Iconic image of Villa in Ojinaga, a publicity still taken by Mutual Film Corporation photographer John Davidson Wheelan in January 1914[1]A map displaying Southern and Northern Nigeria, 1914A Benoist XIV over Tampa Bay in Florida in 1914.
British governor Sir Frederick Lugard successfully completed amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria to form a united country that was presided over by a proconsul entitled the Governor-General of Nigeria. Although formally the country's name was derived from the Niger River,[2] some accounts attribute the name of the country to Lady Lugard, wife of the governor, in a letter she wrote to The Times on 8 January 1897. Lady Lugard suggested the name Nigeria as a shortened alternative to the Royal Niger Company's Territories, in reference to the mercantile company chartered by the British government to operate in that region.[3]
Battle of Ojinaga – About 6,000 of Pancho Villa's soldiers under command of Gen. Toribio Ortega Ramírez attacked 4,000 federal troop occupying Ojinaga, a town on the Mexican-U.S. border. Ramírez's men forced federal troops out of outlying outposts into the adobe buildings of the town, but were stalled by artillery bombardment.[4]
The St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line in the United States started services between St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, becoming the first airline to provide scheduled regular commercial passenger services with winged aircraft, with Tony Jannus (the first federally-licensed pilot) conveying passengers in a Benoistflying boat. Abram C. Pheil, former mayor of St. Petersburg, was the first airline passenger and over 3,000 people witnessed the first departure.[5]
The Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps was given the responsibility for the operation of all British military airships. The Royal Navy retained control of all British airships until December 1919.[6]
The Five Nations Championship – an international rugby tournament – commenced with England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in competition. Originally started out as the Home Nations Championships involving only the countries in the British Isles, the name was changed to reflect the inclusion of France. Ten matches were spread out over weeks with the final played in April.[12]
The copyright on the Richard Wagner opera Parsifal expired allowing it to be staged outside of Bayreuth, Germany. Over 50 opera houses around Europe stage performances over a seven-month period.[14]
French artist Charles Ginner introduced the concept of neorealism in a manifesto published in the art magazine New Age.[15]
The Hurtig & Seamon's New Burlesque Theater opened in Harlem, New York City. It was renamed the Apollo Theater in 1934 when the music hall began allowing black patrons, becoming one of the most famous venues for African-American music and live performers.[16]
Battle of Ojinaga – An estimated 1,000 casualties were reported as the battle moved into its second day, with Pancho Villa's troops under the command of Gen. Toribio Ortega Ramírez slowly gaining ground against defending federal troops in Ojinaga, Mexico in spite of constant artillery bombardment. Many federal troops deserted and crossed the Mexican-U.S. border into Presidio, Texas where the United States Army assisted the Red Cross in setting up a mobile hospital to treat wounded while at the same time disarming and turning away hundreds of others.[22]
The returned Mona Lisa only received 60 visits at the Louvre in Paris.[26] The painting had been missing for about 2+1⁄2 years before Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee who had stolen the painting, attempted to sell it to museum officials in Florence.[27]
TankerOklahoma on her return trip to Port Arthur, Texas ran into a strong gale while approximately 60 nautical miles (110km) south east of Cape May, New Jersey and broke in two with the loss of one passenger and 25 of her 38 crew. Survivors were rescued by German liner Bavaria and the steamer Gregory.[33]
Battle of Ojinaga – Pancho Villa relieved General Toribio Ortega Ramírez of command after the officer ordered his men to withdraw after four days of fruitless attacks against federal troops barricaded in the town of Ojinaga, Mexico. An additional 1,000 revolutionary soldiers were brought up from Chihuahua City to strengthen the current attacking force.[34]
Canadian schoonerIonia sank during a storm off Sable Island – located 109 miles (175km) southeast of Nova Scotia – with all seven crew reported lost.[36]
Zabern Affair – Military trials commenced in Strasbourg, Germany for Colonel Adolf von Reuter, commanding officer of the Prussian Infantry Regiment 99 in Saverne, Alsace (now in France), and Second Lieutenant Schadt, both charged of unlawfully appropriating authority from the civilian police during and after a public protest on November 28, 1913.[38]
Ford Motor Company announced an eight-hour workday and a daily wage of $5. The new workplace policy increased the auto manufacturer's productivity, and a significant increase in profit margin (from $30 million to $60 million in two years).[39][40][41][42]
Battle of Ojinaga – In a surreal turn in Pancho Villa's bloody campaign to take Ojinaga, the Mexican revolutionary signed a film deal with Harry Aitken, who opened the Reliance-Majestic Studio with D. W. Griffith in Hollywood, California later that year. Aitken had sent a film crew of 10 to the Ojinaga battle site to shoot footage of the fighting from the revolutionary army's viewpoint. Aitken was quoted in the press with having second thoughts about the contract between his production company and Villa: "How would you feel to be a partner with a man engaged in killing people, and do you suspect the fact that moving picture machines are in range to immortalize an act of daring or of cruel brutality will have any effect on the warfare itself?"[48]
The Alexandre La Valley, an old French crane boat, completed its transit though newly completed Panama Canal on a test run, becoming the first actual vessel to do so. The SS Ancon would be the first ship to officially transit the canal on August 15, 1914.[50]
Some 200 Ottoman Empire soldiers were arrested on board a steamer the port city of Avlona, Albania by the country's provisional government. The Empire had intended to land troops in the port and proclaim Gen. Ahmed Izzet Pasha "King of Albania." Martial law was declared in the country immediately after the arrests, leading to a revolt among the Albanian peasantry.[51]
Battle of Ojinaga – Pancho Villa delayed an attack on federal troops barricaded in the town of Ojinaga, Mexico until a four-man film crew from New York City was able to cross the Mexican-U.S. border and reach the rebel army's line. Villa had signed a contract with Harry Aitken and Frank M. Thayer of Mutual Film to have the battle filmed. Footage of the battle was edited into staged scenes to give the film more of a narrative and released as The Life of General Villa, produced by D. W. Griffith and directed by Raoul Walsh who also appeared in the film. The film is now presumably lost.[52][53]
World Baseball Tour – The tour moved on to Melbourne, Australia where the New York Giants attempted to even out the series wins on the continent with a 12–8 victory over the Chicago White Sox in front of a crowd of 10,000.[54]
South African workers with The Amalgamated Society of Railway and Harbour Servants began to strike in the Transvaal and Orange Free State over the previous October decision of the Railway Administration to retrench labor.[56]
Battle of Ojinaga – Pancho Villa led a force of 7,000 troops and captured Ojinaga, forcing more than half of the 4,000 defending federal troops to retreat over the Mexican-U.S. border. The victory effectively gave Villa control of nearly all of northern Mexico and cemented his reputation as a great military leader.[59]
Yuan Shikai, Provisional President for the Republic of China, formally dissolved Parliament after defeating political opponents Chinese Revolutionary Party through months of political and military maneuvers. Yuan began steps to replace the republic's provisional constitution with his own and within months proclaimed himself as China's new emperor.[60]
Zabern Affair – A military court in Strasbourg, Germany acquitted commanding officer Colonel Adolf von Reuter and Second Lieutenant Schadt for illegally appropriating the civilian police during and after a public protest on November 28, 1913, in Saverne, Alsace.[61]
Canadian Arctic Expedition – After drifting in ice for several months in the Beaufort Sea, the polar expedition crew of the ship Karluk were wakened to "a severe shudder [that] shook the whole ship," according to expedition member William Laird McKinlay. It was evident ice was attacking the hull, and at 6:45 AM a loud bang was heard, indicating the hull has been punctured. Captain Robert Bartlett observed a gash 10 feet (3.0m) in the ship's engine room. With the pumps unable to handle the inflow of water, Bartlett ordered the crew to abandon ship.[62]
Rent strike organizers for 300 tenants living in the Burley area of Leeds called for a city-wide protest against a significant increase in rents imposed by the Leeds branch of the Property Owners Association. The strike lasted eight weeks.[63]
John G. Morrison and his son Arling were killed in their Salt Lake City grocery store by two armed intruders masked in red bandannas. Later that evening, labor activist Joel Emmanuel Hägglund, better known as Joe Hill, met a local doctor to be treated for a bullet wound in the left lung. Hill claimed he had been shot following an argument with a woman but refused to name her. The doctor later reported to police that Hill was also armed with a pistol. Police investigators searched Hill's residence and found a red bandanna but the pistol purported to be in Hill's possession was never found. Hill denied involvement in the robbery and the killing of Morrison. Hill did not know Morrison, and at his trial, defense lawyers pointed out four other people were treated for bullet wounds that same night, and the entry and size of the bullet wound aligned with Hill's testimony of the circumstances when he was shot.[66]
Canadian Arctic Expedition – The expedition's flagship – the Karluk – was completely abandoned. The crew had worked throughout yesterday when the hull break was discovered and overnight in pitch darkness and driving snow to add rations and equipment to stockpiles already left out on the ice for emergency. At 3:15 PM, Captain Robert Bartlett played Chopin's Funeral March on the ship's Victrola before stepping off the Karluk. The ship sank within minutes. Stranded on the ice were 22 men, one woman, two children, 16 dogs and a cat. The team immediately assembled a "Shipwreck Camp" as they prepared for a march to Wrangel Island, the nearest piece of land, in February when daylight hours were longer.[72]
The Jagadbandhu Institution, an all-boys academy, was established by Jagadbandhu Roy in Calcutta. The school was renowned for producing famous Indian leaders, scholars, artists and scientists including English scholar Chinmoy Guha, art critic Samik Bandyopadhyay, and historian Tapan Raychaudhuri.[74]
Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa, arrived in Kenya and was married the same day to her second cousin Bror Flixen-Finecke, receiving the title of baroness.[82]
Mahatma Gandhi and Jan Smuts, South Africa's Minister of the Interior, met after a month-long impasse and reached a deal on tax relief for the country's Indian community and a repeal of a state court ruling not to recognize polygamous marriage. The success of reaching a deal after months of civil strife between the Indian community and the South African establishment earned Gandhi the title Mahatma, Sanskrit for "high-souled" or "venerable."[87][88][89]
The SMS Szent István battleship for the Austro-Hungarian Navy was launched by Ganz & Company in Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia). The launching was plagued with problems from the start, with neither the Emperor of AustriaFranz Joseph nor Archduke Franz Ferdinand being able to attend. During the launching itself, a starboard anchor had to be dropped to prevent the ship from hitting another ship carrying spectators, but the anchor chain had not been shackled and it struck two dockworkers, killing one and crushing the arm of the other.[93]
The 13th annual Detroit Auto Show was held on the first three floors of the Ford branch building on Woodward and Boulevard, Detroit.[94]
Speed skaterOscar Mathisen of Norway achieved two world records in one day in Davos, Switzerland. He beat his own world record of 43.7 seconds in the 500m set earlier in the month with 43.4, and skated to a new world record of 8:36.6 minutes in the 5,000m. He would eventually complete the month with five world records in total.[68]
The Dublin lock-out ended after four months of dispute between 20,000 workers and 300 employers in Ireland's capital city. Most workers returned to their jobs, signing pledges not to unionize.[100][pageneeded]
Norwegian athlete Oscar Mathisen became the world's best speed skater of 1914, capping an incredible world-breaking month with his fifth world record in Davos, Switzerland. He broke his own record of 2:19.4 minutes in the 1,500m with 2:17.4 minutes.[68]
American industrialist F. Lewis Clark disappeared while on a business trip to Santa Barbara, California. Speculation of his disappearance included possible suicide "by jumping from a pier" in Santa Barbara, as his hat was found in the water nearby.[103]
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, also known as the SOLAS Convention, was adopted as an international maritime safety treaty. The treaty was in part drafted and adopted in response to the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Elements of the convention included prescribed numbers of lifeboats and other emergency equipment along with safety procedures for commercial ships, and the establishment of the International Ice Patrol to monitor and alert sea vessels of ice bergs entering major northern shipping lanes.[108]
The Daily Telegraph reported that Karl Richter, a German employee with the SiemensTokyo office, had been arrested in Germany for stealing documents indicating that Siemens had previously paid a bribe of 1,000 pounds sterling to the Japanese navy. Richter sold the incriminating documents to the Reuters news agency, along with a telegram from Siemens head office asking the Japanese navy for clarification on a deal offered by Vickers, a British firm, offering more competitive naval contracts over Siemens (which held a virtual monopoly in Japan). Richter was sentenced to two years in prison but his actions led to military intelligence investigations that uncovered many Japanese naval officers had received extensive bribes from various foreign companies.[110]
Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter famous of his nature and paintings based on fairy tales and legends, particularly trolls, in Kragerø, Norway (b. 1857)
Twelve remaining defendants in the Barisal Conspiracy Case pleaded guilty to conspiracy to wage war against the British Crown in a Calcutta court. Originally, 44 Bengalis had been charged for plans to incite rebellion against the Raj. Five received sentences between 10 and 12 years, and the remaining five to seven years.[114]
British shipping companies J. P. Corry & Company, Wm. Milburn & Company, Thos. B. Royden & Company and Tyser & Company amalgamated to become the Commonwealth and Dominion Line. The shipping line would be bought out by American-based Cunard Line but retained its operating independence, re-branding itself as Port Line Limited in 1937.[117]
Danish boxer Waldemar Holberg defeated Ray Bronson over 20 rounds in Melbourne, Australia and claimed the vacant World Welterweight Championship, only to lose the title 23 days later to Ireland's Tom McCormick after a sixth round foul, also at Melbourne.[122]
Czech pianist Marie Dvořáková of the Organ School in Brno, Moravia performed the composition In the Mists by Czech composer Leoš Janáček for the first time in public.[124]
The Alter Motor Car Company of Plymouth, Michigan was formed to construct an auto manufacturing plant. The company would produce 1,000 vehicles before going into receivership two years later.[128]
Percy Jones became the first Welsh boxer to hold a world title, winning triple crown in British, European and World featherweight titles, against title holder Bill Ladbury. Jones outpointed Ladbury in a 20-round onslaught to win by decision.[131]
Haiti president Michel Oreste abdicated and fled the country while USSMontana landed 150 Marines in Port-au-Prince to retain order. The reformist leader was pushed out by forces loyal to the landowning elite in the country.[132]
Canadian suffragist Nellie McClung staged a mock play with fellow suffragists at the Walker Theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The play ridiculed ManitobaPremierRodmond Roblin's opposition to women receiving the vote. The women acted as Members of Parliament, with McClung playing the role of Premier, and held a mock debate about whether to give men the vote. The play was a success and helped advance the cause of women's suffrage. In January 1916, Manitoba became the first Canadian province to give women the right to vote.[135]
An estimated 1,300 civilians were massacred by "bandit" soldiers under Bai Lang – known in media as the "White Wolf" – during the looting of Liuanchow in the Nganhwei Province, China.[140]
Pancho Villa formally confirmed he would not seek the presidency of Mexico should the revolution be successful, stating he continued to put his support behind General Venustiano Carranza should the revolutionary leader ever run for president: "As proof of my loyalty and as evidence that I have no ambition to become president, I would leave the country if he ordered me to do so."[143]
Pancho Villa announced his army would be adopting more "civilized warfare," especially in relation to treating prisoners of war, after procuring a United States Army manual titled "The Ethics of International Warfare." The announcement was part of dialogue with New MexicoGovernorWilliam C. McDonald who visited Villa in Chihuahua City, Mexico in the aftermath of the border battle at Ojinaga.[147]
John Mraz, Photographing the Mexican Revolution, Austin: University of Texas Press 2012, pp. 246–47. Inv. #287647. Fondo Casasola. SINAFO-Fototeca Nacional de INAH.
Knottnerus, Otto S. (2007). "Kornelis ter Laan". Biografisch Woordenboek van het Socialisme en de Arbeidersbeweging in Nederland (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 27 March 2024.
Taylor, Erika (18 June 2015). "Celebrations on the Tweed!". Blogs. National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
"Variety Theatres (classified ads)". Daily Express. 3 January 1914. Most sources incorrectly state 4 January (which was a Sunday, when it was against the law for UK theatres to open). The Daily Express advertisement reads "To-night at 8.30, First Performance of NUTS AND WINE, The latest revue, by C H BOVILL and G P [sic] WODEHOUSE" and a review on Monday, 5 January, referred to the performance on "Saturday night".
Duffy, Michael (22 August 2009). "Who's Who – Ion IC Bratianu". FirstWorldWar.com. Michael Duffy. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
McCrory Stores Corporation display advertisement in The New York Times. December 15, 1915. p. 18. In full: An Investment embracing safety, good income, and possibilities for considerable advancement in market value is presented in the Preferred Stock of the McCrory Stores Corporation. Price to yield 7%. Write for Circular T. M. MERRILL, LYNCH & CO. 7 Wall Street, NEW YORK. Penobscot Bldg. DETROIT. Telephone Rector 4940.
McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993). The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p.799. ISBN978-0-19-864339-5. Retrieved 31 August 2013. Quote: (mahā- (S. "great, mighty, large, ..., eminent") + ātmā (S. "1.soul, spirit; the self, the individual; the mind, the heart; 2. the ultimate being."): "high-souled, of noble nature; a noble or venerable man."
Gandhi, Rajmohan (2006)p. 172: "...Kasturba would accompany Gandhi on his departure from Cape Town for England in July 1914 en route to India. ... In different South African towns (Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, and the Natal cities of Durban and Verulam), the struggle's martyrs were honoured and the Gandhi's bade farewell. Addresses in Durban and Verulam referred to Gandhi as a 'Mahatma', 'great soul'. He was seen as a great soul because he had taken up the poor's cause. The whites too said good things about Gandhi, who predicted a future for the Empire if it respected justice. (p. 172)"
Sieche, Erwin F. (1991). "S.M.S. Szent István: Hungaria's Only and Ill-Fated Dreadnought". Warship International. Toledo, Ohio: Warship International Research Organization: 112–146. ISSN0043-0374.
McIlvaine, E.; Sherby, L.S.; Heineman, J.H. (1990). P.G. Wodehouse: A comprehensive bibliography and checklist. New York: James H. Heineman. pp.26–27. ISBN087008125X.
Larry Donovan & Tom Monto (2006). Alberta Place Names: The Fascinating People & Stories Behind the Naming of Alberta. Dragon Hill Publishing Ltd. p.45. ISBN1-896124-11-9.
