July 1914

[July 1], 1914 (Wednesday)

• July Crisis – Austria-Hungary received confirmation from Germany that they could expect full support from their ally should they choose to wage war against Serbia in response to Serbian nationalists assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. With some diplomatic reports alleging Dragutin Dimitrijević, Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence, and others in the Serbian government being involved in the assassination plot, Russian Ambassador Nicholas Hartwig met with officials in Belgrade to advise on the best maneuvers for Serbia to take during the crisis.
• Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean officially became a territory under Australia.
• The Naval Wing of the British Royal Flying Corps was separated from the Royal Air Force and established as a separate service, the Royal Naval Air Service, under the control of the Royal Navy.
• The United States Navy established its first air department, the Office of Naval Aeronautics, Division of Operations, predecessor to the Bureau of Aeronautics.
• Canadian Arctic Expedition – Survivors of the Karluk shipwreck raised the Canadian flag on Wrangel Island in the Bering Sea in honour of Dominion Day. There were now 14 survivors of the original 25 people that survived the sinking in January. Fortunately, Karluk captain Robert Bartlett had reached Alaska and was now arranging rescue ships.
• The National Party was founded in Bloemfontein, South Africa with a focus on Afrikaner nationalism.
• The precursor to the Hanawa railroad opened in the Akita Prefecture, Japan, with stations Ōgita and Ōdate serving the line.
• Furka Oberalp Railway opened stations Fiesch, Gletsch and Oberwald in Switzerland.
• While re-shooting scenes for the western Across the Border in Colorado, actress Grace McHugh fell into the Arkansas River while being filmed crossing the water on horseback. Owen Carter, the production's cinematographer, dived in to save McHugh, but both drowned. Their deaths resulted in a push to develop professional stunt actors to handle dangerous action sequences in movie production.
• Sandstad Municipality and Stemshaug Municipality in Norway were established.
• The city of Lynn Haven, Florida was established.
• Born:
• * Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Iraqi state leader, fourth President of Iraq; in Tikrit, Ottoman Empire
• * Stephen Juba, Canadian politician, 37th Mayor of Winnipeg, first Ukrainian Canadian to hold political high office; in Winnipeg, Canada
• * Sara Seegar, American actress, best known for the role of "Mrs Wilson" in the 1960s TV series Dennis the Menace; as Sarah Seegar, in Greentown, Indiana, United States
• * Christl Cranz, German alpine skier, gold medal winner at the 1936 Winter Olympics; in Brussels, Belgium
• * Orli Wald, French-German resistance fighter, member of the German Resistance during World War II, known as the "Angel of Auschwitz" which she escaped in 1945; as Aurelia Torgau, in Bourell, France
• Died: Edmund Payne, 50, British actor, major comedic lead in many of the 1800s Edwardian musical comedies

  [July 2], 1914 (Thursday)

• July Crisis – Kaiser Wilhelm received recommendation from the German military for Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia as quickly as possible, since Germany was more prepared to mobilize than either Russia or France.
• After delays, the first issue of the Vorticism art magazine Blast was distributed.
• Born:
• * Frederick Fennell, American conductor, best known for his recordings with the Eastman Wind Ensemble; in Cleveland, United States
• * Hannes Bok, American artist, best known for cover art for pulp and science fiction magazines including Weird Tales and Other Worlds; as Wayne Francis Woodward, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States
• * Erich Topp, German naval officer, commander of U-boat U-552 that sank, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross; in Hanover, German Empire
• Died: Joseph Chamberlain, 77, British politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1895 to 1903

  [July 3], 1914 (Friday)

• The Simla Convention was sealed by Great Britain and Tibet despite objections from China, which rejected the Accord entirely. British and Tibetan plenipotentiaries attached a note denying China any privileges under the Accord and sealed it as a bilateral agreement. The Accord redefined borders between Tibet and British India. It also divided Tibet into two political regions, with the "outer" territory under Tibetan rule from the capital of Lhasa while the "inner" region fell under Chinese control.
• A state funeral was held for Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Vienna, with Emperor Franz Joseph and other members of the imperial family in attendance.
• The borough of Paxtang, Pennsylvania was established.
• Born:
• * Pat Pattle, South African air force officer, commander of Royal Air Force squadrons No. 33 and No. 80 during World War II; as Marmaduke Thomas St John Pattle, in Butterworth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
• * Buddy Rosar, American baseball player, catcher for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Athletics, and Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1951, 1941 World Series champion; as Warren Vincent Rosar, in Buffalo, New York, United States
• Died: Henry Willard Denison, 68, American diplomat, U.S. ambassador to Japan during the Meiji era

  [July 4], 1914 (Saturday)

• July Crisis – On the same day Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were interred at Artstetten Castle, Kaiser Wilhelm declared that he was entirely for "settling accounts with Serbia".
• Zaian War - A tribal force of 500 Zayanes attacked a French convoy south of Khenifra, Morocco. French soldiers repulsed the attack at a loss of 11 killed and 30 wounded.
• Lexington Avenue explosion – Arthur Caron, a member of Industrial Workers of the World, and three other people were killed in New York City when a bomb intended to kill John D. Rockefeller exploded prematurely in an apartment used as a base for the assassination plot.
• The 38th staging of the Wimbledon Championships was held in England, but would not be staged for another four years due to World War I.
• * Australian tennis player Norman Brookes defeated New Zealander Anthony Wilding with scores 6–4, 6–4, and 7–5 in the men's singles finals.
• * The two contenders in the men's singles finals teamed up on men's doubles finals and defeated Great Britain's Herbert Roper Barrett and Charles P. Dixon with scores of 6–1, 6–1, 5–7, and 8–6.
• * British tennis player Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers defeated compatriot Ethel Thomson Larcombe in the women's singles finals with scores of 7–5 and 6–4.
• * Larcombe also fared poorly with partner Edith Hannam in the women's doubles finals, with both getting beaten by American tennis player Elizabeth Ryan and British partner Agnes Morton with scores of 6–1 and 6–3.
• * Larcombe did walk away with a championship title in the mixed doubles finals with James Parke, with the two defeating Wilding and French partner Marguerite Broquedis with scores of 4–6, 6–4, and 6–2.
• The Smith Tower opened in Seattle, the oldest skyscraper still standing in the city. At 35 stories and for a total height of, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi. Over 4,000 people rode the elevator to the top floor for the view on opening day. Its height was beaten in 1931 when the Kansas City Power and Light Building was completed, but it remained the tallest building on the west coast until the opening of the Space Needle in 1962.
• The Shiawassee District Library opened on the Fourth of July in Owosso, Michigan using funds from the Carnegie Foundation.
• The Paris Yiddish-language labour movement journal The Jewish Worker published its last issue, after its pacifist stance led to a break away from the rest of the French labour movement. Its counterpart for the General Jewish Labour Bund in Vilna, Lithuania folded the same month.
• Died: Michele Catti, 59, Italian artist, member of the Belle Époque movement

  [July 5], 1914 (Sunday)

• July Crisis – A council was held at Potsdam, where leaders from Austria-Hungary and Germany met to discuss possibilities of war with Serbia, Russia, and France, concluding it had become necessary "to eliminate Serbia" in spite of expected resistance from her allies. Their option to go to war was further reinforced by letters from Helmuth von Moltke, Chief of the German General Staff, and Emperor Franz Joseph that both stated war was necessary to preserve the monarchy.
• * Based on further police interrogations, Governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina Oskar Potiorek telegraphed Vienna to report Serbian Major Voja Tankosić had given instruction to the Serbian nationalists involved in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
• * A revised letter from Austria-Hungary was sent to Germany proposing an alliance with Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire against Russia, with the addition of action against Serbia. Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph added his own letter to Kaiser Wilhelm where he advocated ending Serbia as a political power.
• The last species of laughing owl was found in New Zealand, after which the species was categorized as extinct.
• Born:
• * Jean Tabaud, French artist, known for portraits of many famous families including the Fords and the Duponts; in Saujon, France
• * John Thomas Dunlop, American public servant, 14th United States Secretary of Labor; in Placerville, California, United States