November 1915

November 1, 1915 (Monday)

Second Battle of Agua Prieta — Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa and his soldiers clashed with troops under command of future Mexician president Plutarco Elías Calles at Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. Despite having a force less than half the size of Villa's force of 15,000, Calles was able to defeat Villa and help Mexican leader Venustiano Carranza gain control of northern Mexico.

The Royal Naval Air Service adopted the same roundel as used by the Royal Flying Corps and discontinued the use of the Union Jack on fuselage sides.

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition — Expedition leader Ernest Shackleton called off a march to Paulet Island as deteriorating ice condition made the surface too rough to effectively maneuver boats and supplies. The expedition returned to the wrecked Endurance which had been slowly sinking for seven days.

The cornerstone was laid for Webster Hall at Loretto College in Webster Groves, Missouri, the first Catholic women's college west of the Mississippi River. The college was renamed to Webster College in 1924 and began accepting male students in 1962. The college became Webster University in 1983, and used the opening of Webster Hall to mark its centennial.

Born: Marion Eugene Carl, U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot, first Marine flying ace in World War Two, test pilot for the first jet engine planes at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, in Hubbard, Oregon (d. 1998); Michael Denison, British actor, best known for stage partnership with actress Dulcie Gray in over 100 West End theatre productions, in Doncaster, England (d. 1998)

Born: Franz Kelch, German opera singer and recording artist, known for his recordings of operatic pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude, George Frideric Handel, and Claudio Monteverdi, in Bayreuth, Germany (d. 2013); Pegaret Anthony, English artist and costumer designer, known for her collaborative work with film producer Samuel Bronston for historical costume and set design for film epics such as 55 Days at Peking and The Fall of the Roman Empire, in Totnes, Devon, England (d. 2000)

November 2, 1915 (Tuesday)

Battle of Krivolak — French forces in Serbian-controlled Vardar Macedonia were able to throw two flying bridges over Vardar River to supply new defenses again Bulgarian attack.

The association football club Makassar Voetbal Bond (MVB) was formed in Makassar in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and remains one of the oldest operating football clubs in South East Asia. It adopted its present name PSM Makassar during Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies as occupational rules dictated all Dutch spellings to any Indonesian organization had to be removed.

Born: May Campbell, Australian field hockey player, represented Australia in the sport from 1935 to 1948, inductee into the Western Australian Hall of Champions in Wagin, Western Australia (d. 1981); Tadeusz Popek, Polish resistance fighter, co-founder of the Polish Underground State during German occupation of Poland during World War Two (d. 1942, executed)

Died: Vojislav Tankosić, Serbian army officer, member of the Black Hand and conspiracy to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (b. 1880); Isaac Rice, German-American inventor and businessman, founder of the modern submarine manufacturer General Dynamics Electric Boat (b. 1850)

November 3, 1915 (Wednesday)

Third Battle of the Isonzo — Austria-Hungary defeated Italy at the Isonzo River (now Soča) in Slovenia), Casualties were heavy for Austria-Hungary with 40,900, including 9,000 dead. However, Italy's were worse at 67,100, including 11,000 dead.

Battle of Krivolak — A French detachment defending the flying bridges over Vardar River in Vardar Macedonia mowed down soldiers from three Bulgarian brigades as they stormed the bridges, resulting in 3,000 casualties. On the same day, another French force captured the villages of Dorlobos and Kajali.

Royal Naval Air Service Flight Sub-Lieutenant Fowler made the first British take-off of an aircraft with a conventional, wheeled undercarriage from a ship when he flew a Bristol Scout from HMS Vindex.

The rural municipality of St. Paul in the Canadian province of Manitoba was divided into East St. Paul and West St. Paul.

Born: William Staub, American mechanical engineer, inventor of the first consumer treadmill, in Philadelphia (d. 2012)

Died: Bernardino Verro, Italian politician, dedicated to combating the Fasci Siciliani (Sicilian Leagues), killed by the Sicilian Mafia (b. 1866)

November 4, 1915 (Thursday)

Third Battle of Artois — The Allied offensive to recapture French territory from the Germans on the Western Front ended in failure. France lost 48,320 casualties while Great Britain lost 61,713. German casualties were around 51,100.

German submarine SM U-38 sunk French troopship SS Le Calvados off the coast of Algeria, killing 740 of the 800 on board.

Battle of Krivolak — The French abandoned Karahojali, Macedonia due to rough terrain made artillery defenses useless and instead advanced towards Veles to attack the Bulgarian rear.

Battle of Banjo — British colonial forces laid siege to a German mountain stronghold near Banjo, Kamerun.

German submarine SM UC-8 ran aground on Terschelling, Friesland, Netherlands where she was subsequently interned and taken into Dutch Navy service as HNLMS M-1.

Residents in Dominion of Newfoundland voted in favour of prohibiting the sales and distribution of alcohol with 24,956 voting in favour through plebiscite. Prohibition was introduced on January 1, 1917 and remained in force until 1924.

Born: Wee Kim Wee, 4th President of Singapore, in Singapore (d. 2005); Carlos Raúl Contín, Argentine politician, leader of the Radical Civic Union party, in Nogoyá, Argentina (d. 1991)

November 5, 1915 (Friday)

Battle of Krivolak — The French captured the towns of Kamen Dol, Debrista in Vardar Macedonia and occupied the Gradsko rail station.

Battle of Banjo — After a two days of delay due to bad weather and ammo shortages, British forces launched a final assault on the German mountain fort near Banjo, Kamerun.

British armed boarding steamer HMS Tara was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Sollum by German submarine SM U-35 with the loss of 12 lives.

British cargo ship Buresk was shelled and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) northwest of Algeria by German submarine SM U-38, with her crew surviving.

No. 27 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was established at the Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in London.

The March of the Dungarees, the second Australian armed forces recruitment campaign known as the snowball marches, was organized across Australia stem waning interest of the war effort due to the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign.

The association football club União de Marechal Hermes Futebol Clube was established in Rio de Janeiro as Sport Club União de Marechal Hermes (it changed to its present name on May 13, 2000).

The student newspaper The Daily Eastern News was published for the student body of Eastern Illinois University.[2]

Born: Myron Floren, American musician, accordionist on the The Lawrence Welk Show, in Roslyn, South Dakota (d. 2005); Molly Drake, English poet and musician, mother to musician Nick Drake, in Rangoon, Burma (d. 1993); Hy Peskin, American sports photographer, best known for his work with Sports Illustrated and Life (d. 2005)

Born: Martin Dannenberg, American executive, chairman of Sun Life Financial for five decades, discoverer of the original copy of the antisemitic Nuremberg Laws created by the Nazi Party during the end of World War Two, in Baltimore (d. 2010); George H. Cannon, American soldier, first U.S. Marine during World War Two to received the Medal of Honor, in Webster Groves, Missouri (d. 1941, killed in action at Midway Island)

November 6, 1915 (Saturday)

Second Battle of Champagne — The battle at Champagne, France officially ended as French groups completed halted action during the five-week battle of attrition ordered by General Joseph Joffre for the coming winter. French casualties were 145,000 men, while the Germans had 72,500 (although some historians put the German casualty number higher at 97,000).

Battle of Krivolak — Bulgarian forces repelled attacking French forces south of Kosturino, Macedonia.

Battle of Banjo — The British captured the German mountain fort near Banjo, Kamerun with a loss of 50 casualties. Much of the German garrison had deserted, with remaining troops sustaining 27 casualties, including the fort commander.

Hubert Loutsch became the 10th Prime Minister of Luxembourg, succeeding Mathias Mongenast who had only served 25 days.

British submarine HMS E20 was torpedoed and sunk in the Sea of Marmara by German sub SM UB-14 with the loss of 21 of her 30 crew.

German submarine SM U-35 attacked two Egyptian coastguard boats off the coast of Libya, sinking one and damaging another, and capturing over 70 survivors.

The United States Navy armored cruiser USS North Carolina became the first warship to launch an aircraft using a catapult, launching a Curtiss AB-2 flying boat piloted by Lieutenant Commander Henry Mustin over her stern.

Russian cruiser Chervona Ukraina was launched at the Russud Dockyard in Nikolaev, Russian Empire as part of the Black Sea Fleet but the October Revolution in 1917 delayed its complete construction. The new Soviet regime completed the ship and it would gain its most distinguished service during World War Two.

British minesweeper HMS Arabis was launched at D. and W. Henderson and Company in Glasgow and saw brief service before it was sunk next year at the Battle of Dogger Bank.

Died: Peter Arrell Brown Widener, American businessman, patriarch of the Widener family (b. 1834)

November 7, 1915 (Sunday)

Battle of Krivolak — The French failed to capture an important Bulgarian stronghold located at a monastery in the Vardar Macedonia region.

French passenger ship France IV was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 85 nautical miles (157 km) southwest of Sardinia, Italy by German submarine SM U-38, with her crew surviving.

German cruiser SMS Undine was torpedoed and sunk in the Baltic Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of Scania, Sweden by Royal Navy submarine HMS E19.

American businessman Walter M. Geddes, who was working in Aleppo during the Armenian Genocide, committed suicide by shooting himself in his hotel room. Geddes had been recording incidents of Ottoman atrocities carried out against Armenians from his arrival in September 16 and passing them on to American consul, but informed American diplomat George Horton a few days before he had been traumatized by the events he witnessed.

British battleship Albemarle was caught in a heavy storm off Pentland Firth while on the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The ship was hit on the bow by two large waves, resulting in three crew dead and 24 injured (two died later of their injuries). The wave impacts also flooded the main gun turret and forward decks, and damaged the forebridge. The ship rendezvoused with Hibernia the following day and escorted to Scapa Flow where repairs were made and injured crew were transferred to a hospital ship.

No. 28 Squadron and No. 29 Squadron of the Royal Air Force were established.

Gaelic football club Wexford beat Kerry 2-4 and 2-1 at the 1915 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final in Croke Park, Dublin with 27,000 spectators attending. It was the first of four championship titles Wexford would win in the 1910s.

Italian rider Gaetano Belloni won the 11th Giro di Lombardia bicycle race, in what would be the first of three wins in that racing competition.

Mary Pickford starred in the leading role in the first film adaptation of the opera Madama Butterfly, directed by Sidney Olcott. According to The New York Times, Pickford and Olcott clashed on set, with Olcott claiming Pickford was "too Americanized to play a Japanese".

Born: Galen Norris, Canadian politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1956 to 1971, in Erskine, Alberta (d. 2001); Bill Hayes, Irish association football player, played with the Ireland national football team in 1938 and 1947, in Cork, Ireland (d. 1987); Guido Dessauer, German physicist, leading researcher in paper engineering, in Aschaffenburg (d. 2012)

Born: Ernesto S. Mata, Filipino army officer, 15th Secretary of National Defense for the Philippines, in Laoag, Philippines (d. 2012); M. Athalie Range, American public servant, first African-American to service on the Miami City Commission and first woman to head a Florida state agency, the Department of Community Affairs, in Key West, Florida (d. 2006)

November 8, 1915 (Monday)

Italian ocean liner Ancona was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Tunisia by Austro-Hungarian submarine SM U-38 with the loss of over 200 lives.

British minesweeper HMAS Geranium was launched at Greenock Dockyard Company in Greenock, Scotland and would serve the Royal Navy until 1919 when it was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy.

The Raven, a biographical film of Edgar Alan Poe directed by Charles Brabin was released, with Henry B. Walthall as Poe.

The town of San Miguel de Sema, Colombia was established.

Born: G. S. Fraser, Scottish poet and critic, member of the New Apocalyptics group, in Glasgow (d. 1980); Gustav Fischer, Swiss equestrian athlete, five-time Summer Olympic Games medal winner, in Meisterschwanden, Switzerland (d. 1990); Lamberto Gardelli, Italian-Swedish conductor, best known for his work with Royal Swedish Opera, in Venice (d. 1998)

November 9, 1915 (Tuesday)

Morava Offensive — Bulgaria penetrated 90 kilometers into Serbia after breaking through at Pirot, inflicting 6,000 casualties on Serbian forces. The Bulgarians had 1,906 killed, 10,637 wounded, and 925 missing.

Battle of Krivolak — The French occupied the towns of Sirkovo and Krusevica in Vardar Macedonia as well as the Gradec and Gradsko rail stations.

The first British Women's Institute meeting in England was held at the Singleton Institute at Charlton, West Sussex.

Leyland Line passenger ship Californian,was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 61 nautical miles (113 km) southwest of Cape Matapan, Greece by German submarine SM U-35 with the loss of a crew member. The wreck has never been found.

Born: André François, Hungarian-French cartoonist, best known for his cartoon work for Punch and The New Yorker, in Temesvár, Austria-Hungary (now Timişoara, Romania) (d. 2005); Ganesh Man Singh, Nepalese political activist, founder of the Nepal democratic movement in 1990, in Kathmandu (d. 1997)

Born: Sargent Shriver, American diplomat, founder of the Peace Corps, in Westminster, Maryland (d. 2011); Benny McCoy, American baseball player, second baseman for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics, in Jenison, Michigan (d. 2011)

Died: Edward Smith Willard, English actor, best known for his Shakespearean performances and the leading role in The Middleman by playwright Henry Arthur Jones (b. 1853)

November 10, 1915 (Wednesday)

Kosovo Offensive — The Royal Serbian Army of 150,000 men under command of Chief of the Serbian General StaffRadomir Putnik made one last stand against the Central Powers invasion into Serbia at the city of Gjilan in eastern Kosovo.

Fourth Battle of the Isonzo — Italy launched a new offensive on the Italian front, with concentrated forced with the Italian Second Army concentrating on Gorizia, then part of Austria-Hungary.

Battle of Krivolak — French attempts to capture a strategic Bulgarian stronghold located in a Vardar Macedonia monastery failed, but were able to seize the nearby villages of Dolno Cicevo and Gorno Cicevo.

Italian cargo liner Bosnia was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea southwest of Crete, Greece by German submarine SM U-34.

French battleship Masséna was scuttled as a breakwater at Sedd el Bahr, Turkey.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sobral was established in Sobral, Ceará, Brazil.

Died: Edward Lee Greene, American botanist, publisher of the Landmarks of Botanical History and identifying and classifying over 4,400 species of plants in the American West (b. 1843); James Richardson Spensley, British doctor and association football player, his work with the Genoa C.F.C. in Italy earned him the credit of being one of the "Fathers of Italian football" (b. 1867)

November 11, 1915 (Thursday)

The Liberal Party of Norway formed the country's new government following parliamentary elections, winning 74 of the 123 seats in the Parliament of Norway.

Battle of Krivolak — French forces captured a pair of key Bulgarian defense positions in Vardar Macedonia, forcing Bulgarian forces to fall back. However, growing Bulgarian offensives forces in the evening forced the French to evacuate the villages of Dolno Cicevo and Gorno Cicevo that they had captured the day before.

Born: William Proxmire, U.S. Senator for Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989, in Lake Forest, Illinois (d. 2005); Bernhard Heiliger, German sculpture, best known for abstract works such as Max Planck at Humboldt University of Berlin, in Stettin, German Empire (d. 1995)

November 12, 1915 (Friday)

Battle of Krivolak — Bulgaria recaptured Krusevica in Vardar Macedonia while French forces halted at the outskirts of Ormanli and Kosturino.

Australian physicist William Henry Bragg and his son William Lawrence Bragg were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays."

Born: Roland Barthes, French philosopher and literary critic, leading theorist on structuralism and post-structuralism, in Cherbourg-Octeville, France (d. 1980)

November 13, 1915 (Saturday)

Battle of Krivolak — Renewed attacks by Bulgaria forced the French to halt all operations in the Vardar Macedonia region and fall back to Bitola, Macedonia.

Flying a BE.2c, Royal Naval Air Service Flight Commander J. R. W. Smyth-Pigott made a daring night bombing attack on a bridge of the Berlin-Constantinople railway over the Maritsa River in the Ottoman Empire from an altitude of 300 feet (91 meters). Although the bridge survived, he received the Distinguished Service Order for gallantry.

The D. H. Lawrence novel The Rainbow was prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act and suppressed by Lawrence's publisher Methuen. Some 1,011 copies were seized and burnt, and the novel would unavailable in Great Britain for eleven years, although editions were sold without legal challenge in the United States.

The first film in the popular French crime serial Les Vampires by Louis Feuillade was released. Starring Édouard Mathé, Musidora and Marcel Lévesque, the series depicted a journalist investigating the exploits of mysterious gang of thieves. A total 10 episodes were released between November 1915 and June 1916.

Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos debuted his work publicly at his first concert.

Born: Jack Guthrie, American songwriter, best known for his rewritten cover of "Oklahoma Hills" be cousin songwriter Woody Guthrie, in Olive, Oklahoma (d. 1948); Nathaniel Benchley, American writer, best known for his novel The Off-Islanders being adapted into the film comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, in Newton, Massachusetts (d. 1981)

Died: Phineas F. Bresee, American religious leader, founder of the Church of the Nazarene (b. 1838)

November 14, 1915 (Sunday)

Jim Thorpe played his first professional football game in a 16–0 Canton Bulldogs' loss to the Massillon Tigers. The game is also the first match-up between the two clubs since the 1906 betting scandal.

Austrian-American actor Erich von Stroheim made his film debut in the romance Old Heidelberg although he has also appeared in uncredited parts in films directed by D. W. Griffith, including The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance where he also served as assistant director to help Griffith manage scenes involving hundreds of extras.

Born: Billy Bauer, jazz guitarist, known for his collaborations with Lennie Tristano and Lee Konitz, in New York City (d. 2005); Mabel Fairbanks, American figure skater, first African-American to be inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame and International Women's Sports Hall of Fame (d. 2001)

Born: Archil Gelovani, Georgian army officer, Chief Marshal of the Engineering Troops during World War Two, in Spatagori, Tsageri District, Georgia, Russian Empire (d. 1978); Heinrich Gross, Austrian psychiatrist, member of the controversial Aktion T4 euthanasia program under the Nazi regime (d. 2005)

Died: Teodor Leszetycki, Polish pianist and composer, one of the founders of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory (b. 1830)

November 15, 1915 (Monday)

Ovče Pole Offensive — Bulgarian forces succeeded in capturing the Vardar river valley in Macedonia (the under Serbian control) and cutting Allied forces in two, including the capture of cities Kumanovo and Veles.

Winston Churchill resigned from all positions with the British government except for Member of Parliament. Sooner after, he re-enlisted into the British army and served as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front.

The men's fraternity Pi Tau Sigma was established in Wisconsin, unknown to them that a fraternity with the same Greek letters has been established March 16 at University of Illinois. The two fraternities met in 1916 and merged to form a national collegiate.

The stage comedy Fair and Warmer by Avery Hopwood premiered at the Eltinge Theatre on Broadway in New York City, where it ran for 377 performances.

The adventure novel The Man-Eater by Edgar Rice Burroughs was published serially New York World but would not appear in hardcover until 1957, seven years after Burroughs death.

Born: Konstantin Simonov, Soviet author and poet, best known for his war poem Wait for Me, in Petrograd, Russian Empire (d. 1979); Raymond F. Jones, American speculative fiction writer, author of This Island Earth, in Salt Lake City (d. 1994); Billo Frómeta, Dominican-Venezuelan conductor and composer, in Pimentel, Dominican Republic (d. 1988)

Born: Valda Cooper, Australian-American journalist, first female hard news reporter with Associated Press, in Melbourne (d. 2008); Lewis Elliott Chaze, American journalist and crime fiction writer, author of Black Wings Has My Angel, Wettermark and Goodbye Goliath, in Mamou, Louisiana (d. 1990)

Died: Booker T. Washington, American educator, founder of Tuskegee University, author of Up from Slavery (b. 1856)

November 16, 1915 (Tuesday)

The Angolan basketball club Sporting Clube de Benguela was established in Benguela, Angola as an affiliate of the Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Born: Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin, American folk musician, accordionist who developed a form of Cajun music known as zydeco, in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana (d. 2007)

Died: Julius C. Burrows, American politician, U.S. Senator from Michigan from 1895 until 1911 (b. 1837); Kartar Singh Sarabha, Indian Sikh revolutionary, member of the Ghadar Party and one of the defendants in the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial, executed for treason (b. 1896)

November 17, 1915 (Wednesday)

British Red Cross hospital ship HMHS Anglia struck a mine in the English Channel 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) off Folkestone, Kent, England and sank with the loss of 134 lives.

U.S. Marines under command of Smedley Butler captured Fort Rivière, the last rebel stronghold in Haiti, resulting in 50 rebel casualties.

Senussi Campaign — Senussi tribesman attacked the village of Sollum, Egypt where forces loyal to Allies were stationed, killing to two Bedouin soldiers and sabotaging the telegraph line.

The operetta Die Csárdásfürstin by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán premiered in Vienna and became Kálmán's most successful work.

Born: Michel Arnaud, French army officer, recipient of the Order of Liberation and Legion of Honour for his leadership during World War Two, in Bourg-en-Bresse, France (d. 1990); Prayoon Chanyavongs, Thai political cartoonist, recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for journalism and credited as the King of Cartoons in Thailand (d. 1992)

Died: Anthony Howells, American politician, 17th Ohio State Treasurer and member of the Ohio Senate from 1890 to 1982 (b. 1832)

November 18, 1915 (Thursday)

The Nova Scotia Rifles, the first Canadian Maritime rifle regiment, was established and entered service in 1916 during World War One.

The release of the U.S. silent film Inspiration was the first mainstream movie in which a leading actress (Audrey Munson) appeared nude.

November 19, 1915 (Friday)

Royal Naval Air Service pilots Richard Bell-Davies and Gilbert Smylie were making a bombing raid against a railway junction in Bulgaria when ground fire shot down Smylie's Farman bomber. In history's first combat rescue mission by an aircraft, Bell-Davies landed his single-seater Nieuport 10, crammed Smylie into it while Bulgarian infantrymen closed in, and took off, flying safely back to base. Bell-Davies received the Victoria Cross for his actions.

Born: Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr., American physiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research into hormones including epinephrine, in Burlingame, Kansas (d. 1974); Lena Jeger, British politician, Member of Parliament from 1953 to 1959 and 1964 to 1979, in Yorkley, England (d. 2007)

Born: Najeeb Halaby, American aviator, builder of Saudia Airlines, father of Queen Noor of Jordan, in Dallas (d. 2003); Anita Lizana, Chilean tennis player, first Latin American to earn title World number 1 women tennis player, in Santiago (d. 1994)

Died: Solomon Schechter, Moldavian-American rabbi, leading figure of Conservative Judaism in the United States and founder of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (b. 1847); William Spencer Newbury, American politician, 23rd Mayor of Portland, Oregon (b. 1834)

November 20, 1915 (Saturday)

Battle of Krivolak — Bulgaria captured an important bridgehead from the French in the Vardar Macedonia region.

The Western Frontier Force was formed in response to offensives launched by the north African Senussi tribe who fought on behalf of the Ottoman Empire in what became the start of the Senussi Campaign.

The Hamilton Tigers defeated the Toronto Rugby and Athletic Association 13 to 7 at the 7th Grey Cup before 2,808 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto. It was the last Grey Cup to be held in Canada until 1920 after World War One ended.

Born: Kon Ichikawa, Japanese film director, known for films such as An Actor's Revenge and the Olympics documentary Tokyo Olympiad, in Ise, Mie, Japan (d. 2008); Sero Khanzadyan, Armenian writer, best known for works such as The Battle Diary based on his wartime experiences in Leningrad and Six nights which concerned events during the Armenian Genocide, in Goris, Ottoman Empire (d. 1998); Dulcie Gray, British actress, best known for the role of Kate Harvey in the 1980s BBC drama series Howards' Way, wife to actor Michael Denison, in Kuala Lumpur (d. 2011)

Born: Bill Daniel, American statesman, 5th Governor of Guam, in Dayton, Texas (d. 2006); Benigno G. Tabora, Filipino-American military officer, survivor and advocate of veterans of the Bataan Death March (d. 2008); Glen Cooper, Australian air force officer, commander of the Royal Australian Air Force No. 80 Squadron during the New Guinea campaign of World War Two, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, in Melbourne (d. 1986)

Died: Robert Barr Smith, Scottish-Australian businessman, one of the first partners of the agribusiness Elder Smith and Company (b. 1824)

November 21, 1915 (Sunday)

Senussi Campaign — Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi, Supreme Leader of the Senussi in North Africa, ordered his forces to cross the Egyptian frontier to execute a military coastal campaign against the Allies. An output southeast of Sollum, Egypt was attacked causing civil unrest in Alexandria when word of the attack reached the city. An Allied convoy that included the members of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade were deployed to guard the railway in the region and key oasis outposts south of Alexandria.

British polar exploration ship Endurance finally broke apart from the pressure of the ice pack around it and sank into the Weddell Sea, stranding the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition party in the Antarctic.

Ross Sea party — The British polar ship Aurora drifted across the Antarctic Circle where evidence began to show the ice encasing the vessel was starting to melt.

The Christy Cabanne directed historical epic, Martyrs of the Alamo, was one of the first films released to depict the battle. Based on the historical novel of the same name by Theodosia Harris, the film featured an ensemble cast including Sam De Grasse, Douglas Fairbanks, Walter Long and Alfred Paget. Despite claims of being historically accurate, it drew criticism for its stereotypical portrayals of the Mexicans. A copy of the film was preserved at the Library of Congress.

Born: James Gleeson, Australian artist, known for surrealism work including The sower, in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia (d. 2008)

Died: Dixie Haygood, American magician, popular female-led magic show include a two-year European tour with heads of state as audiences, including Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire, Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria-Hungary, and Tsar Alexander III of the Russian Empire (b. 1861)

November 22, 1915 (Monday)

Battle of Ctesiphon — A force of 11,000 British and Indian soldiers under Charles Townshend, plus two naval warships, attacked a defending force of 18,000 Ottoman troops under command of Nureddin Pasha near the site of the ancient city of Ctesiphon, located on the Tigris River southeast of Baghdad.

Battle of Krivolak — Following the defeat of Serbian forces at Skopje, Macedonia, Allied operations became redundant in Vardar Macedonia. The French evacuated from the region with a loss of 3,161 killed, wounded or missing. Bulgaria sustained 5,877 casualties but retained control of the region.

Born: John F. Henning, American labor leader, Under Secretary of Labor in the U.S. Department of Labor from 1962 to 1967 and United States Ambassador to New Zealand from 1967 to 1969, in San Francisco (d. 2009)

November 23, 1915 (Tuesday)

Battle of Ctesiphon — Attempts for British forces to break through the Ottoman failed, marking the first time a turning point for the Ottoman Empire during the Mesopotamian campaign.

Senussi Campaign — About 300 Sikh troops were deployed to the garrison in Matruh, North Africa in response to Senussi aggression.

The Triangle Film Corporation opened its new motion picture theater in Massillon, Ohio.

Born: John Dehner, American animator and actor, animator for Fantasia and Bambi, actor known for TV roles such as Frontier and The Twilight Zone, in Staten Island, New York (d. 1992); Marc Simont, French-American illustrator, known for illustrating children's books including The 13 Clocks by James Thurber, In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord, and co-created the child detective Nate the Great with Marjorie W. Sharmat, in Paris (d. 2013)

Born: Kamadjaja, Indonesian writer and journalist, best known for preserving independent press during Japanese occupation during World War Two, in Sragen Regency, Java, Indonesia (d. 2003); Anne Burns, British aeronautical engineer and glider pilot, one of the co-authors on the Rayleigh–Bénard convection theory, in Haworth, England (d. 2001)

Died: David Hastings Moore, American clergy, bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church from 1900 to 1915 (b. 1838)

November 24, 1915 (Wednesday)

Kosovo Offensive — The Kosovo capital of Pristina fell to Bulgarian forces, a symbolic victory for Bulgaria as it lost control of the city to the Serbs in 1912.

Battle of Ctesiphon — Heavy losses on both sides forced both British and Ottoman forces to withdraw, with side believing they would not have enough strength to engage the other at Baghdad.

William J. Simmons revived the Civil War era Ku Klux Klan at Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Born: Connie Buckley, Irish Gaelic football player, played centre-forward for the Cork GAA club from 1934 to 1941, in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland (d. 2009)

Died: L. C. Hughes, American politician, 11th Governor of Arizona Territory (b. 1842); E. A. Hewett, British merchant and colonial administrator, member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong from 1906 to 1915 (b. 1860)

November 25, 1915 (Thursday)

Serbian Field Marshal Radomir Putnik ordered the entire order a full retreat of all Serbian military through Albania and Montenegro. Weather conditions at the time slowed the Central Powers, allowing some 155,000 Serbian soldiers and civilians to escape to the Adriatic Sea, but an estimated 200,000 more died of exposure, starvation and attacks by enemy soldiers and local Albanian militia.

Battle of Ctesiphon — The battle between British and Ottoman forces ended in a draw but marked the last major success for Great Britain in the Mesopotamian campaign until 1916. The British suffered 4,500 casualties while Ottoman forces were heavier with estimates ranging from 6,200 to 9,500.

Albert Einstein presented to the Prussian Academy of Sciences his formal paper on general relativity.

Born: Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile (dictator) from 1973 to 1990, in Valparaíso, Chile (d. 2006); Ron Hamence, Australian cricketer, played for the Southern Redbacks of South Australia from 1936 to 1950, in Hindmarsh, South Australia (d. 2010); Ruth Sivard, American economist, best known for her criticism of defense spending during her time with the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency from 1960 to 1970, in New York City (d. 2015)

November 26, 1915 (Friday)

Battle of Nogales — The U.S. 12th Infantry under command of William H. Sage held of raiding army of rebel soldiers loyal of Pancho Villa at the border town of Nogales, located on the international border between the U.S. state of Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora. The Villa force retreated only to run into a force under command of Álvaro Obregón loyal to Venustiano Carranza. Casualties from the three-way battle included 70 killed or wounded.

Gallipoli Campaign — A heavy rainstorm struck the Gallipoli Peninsula for three days before turning into a blizzard by early December. The harsh weather caused many deaths from flooding and exposure to cold and unburied corpses washing into the trenches. This hastened plans to evacuate Allied troops from the beachheads.

Born: Phillip Davidson, American army officer and author, chief intelligence officer in Vietnam from 1967 to 1972, author of Vietnam at War: The History 1946-1975 and Secrets of the Vietnam War, in Hachita, New Mexico (d. 1996); Cyril Sidlow, Welsh association football player, goalkeeper for the Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. and Liverpool F.C., in Colwyn Bay, Wales (d. 2005)

Died: Washington Atlee Burpee, American businessman, founder of the seed company now known as Burpee Seeds (b. 1858), George Wilson, American baseball player, pitcher in Negro baseball leagues from 1895 to 1907 (b. 1875)

November 27, 1915 (Saturday)

The British government introduced legislation to restrict housing rents to their pre-war level following Glasgow rent strikes led by Mary Barbour.

The second Ku Klux Klan chapter was established in Stone Mountain, Georgia by William Joseph Simmons.

Born: Yves Thériault, Canadian writer, author of Agaguk, in Quebec City (d. 1983); Thomas George Lanphier, Jr., American air force officer, credited as one of the pilots that shot down the plane carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy, in Panama City (d. 1987); Michael Walford, British cricketer, field hockey player and rugby player, member of the silver medal-winning men's field hockey team at the 1948 Summer Olympics, in Norton, County Durham, England (d. 2002)

Died: Edmond Paulin, French architect, designer of pavilions at the Exposition Universelle 1889 and 1900 World's Fairs (b. 1848)

November 28, 1915 (Sunday)

The Russian submarine Akula struck a mine and sank near the island of Hiiumaa in the Baltic Sea with all 35 crew on board.

Born: Evald Okas, Estonian painter, specialized in Social Realist public paintings such as the ceiling painting for the Estonian National Opera, in Tallinn, Estonia (d. 2011); Donald Grant Nutter, American politician, 15th Governor of Montana, in Lambert, Montana (d. 1962, killed in a plane crash)

Died: Mubarak Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait from 1896 to 1915 (b. 1837); Kobayashi Kiyochika, major Japanese ukiyo-e painter and printmaker during the Meiji period (b. 1847)

November 29, 1915 (Monday)

German submarine SM UC-13 ran aground in the Black Sea and was scuttled.

The Kintyre Technical College, later known as Keil School, opened in Dumbarton, Scotland.

Born: Eugene Polley, American engineer for Zenith Electronics, inventor of the first wireless remote control, in Chicago (d. 2012); Bob Cotton, Australian politician, Senator for New South Wales from 1965 to 1978, in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia (d. 2006); Oscar Reutersvärd, Swedish graphic artist, best known for innovating the 3D "impossible object" concept, in Stockholm (d. 2002)

Born: Billy Strayhorn, American jazz musician, best known for his collaborations with Duke Ellington and compositions such as "Take the 'A' Train", "Chelsea Bridge", and "Lush Life", in Dayton, Ohio (d. 1967)

Died: Luigi Capuana, Italian journalist and author, one of the developers of Verism or Italian realism (b. 1839); Chris Fogarty, Australian association football player, member of the Essendon Football Club and Melbourne University Football Club in the Australian Football League from 1906 to 1910, killed during the Gallipoli Campaign (b. 1884)

November 30, 1915 (Tuesday)

Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng was enthroned as the King of Burundi at the age of two following the death of his father Mutaga IV Mbikije. His mother Ririkumutima was Queen regent and presided over the monarchy until he came of age. His reign lasted until 1962 when Burundi transitioned from a Belgian colony to an independent nation.

The Walnut Canyon National Monument was established near Flagstaff, Arizona by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to preserve the ancient cliff dwellings located in the canyon.

Born: Henry Taube, Canadian-American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research into electron transfer between metals, in Neudorf, Saskatchewan (d. 2005); Angier Biddle Duke, American diplomat, U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, Spain and Denmark, nephew to Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr., in New York City (d. 1995)

Born: Brownie McGhee, American blues musician, best known for his collaborations with harmonica player Sonny Terry, in Knoxville, Tennessee (d. 1996); Harold C. Schonberg, American music critic, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, most known for his music columns for The New York Times, in New York City (d. 2003)