| 1910 |
Boy
Scouts of America founded. The unpopular monarchy in
Portugal is overthrown. The new regime adopts severe anti-clerical measures.
King George V, second son of Edward VII, begins a 25-year
reign as monarch of Britain. |
| 1911 |
North
Carolina state legislature makes Avery its 100th and last county. Future president Ronald Wilson Reagan is born on February 6, in
Tampico, Illinois.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Company building in New York City
catches on fire. 146 people, mostly young factory girls, die in the blaze.
The Manchu Dynasty in China is overthrown and a new
republic proclaimed in October.
Ray Harroun wins the first Indianapolis 500 with an average
speed of 74.602 miles per hour.
Explorer Roald Amundsen of Norway reaches the South Pole
with four men and dog teams on December 14. |
| 1912 |
White
Star line steamer Titanic sinks on maiden voyage after hitting an iceberg in the North
Atlantic on April 14. 1503 people drown. The Japanese
steamer Kichemaru sinks off of the Japanese coast. An estimated 1000 people drown.
Not to be outdone by the boys, the Girl Scouts of America organization is founded.
Detroit Tiger hitter Ty Cobb hits .410 for the season,
making him the only American League hitter to bat over .400 two years in a row. |
| 1913 |
Future
President Richard Milhous Nixon is born on January 9, in Yorba Linda California. Future president Gerald Rudolph Ford is born on July 14, in Omaha,
Nebraska.
Raymond Poincare becomes president of France. |
| 1914 |
The
Ford Motor Company raises basic wages from $2.40 for a 9-hour day to an astronomical $5
for an 8-hour day. President Woodrow Wilson proclaims
U.S. neutrality in the European War on August 4.
The Panama Canal opens its locks for the first time on
August 15. |
| 1915 |
The
first transcontinental phone call is made from New York to San Francisco by inventors
Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson. The
British ship Lusitania is torpedoed by a German submarine. 128 of those lost at sea were
Americans.
Boxer Jess Willard knocks out champion Jack Johnson for the
Heavyweight crown on April 5 in Havana, Cuba.
Movie director D.W. Griffith releases the controversial
film Birth of a Nation based on the novel by Shelby, North Carolina writer Thomas Dixon. |
| 1916 |
The
most severe earthquake to hit North Carolina in the 20th century is recorded on February
21. The epicenter is estimated to be in the Skyland community in Buncombe County. The
shock was felt from Georgia to Virginia but little damage is reported. Republican militants stage an unsuccessful uprising in Dublin,
Ireland over Easter.
General John Pershing enters Mexico in pursuit of the
notorious Pancho Villa whose band of men had been raiding U.S. border towns.
The United States buys the Virgin Islands from Denmark on
August 4.
Jeannette Rankin, a republican from Montana, becomes the
first Congresswoman elected in the U.S.
Poet Carl Sandburg publishes Chicago Poems. |
| 1917 |
Germany
declares almost unrestricted submarine warfare on January 31 in response to the tightening
British naval blockade. The United States cuts
diplomatic ties with Germany on February 3.
The United States declares war on Germany on April 6.
The United States passes the first Conscription Law (draft)
since The Civil War on May 18.
Future president John Fitzgerald Kennedy is born on May 29,
in Brookline, Massachusetts.
The first U.S. troops arrive on the European shore on June
26.
In the world's worst train wreck, a passenger train in
Modane, France derails on December 12, killing 543 people.
The 18th Amendment to the Constitution barring alcoholic
beverages is submitted to the Congress on December 18.
The Bolshevik Revolution abolishes the monarchy in Russia.
The entire royal family is slain. |
| 1918 |
More
than one million troops are in Europe by the middle of the year. The Great War ends with the signing of the Armistice on November 11.
A devastating outbreak of influenza kills 20 million people
worldwide, 548,000 of them in the U.S. |
| 1919 |
In
the aftermath of WWI, a revolution is attempted by the Spartacists in Germany. Mt. Kelud on the island of Java in Indonesia erupts with massive
volcanic force leaving an estimated 5000 dead.
Thoroughbred horse Sir Barton, ridden by jockey J. Loftus,
wins the Triple Crown.
Jack Dempsey knocks out champion Jess Willard for the
Heavyweight crown on the Fourth of July in Toledo, Ohio.
Members of the American League champion Chicago White Sox,
including Shoeless Joe Jackson, are accused of throwing the World Series against the
Cincinnati Reds in the infamous "Black Sox" scandal.
Boston Red Sox slugger Babe Ruth hits a record 29 home runs
(the previous record was 16) and is promptly sold to the rival New York Yankees,
triggering the "Curse of the Bambino" for Boston and its fans. |
