100 Years Ago Today

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22nd July 1921

The Douglas Aircraft Company is founded by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. The Douglas DT bomber will the company’s first military contract.


At Annual, Morocco, Spanish forces led by General Silvestre (pictured) are defeated and routed at the hands of Rifian Berbers. In the following days, up to 15 thousand Spanish soldiers are killed, wounded, and captured, and General Silvestre’s body is never found.


Ship Losses:

Selene (United Kingdom) The schooner caught fire in the Mozambique Channel and was abandoned. She was later towed into Majunga, Madagascar in a severely damaged state.
USS U-140 (United States Navy) The Type U 139 submarine was sunk as a target in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Charles, Virginia by USS Dickerson ( United States Navy)

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23rd July 1921

Virginia National Guard, full field inspection, Camp Meade Maryland. July 23, 1921


Ship Losses:

Acadian (United Kingdom) The schooner was destroyed by fire in the Turks Islands. Her crew were rescued.
Dagmar (Norway) The barque was wrecked off Providence Atoll, Seychelles. Her twelve crew were rescued by Louqsor ( France).
Sylph (United Kingdom) The cargo ship foundered in the Bristol Channel 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) off Steep Holm, Somerset.
Ville de Casablanca (France) The cargo ship sprang a leak and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Dellys, Algeria. Her crew were rescued.

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24th July 1921

Greek troops defeat Turkish forces at Battle of Kütahya–Eskişehir, but Turkish troops are able to retreat in good order and preserve its strength. Greek soldiers and cavalry at Eskişehir.

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25th July 1921

French battleship Bretagne participating in a naval parade off Le Havre.


Ship Losses:

Frontier (United Kingdom) The coaster struck the pier at Port Natal, South Africa. She was holed and consequently was beached.
Parthian (United States) The cargo ship sank at Oran, Algeria due to a fire.[181] She was refloated on 21 August.

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26th July 1921

American imposter Stanley Clifford Weyman (left), posing as an American Naval officer, succeeds in arranging a meeting between President Harding and an Afghan delegation led by Princess Fatima Sultana (2nd to right).


Princess Fatima of Afghanistan.

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27th July 1921

People line the streets as French Prime Minister Millerand visits Rouen.

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28th July 1921

Greek soldiers armed with a French chauchat machine gun during the Greco-Turkish War.


Silesia: Arrival of Scots soldiers of the Blackwatch Regiment in Opole in order to control the referendum dispute.

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29th July 1921

Adolf Hitler is selected by Nazi Party members as its party Chairman (Führer), replacing Anton Drexler (pictured)


Adolf Hitler is elected party chairman of the NSDAP by the general assembly. He gains dictatorial power and sometimes uses violence to propagate political goals. (Hitler in 1921)


Ship Losses:

Arzila (United Kingdom) The cargo ship ran aground in the Chiloé Archipelago, Chile. She was refloated on 19 August.
Nidelv (Norway) The cargo ship was driven ashore at Musselwick, Pembrokeshire United Kingdom and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.
Sainte Mathilde (France) The schooner was driven ashore and wrecked at Boulogne, Pas-de-Calais. Her crew were rescued.

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30th July 1921

Turkish officers captured in the Greco-Turkish war relax in a POW camp.


Ship Losses:

Manuel L. Villaverde (Spain) The passenger ship struck rocks off the coast of Nigeria. She broke in two and sank. All on board were rescued.

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31st July 1921

Antiwar demonstrations are held in Berlin, with people holding signs that read “Never again War (Nie wieder Krieg)”


Ship Losses:

Canadian Exporter (Canada) The cargo ship ran aground at Willapa Harbor, Washington, United States. She broke her back and was a total loss.
Duchess (United Kingdom) The schooner was discovered derelict in the English Channel (50°28′N 0°23′E) by Stockwell ( United Kingdom). She was towed to Dover, Kent.

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1st August 1921

First flight of the Curtiss CR


Ship Losses:

Siam Maru (Japan) The cargo ship came ashore 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of Cape Guardafui, Italian Somaliland. She was abandoned on 3 August and her crew were rescued by Kashima ( Imperial Japanese Navy). Siam Maru was later destroyed by fire and was a total loss.

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2nd August 1921

Ship Losses:

Shirotoki Maru (Japan) The coaster was driven ashore on Tsushima Island and was wrecked. Her crew were rescued.

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3rd August 1921

The “Pact of Pacification” is signed by Italian fascists, led by Benito Mussolini (pictured), with the Italian Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labor in an effort to reduce political instability in Italy; however, the pact is short lived.


Russian poet Nikolay Gumilyov was arrested in the Soviet Union by the Cheka secret police on charges of being a monarchist. He was executed along with 60 other defendants on August 25.


Ship Losses:

Popi (Greece) The cargo ship was abandoned in the Mediterranean Sea after the collapse of the crowns of her fireboxes.

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4th August 1921

U.S. Navy submarine USS S-12 is launched.


Ship Losses:

Ellen Benzon (Denmark) The schooner was driven ashore at Seyðisfjörður, Iceland and was wrecked. Her crew were saved.
Salti I (Italy) The coaster struck a mine in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Foggia and sank with the loss of a crew member. Survivors were rescued by Mikali ( Greece).

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5th August 1921

U.S. Navy observation airship H-1 flying low over a field.


Two boys with Great War pilot William Cain (center) for an airplane ride. The ride costs $10 ($153 today) for 10 minutes.