100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

17th March 1920

Crew of the British submarine HMS M3, taken likely around its commissioning today.


Ship Losses:

Adolf (Sweden) The cargo ship collided with Moliere ( United Kingdom) in the Bristol Channel off Barry, Glamorgan, United Kingdom and was beached. A fire broke out on 18 March.
Cadrier (France) The cargo ship sprang a leak in the English Channel north of Alderney, Channel Isles and sank. Four of her 23 crew were rescued by Wagland ( Norway).
Tewkesbury (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was driven ashore at Cape Vine, Nova Scotia, Canada and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.

[Jimbuna]

18th March 1920

Steam cargo ship SS Olockson catches fire off Balboa Harbour.


Ship Losses:

USS Althea (United States Navy) The motorboat was sunk by ice at Detroit, Michigan. She was sold for salvage but salvage efforts were abandoned in 1926.
Cordier (France) During her first commercial trip from Nantes (region Pays de la Loire, France) to Rotterdam (Netherlands) loaded with iron ore, sank following a leak at N of Alderney Channel Islands. 19 perished, only 4 sailors were rescued by the Norwegian steamer Wacland.
Eva (Denmark) The cargo ship came ashore on the west coast of Skagen. Her crew survived.
Jeremiah Smith (United States) The schooner foundered in the Atlantic Ocean. Her crew were rescued by Hatteras ( United States).

[Jimbuna]

19th March 1920

A firing squad firing a salute over the grave of Oliver Dyer who fought in many battles on World War I, and was gassed at the Battle of Argonne Forest, New York, New York, March 19, 1920. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery on Long Island.


French weightlifter Vasseur Louis demonstrating his strength at an exhibition at the Palais du Trocadéro, Paris.


Ship Losses:

Scandia (United States) The 116-gross register ton, 90.8-foot (27.7 m) fishing vessel was stranded in the Gulf of Alaska on the north end of Montague Island at the entrance to Prince William Sound in the Territory of Alaska. All 17 people on board survived. She was salvaged, repaired, and returned to service.

[Jimbuna]

20th March 1920

Tomás Mac Curtain, Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork and an officer of the IRA, is assassinated at his home by members of the Royal Irish Constabulary.


U.S. Navy kite balloon in a hangar at Pensacola, Florida.


Ship Losses:

Gladys Strut (United Kingdom) The three-masted schooner sprang a leak in the Atlantic Ocean (48°10′N 19°30′W). She was set afire and abandoned; her crew were rescued by Major Wheeler ( United States).
Jerx G. Shaw (United States) The schooner was driven ashore on Block Island, Rhode Island. Her crew were rescued.
White Rose (United Kingdom) The cargo ship collided with Fantee ( United Kingdom) in the Bristol Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) off Trevose Head, Cornwall and sank. Her crew were rescued by Fantee.

[Jimbuna]

21st March 1920

USS Maryland, one of four super-dreadnought Colorado-class battleships, is launched.

Experimental snow car being tested in Ashland, Maine.

[Jimbuna]

22nd March 1920

Azerbaijani troops attack the town of Shusha and destroy it, resulting in thousands of Armenian deaths in the following days.


Street fighting on the Frankfurter Alles, Berlin during the recent Kapp revolution.


France's 'Gueules cassés' (disfigured veterans) are received at the Élysée Palace.


Ship Losses:

Ambar (Portugal) The whaler was wrecked in the Congo River at Loanda, Portuguese East Africa. Some of her passengers and crew were rescued.
Kara (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was wrecked off Cape Quintres, Santoña, Spain. Her crew were rescued.
Rock Island Bridge (United States) The cargo ship collided with Iroquois (flag unknown) in the English Channel 8 nautical miles (15 km) south south east of The Lizard, Cornwall, United Kingdom. She was taken in tow by Kenowsha ( United States) beached in the Helford River but subsequently sank. The wreck was sold by auction in May 1920.

[Jimbuna]

23rd March 1920

Edward, Prince of Wales, visiting Sydney during his royal tour of Australia.


Bainbridge Colby (pictured) becomes the new Secretary of State of the United States. Colby had no diplomatic experience was chosen for his loyalty to Wilson.


President Wilson making a public appearance five months after suffering his debilitating stroke.

[Jimbuna]

24th March 1920

HMS Prince of Wales transiting the Panama Canal.


Leon Trotsky addressing a crowd in Moscow.


Ship Losses:

City of St. Helens (United States) The auxiliary schooner caught fire and was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of the United States.
Mutlah (United Kingdom) The cargo ship caught fire at Naples, Italy and sank.
Teje (Norway) The cargo ship collided with Mimer ( Norway) off Kristiansand, Norway, and was beached.

[Jimbuna]

25th March 1920

Temporary constables known as the Black and Tans begin arriving in Ireland to reinforce the Royal Irish Constabulary and suppress the Irish War of Independence. They receive a notorious reputation for police brutality, including extrajudicial killings.


Three-wheeler car on the streets of France.


Ship Losses:

Botanist (United Kingdom) The cargo liner ran aground on the Komuriya Reef, off the coast of Ceylon. Her passengers were rescued by Arracan ( United Kingdom). She was declared a total loss on 30 March. Her crew were rescued.

[Jimbuna]

26th March 1920

The German government asks France for permission to use its own troops against the rebellious Ruhr Red Army, in the French-occupied area.

63rd. Infantry, Washington D.C. National Guard of Washington D.C. March 26, 1920.

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27th March 1920

German 28cm railway gun being displayed in Sydney.


Ship Losses:

Inga (France) The cargo ship ran aground at Villa San Giovanni, Calabria, Italy. She was refloated on 31 March.
Ugor (Soviet Navy) The Bars-class submarine was sunk by ice in the Neva. The submarine was later salvaged.

[Jimbuna]

28th March 1920

Royal Navy submarine M3 with a large 12-inch gun.


"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" film released.


Ship Losses:

Crostafels (United Kingdom) The cargo ship ran aground on the Ceiba Bank, off the coast of Cuba. She was later refloated and arrived at Kingston, Jamaica on 5 March.
Moskvityanin (Russia White Movement) Russian Civil War: The Emir Bukharski-class destroyer, sunk in May 1919 and refloated on 10 January 1920 but not repaired, was scuttled by gunfire in the Caspian Sea by ships of the Caspian Flotilla of the White Movement.
Picardie (France) The cargo ship collided with New London ( United Kingdom) in the North Sea and sank.

[Jimbuna]

29th March 1920

Sir William Robertson is appointed the rank of field marshal, becoming the first and only soldier in the British Army to have risen from the rank of private to the highest rank.


King Christian X of Denmark dismisses the government of Prime Minister Carl Theodor Zahle (pictured). The move causes a constitutional crisis known as the Easter Crisis of 1920, and large-scale demonstrations break out against the King.


Ship Losses:

City of St. Helens (United States) The sailing vessel caught fire and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 80 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Kitagawa Maru (Japan) The cargo ship sprang a leak and was abandoned off Chōsi, Chica.

[Jimbuna]

30th March 1920

U.S. Navy flyer listing precautions against influenza.


The head of a statue of Tsar Alexander III lies in Moscow after Bolshevik forces toppled it.


Grover Bergdoll, known as "the millionaire draft dodger", began a five year prison sentence for desertion at Fort Jay in New York. He would serve only five months before escaping in August while being allowed to visit his mansion in Philadelphia.


Ship Losses:

Prince John (United Kingdom) The cargo ship collided with Prince Albert ( United Kingdom) off Deadtree Point, British Columbia, Canada and was beached. She was refloated on 8 April.

[Jimbuna]

31st March 1920

Thousands of German helmets are used to pave a new road of Croydon, England.


General W.W. Harts Chief of Staff of the American forces in Germany who was ordered home to testify before a House war investigating Committee concerning charges of cruelty to America soldiers in the prisons of the Paris district during the war.


German General Lothar von Trotha, who led German forces in the Herero Wars and the genocide against the Herero and Namaqua peoples, has died.


Ship Losses:

Frances R (United States) The 13-gross register ton motor vessel struck a rock, drifted ashore, and was smashed to pieces by the surf at Lyman Point (55°32′30″N 132°16′35″W) in Southeast Alaska after her gasoline engine broke down during a snowstorm with high winds. The two people on board survived.
Prince Pozharsky (Russian Navy White Movement) Russian Civil War: The gunboat was damaged by a mine in the Caspian Sea and scuttled by Dmitry Donskoy ( Russian Navy White Movement).