February 13
February 13
ASCAP is founded
“If music did not pay, it would be given up.” So wrote Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes in a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1917. Holmes wasn’t referring to musicians…
A Year In History: 1914
This Year in History:
1914
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
April 20
April 20
Militia slaughters strikers at Ludlow, Colorado
Ending a bitter coal‑miners’ strike, Colorado militiamen attack a tent colony of strikers, killing dozens of men, women and children. When the evictions failed to end the strike, the Rockefeller…
May 9
May 9
Woodrow Wilson proclaims the first Mother’s Day holiday
On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issues a presidential proclamation that officially establishes the first national Mother’s Day holiday to celebrate America’s mothers. The idea for a “Mother’s Day”…
June 28
June 28
Austria’s Archduke Ferdinand assassinated
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are shot to death by a Bosnian Serb nationalist during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on June 28,…
July 5
July 5
Germany gives Austria‑Hungary “blank check” assurance
On July 5, 1914, in Berlin, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany pledges his country’s unconditional support for whatever action Austria‑Hungary chooses to take in its conflict with Serbia, a long‑running…
July 11
July 11
Babe Ruth makes MLB debut
On July 11, 1914, in his major league debut, George Herman “Babe” Ruth pitches seven strong innings to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Cleveland Indians (now known as…
July 18
July 18
Labor activist and singer Joe Hill sentenced to death
Convicted of murder on meager evidence, the singing Wobbly Joe Hill is sentenced to be executed in Utah. A native of Sweden who immigrated to the U.S. in 1879, Joe…
July 23
July 23
Austria‑Hungary issues ultimatum to Serbia
At six o’clock in the evening on July 23, 1914, nearly one month after the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by a young Serbian nationalist in…
July 28
July 28
Austria‑Hungary declares war on Serbia
On July 28, 1914, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, Austria‑Hungary declares war on…
July 29
July 29
Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and Czar Nicholas of Russia exchange telegrams
In the early hours of July 29, 1914, Czar Nicholas II of Russia and his first cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, begin a frantic exchange of telegrams regarding the…
August 1
August 1
First World War erupts
Four days after Austria‑Hungary declared war on Serbia, Germany and Russia declare war against each other, France orders a general mobilization, and the first German army units cross into Luxembourg…
August 3
August 3
Germany and France declare war on each other
On the afternoon of August 3, 1914, two days after declaring war on Russia, Germany declares war on France, moving ahead with a long‑held strategy, conceived by the former chief…
August 4
August 4
U.S. proclaims neutrality in World War I
As World War I erupts in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson formally proclaims the neutrality of the United States, a position that a vast majority of Americans favored, on August 4,…
August 5
August 5
First electric traffic signal installed
The world’s first electric traffic signal is put into place on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 5, 1914. In the earliest…
August 5
August 5
German assault on Liege begins first battle of World War I
On August 5, 1914, the German army launches its assault on the city of Liege in Belgium, violating the latter country’s neutrality and beginning the first battle of World War…
August 15
August 15
Panama Canal open to traffic
The American‑built waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is inaugurated with the passage of the U.S. vessel Ancon, a cargo and passenger ship. The…
August 15
August 15
Japan gives ultimatum to Germany
On August 15, 1914, the government of Japan sends an ultimatum to Germany, demanding the removal of all German ships from Japanese and Chinese waters and the surrender of control…
August 23
August 23
Battle of Mons
On August 23, 1914, in their first confrontation on European soil since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, four divisions of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), commanded by Sir John…
August 24
August 24
Poet Alan Seeger volunteers in French army
On August 24, 1914, the American poet Alan Seeger volunteers for service in the French Foreign Legion during the First World War. Born in New York City in 1888, Seeger…
August 25
August 25
Germans burn Belgian town of Louvain
Over the course of five days, beginning August 25, 1914, German troops stationed in the Belgian village of Louvain during the opening month of World War I burn and loot…
