The following events occurred in December 1911:
December 1, 1911 (Friday) At Urga (now Ulan Bator), a new Mongolian Empire was declared independent from the Chinese Empire. Chinese officials of the Qing dynasty were expelled from what had been "Outer Mongolia", and set up its own government on the 11th day of the First Winter Month of the year of the Pig. Unlike other provinces of China that would become part of the Republic of China, Mongolia remained a separate nation. James B. McNamara and John J. McNamara stunned Americans who had been following their trial for murder, when James pleaded guilty to the dynamiting of the Los Angeles Times building on October 1, 1910, and John, the secretary-treasurer of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers, pleaded to having caused an explosion at the Llewellyn Iron Works."DYNAMITERS ADMIT GUILT - TIMES BOMB EXPLODED BY M'NAMARA". Milwaukee Sentinel, December 2, 1911, p. 1. Chief counsel Clarence Darrow explained the plea, saying, "From the first, there was never the slightest chance to win," adding, "There was overwhelming evidence of all kinds which no one could have surmounted if he would.""Darrow Defends His Course". The New York Times, December 6, 1911. James was sentenced to life imprisonment and his brother John to 15 years. The First International Opium Conference opened at the Hague. The United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Persia (Iran), Portugal, Russia, and Siam (Thailand), sent representatives, presided over by Bishop Charles H. Brent, Episcopal bishop for the Philippines."Opium Conference To-Day". The New York Times, December 1, 1911. Born: Walter Alston, American baseball manager who guided the Brooklyn Dodgers and then the Los Angeles Dodgers to four World Series championships; in Venice, Ohio (d. 1984).
December 2, 1911 (Saturday) King Vajiravudh of Siam (now Thailand) was crowned in Bangkok."Another Coronation; It Is That of King Chowfa Maha Vajiravudh of Siam". The New York Times, December 3, 1911. George V, who was not only the King of the United Kingdom, but also the Emperor of India (at that time a British colony), arrived at Bombay (now Mumbai), becoming the first British monarch to visit British India."King George at Bombay". The New York Times, December 2, 1911. The Australasian Antarctic Expedition, commanded by Douglas Mawson, began with the departure of the Aurora from Hobart, for the purpose of mapping the uncharted coastline of Antarctica directly south of Australia. Eladio Victoria was elected as President of the Dominican Republic.The Britannica Year-Book 1913: A Survey of the World's Progress Since the Completion in 1910 of the Encyclopædia Britannica. (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1913) pp. xix to xxi.
December 3, 1911 (Sunday) Maurice Prevost and a passenger reached an altitude of 9,800 feet over Courcy, France, breaking the record of 8,471 feet set the year before by Ralph Johnstone. The "General Plan for the Organization of the Provisional Government" was promulgated by China's Republican revolutionaries, proposing an American-style presidential system. On March 11, 1912, the Provisional Constitution would change to a cabinet system headed by a Prime Minister. Born: Nino Rota, Italian film score composer; in Milan (d. 1979).
December 4, 1911 (Monday) A mosque was bombed in Istib, at the time a European possession of the Ottoman Empire, and now Štip in North Macedonia, killing 12 Muslim worshipers and wounding 20, leading to the outbreak of rioting. The Turkish Army retaliated by attacking Bulgarian nationalists whom they blamed for the bombing, wounding 171, of whom 14 died."Turks Kill 14 Bulgarians". The New York Times, December 7, 1911. An antitrust suit was brought against the National Cash Register company, alleging conspiracy to restrain trade. NCR had 95% of cash register sales in the U.S."Government Sues Cash Register Co.". The New York Times, December 5, 1911. John D. Rockefeller resigned as President of the company that he had founded, the recently dismembered Standard Oil Company, and John D. Archibold succeeded him."Rockefellers Out of Standard Oil". The New York Times, December 5, 1911.
December 5, 1911 (Tuesday) Voters in Los Angeles rejected the prospect of electing a Socialist government, four days after the surprise conviction of the McNamara brothers. Mayor George Alexander, whose re-election had been uncertain, defeated Job Harriman by a more than 2-1 margin, and voters rejected the entire slate of city councilmen and Board of Education members."Harriman Defeated by Big Margin". Milwaukee Sentinel, December 6, 1911, p. 1. The Aerial Experiment Association, headed by aviator Glenn Curtiss, was awarded U.S. Patent No. 1,011,106 for the aileron (which controls the rolling and turning of an aircraft) after being successful in litigation against the Wright Brothers. The town of Blackdom, New Mexico, an all-black community located in Chaves County, was incorporated. The town was abandoned in the 1920s. Joseph Stalin was sent into exile for his third and final time, being sent to Vologda for a five-year stretch. Born: Władysław Szpilman, Polish Jewish composer and pianist who avoided capture during the Holocaust; in Sosnowiec. His story was dramatized in the film The Pianist (d. 2000). Carlos Marighella, Brazilian guerilla leader, in Salvador, Bahia state (killed, 1969).
December 6, 1911 (Wednesday) Prince Chun, the regent for (and father of) the Emperor of China, resigned from office. He was succeeded by Prince Shi-Hsu, former National Assembly president, and Hsu Shi-Chang, VP of the Privy Council."Prince Chun Drops Regency of China". The New York Times, December 7, 1911. Western Union introduced discount rates for its trans-Atlantic cable service between New York and London.
December 7, 1911 (Thursday) More than 150 construction workers were killed in the collapse of a bridge over Russia's Volga River at Kazan. Pressured by a buildup of ice, the supports for the structure gave way without warning, throwing the men into the icy waters."Hundreds Drown in Russian Bridge Collapse on Volga". Milwaukee Sentinel, December 8, 1911, p. 1. The New Zealand Liberal Party, headed by Prime Minister Joseph Ward, lost its majority of 50 of the 80 seats in Parliament, falling to 33. The Reform Party won 37, and, after the Liberals were unable to maintain a government, captured the post of premier under William Massey. The mandatory requirement for Chinese men to wear their hair in a queue was abolished by Imperial edict, and provisions were announced for implementing the Western calendar.
December 8, 1911 (Friday) Thirteen years after the destruction of the USS Maine in the Havana Harbor, a committee of naval experts concluded that the blast was, as originally suspected, caused by an external explosion which had ignited munitions stored on board. The San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Henry Kimball Hadley, held its first concert. Born: Lee J. Cobb (stage name for Leo Jacoby), American stage, film and TV actor known for starring in TV western series The Virginian; in New York City (d. 1976).
December 9, 1911 (Saturday) The Cross Mountain Mine disaster killed 84 coal miners in the explosion of the Knoxville Iron and Coal Company's mine at Briceville, Tennessee. Shortly after their shift had started, the blast occurred at 7:30 am, entombing all but five survivors."156 Men Entombed by Mine Explosion". The New York Times, December 10, 1911. "Find 5 Men Alive in Wrecked Mine". The New York Times, December 12, 1911. Russia's ambassador in Tehran delivered an ultimatum to the government of Persia, demanding that it dismiss W. Morgan Shuster within 48 hours, and pledge not to hire foreign subjects without the consent of Russia and Britain. The Persians initially ignored the demand. Born: Broderick Crawford, American film (All the King's Men) and TV (Highway Patrol) actor (d. 1986).
December 10, 1911 (Sunday) Dante's Inferno, a 69-minute (five reel) silent film based on the 14th Century vision of Hell written by Dante Alighieri, premiered at the Gane's Manhattan Theater in New York. Bringing the Devil to the silver screen for the first time, the Italian made film was a success. Convicted Los Angeles Times bombers J.B. McNamara and J.J. McNamara began their sentence at San Quentin Prison in California. Born: Chet Huntley, American newscaster who co-anchored NBC's evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, from 1956 to 1970; in Cardwell, Montana (d. 1974). Died: Joseph Dalton Hooker, 94, British explorer and botanist.
December 11, 1911 (Monday) Fourteen people were killed and 30 injured in the derailment of a train near the Portuguese city of Porto, after the cars fell into the Douro River."16 Killed by Disaster in Portugal". The New York Times, December 12, 1911. The city of Tabriz in northwest of Iran was invaded by Russian troops during a campaign to suppress pro-constitutional movement. Born: Qian Xuesen (Hsue-Shen Tsien), Chinese rocket scientist who had helped found the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the United States before becoming the "Father of Chinese Rocketry" for Communist China; in Shanghai (d. 2009). Val Guest (stage name for Valmond Grossman), British film director; in London (d. 2006). Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian novelist and winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature; in Cairo (d. 2006). Died: Victor Lemoine, 88, French flower breeder who created the French lilac.
December 12, 1911 (Tuesday) At the Coronation Durbar in British India, King George V was formally proclaimed the Kaisar-i-Hind, King-Emperor of India, at Delhi, before an audience of 80,000. On the subcontinent, he had 315,000,000 subjects in the Indian Kingdom and Empire, which included modern-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. (At the time, the population of the British Isles was 45,370,530). The Emperor announced, without consultation of the British Parliament, that the capital of British India would be moved from Calcutta to a new city built near Delhi."Sensation Sprung at Imperial Durbar". The New York Times, December 13, 1911. New Delhi was built on the site southwest of Shahjahanabaad, the capital of the Mughal Emperors from 1658 to 1739, and finally and inaugurated on February 13, 1931. A bill proposed by U.S. Representative Isaac Sherwood, to provide a pension of $15 to $30 a month to every American military veteran, passed the House, 229-92."Dollar a Day Bill for Pensions Passes". The New York Times, December 13, 1911. Voters in the Arizona Territory elected to eliminate the provision in the proposed constitution for judicial recall, by a margin of 14,963 to 1,980 and cleared the last impediment for President Taft to sign the statehood bill. Arizona would become the 48th state in February. Born: Margo Jones, American stage director credited with launching "regional theater" in the United States; in Livingston, Texas (died by accidental poisoning, 1955).
December 13, 1911 (Wednesday) The House passed the Sulzer Resolution, asking for abrogation of the 1832 treaty with Russia due to its discrimination against American Jews, by a margin of 300-1. The lone dissent came from Congressman George R. Malby of New York. "Votes 300 to 1 Against Treaty". The New York Times, December 14, 1911. Five German nationals, convicted of espionage for Britain, were sentenced by a German court in Leipzig to prison terms ranging from 2 to 12 years. The maximum sentence was for a Herr Hipsich, an engineer at the Bremen shipyards, who sold plans for the new German dreadnoughts to the British."Anglophobism Increases". The New York Times, December 17, 1911. Born: Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist, winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Economics; in Skedsmo (d. 1999). Kenneth Patchen, American poet; in Niles, Ohio (d. 1972).
December 14, 1911 (Thursday)