November 1916 in History

Events in History

Event of Interest

Nov 5 German Emperor Wilhelm II and Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I establish the Kingdom of Poland

German Emperor and King of Prussia Wilhelm II

Nov 5 Second Chamber accept initial impetus to general males/female suffrage
Nov 5 The Everett Massacre takes place in Everett, Washington as political differences lead to a shoot-out between IWW organizers and local police.

Election of Interest

Nov 7 Amidst the Mexican Revolution and World War I, Woodrow Wilson is re-elected as President of the United States, defeating Republican candidate Charles E. Hughes

Nov 7 Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich warns Tsar of uprising

Election of Interest

Nov 7 Jeannette Rankin (Rep-R-Montana) is elected to Congress as its first woman Representative

1st Woman Elected to Congress Jeannette Rankin

Nov 9 Ammunitions ship explodes at Bakaritsa harbour, near Archangel, Soviet Union, approx. 600 killed, 800 injured (OS 26 Oct)
Nov 13 British offensive at Ancre, Belgium
Nov 13 Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes is expelled from the Labor Party over his support for conscription

Event of Interest

Nov 15 Canadian pilot William George Barker flying over Ancre River, spots concentration of German troops massing for counter-attack on Beaumont Hamel, sends emergency Zone Call to break up German infantry apart. Barker later receives Military Cross

First World War Flying Ace William George Barker

Event of Interest

Nov 16 Eugene O'Neill's "Bound East for Cardiff" premieres in NYC

Nov 16 Russian La Satannaya ammunition factory explodes, killing 1,000

Five Miles of Mud Costs a Million Casualties

Nov 18 British General Douglas Haig finally calls off the 1st Battle of the Somme in World War I after more than 1 million soldiers had been killed or wounded

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

Nov 21 HMHS Britannic sinks in the Aegean Sea after a mine explodes, killing 30 people
Nov 24 Mexican and US representatives sign a protocol at Atlantic City, under which Pershing's troops will withdraw and each nation's army will guard the border. President Carranza of Mexico will refuse to accept it
Nov 26 Addressing the Chamber of Commerce in Cincinnati, US President Woodrow Wilson declares that 'The business of neutrality is over. The nature of modern war leaves no state untouched'
Nov 26 Greece declares war on Germany
Nov 28 1st German air attack on London
Nov 29 US declares martial law in Dominican Republic
Nov 30 Costa Rica becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

Birthdays in History

Nov 4 John Basilone, US Marine (Medal of Honor at the Battle for Henderson Field), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1945)
Nov 4 Ruth Handler [née Mosko], American toy manufacturer (invented the Barbie doll), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2002)
Nov 8 Peter Weiss, German author and playwright (Marat/Sade), born in Nowawes, Brandenburg, Germany (d. 1982)
Nov 15 Ruth Nita Barrow, 1st female Governor-General of Barbados (1990-95), born in Saint Lucy, Barbados (d. 1995)
Nov 16 Daws Butler, American animation voice (Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound), born in Toledo, Ohio (d. 1988)
Nov 17 Winson Hudson, American civil rights activist (rural Mississippi), born in Harmony, Mississippi (d. 2004)
Nov 20 Ferdinand Alphons Marie van der Ham, Dutch WW II resistance fighter, born in Voorburg, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands (d. 1944)
Nov 20 John Elwyn, British painter, born in Adpar, Wales (d. 1997)
Nov 20 Robert A. Bruce, American cardiologist and pioneer (exercise cardiology), born in Somerville, Massachusetts (d. 2004)
Nov 24 Forrest J. Ackerman, American literary agent and writer who invented the term "sci-fi (Famous Monsters of Filmland), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 208)
Nov 28 Lilian Baels, Princess of Réthy, English 2nd wife of Belgian king Leopold III, born in London (d. 2002)

Weddings in History

Erwin Rommel

Nov 29 Erwin Rommel marries Lucie "Lu" Mollin

Deaths in History

Percival Lowell (1855-1916)

Nov 12 American astronomer (predicted discovery of Pluto) and founder of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, dies of a stroke at 61

Nov 14 Henry George, Jr., American politician (b. 1862)
Nov 14 Saki [Hector Hugo Munro], British writer (Reginald; When William Came), killed in battle during WWI at 45
Nov 15 Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish author (Quo Vadis, Nobel 1905), dies at 70
Nov 15 Luis Muñoz Rivera, Puerto Rican journalist (founded Federalist Party), dies at 57

Franz Joseph I (1830-1916)

Nov 21 Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia (1848-1916), dies of pneumonia after catching a cold taking a walk at 86

Nov 22 Jack London, American activist and author (Call of the Wild), dies at 40
Nov 24 Hiram Maxim, American-British inventor (Maxim gun, 1st automatic machine gun), dies at 76