September 25, 1911: 300 killed in explosion of French battleshipLibertéSeptember 30, 1911: 78 killed by damburst at Austin, PennsylvaniaSeptember 29, 1911: Italy goes to war with Turkey, invades LibyaSeptember 14, 1911: Russian Premier Stolypin assassinated
Dutch aviation pioneerAnton Fokker, whose aircraft factory would produce many of the aircraft used byGermany duringWorld War I, made a successful public demonstration of his very first airplane model, theFokker Spin. Taking off from a field near his home in theNetherlands city ofHaarlem, he tookde Spin (Dutch for "the spider"), Fokker demonstrated the Spin's maneuverability by flying a circle around the town's tallest structure, the steeple of theSint Bavokerk, the Church ofSaint Bavo of Ghent.[citation needed]
Aprofessional wrestling match atChicago'sComiskey Park attracted a sellout crowd of 30,000 people, pitting world championFrank Gotch againstGeorge Hackenschmidt, from whom Gotch had won the title on April 3, 1908. The original bout had taken 2 hours. In the rematch, Gotch kept his title, defeating Hackenschmidt in 30 minutes.[9][10]
Delray Beach, Florida, population 250, became a city after its charter was approved by the 56 voters participating.[13] A century later, the city population had grown to 65,000.[14]
France's most powerful naval fleet ever, with 50 warships, was reviewed by PresidentArmand Fallières atToulon.Théophile Delcassé, the French Minister of theNavy, declared in a speech that "Their powder magazines are full, and all of them could be mobilized immediately."[1][15]
Reports of theflood that would drown 200,000 people were relayed to the world by Western missionaries, afterChina'sYangtze River overflowed its banks. The American Mission atWuhu initially reported that 100,000 people had drowned in theNgan-hwei (nowAnhui province) and that 95% of crops along the banks had been destroyed.[17] Follow-up reports were that the destruction extended from I-Chang (Yichang) in the Hu-peh (Hubei) province and down toShanghai for 700 miles.[18] Estimates of the number of people who died have been as high as 200,000 who drowned and another 100,000 who starved or were murdered during the subsequent famine.[19]
The day after France showed off its 50 warships, Kaiser Wilhelm II reviewed a fleet of 99 warships of theGerman Navy atKiel. The procession, which did not include three of the fourHelgoland-class battleships, was seen by American observers as proof that Germany had displaced theUnited States as having the second most powerful navy in the world (after theBritish Navy).[1][20]
At the Battle ofImamzadeh Ja'far, Persian troops successfully routed rebels seeking to restore the deposedShah, Mohammed Ali Mirza, to the throne. The outcome was reported later to have been as a result of superior weapons, with the government forces using machine guns under the direction of German adviser Major Haas.[21] Rebel leader Arshad ed Dowleh was captured, and executed the next day. Seized with him was a large amount of gold used by the ex-Shah, who fled with his remaining 7 followers to Gumesh Tepe at the border.[22][23][24][25]
The firstadult literacy program in the United States, whenCora Wilson Stewart, the school superintendent inRowan County, Kentucky, began a program that she called theMoonlight School. The night classes at the county's 50 schools would take place as long as the Moon was bright enough for students to safely travel. She had expected that 150 adults might want to learn to read. Instead, 1,200 men and women signed up.[26][27]
Thomas W. Burgess became only the second person to swim across theEnglish Channel, and the first in 36 years, afterMatthew Webb had crossed on August 25, 1875. Burgess, who had failed in 15 prior attempts, arrived atCape Grisnez on the French coast at 9:50 a.m., 22 hours and 35 minutes after setting off fromSouth Foreland the day before.[28][29][30]
Recently released from prison and exiled toVologda,Joseph Stalin (at the time Josif Dzhugashvili) made an illegal trip toSaint Petersburg to link up with theBolshevik organization. Stalin boarded a train with the identity papers of Pyotr Chizhikov, but theOkhrana police, arrested Chizhikov and alerted the Russian capital that Stalin was on the way. Stalin was captured three days later.[31]
Portugal assembled 12,000 troops at its northern border to fend off a monarchist invasion. Airplane reconnaissance estimated that 5,000 rebels were concentrated atOurense.[1][34]
A day after the temperature at his Antarctic camp atFramheim rose to -7.6 °F, Norwegian explorerRoald Amundsen, seven men and 86 dogs began the journey toward theSouth Pole. Four days later, the temperature dropped to -68 °F, forcing Amundsen's return.[35]
GeneralJohn J. Pershing, serving in thePhilippines as U.S. Military Governor of theMoro Province issued Executive Order No. 24 to disarm theMoro residents. The rule made it unlawful for anyone in the province "to acquire, possess, or have the custody of any rifle, musket, carbine, shotgun, revolve, pistol or other deadly weapon from which a bullet, ball, shot, shell or other missile or missiles may be discharged by means of gunpowder or other explosive" and prohibited people from carrying "any bowie knife, dirk, dagger, kris, campilan, spear, or other deadly cutting or thrusting weapon, except tools used exclusively for working purposes having blades less than 15 inches in length."[36]
The collapse of the El Dorado Theatre atNice killed 11 construction workers.[37]
With 900,000 men on the battlefield, the German Army began the largest maneuvers in history, drilling atPrenzlau atPomerania. Exceeding any war games that had ever been done, the demonstration of German military might concluded on September 13.[1][49]
After a ten-day voyage fromEngland, theHai Chi became the first Chinese warship to visit the United States, sailing into the port of New York City. The ship, with Rear Admiral Chin Pih Kwang on board, and anchored in the Hudson River.[51]
InImperial China, a new constitution with 19 articles was promulgated, providing for some democratic reforms, as well as the legal authority for emergency power to issue orders. The document was only in use for a month before theQing dynasty failed and theRepublic of China was declared.[53]
El Primer Congreso Mexicanista, with 400 Mexican American residents ofTexas in attendance, was convened atLaredo under the leadership ofNicasio Idar to advocate civil rights for Hispanic citizens. The convention approved the formation of La Gran Liga de Beneficincia y Proteccion (The Grand League for Benefits and Protection).[56]
In the largest bank robbery at the time, three safecrackers broke into a branch of theBank of Montreal inNew Westminster, British Columbia, and stole $251,161 in Canadian currency and $20,560 worth of American double eagle gold coins, with a worth in U.S. dollars of $320,000. A janitor who had happened by at 4:00 a.m. was tied up by the robbers, and the bank's caretaker did not discover the theft until two hours later. The culprits left behind another $100,000 worth of small bills and silver and escaped without notice, despite the bank being located only 25 yards away from the city police station.[57][58] "Australian Jack" McNamara and Charles Dean were both tried for the theft, and both acquitted, although McNamara was convicted of stealing an automobile believed to have been used as a getaway car. Bills from the robbery continued to be spotted a decade after the robbery.;[59][60]
U.S. President Taft finished the vacation atBeverly, Massachusetts, that had begun on August 11. Rather than returning to theWhite House, he began a 15,000 mile tour of 30 of the nation's 46 states.[61] After spending three months away fromWashington, D.C., Taft returned to the White House on November 12.[62]
Died:Iwisaki Kimi, 9, subject of the Japanese children's song "The Girl in Red Shoes". Adopted by American missionary Charles Huit at the age of 3, she was abandoned to a church orphanage inAzabu-Juban after the Huits returned to the U.S., due to her having tuberculosis. Statues of Kimi were erected in several sites in Japan after her story was retold in 1973, including one at Azabu-Juban.[63]
Ten auto race fans were killed, and 13 others seriously injured inSyracuse, New York, when a car driven by Lee Oldfield, brother ofBarney Oldfield, blew a tire, lost control, and crashed through a fence at theNew York State Fair. President Taft had left the fair only a few minutes earlier.[64][65]
Calbraith Perry Rodgers took off from the airstrip atSheepshead Bay near New York City with the goal of winning the $50,000Hearst Transcontinental Prize for the first person to fly across the United States in an airplane within 30 days and before October 10, 1911. Sponsored by the Armour Company and flying theVin Fiz, Rodgers made 69 landings, including 19 crashes. When the deadline for the prize expired on October 10, he had only reachedMarshall, Missouri, but he continued until landing inPasadena on November 5, 1911, having covered 4,231 miles in 49 days.[66]
The value of reconnaissance by airplane was first demonstrated to theFrench Army, as Captain Eteve and Captain Pichot-Duclas flew fromVerdun toEtraye andRomagne and provided in-depth information of their observations.[68]
The massive White Star ocean liner RMSOlympic collided with the British cruiserHMS Hawke at theSolent, the narrow strait near Southampton, and was badly damaged.[69] The captain of theOlympic wasEdward J. Smith, who would later be assigned to the White Star linerRMS Titanic, died after theTitanic hit aniceberg and sank during its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912. TheWhite Star Line was successfully sued for damages to theHawke after investigators determined that theOlympic had failed to yield the right of way to the smaller ship. In repairing theOlympic, the White Star Line delayed the completion and scheduled March 20, 1912, maiden voyage of theTitanic by 20 days.[70][71] One historian speculated later that, "If theHawke and theOlympic had never met, neither would the iceberg and theTitanic."[72]
Cy Young pitched his 511th and final win, leading theBoston Rustlers (who would be renamed theBoston Braves in 1912) to a 1-0 while visiting thePittsburgh Pirates. The 511 wins is a record that remains unapproached a century later.[77][78]Walter Johnson is second with 417 career wins, and the career record for a pitcher active in 2011 was around 200 forTim Wakefield. Young pitched two more games in 1911, finishing with 313 losses, also a record.[citation needed]
The Argentine battleshipARA Moreno, joining theRivadavia as larger than any other warship in the world, was launched from a shipyard inCamden, New Jersey.[80]
Jack Donaldson ofAustralia, nicknamed "The Blue Streak," ran 130 yards in 12 seconds in a foot race against American challenger C.E. "Bullet" Holway, setting a new world record.[81]
Thirteen people were killed, and eight seriously injured, when a train struck a group of people on a hayride atNeenah, Wisconsin. The group had been returning toMenasha from a late night wedding anniversary celebration in a fog, when it was struck by the No. 121 train of theChicago & Northwestern Railroad. The crossing, whose view was blocked by a billboard, had been the scene of several other fatal accidents in the previous eight years.[84]
TheFrench battleship Liberté exploded at anchor inToulon, France, killing 235 on the ship and another 65 on other ships, in the worst disaster to have hit the French Navy. At 4:00 in the morning, a fire broke out on the ship, and at 5:35 it reached magazines of gunpowder. The largest blast happened at 5:53.[88]
The government of Italy prepared an ultimatum andthreat of war to Turkey, demanding cession of the Ottoman Empire's North African territory in modern-dayLibya, on grounds that Muslim fanatics inTripoli were endangering Italian lives. Because Germany had been attempting to mediate the crisis between the two kingdoms, delivery of the ultimatum was held off for two days.[90]
TheItalo-Turkish War commenced as Italy's ultimatum served upon Turkish Grand VizierIbrahim Hakki Pasha at noon byGiacomo De Martino, the Italian Chargé d'affaires atConstantinople after negotiations by Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, the German Ambassador, had failed, giving Turkey 24 hours to give up Libya or to go to war.[93]
Five days after the appeal inBelfast by Edward Carson, "Ulster Day" was set aside for residents of the Irish province to sign a covenant to resist rule fromDublin in the event that Ireland was granted Home Rule. The pledge was signed by 237,368 men and 234,046 women.[79]
After its ultimatum to Turkey expired at noon, the Italian destroyerGaribaldino sailed into the harbor atTripoli, and an officer from the ship approached the commander of theTurkish Army to formally demand the city's surrender, which was refused. At 2:30 pm, Italy declared war onOttoman Empire after Turkey declined to surrender Tripoli.[94][95][96] Having failed to prepare Turkey for war, Grand Vizier Hakkı Pasha resigned and was succeeded byMehmed Said Pasha.[75][97] The landing of Italian troops took place simultaneously atTripoli,Benghazi,Derna andTobruk, "accompanied by the first air raids in history, with the pilots of early biplanes flying low over their targets and lobbing small bombs out by hand."[98] Within a year, Libya would become aprotectorate of Italy.[citation needed]
A concrete dam, maintained by the Bayless Pulp and Paper Mill, burst at 2:30 in the afternoon, sending 4,500,000 gallons of water through the town ofAustin, Pennsylvania, and the smaller localities of Costello and Wharton. Officially, 78 people were killed, although the initial estimate of death was almost 1,000.[99][100]`
The U.S. Army became the first army in the world to make vaccinations againsttyphoid mandatory. Within 9 months, the whole army had been immunized against typhoid.[101]
The Danish cargo shipSSSwarland disappeared along with its crew of 15 men as it was approachingRotterdam in theNetherlands on its voyage from the German port ofRostock. After it was sighted near its destination, the steamship was not seen again and had apparently sunk.[102]
^Roman Brackman,The Secret File of Joseph Stalin: A Hidden Life (Taylor & Francis, 2003). p. 66.
^Eric Hanson,A Book of Ages: An Eccentric Miscellany of Great and Offbeat Moments in the Lives of the Famous and Infamous, Ages 1 to 100 (Random House, 2010).
^Walter J. Boyne,Air Warfare: An International Encyclopedia: M-Z (ABC-CLIO, 2002). p. 193.
^"Portugal Menaced by Royalist Army".New York Times. September 11, 1911.
^Paul Simpson-Housley,Antarctica: exploration, perception, and metaphor (Routledge, 1992). p. 26.
^Arthur Stanwood Pier,American apostles to the Philippines (Ayer Publishing, 1971). p. 122.
^"Nice Restaurant Crash Kills Eleven".New York Times. September 9, 1911.
^abcThe Britannica Year-Book 1913: A Survey of the World's Progress Since the Completion in 1910 of the Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1913). p. xi.
^"Harmon Criticises Taft's Tariff Stand",New York Times, September 10, 1911
^"Harmon and Wilson Boomed for 1912".New York Times. September 16, 1911.
^W. O. Durham,From Kittyhawk to the Moon: The Life, Times and Heritage of a Texas Oilman (Vantage Press, Inc, 2007). p. 315.
^"LAKEVIEW GUSHER STOPS FLOWING".Bakersfield Californian. September 11, 1911. p. 1.
^Jack McLean and Anthony A. Lee,Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Baháʼí Theology (Kalimat Press, 1997). p. xviii.
^K. Paul Johnson,Initiates of Theosophical Masters (SUNY Press, 1995). p. 98.
^Paul Debono,The Indianapolis ABCs: History of a Premier Team in the Negro Leagues (McFarland, 1997). p. 33.
^"Still Josh Keene About His Defeat".Pittsburgh Press. September 13, 1911. p. 20.
^Charles Hiroshi Garrett,Struggling to Define a Nation: American Music and the Twentieth Century (University of California Press, 2008). p. 178.
^"900,000 Under Arms".New York Times. September 10, 1911.
^"Havoc from Etna Volcano".New York Times. September 13, 1911.
^"Chinese Cruiser Welcomed to Port".New York Times. September 12, 1911.
^"General Rebellion Is Feared in China".New York Times. September 13, 1911.
^Shao-chuan Leng, ed.,Coping with Crises: How Governments Deal with Emergencies (University Press of America, 1990). p. 175.
^Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett,Military innovation in the interwar period (Cambridge University Press, 1998). p. 175.
^"Stolypin Shot; Czar Present".New York Times. September 15, 1911.
^"Idar, Nicasio" in Matt S. Meier and Margo Gutiérrez,Encyclopedia of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000). p. 113.
^"Charles Battell Loomis Dead— Humorist and Author Dies in Hartford, Conn., Hospital of Cancer of the Stomach".Chicago Sunday Tribune. September 24, 1911. p. 2
^"13 Dead, 8 Injured as Train Hits Wagon".New York Times. September 25, 1911.
^Luciano Monzali,The Italians of Dalmatia: From Italian Unification to World War I (University of Toronto Press, 2009). p. 280.
^"A Brezhnev Loyalist Moving Up",The New York Times, December 2, 1978, p3
