What Happened in August 1914

Historical Events

Events 1 - 100 of 123

  • Aug 1 British Grand Fleet reaches Scapa Flow

Germany Declares War on Russia

Aug 1 Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany declares war on his nephew Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in WWI

  • Aug 1 France and Germany mobilize their troops at outbreak of WWI

Universal Negro Improvement Assoc.

Aug 1 Marcus Garvey and others found the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Jamaica with aim of creating black-governed nation in Africa

  • Aug 1 Trois Vierges: German 69th infantry regiment enters Luxembourg on outbreak of WWI
  • Aug 2 Belgian government receives German ultimatum
  • Aug 2 German press falsely reports that French have bombed Nuremberg
  • Aug 2 German troops overthrow Luxembourg
  • Aug 2 Germany and Turkey sign secret treaty of alliance
  • Aug 2 Great Britain mobilizes
  • Aug 2 Postdam Conference ends
  • Aug 2 WWI: Russian troops invade East Prussia
  • Aug 3 1st unofficial trip through the Panama Canal by the SS Christobel
  • Aug 3 Belgium rejects demand to allow free crossing for German Army leading to their invasion hours later

Event of Interest

Aug 3 British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey famously remarks "The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our life-time."

  • Aug 3 French fleet sails to North Africa
  • Aug 3 German battle cruiser Goeben leaves Messina
  • Aug 3 Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, beginning World War I
  • Aug 3 NY Yankees catcher Les Nunamaker throws out 3 Tigers' runners to 2nd base during the 1st innings, only time in 20th Century
  • Aug 3 World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through Churches forms
  • Aug 4 German fleet under Admiral Wilhelm Souchon fire on the Algerian coast
  • Aug 4 US declares neutrality on the outbreak of WWI
  • Aug 4 WWI: German army shoots Belgian priests and burns down village of Battice
  • Aug 4 WWI: King Albert I becomes Supreme Commander of Belgian army after German declaration of war
  • Aug 5 1st electric traffic light installed in the USA on the corner of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio

Battle of Liège

Aug 5 Battle of Liège: first battle of WWI, massive German assault on forts around Belgium city of Liège led by Erich Ludendorff

  • Aug 5 Cuba, Uruguay, Mexico and Argentina proclaim neutrality in WW I
  • Aug 5 Dutch Cort Van de Linden government issues silver bonds as money
  • Aug 5 Montenegro declares war against Austria-Hungary in World War I
  • Aug 5 US and Nicaragua sign treaty granting canal rights to US
  • Aug 5 Westerschelde leaves due to German invasion in Belgium

War Secretary Lord Kitchener

Aug 5 WWI: Field Marshal Lord Kitchener appointed Secretary of War after British declaration of war on Germany

  • Aug 6 Denis Patrick Dowd Jr. enlists in the French Foreign Legion, becoming the first American to fight in World War I
  • Aug 6 WWI: Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia
  • Aug 6 WWI: French cavalry enters Belgium
  • Aug 6 WWI: German Zeppelin bombs Liege, 9 killed
  • Aug 6 WWI: Serbia declares war against Germany
  • Aug 7 Engagement between British cruiser HMS Gloucester and German cruisers SMS Breslau and SMS Goeben off Greece
  • Aug 7 French government awards King Albert of Belgium the Great Cross
  • Aug 7 French troops under Gen Bonneau occupy Altkitrch at Elzas
  • Aug 7 German army occupies city of Liege, Belgium
  • Aug 7 Russia invades East Prussia

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition

Aug 8 Ernest Shackleton's ship "Endurance" leaves Plymouth, England, on the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration

  • Aug 8 French troops under Gen Bonneau occupy Mulhouse at Elzas
  • Aug 8 Montenegro declares war on Germany
  • Aug 9 German U-15 was sunk by the British cruiser, H.M.S. Birmingham
  • Aug 10 At Liege, German 12"/16.5" guns reach Belgian boundary
  • Aug 10 German battle cruiser Goeben reaches Dardanellen/Turkey joins Germany
  • Aug 10 German troops reconquer Mulhouse in Elzas
  • Aug 10 WWI: French fall back at Alsace
  • Aug 11 Jews are expelled from Mitchenick, Poland
  • Aug 11 John Bray patents animation
  • Aug 12 Cavalry battle at Halen, Belgium ("Battle of the Silver Helmets")
  • Aug 12 France and Great Britain declare war on Austria-Hungary
  • Aug 12 German 16.5"/12" guns fires on forts round Liege
  • Aug 12 WWI: Russian troops take East Prussia and occupy Marggrabowa
  • Aug 13 -14] German army occupies forts at Liege
  • Aug 13 Carl Wickman begins Greyhound, the 1st US bus line, in Minnesota

Military History

Aug 14 British Expeditionary Force led by Field Marshal John French and General Henry Wilson lands in France

Battle of Dinant

Aug 15 Dinant, Belgium, destroyed by German bombs. Lt Charles de Gaulle (24), injured

International Lawn Tennis Challenge

Aug 15 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, NYC, New York: Norman Brookes beats American Dick Norris Williams 6-1, 6-2, 8-10, 6-3 to give Australasia unassailable 3-1 lead; win 3-2

  • Aug 15 Japan joins the side of the allies
  • Aug 15 Panama Canal opens (under cost) with the SS Ancon making the 1st official steamship through the canal

Taliesian Massacre

Aug 15 Taliesian Massacre (Spring Green, Wisconsin): Julian Carlton, a disgruntled employee, kills architect Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress Martha Borthwick, her 2 children, and 4 others with a hatchet and burns the architect's home to the ground while Wright is away on business

  • Aug 15 The first large public gathering of Boers in South Africa who do not want to support Britain in a war against Germany; British authorities will try to repress this movement, but discontent spreads

US Neutrality

Aug 15 US Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, in a letter to J P Morgan, Jr., declares that loans to any of the belligerents go against US neutrality

  • Aug 16 German army occupies last fort at Liege, Belgian general Leman caught
  • Aug 16 World War I: Battle of Cer begins.
  • Aug 16 Zapata & Pancho Villa over run Mexico
  • Aug 17 French troops under General de Castelnau occupy Chateau Salins
  • Aug 18 -20] Belgian army withdraws to Antwerp
  • Aug 18 French troops under general Dubail occupy Sarrebourg
  • Aug 18 Swiss track and road bicycle racer Oscar Egg sets new hour world record of 44.247 km at the outdoor Vélodrome Buffalo in Paris; record stands until 1933

Proclamation of Neutrality

Aug 18 US President Woodrow Wilson issues "Proclamation of Neutrality"

On Trial

Aug 19 Elmer Rice's play "On Trial" premieres in NYC

  • Aug 19 German army executes 150 Belgians by firing squad
  • Aug 19 German fleet bombs the English coast
  • Aug 19 Harris Theater (Candler, Coan & Harris) opens at 226 W 42nd St NYC
  • Aug 19 In a message to the Senate, US President Woodrow Wilson urges the American people to be 'neutral in fact as well as name'
  • Aug 20 Battle at Gumbinnen, East-Prussia: Russians beat Germans
  • Aug 20 Battle at Morhange: German troops chase French, killing thousands
  • Aug 20 Bavarian troops kill 50 inhabitants of Nomeny, France
  • Aug 20 German army captured Brussels as the Belgian army retreated to Antwerp
  • Aug 20 German General von Bulow executes 211 Belgians
  • Aug 21 Belgium: German troops occupy Tamines
  • Aug 21 French offensive in the Ardennen/Sambre

US Golf Open

Aug 21 US Open Men's Golf, Midlothian CC: 21-year old Walter Hagen holds off amateur Chick Evans by 1 stroke to win the first of his 2 Open titles; first of 11 major championships

  • Aug 22 1st encounter between British & German troops (in Belgium)
  • Aug 22 Battle at Charleroi begins: Gen von Bulows troops beat French
  • Aug 22 Battle in Ardennen: Neufchateau, Rossignal, Tintigny & Virton
  • Aug 22 Canada's Finance Act, 1914, receives assent
  • Aug 22 General Martos' troops occupy Soldau/Neidenburg, East Prussia
  • Aug 22 German troops execute 384 inhabitants of Tamines, Belgium
  • Aug 23 -24] German troops plunder Belgium
  • Aug 23 Battle of Mons: General Alexander von Kluck's troops forced a British withdrawal.
  • Aug 23 Gen von Hausen executes 612 inhabitants of Dinant, Belgium
  • Aug 23 Japan declares war on Germany in World War I
  • Aug 24 Battle of Bergen: Germans defeat Belgian/British troops
1914 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Aug 1 Jack Delano [Jacob Ovcharov], Russian-born American composer and photographer, born in Voroshilovka, Russian Empire (d. 1997)
  • Aug 2 Beatrice Straight, American actress (Network, Poltergeist, Power), born in Old Westbury, New York (d. 2001)
  • Aug 2 Félix Leclerc, French Canadian singer and composer (Moi, mes souliers), born in La Tuque, Québec, Canada (d. 1988)
  • Aug 3 Rik Slabbinck, Flemish painter, born in Bruges, Belgium (d. 1991)
  • Aug 5 Anita Colby, American model, author and actress (Mary of Scotland, Cover Girl, Pepsi Cola Playhouse), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1992)
  • Aug 5 David Brian, American actor (Accused of Murder, Dawn at Sorocco), born in New York City (d. 1993)
  • Aug 5 Parley Baer, American radio, film and television character actor (Gunsmoke; The Andy Griffith Show - "Mayor Stoner"), born in Salt Lake City Utah (d. 2002)
  • Aug 5 Stjepan Sulek, Croatian violinist and composer (Coriolan), born in Zagreb, Croatia (d. 1986)
  • Aug 6 Arthur Charles Dobson, British racing driver (d. 1980)
  • Aug 6 Susan Cowdy, English ornithologist (Bardsey Island Trust), born in The Lee, England (d. 1996)
  • Aug 7 Ted Moore, South African-British cinematographer (James Bond), born in Western Cape, South Africa (d. 1987)
  • Aug 8 (C. Dudley) "Pete" King, American film and easy listening music arranger and composer (The Pied Piper of Hamelin; The Last of the Secret Agents?), born in Greenville, Ohio (d. 1982)
  • Aug 8 Unity Mitford, English fascist sympathizer and one of the Mitford sisters, born in London (d. 1948)
  • Aug 9 Ferenc Fricsay, Hungarian-Austrian conductor, born in Budapest (d. 1963)
  • Aug 9 Gordon Cullen, English architect (Townscape), born in Calverley (d. 1994)
  • Aug 9 Joe Mercer, English soccer midfielder (5 caps; Everton, Arsenal) and manager (Manchester City, Aston Villa, England 1974), born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire (d. 1990)

Tove Jansson (1914-2001)

Aug 9 Finnish author and illustrator (Moomins), born in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire

  • Aug 10 Carlos Menditeguy, Argentine auto racer (11 x F1 GP) and horse trainer, polo player, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1973)
  • Aug 10 Jeff Corey [Arthur Zwerling], American actor (Getting Straight, Superman & Mole Men), born in New York City (d. 2002)
  • Aug 11 José Silva, American parapsychologist (d. 1999)
  • Aug 12 Gerd Buchdahl, German philosopher (d. 2001)
  • Aug 12 Jan Bakker, Dutch WWII resistance fighter and journalist (Parool), born in Giethoorn, Netherlands (d. 1994)
  • Aug 12 Ruth Lowe, Canadian pianist and composer ("I'll Never Smile Again"), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1981)
  • Aug 13 "Cap'n Jack" McCarthy, American television broadcaster (NYC's St. Patrick Day Parade, 1949-89; kiddie show host (Popeye)), born in New York City (d. 1996)
  • Aug 13 Ivon De Bie, Belgian jazz pianist (Django Reinhardt), and bandleader, born in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Belgium (d. 1989)
  • Aug 13 Luis Mariano, Basque operetta singer, born in Irun, Spain (d. 1970)
  • Aug 15 Peter Nicholson Gunn, Australian writer (The Churches of Rome), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1995)
  • Aug 16 Edythe Wright, American big band era singer (Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, 1935-39), born in Bayonne, New Jersey (d. 1965) [1]
  • Aug 16 Tullio Pandolfini, Italian water polo athlete (Olympic gold, 1948), born in Florence, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1999)
  • Aug 17 Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr, American son of FDR/(Rep-D-NY, 1949-55), born in Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada (d. 1988)
  • Aug 19 Fumio Hayasaka, Japanese film score composer (Rashomon; Seven Samurai), born in Sendai, Honshū, Japan (d. 1955)
  • Aug 19 Lajos Baróti, Hungarian soccer defender (2 caps; Szegedi AK, Győri ETO) and manager (Hungary 1957-66, 75-78), born in Szeged, Hungary (d. 2005)
  • Aug 21 Dallas Pratt, American collector (The American Museum in Britain), born in Islip, New York (d. 1994)
  • Aug 21 Doug Wright, English cricket spin bowler (34 Tests, 108 wickets; Kent), born in Sidcup, England (d. 1998)
  • Aug 25 Alexei Haieff, Russian-American composer (Princess Zondilda), born in Biagoveschensk, Siberia (d. 1994)
  • Aug 26 Julio Cortázar, Argentine writer (Blow-Up, Underground Game), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1984)
  • Aug 27 Catherine Marshall, American editor and writer, born in Johnson City, Tennessee (d. 1983)
  • Aug 28 (Abraham) "Glenn" Osser, American arranger and orchestra leader (Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue; Miss America Pageant), born in Munising, Michigan (d. 2014)
  • Aug 30 Julie Bishop [Jacqueline Wells], American actress (My Hero, Northern Pursuit, Threat), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2001)
  • Aug 30 Sydney Wooderson, English athlete dubbed "The Mighty Atom" (world record 1937), born in Camberwell, London (d. 2006)
  • Aug 31 Richard Basehart, American actor (Voyage to Bottom of Sea), born in Zanesville, Ohio (d. 1984)
Born in 1914

Famous Deaths

  • Aug 2 Gabriel Édouard Xavier Dupont, French composer, dies of tuberculosis at 36
  • Aug 4 Jules Lemaître, French critic and dramatist, dies at 61
  • Aug 6 Ellen Axson Wilson (née Ellen Louise Axson), American artist and First Lady (US, 1913-14; New Jersey, 1911-13), dies of Bright's Disease during President Woodrow Wilson's 1st term, at 54
  • Aug 7 Boleslaw Dembinski, Polish composer, dies at 81
  • Aug 7 Bransby Cooper, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (1 Test, 2 dismissals; Middlesex CCC, Kent CCC, Victoria), dies at 70
  • Aug 9 Roque Saenz Pena, Argentine politician and lawyer (President of Argentina 1910-14), dies in office at 63

John Philip Holland (1840-1914)

Aug 12 Irish engineer and father of the modern submarine, dies at 74

  • Aug 15 Anatoly Liadov, Russian composer (Baba yaga), dies at 59
  • Aug 17 James Grierson, British general, dies of an aneurism at 55
  • Aug 19 Franz Xavier Wernz, German Superior General of the Society of Jesus, dies at 69
  • Aug 20 Pius X [Giuseppe Sarto], 257th Italian Roman Catholic Pope (1903-14 - lowered age of Communion from 12 to 7,) and saint, dies at 79
  • Aug 22 Giacomo Radini-Tedeschi Italian religious figure
  • Aug 22 James Dickson Innes, British painter, dies of tuberculosis at 27
  • Aug 22 Léon Amédée François Raffenel, French general (3rd Colonial Div, WWI), dies during Battle of Rossignol at 58
  • Aug 22 Rondony, French general (3rd Colonial Div, WWI), dies during Battle of Rossignol at 58
  • Aug 23 Felix Fivet, Belgian baby, executed by German troops at 3 weeks
  • Aug 23 George Ambrose Pogson, British consul in Hamburg (1880-1914), dies
  • Aug 24 Johannes Weiss, German New Testament scholar, dies at 50
  • Aug 28 Anatoly Lyadov, Russian composer (From the Apocalypse; Bewitched Lake), conductor, and pedagogue (St. Petersburg Conservatory, 1878-1914), dies at 59
  • Aug 30 Adrian H. Stewart, British lieutenant, dies in battle in Cameroon at 26
  • Aug 30 Alexander Samsonov, Russian general, commits suicide after Russian defeat at the Battle of Tannenberg at 54
  • Aug 30 Lucy Lloyd, English-born creator (with Wilhelm Bleek) of archive of Bushman ǀxam and !kun texts, dies at 79 [1]