The following events occurred in December 1918:
December 1, 1918 (Sunday)
The union of Transylvania with Romania was proclaimed, after the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia passed a resolution to allow Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, and the Satumare and Maramureș regions to unite with Romania.Romanian Institute for Cultural Remembrance, The Resolution of the National Assembly in Alba Iulia on December 1, 1918 The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was proclaimed by Alexander Karađorđević, prince regent of the Kingdom of Serbia, after an agreement was reached by the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, Kingdom of Serbia, and Kingdom of Montenegro to unite under one sovereignty. Iceland regained independence from Denmark through the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union, but remained in personal union with the King of Denmark, who also became the King of Iceland until 1944. The Allies began their occupation of the Rhineland that bordered Germany and France, which would continue until 1930. The Kars Republic was established in northeastern Turkey but was abolished in six months by the British High Commissioner. Pope Benedict released the encyclical Quod iam diu (That which has long been) that requested all Catholics everywhere in the world, no matter which side they were on, to pray for a lasting peace and for those who are entrusted to make it during the upcoming peace negotiations in France. The second annual Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in the United States, including the first awards for fiction: The New York Times for Public Service Harold A. Littledale of the New York Evening Post for Reporting Louisville Courier Journal for Editorial Writing Minna Lewinson and Henry Beetle Hough, students at the School of Journalism, Columbia University for the Newspaper History Award Ernest Poole for the novel His Family Jesse Lynch Williams for the drama Why Marry? Sara Teasdale for the poetry collection Love Songs James Ford Rhodes for the history of the American Civil War William Cabell Bruce for the biography on Benjamin Franklin The Farm Workers Union of Uppland was established in Uppland, Sweden.Uppsala Universitet. Studia historica Upsaliensia, Volume 32-34. Uppsala [etc.]: Uppsala Universitet [etc.], 1970. p. 16 Born: Shunpei Uto, Japanese swimmer, silver and bronze medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics; in Kakegawa, Shizuoka, Japan (d. unknown) Died: Peter Hume Brown, 68, Scottish historian, proponent of Scottish history as a discipline, member of the Privy Council of Scotland (b. 1849) Margit Kaffka, 38, Hungarian poet, first major female Hungarian writer, member of the Nyugat literary group; died of influenza (b. 1880)
December 2, 1918 (Monday) U.S. President Woodrow Wilson addressed the 65th United States Congress where he cited the number of American men who enlisted and served in World War I, which ended about a month ago with an armistice. He concluded: "And throughout it all how fine the spirit of the nation was: what unity of purpose, what untiring zeal!" Azerbaijani municipal leader Peri-Khan Sofiyeva was elected to serve on a local counsel for the village council of Karajala, in the Kakheti Region of Georgia, becoming the first Muslim women ever to be elected to public office. Died: Edmond Rostand, 50, French poet and playwright, best known for the plays Cyrano de Bergerac and Les Romanesques which was adapted as the musical The Fantasticks; died of influenza (b. 1868)
December 3, 1918 (Tuesday) A small annular solar eclipse covered only 94% of the Sun in a broad path up to 236.4 km wide, and lasted 7 minutes and 5.69 seconds. The eclipse was seen across much of South America including Santiago, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo, as well as portions of South West Africa. With tensions rising between Romania and the newly formed state of Yugoslavia over occupied space in the Banat Republic, 15,000 French troops under command of Generals Paul Prosper Henrys and Henri Mathias Berthelot occupied the capital city of Timișoara to prevent a regional war from breaking out.Kókai, Sándor. "Illúziók és csalódások: a Bánsági Köztársaság", in Közép-Európai Közlemények, Vol. 2, Issues 2–3, 2009, pp. 69, 72 Faced by superior strength from the invading Red Army, the government of the Belarusian Democratic Republic fled Minsk and retreated to Smolensk, Belarus. German Expressionist artists and architects formed the November Group, after the month of the German Revolution, and shortly afterwards merged with the Workers Council for Art.Helga Kliemann: Die Novembergruppe. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1969. Born: Abdul Haris Nasution, Indonesian army officer, 12th Minister of Defence of Indonesia; in North Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (d. 2000) Died: John Percival, 84, British clergy and academic, Bishop of Hereford for the Church of England from 1896 to 1917, first headmaster of Clifton College and president of Trinity College, Oxford (b. 1834)
December 4, 1918 (Wednesday)
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson departed to Europe aboard the SS George Washington for the Paris Peace Conference, becoming the first American president to travel to any foreign country while holding office. Belgian politician Frans Van Cauwelaert established the daily newspaper The Standard as the voice for the Christian Democratic and Flemish political party, though the paper eventually moved away from its ideological roots. Born: Isabel McNeill Carley, American composer and music educator, co-founder of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association; in Chicago (d. 2011) Gong Qiuxia, Chinese singer, pioneer of Mandopop; in Chongming, China (d. 2004) John Bell Williams, American politician, 55th Governor of Mississippi; in Raymond, Mississippi (d. 1983) Robert Ettinger, American academic, promoter of cryonics, founder of the Immortalist Society; in Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2011) Died: Teriivaetua, 49, Tahitian noble, heiress of the Kingdom of Tahiti; died of influenza (b. 1869)
December 5, 1918 (Thursday) The Lemko Republic was established with the intention of uniting with Soviet Russia but was dissolved into Poland within two years. Estonian War of Independence – British light cruiser struck a mine and sank near Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea, killing 11 sailors. Born: Charity Adams Earley, American army officer, first African American woman to be an officer in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps; in Kitrell, North Carolina (d. 2002) Jagan Nath Azad, Pakistani poet, president of Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu from 1993 to 2004; in Isakhel, British India (d. 2004) Bud Mahurin, American air force officer, commander of the 1st Fighter Group during the Korean War, recipient of the Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Flying Crosses, and seven Air Medals; in Benton Harbor, Michigan (d. 2010) Died: Schalk Willem Burger, 66, South African state leader, 6th State President of the South African Republic (b. 1852)
December 6, 1918 (Friday)
An earthquake measuring 7.2 in magnitude struck western side of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Because of the sparsely populated area, the most noted damage was to the Estevan Point Lighthouse. German battleship and light cruiser reached Scapa Flow off the coast of Scotland to join the rest of the interned Imperial German Navy High Seas Fleet. The Port Adelaide Workers Memorial was unveiled in Port Adelaide, Australia to commemorate labor activists in the city and throughout the country. The memorial was funded by the Australian Labor Party and United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia. Born: Harold Hopkins, British physicist, leading researcher into optics leading to development of the zoom lens, fiberscope, the rod lens for keyhole surgery, and borescopes; in Leicester, England (d. 1994)
December 7, 1918 (Saturday) Armeno-Georgian War – A Georgian force of 200 men under command of Varden Tsulukidze was sent to quell a local rising at the village of Uzunlar in the disputed region of Borchaly Uyezd, Georgia (now part of Lori Province, Armenia) but were driven back. The Baltische Landeswehr were established as the armed forces for the Baltic German nobility, with the goal to defend the newly independent nations of Estonia and Latvia from being occupied by the advancing Red Army. Died: Frank Wilson, 59, Australian politician, 9th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1859)
December 8, 1918 (Sunday) The National Progressive Party of Finland was established. The St Patrick's Basilica Catholic Church in Oamaru, New Zealand was completed, 25 years after initial construction. The church's architect, Francis Petre, was commemorated in the opening; he died two days later. The silent film period drama Arizona, starring Douglas Fairbanks and directed by Albert Parker, was released through Famous Players–Lasky. The film had been adapted from the play of the same name by Augustus Thomas. Born: Gérard Souzay, French opera singer, best known for his collaborations with the Aix-en-Provence Festival; in Angers, France (d. 2004) Sam Zoldak, American baseball player, pitcher for the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, and Philadelphia Athletics from 1944 to 1952; in New York City (d. 1966)
December 9, 1918 (Monday) Municipal elections were held in Edmonton, Alberta, with Joseph Clarke elected as Mayor of Edmonton. The Young Finnish Party split apart, with National Coalition Party established as the liberal conservative arm in Finland. The first secondary school was established in independent Latvia. The sports club Fossum was established in Bærum Municipality, Norway. It now has sections on cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, alpine skiing, Nordic combined, orienteering, and association football. Born: Louie Welch, American politician, 54th Mayor of Houston; in Lockney, Texas (d. 2008)
December 10, 1918 (Tuesday)
The Red Army captured Minsk. Royal Australian Navy ships sailed to the Black Sea to assist the White Army in the Russian Civil War. Some 200 soldiers with the ANZAC Mounted Division entered the Arab village of Surafend, Palestine and massacred an estimated 40 men in retaliation for the supposed death of one of their own members of their unit by the villagers. Despite an investigation by General Edmund Allenby, the unit refused to name the key perpetrators in the massacre and no courts-martial were carried out. The Nobel Prize Committee selected German physicist Max Planck as recipient for the Nobel Prize in Physics and German chemist Fritz Haber for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. No other awards were handed out that year. The Salangen Airport was established in Salangen Municipality, Norway. The Melrose Symphony Orchestra held its first concert at Melrose, Massachusetts. It remains the oldest, continuous, all-volunteer symphony orchestra in the United States.. Retrieved on March 5, 2010 Uawa County was established in New Zealand. It was amalgamated with Cook County, New Zealand in 1964.
December 11, 1918 (Wednesday) King Ferdinand signed into law the Union of Alba Iulia proclamation that allowed Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, and the Satumare and Maramureș regions to unite with Romania.Romanian Institute for Cultural Remembrance, Law regarding the Union of Transylvania, Banat, Crişana, the Satumare and Maramureş with the Old Kingdom of Romania The Socialist Party of Romania was established as a successor to the Social Democratic Party. 110 ani de social-democraţie în România ("110 Years of Social Democracy in Romania") , Social Democratic Party, Ovidiu Şincai Social Democratic Institute, Bucharest, July 9, 2003; retrieved July 19, 2007 The Cleveland Orchestra, founded by Cleveland philanthropist Adella Prentiss Hughes, held its first concert with Nikolai Sokoloff conducting.