January 1915

January 1, 1915 (Friday)

• The Royal Navy battleship HMS Formidable was sunk off Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, by an Imperial German Navy U-boat with the loss of 547 crew.
• Luis Cabrera Lobato, aide to Mexican president Venustiano Carranza, released a decree on land reform in Mexico, promising to provide land to those with the most need.
• The Panama–California Exposition officially opened in San Diego with U.S. President Woodrow Wilson ceremoniously pushing a telegraph button in Washington, D.C. that turned on the power and lights at the park. The exposition, which celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, would host 3.7 million visitors over the next two years.
• Charles Seymour Whitman became the 41st Governor of New York which he would serve until 1918.
• Toronto held a municipal election with Thomas Langton Church defeating Jesse McCarthy after incumbent mayor Horatio Clarence Hocken chose not to run. Church received over 26,000 votes while McCarthy had over 19,500.
• Battle of Broken Hill — A train ambush near Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, was carried out by Mullah Abdullah and Gool Badsha Mahomed who were killed together with four civilians.
• The Ilford rail crash in Essex, England killed ten people and injured another 500 passengers.
• The Royal Flying Corps established the No. 8 Squadron at Saint-Omer, France and the No. 10 Squadron at Farnborough Airport, Farnborough, Hampshire, England.
• The II Corps of the Imperial German Army was disbanded when its headquarters was upgraded to become part of the South Army on the Eastern Front.
• Pilot Vivian Walsh flew a Curtiss-type flying boat at Bastion Point, New Zealand, the first time such an aircraft was flown in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Harry Houdini performed a straitjacket escape performance.
• The Mumbai Port Trust Railway opened for public use, becoming a critical railroad of the Allies during World War II.
• The Arkansas State Capitol was completed to house the Arkansas General Assembly in Little Rock, Arkansas.
• The Sacramento Northern Railway opened the Dixon Branch rail line between Sacramento and Dixon, California.
• The Yōrō Railway extended the Yōrō Line in the Gifu Prefecture, Japan, with stations Karasue serving the line. As well, the Iksan Station was opened on the original Honam rail line in Iksan, Korea.
• The railway station in Whitstable, England, was closed as a wartime measure.
• The Tennōji Zoo opened to the public in Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan.
• The sports alliance club Kristiania BK was founded through a merger of three separate clubs to provide association football, Nordic skiing, and bandy to Kristiania, Norway. The club took on another club in 1925 becoming Skeid, but still retained many of the club colors established in 1915.
• Edøy Municipality, Norway was divided up three ways to allow the creation of Brattvær Municipality and Hopen Municipality. All three were reunited again in 1960 as Smøla Municipality.
• Born: Branko Ćopić, Bosnian writer, known for such works as Eagles Fly Early; in Hašani, Austria-Hungary

  January 2, 1915 (Saturday)

• Russia began a major offensive against Austria-Hungary in the Carpathian Mountains that bordered between the two empires on the Eastern Front.
• Battle of Sarikamish — Russian artillery inflicted further casualties on Ottoman forces to the point all commanders reported in they were too weak to attack. Although initially insisting the offensive continue at "full strength", Ottoman Minister of War Enver Pasha switched tactics to secure retreat routes by combining two Ottoman corps into a "left wing army."
• Grand Duke Nicholas, commander of the Russian Empire's armed forces, appealed to Great Britain to assist Russia in fighting the Ottoman Empire, setting the stage for the Dardanelles and Gallipoli campaign.
• The 31st Indian Brigade of the British Indian Army was established for service in Egypt.
• The drama The Italian, directed by Reginald Barker and debuted acclaimed stage actor George Beban to the film screen, depicted the struggles of an Italian immigrant in Manhattan's Lower East Side in New York City. The film was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.
• Born: John Hope Franklin, American historian, specialized in African-American history showcased in his 1947 best-seller From Slavery to Freedom; in Rentiesville, Oklahoma, United States

  January 3, 1915 (Sunday)

• Battle of Sarikamish — Ottoman forces were driven out to the Choruk Valley in the Caucasus region while other forces attacked the Russian line to relieve the pressure on Ottoman soldiers positioned in front of the city of Sarikamish.
• The national teams of Catalonia and Basque played their first recorded game in Bilbao, Spain, with Basque beating Catalan 6–1.
• The association football club Lanús was formed in Lanús, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina from the merger of two earlier clubs, although the actual name wouldn't be chosen until January 27.
• Born:
• * John N. Dempsey, Irish-American politician, 81st Governor of Connecticut; in Cahir, Ireland
• * Chetan Anand, Indian film director, known for films including Neecha Nagar; in Lahore, British India

  January 4, 1915 (Monday)

• Battle of Sarikamish — Ottoman commander Hafiz Hakki Pasha toured the front line and concluded Ottoman forces would be unable to defend the line, after which he suggested headquarters give the order to fully retreat.
• Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry became the first Canadian troops sent to the front lines of the Western Front.
• British submarine HMS C31 struck a mine off the Belgian coast and sank with all 16 crewmen on board.
• Duchesne County, Utah was established with its country seat in Duchesne.
• Born:
• * Marie-Louise von Franz, German-Swiss psychologist, best known for applying psychological interpretations to fairy tales and alchemy manuscripts; in Munich, German Empire
• * Adolf Opálka, Czech soldier, member of the resistance group Out Distance during World War II and member of Operation Anthropoid; in Rešice, Austria-Hungary
• Died: Anton von Werner, 71, German painter, best known for his paintings on modern German history including Martin Luthor at Worms and ''Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles''

  January 5, 1915 (Tuesday)

• Second Battle of Edea — A force of 1,000 German colonial forces failed to recapture the village of Edéa on the Sanaga River from the French in what is now Cameroon.
• The British Army established the 188th Brigade.
• Joseph E. Carberry set an altitude record of 11,690 feet, carrying Capt. Benjamin Delahauf Foulois as a passenger in a fixed-wing aircraft.
• Nippon Railway extended the Tōhoku Main Line in the Iwate Prefecture, Japan, with station Senbokuchō serving the line.
• Born:
• *Arthur H. Robinson, Canadian-American geographer and cartographer, developed the Robinson projection to show the map of the entire world on a 2-D surface; in Montreal, Canada
• * Mel Gabler, American activist, co-founder of the Educational Research Analysts with wife Norma to promote social conservativism in public education; as Melvin Nolan Freeman Gabler, in Katy, Texas, United States

  January 6, 1915 (Wednesday)

• Battle of Sarikamish — Russian forces advanced far enough it could fire on the headquarters of the Ottoman Third Army and captured entire divisions, including eight senior officers. Captives transferred to Sarikamish included 108 officers and 80 soldiers. Campaign commander Hafiz Hakki Pasha eluded capture and reached main headquarters where he formally ordered a full retreat.
• The first and only attempt to use submarines to carry seaplanes was made by German submarine U-12 which lashed a Friedrichshafen seaplane to her deck before departing from Zeebrugge for a strike on England. The seaplane was forced to take off early during a reconnoiter off the coast of Kent and fly all the way back to Zeebrugge when bad weather made returning to the sub impossible.
• Public sentiment in Italy to enter World War I grew exponentially following a state funeral for a fallen officer of the Garibaldi Legion, a volunteer unit of 2,000 Italians fighting for France. An estimated 300,000 people attended including ambassadors from France, Great Britain, Russia, Belgium and Serbia. The unit, under command of Peppino who was also brother to the deceased and grandson to Giuseppe Garibaldi, were involved in the first and second battles for Argonne Forest and sustained 700 casualties before dissolving in March. Many of the Legion veterans enlisted in other Italian units when Italy formally entered the war in May.
• The Plan of San Diego was drafted in the Texas town of the same name, with the intention of creating civil unrest that would lead to " Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Colorado from U.S. control". The actual authors of the plan were unknown but the signatures on the plan document were from rebels being held inside a jail in Monterrey, Mexico.
• The 59th Infantry Division of the British Army was established.
• Shinano Railway began operating the Ōito Line in the Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with stations Kita-Matsumoto, Azusabashi, Hitoichiba and Toyoshina serving the line.
• Born:
• * Alan Watts, British-American philosopher, specializing in Zen Buddhism, author of The Way of Zen; in Chislehurst, England
• * Ibolya Csák, Hungarian field athlete, gold medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics; in Budapest, Austria-Hungary
• * Tom Ferrick, American baseball player, relief pitcher for various Major League teams including the New York Yankees, 1950 World Series champion; as Thomas Ferrick, in New York City, United States