of Germany with whom the former Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid had been friendly. Britain declined the approach, believing that an alliance with Turkey would unite Europe against it. Turkey again approached Britain during the Balkan War (1912-13) and was again rebuffed. In July 1914 France also rejected overtures by Turkey. Moreover on 1 August 1914 Winston Churchill ordered the requisition of two warships being built in Britain for the Turkish Navy. Meanwhile the German General Otto Liman von Sanders was assisting the modernisation of the Turkish Army. Germany hoped that Turkey, possibly allied with Bulgaria, would threaten Russia without direct German involvement. The Young Turk, Ismail Enver Pasha, Minister for War, approached the German Ambassador in Constantinople� on 22 July 1914 to propose a formal alliance. The German Ambassador, Freiherr von Wangenheim, declined; Germany assessed that an alliance with Turkey would exacerbate tensions with Russia, and therefore be of advantage to Britain and France, but be of no gain to Germany because of the weak state of the Turkish Army, and the parlous state of the Turkish economy that retarded the development of the Turkish military. However Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, on learning of Enver�s approach, overruled Wangenheim and instructed Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann to open negotiations with Turkey. A secret treaty of alliance between Germany and Turkey was signed on 2 August 1914, essentially a mutual guarantee of defence against, only, any attack by Russia. The secrecy allowed Enver to hedge his bets and only intervene against Russia when it suited him. Therefore although Germany had mobilised against Russia on 1 August 1914 Enver did not attack immediately. German Admiral Wilhelm von Souchon sailed two German ships, the SMS Goeben and SMS Breslau, past British ships in the Mediterranean just hours before Britain declared war on Germany, on 4 August 1914. Britain chased these ships but did not prevent their arrival at Constantinople, where they became part of the Turkish navy, replacing the ships confiscated by Britain. They were renamed the Yavuz Sultan Selim and the Midilli, and Turkey also received 20 million marks in gold by train from Germany, to assist in updating Turkish military capabilities. Once the gold was received, and Turkey had witnessed German successes against the Russians in East Prussia (following initial defeats inflicted on Germany at Tannenberg and the Marne) the Yavuz Sultan Selim and the Midilli, complete with German crews, bombarded the Russian ports. Churchill was not too perturbed by Turkey�s entry into the Great War on the German side. Almost all the Turkish Army�s 43 divisions were only on peacetime strengths of 4,000 men, not the wartime basis of 10,000. The Turkish divisions based in Mesopotamia (now Iraq), also Arabia and the Levant, were manned by local recruits of dubious loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. The British enjoyed easy victories against these divisions in the Basra area, where the local oilfields were secured. However later in the war the Young Turks reinforced the fighting capabilities of the army, giving Britain a harder battle.

(2) Near Nieuport, Netherlands, the Yser area was flooded tactically.

28 October 1914. Wednesday (-11,150) (1) Turkey attacked Russian ports in the Black Sea. Turkey had just been delivered two German battleships, the Goeben and Breslau, as replacements for two British battleships which had just been completed in British shipyards but which the British now refused to deliver. Renamed the Jawus and the Midilli, under Admiral Souchon, these ships bombarded Odessa, Sebastopol, and Feodorian. This provoked a declaration of war by Russia against Turkey on 4 November 1919 (qv); also by Britain and France on 5 November 1914.

(2) Jonas Salk, US bacteriologist� who discovered the anti-poliomyelitis vaccine, was born in New York City, to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents.

27 October 1914, Tuesday (-11,151) Dylan Marlais Thomas, Welsh poet, was born in Swansea, the son of a schoolmaster.

26 October 1914, Monday (-11,152) Jackie Coogan, actor, was born.

22 October 1914. Thursday (-11,156) Britain ordered all foreign ships out of the Suez Canal.

20 October 1914, Tuesday (-11,158) US birth control promoter Margaret Sanger was forced to flee to Canada.

17 October 1914. Saturday (-11,161) German U-boats raided Scapa Flow, the main base of the British Fleet.�

16 October 1914, Friday (-11,162) Four German destroyers were sunk off the Belgian coast.

15 October 1914. Thursday (-11,163) The Germans, having captured Ghent and Bruges, took Ostend.

14 October 1914. Wednesday (-11,164) British and French troops occupied Ypres. The Belgian government fled to France. Canadian troops arrived in Britain.

13 October 1914, Tuesday (-11,165) The Boers in South Africa, under Christian de Wet, rebelled against British rule

12 October 1914, Monday (-11,166) The German Army entered Lille, after several days bombardment.

11 October 1914. Sunday (-11,167) Paris was bombed.

10 October 1914. Saturday (-11,168) The Germans took Antwerp.

9 October 1914, Friday (-11,169) The Germans took Ghent.

8 October 1914, Thursday (-11,170) Adelaide Crapsey, US poet, died (born 1878)

7 October 1914, Wednesday (-11,171) Alfred Drake, US singer, was born

6 October 1914, Tuesday (-11,172) Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian adventurer, leader of the Kon Tiki expedition, was born in Larvik.

5 October 1914, Monday (-11,173) Essad Pasha Toptani became the 4^th Prime Minister of Albania and formed the 5^th Cabinet of Albania.

4 October 1914, Sunday (-11,174) The first bomb was dropped on London.

3 October 1914, Saturday (-11,175) The first national flag day was held in England, in aid of the Belgian Relief Fund.

2 October 1914, Friday (-11,176) Jack Parsons, US rocket engineer, one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Aerojet in California, was born in Los Angeles (died 1952 in an explosion)

1 October 1914. Thursday (-11,177) Turkey closed the Dardanelles.

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30 September 1914, Wednesday (-11,178) Paris was saved from occupation as German forces were driven back (see 31 August 1914). However |British losses were heavy and Germany still occupied a strip of northern France, along with almost the whole of Belgium. and all of The Netherlands. See 31 October 1914.

29 September 1914, Tuesday (-11,179) Battle of the Vistula River. The German Ninth Army advanced on Vistula River where Russian forces regrouped following their defeat at the First Battle of the Masurian Lakes.

28 September 1914. Monday (-11,180) German guns began bombarding Antwerp. Antwerp capitulated on 10 October 1914.

27 September 1914. Sunday (-11,181) The Russians invaded Hungary.

26 September 1914. Saturday (-11,182) The Australians took the German port of Friedrich Wilhelmshafen in German New Guinea.

25 September 1914, Friday (-11,183) Battle of Buggenhout. The Belgians launched a major offensive against German forces at Buggenhout between Antwerp and Brussels.

24 September 1914, Thursday (-11,184) First use of radio in an aircraft in warfare, during the First Battle of the Aisne.

23 September 1914. Wednesday (-11,185) (1) The British suffered heavy casualties at Mons, and retreated.

(2) British aviators bombed the Zeppelin shed at Dusseldorf.

22 September 1914. Tuesday (-11,186) Three British cruisers, Aboukir, Hogue, and Cressy, were torpedoed by a German submarine, 1,500 were killed.

21 September 1914, Monday (-11,187) First Battle of Picardy. German forces marched from Rheims, France, and engaged French forces the following day.

20 September 1914, Sunday (-11,188) Germany bombarded Rheims Cathedral.

19 September 1914, Saturday (-11,189) South African forces took Luderitz from the Germans, in Namibia.

18 September 1914, Friday (-11,190) In Britain, the Irish Home Rule Bill received Royal Assent. However it was suspended the same day due to the War.

17 September 1914, Thursday (-11,191) The �race to the sea� between Allied and German forces trying to outflank each other; this established the Western Front from the North Sea to Switzerland.

16 September 1914, Wednesday (-11,192) Trench warfare began on the Aisne salient.

15 September 1914, Tuesday (-11,193) The first trenches of the Western Front were dug at the First Battle of the Aisne, as the conflict ended indecisively.

14 September 1914. Monday (-11,194) (1) The Allies drove back the Germans on the Marne, relieving the threat to Paris. The Germans retreated to Verdun. The Germans now dug in with defensive trenches, where they could repel further Allied advances. The situation of static trench warfare had begun; s stalemate that would not be broken until 1918.

(2) The Russians were forced to retreat from East Prussia, after the battle of the Masurian Lakes.

13 September 1914, Sunday (-11,195) The Battle of the Aisne began. It lasted until 28 September 1914.

12 September 1914, Saturday (-11,196) Ghent and Lille fell to German forces.

11 September 1914, Friday (-11,197) First Battle of the Masurian Lakes. Reinforcements bolstered the German Eighth Army, allowed them to push the Russian First Army back to a line running from Insterburg to Angerburg in East Prussia.

10 September 1914, Thursday (-11,198) South Africa confirmed its loyalty to Britain in the developing European War.

9 September 1914, Wednesday (-11,199) The first Battle of the Marne ended when the German advance on Paris under Von Moltke was halted by the British Expeditionary Force and the French under Joffre and Foch.� This marked Germany�s furthest penetration into France. The Allies had retreated, and the German advance had left their right flank dangerously exposed, and this was where the Allies now attacked.

8 September 1914, Tuesday (-11,200) The French fortress of Maubeuge fell to the Germans.

7 September 1914, Monday (-11,201) (Weather) James Alfred van Allen was born in Mount Pleasant, Indiana. In 1952 he developed the idea of a balloon launched from a rocket, to study the Earth�s upper atmosphere.

6 September 1914. Sunday (-11,202) Battle of the Marne began. Advances by British and French forces.� The Germans retreated to Verdun.

5 September 1914. Saturday (-11,203) The Germans took Rheims.

4 September 1914. Friday (-11,204) Britain, France, and Russia agreed not to make separate peaces.

3 September 1914. Thursday (-11,205) (1) A new Pope, Benedict XV, was elected in Rome.

(2) Russian forces took Lvov.

2 September 1914. Wednesday (-11,206) (1) The Ottoman Empire mobilised its forces.

(2) The Japanese began landing forces at Lungkow, 150 miles north of Tsingtao, see 27 August 1914.

1 September 1914, Tuesday (-11,207) The last passenger pigeon, a bird which once dominated the skies of America, became extinct as the last individual died in Cincinnati Zoo.

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31 August 1914. Monday (-11,208) (1) The German General Hindenburg had reversed earlier Russian successes (see 24 August 1914), surrounding and beating the Russians under General Samsonov, at the Battle of Tannenburg, taking 100,000 Russians prisoner.� In the following week, Russian General Rennenkampf was forced to retreat and east Prussia was cleared of Russian forces. In France the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) initially held back the German advance but the French retreated, leaving the flank of the BEF exposed. The allies retreated towards Paris, but then halted the German forces before they occupied Paris. See 30 September 1914.

(2) St Petersburg was renamed Petrograd.

30 August 1914. Sunday (-11,209) (1) The Germans took Amiens.

(2) A New Zealand expeditionary force occupied the former German colony of Samoa.

29 August 1914, Saturday (-11,210) Battle of Guise, northern France.

28 August 1914. Friday (-11,211) (1) The Germans began besieging Antwerp (see 18 August 1914), capturing it on 10 October 1914.

(2) The British sank three German cruisers and two destroyers off Heligoland Bight, opening the war at sea.

26-31 August 1914. Germany defeated Russia at the Battle of Tannenberg.

27 August 1914, Thursday (-11,212) (1) Japanese forces began a blockade of Kiaochow Bay, China, to force the surrender of the German stronghold of the town of Tsingtao there.� See 2 September 1914, 7 November 1914.

(2) Gideon Sundback filed a patent for the zip fastener

26 August 1914, Wednesday (-11,213) (1) The German cruiser Magdeburg ran aground in the Baltic whilst on a reconnaissance mission. Unable to free her, the captain, Richard Habenicht, decided to scuttle his ship; however the appearance of two Russian cruisers prompted the German crew to set off the explosives prematurely. Habenicht and 57 of his crew were captured. Significantly also captured were German code books; Germany did not realise this had happened and carried on using the same codes for radio messages, enabling the Allies to track German warship movements.

(2) The Germans occupied Cambrai. See 8 October 1918.

25 August 1914, Tuesday (-11,214) The Germans sacked Louvain.

24 August 1914. Monday (-11,215) Belgian forces attacked the rear of the German right flank, to ease the pressure on the British and French left flank. This campaign halted on 25 August 1914 when news arrived of the Franco-British retreat into France, but the Belgian offensive had tied down some German forces. On learning, on 7 September 1914, that some of these forces were to be sent to France, the Belgians launched a fresh offensive on 9 September 1914, a crucial day in the Battle of the Marne.� Meanwhile the Russians under General Alexander Samsonov and General Paul Rennenkampf were advancing into East Prussia, driving back a numerically inferior German force.� See 31 August 1914.

23 August 1914. Sunday (-11,216) (1) Battle of Mons, in Belgium near the French frontier. The heavily outnumbered British Expeditionary Force under Sir John French, in its first important battle, was forced to retreat after bitter fighting with Germany.� This retreat continued until the Marne, where the tide turned against Germany.

(2) Japan declared war on Germany. This was due to the treaty of mutual defence concluded between Japan and the UK on 30 January 1902. The Germans had not responded to an ultimatum by Japan issued 14 August 1914.� See 17 August 1923.

22 August 1914, Saturday (-11,217) The Germans took Namur. The fortress of Namur had been expected to hold out for several months;� its �impregnable� defences were shattered by new German high explosives.

21 August 1914. Friday (-11,218) (1) German atrocities were committed in Belgium to deter Belgian civilian resistance. On 21-22 August 384 Belgian civilians were shot in the market square at Tamines, and from 24 to 30 August the Cathedral city of Louvain was given to looting and burning by German troops.

(2) The Germans took Brussels. See 18 November 1918. France and Russia agreed that on Germany�s defeat an independent Poland would be restored, France would recover Alsace Lorraine and Denmark would recover Schleswig-Holstein from Germany, Bohemia would have independence from Austro-Hungary, and all German colonies would be confiscated.

20 August 1914. Thursday (-11,219) (1) The German army was defeated by the Russians at Grumbinnen; Russian forces had mobilised faster than anticipated.

(2) In Rome, Pope Pius X died.

(3) French forces made headway a short distance into Germany but were turned back this day in battles at Mulhouse and Strasbourg.

19 August 1914, Wednesday (-11,220) First use of aerial reconnaissance by Britain in warfare. Captain Philip Joubert de la Ferte and Lt Gilbert Mapplebeck flew over Nivelle and Genappe, to ascertain the positions of Belgian troops and German cavalry.

18 August 1914. Tuesday (-11,221) The Belgian government left Brussels for Antwerp. See 28 August 1914.

17 August 1914. Monday (-11,222) A British Expeditionary Force of 70,000 men landed in France.

16 August 1914 �Sunday (-11,223) Liege, Belgium, fell to the Germans.� The Battle of Liege had begun on 4 August 1914 and the resistance here had seriously delayed the German occupation of Belgium.

15 August 1914, Saturday (-11,224) (1) Russia invaded East Prussia.

(2) The 40-mile long Panama Canal opened; construction work had begun on 4 July 1914. The first ship to pass through the canal, this day, was the SS Ancon. Ships passed through three locks 30 metres wide and 300 metres long, rising to 85 feet above sea level at Lake Gatun, which had been created by damming a river, before descending through more locks. Since 1914 over one million ships have used the Canal, saving 3,000 miles and eight days of travel around Cape Horn. In 2013 12,036 vessels, carrying 319 million tonnes of cargo, transited the Canal, paying US$ 1,800 million in tolls. 86.7 million tons of this cargo originated from the USA, and 49.8 million tons was destined for the USA. In 2013 some 3% of world maritime cargo, worth US$ 270 billion (UK� 160 million at 2014 exchange rates). However many 21^st century cargo ships are too big for the Canal, and in 2006 the Panama Canal Authority announced expansion plans, costed at US$ 3,200 million, due for completion in 2016.

14 August 1914, Friday (-11,225) Japan demanded that Germany withdraw warships from the China and Japan region by15 September 1914, see 23 September 1914.

13 August 1914, Thursday (-11,226) (Mexico) In Mexico, interim president Francisco S. Carvajal officially resigned from office to make way for the inauguration of Venustiano Carranza.

12 August 1914. Wednesday (-11,227) Britain and France declared war on Austria.

11 August 1914. Tuesday (-11,228) Young men in Britain formed long queues outside army recruiting offices, anxious not to miss the war, which was expected to be over by Christmas. Farm boys, city workers, peers, and dustmen left their jobs �to serve King and country�. Schoolboys gave false ages and friends join up together to fight together on the front. War was seen not only as a patriotic duty but as a break from a humdrum existence. However Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, was more realistic. He said �the lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime�.

10 August 1914, Monday (-11,229) Olympia was used as a detention centre for 300 German-born citizens under the wide emergency powers of the Defence of the Realm Act.

9 August 1914. Sunday (-11,230) The first British troops arrived in France. The British Expeditionary force was landed from 9^th to 17^th August at Boulogne.

8 August 1914. Saturday (-11,231) German troops entered Liege, Belgium.�

7 August 1914. Friday (-11,232) (1) The French counter offensive began. French troops entered the upper Alsace, partly for political effect and partly to distract from the main French goal of destroying a German base at Basle and the Rhine bridges below this. By 19 August 1914 this French force reached the Rhine.

(2) Britain issued ten shilling and �1 notes.

6 August 1914. Thursday (-11,233) (1) A major deployment of German troops westwards began. Between 1870 and 1914 the number of double German railway lines running towards her western frontier had been raised from 9 to 13, and all German railway development required approval from the Chief of Staff. Now, 550 trains a day crossed the Rhine, westwards, and by 12 August 1914 seven German armies of a total of 1.5 million men were fully supplied. The first British casualties of the War occurred when the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Amphion was damaged by mines in the North Sea and 150 men died as she sank.

(2) Austro-Hungary declared war on Russia. Serbia declared war on Germany.

5 August 1914. Wednesday (-11,234) The first electric traffic light signals to control road traffic were installed in Cleveland, Ohio. They had two colours, red and green. The first three colour lights, with amber, were installed in 1920 New York and Detroit.

4 August 1914. Tuesday (-11,235) Britain declared war on Germany for violating the Treaty of London. President Wilson declared the USA neutral. That morning, Germany began the invasion of Belgium (see 2 August 1914, and 6 August 1914). The Austrian ultimatum to Serbia brought Russia in as Serbia�s ally, and Germany entered as Austria�s ally. Britain might well have stayed neutral had Germany not invaded Belgium in an attempt to outflank France. Germany began mining Danish waters and requested Denmark to mine the Great Belt. Denmark, believing Germany would mine it anyway, said it would do so. Britain believed the war would be over by Christmas.

3 August 1914. Monday (-11,236) (1) Germany declared war on France, after false accusations of French air raids on Nuremberg. Germany had sought assurances that France would not intervene in a Russo-German war, but France merely said it would �act in its own interests�. Germany was seeking control over Belgium and the French coast from Dunkirk to Boulogne, cession by France to Germany of the Briey-Longwy iron basin and the fortress of Belfort, and German control of the French and Belgian colonies in Africa. France had fewer fighting men, with a total population of 40 million against 65 million Germans. However Russian and French forces combined were bigger than Germany plus Austria; Germany could, though, bank on Russia being slow to mobilise.

(2) Britain warned Germany it would honour the 1839 Treaty of London guaranteeing Belgian neutrality.

2 August 1914. Sunday (-11,237) (1) Britain mobilised the Royal Navy after Germany declared war on Russia.. The British Cabinet had finally agreed that a German presence in French Channel ports could not be tolerated, and so France must be helped against Germany (see 9 August 1914), although at the end of July most of the Cabinet had been for non-intervention in Europe.

(2) Belgium had failed to guarantee German troops free passage across its territory, as demanded by a German ultimatum delivered on the evening of 2 August 1914; Germany occupied Luxembourg, and invaded Belgium 2 days later, on 4 August 1914. Russian troops crossed into East Prussia.

1 August 1914. Saturday (-11,238) Kaiser Wilhelm II declared war on his cousin Czar Nicholas II. Italy declared herself neutral. France ordered the mobilisation of the army, but as a last-minute gesture had withdrawn its forces to 10 km behind the frontier.� Denmark declared itself neutral, and mobilised an emergency force of 54,000 men.

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31 July 1914. Friday (-11,239) (1) Germany ordered a general mobilisation of the army, rejecting Britain�s offer of mediation in the Austro-Serbian crisis as �insolence�.

(2) French socialist anti-war leader Jean Jaures was assassinated.

(3) The New York stock exchange closed with the outbreak of World War One.

30 July 1914. Thursday (-11,240) (1) The Czar of Russia ordered general mobilisation of the army.

(2) The British Government shelved plans for Irish Home Rule, as the threat of European war loomed.

(3) European stockmarkets began to panic as war loomed.

29 July 1914, Wednesday (-11,241) (1) Russia, under Tsar Nicholas II, ordered a limited mobilisation of its 1.2 million strong army against Austria. However this move reassured Serbia in its resistance, and produced a German mobilisation.

(2) The first test call was made on the new transcontinental telephone line between New York and San Francisco.

28 July 1914. Tuesday (-11,242) Austria declared war on Serbia. See 23 July 1914. Belgrade was bombarded by Austria on 29 July 1914, the first engagement of World War One. The Austrians took Belgrade on 30 July 1914, and Russia began to mobilise. The Serbs initially drove back the invading Austrians and themselves entered southern Hungary in the autumn of 1914. Russia attacked Austria and made advances against the Austrians in southern Galicia. France, as the ally of Russia, was also drawn in. Germany moved to help Austria and in early 1915 drove the Russians out of southern Galicia. Later in 1915 the Germans overran Serbia. On 9 October 1915 Belgrade fell to the Germans. Italy declared war on Austria on 23 May 1915, and here too the Germans were needed to help Austria against Italy.

27 July 1914, Monday (-11,243) (Ethiopia) Amha Selassie, last Emperor of Ethiopia, was born in Harar, Ethiopia (died 1997)

26 July 1914. Sunday (-11,244) Serbia mobilised its army. Meanwhile in view of the deteriorating international situation, the British Admiralty ordered the Fleet, which had assembled at Portland for review, not to disperse. On 29 July 1914 the Fleet was able to set sail for the North Sea, giving Britain a vital dominance there for the duration of the War.

25 July 1914, Saturday (-11,245) 66 year old WG Grace batted for the last time in a competitive match, scoring 69 not out.

24 July 1914. Friday (-11,246) The Russian Council of Ministers began plans for partial mobilisation of the army.

23 July 1914. Thursday (-11,247) (Germany, East Europe) Austria determined that the government of Serbia was involved in the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand on 28 June 1914, and sent an ultimatum to the President of Serbia, Narodna Odbrana, drafted so as to prepare for war with Serbia. The terms were designed to be too humiliating for Serbia to accept. In fact Serbia accepted most of the terms, but insisted that an Austro-Serbian judicial enquiry into the assassination would be subject to Serbian law, and Austria rejected this condition. See 28 July 1914. Austria�s real issue with Serbia was that it blocked potential Austrian territorial expansion southwards into the Balkans, to give Austria domination of the Aegean Sea,

22 July 1914, Wednesday (-11,248) In Europe the financial press began to realise a major war might be starting. The first symptom of crisis was a rise in insurance rates for shipping.

19 July 1914, Sunday (-11,251) Hubert Gregg, British author, was born in London

15 July 1914, Wednesday (-11,255) President Huerta of Mexico fled the country as the US invaded.

8 July 1914, Wednesday (-11,262) The UK Government accepted the Lords� amendment to the Home Rule Bill (for Ireland) excluding Ulster. However on 30 July 1914 the Home Rule process was shelved due to the growing crisis in Europe. In an attempt at compromise, the Bill allows counties of Ireland to vote on staying out of Home Rule for six years, until there have been two British General elections. However this was unpopular with both Nationalists (who wanted no exemptions) and Loyalists (who wanted no time limit).

5 July 1914. Sunday (-11,265) Germany promised support to Austria.

2 July 1914, Thursday (-11,268) Joseph Chamberlain, British politician, died.

1 July 1914. Wednesday (-11,269) In 1914 Marks and Spencer took over the London Penny Bazaar Company. Cadburys chocolate bars cost 1d, 22p in 2003. It also cost 1d to post a letter anywhere in the UK, and the Manchester Guardian cost 1d.Thomas Cook, travel agents, could arrange a 15-day Grand Tour through Switzerland for �30 (�1,350 in 2003), and the middle classes could go to the Italian Riviera for two weeks for �14 (�630 in 2003). Tours of the Indian Empire cost 70 guineas (�73 10s, or �3,300 in 2003). In 1914 the General Post Office (GPO) took over the telephone exchange in Portsmouth, leaving Hull as the only area with its own exchange. Doctors at Middlesex Hospital first successfully treated cancer with radium, and Guglielmo Marconi announced he could light a lamp six miles away by means of wireless power. The Ford model T cost �220 (�10,400 in 2003); it was made at Trafford Park, Manchester, and each car took 12 hours to build.

500g of streaky bacon cost 5p.� 500g of beef cost 5p.� 250g of cheddar cheese cost 2p.� 250g of butter cost 6p.� 500g of margarine cost 3p.� 1 kg old potatoes cost 1p.� 125g of loose tea cost 2p.�� 6 eggs cost 3p.� 1 kg granulated sugar cost 2p.� 800g sliced white bread cost 1p.� 1 pint of pasteurised milk cost 1p.

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30 June 1914, Tuesday (-11,270)

28 June 1914. Sunday (-11,272) Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, nephew of Franz Joseph, in the Bosnian town of Sarajevo. Along with his wife he was shot and killed by the terrorist Gavril Princip, thus precipitating World War One. Born in Graz, Austria, in 1863, Ferdinand was the eldest son of the Archduke Charles Louis, who was the brother of the emperor Francis Joseph. When Francis Joseph died in 1896 Ferdinand became heir to the throne but because of his bad health in the 1890s his younger brother Otto was regarded as more likely to succeed to the throne of Austria. In foreign affairs he tried, without endangering the alliance with Germany, to restore Austro � Russian understanding. In 1913 Ferdinand became Inspector General of the Army. This was just before he was assassinated in June 1914, starting World War One with Austria�s declaration of war against Serbia. The assassin�s first bullet hit the archduke in the neck; his second hit his wife, who had flung herself in front of him. She died almost immediately, he died ten minutes later.

Gavril Princip was born in June or July of 1894 in the village of Obljaj, in what is now Bosnia. His father was a postman and the Princip family was very poor, and heavily taxed by local overlords. Bosnia had been part of the Ottoman Empire until 1878 when it was taken by Austria. Gavril left Obljaj for Sarajevo in 1907, enrolling in a secondary school where he did well academically; here he joined other teenagers seeking home rule for the Slav peoples. Archduke Ferdinand wanted to balance out competing nationalisms within his empire by minimising the over-arching influence of Serbia amongst the Slavic peoples under Austrian rule. Princip wanted Bosnia to become part of a greater independent Serbia. See 23 July 1914.

Gavril himself, arrested immediately after the shooting, was just under the 20-year age limit for the death sentence under Hapsburg law; he received a 20-year prison term, to be denied food one day each month, and was chained to the wall of his cell. He died in Spring 1918, just before the end of World War One, of skeletal tuberculosis that had caused the amputation of his right arm.

26 June 1914, Friday (-11,274) Anti-British Irish tried to smuggle in an arms cache bought in Belgium into Howth Bay.� Police intercepted them and a gun battle ensued.

23 June 1914, Tuesday (-11,277) Britain�s Royal Air Force was formed.

22 June 1914, Monday (-11,278) Geoffrey Dyson, athlete, was born (died 5 February 1981).

18 June 1914, Thursday (-11,282)

17 June 1914, Wednesday (-11,283) Julian Marias, historian of philosophy, was born (died 15 December 2005).

16 June 1914, Tuesday (-11,284) Stewart Griffith, cricketer, was born (died 7 April 1993).

15 June 1914, Monday (-11,285) Yuri Andropov, Russian President, was born in the village of Nagutskyoye, north of the Caucasus Mountains.

14 June 1914, Sunday (-11,286) Severe thunderstorms in London brought ten cm of rain in three hours.

13 June 1914, Saturday (-11,287) (1) Greece annexed the islands of Chios and Lesbos from Turkey.

(2) Pancho Villa defeated President Huerta�s troops at Zacatecas.

12 June 1914, Friday (-11,288) 100 Greeks in Phocaea were massacred by Turkish irregular troops.

11 June 1914. Thursday (-11,289) Bomb outrage by suffragettes in Westminster Abbey.

10 June 1914, Wednesday (-11,290) Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested for the 8^th time.

7 June 1914, Sunday (-11,293) In Italy, popular uprisings, the so-called Red Week, began in the Marches and Romagna. Rebellious landless labourers confronted strike-breakers hired by the landowners. Revolutionaries including Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) incited the labourers, who also opposed military conscription. Ancona and other towns proclaimed themselves �independent� and Romagna declared itself a republic 100,000 soldiers had to be deployed to restore order.

5 June 1914, Friday (-11,295) George Painter, biographer of Marcel Proust, was born (died 8 December 2005)

4 June 1914, Thursday (-11,296) In Britain, railway workers and miners came out on strike in support of builders and other workers already on strike.

2 June 1914, Tuesday (-11,298)

1 June 1914, Monday (-11,299) Suffragettes burnt a church near Henley on Thames.

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31 May 1914, Sunday (-11,300) Akira Ifukube, composer, was born (died 8 February 2006)

29 May 1914, Friday (-11,302) The Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Ireland was wrecked in the St Lawrence River, drowning over 1,000.

25 May 1914, Monday (-11,306) The Home Rule Bill was passed by the Commons, without separate provision for Ulster.

24 May 1914, Sunday (-11,307) Harry Parr-Davies, British composer, was born in Briton ferry, Glamorganshire (died 14 October 1955 in London)

22 May 1914. Friday (-11,309) Suffragettes protested outside Buckingham Palace. Emmeline Pankhurst was arrested as she tried to present a petition.

16 May 1914, Saturday (-11,315) Erwin Baker completed a motor cycle cross country race from San Diego, taking 11 days to arrive this day in New York, smashing the previous record of 20 days. A journalist stated that he was faster than the Cannonball Express Train, and the name stuck for subsequent such races � usually illegal and unsanctioned.

15 May 1914, Friday (-11,316) The Commons rejected the idea of Home Rule for Scotland.