100 Years Ago Today

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2nd March 1920

China's Prime Minister Chin Yun-p'eng resigned after his party continued to insist on negotiating with Japan on rights to China's Shantung peninsula.


Worker for the London General Omnibus Co. preparing an “anti-flu” spray to disinfect buses.


Frederick Colvin George Eden (Lord Auckland), Susan Livingstone Eden (Lady Auckland), and the Honorable Constance Eden, arriving aboard the Cunard Liner Imperator in New York City on March 2, 1920.


Ship Losses:

Moccasin (United States) The cargo ship sank at New York.
Mozambique (Norway) The barque sprang a leak and was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean (36°45′N 60°20′W).
Sydnæs (Norway) The barque was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean (36°50′N 50°15′W). Her crew were rescued by Elba ( United Kingdom).

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3rd March 1920

Oil well workers near the mouth of the Rio Grande, Texas.


Ship Losses:

Old Head (United Kingdom) The schooner struck the breakwater at Cherbourg, Seine-Inférieure, France and sank.

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4th March 1920

In London, the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom and France agreed upon plans for the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.

British "Home Children" arriving in Canada.

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5th March 1920

General John Pershing and family in front of a new home in Lincoln, Nebraska.


Streets of New Brunswick, New Jersey after heavy snow.


Ship Losses:

Magnhel (United States) After the 9-gross register ton fishing vessel′s propeller shaft broke, her anchor cables parted and she drifted ashore in heavy weather and was wrecked at Cora Point (55°54′10″N 134°47′15″W) on Coronation Island in Southeast Alaska. Her crew of three reached shore safely and was rescued on 7 March by the motor vessel My Fancy ( United States).

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6th March 1920

A fire destroys a barracks of the American Expeditionary Force in Siberia.


Battleship USS Maryland under construction at Newport News, Virginia.


Ship Losses:

Bratto (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was abandoned in the Bristol Channel. Her crew were rescued by St. Louis ( United States). Bratto was towed into Padstow, where she sank.
Dunstan (United Kingdom) The cargo ship ran aground at Tutoya, Maranhão, Brazil.[97] She was refloated on 17 March.

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7th March 1920

French liner SS Venezuela stranded off the coast of Casablanca.


The Syrian National Congress proclaims Syria independent, with Faisal I of Iraq as king.

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8th March 1920

The Arab Kingdom of Syria is proclaimed, with King Faisal as its first monarch.


Group of geishas at Beppa [sic Beppu?], Japan.


Supper menu aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth


Ship Losses:

Brookfield (United States) The cargo ship caught fire at Faial Island, Azores, Portugal and was a total loss. Her crew were rescued.
Guildford (United States) The cargo ship sprang a leak and was abandoned off the Bujho Shoal in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Massachusetts. She was later towed into Vineyard Haven, arriving on 10 March.
USS H-1 (United States Navy) The H-class submarine ran aground off Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, with the loss of four crew. She sank during salvage attempts on 24 March.
Lejok (United States) The schooner was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. Her crew were rescued by W. S. Rheem ( United States).
Natenna (United States) The cargo ship was driven ashore at Casablanca, French Morocco and was a total loss.
Vénézuela (France) The cargo liner was driven ashore at Casablanca and was a total loss. Her crew were rescued.

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9th March 1920

Anti-Zionist demonstrations occur at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. Deadly fighting broke out between Arab Palestinians and Zionist Jews.

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10th March 1920

Hjalmar Branting becomes the first Social Democratic Prime Minister of Sweden.


Ship Losses:

Jutland (Canada) The beam trawler departed Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was not seen or heard from again. On 11 March, the trawler Lemberg ( Canada) discovered two damaged dories in the Atlantic Ocean 86 nautical miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Halifax, one of them containing the body of one of Jutland′s crew members. No trace of the other 20 men on board ever was found.

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11th March 1920

In Guatemala, large-scale demonstration occur in protest against the government and lack of political freedoms. Soldiers use machine guns on the protesters, causing dozens of deaths and injuries.


Ship Losses:

Hilda Rachel (Spain) The cargo ship caught fire and foundered whilst on a voyage from Penarth, Glamorgan, United Kingdom to Gibraltar. Her crew were rescued.
Maid of La Have (United Kingdom) The schooner was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean 500 nautical miles (930 km) east of New York, United States. Her crew were rescued by Adriatic ( United Kingdom).
Per Marquette 3 (United States) The passenger ship was crushed by ice and sank in Lake Michigan off Ludington, Michigan. All 35 people on board were rescued.
San Juan #3 )United States) Under tow by a tug during a voyage along the coast of the Territory of Alaska from Port Althorp to Unakwik Inlet in Prince William Sound with a 10-ton deck load of cannery supplies, the 24-ton scow sank in the Gulf of Alaska about 6 nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) offshore at 59°11′N 139°05′W.

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12th March 1920

Social Revolutionists protesting in Vladivostok, Russia.


Ship Losses:

Carroo (United Kingdom) The cargo ship suffered an onboard explosion in her cargo of benzine with the loss of a crew member. She caught fire and was beached at Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Commandant Mages (France) The ocean liner ran aground 20 nautical miles (37 km) east of Hong Kong. She was refloated on 25 March.
Henriette (flag unknown) The sailing ship sank at Bordeaux, Gironde, France.
Llai Llai (Chile) The cargo ship collided with O'Higgins ( Chilean Navy) at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and sank.

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13th March 1920

The Kapp Putsch occurs in Germany, as Wolfgang Kapp (pictured) leads a coup to overthrow the Weimar Republic and establish an authoritarian government.


Paramilitary supporters of the Kapp Putsch, wearing helmets with swastika symbols, hand out leaflets in Berlin.


Left-wing workers in the Ruhr region of Germany stage an uprising in response to the coup in Berlin. Armed members of the Red Ruhr Army in Dortmund.


American submarine USS H-1 runs aground and sinks off the coast of Baja California, leaving four dead.


Ship Losses:

Alexandra (United Kingdom) The tug foundered in the River Humber with the loss of three of her four crew. She was refloated on 10 May.
Alfonzo (United States) The cargo ship was destroyed by fire at Manila, Philippines.
Chatcauqua (United States) The cargo ship ran aground off Bermuda. Her crew were rescued.
Olockson (United States) The cargo ship caught fire in the Gulf of Panama 100 nautical miles (190 km) off Panama City, Colombia. She was abandoned on 17 March. Olockson came ashore at Balboa and sank.
T94 (Reichsmarine) The training ship, a former S90-class torpedo boat, was scuttled by Putschists at Wilhelmshaven. Later raised and broken up.
Yungai (United Kingdom) The cargo ship issued a SOS in the Atlantic Ocean (30°10′N 77°00′W).[110] She was abandoned and her crew were rescued by Limos ( United States).

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14th March 1920

Leaders of the Weimar Republic call for a general strike to oppose the right-wing coup in Berlin. Large demonstrations paralyze Germany and prevent the coup leaders from governing.


Defending Alexanderplatz. View of soldiers as they guard Alexanderplatz with flamethrowers during the abortive Kapp Putsch, Berlin, mid March 1920. The putsch was an attempt to overthrow the nascent Weimar Republic and reinstall the monarchy.

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15th March 1920

Allied troops take over the city of Constantinople, beginning the military occupation of the city.


Street-fighting breaks out across Germany between right-wing and left-wing paramilitary groups. Rudolf Berthold, German ace with 44 victories and Freikorps militia leader, is killed in Hamburg.


Ship Losses:

Dove (United States) The 26-gross register ton, 48.7-foot (14.8 m) motor cargo vessel was wrecked at Cape Ommaney (56°10′00″N 134°40′20″W) in Southeast Alaska with the loss of two lives. There were three survivors.
Lux (France) The cargo ship departed from Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France, bound for Oran, Algeria. No further trace, presumed foundered in the Mediterranean Sea with the loss of all hands.

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16th March 1920

The unveiling of the monument to nurse Edith Cavell, executed by the Germans during World War One, by the Dowager Queen Alexandra in St Martin's Place, London.


A recruiting poster for the Royal Air Force.


Ship Losses:

Balabac (United States) The cargo ship was destroyed by fire at a Trinidadian port.
Dashing Wave (United States) During a voyage from Seattle, Washington, to Taku via Ketchikan in the Territory of Alaska with a crew of nine and a cargo of general cannery supplies aboard, the 1,054-gross register ton barge was wrecked without loss of life off Shelter Point (49.9307°N 125.1849°W) on the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The steamer San Juan (flag unknown) towed her wreck to shore, but it was declared a total loss.
Rosa Harriette (United Kingdom) The schooner sprang a leak and foundered in the English Channel off St Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight. Her crew were rescued by Odland ( Norway) after 16 hours adrift.