1912 CE

The Titanic sinks on her maiden voyage, killing over 1,500 people and becoming one of history's deadliest maritime disasters; The 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden introduces electronic timing and public address systems; The First Balkan War sees the Balkan League of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro push the Ottoman Empire out of Europe; The Lena massacre in the Russian Empire kills hundreds of striking gold miners, fueling revolutionary anger; The death of Emperor Meiji ends the Meiji era in the Japanese Empire and begins the Taishō period; The Novarupta eruption in the U.S. Territory of Alaska becomes the century's most powerful volcanic event.

In the 1910s, the 20th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 1 – The Republic of China is established.source
January 6 – New Mexico becomes the 47th U.S. state.source
January 8 – The African National Congress is founded as the South African Native National Congress in Bloemfontein, to promote improved rights for black South Africans, with John Langalibalele Dube as its first president.source
January 8 – The South African Native National Congress (now ANC) is formed in Bloemfontein and John Langalibalele Dube becomes the first president.South Africa source
January 12 – In the 1912 German federal election the Social Democrats for the first time becomes the party with the most seats.source
January 12 – German federal election, 1912Germany source
January 14 – Raymond Poincaré forms a coalition government in France, beginning his first term of office as Prime Minister on 21 January.source
February 12 – The Manchu Qing dynasty of China comes to an end after 268 years with the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor Puyi and the establishment of the Republic of China.source
February 12 – The Manchu Qing Dynasty of China comes to an end after 268 years, with the abdication of Emperor Puyi in favour of the Republic of China.China source
February 14 – Arizona is admitted as the 48th state of the United States, the last contiguous state to be admitted into the Union.source
February 29 – Serbia and Bulgaria secretly sign a treaty of alliance for a term of eight years, with each pledging to come to the defence of the other during war. The treaty would eventually be dishonored in World War I.source
March 27 – Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki gives 3,000 Cherry blossom trees to be planted in Washington, D.C., to symbolize the friendship between the two countries.Japan source
March 30 – The French Third Republic establishes the French protectorate in Morocco by the Treaty of Fes with Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco.source
May 11 – Alaska becomes a territory of the United States.source
27 May – The current Flag of El Salvador was adopted.El Salvador source
August 12 – Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco abdicates.source
September 4 – The government of the Ottoman Empire agrees to the demands put forward in the Albanian Revolt of 1912.source
October 18 – Italy and the Ottoman Empire sign a treaty in Ouchy near Lausanne, ending the Italo-Turkish War.source
October 18 – With the Treaty of Lausanne in Ouchy near Lausanne the Italo-Turkish War ends. The war costs Italy 1.3 billion lire, nearly a billion more than Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti estimated before the war, ruining ten years of fiscal prudence. Italy obtains control over the colonies of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, as well as the Dodecanese islands. After the withdrawal of the Ottoman army the Italians could easily extend their occupation of Libya, seizing East Tripolitania, Ghadames, the Djebel and Fezzan with Murzuk during 1913.Italy source
November 5 – 1912 United States presidential election: New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson beats former president Theodore Roosevelt and incumbent president William Howard Taft.source
27 November – Spanish protectorate in Morocco: By a treaty with France, Spain is granted a zone of influence in northern and southern Morocco.Spain source
November 28 – Albania declares independence from the Ottoman Empire.source
The Farmers' Party was established.Iceland source

Conflict & Security

January 4 - former President Eloy Alfaro returned to Ecuador and attempted another coup but was defeated, arrested and jailed by General and former President Leonidas Plaza.Ecuador source
February 24 – Battle of Beirut: Italy makes a surprise attack on the Ottoman port of Beirut, when the cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi and the gunboat Volturno bombard the harbour, killing 97 sailors and civilians.source
February 24 – Battle of Beirut: Italy launches a surprise attack on the Ottoman port of Beirut; the cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi and the gunboat Volturno bombard the harbour, killing 97 sailors and civilians. As a result of the battle all Ottoman naval forces in the region were annihilated, thus ensuring the approaches to the Suez Canal were open to the Italians. The Ottoman naval presence at Beirut was completely annihilated and casualties on the Ottoman side were heavy. The Italian navy gained complete naval dominance of the southern Mediterranean for the rest of the war.Italy source
March 6 – Italian forces become the first to use airships in war as two dirigibles drop bombs on Turkish troops encamped at Janzur, from an altitude of 6,000 feet.source
March 24 – First Battle of RellanoMexico source
April 17 – Lena massacre: Russian troops kill or wound 500 striking gold miners in Siberia.source
July 1 – Brig Gen Henry Lukin appointed Inspector-General of the Permanent Force.South Africa source
8 July - Royalist attack on ChavesPortugal source
August 4 – United States occupation of Nicaragua: U.S. Marines land from the USS Annapolis in Nicaragua, to support the conservative government at its request.source
October 8 – The First Balkan War begins: Montenegro declares war against the Ottoman Empire.source
October 14 – John Flammang Schrank attempts to assassinate Theodore Roosevelt in Milwaukee.source
October 18–21 – First Balkan War: The Greek navy captures the island of Lemnos for use as a forward base against the Dardanelles.source
October 24 – First Balkan War: Battle of Kumanovo – Serbian forces defeat the Ottoman army in Vardar Macedonia.source
December 3 – Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Serbia (the Balkan League, but not Greece) sign an armistice with the Ottoman Empire at Çatalca, temporarily halting the First Balkan War after 2 months. (The armistice will expire on February 3, 1913, and hostilities will resume.)source
29 December - The federal government sends in 200 federal troops to deal with ongoing trouble in the State of Santa Catarina.Brazil source
The National Guard of El Salvador was established by President Manuel Enrique Araujo.El Salvador source
Ballinger Belt – Les Loveday (9th Regiment)New Zealand source

Exploration & Expansion

January 17 – British polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott and a team of four become the second expeditionary group to reach the South Pole.source
22 February – MS Selandia, the world's first ocean-going diesel-powered ship, departs Copenhagen on her maiden voyage, bound for Bangkok, with two B&W four-stroke diesel engines.Denmark source
March 7 – Roald Amundsen, in Hobart, Tasmania, announces his success in reaching the South Pole the previous December.source
March 16 – Lawrence Oates, dying member of Scott's South Pole expedition, leaves the tent saying, "I am just going outside and may be some time."source
March 29 (probable date) – Robert Falcon Scott and the remaining members of his South Pole expedition die.source
April 16 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly across the English Channel.source
May 14 – Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec expand to the northCanada source
20 May – Cape – Wolseley to Ceres, 10 mi 29 ch.South Africa source
May 25–26 – The British driver Cyril Snipe and his co-driver Pedrini win the 1912 Targa Florio endurance automobile race on Sicily.Italy source
15 July – The first branches of the Commonwealth Bank open in Melbourne and country Victoria. The Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, is the bank's first account holder and depositor.Australia source
18 October – The TSS Earnslaw makes her maiden voyage on Lake Wakatipu, from Kingston to Queenstown.New Zealand source
Date uncertain – Jean Neuhaus II begins producing soft-centre pralines to be sold in the Galeries Royales Saint-HubertBelgium source
Sedov Expedition - Sedov-led expedition set out on 14 August 1912 from Arkhangelsk but was forced to stop for the winter in September. In June 1913, part of the crew returned to Arkhangelsk raise support from donors. The crew spent the winter of 1914 near Franz Joseph Land. In February 1914, Sedov attempted walking to the North Pole to attain his goal but died on the way.Russia source

Religion & Belief

6 January - Due to a violation of article 379 of the Penal Code, Bishop of the Algarve was prohibited from residing in his diocese for two years by Ministry of Justice António Macieira.Portugal source
January 18 (Old Style January 5) – Prague Conference: Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party break away from the rest of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party.source
May 1 – ʻAbdu'l-Bahá lays the cornerstone for the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.United States source
15 May – The proclamation of Christian X as King of Denmark.Denmark source
1 August – Jens Jonas Jansen, priest (born 1844)Norway source
17 September – The Pentecostal church in Skövde is founded as one of the first Pentecostal churches in Sweden.Sweden source
Wilfrid Voynich discovers the eponymous manuscript in the Villa Mondragone.source
On December 29, India obtained its first Anglican bishop. Vedanayakam Samuel Azariah (1874–1945), the son of an Indian clergyman, educated at Madras Christian College, was consecrated as the First Indian Anglican bishop in St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta. There were present 11 British Anglican bishops, and the Governor of Bengal. In ten days Azariah took office in the newly created diocese of Dornakal.India source
Monarch – Victor Emmanuel III (1900–1946)Italy source
St. Macarius II Mikhail Nevsky assumed the role of Metropolitan and Archbishop of Moscow.Russia source

Economy & Finance

January 11–March 12 – 1912 Lawrence textile strike ("Bread and Roses" strike): Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, strike in response to a pay cut corresponding to a new law shortening the working week.United States source
February 1 – Strathcona merges with Edmonton, AlbertaCanada source
April 30 – Carl Laemmle founds Universal Studios as the Universal Film and Manufacturing Company in the United States.source
4 July – Emil Stang, jurist, politician and Prime Minister of Norway (born 1834)Norway source
July 12 – The United States release of Sarah Bernhardt's film Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth is influential in the development of the movie feature. Adolph Zukor, who incorporates Paramount Pictures on May 8, 1914, launches his company as the distributor.source
2 August – A Swedish study shows that farm trade has increased so much that other trade is suffering.Sweden source
August 25 – The Kuomintang, the Chinese nationalist party, was founded.China source
German company Fresenius is founded by Eduard Fresenius.Germany source
Bandalag íslenskra skáta was founded.Iceland source
Ebara Corporation was founded.Japan source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens.source
January 22 – The Overseas Railroad officially opens on the Florida Keys.source
March 1 – Albert Berry is reported to have made the first parachute jump from a flying airplane.source
French aviator Henri Salmet makes the first nonstop flight from Paris to London, in three hours. ##claim retracted see Flight, 23 March 1912, p. 264 M. Salmet's London-Paris Flight ##source
March unknown date – Yanmar has founded, as predecessor name was Yamaoka Engineer Works.Japan source
April 20 – Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts opens.source
24 April – The NSW government grants 43 acres of land for the construction of a zoological garden, later known as Taronga Park.Australia source
April – The first eight of forty-six Class 12 4-8-2 Mountain type goods locomotives.South Africa source
5 May - Maksimir stadium opened.Croatia source
May 13 – In the United Kingdom, the Royal Flying Corps (forerunner of the Royal Air Force) is established.source
August 1 – The Jungfrau Railway is inaugurated with the opening of the subterranean Jungfraujoch railway station in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, Europe's highest at 3,450 m above sea level.source
September–October: French director Gaston Méliès and a company of film-makers make eight films in New Zealand including the first New Zealand feature films; see The River Wanganui.New Zealand source
October 16 – Bulgarian pilots Radul Minkov and Prodan Toprakchiev perform the second bombing with an airplane in history, at the railway station of Karaagac near Edirne, against Turkey.source
October 17 – Krupp engineers Benno Strauss and Eduard Maurer patent austenitic stainless steel.source
December 24 – Merck files patent applications in Germany for synthesis of the entactogenic drug MDMA (Ecstasy), developed by Anton Köllisch.source
December – Antwerp Engineering Co. completes work on the HispaniaBelgium source
Articulated trams are invented and first used by the Boston Elevated Railway.source
India introduced registration of motor vehicles.India source

Science & Discovery

January 6 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift.source
24 February – The TSS Earnslaw launched at Kingston on Lake Wakatipu.New Zealand source
7 March – Roald Amundsen announced his success in reaching the South PoleNorway source
April 1 – A partial lunar eclipse takes place, the first of two lunar eclipses this year. It is the 61st lunar eclipse of the 111th Saros cycle, which started with a penumbral lunar eclipse on June 10, 830 AD and will conclude with another penumbral lunar eclipse on July 19, 2092.source
April 10 – White Star liner RMS Titanic departs from Southampton, England, with more than 2,200 passengers and crew on her maiden voyage, bound for New York.source
April 14/15 – The RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg off the Grand Banks of NewfoundlandCanada source
15 April – Transvaal – Buhrmannsdrif to Ottoshoop, 11 mi 70 ch.South Africa source
April 17 – A hybrid solar eclipse is the 30th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 137.source
April 18 – Cunard Line vessel RMS Carpathia arrives in New York with the 705 RMS Titanic survivors.source
May 23 – The Hamburg America Line's SS Imperator is launched in Hamburg and is the world's largest ship.source
June 5 – Tsuruko Haraguchi is awarded a PhD in psychology from Columbia University, becoming the first Japanese woman to earn a PhD in any field.Japan source
10 October – The Maternity Allowance Act 1912 is passed, granting a "Baby Bonus" of five pounds to the mother of every child born in Australia (indigenous mothers and other non-citizens are excluded).Australia source
October 27 – The Italian rider Carlo Oriani wins the 8th Giro di Lombardia bicycle race.Italy source
Edgar Rice Burroughs' character Tarzan first appears in Tarzan of the Apes, in American pulp magazine The All-Story.source
Sax Rohmer's character Fu Manchu first appears in the first story of The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu in English pulp magazine The Story-Teller.source
November 11 – William Lawrence Bragg presents his derivation of Bragg's law for the angles for coherent and incoherent scattering from a crystal lattice, creating the field of x-ray crystallography, and making possible the eventual imaging of the double helix of DNA.source
December 18 – Piltdown Man, thought to be the fossilized skull of a hitherto unknown form of early human, is presented to the Geological Society of London (it is revealed to be a hoax in 1953).source
Casimir Funk identifies vitamins.source
The Scoville Unit (used to measure the heat of peppers) is devised and tested by Wilbur Scoville.source
Alfred Wegener proposes a fully formulated theory of continental drift and gave the supercontinent Pangaea its name.Germany source

Health & Medicine

January 23 – The First International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague to restrict exports.source
April 21 - Yung Wing, the first Chinese overseas student (born 1828)China source
The town of Hobhouse is established and named after Emily Hobhouse.South Africa source
August 17 – Circular No. 17 bans the teaching of the French language in Ontario schools.Canada source
2 October – Ebbe Hertzberg, politician (born 1847).Norway source
October 12 – Taisho Pharmaceutical was founded by Kinujirō Ishii.Japan source
October 14 – While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, former President Theodore Roosevelt is shot by saloonkeeper John Schrank. With a fresh flesh wound and the bullet still in him, Roosevelt delivers his scheduled speech. After finishing it, he goes to the hospital, where it is deduced that if he had not had his speech in his breast pocket when he was shot, he most likely would have died.United States source
Neosalvarsan becomes available and supersedes the more toxic and less water-soluble salvarsan as an effective treatment for syphilis.Germany source
The School Medical Service begins in New Zealand.New Zealand source

Crime & Justice

June 9 – The Villisca axe murders take place in Villisca, IowaUnited States source
July 12 – The Cuocolo Trial against the Camorra reaches a verdict. After often tumultuous 17 months, the 47 defendants that included 27 leading Camorra associates were sentenced to a total of 354 years' imprisonment. Enrico Alfano, the main defendant and alleged head of the Camorra, was sentenced to 30 years.Italy source
26 July – Elise Sem was authorized as the first female barrister in NorwayNorway source
12 October – Three kākāpō are released on Kapiti Island.New Zealand source
December 6 – The Nefertiti Bust was found at Amarna by the German Oriental Company (Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft – DOG), led by German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt.Germany source
Fernand Khnopff, Portrait of Prince Leopold of BelgiumBelgium source
Ecuadorian presidential election, 1912Ecuador source
Moscow Art Theatre production of HamletRussia source

Disasters & Accidents

6 January – First aircraft crash in Australia, between Mount Druitt and Rooty Hill.Australia source
1 March – suffragettes smash shop windows in the West End of London, especially around Oxford Street.United Kingdom source
1 March - A national coal miners' strike begins, led in Wales by Vernon Hartshorn and Noah Ablett, among others.Wales source
April 11 – RMS Titanic makes her last call, at Queenstown in Ireland.source
April 14–15 – Sinking of the RMS Titanic: RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the northern Atlantic Ocean and sinks with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.source
April 19 – The United States Senate initiates an official inquiry into the RMS Titanic disaster, hastily issuing subpoenas for White Star personnel before they can return to the United Kingdom.United States source
May – Waihi miners' strike commences.New Zealand source
18 July – Suffragettes attempted an arson attack on the Theatre Royal, Dublin, during Asquith's visit.Ireland source
September 2 – The first Calgary Stampede is heldCanada source
12 November – 'Black Tuesday', the peak of confrontation during the Waihi miners' strike. One trade unionist is killed.New Zealand source
14–15 April – the sinking of the Titanic: White Star liner RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg and sinks on her maiden voyage from the United Kingdom to the United States.United Kingdom source

Climate & Environment

February 15 – The Mkuze Game Reserve is proclaimed a protected area.South Africa source
June 6 – The Novarupta volcano is formed in Alaska by a VEI 6 eruption, the world's largest (in terms of matter emitted) in the 20th century.source
June 30 – Regina Cyclone: Canada's deadliest tornado strikes Regina, Saskatchewan, killing 28 people.source
June 30 – A tornado (the "Regina Cyclone") kills 28.Canada source
August 29 – A typhoon strikes China, killing at least 50,000 people.source
August 29 – Flooding in Wenzhou caused by a typhoon kills up to 220,000 people.China source
November 5 – U.S. presidential election, 1912: Democratic challenger and Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson wins a landslide victory over Republican incumbent William Howard Taft. Taft's base is undercut by Progressive Party candidate (and former Republican) Theodore Roosevelt, who finishes second, ahead of Taft.United States source
December – Taishō political was in crisis.Japan source
Wild Birds and Animals Protection ActIndia source
25–27 August – the wet summer climaxes in a major rainstorm across England, causing floods particularly in Norfolk and Norwich.United Kingdom source
Rugby league - Ebbw Vale RLFC fold after five seasons, ending the first attempt to bring rugby league to Wales.Wales source

Culture & Society

1 January - Croatian is introduced as the official language in Dalmatia.Croatia source
28 January - Inauguration of the Free University of Lisbon in a formal session at the Coliseu dos Recreios, in the presence of the President of the Republic, Manuel de Arriaga.Portugal source
March 12 – The Girl Scouts of the USA is founded by Juliette Gordon Low, in Savannah, Georgia.source
April 14 – Santos FC, a Brazilian association football club, is founded in State of Sao Paulo.source
May 5 – The 1912 Summer Olympics open in Stockholm, Sweden. Modern Pentathlon is contested for the first time in these games.source
May 5–July 22 – Japan competes at the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.Japan source
4 June – The Socialist Workers' Party (Chile) is founded.Chile source
June 26 – Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9 is premiered posthumously by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter.source
July 10 – The Italian Reformist Socialist Party is founded by leading reformists Leonida Bissolati and Ivanoe Bonomi who had been expelled from the Italian Socialist Party because of their desire of entering in the majority supporting Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti. Bissolati's refusal to oppose the war with Turkey for the conquest of Libya triggered his resignation as socialist Member of Parliament in February 1912.Italy source
September 28 – W. C. Handy publishes "The Memphis Blues" in the United States.source
19 December - The Federal University of Paraná is established.Brazil source
Ludwig von Mises publishes his foundational The Theory of Money and Credit.source
Íshúsfélag Ísfirðinga was established.Iceland source
Founding of the Open de España golf tournament.Spain source

Births

3 January – Federico Borrell García, Republican and anarchist militiaman (died 1936)Spain source
1 February – Hsin Wen-bing, politician, Mayor of Taipei (1960–1964) and member of the Legislative Yuan (1973–1981).Taiwan source
February 18 – Gholam Reza Azhari, Iranian military leader and prime minister.Iran source
March 19 – Adolf Galland, German general, World War II fighter ace (died 1996)source
March 23 – Wernher von Braun, German-born American physicist, engineer (died 1977)source
March 27 – James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 2005)source
April 15 – Kim Il Sung, President of North Korea (died 1994)source
May 17 – Archibald Cox, American Watergate special prosecutor (died 2004)source
May 18 – Perry Como, American singer (died 2001)source
June 16 – Enoch Powell, British politician (died 1998)source
June 23 – Alan Turing, British mathematician (died 1954)source
July 14 – Woody Guthrie, American folk musician (died 1967)source
15 July - Aleksandar Goldštajn, law scholar, writer and constitutional court judge (died 2010)Croatia source
July 31 – Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2006)source
August 4 – Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish humanitarian (died 1947)source
August 13 – Ben Hogan, American golfer (died 1997)source
August 25 – Erich Honecker, East German politician (died 1994)source
September 5 – John Cage, American composer (died 1992)source

Deaths

January 28 - Eloy Alfaro, former PresidentEcuador source
February 10 – Joseph Lister, English surgeon (born 1827)source
Robert Falcon Scott, British naval officer and explorer (born 1868)source
April 12 – Clara Barton, American nurse (born 1821)source
April 29 – Subh-i-Azal, Persian religious leader.Iran source
May 14 – August Strindberg, Swedish playwright and painter (born 1849)source
21 May - Natko Nodilo, politician and historian (born 1834).Croatia source
May 30 – Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer, of typhoid (born 1867)source
June 9 – Ion Luca Caragiale, Romanian writer (born 1852)source
June 25 – Louis-Joseph Antoine, Belgian miner and sect leadersource
July 1 – Harriet Quimby, who set the record as the first woman to fly the English Channel two months previously, dies in Squantum, Massachusetts, after her brand-new two-seat Bleriot monoplane crashes, killing both Quimby and her passenger.source
July 17 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician (born 1854)source
July 30 – Emperor Meiji of Japan (born 1852)source
July 30 – Emperor Meiji of Japan dies; he is succeeded by his son Yoshihito, who becomes Emperor Taishō. In the history of Japan, the event marks the end of the Meiji period and the beginning of the Taishō period.source
July 31 – Allan Octavian Hume, British civil servant (born 1829)source
August 13 – Jules Massenet, French composer (born 1842)source
August 20 – Walter Goodman, English painter, illustrator and author (born 1838)source
12 November – José Canalejas, Prime Minister, is murdered in Madrid by an anarchist.Spain source