1910s
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Millennia: | 2nd millennium |
Centuries: | 19th century - 20th century - 21st century |
Decades: | 1880s 1890s 1900s - 1910s - 1920s 1930s 1940s |
Years: | 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 |
Categories: | Births - Deaths - Architecture Establishments - Disestablishments |
The 1910s decade ran from January 1, 1910 through December 31, 1919.
Contents |
[edit] Events and trends
The 1910s represent the culmination of European militarism which had its beginnings during the second half of the nineteenth Century. The conservative lifestyles during the first half of the decade, as well as the legacy of military alliances, would forever be changed by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne, on 28 June 1914. The murder would trigger a chain of events in which, within 30 days, war would break out in Europe. The conflict would drag on until a ceasefire was declared on November 10, 1918 leading to the controversial, one-sided Treaty of Versailles, which would be signed on the 28 June 1919.
The war's end triggered the abdication of aging monarchies and the collapse of the last modern empires of Germany and the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary, the latter splintered into Austria, Hungary, southern Poland (who acquired most of their land in a war with Soviet Russia), Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, as well as the unification of Romania with Transylvania and Moldavia. However, each of these states (with the possible exception of Yugoslavia) had large German and Hungarian minorities, there creating some unexpected problems that would be brought to light in the next two decades.
The decade was also a period of revolution in a number of countries. Mexico spear-headed the trend in November 1910, which led to the ousting of dictator Porfirio Diaz, developing into a civil war that dragged on until mid-1920, not long after a new Mexican constitution was signed and ratified. Russia also had a similar fate, since the Great War led to a collapse in morale as well as to economic chaos. This atmosphere encouraged the establishment of Bolshevism, which would be later renamed as Communism. Like the Mexican Revolution, the Russian Revolution immediately turned to civil war that would drag on until approximately late 1920.
[edit] Technology
- Gideon Sundback patents the first modern zipper
- Harry Brearley invents stainless steel
- Charles P. Strite invents first pop-up bread toaster
- Ford Model T dominates the automobile market, selling more than all other makers combined in 1914
- The tank was invented
[edit] Science
- Einstein's theory of general relativity
- Max von Laue discovers the diffraction of x-rays by crystals
- Alfred Wegener puts forward his theory of continental drift
[edit] War, peace, and politics
- On 20 November 1910, the Mexican Revolution leads to the ouster of Porfirio Díaz (who ruled from 1876-1880 and since 1884) six months later. The Revolution progressively becomes a civil war with multiple factions and phases, culminating with the Mexican Constitution of 1917, but combat would persist for three more years.
- Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary leads to World War I
- October Revolution in Russia leads to the first Communist government; assassination of Emperor Nicholas II and the royal family
- Several nations in Eastern Europe get their own nation state, thereby replacing major multiethnic empires.
- Easter Rising against the British in Ireland; eventually leads to Irish independence
- The Jallianwala Bagh massacre in India sows the seeds of discontent and leads to the birth of the Indian Independence Movement.
- Xinhai Revolution causes the overthrow of China's ruling Qing Dynasty, and the establishment of the Republic of China.
- George V becomes king in Britain.
- The Triple Alliance and Triple Entente are started.
- The First World War (1914-1918).
- Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles after losing the first world war.
- Germany abolishes its monarchy and becomes under the rule of a new elected government called the Weimar Republic.
[edit] Culture and religion
- Radio programming becomes popular
- Flying Squadron promotes temperance movement in the U.S.
- Edith Smith Davis edits the Temperance Educational Quarterly.
- The first U.S. feature film, Oliver Twist, was released in 1912
- The first gangster movie, D. W. Griffith's The Musketeers of Pig Alley was released in 1912
- Hollywood replaces the East Coast as the center of the movie industry
- Charlie Chaplin débuts his trademark mustached, baggy-pants 'Little Tramp' character in Kid Auto Races At Venice in 1914
- The first African-American owned studio, The Lincoln Motion Picture Company, was founded in 1917
- The four Warner brothers, Jack, Albert, Harry and Samuel, opened their first West Coast studio in 1918
- First Crossword Puzzle
- Jazz music begins to become popular
- The Salvation Army has a new international leader, General Bramwell Booth who served from 1912-1929. He replaces his father and co-founder of the Christian Mission (the forerunner of the Salvation Army), William Booth.
[edit] Literature and arts
- See also: List of years in literature#1910s
- D. H. Lawrence publishes Sons and Lovers
- Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham is published
- Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs is published
- Zane Grey's Wild Fire is published
- Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce are published
- Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is published
- Thomas Mann publishes Death in Venice
- Willa Cather publishes 4 books
- End of Art Nouveau and beginning of Art Deco
[edit] Others
- The ocean liner RMS Titanic strikes an iceberg in the North Atlantic in 1912, and sinks on its maiden voyage.
- The Panama Canal is completed 1914
- 1916 Olympic Games cancelled because of World War I
- From 1918 through 1920 the Spanish flu kills 20 to 100 million people worldwide.
[edit] World leaders
- Prime Minister Andrew Fisher (Australia)
- Prime Minister Joseph Cook (Australia)
- Prime Minister Billy Hughes (Australia)
- Emperor Franz Josef (Austria-Hungary)
- Emperor Karl (Austria-Hungary)
- Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden (Canada)
- Emperor Henry Pu Yi of the Qing Dynasty (China)
- Sun Yat-sen, President of the Republic of China
- Yuan Shikai, President of the Republic of China and briefly Emperor.
- Xu Shichang, President of the Republic of China
- Emperor Wilhelm II (German Empire)
- Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (German Empire)
- King Victor Emmanuel III (Italy)
- Pope Pius X
- Pope Benedict XV
- Sultan Vahidettin (Ottoman Empire)
- Ahmad Shah Qajar of Qajar dynasty (Persia)
- Emperor Nicholas II (Russia)
- Vladimir Lenin (Soviet Union)
- King Alfonso XIII (Spain)
- Prime Minister José Canalejas (Spain)
- Prime Minister Eduardo Dato Iradier (Spain)
- King George V (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
- Prime Minister H. H. Asquith (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
- Prime Minister David Lloyd George (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland)
- President William Howard Taft (United States)
- President Woodrow Wilson (United States)
[edit] Entertainers
- Fatty Arbuckle
- Theda Bara
- Richard Barthelmess
- Béla Bartók
- Irving Berlin
- Ben Black
- Eubie Blake
- Shelton Brooks
- Lew Brown
- Tom Brown
- Anne Caldwell
- Eddie Cantor
- Enrico Caruso
- Charlie Chaplin
- George M. Cohan
- Henry Creamer
- Bebe Daniels
- Cecil B. DeMille
- Buddy De Sylva
- Walter Donaldson
- Marie Dressler
- Eddie Edwards
- Gus Edwards
- Douglas Fairbanks
- Fred Fisher
- John Ford
- George Gershwin
- Beniamino Gigli
- Dorothy Gish
- Lillian Gish
- Samuel Goldwyn
- D. W. Griffith
- W. C. Handy
- Otto Harbach
- Lorenz Hart
- Victor Herbert
- Charles Ives
- Tony Jackson
- Emil Jannings
- William Jerome
- Al Jolson
- Gus Kahn
- Gustave Kahn
- Buster Keaton
- Jerome David Kern
- Ring Lardner
- Nick LaRocca
- Harry Lauder
- Florence Lawrence
- Ted Lewis
- Harold Lloyd
- Charles McCarron
- Joseph McCarthy
- Winsor McCay
- Oscar Micheaux
- Mae Murray
- Alla Nazimova
- Pola Negri
- Anna Q. Nilsson
- Ivor Novello
- Alcide Nunez
- Geoffrey O'Hara
- Sidney Olcott
- Jack Pickford
- Mary Pickford
- Armand J. Piron
- Cole Porter
- Richard Rodgers
- Sigmund Romberg
- Jean Schwartz
- Mack Sennett
- Larry Shields
- Chris Smith
- Erich von Stroheim
- Arthur Sullivan
- Gloria Swanson
- Wilber Sweatman
- Blanche Sweet
- Albert Von Tilzer
- Harry Von Tilzer
- Sophie Tucker
- Pete Wendling
- Pearl White
- Bert Williams
- Clarence Williams
- Harry Williams
- Spencer Williams
- P. G. Wodehouse