The 1910s

1911 115 years ago

Harriet Quimby takes her pilot's test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's…

Harriet Quimby was an American pioneering aviator, journalist, and film screenwriter. In 1911, she became the first woman in the United States to receive a pilot's license and in 1…

Harriet Quimby takes her pilot's test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's…

1911 115 years ago

The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee.

The Mona Lisa is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as …

The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee.

1911 115 years ago

Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of…

Ishi was the last known member of the Native American Yahi people from the present-day state of California in the United States. The rest of the Yahi were killed in the California …

Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of…

1911 115 years ago

The Kowloon–Canton Railway commences service.

The Kowloon–Canton Railway was a railway network in Hong Kong. It was owned and operated by the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) until 2007. Rapid transit services, a ligh…

The Kowloon–Canton Railway commences service.

1911 115 years ago

Guy Burgess, English-Russian spy (died 1963)

Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess was a British diplomat and Soviet double agent, and a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of the …

Guy Burgess, English-Russian spy (died 1963)

1911 115 years ago

Hervé Bazin, French author and poet (died 1996)

Hervé Bazin was a French writer, whose best-known novels covered semi-autobiographical topics of teenage rebellion and dysfunctional families.

Hervé Bazin, French author and poet (died 1996)

1911 115 years ago

Lester Rodney, American soldier and journalist (died 2009)

Lester Rodney was an American journalist who helped break down the color barrier in baseball as sports writer for the Daily Worker.

Lester Rodney, American soldier and journalist (died 2009)

1911 115 years ago

A fire that started on Fraser's Million Dollar Pier destroys six to eight square blocks of Ocean Park, California.

Fraser's Million Dollar Pier was a 20th-century amusement park in Ocean Park, California in the United States. The pier was located between Pier Avenue and Marine Street, in a comm…

A fire that started on Fraser's Million Dollar Pier destroys six to eight square blocks of Ocean Park, California.

1911 115 years ago

The White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with the British warship HMS Hawke.

RMS Olympic was a British ocean liner and the lead ship of the White Star Line's trio of Olympic-class liners. Olympic had a career spanning 24 years from 1911 to 1935, in contrast…

The White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with the British warship HMS Hawke.

1911 115 years ago

His Majesty's Airship No. 1, Britain's first rigid airship, is wrecked by strong winds before her maiden flight at…

His Majesty's Airship No. 1 was designed and built by Vickers, Sons and Maxim at their works in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England, as an aerial scout airship for the Royal Nav…

His Majesty's Airship No. 1, Britain's first rigid airship, is wrecked by strong winds before her maiden flight at…

1911 115 years ago

An explosion of badly degraded propellant charges on board the French battleship Liberté detonates the forward…

Liberté was a pre-dreadnought battleship built for the French Navy in the mid-1900s. She was the lead ship of the Liberté class, which included three other vessels and was a deriva…

An explosion of badly degraded propellant charges on board the French battleship Liberté detonates the forward…

1911 115 years ago

Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire, In this war , Italy gains Libya which ends Ottoman rule in North Africa .

The Italo-Turkish War, also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of…

Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire, In this war , Italy gains Libya which ends Ottoman rule in North Africa .

1911 115 years ago

Maurice Goldhaber, Ukrainian-American physicist and academic (died 2011)

Maurice Goldhaber was an American physicist.

Maurice Goldhaber, Ukrainian-American physicist and academic (died 2011)

1911 115 years ago

Ivan Combe, American businessman, developed Clearasil (died 2000)

Ivan DeBlois Combe was the American inventor of personal-care products, most notably Clearasil and Odor Eaters. In 1949 he established his eponymous company Combe Incorporated in W…

Ivan Combe, American businessman, developed Clearasil (died 2000)

1911 115 years ago

Kemal Satır, Turkish physician and politician (died 1991)

Kemal Satır was a Turkish physician and politician.

Kemal Satır, Turkish physician and politician (died 1991)

1911 115 years ago

Ronald Neame, English-American director, cinematographer, producer, and screenwriter (died 2010)

Ronald Neame CBE, BSC was an English filmmaker and cinematographer. Beginning his career as a cinematographer, for his work on the British war film One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (…

Ronald Neame, English-American director, cinematographer, producer, and screenwriter (died 2010)

1911 115 years ago

Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (died 2014)

Conrado Eugenio Marrero Ramos, nicknamed "Connie", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher. The right-handed Marrero pitched in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1954 for the Wa…

Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (died 2014)

1911 115 years ago

An accidental bomb explosion triggers the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing dynasty, beginning the Xinhai Revolution.

The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang in the Chinese province of Hubei on 10 October 1911, beginning the 1911 Revol…

An accidental bomb explosion triggers the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing dynasty, beginning the Xinhai Revolution.

1911 115 years ago

The day after a bomb explodes prematurely, the Wuchang Uprising begins against the Chinese monarchy.

The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang in the Chinese province of Hubei on 10 October 1911, beginning the 1911 Revol…

The day after a bomb explodes prematurely, the Wuchang Uprising begins against the Chinese monarchy.

1911 115 years ago

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, becomes the first Governor General of Canada of royal descent.

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, was the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He served a…

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, becomes the first Governor General of Canada of royal descent.

1911 115 years ago

The Italo-Turkish War sees the first use of an airplane in combat when an Italian pilot makes a reconnaissance flight.

The Italo-Turkish War, also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of…

The Italo-Turkish War sees the first use of an airplane in combat when an Italian pilot makes a reconnaissance flight.

1911 115 years ago

Orville Wright remains in the air for nine minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

The Wright brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, were American aviation pioneers who researched, invented, built, and flew the world's first successful airplane. They made th…

Orville Wright remains in the air for nine minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

1911 115 years ago

George Roth, American gymnast (died 1997)

George Helm Roth was an American gymnast and Olympic champion who competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic …

George Roth, American gymnast (died 1997)

1911 115 years ago

Paul Verner, German soldier and politician (died 1986)

Paul Verner was a German communist politician. He joined the communist movement at a young age and went into exile during Adolf Hitler's rule. Verner became a prominent political p…

Paul Verner, German soldier and politician (died 1986)