October 1912

October 1, 1912 (Tuesday)

Turkey and Greece both mobilized their armies in preparation of war.

The capital of British India was formally moved to Delhi from Calcutta.

Born: Kathleen Ollerenshaw, British mathematician, in Withington (d. 2014)

October 2, 1912 (Wednesday)

Bulgarian troops seized control of Turkish blockhouses at Djuma-i-Bala district.

Serbia, Montenegro, Greece and Bulgaria, delivered an ultimatum to Ottoman Empire over Macedonia.

October 3, 1912 (Thursday)

From the Manger to the Cross, the silent film about Jesus Christ, by Sidney Olcott, premiered in London, followed on October 10 by its New York release. and was the first to be filmed on location in the Holy Land.

General Smedley Butler and Colonel Joseph H. Pendleton of the United States Marines had given Nicaraguan rebel general Benjamín Zeledón an ultimatum to surrender the El Coyotepe fortress by 8:00 am or face bombardment by American artillery and then an invasion. The rebels refused to capitulate, and American shelling began minutes later.

Turkish frontier guards attacked troops of Montenegro at Berane.

The longest drought in U.S. history began in Bagdad, California, in San Bernardino County. For the next 767 days, more than two years, no rain fell on the town in the Mojave Desert.

Crowds in Constantinople demonstrated in favor of Turkey going to war with Bulgaria.

October 4, 1912 (Friday)

Off the coast of Dover, the collision of the submarine B2 with the Hamburg-American liner Amerika killed 15 sailors. B2 was part of a flotilla of 13 submarines patrolling four miles from Dover as part of Navy maneuvers, and crossed 60 feet in front of the bow of Amerika, which was moving twice as fast and was unable to stop. Only one man, Lt. Richard I. Pulleyne, survived, swimming upward after the sub broke in two.

The U.S. Marines attacked Nicaragua's rebels before dawn, advanced uphill and captured the fortress on El Coyotepe despite being fired on by the remaining rebels. Four Americans and 27 rebels were killed, and another 14 U.S. infantrymen wounded.

The first University of Calgary began classes, with a faculty of three professors. The Alberta provincial legislature would not give the University power to confer degrees, and the University of Alberta did not welcome the competition, and U.C. would close its doors in October 1915.

October 5, 1912 (Saturday)

French Prime Minister Poincaré addressed the British Foreign Office regarding averting war in the Balkans, with the assistance of Austria-Hungary and Russia.

Parliaments of Bulgaria and Serbia met in extraordinary session to discuss going to war.

Jack Zelig, a witness for the prosecution in the trial of NYPD Lt. Becker was shot and killed in New York while preparing to board a trolley, two days before trial was to start.

Carl Stearns Clancy, 22, began his quest to become the first person to take a motorcycle around the world, setting sail from Philadelphia to Dublin. He would complete the job on August 27, 1913, after 18,000 miles.

The New York Highlanders played their final baseball game, ending a seven-game losing streak to defeat the Washington Senators 8-6, and finishing in last place in the American League with 50 wins and 102 losses. In 1913, the team would have a new manager, mostly new players, and a new name, as the New York Yankees.

Born: Karl Hass, German war criminal, in Kiel (d. 2004); and Kristina Söderbaum, Swiss-born German film actress, in Stockholm (d. 2001)

October 6, 1912 (Sunday)

U.S. troops captured the Nicaraguan city of León.

Died: Auguste Marie François Beernaert, 83, Prime Minister of Belgium from 1884 to 1894, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1909; William A. Peffer, 81, first U.S. Senator from the Populist Party; Susie King Taylor, 64, African-American army nurse and author; and Walter William Skeat, 76, English etymologist and dictionary author

October 7, 1912 (Monday)

A proposed peace agreement to end the Italo-Turkish War was presented by Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti to the Italian cabinet.

Born: Fernando Belaúnde Terry, President of Peru 1963-68 and 1980–85, in Lima (d. 2002)

October 8, 1912 (Tuesday)

First Balkan War: The tiny Kingdom of Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire, with the army attacking Novi Pazar and the Detchitch fort across from Podgorica. Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece would join in on October 17, and the war would last until May 30, 1913, with Turkey giving up its European possessions under the Treaty of London.

Died: Wilhelm Kuhe, 88, composer; and Millie and Christine McCoy, 61, African-American conjoined twins and singers

October 9, 1912 (Wednesday)

King Nicholas of Montenegro called on his subjects to join in a "holy war" against Turkey, as Detchitch fell to the Montenegrins.

Romania assured Bulgaria of its neutrality.

Game 2 of the World Series ended with no winner, with the teams tied 6-6 after 11 innings before darkness forced an early end, meaning that the second game would have to be replayed. The Red Sox had won the first game, 4-3.

October 10, 1912 (Thursday)

Rice Institute (now Rice University) was dedicated at Houston.

October 11, 1912 (Friday)

The Prince of Wales, heir to the British throne and the future King Edward VIII, began his studies at Magdalen College as a commoner.

Italy and Turkey broke off peace negotiations as Montenegro took Ottoman territory near Skiptchanik.

October 12, 1912 (Saturday)

The largest grain elevator in the world opened at the Port of Montreal, more than doubling the capacity of the port. Over the next five years, the amount of grain shipped through Montreal increased more than 25 times.

Stock prices dropped in London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna as the First Balkan War escalated.

The province of Hsikangseng, with capital at Batang (Baanfu) was created from West Szechuan and Eastern Tibet.

Born: Edward Hidalgo, Mexican-born U.S. Secretary of the Navy 1979-81 and highest ranking Hispanic official in the United States Department of Defense; as Eduardo Hidalgo in Mexico City (d. 1995)

October 13, 1912 (Sunday)

Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece demanded the Ottoman Empire to grant autonomy to Macedonia within six months and served an ultimatum on the Turkish government in Istanbul.

October 14, 1912 (Monday)

Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was shot and wounded by a .38 caliber bullet fired by John Schrank, a New York City saloonkeeper, who was standing at a distance of only 30 feet. The bullet was slowed when it passed through Roosevelt's metal eyeglasses case and the folded, fifty-page manuscript of Roosevelt's prepared speech, but still penetrated three inches into his chest, too close to the heart to be safely removed by surgery. Schrank was tackled by bystanders before he could fire a second shot, and Roosevelt went on to deliver his speech before getting medical treatment. Schrank would be found insane and would spend the rest of his life at a mental hospital in Waupun, Wisconsin, where he would die on September 15, 1943.

Montenegro's Prince Danilo led the capture of Tuzi.

Turkish troops invaded Serbia (at Ristovatz)

General Benjamín Zeledón died, either killed by his own men or by the victorious Nicaraguan government.

Born: Joseph Muzquiz, Spanish priest who worked to spread the Opus Dei movement (d. 1983)

October 15, 1912 (Tuesday)

Italian and Turkish delegates signed a preliminary peace agreement in Switzerland at Ouchy, with the Italian fleet immediately being recalled from the Aegean Sea and Turkish troops withdrawing three days later from Libya.

Turkey declined to reply to the note from the three Balkan states.

The New York Giants beat the Boston Red Sox 11-4 to avoid elimination from the World Series and to set up a seventh game.

October 16, 1912 (Wednesday)

1912 World Series: The Boston Red Sox won the World Series, defeating the New York Giants, 3-2, at Boston. The Series had been tied 3-3, and the deciding game was tied 1-1 after nine innings. The Giants had taken a 2-1 lead in the tenth, but then gave up two runs after the Giants' Fred Snodgrass dropped an easy fly ball, Christy Mathewson walked a batter, and Fred Merkle failed to catch a foul ball.

Bulgarian pilot Radul Minkov and his observer, Prodan Toprakchiev, performed the first reconnaissance and bombing from an airplane in history, throwing hand grenades from their Albatros F-2 biplane at the railway station of Karaagac near Edirne against Turkey.

Brusilov Expedition: Russian explorer Georgy Brusilov and the 24 crewmen of the Svyataya Anna (St. Anna) became trapped in the Arctic ice after sailing into the Kara Sea. At the time, the ship was still close to Russia's Yamal Peninsula and the crew could have escaped to safety, but Brusilov made the decision to wait out the winter.

A typhoon in the Philippines killed 1,000 people at Cebu.

Mexican rebel forces under the command of General Félix Diaz captured Veracruz.

Montenegro captured Berane.

Born: Maidie Norman, African-American stage, film and television actress, in Villa Rica, Georgia (d. 1998)

October 17, 1912 (Thursday)

Krupp engineers Benno Strauss and Eduard Maurer patented austenitic stainless steel.

Philadelphia Phillies' owner Horace Fogel was expelled from the baseball's National League after having charged in an interview with the Chicago Post that several of the league's umpires, as well as St. Louis Cardinals' manager Roger Bresnahan, had conspired to help the Giants win the 1912 pennant.

Turkey declared war on Bulgaria and Serbia.

The Union Vélocipédique Française, governing body for the Tour de France and for bicycling in France, voted to withdraw official approval for women's cycling events.

Born: Albino Luciani, Italian pontiff who died 33 days after his selection as Pope John Paul I; in Canale d'Agordo (d. 1978)

October 18, 1912 (Friday)

The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and Italy signed the First Treaty of Lausanne at the Swiss city of Ouchy at 3:30 pm to end the Italo-Turkish War, with Turkey agreeing to grant independence to Tripolitania and Cyrenaica long enough for the North African provinces to come under Italian control. In return for the cession of Libya, as well as the Dodecanese Islands, Italy paid a sum representing 4 percent of the Ottoman national debt (in consideration of the cost of the war) and allowed the Ottoman Sultan to continue as the Caliph of Libyan Muslims. The Ottoman field commanders were ordered to withdraw their men, despite their feeling that they "were more than sure of their ability to win the war", and transferred Libyan soldiers to Istanbul for military training and an eventual recapture of the territory, a plan which would fail during the First World War.

King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria issued a proclamation of holy war against the Ottoman Empire.

October 19, 1912 (Saturday)

The infantries of the Balkan League (Montenegro, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria) crossed their borders into the western Ottoman Empire.

The Turkish warship Torgul Reis bombarded the Bulgarian ports of Varna and Balchik on the Black Sea.

October 20, 1912 (Sunday)

Viljami "Willie" Kolehmainen, a brother of Olympic distance runner Hannes Kolehmainen who had abandoned his amateur status, set a world record in the marathon as a professional athlete, running the 26 mile, 385 yard distance in 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 39.2 seconds for the fastest marathon up to that time. The previous mark of 2:32:21 had been held by Hans Holmer. The official (amateur) record at the time was 2:40:32.2, held by Thure Johansson of Sweden.

Turkey's Vardar Army engaged in its first major battles against the Balkan League invaders. The Serbian Timok Infantry overcame the Turks at Egri Palanga, and the Bulgarian 2nd Infantry forced a retreat of the Ottoman 16th at Kocana. At Bilac, the Ottoman 19th Infantry was able to resist the invading Serbian Morava Infantry.

Britain recognized Italian sovereignty over Tripoli and Cyrenacia.

October 21, 1912 (Monday)

Greece took control of Thessaly and Lemnos while Bulgaria captured Fort Chermen, and Serbia took the mountain Sultan Tepe.

Born: Georg Solti, Hungarian-born conductor, as György Stern in Budapest (d. 1997); and Johannes Becker, intelligence officer for the Nazi German Sicherheitsdienst in its Latin American operations during World War II, in Leipzig.

October 22, 1912 (Tuesday)

The Tsarevich of the Russian Empire, Alexei, was reported to be seriously ill from hemophilia.

The Serbian Third Army captured Pristina from the Ottomans, celebrating a return to the city that had been taken by the Turks in 1389.

Born: Johan Hendrik Weidner, Belgian-born World War II resistance fighter for the Netherlands, in Brussels (d. 1994), Frances Drake, actress, born in New York City (d. 2000).

October 23, 1912 (Wednesday)

The Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry (now the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry), and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (now the Fritz Haber Institute), were both formally inaugurated in the Berlin suburb of Dahlem as the first two research institutions for the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science.

Denmark's Prime Minister Klaus Berntsen introduced a constitutional reform bill to provide for women's suffrage.

General Félix Diaz was taken prisoner as Mexican government troops retook Veracruz.

First Balkan War: The Battle of Kumanovo, between the Serbian and Ottoman armies, began.

October 24, 1912 (Thursday)

Kirk-Kilisse (Kirklareli) fell to Bulgaria, and Kumanovo fell to Serbia.

Harry Hawker, founder of Hawker Aircraft set a record of being airborne for 8 hours and 23 minutes at Brooklands

NYPD Lt. Charles Becker was found guilty of the killing of gambler Herman Rosenthal.

Died: Mykola Lysenko, 70, Ukrainian composer; Arthur Peel, 1st Viscount Peel, 83, Speaker of the British House of Commons from 1884 to 1895; and Rear Admiral Tchagin, Commander of Russian Imperial Yacht, by suicide.

October 25, 1912 (Friday)

Bulgarian troops advanced on Adrianople, while the Greek Army occupied Kozani.

France and Spain agreed on the division of Morocco.

The Richard Strauss opera Ariadne auf Naxos opened in Stuttgart.

Born: Minnie Pearl, American comedian and singer (d. 1996)

October 26, 1912 (Saturday)

Greek forces took control of the city of Selanik from the Ottoman Empire, restoring Thessaloniki to Greek control. The Ottoman Empire had captured the city on March 29, 1430.

U.S. President Taft appeared at the dedication of Alliance College, founded by the Polish National Alliance in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. The college would cease operations on June 30, 1987.

General Diaz was sentenced to death by court martial.

The Serbian army captured Skopje (called Uskub by the Ottomans) from the Ottoman Empire.

Romanian Prime Minister Titu Maiorescu reconstituted his cabinet.

Born: Don Siegel, American director (d. 1991)

October 27, 1912 (Sunday)

Bulgaria occupied Ishtip.

October 28, 1912 (Monday)

Brusilov Expedition: Twelve days after becoming trapped in an ice field, the crew of the Svyataya Anna lost their chance to escape to safety when winds sent the field drifting northward into the Arctic Sea, with the ship locked inside. The ship would remain trapped in moving ice for a year and a half, and only two of the sailors would survive. The ship's log would finally be found in July 2010.

Serbian Army occupies Köprülü, now known as Veles, in modern-day Macedonia .

Bulgarian Army occupies Drama and Babi Eski. The latter cut the Ottoman line communications with Constantinople.

The Montenegran and Serbian Army meet at Sjenica.

Six people died when the Irish Collier Tenet sinks in the Bristol Channel.

Birth – Richard Doll, English epidemiologist (d. 2005)

October 29, 1912 (Tuesday)

Ghazi Mukhtar Pasha resigned as Grand Vizier of Turkey, and was succeeded by Kiamil Pasha

Greek Army forces occupy Veria.

The Ottoman Army under Nazim Pasha and Bulgarian Army forces begin a battle near Lule Burgas in Thrace.

Serbia begins civil authority in areas they control in Macedonia.

Railroad accident in Streetsville, Ontario kills two and injures eight.

October 30, 1912 (Wednesday)

James S. Sherman, the Vice President of the United States, died in office, six days before the presidential election. Sherman, 57 years old, died at 9:42 pm at his home in Utica, New York from acute kidney failure. His physician, Dr. Fayette H. Peck, said that Sherman's decline had been caused by the strain of his acceptance speech on August 24, when the Republican National Convention had re-nominated him as President Taft's running mate.

The Bulgarian Army forces capture Lule Burgas in Thrace.

United States Navy battleship USS New York launched in Brooklyn, NY.

Born: José Ferrater Mora, Spanish Catalan philosopher (d. 1991)

Died Alejandro Gorostiaga, Chilean General (b. 1840)

October 31, 1912 (Thursday)

Nazim Pasha and the Ottoman army were driven from Thrace by the Bulgarian Army who captured Çorlu (Tchorlu) The Ottomans retreated to their line of defense at Çatalca (Chatalja).

The Serbian Army occupies Prizren (Prisrend).

The Greek Army occupies Grevena and the islands Imbros and Thasos.

The Montenegrin Army occupies Ipek (Peć).

The French government proposes that Powers should proclaim disinterest and offer to mediate between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan League.

It was reported that Isa Boletinatz (Isa Boletini) Albanian guerrilla leader was killed, however this was not true.

Born Ollie Johnston, American animator (d. 2008)