Historical Events in 1916

Events 1 - 200 of 282

Germany to Abide Maritime Warfare Rules

Jan 7 In response to pressure from President Woodrow Wilson, Germany notifies the US State Department that it will abide by strict international rules of maritime warfare

Gallipoli: Guts, Glory and Defeat

Jan 9 The Ottoman Empire prevails in the Battle of Çanakkale, as the last British troops evacuated

Anzac Cove where Australian and New Zealand troops landed at Gallipoli in 1915

Jan 10 In retaliation for President Woodrow Wilson's recognition of Mexico's Carranza government, members of Pancho Villa's revolutionary army take 17 US mining engineers from a train and shoot 16 of them in cold blood
Jan 10 Russian offensive in Caucasus
Jan 11 Austrian forces capture Mount Lovćen, Serbia. Serbian army retreats, evacuating to Greek island of Corfu
Jan 12 Britain proclaims Gilbert & Ellice Islands as a colony in Pacific
Jan 12 Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke receive the Pour le Merite, the German Empire's highest military award, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft
Jan 14 Dutch Zuiderzee dyke cracks
Jan 17 Rodman Wanamaker organises a lunch to discuss forming a golfers association (later the PGA) at the Taplow Club, Martinique Hotel, New York City
Jan 18 A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite stikes a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri
Jan 23 Temperature falls from 44°F (7°C) to -56°F (49°C) night of 23-24, Browning, Montana
Jan 24 The Military Service Bill, calling for conscription of men for war services, passes in the British House of Commons
Jan 25 Montenegro surrenders to Austria-Hungary
Jan 27 Communist party "Spartacus Letters" 1st published in Berlin
Jan 28 German colony of Cameroon surrenders to Britain & France
Jan 28 Manitoba women are the first in Canada to win the right to vote and to hold provincial office [1]
Jan 28 Opera "Goyescas" premieres in New York City
Jan 28 US President Woodrow Wilson nominates Louis Brandeis for the Supreme Court of the United States
Jan 29 1st bombing of Paris by German Zeppelins takes place
Jan 31 Dutch Girl Guides form
Feb 3 Canada's original Parliament buildings in Ottawa burn down
Feb 3 Tristan Tzara publishes the Dada manifesto in Zurich, Switzerland

"O Solo Mio"

Feb 5 Italian tenor Enrico Caruso records "O Solo Mio" for the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey

Feb 8 French cruiser "Admiral Charner" torpedoed off Syrian coast, kills 374
Feb 8 NL votes down Charlie Ebbets proposal to limit 25 cent seats
Feb 9 Britain's military service act enforced (conscription)
Feb 9 NL votes down a proposal by Giants, Braves, & Cubs to increase club player limit from 21 to 22 (The Reds want to decrease to 20)

Biggest Oil Gusher Ever

Feb 10 Biggest oil well gusher ever - Edward L. Doheny's Cerro Azul No. 4 first gushes 600 feet in the air near Tampico, Mexico

Feb 10 Military conscription begins in Britain
Feb 11 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presents its 1st concert, led by Gustav Strube of the Peabody Institute, at the Lyric Theatre

Emma Goldman Arrested

Feb 11 Emma Goldman arrested for lecturing on birth control

Feb 11 Germany and Austria-Hungary notify the US that they will sink any armed merchant ships starting on 1 March

Event of Interest

Feb 13 Albert Einstein presents Karl Schwarzschild’'s solution to his equations for a (then theoretical) black hole to the Prussian Academy of Sciences

Feb 15 NY Yankees buy Frank "Home Run" Baker from the Athletics for $37,500
Feb 16 Russian troops conquer the Ottoman Empire city of Erzurum during WWI

Sinking of the Lusitania

Feb 16 The German ambassador in Washington announces that Germany will pay an indemnity for American lives lost on the Lusitania

Business Magnate Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt

Feb 16 The US rejects the right of Germany and Austria-Hungary to sink armed merchant ships
Feb 18 The last German garrison in the German colony of Cameroons surrenders
Feb 21 Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties, and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)
Feb 22 The House-Grey Memorandum, drafted by US and Britain, states: 'Should the Allies accept [the American idea of a conference to end the war] and should Germany refuse it, the United States would "probably" enter the war against Germany'
Feb 23 US Congress authorizes McKinley Memorial $1 gold coin
Feb 25 Battle of Verdun: German troops conquer Fort Douaumont without firing a shot, the largest and highest fort defending the city of Verdun during World War I
Feb 26 Germans sink French transport ship Provence II, killing 930

Film and TV History

Feb 26 Mutual signs Charlie Chaplin to a film contract

Comedian, Actor and Filmmaker Charlie Chaplin

Feb 26 Russian troops conquer Kermansjah, Persia
Mar 1 Germany begins attacking ships in the Atlantic
Mar 8 US invades Cuba for 3rd time, this to end corrupt Menocal regime
Mar 9 Germany declares war against Portugal
Mar 9 Mexican General Francisco "Pancho" Villa invades US (18 killed)
Mar 12 French airship mistakenly attacks and sinks British submarine D3 with loss of all hands
Mar 14 Battle of Verdun: Germans capture Cumières-le-Mort-Homme and Chattancourt in France
Mar 15 Dutch merchant ship Tubantia torpedoed by German submarine & sinks in North Sea
Mar 15 General Pershing and 15,000 troops chase Pancho Villa into Mexico
Mar 15 University of Ghent taken under Dutch control
Mar 16 James Barries' "Kiss for Cinderella" premieres in London
Mar 16 US & Canada sign migratory bird treaty
Mar 20 Allies attack Zeebrugge Belgium
Mar 21 JP Van Limburg Stirum succeeds AWF Idenburg as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
Mar 24 German submarines torpedo the unarmed French cross-channel packet 'Sussex'
Mar 25 Jess Willard fights Frank Moran to no decision in 10 for heavyweight boxing title in NYC

Jerusalem

Mar 28 First performance of "Jerusalem" by George Parry set to words by William Blake at a 'Fight for Right' meeting at the Queen’s Hall, London

Mar 30 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens (NHA) beat Portland Rosebuds (PCHA), 2-1 for a 3-2 series victory
Mar 31 Dutch government ends all military engagements
Apr 2 57 armed New Zealand police invade the remote Ngāi Tūhoe settlement of Maungapōhatu in the Urewera Ranges to arrest the Māori prophet Rua Kēnana
Apr 2 German troops overtake Bois de Caillette
Apr 5 French troops occupy Bois de Caillette
Apr 6 German parliament approves unrestricted submarine warfare
Apr 8 Norway approves active & passive female suffrage

SS Libau Sets Sail

Apr 9 The Libau sets sail from Germany with a cargo of 20,000 rifles to assist Irish republicans; Captain Karl Spindler changes the name of the vessel to the Aud to avoid British detection

The Libau, disguised as the Aud, to avoid British detection

Apr 10 The Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) is founded in New York City
Apr 12 Irish nationalist activist and poet Roger Casement boards submarine U-19 at Wilmshaven, Germany, bound for a rendezvous with the Aud at Tralee

Edith Wharton Legion of Honor

Apr 18 Edith Wharton is appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest award, for her contribution to the war effort

Apr 18 US Secretary of State Warns Germany that the USA may break diplomatic relations unless torpedo attacks on unarmed ships stop
Apr 19 "Bing Boys are Here" opens in London
Apr 19 Alderman Kelly reads the 'Castle Order' to a meeting of Dublin Corporation; this forged document supposedly from Dublin Castle, indicated that there was to be mass arrests of Irish Volunteers to prevent "trouble"
Apr 19 Italians troops conquer Col di Lana at Merano
Apr 20 Chicago Cubs play their 1st game at Weeghman Park (now Wrigley Field) and beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6
Apr 20 German-British sea battle off Belgian coast
Apr 21 The Aud, carrying a cargo of 20,000 rifles to assist Irish republicans in staging what would become the 1916 Rising, is captured by the British Navy and forced to sail towards Cork Harbour
Apr 21 Ulster Protestant and Irish nationalist Sir Roger Casement lands at Tralee Bay, Ireland from a German submarine; discovered at McKenna's Fort and arrested by the Royal Irish Constabulary
Apr 22 Chief of Staff of the Irish Volunteers Eóin MacNeill issues the Countermanding order in Dublin to try to stop what would become the Easter Rising
Apr 22 France battles at Fort Douaumont
Apr 22 Karl Spindler scuttles the Aud near Daunt's Rock, to prevent its cargo of 20,000 rifles destined for Irish republicans falling into enemy hands
Apr 23 Lord Dunsany's "Night at an Inn" premieres in NYC

Easter Proclamation of 1916

Apr 24 Easter Rising of Irish republicans against British occupation begins in Dublin

The Provisional Government of the Irish Republic to the people of Ireland

Shackleton's Rescue Mission

Apr 24 Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organise a rescue for ice-trapped ship Endurance

Polar Explorer and Sailor Ernest Shackleton

Apr 27 The British renew their assault on the Irish Volunteer position in Mount Street; shelling also sets the buildings on fire
Apr 29 Irish republicans abandon the post office in Dublin and surrender unconditionally, marking the end of the Easter Rising
Apr 30 Germany ratifies bill bringing in Daylight Saving Time - first country in the world
May 2 In the Bronx, New York City: 2nd Ave & Bronx Terrace renamed Bronx Blvd; Seward Place renamed Sycamore Ave; Herald Ave renamed Dickinson Ave; Monroe & Selwyn Avenue named
May 3 Irish Nationalists Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh and Thomas Clarke are executed by firing squad following their involvement in the Easter Rising
May 4 At request of US, Germany curtails its submarine warfare
May 4 Ned Daly, Willie Pearse, Michael O'Hanrahan and Joseph Plunkett are executed by British authorities following the Easter Rising, at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
May 5 US Marines invade Dominican Republic, stay until 1924
May 6 Belgian troops march into Kigali, German East Africa
May 8 German munitions bunker in Fort Douaumont explodes killing 679 German soldiers
May 8 Irishmen Eamon Kent, Michael Mallin, Con Colbert and Sean Houston are executed by British authorities following the Easter Rising at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
May 9 British-France Sykes-Picot conference over division of Turkey
May 9 Disastrous wind-blown fire in Ellendale, North Dakota destroys three blocks of businesses, a church, and 21 homes
May 10 Historic Shipport Museum opens in Amsterdam
May 12 James Connolly and Sean McDermott are executed following their involvement in the Easter Rising in Dublin
May 13 1st observance of Indian (Native American) Day
May 13 Lafayette Escadrille, an American air force unit under French command comprised of volunteers to fight for France, see first combat at the Battle of Verdun
May 15 Asiago, Italy, falls when Austrian troops attack the Italian front
May 15 Claiming that the USA must act to quell dangerous disorder, the government orders US Marines to land in Santo Domingo; the American occupation will continue until 1924
May 17 British Summer Time (Daylight Savings) introduced
May 18 A British Royal Inquiry into the Easter Rising in Dublin is set up in London
May 18 US pilot Kiffin Rockwell shoots down German aircraft over Alsace in WWI
May 20 Codell, Kansas hit by tornado (also on same date in 1917 & 1918)
May 20 Saturday Evening Post cover features Norman Rockwell painting
May 21 Britain begins "Summer Time" (daylight saving time)
May 22 Battle of Verdun: French troops assault Fort Douaumont but fail to recapture it after hours of dogged fighting
May 24 Conscription begins in Britain
May 24 French driven out of Fort Douaumont after 500 killed or injured
May 24 Last British-Indian contract workers arrive in Suriname
May 24 US pilot William Thaw shoots down a German Fokker
May 27 Groundbreaking begins on Hugh Grant Circle in Bronx
May 27 President Woodrow Wilson addresses the League to Enforce Peace, founded in 1915, and gives public support to the idea of a league of nations
May 29 NY Giants win 17th consecutive road game
May 29 Official flag of President of the United States adopted
May 29 US forces invade Dominican Republic, stay until 1924

Battle of Jutland

May 31 Battle of Jutland: Largest naval battle of World War I between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet which killed 8,645 in an inconclusive battle but strategic British victory. German fleet never puts to sea again in WWI.

HMS Invincible on fire after being struck by shells from SMS Lützow and SMS Derfflinger

HMS Invincible Explodes

May 31 HMS Invincible explodes after taking fire during the Battle of Jutland, killing 1026 officers including Rear-Admiral Hood - only 6 crew members survive

British Admiral of the Fleet John Jellicoe

British Admiral of the Fleet David Beatty

Jun 1 US Senate confirms Louis Brandeis for the Supreme Court of the United States, by a vote of 47 to 22, over 4 months after his nomination
Jun 2 Battle of Verdun: German troops, under Lt Rackow, launch attack on Fort Vaux with flamethrowers, forcing French defenders inside. The fort changes hand 16 times during the entire Battle of Verdun.
Jun 3 US National Defense Act establishes Reserve Officers Training Corps
Jun 4 General Aleksei Brusilov begins a massive Russian offensive on the Eastern Front (WWI)
Jun 5 Louis Brandeis (59) is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; he serves until 1939
Jun 5 The Sherif Hussein proclaims a revolt of the Arabs in the province of Hejaz, an action that undermines the Turkish Empire

Yuan Shikai Dies

Jun 6 The death of Yuan Shikai, ruler of much of China since 1912, causes central government to virtually collapse in the face of pressure from warlords, and from political reformers including Sun Yat-Sen

General, President and Emperor of the Republic of China Yuan Shikai

Jun 6 Voters in East Cleveland, Ohio approve women suffrage

Roosevelt Declines Nomination

Jun 7 Theodore Roosevelt declines nomination of the Progressive Party and throws his support behind Republican Charles Evans Hughes

Jun 8 Battle of Verdun: Germans capture Fort Vaux after several days of intense fighting
Jun 10 Great Arab Revolt begins against ruling Ottoman turks
Jun 14 Democratic Convention convenes in St Louis; Woodrow Wilson campaigns on the slogan "he kept out of the war"
Jun 14 Representatives of eight Allied nations hold an economic conference in Paris at which they discuss ways to cripple their enemies economic power during and after the war

Boeing Model 1

Jun 15 Boeing Model 1 [B & W Seaplane], the 1st Boeing product, flies for the 1st time

Jun 15 Boys Scouts of America forms
Jun 16 MLB Boston Brave's pitcher Tom Hughes no-hitter beats Pittsburgh, 2-0; at the time it is his 2nd career no-hitter, but a 1991 rule change wiped his 1910 effort [1]
Jun 16 Passing of the Military Services Bill introduces conscription in New Zealand
Jun 17 1st national congress of Sarekat Islam at Bandoeng Java
Jun 17 US troops under General Pershing march into Mexico
Jun 21 Boston Red Sox pitcher Rube Foster no-hits New York Yankees, 2-0 at Fenway Park
Jun 21 Mexican troops defeat US expeditionary force under General Pershing

Pickford's Million Dollar Contract

Jun 24 Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to get a million dollar contract

Jun 25 Russian Tsar Nicolaas II fires minister of Foreign affairs Sasonov
Jun 26 Cleveland Indians experiment with numbers on jerseys in a game against Chicago WS; first time MLB players identified by numbers corresponding to those on scorecard

In Splendid Spirits

Jun 30 British General Douglas Haig reports "The men are in splendid spirits" the day before the Battle of the Somme began

A large mine placed by a British tunneling unit explodes under German positions on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. At the time it was one of the largest explosions ever and one of the loudest man-made noises.

Jul 1 1st of 4 fatal Jersey Shore shark attacks occur at Beach Haven when Charles Vansant (25) bled to death, challenging previous scientific belief that sharks never hurt humans, and sparking popular fear over sharks which persists today
Jul 1 Battle of the Somme: The British launch their planned offensive in the Somme valley, but the Germans have quietly been preparing for weeks.
Jul 1 British court martial for the Easter uprising
Jul 1 Coca-Cola brings current coke formula to the market

Five Miles of Mud Costs a Million Casualties

Jul 1 First day of the Battle of the Somme: the British Army suffers its worst day, losing 19,240 men (WWI)

Over the top: Thousands of British soldiers scrambled out of their trenches and were dead within minutes

Wagner's Record Home Run

Jul 1 Pittsburgh shortstop Honus Wagner, at 42 and 4 months, connects at Cincinnati to become the oldest to hit an inside-the-park HR; Pirates beat Reds, 2-1

Lenin on Imperialism

Jul 2 Lenin says Imperialism is caused by capitalism

Marxist Revolutionary and Soviet Leader Vladimir Lenin

Jul 2 Russian offensive in Armenia
Jul 6 2nd of 4 fatal Jersey Shore shark attacks occur at Spring Lake when Charles Bruder (27) bled to death, 5 days after the 1st
Jul 7 The New Zealand Labour party is formed
Jul 9 1st cargo submarine to cross Atlantic arrives in US from Germany
Jul 11 Battle of Verdun: Germany launches an offensive on Fort Souville in France but are defeated by artillery and machine gunners
Jul 11 US Congress passes Federal Aid Road Act
Jul 12 3rd and 4th of 4 fatal Jersey Shore shark attacks occurs at Matawan Creek when epileptic Lester Stilwell (11) is dragged into a creek and Watson Fisher (24), believing Silwell had a seizure, is bitten while retrieving the body and subsequently bleeds to death
Jul 12 Joseph Dunn (14) is attacked by a shark, suffering non-fatal wounds in New Jersey, the final episode in a spate of shark attacks along the Jersey coast where 4 people died over 12 days
Jul 14 13.2 inches (33.6 cm) rainfall at Effingham, South Carolina (state record until 1999)
Jul 14 St Louis Brown Ernie Koob pitches all 17 innings for 14 hits in a 0-0 tie vs Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park
Jul 15 22.22" (56.4 cm) of rain falls in Altapass NC (state record)
Jul 15 Boeing Company (Pacific Aero) formed by William Boeing in Seattle, Washington
Jul 20 NY Giants trade future Baseball HOF pitcher Christy Mathewson to Cincinnati Reds
Jul 22 A bomb explodes during a Preparedness Day parade in San Francisco killing 10
Jul 25 Explosion at Lake Erie and Cleveland Waterworks
Jul 26 The US Protests the 'Blacklist' issued by the British forbidding trade with some 30 US firms
Jul 29 Cochrane and Matheson forest fire 500,000 acres (2,000 km2) in size in Ontario takes about 223 lives. Leads to improved techniques and legislation for prevention and control of forest fires. [1]
Jul 30 German saboteurs blow up a munitions plant on Black Tom Island, New Jersey
Aug 1 Hawaii National Park forms
Aug 2 World War I: Austrian sabotage causes the sinking of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci in Taranto
Aug 4 Denmark and the United States sign a treaty whereby the Danish West Indies, including the Virgin Islands, are to be ceded to the US in 1917 for $25 million
Aug 4 The Turks attack the British line at Romani in the northern Sinai (WWI)
Aug 8 A's set AL record with 19th consecutive loss on road
Aug 10 Turks annex Persian city Hamadan from Russia

Picasso and Friends

Aug 12 Pablo Picasso, Max Jacob, Moïse Kisling, Ortiz and Paquerette are photographed in Paris

Manuel Ortiz de Zarate, Moïse Kisling, Max Jacob, Pablo Picasso and Pâquerette in Paris

Aug 17 Bulgarian offensive in Macedonia
Aug 21 Sir Roger Casement, an Ulster Protestant and ardent Irish nationalist, arrested by the British
Aug 23 Military court of Berlin sentences socialist Karl Liebknecht to 4 years
Aug 25 US Department of Interior forms National Park Service
Aug 26 Philadelphia Athletic's Bullet Joe Bush no-hits Cleveland, 5-0
Aug 27 Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary
Aug 28 Germany declares war on Romania
Aug 28 Italy declares war against Germany
Aug 29 Congress creates US Naval Reserve