Rahul Sharma (Editor)

April 1915

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The following events occurred in April 1915:

Contents

April 1, 1915 (Thursday)

  • The 123rd Infantry Division of the Imperial German Army was established as part of new wave of German infantry division formed in spring 1915.
  • In a Morane-Saulnier L, French fighter pilot Jean Navarre and his observer/gunner Jean Robert, attacked a German Aviatik B.I over Merval, France. Robert used a carbine to damage the enemy plane and wound the pilot, forcing him to land behind French lines and surrender. It is Navarre's first victory and would set him on course to becoming a flying ace.
  • French fighter pilot Lieutenant Roland Garros scored the first kill achieved by firing a machine gun through a tractor propeller of an enemy observation plane. Garros would score two more victories in this way later in the month.
  • Baldwin Locomotive Works delivered the first of 280 Péchot-Bourdon locomotives for the French trench railways on the Western Front.
  • The Majestic Theater opened in Detroit. Designed by architect C. Howard Crane, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
  • Born: O. W. Fischer, Austrian actor, best known for his roles in West German cinema including Arms and the Man, adapted from the George Bernard Shaw play, in Klosterneuburg, Austria (d. 2004)
  • Died: Spencer Cone Jones, American politician, President of the Maryland Senate from 1901 to 1905 (b. 1836); Laura Alberta Linton, American physician, developer of occupational therapy (b. 1853)

    • April 2, 1915 (Friday)

  • The 115th and 117th Infantry Divisions of the Imperial German Army were established.
  • French parliament adopted the bill to create the military decoration Croix de guerre for combatants who displayed exceptional service during World War One.
  • Born: Soia Mentschikoff, Russian-American lawyer, first woman to teach at Harvard Law School, in Moscow (d. 1984)
  • Died: William Joseph Hynes, American politician, U.S. Representative from Arkansas from 1873 to 1875 (b. 1843)

    • April 3, 1915 (Saturday)

  • French fighter pilot Adolphe Pégoud scored his fifth aerial victory, becoming the first fighter ace.
  • Ottoman cruiser Mecidiye struck a mine and sank in the Gulf of Odessa. She was later salvaged by the Russians and entered service with the Imperial Russian Navy as Prut.
  • The first edition of the newspaper Antelope Valley Press was published in Antelope Valley, California as the Palmdale Post.
  • Born: Axel Axgil, Danish gay rights activist, co-founder of Forbundet af 1948 (The Association of 1948), Denmark's first gay rights organization, now the Danish National Association of Gays and Lesbians (d. 2011); İhsan Doğramacı, Turkish physician and academic, first chairman and president of the Board of Trustees for the World Health Organization, in Abril, Ottoman Syria (d. 2010)
  • Born: Piet de Jong, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1967 to 1971, in Apeldoorn, Netherlands (d. 2016); Paul Touvier, French collaborator with the Nazis in Occupied France during World War Two, first French citizen convicted of crimes against humanity, in Saint-Vincent-sur-Jabron, France (d. 1996); Karl Ibach, German writer, member of the German resistance during World War Two, co-founder of the Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime, in Elberfeld, Germany (d. 1990)
  • Died: Nadežda Petrović, Serbian painter, noted female painter with the Fauvism movement (b. 1873); Mary Garrett, American philanthropist, endowed the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine while ensuring women had equal access to its study programs (b. 1854)

    • April 4, 1915 (Sunday)

  • The Seventh Army for France was established to defend the southern borders of the country.
  • Using the statue of Charles Stewart Parnell on Sackville Street as a symbolic political statement, Irish Member of Parliament John Redmond saluted 25,000 National Volunteers assembled at the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
  • The first services were held in St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The church would be listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
  • Born: Muddy Waters, American blues musician, considered the "father of modern Chicago blues", in Clarksdale, Mississippi (d. 1983); Amedeo Biavati, Italian association football player, played for various clubs including Bologna from 1930 to 1955 in Bologna (d. 1979)
  • Died: Francis Bathurst Suttor, Australian politician, Member of Parliament of New South Wales from 1875 to 1900 (b. 1839); James Hargreaves, British chemist, patented several industrial chemical processes (b. 1834)

    • April 5, 1915 (Monday)

  • Boxer Jess Willard, the latest "Great White Hope", defeated Jack Johnson with a 26th-round knockout in sweltering heat at Havana, Cuba. Willard became very popular among white Americans for "bringing back the championship to the white race".
  • Born: Johnny Sylvester, American business executive, best known for being the sick boy baseball star Babe Ruth promised to hit a home run for during the 1926 World Series which resulted in a miraculous recovery, in Caldwell, New Jersey (d. 1990); Charles E. Tuttle, American publisher, founder of Tuttle Publishing, in Rutland, Vermont (d. 1993)
  • Died: John Cathles Hill, Scottish architect and real estate developer, developer of the Harringay neighborhood in London in Dundee, Scotland (b. 1857)

    • April 6, 1915 (Tuesday)

  • Battle of Celaya — A Constitutional Army of 15,000 cavalry and infantry under command of Álvaro Obregón repelled Pancho Villa's assault of 22,000 men on the city of Celaya in Guanajuato, Mexico. It was the first of several battles between the two leaders that would eventually lead to Villa losing his position as a national contender in Mexico.
  • Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf — French tried and failed to take German defense positions on the lower slopes of the Hartmannswillerkopf, thus slowing their advance into in the Alsace region between France and Germany.
  • British publisher Charles Elkin Mathews released American poet Ezra Pound's poetry collection Cathay.
  • The borough Woodbury Heights, New Jersey was incorporated.
  • Born: Tadeusz Kantor, Polish artist and theatrical director, co-founder of experimental theater Cricot 2 in Kraków, in Wielopole Skrzyńskie, Austria-Hungary (now Poland) (d. 1990); Geoffrey Sherman, British marines officer, Chief-of-Staff to Lieutenant-General Boy Browning, organised the ceremony of the Japanese surrender of Singapore (d. 2009)
  • Died: Musa Ćazim Ćatić, Bosian poet, part of the Bosnian Renaissance movement in the 1900s (b. 1878)

    • April 7, 1915 (Wednesday)

  • Born: Stanley Adams, American actor, best known for work in the film adaptation of Death of a Salesman and Requiem for a Heavyweight, in New York City (d. 1977); Albert O. Hirschman, German-American economist, author of Exit, Voice, and Loyalty and The Rhetoric of Reaction, in Berlin (d. 2012)
  • Born: Billie Holiday, American jazz singer, creator of many hit songs including "God Bless the Child", author of the autobiography Lady Sings the Blues, in Philadelphia (d. 1959); Henry Kuttner, American speculative fiction writer, author The Dark World and the classic horror short story "The Graveyard Rats", in Los Angeles (d. 1958); Merle Wendt, American football player, played end for Ohio State University from 1934 to 1936, in Middletown, Ohio (d. 2000)

    • April 8, 1915 (Thursday)

  • Born: Ivan Supek, Croatian physicist, president of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1991 to 1997, early proponent of nuclear disarmament, in Zagreb (d. 2007); Kirby Higbe, American baseball player, pitcher for the Major League Baseball from 1937 to 1950, in Columbia, South Carolina (d. 1985); Jack G. Merrell, American air force officer, commander of Air Materiel Command from 1968 to 1972, in Jeannette, Pennsylvania (d. 1993)
  • Died: Louis Pergaud, French writer, author of War of the Buttons, killed in an artillery barrage (b. 1882)

    • April 9, 1915 (Friday)

  • Born: Daniel Johnson, Sr., Canadian politician, 20th Premier of Quebec, in Danville, Quebec (d. 1968); Leonard Wibberley, Irish-American author, best known for this "Mouse" series of novels including The Mouse That Roared, in County Dublin, Ireland (d. 1983)
  • Born: Bob Quinn, Australian association football player, champion player for the Port Adelaide Football Club from 1933 to 1947, in Birkenhead, South Australia (d. 2008); Bill Clement, Welsh rugby player, played for the Llanelli RFC and captained six times for the Wales national rugby union team, in Llanelli, Wales (d. 2007)
  • Died: Friedrich Loeffler, German microbiologist, discovered the bacteria that causes diphtheria (b. 1852); Karl Bitter, Austrian-American sculptor, best known for his public sculptures and architectural works such as the East Doors of the Trinity Church in New York City (b. 1867)
  • Died: Léopold Louis-Dreyfus, French businessman, founder of the Louis Dreyfus Group, recipient of the Legion of Honour (b. 1833); James Moorhouse, Australian clergy, Anglican Bishop of Melbourne and of Manchester, and Chancellor of the University of Melbourne (b. 1826)

    • April 10, 1915 (Saturday)

  • Born: Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, guerrilla leader who led the revolt against Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir, in Poonch district, British India (now Pakistan) (d. 2003); Wynona Mulcaster, Canadian painter, best known for her landscape paintings of Saskatchewan, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (d. 2016)
  • Born: Harry Morgan, American actor, best known for his leading roles as Officer Bill Gannon in the 1967 TV revival of Dragnet and Colonel Sherman T. Potter in M*A*S*M*A*S*H, in Detroit (d. 2011)
  • Died: Samuel Lomax, British army officer, commander of the 1st Infantry Division at the First Battle of Ypres, died from wounds sustained in the battle (b. 1855)

    • April 11, 1915 (Sunday)

  • Charlie Chaplin's film The Tramp was released. Although Chaplin had portrayed the character in earlier films, it was first that nailed down the character's trademarks, by placing less on slapstick and more on story, such as the Tramp's willingness to be kind and help others. It was also the fifth and final film Chaplin made with Essanay Studios.
  • Born: Eddie Sargent, Canadian politician, served as Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1987, in Port Dover, Ontario (d. 1998)
  • Died: Maria Swanenburg, Dutch serial killer, poisoned at least 27 people including 16 relatives for insurance or inheritance money between 1880 and 1883 (b. 1839)

    • April 12, 1915 (Monday)

  • British, Australian and New Zealand forces assembled on the Greek island of Lemnos and conducted practice landings in preparation for the Gallipoli Campaign.
  • Battle of Shaiba — Ottoman commander Süleyman Askerî organized 4,000 regular Ottoman troops and 14,000 irregular Arab and Kurd fighters to retake the city Basra back from a British force of 6,000 men in what is now southern Iraq.
  • The Vienna Socialist Conference was held in the Austrian city for representatives from socialist parties in Germany, Austria and Hungary, the only such conference even held within the Central Powers.
  • The association football club Campinense Clube was formed in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil.
  • Stage actress Pauline Frederick made her film debut in The Eternal City, first released in Great Britain in April and later released in the United States on December 15.
  • Born: Július Tomin, Czech writer known for promoting Interlingua as second language in Europe, in Nová Baňa, Slovakia (d. 2003); Hound Dog Taylor, American blues musician, best known for his electric slide guitar in albums such as Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, in Natchez, Mississippi (d. 1975)

    • April 13, 1915 (Tuesday)

  • Battle of Shaiba — British soldiers under command of General Charles John Melliss repelled a night attack by Ottoman forces and routed many of the Arab irregulars the following day, thereby reducing the attacking force to a fourth of its size.
  • Battle of Celaya — Pancho Villa attempted a second assault on Celaya, Mexico to oust the Constitutional Army under command of Álvaro Obregón. Villa nearly succeeded in taking the city by the second day until a well-timed shipment of ammunition by train re-mobilized the city's defenders to drive off the attack.
  • Ed Overholser became the 16th mayor of Oklahoma City.
  • The Kearny Scots won their first American Cup, beating the Brooklyn Celtic 1-0 before a crowd of 5,000 spectators at Bartell's Park in Newark, New Jersey.
  • Born: Max Jammer, German-Israeli physicist, author of the Concepts series of volumes on the history of science and biographies on Albert Einstein, in Berlin (d. 2010); John E. Moss, American politician, U.S. Representative for California from 1953 to 1978, noted champion of the Freedom of Information Act, in Hiawatha, Utah (d. 1997)
  • Born: Harley Parker, Canadian artist, frequent collaborator with Marshall McLuhan, in Fort William, Ontario, (d. 1992); Francine Everett, American actress, leading African-American actress in several race films including Paradise in Harlem, in Louisburg, North Carolina (d. 1999);
  • Born: Stephan Hermlin, German writer, most well-known author of East Germany, in Chemnitz, Germany (d. 1997); Willie Saunders, American-Canadian horse jockey, one of the ten jockeys to win the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, in Bozeman, Montana (d. 1986)
  • Died: William Rockhill Nelson, American real estate developer and publisher, founder of The Kansas City Star newspaper (b. 1841)

    • April 14, 1915 (Wednesday)

  • Battle of Shaiba — British infantry cornered the remaining Ottoman force in a wood outside the Iraqi city of Basra, which surrendered after a full day of intense fighting. The Ottomans lost close to 2,500 casualties, including commander Süleyman Askerî who committed suicide, while the British sustained around 1,500 casualties. The British victory ensured Basra would remain under Allied control for the remainder of the war.
  • German Navy Zeppelins bombed England a second time, resulting in two casualties.
  • Defense of Van — An Armenian group know as Druzhina seized the lake side city of Van, Turkey from local government control, forcing local Ottoman troops to enter the city and contain the group.
  • Ernest Shackleton, leader of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, wrote in his log that the polar exploration ship Endurance was at risk of being "crushed like an eggshell" by the piling mass of ice that encased the ship for more than three months as it drifted north away from the Antarctic coast.
  • The 9th Cavalry Brigade for the British Army was established.
  • The borough Magnolia, New Jersey was incorporated.
  • Born: Jan Zumbach, Polish fighter pilot, fighter ace for the No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron during World War Two, in Ursynów, Russian Empire (d. 1986); Leonard Henry Trent, New Zealand air force pilot during World War Two, recipient of the Victoria Cross, in Nelson, New Zealand (d. 1986)
  • Born: Richard Hart, American actor, best known for the lead role in Dark of the Moon, in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1951); Sunil Santha, Sri Lankan composer, best known for his soundtracks to the Sri Lankan films Rekava and Sandesaya (d. 1981)
  • Died: John Englehart, American painter, noted for his landscapes of California and the Pacific Northwest (b. 1867)

    • April 15, 1915 (Thursday)

  • Battle of Celaya — Pancho Villa retreated in defeat without taking the city Celaya in Mexico. He has lost close to 9,000 men including 120 officers who were captured and executed. The resulting losses would put Villa on the defensive in future battles. In a telegram to Constitutionalist leader Venustiano Carranza, Constitutional Army commander Álvaro Obregón announced his victory with a sarcastic evaluation of the battle: “Fortunately, Villa led the attack personally”.
  • Russia defeated Ottoman forces at the Battle of Dilman in what is now Salmas, Iran, with 3,500 Ottoman soldiers killed.
  • Defense of Van — Governor Djevdet Bey of the Van Province in Turkey ordered local military forces to use violent means to suppress unrest among Armenian villages surrounding Van, Turkey following an uprising in the village of Erciş.
  • No. 8 Squadron and No. 13 Squadron of the Royal Air Force were grouped together at Fort Grange, Gosport, England to form the No. 5 Wing under command of Major Lionel Charlton, former commander of the No. 8 Squadron.
  • A second consecutive German airship bombing mission occurred over England but little damage was inflicted.
  • The international trade union Industrial Workers of the World held a conference in Kansas City, Missouri and established the Agricultural Workers Organization.
  • A fire destroyed the Luna amusement park roller-coaster in Arlington, Virginia. With its main attraction gone and its finances already too precarious to rebuild, owner Frederick Ingersoll was forced to close and dismantle the amusement park.
  • Born: Elizabeth Catlett, American sculpture, best known for the African-American influenced work of wood, metal and marble, including the "Students Aspire" sculpture at Howard University, in Washington, D.C. (d. 2012); Joe Hoover, American baseball player, shortstop for the Detroit Tigers from 1943 to 1945, in Brawley, California (d. 1965)
  • Born: George Ainsley, British association football player, played for various clubs from 1932 to 1949 including Leeds United F.C., in South Shields, England (d. 1985); Joe Arridy, American prisoner, executed on the conviction of the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in 1939, posthumously pardoned after new evidence came to light of his innocence, in Pueblo, Colorado (d. 1939)
  • Died: Urban A. Woodbury, American politician, 45th Governor of Vermont (b. 1838); John Wainwright, American military officer, recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher (b. 1839)

    • April 16, 1915 (Friday)

  • Defense of Van — American physician and missionary Clarence Ussher met with Djevdet Bey, governor of Van Province in Turkey, following violent actions to quell unrest in the village of Shadakh near the city of Van (where Ussher had been stationed since 1899). Ussher had seen the effects of the Hamidian massacres in the region in the 1890s and was concerned another one was imminent. Although the meeting was cordial and the governor seemed to agree not to send Ottoman forces into the village, Ussher claimed in his memoir it was actually a ruse and soldiers were instead deployed to massacre Armenians in neighboring villages.
  • British submarine HMS E15 ran aground at Kepez, Çanakkale, Turkey and shelled by Ottoman forces while stranded, killing seven crew including the sub's commander. The surviving crew were captured and taken to Istanbul where six crew members died during imprisonment.
  • British cargo ship Eglantine ran aground at Filey, Yorkshire, England. There was no loss of lives but the ship was a total loss.
  • The United States Navy conducted the first aircraft catapult launch from a floating platform at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida.
  • The silent film The Actor and the Rube, starring Riley Chamberlin and Boyd Marshall, was released to widely positive reviews for its lower key humor and less reliance on slapstick comedy.
  • Born: Joan Alexander, American actress, best known for doing the voice of Lois Lane on radio's The Adventures of Superman from 1940 to 1951, in Saint Paul, Minnesota (d. 2009); Su-Shu Huang, Chinese-American astrophysicist, developed the theory of habitable zone for potential life on exoplanets, in Changshu, China (d. 1977)
  • Died: Nelson W. Aldrich, American politician, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island from 1881 to 1911 (b. 1841); Richard Lydekker, British naturalist, author of close to 30 books on natural history (b. 1849)

    • April 17, 1915 (Saturday)

  • Battle of Hill 60 — British forces attempted to recapture the strategic hill on the Western Front from the Germans. British engineers from the 173rd Tunnelling Companydug excavations and filled them with explosives before detonating, killing and wounding many of the hill's German defenders. The 13th Brigade then moved in and overwhelmed the surviving defenders to capture the hill.
  • British ocean liner RMS Lusitania departed from Liverpool on her 201st trans-Atlantic voyage, with recently appointed ship captain William Thomas Turner at the helm. Turner had replaced Captain Daniel Dow who had been exhibiting signs of stress and unusual judgement over the last weeks, likely due to news of Germany mounting unrestricted submarine warfare around Great Britain.
  • Royal Naval Air Service airplanes attempted to destroy stranded British submarine HMS E15 in Turkey before it could fall into Ottoman hands but failed to hit their targets. Battleships Triumph and Majestic were ordered in to destroy the sub but intense fire from Ottoman shore batteries prevented them from getting near the abandoned sub.
  • Born: Martin Clemens, Scottish colonial officer, organized the resistance to Japanese occupation on the Solomon Islands during World War Two, in Aberdeen (d. 2009); Herbert Kuhlmann, German SS officer during World War Two, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, later assisted other Nazis in fleeing from authorities in Argentina including Adolf Eichmann, in Hamburg (d. 1985)
  • Died: Philip Webb, British architect, credited as being the "Father" of the Arts and Crafts movement (b. 1831); Brother Walfrid, Irish clergy, founder of the Celtic F.C. (b. 1840)

    • April 18, 1915 (Sunday)

  • Battle of Hill 60 — German forces attempted to retake the hill and actually held it for a few hours before the British 13th Brigade counterattacked in the early evening and retook all of the hill.
  • The Royal Navy was finally able to scuttle British submarine HMS E15 that had run aground two days later when two picket boats from nearby battleships were able to navigate close to the abandoned sub despite being under fire by Ottoman shore batteries and torpedo the vessel. However, one the picket boats was hit and sunk, killing one crew member, while the rest were rescued by the sister boat.
  • French fighter pilot Roland Garros was shot down and captured by the Germans.
  • British fighter pilot Lanoe Hawker attacked German Zeppelin sheds at Gontrode, Belgium, destroying one and shooting down a nearby observation balloon. The attack forced the Germans to cease using Gontrode as an airship base. As a result, Hawker was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
  • The 30th Battalion was established to reinforce the Canadian Corps on the Western Front.
  • The musical To-Night's the Night, by Paul Rubens with lyrics by Percy Greenbank, made its British premier at the Gaiety Theatre in London, running for a very successful 460 performances.
  • German astronomer Max Wolf discovered asteroid 806 Gyldénia at the Heidelberg Observatory.

    • April 19, 1915 (Monday)

  • Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf — German forces shelled and then stormed French defenses on the Hartmannswillerkopf summit, but were pushed back.
  • Battle of Hill 60 — The British 15th Brigade relieved most of the 13th Brigade on the hill at dawn.
  • Defense of Van — Violent crackdowns on Armenian unrest around Van, Turkey peaked when 2,500 Armenian men in the village of Erciş were executed.
  • During the Gallipoli campaign, the Royal Navy balloon ship Manica lofted her observation balloon for the first time in combat. The aerial observer in the balloon directed fire against Ottoman positions for the armored cruiser Bacchante. Manica's work during the campaign encouraged the British Admiralty to order additional balloon ships.
  • The U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal in a 7-2 vote for the new trial for Leo Frank in the murder of Mary Phagan.
  • Born: Joe Greene, American songwriter, best known for songs Across the Alley from the Alamo, And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine, and Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin', in Spokane, Washington (d. 1986); Donald G. Bollinger, American businessman and politician, state chairman for the Republican Party of Louisiana, in Raceland, Louisiana (d. 2000)
  • Born: Dorian Le Gallienne, Australian composer, known for compositions Sinfonietta and the song-cycle Four Holy Sonnets of John Donne, in Melbourne (d. 1963); Zhang Side, Chinese soldier, decorated Communist soldier during the Second Sino-Japanese War, in Yilong County, Sichuan, China (d. 1944); P. R. Wallace, Canadian physicist, leading researcher on graphite and its effects to radiation, in Toronto (d. 2006)
  • Died: Thomas Clouston, Scottish psychiatrist, author of Clinical Lectures on Mental Diseases and Unsoundness of Mind (b. 1840); Thomas Playford II, Australian politician, 17th Premier of South Australia (b. 1837)

    • April 20, 1915 (Tuesday)

  • Defense of Van — Tensions from Ottoman forces trying to suppress militia in the city of Van, Turkey escalated when an altercation at a sentry post resulted in Ottoman soldiers shooting two Armenian civilians. Resulting violence from the shootings resulted in Ottoman forces formally laying siege to the city.
  • Battle of Hill 60 — German forces bombarded British defenses throughout the day before attacking with infantry in the evening.
  • The 58th and 61st Battalions were established to reinforce the Canadian Corps on the Western Front.
  • During an aerial reconnaissance mission along the U.S.-Mexican border in a Martin T biplane, American pilot Byron Q. Jones and observer Thomas D. Milling were fired upon by Mexican forces on the ground. Their plane was hit, but they are uninjured, making it the first U.S, military air servicemen came under enemy fire.
  • The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway entered receivership.
  • Born: Eric Tipton, American baseball player, outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics and Cincinnati Reds from 1939 to 1945, in Petersburg, Virginia (d. 2001); Kang Shi'en, Chinese revolutionary leader, participant in the December 9th Movement, Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1978 to 1982, in Huai'an County, Hebei, China (d. 1995); Aurora Miranda, Brazilian singer, best known for The Three Caballeros where she performed with animated Disney characters Donald Duck and José Carioca, sister to Carmen Miranda, in Rio de Janeiro (d. 2005)
  • Born: Friedel Dzubas, German-American painter, member of the Abstract expressionism movement, in Berlin (d. 1994); William A. Price, American journalist, famously fired from New York Daily News for alleged tied to the Communist Party (d. 2009); Maria Silva Cruz, Spanish revolutionary, participated in the Casas Viejas incident in 1933, in Casas Viejas, Spain (d. 1936, executed)
  • Died: Daniel Webster Jones, American pioneer, author of the autobiography Forty Years Among the Indians (b. 1830); Alexander Todd, British rugby player, played forward for Cambridge University R.U.F.C. and Blackheath F.C., died from injuries sustained Battle of Hill 60 (b. 1873)

    • April 21, 1915 (Wednesday)

  • Battle of Hill 60 — German artillery barrages turned the hill into a moonscape. The British II Corps and V Corps practiced battle simulations over the next two days but soon were diverted north as the Second Battle of Ypres began.
  • The opera house Theatre Circo opened to the public in Braga, Portugal with a performance of Ruggero Leoncavallo's operetta La reginetta delle rose.
  • Swedish composer Jean Sibelius saw sixteen swans over Lake Tuusula in Finland which immediately inspired him to write the theme that becomes the finalé to his Symphony No. 5.
  • Born: Anthony Quinn, Mexican actor, recipient for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Viva Zapata! and Lust for Life, in Chihuahua City, Mexico (d. 2001); Harry Nicholls, British soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions during the Battle of France during World War Two, in Nottingham (d. 1975); Emanuel Vardi, Palestinian-American violinist, known for classical performances and classical violin interpretations of American folk songs, in Jerusalem (d. 2011)
  • Died: Adèle Hugo, French matron, youngest child to Victor Hugo (b. 1830)

    • April 22, 1915 (Thursday)

  • Second Battle of Ypres — The Germans launched the first large scale use of poison gas on the Western Front, launching grenades carrying chlorine gas into French and Canadian trenches. The Allies sustained massive casualties, but Canadian forces who bore the brunt chemical attacks managed to devise makeshift gas masks of urine-soaked rags and so were able to hold their ground.
  • Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive — General August von Mackensen was given command of a combined German-Austro-Hungarian force of 170,000 men in Galicia (now western Poland), named Army Group Mackensen, to break through the Russian front line defended by 60,000 Russian troops.
  • An application to commute the death sentence of Leo Frank was submitted to the Georgia Prison Commission.
  • The historical romance film The Captive, directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Blanche Sweet, was released. The film was considered lost until 1970 and it is now preserved in the Library of Congress.
  • Born: Hem Barua, Indian Assamese-language poet and politician, author of The Red River and the Blue Hill, in Tezpur, India (d. 1977); Robert J. Gorman, American lawyer, served as legal aide to General Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War Two, in Chicago (d. 2007)
  • Died: Samuel Bancroft, American industrialist, noted art collector of Pre-Raphaelite artwork (b. 1840)

    • April 23, 1915 (Friday)

  • The Australian weekly newspaper The Murrumbidgee Irrigator distributed its first issue in Leeton, New South Wales, Australia. It was renamed The Irrigator in 2001.
  • Born: George Smith, British association football player, played centre half for clubs including the Queens Park Rangers F.C. from 1938 to 1950, and managed teams from 1950 to 1970 including Portsmouth F.C., in Bromley-by-Bow, England (d. 1983)
  • Died: Rupert Brooke, English poet, author of The Soldier and other war poems (b. 1887); Frederick Fisher, Canadian soldier, recipient of Victoria Cross, killed in action at the Second Battle of Ypres (b. 1894)

    • April 24, 1915 (Saturday)

  • Second Battle of Ypres — German forces launched a poison-gas attack on Canadian forces around the village of St. Julien, allowing them to take the village.
  • The Armenian Genocide began with the deportation of Armenian notables from Constantinople. Among literary deportees who perished in the coming genocide were Dikran Chökürian, Armen Dorian, Melkon Giurdjian, Ardashes Harutiunian, Jacques Sayabalian, Ruben Sevak, Siamanto, Rupen Zartarian and actor Yenovk Shahen. Survivors included Yervant Odian and Alexander Panossian.
  • Australian submarine HMAS AE2 sneaked through Dardanelles and sank a Ottoman Navy cruiser at Chanak.
  • British ocean liner RMS Lusitania arrived in New York City. Around the same time, the German embassy in Washington D.C. issued a public warning that the waters around Great Britain were now considered a war zone and ships flying a British flag would be considered targets by German U-boats.
  • The last FA Cup to be held before all future football championships were cancelled due to World War One was played at Old Trafford, Manchester, England before a large ground of over 49,000 spectators. Sheffield United F.C. defeated Chelsea F.C. 3-0 to win the championship.
  • Torquay Girls' Grammar School was established in Torquay, Devon, England.
  • The musical Betty, by Frederick Lonsdale and Gladys Unger with music by Paul Rubens and lyrics by Adrian Ross, made its second British run at the Daly's Theatre in London.
  • Born: Ed Franco, American football player, one of the Seven Blocks of Granite for the Fordham University offensive line, in New York City (d. 1992)
  • Died: Frederick William Hall, Irish soldier, posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry during the Second Battle of Ypres (b. 1885); Erasmus Darwin IV, British businessman and soldier, grandson to Charles Darwin, killed during the Second Battle of Ypres (b. 1881)

    • April 25, 1915 (Sunday)

  • Gallipoli Campaign — The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Anzac Cove while British and French troops landed at Cape Helles to begin the Allied invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire. Among the noted casualties included William Henry Strahan, author of the poem The Bugle Call, former association football players Rupert Balfe, Alan Cordner, Claude Crowl, Charlie Fincher, Fen McDonald, and Joe Pearce, and former rugby players Edward Larkin and Blair Swannell.
  • The 57th Regiment of the Ottoman Fifth Army charged to defend Anzac Cove staged a bayonet charge against landing ANZAC forces after running out of ammunition. Every man in the regiment was killed or wounded. In respect to their sacrifice, the modern Turkish Army retired the 57th Regiment designation.
  • Second Battle of Ypres — Canadian forces counter-attacked but failed to recapture St. Julien.
  • Defense of Van — The first few hundred Armenian refugees fleeing massacres in villages around Van, Turkey arrived into the city.
  • Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf — German forces stormed and surrounded nearly 1,000 French troops defending the Hartmannswillerkopf summit. French artillery barrages later in the day forced them to pull back, finally rendering the mountain a sort of no man's land until the end of December.
  • Born: Elizabeth Bunce, American geophysicist, first female chief scientist of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in Mineola, New York (d. 2003); Feliciano Peña, Mexican painter, member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana, in Silao, Mexico (d. 1982); Thomas Savage, American writer, best known for his Western-themed novels including The Corner of Rife and Pacific, in Salt Lake City (d. 2003)
  • Died: Frederick W. Seward, American politician, 6th and 11th United States Assistant Secretary of State, son of William H. Seward (b. 1830); Edward C. Wall, American politician, member of the Democratic National Committee from 1892 to 1904, in Milwaukee (b. 1843)
  • Died: Russell Lambert Boyle, Canadian soldier, veteran of the Second Boer War and World War One, died from wounds sustained at the Second Battle of Ypres (b. 1880); William Charles Williams, British sailor, recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions during the Gallipoli Campaign, died from wounds sustained in battle (b. 1880)

    • April 26, 1915 (Monday)

  • Treaty of London — Italy secretly agreed to leave the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary and join with the Triple Entente.
  • China rejected the Twenty-One Demands document sent by Japan, resulting in Japan taking out its most controversial section that contained demands to install Japanese advisers in China's finance and police, build three new railroads, and take control of the province of Fujian.'
  • Second Battle of Ypres — Canadian forces renewed attacks on St. Julien but were forced back with the loss of more than 1,940 casualties.
  • German colonial forces assaulted the South African held town of Trekkopje during the Battle of Trekkopjes but were repulsed by a unit of armored cars equipped with machine guns.
  • British fighter pilot William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse of the No. 2 Squadron was mortally wounded while carrying out a bombing attack on a railway junction at Kortrijk, Belgium and died the next day. He became the first airmen to posthumously receive the Victoria Cross.
  • Born: Johnny Shines, American blues musician, best known for his collaborations with Robert Lockwood, Jr., in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1992); Joseph Zobel, Caribbean writer, author of La Rue Cases-Nègres, adapted as the film Sugar Cane Alley, in Martinique (d. 2006)
  • Died: John Bunny, American silent film comedian, known for bumbling comedies such as Bunny Dips Into Society and Bunny as a Reporter (b. 1863); Charles Doughty-Wylie, British army officer, recipient of the Victoria Cross for actions during the landing at Cape Helles, killed in battle (b. 1868)

    • April 27, 1915 (Tuesday)

  • Gallipoli Campaign — Allied forces were able to advance about 2 miles (3.2 km) up the Turkish peninsula towards Krithia to assault on the following day.
  • French cruiser Léon Gambetta was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Santa Maria di Leuca, Apulia, Italy by Austro-Hungarian submarine SM U-4 with the loss of 684 of her 821 crew, including Rear Admiral Victor Baptistin Senes and all his commissioned officers. The captain of the submarine was Georg Ludwig von Trapp (later to be known as patriarch of the Von Trapp Family Singers).
  • The University of Illinois Board of Trustees voted to establish the UIUC College of Business for offer courses in economics, business management and transportation.
  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began encouraging a church-wide practice among Mormon families to have a Family Home Evening once a week, usually on Mondays, for family members to spend time together in prayer, study and other activities as a way to strengthen familial and spiritual bonds.
  • Born: Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet, best known for "The Armenian Dante-esque" about the Armenian genocide, in Alexandropol, Russian Empire (d. 1984); Eric Kemp, British clergy, bishop for the Church of England from 1974 to 2001 (d. 2009)
  • Died: Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer, known for symphonic compositions such as The Poem of Ecstasy (b. 1872)

    • April 28, 1915 (Wednesday)

  • First Battle of Krithia — Despite the use of 14,000 French and British troops, the Allies failed to capture Krithia from the Ottoman Empire on Gallipoli peninsula and suffered 2,000 British and 1,001 French casualties.
  • Defense of Van — With news of unrest growing in Van, Turkey, General Nikolai Yudenich for the Russian Imperial Army dispatched a Cossack brigade and an Armenian volunteer unit to the city, followed by a second Armenian unit 10 days later.
  • The 1915 International Congress of Women was held over three days at The Hague, with 1,136 delegates from 12 countries in attendance. Using much of the platform put forward by the Women's Peace Party from the United States, the congress established the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace with American suffrage leader Jane Addams as president. The committee's mandate was to extend women's suffrage internationally and advocate the end of the World War One by diplomatic means. The committee eventually formed the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
  • Malay tribal leader Tok Janggut resisted arrest in his home village for tax evasion, as part of his protest against British colonial rule in Kelantan, Malaysia. In a resulting riot between locals and colonial, Janggut was alleged to have stabbed one of the arresting officers to death. Janggut fled and organized an armed rebellion that went for two months before his death on June 25.
  • Manhattan retailer and financial company J.B. Greenhut & Company filed for bankruptcy after its private bank experienced a crippling bank run earlier in April.
  • The Footlights theater group debuted in Honolulu. The group renamed itself the Honolulu Community Theatre in 1934, and then in 1990 by its present name Diamond Head Theatre. The theater is now the third-oldest continuous-running performing arts organization in the United States.
  • Born: Joan Field, American violinist, best known virtuoso performances, including her five solo performances with the New York Philharmonic at Lewisohn Stadium, in Long Branch, New Jersey (d. 1988)
  • Died: Vilhelmine Ullmann, Norwegian writer and activist, proponent for women's rights in Norway (b. 1816)

    • April 29, 1915 (Thursday)

  • Battle of Gurin — A British fort manned by 42 colonial troops managed to hold off a larger German force between 300 and 400 soldiers in British Nigeria near Kamerun. The British unit sustained 13 casualties while the Germans had 45.
  • American destroyer USS Wadsworth was launched at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine and would eventually participate in World War One.
  • British monitor ships HMS Havelock and HMS Raglan were launched untitled at Harland and Wolff in Belfast (both would not be named until June 20) and were assigned to the Gallipoli Campaign.
  • Survivors of the German marine landing party originally stranded in the Indian Ocean after their ship SMS Emden was destroyed in the Battle of Cocos arrived in Al Wajh, a port city on the Red Sea. They marched inland to the Hejaz Railway where they traveled to Constantinople.
  • The 9th Battalion was established to reinforce the Canadian Corps on the Western Front.
  • The Asheville Masonic Temple officially opened in Asheville, North Carolina and is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Born: Donald Mills, American singer, lead tenor of the Mills Brothers, in Piqua, Ohio (d. 1999); Henry H. Barschall, German-American physicist, lead researcher on neutrons, in Berlin (d. 1997); Heinrich-Wilhelm Ahnert, GermanLuftwaffe pilot during World War Two, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, in Altenburg, Germany (d. 1942, killed in action)
  • Died: Salvador Viniegra, Spanish painter, known for works such as Un patio de Sevilla and La bendición de los campos en 1800 (b. 1862)

    • April 30, 1915 (Friday)

  • The Royal Naval Division, under Major General Archibald Paris, landed at Gallipoli.
  • Defense of Van — Around 15,000 Armenian refugees from the countryside were allowed into Van, Turkey, adding to the 30,000 Armenians already living there. Van Province Governor Djevdet Bey hoped by concentrating so many refugees in one place, it would overwhelm the city's food supply and cause starvation, thus lowering armed resistance against Ottoman forces.
  • Australian submarine HMAS AE2 sustained battle damage during naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign in the Sea of Marmara and was scuttled. All the crew were captured by Ottoman forces and imprisoned, with four dying during internment.
  • German submarine SM U-37 struck a mine and sank in the English Channel.
  • Born: Elio Toaff, Italian rabbi, Chief Rabbi of Rome from 1951 to 2002 (d. 2015); James Vicary, American market researcher, pioneer of the concept of subliminal messaging (d. 1977)

    • References

    April 1915 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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