Trisha Shetty (Editor)

March 1915

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The following events occurred in March 1915:

Contents

March 1, 1915 (Monday)

  • The Imperial Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet began seaplane carrier raids against the Bosporus and the Ottoman Empire's European Black Sea coast. The raids, which continue until May, were history's first in which battleships play a subsidiary role while operating with aviation ships, foreshadowing the aircraft carrier-battleship task forces of World War Two.
  • A virulent locust infestation broke out in Palestine and would continue until October.
  • No. 15 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was established in Farnborough Airport, Farnborough, Hampshire, England as a training unit under command of Philip Joubert de la Ferté.
  • John Martin Poyer relieved Lieutenant Charles Armijo Woodruff to become the 12th naval governor of the American Samoa.
  • The Institute of Arbitrators was established in London (later renamed Chartered Institute of Arbitrators) to represent the interests of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioners. The organization presently has 14,000 members in 130 countries.
  • Died: Peter Laurentius Larsen, Norwegian-American educator, founding president of Luther College (b. 1833)

    • March 2, 1915 (Tuesday)

  • British battleship HMS Canopus joined in assault missions on the Dardanelles.
  • 1915 Vanceboro international bridge bombing — German saboteur Werner Horn was indicted by a federal grand jury at the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts for transporting explosives on a public train that were later used in an attempt to blow up the Saint Croix–Vanceboro Railway Bridge that crossed the U.S.-Canada border between New Brunswick and Maine. He was sentenced to serve 18 months at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in Georgia before he was extradited to Canada where he was tried for sabotage by the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick in Fredericton. He was found guilty and sentenced to serve 10 years at Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick, but was deemed to be insane by prison authorities in 1921, whereby he was released and deported to Germany.
  • The United States Motion Picture Corporation was established to produce film comedies, with its main office in Wilkes-Barre, New Jersey and its film studio in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. The company produced 27 films that became known as the "Black Diamond Comedies" until 1919, after which the studio was sold to another film production company.
  • Born: Lona Andre, American film actress, known for her roles in Laurel and Hardy's Our Relations and Two Knights from Brooklyn, in Nashville (d. 1992); John Burton, Australian diplomat and academic, author of The Alternative, in Melbourne (d. 2010); Mario Ageno, Italian biophysicist, author of What Is Life?, in Livorno, Italy (d. 1992); Bill Crawford-Crompton, New Zealand air force officer, recipient of the Legion of Honour and the Silver Star during World War Two, in Invercargill, New Zealand (d. 1988)
  • Died: Norberto Quirno Costa, Argentinian politician, 9th Vice President of Argentina (b. 1844)

    • March 3, 1915 (Wednesday)

  • The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the predecessor of NASA, was founded in the United States.
  • Mount Mitchell State Park was established in Yancey County, North Carolina, the first state park in that U.S. state.
  • The 10th Bavarian Infantry Division and 54th Infantry Division of the Imperial German Army were established, and would see major action at Verdun, Somme and Ypres.
  • Born: Manning Clark, Australian historian, author of the six-volume A History of Australia, published between 1962 and 1987, in Sydney (d. 1991)

    • March 4, 1915 (Thursday)

  • Sessions for the 64th United States Congress began in Washington D.C.
  • Admiral Sackville Carden of the Royal Navy cabled Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, with revised plans at Churchill's request with an objective for the Mediterranean British fleet to reach Constantinople in 14 days.
  • The third German attempt to bomb England using airships failed when a lone naval Zeppelin encountered a gale over the North Sea and was blown out of control over Nieuwpoort, Belgium where Belgian antiaircraft gunners shot her down.
  • The Hardinge Bridge officially opened for rail crossings over the Padma River in British India (now Bangladesh). Named after Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, who was Viceroy of British India at the time, the bridge spans 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi).
  • The Yukon Territory in Canada held a general election for 10 seats on the Yukon Territorial Council.
  • Born: László Csatáry, Hungarian war criminal, member of the List of Most Wanted Nazi War Criminals according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center for collaborating in the Holocaust, in Mány, Hungary (d. 2013); Carlos Surinach, Spanish composer, best known for his collaboration work with ballet choreographer Martha Graham, in Barcelona (d. 1997); J. O. Urmson, British academic, leading expert on classical philosophy at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, England (d. 2012)
  • Died: William Willett, British inventor, leading promoter of daylight saving time (b. 1856); Elijah Gates, American politician, State Treasurer of Missouri from 1877 to 1881 (b. 1827); James Robinson Johnston, Canadian lawyer, first Black Canadian to practice law in Nova Scotia (b. 1876)

    • March 5, 1915 (Friday)

  • Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf — French forces staged renewed attacks German defenses on the Hartmannswillerkopf summit on the French-German border, running one German position but stopped by new German defense lines close to the summit. The Germans counterattacked but were repulsed, sustaining 200 casualties in the process. A second attack two days later also failed the push the French off the mountain.
  • The 56th Infantry Division of the Imperial German Army was established and fought key battles on the Eastern Front including Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive.
  • British destroyer HMS Tipperary was launched by J. Samuel White at East Cowes, Isle of Wight. It would serve one year before being sunk during the Battle of Jutland.
  • Born: Venko Markovski, Bulgarian poet, author of the Bulgarian historical poem "Saga of Testaments", in Skopje (d. 1988); Mohamed Fawzi, Egyptian military officer, Minister of defense from 1968 to 1971 under the Gamal Abdel Nasser administration, in Cairo (d. 2000); Sydney Sturgess, British-Canadian actress, best known for her performances with the Shaw Festival and Stratford Festival in Ontario, in Ipoh, Malaysia (d. 1999)
  • Died: Thomas R. Bard, American politician, U.S. Senator from California from 1900 until 1905 (b. 1841)

    • March 6, 1915 (Saturday)

  • British destroyers HMS Louis and Laverock were assigned to escort RMS Lusitania to Liverpool, but when the ships tried to contact Lusitania by radio, Captain Daniel Dow only gave his position by code and continued to Liverpool unescorted.
  • The 52nd Infantry and 58th Infantry Divisions of the Imperial German Army were established to fight on the Western Front, although the 58th was transferred to the Eastern Front to participate in the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive.
  • British racing driver Dario Resta won his second racing championship title of 1915 in the 10th running of the Vanderbilt Cup at San Francisco while driving a Peugeot EX3.
  • Born: Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, Indian religious leader, leader of the Dawoodi Bohra Community, in Surat, British India (d. 2014); Leonard Tose, American businessman, owner of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1969 to 1985, in Bridgeport, Pennsylvania (d. 2003); Per Vilhelm Brüel, Danish physicist, leading researcher on sound and co-founder of electronics company Brüel & Kjær, in Copenhagen (d. 2015)
  • Died: Benjamin F. Rittenhouse, American soldier, commanded the battery that repelled the Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg (b. 1839); George Cadogan, British noble, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1895 to 1902 (b. 1840)

    • March 7, 1915 (Sunday)

  • British collier Bengrove was torpedoed and sunk in the Bristol channel 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) north east of Ilfracombe, Devon, England by SM U-20, with all 33 crew rescued.
  • German noble Bernhard III established the Cross for Merit in War medal for officers that displayed outstanding merit in World War One.
  • Born: Jacques Chaban-Delmas, French politician, Prime Minister of France from 1969 to 1972, in Paris (d. 2000)

    • March 8, 1915 (Monday)

  • San Diego's Union Station officially opened, ushering in a new era of rail transport for the city.
  • New York City Fire Department Rescue Company 1 was established as the first New York City Fire Department unit designed for specialized rescue operations. The company lost half of its crew when the World Trade Center North Tower collapsed during the September 11 attacks in 2001.
  • Born: Igor Veselkin, Russian artist, member of the Leningrad School of Painting, in Ranenburg, Imperial Russia (d. 1997)

    • March 9, 1915 (Tuesday)

  • The German 11th Army was established, initially for the Western Front was soon transferred to the Eastern Front where it took part in the Serbian Campaign. The army was dissolved briefly in September before it was reformed, and permanently in 1919.
  • The cargo ship SS Aberdon was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off St. Abb's Head, Berwickshire, Scotland by German submarine SM U-12 with the loss of fifteen crew.
  • German astronomer Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth discovered 799 Gudula, a minor planet, at the Heidelberg Observatory.
  • Born: Johnnie Johnson, English Royal Air Force fighter pilot during World War Two, recipient of the Order of the British Empire, in Barrow upon Soar, England (d. 2001)
  • Died: Edward Harland, American army officer, commanding Union Army general at the Battle of Fredericksburg and Siege of Suffolk (b. 1832)

    • March 10, 1915 (Wednesday)

  • Battle of Neuve Chapelle — Four divisions of Indian Corps troops managed to force a hole in German defenses at Neuve-Chapelle, France.
  • In retaliation for sinking civilian ship SS Aberdon, German submarine U-12 was shelled by Royal Navy ships Ariel and Attack then rammed by Acheron in the North Sea off Eyemouth, Berwickshire, Scotland. The sub sank with the loss of 19 of her 29 crew.
  • The 50th Infantry Division of the Imperial German Army was established, and would be heavily engaged in battles at Verdun and Aisne.
  • The choral composition All-Night Vigil by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff was first performed by the Moscow Synodal Choir in Moscow as part of a benefit for the Russian war effort.
  • Born: Harry Bertoia, Italian-American artist and designer, known for such furniture and "sound" sculpture designs, in Arzene, Italy (d. 1978); Charles Groves, English conductor, musical director for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic from 1963 to 1967 and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from 1967 to 1992, in London (d. 1992)
  • Born: Ranald MacDougall, American screenwriter, known for scripts such as Mildred Pierce, in Schenectady, New York (d. 1973); Joža Horvat, Croatian writer, author of Ciguli Miguli, in Kotoriba, Croatia (d. 2012)

    • March 11, 1915 (Thursday)

  • British armed merchant ship HMS Bayano was sunk in the North Channel off the coast of Scotland by an Imperial German Navy U-boat SM U-27. Around 200 crew were lost, with a number of bodies being washed up on the Isle of Man. Only 26 men were saved.
  • The Royal Navy converted cargo ship SS Manica into the first British balloon ship, HMS Manica, the only navy during World War One to design ships that handled observation balloons.
  • German auxiliary cruiser SS Prinz Eitel Friedrich reached port in Newport News, Virginia to be interned after its engine began to wear out, as the United States was still neutral during World War One. The ship spent the last seven months in the Pacific and South Atlantic and sank 11 ships.
  • Bluff War — One of the last official armed conflicts between the United States and Native Americans ended when two Paiute chiefs willfully surrendered to the United States Army in Bluff, Utah.
  • Born: Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer, led the first Indian win at a Test match against England in Madras from 1951 to 1952, in Sangli, British India (d. 2004)
  • Died: Thomas Alexander Browne, British-Australian writer, author of Robbery Under Arms (b. 1826); Vilhelm Rosenstand, Danish painter, best known for his murals at University of Copenhagen (b. 1838); Ankō Itosu, Japanese martial artist, considered to be the father of modern karate (b. 1831)
  • Died: William C. Clayton, American politician, member of the West Virginia Senate from 1875 to 1879 (b. 1831); Leopold Caspari, French-American politician, member of the Louisiana State Legislature from 1900 to 1908 (b. 1830)

    • March 12, 1915 (Friday)

  • Field Marshal Herbert Kitchener appointed General Ian Hamilton to command an Allied force of 78,000 men to assault the Gallipoli Peninsula near the Dardanelles and open a third front against the Central Powers.
  • Battle of Neuve Chapelle — German forces counter-attacked at Neuve-Chapelle, France and while they were unable to recapture territory, their attacks further disrupted uncoordinated British actions to supply troops with ammunition and supplies.
  • Died: Heinrich Schülz-Beuthen, German composer, best known for his Romantic symphonies and operas based on fairy tales and legends, including King Lear and William Tell (b. 1838); Laura Spelman Rockefeller, American matriarch of the Rockefeller family, wife to John D. Rockefeller (b. 1839)

    • March 13, 1915 (Saturday)

  • Battle of Neuve Chapelle — Ineffective supply lines to arm front line troops forced British command to postpone an offensive and ultimately abandon the plan two days later, ending the battle.
  • A British mine-sweeping squadron led by cruiser HMS Amethyst under command of Commodore Roger Keyes attempted to clear minefields around the Dardanelles but shore bombardments from the Ottomans forced them to back off.
  • Twenty-One Demands — U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan issued a letter revealing the American government's concerns over Japan's rejection of the Open Door Policy and further encroachments on Chinese sovereignty.
  • An ongoing feud between Oregon river boat companies Myrtle Point Transportation Company and Coquille River Company continued when Myrtle Point steamboat Telegraph collided with Coquille River steamboat Charm in Coquille City port. The crew of the Charm claimed they made audible warning to Telegraph before the collision, but the crew of the other denied such warnings were heard. Charm was laid up for three days for repairs before returning to service.
  • Born: Protiva Bose, Bengali singer and writer, author of over 200 best-selling books in India, wife to author Buddhadeb Bosu (d. 2006); Buster Clarkson, American baseball player, leading shortstop and third baseman for the Negro baseball league and Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, in Hopkins, South Carolina (d. 1989); Nicholas Hobbs, American psychologist, leading researcher and advocate of childhood development and development disabilities, in Greenville, South Carolina (d. 1983)
  • Died: Sergei Witte, Russian aristocrat and statesman, Prime Minister of Russia from 1905 to 1906 (b. 1849)

    • March 14, 1915 (Sunday)

  • Battle of Más a Tierra — Off the coast of Chile, the British Royal Navy forced the Imperial German Navy light cruiser SMS Dresden to scuttle, effectively destroying the German East Asia Squadron.
  • Constantinople Agreement — Britain, France and the Russian Empire agreed to give Constantinople and the Bosphorus to Russia in case of victory (the treaty was later nullified by the Bolshevik Revolution).
  • Parliamentary elections were held in Chile with the Conservative Party receiving the most votes in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile.
  • After having no better luck in securing a ship to Europe, stranded German marines from the defunct SMS Emden returned to the Arabian port of Hodeida and hired two sambuk sailboats to travel up the Arabian coast.
  • Ross Sea party — The polar ship Aurora arrived at McMurdo Sound in the Antarctic where it was to anchor for the winter while waiting for the sledge parties to return from their supply depot set-ups for the main Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
  • The first edition of the British daily tabloid Sunday Pictorial was published in London. The paper's name was changed in 1963 to its present name Sunday Mirror.
  • The Renwick Generating Plant began producing power for Renwick, Iowa. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
  • Born: Alexander Brott, Canadian conductor and composer, conductor of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1945 to 1958, and the Kingston Symphony from 1965 to 1981, in Montreal (d. 2005); Roy Kellerman, American special agent, member of the U.S. Secret Service team when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, in Macomb County, Michigan (d. 1984)
  • Born: George Nemchik, American soccer player, winner of the U.S. Open Cup in 1937 and played on the American team for the 1936 Summer Olympics, in Superior, Pennsylvania (d. 1988); Henry McKechnie, Australian politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1963 to 1974, in Barraba, New South Wales, Australia) (d. 1984)
  • Died: Joseph John Fox, American clergy, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin from 1904 to 1914 (b. 1855); Célestin Hennion, French law enforcement, head of the Prefecture of Police from 1913 to 1915 (b. 1862)

    • March 15, 1915 (Monday)

  • The Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway, later known as the Monon Railroad, acquired control of the Chicago and Wabash Valley Railroad.
  • Gem County, Idaho was established with its county seat in Emmett.
  • Born: Laurent Schwartz, French mathematician, pioneered the theory of distributions, in Paris (d. 2002); Micho Russell, Irish folk musician, collector of traditional music and folklore, in Doolin, Ireland (d. 1994, killed in an auto accident);
  • Born: Robert E. Stiemke, American engineer, director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute from 1961 to 1963 (d. 1979); Carl Emil Schorske, American historian, recipient for the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for Fin-de-siècle Vienna, a study on modern European history, in New York City (d. 2015)
  • Died: George Llewelyn Davies, English soldier, inspiration for the "Lost Boys" of Peter Pan (killed in action) (b. 1893); Normand Smith Patton, American architect, designer of many public buildings in Chicago including the Chicago Board of Education (b. 1852)

    • March 16, 1915 (Tuesday)

  • Admiral Sackville Carden resigned from his command of the Dardanelles Campaign due to failing health and was replaced with Vice-Admiral John de Robeck.
  • A report of the collision between Oregon river boats Telegraph and Charm reached the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service office in Portland, Oregon.
  • The men's fraternity for mechanical engineering students Pi Tau Sigma was established at University of Illinois. Another fraternity with the same Greek letters was formed independently later that year, and the two merged to form a national collegiate in 1916.
  • Born: Kunihiko Kodaira, Japanese mathematician, leading researcher in algebraic geometry and the theory of complex manifolds, first Japanese to receive the Fields Medal, in Tokyo (d. 1997); Helmut Bennemann, German air force officer, commander of the Jagdgeschwader 53 wing of the Luftwaffe during World War Two, in Wanne-Eickel, Germany (d. 2007)
  • Died: Bill Monroe, American baseball player, played infield for the Negro baseball league (b. 1877)

    • March 17, 1915 (Wednesday)

  • The Imperial German Army attempted its first airship raid against Great Britain but could not locate targets to drop bombs due to cloud cover.
  • While sailing up the Arabian coast, a sambuk carrying German marines from the lost SMS Emden grounded on a coral reef and sank with no lost crew. However, it forced marine commander Hellmuth von Mücke to hire a larger vessel when the group reached Al Qunfudhah. They sailed to Al Lith, where one of the Germans died from typhus.
  • The men's fraternity for biological students Phi Sigma was established at Ohio State University.
  • The town of Bentley, Alberta was incorporated.
  • Born: Ray Ellington, British singer and bandleader, best known for his TV appearances on The Goon Show from 1951 to 1960, in London (d. 1985); Henry Bumstead, art director, winner of two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction for To Kill a Mockingbird and The Sting, in Ontario, California (d. 2006)
  • Born: Bill Roycroft, Australian equestrian, Olympics gold medal winner at the 1960 Summer Olympics, and bronze medal winner at the 1968 and 1976 Summer Olympics, in Melbourne (d. 2011); Bill Hartman, American football player, running back for the Washington Redskins in 1938, in Thomaston, Georgia (d. 2006)

    • March 18, 1915 (Thursday)

  • Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign failed when three Allied ships struck mines and sank, including the French battleship Bouvet with the loss of 660 of her 710 crew, British battleship HMS Irresistible with the loss of about 150 of her 780 crew, and HMS Ocean which had the fortune of having most of her crew rescued. French battleship Gaulois was luckier; she was beached after striking a mine but was refloated on 22 March. She was repaired and returned to service.
  • Royal Navy battleship HMS Dreadnought sank German submarine U-29 with all 32 crew on board in the Pentland Firth by ramming her, the only time this tactic was known to have been successfully used by a battleship.
  • Russian fighter pilot Alexander Kazakov used a grapnel to hook his aircraft to a German Albatros two-seater aircraft in mid-air, hoping to destroy the Albatros by detonating a small bomb fixed to the grapnel. When the grapnel mechanism jammed as he unreeled it, Kazakov opted to down the Albatros by ramming it with his undercarriage.
  • Born: Richard Condon, American novelist, author of The Manchurian Candidate, in New York City (d. 1996); Harold Crowchild, Tsuu T'ina elder and Canadian soldier, last Treaty 7 World War Two veteran (d. 2013); Red Burman, American boxer, challenged Joe Louis to the World Heavyweight Championship in 1941, in Baltimore (d. 1996)
  • Died: Jeremiah V. Cockrell, American politician, U.S. Representative from Texas from 1892 to 1897 (b. 1832)

    • March 19, 1915 (Friday)

  • Pluto was photographed for the first time but was not classified as a planet.
  • Born: Patricia Morison, American actress and singer, best known for lead title roles in Kiss Me, Kate and The King and I, in New York City (still alive as of 2016); Nancy Evans, British opera singer, best known for the collaborations with British composer Benjamin Britten, in Liverpool (d. 2000)
  • Born: Robert G. Cole, American soldier, recipient for the Medal of Honor for action following the Invasion of Normandy during World War Two, in Fort Sam Houston, Texas (d. 1944, killed in the Netherlands); Wilhelm Höttl, Austrian SS officer during World War Two, headed German intelligence in Central Europe, in Vienna (d. 1999)
  • Died: Franz Xaver Neruda, Danish cellist and composer, best known for his cello compositions such as Cello concerto No. 2 in d minor, Op. 59 (b. 1843); John Wesley Hillman, American prospector, first European American to discover Crater Lake, Oregon (b. 1832)
  • Died: Alice Haldeman, American philanthropist, founder of the Girard Public Library and first American woman to be president of a bank (State Bank of Girard), sister to feminist leader Jane Addams and mother to feminist Anna Marcet Haldeman (b. 1853)

    • March 20, 1915 (Saturday)

  • 3rd Mounted Division and 4th Mounted Division of the British Army were established.
  • German cruiser SMS Frankfurt was launched by Kaiserliche Werft Kiel in Kiel, Germany, and would participate the following year in the Battle of Jutland.
  • Spanish astronomer Josep Comas i Solà discovered minor planet 804 Hispania at the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona, the first of its kind discovered by a Spaniard.
  • Born: Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian politician, eighth President of Austria, in Niederkappel, Austria (d. 2000); Sviatoslav Richter, Russian pianist, known for virtuoso performances on many compositions by Bach, Handel and others, in Zhytomyr, Russian Empire (d. 1997); Jose Cabalum, Sr., Filipino academic, founder of Cabalum Western College in Iloilo City, in Dumangas, Iloilo Philippines (d. 2006)
  • Born: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American gospel singer, best known for her gospel recordings in the 1930s and 1940s that influenced early rock musicians such as Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, in Cotton Plant, Arkansas (d. 1973)

    • March 21, 1915 (Sunday)

  • Power tools manufacturer Makita was established in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
  • Born: José Barros, Colombian songwriter, composed over 800 songs for many Latin music genres, in El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia (d. 2007); Alykul Osmonov, Kyrgyz poet, leader in modernizing poetry in Kyrgyzstan in the Panfilov District, Kyrgyzstan (d. 1950); Irina Yusupova, Russian noble, only child of Prince Felix Yusupov and Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia, in Petrograd (d. 1983)
  • Died: Frederick Winslow Taylor, American engineer and economist, one of the leaders of the Efficiency Movement (b. 1856); Ambrosius Hubrecht, Dutch zoologist, lead researcher in embryology (b. 1853)

    • March 22, 1915 (Monday)

  • Siege of Przemyśl — Russian forces captured the fortress in Galicia (now western Poland), ending the longest siege of the way. The Russians took over 117,000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers prisoner including nine generals, 93 senior staff officers, and 2,500 other officers.
  • Born: Bud Sagendorf, American cartoonist, best known for his version of Popeye for the King Features Syndicate, in Wenatchee, Washington (d. 1994); John McConnell, American activist, founder of Earth Day, in Davis City, Iowa (d. 2012)

    • March 23, 1915 (Tuesday)

  • Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf — Renewed French attacks on Hartmannswillerkopf got them within 150 metres of the summit and were able to hold their ground from further German counterattacks.
  • The modern-day University of Murcia was established in Murcia, Spain.
  • Born: Vasily Zaytsev, Soviet sniper, best known for making 225 confirmed kills of enemy German soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad during World War Two, in Yeleninka, Russia (d. 1991); Jack Rollins, American TV producer, executive producer for The Dick Cavett Show and Late Night With David Letterman, in New York City (d. 2015)

    • March 24, 1915 (Wednesday)

  • The Fifth Army of the Ottoman Empire was established under the command of German military adviser Otto Liman von Sanders to defend the Dardanelles from the Allies. It was dissolved in 1918.
  • Five Royal Naval Air Service Avro 504s of No. 1 Squadron bombed the German submarine depot at Hoboken in Antwerp, Belgium, starting a fire in the shipyard that destroyed two German submarines.
  • No. 30 Squadron of the Royal Air Force officially received its designated squadron number when it mobilized to defend airspace over Egypt, even though it had been established in October 1914.
  • The 11th Bavarian Infantry Division was established, and would serve in the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive in the coming spring.
  • Born: Paul Lorenzen, German mathematician, inventor of game semantics, in Kiel, Germany (d. 1994)
  • Died: Margaret Lindsay Huggins, Irish astronomer, pioneered with husband astronomer William Huggins the field of spectroscopy and co-author of Atlas of Representative Stellar Spectra (b. 1848); Mary Anna Jackson, American matriarch, wife and widow to Confederate General Stonewall Jackson (b. 1831); Morgan Robertson, American writer, author of Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan, which contained circumstantial details of the sinking of the RMS Titanic 15 years before the actual event (b. 1861)

    • March 25, 1915 (Thursday)

  • General elections were held in Japan, with the Rikken Dōshikai party winning the majority in the House of Representatives with 153 of the 381 seats.
  • The U.S. submarine F-4 sank off Hawaii, killing all 21 sailors on board. It was the first commissioned submarine of the U.S. Navy to be lost at sea.
  • The British cargo ship Tamar was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 500 nautical miles (930 km) northeast of Pernambuco, Brazil by German naval ship SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm.
  • No. 4 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was established at Dover, England but was absorbed into the naval air force by October.
  • The 111th, 113th, 119th and 121st Infantry Divisions of the Imperial German Army were established, and fought on both the Western and Eastern fronts.
  • In a letter exchange between German and Ottoman ambassadors, it was reported the Armenian Zeitun militia resistance ended after Ottoman forces captured the city (now Süleymanlı).
  • Ross Sea party — Sledge parties that laid out supply depots across Ross Ice Shelf in the Antarctic for the main party of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition rendezvoused at Hut Point Peninsula on Ross Island. While most of the depots had been laid out, teams of dogs had been lost, many of the men suffered from frostbite and exhaustion, and ice conditions made it impossible to return to the shore base in Cape Evans until June 1. As a result, morale of the men under command of Aeneas Mackintosh was low.
  • The association football club FBC Melgar was formed in Arequipa, Peru, and remains one of the oldest active Peruvian sports clubs in the Peruvian Primera División.
  • Born: Dorothy Squires, Welsh singer, best known for popular hits such as "I'm in the Mood for Love", in Pontyberem, Wales (d. 1998)

    • March 26, 1915 (Friday)

  • Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf — After a three-hour bombardment, French captured the Hartmannswillerkopf summit from the Germans. The French now had a key observation post for German military movements in the Alsace region between France and Germany.
  • British passenger ship SS Viking was acquired by the Royal Navy and outfitted to become a seaplane carrier christened as the HMS Vindex.
  • A hearing held by the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service on the collision between Oregon river boats Telegraph and Charm concluded evidence supported the collision being "largely in the nature of an accident."
  • The Vancouver Millionaires won the Stanley Cup over the Ottawa Senators three games to zero.
  • Thoroughbred racehorse Ally Sloper won the 1915 Grand National by two lengths at a price of 100/8 and in a time of 9 mins, 47.8 secs.
  • Virginia Woolf published her first novel The Voyage Out through Gerald Duckworth and Company, which introduced her most famous character Clarissa Dalloway.
  • Born: Flip Phillips, American jazz musician, tenor saxophone player for the Jazz at the Philharmonic from 1946 to 1957, in New York City (d. 2001); Hwang Sun-won, Korean writer, best known for works such as The Descendants of Cain and the short story "Rain Shower", in Taedong County, Korea (d. 2000)

    • March 27, 1915 (Saturday)

  • British intelligence received a message that Germans has broken the code used to communicate between British merchant ships.
  • After infecting 25 people with typhoid fever at Sloane Hospital for Women in New York City while working under an assumed name, Mary Mallon, cited in the press as "Typhoid Mary", was placed in quarantine for life until her death in 1938.
  • The Tennessee Polytechnic Institute was established in Cookeville, Tennessee. In 1965, it would gain university status and become Tennessee Technological University.
  • Born: Robert Lockwood Jr., American blues musician, best known for being a direct pupil of Robert Johnson and his long-time collborative work with Sonny Boy Williamson II, in Turkey Scratch, Arkansas (d. 2006); Carl W. Weiss, American soldier, U.S. Marine awarded the Navy Cross posthumously after being killed during the Guadalcanal Campaign in World War Two, in Detroit (d. 1942)
  • Died: Marty Walsh, Canadian hockey player, won the Stanley Cup three times while playing with the Ottawa Senators (b. 1884); Edith Claypole, British-American pathologist, lead researcher on immunization from Typhoid fever, died from exposure to the pathogen (b. 1870)

    • March 28, 1915 (Sunday)

  • Thrasher incident — British ocean liner RMS Falaba was torpedoed and sunk in St. George's Channel by German submarine U-28 with the loss of 104 lives. One of the casualties included American passenger Leon Chester Thrasher, a 31-year-old mining engineer from Massachusetts. His death from a German attack stirred up public pressure in the United States to enter World War One although no action was taken by the U.S. Government.
  • Captain Charles Fryatt of the British ferry SS Brussels ordered the ship to ram German submarine SM U-33 after it attempted to stop and board the vessel. The German sub was forced to crash-dive. The aggressive faction was in full compliance orders issues by Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty to treat U-boats as felons than prisoners of war because of Imperial German Navy policy to wage unrestricted submarine warfare. For his actions, Fryatt was awarded a gold watch by the Admiralty.
  • The first Roman Catholic liturgy was celebrated by Archbishop John Ireland at the newly consecrated Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
  • Italian rider Ezio Corlaita won the 9th Milan–San Remo bicycle race in a time of 10 hours, 36 minutes and 3 seconds, or a pace of 27.26 km/h.
  • The Gestriklands Fotbollförbund (Gestrikland Football Association) was established in Gävle, Sweden as the governing body for association football in the Swedish province of Gestrikland. It currently has 46 member clubs.
  • Several major all-male academic organizations in Estonia united under the League of Estonian Corporations "to strengthen the relationship between the organizations" and "to enhance its members' spiritual upbringing of Estonian history, language and literature through learning."
  • Born: Jay Livingston, American songwriter, best known for his collaborations with Ray Evans, in McDonald, Pennsylvania (d. 2001); Virginia Knauer, American politician, first Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs for the Federal Trade Commission during the Reagan Administration, in Philadelphia (d. 2011); Jeremy Hutchinson, British lawyer, best known for defending the British arts community from obscenity charges, son of St John Hutchinson (still alive in 2015)

    • March 29, 1915 (Monday)

  • The Society of British Aircraft Constructors (Society of British Aerospace Companies since 1964) was established to create a standards body for aircraft built in Great Britain. Among the noted founding participants were Herbert Austin, Frederick Handley Page, H.V. Roe of Avro, and E.B. Parker of Short Brothers.
  • Born: George Chisholm, Scottish jazz trombonist and comedian, core band member in the The Goon Show, in Glasgow (d. 1997); Kenneth Arnold, American pilot, famous for spotting nine UFOs near Mount Rainier, Washington in 1947, in Sebeka, Minnesota (d. 1984); John Etter Clark, Canadian politician and mass murderer, member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 and 1956, shot and killed seven people, including his entire family, before committing suicide, in Stettler, Alberta (d. 1956)
  • Born: Helen Yglesias, American novelist, author of How She Died and Sweetsir, in New York City (d. 2008); Denton Welch, British writer and painter, author of A Voice Through a Cloud in Shanghai (d. 1948)
  • Died: Charles S. Zane, American judge, 13th Justice of the Utah Supreme Court (b. 1831); Andrew Henry Barlow, Australian politician, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Ipswich from 1888 to 1896 (b. 1837)

    • March 30, 1915 (Tuesday)

  • A German party of marines stranded after the SMS Emden was destroyed were escorted to Jeddah on the Arabian peninsula with a party of Turkish and Arab guards. They were surprised by a party of Bedouin raiders and forced to fight, where two of the party were killed and third wounded before a relief force arrived to escort them to the city.
  • Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Foxglove was launched at Barclay Curle in Glasgow, where it went on to serve in both world wars.
  • The men's fraternity Sigma Gamma Epsilon was formed at University of Kansas for students involved in the earth sciences.
  • The first edition of the weekly Canadian trade journal The Northern Miner was published in Cobalt, Ontario, featuring news and articles on the Canadian mining industry, particularly in northern Ontario.
  • Born: Arsenio Erico, Paraguayan association football player, all-time highest goalscorer in the Primera División Argentina, with 295 goals according to Argentine Football Association, in Asunción, Paraguay (d. 1977); Pietro Ingrao, Italian politician, senior figure in the Italian Communist Party, in Lenola, Lazio, Italy (d. 2015)

    • March 31, 1915 (Wednesday)

  • The Texas Legislature chartered the Department of Forestry to manage the American state's forests, now named the Texas A&M Forest Service.
  • Born: Albert Hourani, English-Lebanese historian, specialized in Middle East history, in Manchester (d. 1993); Shoichi Yokoi, Japanese soldier, one of the last of the three Japanese holdouts after the end of World War Two, found in Guam in 1972, in Saori, Aichi, Japan (d. 1997)
  • Died: Wyndham Halswelle, Scottish track athlete, gold medalist in the 1908 Summer Olympics (killed in action) (b. 1882)

    • References

    March 1915 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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