The following events occurred in December 1910:
December 1, 1910 (Thursday) Porfirio Diaz was inaugurated for his eighth term as President of Mexico."Record of Current Events", The American Monthly Review of Reviews (January 1911), pp. 32–35"Oath Taken By Diaz", Washington Post, December 2, 1910, p. 1 Miss Helen Taft, the 19-year-old daughter of U.S. President William Howard Taft and his wife Nellie, had her debutante ball, with 1,500 guests coming to the White House, including Vice-President Sherman, 20 U.S. Senators and 19 U.S. Representatives."Miss Taft's Debut", Washington Post, December 2, 1910, p. 1 Born: Alicia Markova, English ballerina, as Lilian Marks; in London (d. 2004)
December 2, 1910 (Friday) Three days into Robert Falcon Scott's expedition from New Zealand to the South Pole, his ship, the Terra Nova, was nearly sunk by a hurricane.Elspeth Huxley, Scott of the Antarctic (University of Nebraska Press, 1977) p. 207 At a meeting of the Council of Ministers in St. Petersburg, General Vladimir Sukhomlinov, the Minister of War, gave the Army's recommendation that northern Manchuria should immediately be annexed by Russia. Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov and Finance Minister Vladimir Kokovtsov persuaded the council to delay on an action that would have led to war.David Wolff, To the Harbin Station: The Liberal Alternative in Russian Manchuria, 1898–1914 (Stanford University Press, 1999) pp. 171–172 Born: Russell Lynes, American art historian, photographer and author; in Great Barrington, Massachusetts (d. 1991)
December 3, 1910 (Saturday) The first multiple fatality airplane accident in history happened at Centocelle, near Rome, when the airplane carrying Lt. Enrico Cammarota and Private S. Castellani crashed, making them the 26th and 27th people to die in a plane accident.Henry Villard, Contact! The Story of the Early Aviators (Courier Dover Publications, 2002) p241; "The Fatalities of Flight", by Victor Lougheed, Popular Mechanics (August 1911) p. 173 Voting began in the December 1910 United Kingdom general election for the House of Commons, with 135 seats decided on the first day."Unionist Gain of 3", Washington Post, December 4, 1910, p. 1 The Paris Motor Show commenced, where modern neon lighting was first demonstrated publicly by French inventor Georges Claude. Claude's neon-filled glass tubes opened a new era in signage and led to fluorescent lighting.There is, as yet, no satisfactory primary source to the actual date on which Claude unveiled his neon lights at the 1910 Paris Motor Show. Many references give December 3, 1910, which was the starting date for the show. See and also the Motor Show poster. Others give December 11; see . Australian mountaineer Freda Du Faur became the first woman to climb Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand. Died: Mary Baker Eddy, 89, American religious leader and founder of Christian Science."Mrs. Eddy Dead at Age of 89; Founder of Christian Science Yields to Pneumonia; Kept Secret for 12 Hours", Washington Post, December 5, 1910, p. 1 John H. Barker, U.S. auto manufacturer and owner of Haskell-Barker Motor Company, was killed, along with his wife, in an accident in Michigan City, Indiana. The Barkers' 14-year-old daughter, Catherine, was the sole heir to an estate of 30 million dollars (equivalent to more than $800 million more than 110 years later) "making her one of the richest girls in the world"."Heiress to $30,000,000", Washington Post, December 6, 1910, p. 1
December 4, 1910 (Sunday) In the Mexican city of Chihuahua, Mexico, an attempt by a peace commission, to broker a truce between the Diaz government at the "Maderistas" who supported Francisco I. Madero"Peace Parley Fails", Washington Post, December 5, 1910, p. 1 Born: Ramaswamy Venkataraman, President of India, 1987 to 1992); in Rajamadam, Madras Province (now in Tamil Nadu state); (d. 2009)
December 5, 1910 (Monday) By royal proclamation, the 2,349 km2 Australian Capital Territory was transferred from New South Wales to the Commonwealth of Australia, effective January 1.Year Book Australia, 1988 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1987) p. 114 The Italian Nationalist Association, a right wing party which would, in 1921, merge with Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party, was founded by Luigi Federzoni.Cyprian P. Blamires, World Fascism: A Historical Encyclopedia (Vol. 1, ABC-CLIO, 2006), p. 233 The Government of Australia introduced a nationwide "Invalid Pension" plan (for invalids), now called the Disability Support Pension."Commonwealth Old-Age and Invalid Pensions Schemes", by T.H. Kewley, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society (1953) p. 153 Died: Jerome Coleman, American musical composer and former millionaire who reportedly lost $3,000,000 in later years, committed suicide by gas from an oven."Once Rich Man a Suicide", Washington Post, December 7, 1910, p. 1
December 6, 1910 (Tuesday) An antitrust suit was brought in Detroit against the manufacturers of bathtubs and plumbing supplies. George W. Wickersham, the U.S. Attorney General, obtained an indictment against 16 firms said to have control of 35% of enamel, ironware, tubs, sinks and lavatories in the United States."Indict Bath-Tub Men", Washington Post, December 7, 1910, p. 1
December 7, 1910 (Wednesday) Bolivian troops ambushed a garrison of Peruvian guards in a battle at the disputed border region at Guayabal."Peru Attacked by Bolivia", Washington Post, December 8, 1910, p. 1 Born: Louis Prima, American bandleader; in New Orleans (d. 1978) Edmundo Ros, Trinidadian bandleader; in Port of Spain (d. 2011) Died: Ludwig Knaus, 81, German painter
December 8, 1910 (Thursday)
Chessmaster Emanuel Lasker retained his world championship, winning the eighth of 11 games at a match in Berlin against David Janowski."Lasker Retains Chess Title", New York Times, December 9, 1910, p. 12
December 9, 1910 (Friday) Aviator Georges Legagneux became the first person to fly an airplane higher than 10,000 feet, reaching an altitude of 10,499 feet in a Bleriot monoplane while over the Pau airfield near Paris."Frenchman Up 10,499 Feet", New York Times, December 10, 1910, p. 6 Two members of the Cuban House of Representatives traded gunfire on a street in Havana. Sr. Molen died at the scene, and Gen. Sanchez Figuera was mortally wounded."Killed in Duel at Havana", Washington Post, December 10, 1910, p. 1 A methane gas explosion at the Western Canadian Collieries mine in Bellevue, Alberta, killed 30 men out of 42 who had gone underground."Bellevue and Hillcrest" (Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism) p. 20 The proposed state constitution for Arizona was adopted by a vote of 40–12 by delegates, and submitted for voter approval on February 9, 1911. A controversial provision, permitting the recall of judges, was included, but then removed after President Taft objected to it.Arizona Legislative Manual (2003 Ed.), pp6–7 Divide County, North Dakota, was established.Joseph Nathan Kane, The American Counties (4th Ed.), (The Scarecrow Press, 1983), p. 480
December 10, 1910 (Saturday) The city of San Joaquin was incorporated in the Iloilo province of the Philippines. The government of Turkey survived a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies by a margin of 123 to 63. A mutiny of Brazilian marines was put down by cannon fire a day after the group had seized control of a fort on Cobra Island, near Rio de Janeiro. Two hundred mutineers were killed or seriously wounded. The results of the 1910 United States census were announced by the U.S. Census Bureau, which reported that on April 15, 1910, the population of the continental United States, was 91,972,266. Adding Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines, American Samoa, and the Canal Zone brought the number to 101,100,000. Composed by Giacomo Puccini, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, and starring Enrico Caruso, Emmy Destinn and Pasquale Amato, the opera La fanciulla del West was performed for the first time, premiering at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. An underground explosion at a mine in Bellevue, Alberta, Canada kills 31 people.
December 11, 1910 (Sunday) In Paris, French inventor Georges Claude first demonstrated the neon lamp, using an electric current and a sealed tube of neon gas, and opening a new era in signage.There is, as yet, no satisfactory primary source to the actual date on which Claude unveiled his neon lights at the 1910 Paris Motor Show. Many references give December 3, the starting date for the show. See . Others give December 11; see . Born: Willard R. Espy, American wordsmith; in Olympia, Washington (d. 1999) Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter; in Rio de Janeiro (d. 1937) Harry Gold, Swiss-born American chemist and spy; as Henrich Golodnitsky in Bern (d. 1972)
December 12, 1910 (Monday) U.S. President William H. Taft made three nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court on the same day, proposing Edward D. White for Chief Justice, and Joseph R. Lamar and Willis Van Devanter as associate justices. White, an associate justice since 1894, was confirmed as Chief Justice "within less than an hour after his name was sent in", but "The speed with which the confirmation ... was accomplished surprised even staid old senators.""White Heads Bench; Named by Taft, Senate Confirms Him at Once", Washington Post, December 13, 1910, p. 1; Rebecca S. Shoemaker, The White Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy (ABC-CLIO, 2004) p. 18 Actors and actresses in silent films were regularly using profane and indecent expressions, perceptible only to lipreaders, according to a deaf education teacher who filed a complaint with the film censorship bureau in Cleveland. Mrs. Elmer E. Bates brought the matter to national attention after taking a Cleveland newspaper reporter on a tour of the city's theaters. The reporter, in turn, wrote down what she said that the actors were actually saying, "and at times the language was so vile that she had to stop"."Object to Film Profanity", New York Times, December 13, 1910; "Says Pictures Talk Bad", Milwaukee Journal, December 13, 1910, p. 8 Perfume heiress Dorothy Arnold left her parents' apartment in Manhattan to go shopping. After leaving a book shop, the 25-year-old was never seen or heard from again. Her family waited until January 26 to allow police to make the case public, for fear that their daughter's disappearance would lead to a major societal scandal. Her father spent the rest of his life searching for his daughter, spending at least $100,000 on the case before his death in 1922. Numerous false sightings appeared for decades thereafter, as late as 1935 when she would have been 51, but no conclusive evidence was ever proven as to her fate.Helena Katz, Cold Cases: Famous Unsolved Mysteries, Crimes and Disappearances in America (ABC-CLIO, 2010) pp. 45–52
December 13, 1910 (Tuesday) Levi R. Lupton, an internationally renowned Pentecostal leader who was celebrated by his followers as the "20th Century Apostle of the Gift of Tongues", admitted to adultery in a letter to his "sisters" and "brothers" within the movement. Lupton said that he had "been sorely tempted and fallen" for an unmarried employee at the Mission headquarters in Alliance, Ohio, and that he had been forgiven by his wife."'Apostle' Admits Sin", Indianapolis Star, December 14, 1910, p. 1; "Sect Leader Confesses", New York Times, December 14, 1910, p. 20
December 14, 1910 (Wednesday) The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would commence anti-trust proceedings against the "Electrical Trust", alleging that the General Electric and Westinghouse companies had signed agreements with 17 associations of smaller "manufacturers of almost every article employed in the use of electricity"."Taft to Prosecute Big Electric Trust", New York Times, December 27, 1910, p. 1