December 1913

The following events occurred in December 1913:

December 1, 1913 (Monday)

• The Ford Motor Company introduced the first moving assembly line, reducing chassis assembly time from  12 ¹⁄₂ hours in October to 2 hours, 40 minutes. Although Ford was not the first to use an assembly line, his successful adoption of one sparked an era of mass production.^[1]
• Crete, having obtained self rule from Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War (1897), was annexed by Greece.^[2]
• The Auckland Exhibition officially opened to the public in Auckland Domain Park, Auckland, New Zealand with an estimated 18 0000 attendees the opening day of the world's fair.^[3]
• In Pittsburgh, the first drive-in automobile service station opened.^[4]
• A record blizzard hit Colorado, with four to six feet (one to two meters) of snow falling in the first week of December. Georgetown, in the foothills west of Denver, was the hardest hit with a record 86 inches of snow, just over seven feet (over two meters).^[5]
• Saverne Affair – German commanding officer Berthold von Deimling sent a brigadier general to take control of the barracks in the town of Saverne, Alsace (now part of France but within Germany in 1913), restoring temporary civilian authority.^[6]
• Born: Mary Martin, American actress and singer, known for roles in South Pacific and The Sound of Music, in Weatherford, Texas (d. 1990)
• Died: Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet and short story writer (b. 1864); Ernest Roberts, Australian politician (b. 1868)

December 2, 1913 (Tuesday)

• In Woodrow Wilson's First State of the Union Address, the 28th President of the United States opened with a call for the end of the Victoriano Huerta regime in Mexico: "There can be no certain prospect of peace in America until Gen. Huerta has surrendered his usurped authority in Mexico."^[7]
• Louis Barthou, 78th Prime Minister of France, resigned after only eight months in office following a defeat on a budget vote.^[8]
• Saverne Affair – During a military practice in Saverne, Second Lieutenant Günter Freiherr von Forstner - the source of much of the town's outrage against the German military since November - was mocked by Karl Blank, a journeyman shoemaker. Eyewitnesses reported Forstner lost his temper and struck Blank with his saber, causing severe head injuries that paralyzed him on one side. Forstner was sentenced to 43 days in jail after the first trial, but an appellate trial reversed the sentence after the judge concluded Forstner had acted in self-defense.^[9]
• Archbishop José Antonio Lezcano y Ortega was ordained to the newly created Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Managua in Nicaragua.^[10]
• Danish author Karen Blixen left her native Rungstedlund, Denmark to settle in Kenya where she would live for almost 28 years on her African farm.^[11]
• Born: Knut Myrstad, Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party, in Selje, Norway (d. 2001)

December 3, 1913 (Wednesday)

• Twenty-eight men were killed in a fire at the homeless shelter at the Arcadia Hotel in Boston.^[12][13]
• Saverne Affair – The Reichstag opened discussion on events in Saverne but Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg defended the actions of the military officers at the Saverne barracks.^[9]
• Born: Omer Vanaudenhove, Belgian politician, president of the Liberal Party in 1961, in Diest, Belgium (d. 1994)

December 4, 1913 (Thursday)

• Saverne Affair – The Reichstag passed a vote of no-confidence against the Chancellor, the first time in the history of the Prussian Empire, with 293 votes for, 54 against, and four abstentions. Leaders of each non-governing party declared the actions of the government in relation to Saverne were "not the view of the Reichstag".^[9]
• Vladimir Lenin published his paper "The Poverty of People's Teachers" in the political magazine Za Pravdu.^[14]
• Georgetown, Colorado, had the highest (recorded) snowfall in U.S. history, with 63 inches (1.6 metres) of snow.^[15]

December 5, 1913 (Friday)

• Saverne Affair – The Kaiser ordered a temporary move of the units stationed in Saverne to training grounds at Oberhofen (near Haguenau) and Bitche as a way to relieve tension between the military and Alsace residents.^[9]
• Isabella Newman of Mordialloc, Victoria, Australia was arrested on suspicion of several reported disappearances of infants in Melbourne. Investigators connected her to several advertisements that took in infants born out of wedlock for adoption in exchange for fee of services. Upon learning that she was to be taken into Melbourne for further questioning, Newman asked to be excused to change into traveling clothes before locking herself in her bedroom and taking strychnine. Investigation following her suicide uncovered at least three infant bodies, two on the Newman farm property and a third in a different location.^[16]

December 6, 1913 (Saturday)

• The 1913-1914 World Baseball Tour - The Chicago White Sox beat the New York Giants 9-4 in a baseball exhibition game in Tokyo at the start of the Asia leg of their tour.^[17]
• Born: Mykola Amosov, Ukrainian heart surgeon, inventor, best-selling author, and exercise enthusiast, in Olkhovo, Russian Empire (d. 2002); Eleanor Holm, American Olympic swimmer, gold medalist at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, in New York City (d. 2004)
• Died: Alexander Hurley, British music hall performer, married to Marie Lloyd (b. 1871)

December 7, 1913 (Sunday)

• The 1913-1914 World Baseball Tour - The Chicago White Sox swept the Japan doubleheader against the New York Giants in a 12-9 victory.^[17]
• During the ongoing Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914, a boarding house owner, Thomas Dally, and two English brothers at the boarding house in Painesdale, Michigan Arthur and Harry Jane, were killed by random rifle shots fired into the house from nearby woods. The Jane brothers had arrived in Michigan with the intention of crossing strike lines to work. Later, two Finnish immigrant brothers, and an Austrian, were charged with first degree murder in connection with the shooting, but the third escaped from custody and was never recaptured.^[18]
• Born: Donald C. MacDonald, Canadian politician, leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (Ontario Section) and its successor, the Ontario New Democratic Party, in Cranbrook, British Columbia (d.2008)
• Died: Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, Italian Catholic churchman and last surviving cardinal of Pius IX (b. 1828); Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, inventor of mail order (b. 1844)

December 8, 1913 (Monday)

• Construction began on the Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina District of San Francisco, California for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition.^[19]
• Born: Delmore Schwartz, American poet, notable collections including In Dreams Begin, in New York City (d. 1966)

December 9, 1913 (Tuesday)

• Pancho Villa forces left Chihuahua, Mexico in pursuit of federal troops fleeing to Ojinaga, Mexico, located on the Mexican-U.S. border.^[20]
• John K. Tener, former pro baseball player and former 25th Governor of Pennsylvania, was elected president of the National League.^[21]

December 10, 1913 (Wednesday)

• The Nobel Prize Committee selected Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes as recipient for the Nobel Prize for Physics; Swiss Chemist Alfred Werner for the Nobel Prize for Chemistry; and French physiologist Charles Richet for the Nobel Prize for Medicine.^[22]
• The US Navy officially opened its current naval station in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba having previously operated at South Toro Cay, Cuba.
• Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914 – Offices of the Western Federation of Miners throughout Houghton County, Michigan were raided by members of Citizens Alliance, an organization backed by mining companies affected by the ongoing strike, with assistance from sheriff's deputies.^[23]
• Born: Morton Gould, American composer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for Stringmusic, in Richmond Hill, New York (d. 1996); Harry Locke, British character actor, notable role in BBC's adaptation of War and Peace, in London (d. 1987)

December 11, 1913 (Thursday)

• Saverne Affair – A military court in Strasbourg, Germany sentenced two recruits from Saverne to three and six weeks of military arrest, respectively, after the soldiers publicly confirmed that Second Lieutenant Günter Freiherr von Forstner had made insulting statements against people living in the Alsace region.^[9]
• The Sikorsky Ilya Muromets four-engine airplane, a heavy bomber for the Imperial Russian Air Force, flew for the first time. The plane was designed by Russian aviation engineer Igor Sikorsky and named after Ilya Muromets, a hero from Russian mythology.^[24][25]
• Born: Jean Marais, French actor and director, most known for the title role in Beauty and the Beast, in Cherbourg, France (d. 1998)

December 12, 1913 (Friday)

• The Norwegian sailing vessel Kwango ran aground off Bryon Island, St Lawrence River, Canada and wrecked.^[26]
• The stolen Mona Lisa was recovered in Florence after Vincenzo Perugia was arrested while trying to sell it.^[27]
• Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition – Following a speaking tour in Brazil and Argentina, former US President Theodore Roosevelt met up with Brazilian military officer and explorer Cândido Rondon to embark on a joint exploration of the "River of Doubt", a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) river (later renamed Rio Roosevelt) located in a remote area of the Brazilian Amazon basin.^[28]
• Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914 – Charles Lawton, general manager of the Quincy Mining Company in Houghton County, Michigan, reported in a letter to mining company president William Rogers Todd that local police would often forgo arresting strikers that they had caught, writing that "some of them were ... fit subjects for the hospital...in fact, they were very roughly treated.”^[23]
• In the second of three “Brides in the Bath murders”, George Joseph Smith’s new (second) wife, Alice Burnham, is found dead in her bath in her home in Blackpool, England.^[29]
• Born: Eve Lister, British film and television actor, known for the role in Sweeney Todd, in Brighton, England (d. 1997); Stanley Bate, British composer, studied under Ralph Vaughan Williams and other composers (d. 1959); Clint Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach, played centre for New York Rangers and the Chicago Black Hawks, in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan (d.2009)
• Died: Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1844)

December 13, 1913 (Saturday)

• German balloonist Hugo Kaulen stayed aloft for 87 hours, a record that would not be broken until 1935.^[30]
• Born: Arnold Brown, 11th General of the Salvation Army 1977 to 1981, in London (d. 2002); Archie Moore, American boxer, longest reigning Light Heavyweight World Champion (1952 to 1962), in Benoit, Mississippi (d. 1998); John Pope-Hennessy, British art historian, leading scholar of Italian Renaissance art, in London (d. 1994)

December 14, 1913 (Sunday)

• The 1913-1914 World Baseball Tour - The New York Giants trounced the Chicago White Sox 7-4 in Hong Kong, in a shortened five-inning exhibition game due to the organization's booked ship arriving late after being delayed by quarantine.^[17]
• The Imperial Japanese Navy launched the battleship Haruna at the Kawasaki Shipyards in Kobe, Japan.^[31]

December 15, 1913 (Monday)

• Nicaragua became a signatory to the Buenos Aires Convention 1910 copyright treaty, the third Latin American country to do so.^[32]
• The British Royal Navy launched the battlecruiser HMS Tiger - the 11th Royal Navy ship to bear that name - at the John Brown and Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland.^[33]
• The new Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre opened in Toronto, with American composer Irving Berlin performing at the opening of the new facility.^[34]
• Born: Muriel Rukeyser, American poet, author of The Book of the Dead, in New York City (d. 1980)

December 16, 1913 (Tuesday)

• An explosion at Vulcan Mine in New Castle, Colorado killed 38 miners.^[35]
• Parliamentary elections were held in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. The Croat-Serb Coalition won with 39.09% of the vote.^[36]
• Born: George Ignatieff, Russian-Canadian diplomat, recipient of the 1984 Pearson Medal of Peace, in St. Petersburg (d. 1989)

December 17, 1913 (Wednesday)

• Saverne Affair – At the request of German general command in Strasbourg, police in Germany confiscated a recording, made by gramophone company Cromer and Schrack, containing evidence of insulting remarks made against Alsace residents. The military then instituted legal proceedings against the company.^[9]
• The 1913-1914 World Baseball Tour - The Chicago White Sox beat the New York Giants 2-1, the first in two back-to-back exhibition games in Manila.^[17]
• Died: Stefano Gobatti, Italian opera composer, composed the opera I Goti (b. 1852)

December 18, 1913 (Thursday)

• The 1913-1914 World Baseball Tour - The Chicago White Sox pulled off their second double-header sweep during the Asia leg of the tour against the New York Giants in a 7-4 win in Manila.^[17]
• Born: Alfred Bester, American science fiction author, Hugo Award winner for The Demolished Man, in New York City (d. 1987); Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971, in Lübeck, Germany (d. 1992); Lynn Bari, American actress, known for film roles such as The Bridge of San Luis Rey, in Roanoke, Virginia (d. 1989); Ray Meyer, American basketball coach for DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, in Chicago (d. 2006), Saburō Takata, Japanese composer, known for the classical piece Takuboku Tankashu, in Nagoya, Japan (d. 2000)

December 19, 1913 (Friday)

• Boxers Jack Johnson and Battling Jim Johnson fought a 10-round match for the world heavyweight title in Paris. The novelty of two black professionals competing for the world title drew crowds, but a sportswriter from the Indianapolis Star observed spectators becoming unruly, and demanding their money back, when it became apparent that neither boxer was putting up a fight. At one point, Jack Johnson was only using his right arm to box. Organizers claimed Johnson's left arm had been broken during the third round, but there was no evidence of any injury.

The fight was ruled a draw, and Jack Johnson retained his title.

December 20, 1913 (Saturday)

• The "Great Strike of 1913" in Wellington, New Zealand ended after the United Federation of Labour (UFL) conceded defeat. Their labor ally, the Federated Seamen's Union, had broken ranks by reaching a deal with shipowners to return to work. The bitter, two-month labor struggle involved up to 16,000 unionists across New Zealand, and sparked violent clashes between strikers and police.^[37]
• A serious fire at Portsmouth Dockyard destroyed the semaphore tower.^[38]

December 21, 1913 (Sunday)

• The first crossword puzzle in history, Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", was published in the New York World.^[39][40]
• An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 struck the Yunnan Province, China. At least 942 people died. Another 112 were injured, and scores of homes were destroyed.^[41]
• Born: Arnold Friberg, American painter, known for the painting The Prayer at Valley Forge, in Winnetka, Illinois (d. 2010); Raich Carter, British football (soccer) player and coach, team captain for Sunderland and Derby County and manager of the Hull City A.F.C.; in Hendon, England (d. 1994)

December 22, 1913 (Monday)

• British racing driver L.G. Hornsted set a new land speed record in excess of 200 kilometers per hour driving in a Benz 200 horse power racing car (“Blitzenbenz”) at the Brooklands racing circuit in southern England.^[42]

December 23, 1913 (Tuesday)

• The Federal Reserve Act was signed into law by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve System as the central banking system of the United States.^[43]
• Died: James Bonnor Middleton, South African cricketer, played six Tests from 1896 to 1902 (b. 1865)

December 24, 1913 (Wednesday)

• Italian Hall Disaster – A stampede at the Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan killed 73 people (59 of them children) during a Christmas Eve celebration for over 400 striking miners (Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914) and their families. An unknown person had yelled "Fire!" (even though there wasn't one). Speculation included the theory that an anti-union ally of mine management had yelled out the false alarm in order to disrupt the party.^[23][44]

December 25, 1913 (Thursday)

• The polar expedition crew on the Karluk celebrated Christmas, with decorations, presents, a programme of sports on the ice, and a banquet.^[45] The polar ship had been drifting west in the ice for nearly three months and was now just 50 miles (80 km) north of Herald Island, a rocky outpost east of Wrangel Island, in the Beaufort Sea.
• Born: Henri Nannen, German journalist, founder of Gruner + Jahr the news magazine Der Stern, in Emden, Germany (d. 1996); Tony Martin, American singer, known for hits such as Fools Rush In and La Vie en Rose, in San Francisco, California (d. 2012); and Arvid Nilssen, Norwegian actor, first recipient of the Leonard Statuette by the Norwegian Comedy Writers' Association in 1968 (d. 1976)

December 26, 1913 (Friday)

• Ambrose Bierce, a 71-year-old American writer and journalist, author An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, disappeared after writing a letter to Blanche Partington, from the city of Chihuahua. Dated December 26, 1913, the letter ended with the sentence: "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination."^[46][47][48] Theories for Bierce's vanishing after the date of the letter are numerous. Stories from locals in Sierra Mojada, Coahuila, documented by the priest James Lienert, stated that Bierce was executed by firing squad in a local town cemetery.^[49] However, no firm evidence has yet to turn up that resolves the mystery surrounding the famous author's fate.
• Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914 – Charles Moyer, president of the Western Federation of Miners was attacked in his hotel room in Hancock, Michigan, by assailants allegedly working for the mining companies. After being beaten with a pistol, Moyer was shot in the back and then dragged to a nearby train station. Moyer reported being met by Jim McNaughton, manager of the Calumet and Hecla Mine Company, at the station and being told "If I ever come back to Houghton or the range he would see me hanged." Moyer was forced onto a train heading to Chicago where he was treated at the city's St. Luke's Hospital for his injuries. McNaughton denied he made any threats to Moyer. The assault remains unsolved.^[50]
• Born: Frank Swift, British football (soccer) goalie and journalist, played goal for Manchester City and England, in Blackpool, England (d. 1958, killed in Munich air disaster)

December 27, 1913 (Saturday)

• Baseball's new Federal League signed its first major star when Brooklyn Dodgers shortstop Joe Tinker (of "Tinker to Evers to Chance" fame) signed a contract with the Chicago Whales.^[51]
• Born: Elizabeth Smart, Canadian author, known for By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, in Ottawa (d. 1986)

December 28, 1913 (Sunday)

• The "Venus of Cyrene", a headless marble sculpture, was discovered by Italian troops in Cyrene, Libya after torrential rains washed away the topsoil at the Trajan’s Baths in the Sanctuary of Apollo.^[52] It would be displayed in Rome for 94 years, but would be returned to Libya in 2008.
• Born: Lou Jacobi, Canadian-American actor, famous for stage and film roles including Broadway's The Diary of Anne Frank, in Toronto (d. 2009)

December 29, 1913 (Monday)

• The first movie serial, The Adventures of Kathlyn starring Kathlyn Williams, premiered in Chicago.^[53][54]
• Charlie Chaplin signed a contract with Mack Sennett to begin making films at Keystone Studios.^[55]
• The Girl on the Film, a Broadway production, opened at the 44th Street Theatre and ran for 64 performances.^[56][57]
• Born: Pierre Werner, Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1979 to 1984, in Saint-André-lez-Lille, France (d. 2002)

December 30, 1913 (Tuesday)

• The Sydney Morning Herald broke the news that thousands of people were starving in the Aomori and Hokkaidō prefectures of Japan, in one of the worst famines in the country since 1809.^[58]
• Italy returned the Mona Lisa to France.^[27]
• English cricketer Sydney Barnes took 17 wickets in a match between England and South Africa (8-56 and 9-103), totaling 49 wickets, the most in a Test series.^[59]
• Born: Elyne Mitchell, Australian author, creator of the children's series Silver Brumby, in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2002); Svend S. Schultz, Danish composer, studied under Poul Schierbeck (d. 1998); Lucio Agostini, Italian-born Canadian composer, known for his collaborative work with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in Fano, Italy (d. 1996)

December 31, 1913 (Wednesday)

• Pilot 1st Lt. Harold Geiger operated a Curtiss Model E, and a Curtiss SC out of Fort Kamehameha, Hawaii.^[60]

References