December 21, 1913: The first crossword puzzle is introducedDecember 12, 1913: The world's most famous painting, stolen from the Louvre Museum two years earlier, is recovered by police in Italy
The Ford Motor Company introduced the first moving automobile assembly line, reducing chassis assembly time from 12+1⁄2 hours in October to 2 hours, 40 minutes. Although Henry Ford was not the first to use an assembly line, and had started the process the month before with the assembly of magnetos, his successful adoption of the line for factories was a milestone in the beginning of the era of mass production.[2]
The first drive-in gasoline station opened in Pittsburgh.[4]
A record blizzard hit Colorado, with four to six feet (one to two meters) of snow falling in the first week of December. Georgetown, in the foothills west of Denver, was the hardest hit with a record 86 inches of snow, just over seven feet (over two meters).[5]
Died:Juhan Liiv, 49, Estonian poet and short story writer and author of Vari (The Shadow), died of pneumonia contracted after he had been ordered off of a train (b. 1864)
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson delivered his first State of the Union address, with a call for the end of the Victoriano Huerta regime in Mexico: "There can be no certain prospect of peace in America until Gen. Huerta has surrendered his usurped authority in Mexico."[11]
During a military practice in Saverne, Germany, Second Lieutenant Günter Freiherr von Forstner – the source of much of the town's outrage against the German military since the Zabern Affair began in November – was mocked by Karl Blank, a journeyman shoemaker. Eyewitnesses reported Forstner lost his temper and struck Blank with his saber, causing severe head injuries that paralyzed him on one side. Forstner was sentenced to 43 days in jail after the first trial, but an appellate trial reversed the sentence after the judge concluded Forstner had acted in self-defense.[13]
For the first time in the history of the German Empire, the Reichstag passed a vote of no-confidence against the Chancellor, with 293 votes for, 54 against, and four abstentions against the government of Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg. Leaders of each non-governing party declared the actions of the government in relation to the Zabern Affair were "not the view of the Reichstag".[21]
Vladimir Lenin published his paper "The Poverty of People's Teachers" in the political magazine Za Pravdu.[22]
Georgetown, Colorado, had the highest recorded snowfall in a 24-hour period in U.S. history, with 63 inches (5 feet, 3 inches or 1.6 metres of snow.[23]
The word "isotope", referring to a variation of a chemical element containing the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons, was introduced into common usage when the British scientific journal Nature published an article by Frederick Soddy, a pioneer in radiochemistry; Soddy had postulated the existence of isotopes in a February 27 address before Britain's Royal Society, referring to "atoms of the same chemical properties, non-separable by any known process", but without using the term, which was suggested to him by his friend, Edinburgh physician Margaret Todd.[24]
Isabella Newman of Mordialloc, Victoria, Australia, was arrested on suspicion of several reported disappearances of infants in Melbourne. Investigators connected her to several advertisements that took in infants born out of wedlock for adoption in exchange for fee of services. Upon learning that she was to be taken into Melbourne for further questioning, Newman asked to be excused to change into traveling clothes before locking herself in her bedroom and taking strychnine. Investigation following her suicide uncovered at least three infant bodies, two on the Newman farm property and a third in a different location.[26]
The World Baseball Tour for 1913–14 began, with the National League champion New York Giants and the American League's fifth-place finishing Chicago White Sox starting their Asian visit in Tokyo. Although an exhibition game, it was the first Major League Baseball game to be played in Japan. The White Sox beat the Giants 9 to 4. The 46-game tour had started in the U.S. on October 18, soon after the end of the World Series, with the Giants and White Sox starting in Cincinnati and ending in Portland, Oregon, on November 19, before the players boarded the ship SS Empress of Japan to sail to Asia.[28][29][30]
Three men were shot during the Copper Country Strike at a boarding house in Painesdale, Michigan. Boarding house owner, Thomas Dally and English brothers Arthur and Harry Jane who were renting rooms from Dally, were killed by random rifle shots fired into the house from nearby woods. The Jane brothers had arrived in Michigan with the intention of crossing strike lines to work. Later, two Finnish immigrant brothers and an Austrian were charged with first degree murder in connection with the shooting, but the third suspect escaped from custody and was never recaptured.[33]
The first baseball game between Major League Baseball players and a Japanese team took place in Tokyo as a combined Giants and White Sox team beat Keio University 16 to 3.[29]
U.S. President William Howard Taft and John A. Denison, former Mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, presided over the opening ceremonies for the Springfield Municipal Group, which includes three public buildings for the city – City Hall, Symphony Hall, and a 300-foot-tall (91 m) clock tower designed by American architect Harvey Wiley Corbett. Taft remarked the three public buildings were "one of the most distinctive civic centers in the United States, and indeed the world."
Carl von In der Maur, 59, Austrian-born Liechtensteiner state leader, Governor of Liechtenstein for Prince Johann II since 1897, previously Governor 1884 to 1892 (b. 1852). In der Maur died from complications of a stroke and was succeeded by Leopold Freiherr von Imhof.
Menelik II, the Emperor of Ethiopia since 1889, died at the age of 69. He was succeeded by his 18-year-old grandson, Kiffle Yaqob, whom he had designated in 1909 as his successor after he suffered a stroke. The grandson would reign as Lij Iyasu but would be deposed less than three years later without ever having been crowned.[47]
In the second of three "Brides in the Bath murders", George Joseph Smith's new (second) wife, Alice Burnham, was found dead in her bath in her home in Blackpool, England.[50]
German balloonist Hugo Kaulen returned to the ground after staying aloft for almost four days (87 hours), a record at that time for the longest time spent floating in the air. His time would not be exceeded until 1935.[51]
The Edmonton Stock Pavilion opened at Northlands Park, Edmonton for agricultural fairs but evolved to become the city's first indoor arena known as the Edmonton Gardens. It was the first home arena for the Edmonton Oilers when the hockey club was still part of the World Hockey Association. It was renovated three times before it was finally demolished in 1982.[52]
The New York Giants beat the Chicago White Sox 7 to 4 in the first Major League Baseball game to be played in Hong Kong. A December 11 game in Shanghai, that would have been the first on mainland China, had been canceled because of rain. The Hong Kong game was delayed because British health authorities had to determine first that none of the players had smallpox.[28][29][30]
Born:Mary Kenneth Keller, American computer scientist, leading promoter of computer science instructions at the smaller college level; in Cleveland (d. 1985)
Died:Stefano Gobatti, 61, Italian opera composer, known for works including I Goti (b. 1852)
The Spanish government approved the creation of the Commonwealth of Catalonia, a regional governing body for the Catalan language speakers in the northeastern section of Spain.[64] In addition to providing some autonomy for the Catalonians, the Mancomunitat provided common policy for the provinces of Barcelona, Gerona (now Girona), Lerida (now Lleida) and Tarragona. The Mancomunitat, with a President and two councilors from each province, would begin its operation on April 6, 1914, but would be dissolved in 1925.[65]
The 1913–1914 World Baseball Tour concluded its Philippine stage as both baseball teams took time off to spend the holidays in the Far East before sailing to Australia for a New Year's Day game in Brisbane.[28][29][30]
Boxers Jack Johnson and Battling Jim Johnson fought a 10-round match for the world heavyweight title in Paris. The novelty of two black professionals competing for the world title drew crowds, but a sportswriter from The Indianapolis Star observed spectators becoming unruly, and demanding their money back, when it became apparent that neither boxer was putting up a fight. At one point, Jack Johnson was only using his right arm to box. Organizers claimed Johnson's left arm had been broken during the third round, but there was no evidence of any injury. The fight was ruled a draw, and Jack Johnson retained his title.
A major strike in Wellington, New Zealand, ended after the United Federation of Labour (UFL) conceded defeat. Their labor ally, the Federated Seamen's Union, had broken ranks by reaching a deal with shipowners to return to work. The bitter, two-month labor struggle involved up to 16,000 unionists across New Zealand, and sparked violent clashes between strikers and police.[67]
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 struck Yunnan, China, killing at least 942 people. Another 112 were injured, and scores of homes were destroyed.[72]
British racing driver Lydston Hornsted set a new land speed record in excess of 200 kilometers per hour driving in a Benz 200 horse power racing car ("Blitzenbenz") at the Brooklands racing circuit in southern England.[79]
The polar expedition crew on the Karluk celebrated Christmas, with decorations, presents, a programme of sports on the ice, and a banquet.[83] The polar ship had been drifting west in the ice for nearly three months and was now just 50 miles (80 km) north of Herald Island, a rocky outpost east of Wrangel Island, in the Beaufort Sea.[84]
Ambrose Bierce, a 71-year-old American writer and journalist, author of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", disappeared after writing a letter to Blanche Partington from Chihuahua City in Mexico. Dated December 26, 1913, the letter ended with the sentence: "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination."[87] Theories for Bierce's vanishing after the date of the letter are numerous. Stories from locals in Sierra Mojada, Coahuila, documented by the priest James Lienert, stated that Bierce was executed by firing squad in a local town cemetery.[88] However, no firm evidence has yet to turn up that resolves the mystery surrounding the famous author's fate.
Charles Moyer, president of the Western Federation of Miners that were on strike, was attacked in his hotel room in Hancock, Michigan, by assailants allegedly working for the mining companies. After being beaten with a pistol, Moyer was shot in the back and then dragged to a nearby train station. Moyer reported being met by Jim McNaughton, manager of the Calumet and Hecla Mine Company, at the station and being told "If I ever come back to Houghton or the range he would see me hanged." Moyer was forced onto a train heading to Chicago where he was treated at the city's St. Luke's Hospital for his injuries. McNaughton denied he made any threats to Moyer. The assault remains unsolved.[89]
The Danish film Atlantis, starring Olaf Fønss and opera singer Ida Orloff and directed by August Blom, was released through Nordisk Film. The film drew criticism for the depiction of a sinking ocean liner as part of its plot, a year after the sinking of the RMS Titanic, but has garnered credit for being one the first great films of the early age of cinema.[90]
The "Venus of Cyrene", a headless marble sculpture, was discovered by Italian troops in Cyrene, Libya after torrential rains washed away the topsoil at the Baths of Trajan in the Sanctuary of Apollo. It would be displayed in Rome for 94 years, but would be returned to Libya in 2008.[93]
English cricketerSydney Barnes took 17 wickets in a match between England and South Africa (8–56 and 9–103), totaling 49 wickets, the most in a Test series.[101]
Airplane co-inventor Orville Wright made the first public demonstration of the next generation of airplanes, the Wright Model E, an airplane that had come equipped with an autopilot that could not only keep the plane in the air, but could also turn the plane on a preset course.[103] Before a crowd of onlookers at Huffman Prairie outside Dayton, Ohio,[104] Wright showed off the new "automatic stabilizer" and "made seven successive turns with his hands completely removed from the controls of the airplane", holding his hands high above his head so that the onlookers could see that he wasn't touching the controls, before taking back over to come in for a landing. For his accomplishment, timed by the Wright for the last day of the year to avoid being bested by his rival, Glenn Curtiss, Wright won the Collier Trophy, awarded by the Aero Club of America, for the year's most significant innovation in aeronautics.[105]
^"28 Die in Boston Fire", The New York Times, December 4, 1913
^The American Year Book; A Record of Events and Progress, 1913, Francis G. Wickware, ed. (D. Appleton and Company, 1914) pp. 847–854
^William Anderson, William Stearns Davis, Mason W. Tyler: The Roots of the War : A Non-Technical History of Europe, 1870–1914, New York, The Century Co., 1918, p. 221
^"Hugo Kaulen". The New York Times. July 12, 1954. Hugo Kaulen, German balloonist, died here to-day. He was 84 years old. He set a world distance and duration record in 1913 when he drifted in a ...
^Eamonn Sweeney, O'Brien Pocket History of Gaelic Sport, by (O'Brien Press, 2012)
^"Chronology", in Historical Dictionary of Spain, by Angel Smith (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) p xxv
^"Mancomunitat", in Historical Dictionary of the Catalans, by Helena Buffery and Elisenda Marcer (Scarecrow Press, 2010) pp. 228–229
^Colectivo Cultural Centenario El Cóndor Pasa, ed. (2013). El cóndor pasa... Cien años después. Lima. ISBN9786124647208. Registered in the National Library of Peru.
^Lehto, Steve, ed. (2007). Italian Hall: The Official Transcript of the Coroner's Inquest. Troy, Michigan: Momentum Books. p. 178. ISBN978-1-879094-80-2.
^Office of the Lighthouse Board, "List of Lights of the Atlantic and the Gulf Coast of the United States, 1893", pp. 100–101. Washington Government Printing Office, 1893.
^Bierce, Ambrose (2003). Joshi, ST; Shultz, David E (eds.). A Much Misunderstood Man: Selected Letters of Ambrose Bierce. Ohio State University Press. p. 244f.
^Lienert, James (2004), "Monument in the Sierra Mojada cemetery", The Ambrose Bierce Site. The cemetery now has a marker, with inscription stating that Bierce was shot there.
^Ulrichsen, Erik (1958). Introduction to Atlantis. Copenhagen: Det Danske Filmmuseet.
^Levitt, Daniel R.; Dee, Ivan R. (2012). The Battle that Forged Modern Baseball: The Federal League Challenge and Its Legacy. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 10.
