December 1916

[December 1], 1916 (Friday)

• Battle of the Argeș - The Romanian force of 150,000 attacked the Danube Army of 250,000 men under command of German General Erich Ludendorff southwest of the Romanian capital of Bucharest and nearly surrounded the Central Powers force.
• Capture of Yanbu - Ottoman forces under command of Fakhri Pasha attempted to capture the British-held port of Yanbu on the Red Sea.
• An Order in Council authorized an increase of Canadian troops to 500,000 for World War I.
• A side collision between an express train and passenger train in Herceghalom, Hungary killed 69 people, the deadliest rail disaster in the country's history.
• British submarine was lost in the North Sea with all 30 of her crew.
• French Catholic missionary Charles de Foucauld, the founder of Little Brothers of Jesus was shot dead during an attempted abduction by bandits from a fort constructed to protect the Tuareg people in Algeria. His death was considered a martyrdom and he was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
• Born: Wan Li, Chinese statesman, Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1983 to 1988 and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1988 to 1993, in Dongping County, Shandong, Republic of China
• Died: Lajos Thallóczy, 58, Hungarian public servant, adviser to Franz Joseph I of Austria on all Balkan affairs

  [December 2], 1916 (Saturday)

• Battle of the Argeș - Also known at the Battle of Bucharest, the 6th Turkish Infantry Division was mobilized to aid the surrounded Germans southwest of the Romanian capital.
• Twelve members of the Industrial Workers of the World, known as the Sydney Twelve, were convicted of conspiring to commit arson and sedition in Sydney.
• Born:
• * Nancye Wynne Bolton, Australian tennis player, six-time winner of the Australian Open; as Nancye Wynne, in Melbourne, Australia
• * Cecil E. Harris, American naval fighter pilot, flying ace with 15 downed aircraft during World War II, recipient of the Navy Cross and Medal of Honor; in Faulkton, South Dakota, United States
• * John Bentley, English actor, best known for the 1970s TV series African Patrol and the British soap opera Crossroads; in Birmingham, United States
• * Howard Finster, American folk artist, created over 46,000 art pieces for his "Paradise Gardens" sculpture garden in Summerville, Georgia, and later album covers for R.E.M. and Talking Heads; in Valley Head, Alabama, United States
• Died: Paolo Tosti, 70, Italian composer, credited for popularizing salon music during the Belle Époque era with songs such as "Serenata", "Addio" and "Ancora"

  [December 3], 1916 (Sunday)

• Battle of the Argeș - Both the intervention by Ottoman forces and slowed reinforcements on the Romanian side caused the attack to weaken against the Germans, allowing them to break out and route the counterattack.
• Capture of Yanbu - Arab forces retreated into the city limits of Yanbu and Ottoman forces surrounded them, but managed to build an emergency airstrip that allowed British aircraft to resupply the defenders until reinforcements arrived.
• Battle of Funchal - French submarine carrier was torpedoed and sunk in the port of Funchal by German submarine, along with two accompanying ships. In all, 41 sailors died in the attack.
• Died: William Walker Scranton, 72, American business executive, president of the Lackawanna Steel Company, son to George W. Scranton

  [December 4], 1916 (Monday)

• French fighter ace Charles Nungesser shot down a German airplane piloted by fighter ace Hans Schilling over Flesquières, France, killing him and his co-pilot.
• The Bratsberg Line rail began operating between the rural municipalities of Eidanger and Telemark, Norway.
• The final property of the Whitewater Shaker Settlement was sold, dissolving the Shaker settlement near New Haven, Hamilton County, Ohio. Many of the original sites were purchased by the Great Parks of Hamilton County and are registered under the National Register of Historic Places.
• Born:
• * Balwant Gargi, Indian writer, best known for his plays and novels in the Punjabi language including Rival Women and The Naked Triangle; in Bathinda, British India
• * Gong Qiuxia, Chinese singer, pioneer of Mandopop, in Chongming, Republic of China
• Died: Preston Lea, 75, American politician, 52nd Governor of Delaware

  [December 5], 1916 (Tuesday)

• An explosion at Barnbow, a munitions factory near Leeds, killed 35 female workers and injured hundreds more.
• British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith resigned from office, allowing War Minister David Lloyd George to succeed him while Edward Stanley took over the ministry.
• U.S. President Woodrow Wilson delivered the State of the Union Address to the 64th United States Congress, the first presidential address after winning re-election in November.
• The last recorded stagecoach robbery occurred in Jarbidge, Nevada where wagon driver Fred Searcy was ambushed by Ben Kuhl, a known horse thief, along with Ed Beck and William McGraw. The three men robbed $4,000 from a mining payroll transported on the coach and shot Searcy dead. The three were arrested shortly after and Kuhl was tried and convicted of Searcy's murder.
• U.S. Navy destroyer USS Allen was launched by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine and would serve in both world wars.
• The chamber opera Sāvitri by Gustav Holst premiered at Wellington Hall in London.
• Born:
• * Paul Aste, Austrian bobsledder and luger, seven-time medalist in the European Luge Championships and two-time World Championships medalist for bobsled; in Matrei in Osttirol, Austria-Hungary
• * Hilary Koprowski, Polish-American virologist and immunologist, inventor of the first effective live polio vaccine; in Warsaw, Government General of Warsaw
• * Abby Marlatt, American academic and activist, leading proponent of civil rights in Lexington, Kentucky; in Manhattan, Kansas, United States
• Died:
• * Princess Augusta, 94, British noble, member of the Royal Family, granddaughter of George III
• * George Boldt, 65, German-American business executive, president of the Waldorf–Astoria Hotel Company from 1897 to 1916
• * Hans Richter, 73, Austrian-Hungarian conductor, first to conduct The Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner

  [December 6], 1916 (Wednesday)

• The Germans occupied Bucharest, forcing the capital of Romania to be moved to Iaşi. In total, the Romanian army lost 40 percent of its 150,000 force in battles against the Central Powers.
• Royal Navy sank German submarine using depth charges in the English Channel, killing all 25 crew on board.
• German raiding ship captured and scuttled Canadian cargo ship in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Azores Islands. The cargo included military equipment, cavalry horses, and newly discovered fossils of the dinosaur Corythosaurus en route to the British Museum.
• Born: Kristján Eldjárn, Icelandic state leader, 3rd President of Iceland; in Svarfaðardalur, Iceland
• Died:
• * John Dustin Archbold, 68, American industrialist, vice-president of Standard Oil and president of the Standard Oil New Jersey, the precursor for Esso
• * Powhatan Beaty, 79, American soldier, member of the 5th United States Colored Infantry Regiment, recipient for the Medal of Honor for taking command of his unit during the Battle of Chaffin's Farm

  [December 7], 1916 (Thursday)

• German submarine struck a mine and sank in the Black Sea with the loss of all 20 crew.
• Born: John Wilmer Browning Barr, Canadian physician, 24th Surgeon General of Canada; in Lanark, Ontario, Canada

  [December 8], 1916 (Friday)

• The Cavalry Division of India was established for service in the Mesopotamian campaign.
• Born: T. K. Whitaker, Irish economist, established the Economic and Social Research Institute of Ireland; as Thomas Kenneth Whitaker, in Rostrevor, Ireland
• Died:
• * John Porter Merrell, 70, American naval officer, leading naval commander in the Spanish–American War, 11th President of the Naval War College
• * Germán Riesco, 62, Chilean state leader, 14th President of Chile

  [December 9], 1916 (Saturday)

• U.S. Navy destroyer USS Shaw was launched by Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California but would serve the bulk of its time with the United States Coast Guard until it was struck in 1934.
• The Yiddish drama The Dybbuk by S. Ansky premiered at the Elizeum Theater in Warsaw. A story about a Yiddish woman being possessed by a malicious spirit, the first production was done in Russian. Ansky would later translate the play to Yiddish, where it was performed in that language by Vilna Troupe in 1920 shortly after his death.
• Born:
• * Kirk Douglas, American actor, best known for his performance as Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life and the slave rebel leader in Spartacus, father to Michael Douglas; as Issur Danielovitch, in Amsterdam, New York, United States
• * Thomas J. Lynch, American air force officer, commander of the 39th Fighter Squadron during World War II, recipient of the Silver Star and Distinguished Service Cross; in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, United States
• * James Brian Tait, British air force officer, commander of the 617 Squadron during World War II, recipient of the Distinguished Service Order; in Manchester, England
• Died:
• * Natsume Sōseki, 49, Japanese poet and novelist, best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, and the unfinished work Light and Darkness
• * Clara Ward, 43, American socialite, became Princesse de Caraman-Chimay when she married Prince Joseph of Belgium