What Happened on August 15, 1914

Historical Events

Battle of Dinant

Dinant, Belgium, destroyed by German bombs. Lt Charles de Gaulle (24), injured

International Lawn Tennis Challenge

International Lawn Tennis Challenge, NYC, New York: Norman Brookes beats American Dick Norris Williams 6-1, 6-2, 8-10, 6-3 to give Australasia unassailable 3-1 lead; win 3-2

  • Japan joins the side of the allies
  • Panama Canal opens (under cost) with the SS Ancon making the 1st official steamship through the canal

Taliesian Massacre

Taliesian Massacre (Spring Green, Wisconsin): Julian Carlton, a disgruntled employee, kills architect Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress Martha Borthwick, her 2 children, and 4 others with a hatchet and burns the architect's home to the ground while Wright is away on business

  • The first large public gathering of Boers in South Africa who do not want to support Britain in a war against Germany; British authorities will try to repress this movement, but discontent spreads

US Neutrality

US Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, in a letter to J P Morgan, Jr., declares that loans to any of the belligerents go against US neutrality


1914 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Peter Nicholson Gunn, Australian writer (The Churches of Rome), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1995)
Born in 1914

Famous Deaths

  • Anatoly Liadov, Russian composer (Baba yaga), dies at 59

About August 15, 1914

Day of the Week: Saturday
How Long Ago? 109 years, 1 month and 7 days
Leap Year: No

Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Tiger
Star Sign: Leo