August 1915

August 1, 1915 (Sunday)

• German fighter pilot Max Immelmann shot down his first aircraft while flying in a Fokker monoplane, beginning his career as an ace.
• Irish national hero Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa was buried at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, while Irish Republican leader Patrick Pearse delivered a graveside oration containing the phrase "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace".
• Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition — The polar exploration ship Endurance had spent the entire Antarctic winter encased in ice far off the coast when a south-westerly gale broke up the ice floe and caused the ship to list. Expedition leader Ernest Shackleton wrote in his log, "The effects of the pressure around us was awe-inspiring... if the ship was once gripped firmly her fate would be sealed."
• The Imperial German Army created the army group German Crown Prince to serve on the Western Front.
• The Retiro Mitre railway station opened in Buenos Aires as the end of the Mitre Railway, as one of the largest rail stations in Argentina.
• The Chosen Government Railway opened the first section of the Hamgyeong Line in Korea with stations Wonsan, Togwon, and Munchon serving the line.
• Born:
• * Mario Pantaleo, Italian Argentine priest, founder of the Obra del Padre Mario foundation that funds health and education projects in González Catán, Argentina; as José Mario Pantaleo, in Pistoia, Kingdom of Italy
• * Leonard Jan Le Vann, American Canadian medical officer, head of the controversial Provincial Training School for Mental Defectives in Red Deer, Alberta from 1949 to 1974; in the United States

  August 2, 1915 (Monday)

• Armenian genocide — American ambassador Henry Morgenthau Sr. reported to the U.S. government that during a meeting with Interior Minister Talaat Pasha, it was confirmed that the Ottoman government was pursuing a policy of deliberate and planned deportations of ethnic Armenians. Morgenthau has been collecting mounting evidence of genocide over months and admonished Pasha with the statement, "Our people will never forget these massacres."
• A Sopwith Baby airplane equipped with wheeled floats took off from sea carrier, the first British aircraft to do so on a British aviation ship.
• No. 5 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was established at Dover, England but was shortly absorbed into the air naval service.
• The French air squadron Escadrille 65 was established at Lyon–Bron Airport in eastern France.
• The III Cavalry Corps of the Imperial German Army was established.
• The Imperial German Army established the 86th, 88th, and 89th Infantry Divisions.
• The Batavia association football club beat the Semarang club 2–0 in the final of the DEI Championship.
• Metro Pictures released its first feature film Sealed Valley.
• The Estación Retiro subway line opened in Buenos Aires.
• Born:
• * Gary Merrill, American actor, best known for his lead role in All About Eve, husband to Bette Davis; in Hartford, Connecticut, United States
• * Ruth Lilly, American philanthropist, head of the Lilly Endowment; in Indianapolis, United States
• Died: John Downer, 72, Australian politician, 16th Premier of South Australia; died from cancer

  August 3, 1915 (Tuesday)

• Second Battle of the Isonzo — Despite having superior numbers, hard terrain, low ammunition and brutal fighting forced Italy to halt its attack on Austro-Hungarian positions in the Alps. Total casualties during three weeks of fighting were about 91,000 men, of which 41,800 were Italians and 48,600 were Austro-Hungarians.
• Battle of Jastków — The Polish Legions won their first major victory against the Imperial Russian Army at the village of Jastków in what is now eastern Poland.
• A unit of 30 Texas Rangers, supported by federal troops and deputy sheriffs engaged in a shootout with Mexican-American ranch owner Aniceto Pizana who had been accused by a neighboring rancher of supporting border raiders that had been attacking border towns as the American-Mexican border. Despite no evidence, Pizana managed to shoot his way out, leaving one soldier killed and three others wounded.
• The 60th Corps of the Imperial German Army was established.
• The Women's City Club of New York was established to promote women's suffrage in New York City.
• Born:
• * Frank Arthur Calder, Canadian politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1949 to 1979, first Aboriginal to be elected to any legislature in Canada; in Nisga'a territory, British Columbia, Canada
• * Helen Peterson, American activist, director of the National Congress of American Indians from 1954 to 1961; as Helen White, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, United States

  August 4, 1915 (Wednesday)

• British submarine struck a mine in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England and sank with the loss of all 16 crew.
• The International Association for Identification, currently the largest association of forensic investigators, began when the Oakland Police Department put out invitations to forensic investigators internationally to meet in Oakland, California in October and form an organization.
• The association football club Teresópolis was established in Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Born:
• * Luke Easter, American baseball player, first baseman for the Homestead Grays and Cleveland Indians from 1947 to 1954; as Luscious Easter, in Jonestown, Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States
• * Donald Dean Summerville, Canadian politician, 53rd Mayor of Toronto; in Toronto, Canada

  August 5, 1915 (Thursday)

• Great Retreat — The Imperial Russian Army abandoned Warsaw, allowing the German forces to occupy it with little resistance.
• A second hurricane began to form in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Caribbean.
• Italian submarine was torpedoed and sunk in the Adriatic Sea by Austro-Hungarian sub with the loss of all 19 crew.
• The German freighter Aenne Rickmers, captured by the British, was outfitted as a seaplane carrier and commissioned as HMS Anne for operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
• The Imperial German Army created the army groups Hindenburg and Prince Leopold to serve on the Eastern Front.
• The Nishio Railway extended the Nishio Line in the Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with station Kami Yokosuka serving the line.
• The musical The Blue Paradise by Edmund Eysler, Sigmund Romberg and Leo Edwards premiered on Broadway at the Casino Theatre in New York City, resulting in a successful run of 356 performances.
• Born:
• * Mildred Burke, American wrestler, pioneering women wrestler and holder of the NWA World Women's Championship belt for 20 years; as Mildred Bliss, in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States
• * Helmut Wick, German air force officer, commander of Jagdgeschwader 2 for the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross; in Mannheim, German Empire
• Died: Sakuma Samata, 70, Japanese army officer, 5th Governor-General of Taiwan

  August 6, 1915 (Friday)

• Landing at Suvla Bay — Reinforcement divisions from the British IX Corps under command of General Frederick Stopford landed at Suvla as part of a new offensive on the Gallipoli peninsula.
• Battle of Krithia Vineyard — The 88th Brigade of the British 29th Division launched the first attack wave on defense positions held by four Ottoman divisions on the Gallipoli peninsula as part of a diversionary tactic while reinforcements landed at Suvla.
• Battle of Lone Pine — An Australian brigade of 1,800 men assaulted Ottoman trenches on a slope nicknamed for the solitary Turkish pine tree that stood atop of it as part of the second diversionary tactic to distract the Ottomans from the landing at Suvla. The Ottomans covered the trenches with pine boards that made it difficult for the Australian infantry to capture on the first day of fighting.
• Battle of Sari Bair — The ANZAC forces mounted a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at Suvla and to capture the Sari Bair range overlooking the bay.
• Attack of the Dead Men — A German force of over 7,000 men, under Paul von Hindenburg, launched a chlorine gas bombardment on the Russian garrison of Osowiec Fortress. Expecting little resistance, the advancing German forces panicked and routed when a small group of Russian defenders launched a counterattack. Their zombie-like appearance, due to the gas damage, earned the battle its name.
• Bernardino Machado succeeded Teófilo Braga to become the third President of Portugal. His term would barely last two years before he was deposed and exiled by Sidónio Pais in 1917.
• General elections were held in Manitoba after the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba called for them following the resignation of Premier Rodmond Roblin in May. The Manitoba Liberal Party defeated the incumbent Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in a massive landslide, gaining 40 of the 47 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba while the Conservatives were reduced to five seats.
• Border raiders attacked the border town of Sebastian, Texas, killing local former lawman A. L. Austin and his son Charles. Authorities believed the raiders targeted him specifically for his record of targeting Mexican-Americans during his days as a law enforcer.
• Weather and communications problems frustrated reconnaissance efforts by German Navy airships in support of mine-laying mission by auxiliary cruiser SMS Meteor. The lack of information proved to have dire consequences, when the German ship was intercepted by the Royal Navy and forced the crew to scuttle her.
• Ross Sea party — British polar ship Aurora, still drifting in the ice of the Southern Ocean, was now north of Cape Evans where much of the expedition was marooned.
• The Naval General Service Medal was created to recognize efforts by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines for campaigns that otherwise would not be recognized by other British military decorations. It was replaced by the General Service Medal in 1962.
• The daily newspaper Dainik Basumati began publication in Calcutta, and would continue until folding in 2003.
• Died:
• * Guido Goldschmiedt, 65, Austrian chemist, best known for determining the structure of papaverine to be used for pharmaceutical treatment
• * Benjamin F. Tracy, 85, American politician, 32nd United States Secretary of the Navy