July 1919

[July 1], 1919 (Tuesday)

• The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists of the United States led by A. G. Daniells held a month long Bible Conference to discuss and reach decisions on scripture, including the inspiration of Ellen G. White, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who died in 1915.
• The city government of Edinburgh took over the city's private tramway system, eventually leading to the formation of Lothian Buses.
• Newport News Shipbuilding established The Apprentice School in Newport News, Virginia to offer apprenticeship programs for students interested in pursuing a career in shipbuilding.
• Several rail stations were reopened in Great Britain after being closed down during World War I, including stations in London Fields, and Leman Street in England, and Star Crossing in Wales. At the same time, the London Overground closed the stations of Southbury, Theobalds Grove and Turkey Street which had been opened in 1915 to transport munitions during World War I.
• New rail stations were added to serve the North Coast railway line in New South Wales, Australia, including Eungai and Macksville. Opposite the station lies a passing loop.
• The football club Scheveningen was established in Scheveningen, Netherlands.
• The city of Alcoa, Tennessee was established.
• Hol Municipality and Langenes Municipality were established.
• Born:
• * Mikhail Shultz, Russian chemist, known for his research into electrochemistry of glass, recipient of the Order of Lenin; in Petrograd, Russian SFSR
• * Arnold Meri, Estonian army officer, known for his involvement in Operation Priboi; in Tallinn, Estonia
• Died: John Brunner, 77, British industrialist, co-founder of chemical manufacturer Brunner Mond & Co.

  [July 2], 1919 (Wednesday)

• Iowa ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which gave women the right to vote.
• British airship R34 departed from East Fortune, Scotland in an attempt to make the first transatlantic flight by dirigible, and the first westbound flight, to Mineola, New York.
• U.S. Navy blimp C-8 exploded while landing at Camp Holabird, Maryland, injuring around 80 adults and children who were watching it and shattering windows in homes a mile away.
• The 2nd Special Squadron of the Imperial Japanese Navy was disbanded.
• The 41st Aero Squadron of the United States Army Air Service was disbanded.
• Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Whittlesey starred as himself in the film The Lost Battalion, which recreated his experiences with the 308th Infantry Regiment when the unit was cut off from the rest of the 77th Infantry Division during the Meuse–Argonne offensive in October 1918. Directed by Burton L. King, the film also starred Major-General Robert Alexander, Whittlesey's real-life superior, and George G. McMurtry who was the unit's captain during the battle.
• Born: Jean Craighead George, American children's writer, author of Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain; in Washington, D.C., United States
• Died:
• * Friedrich Soennecken, 70, German inventor, developed office tools including the hole punch and ringbinder, founder of Soennecken
• * Anna Howard Shaw, 72, American activist, leading member of the National Woman Suffrage Association; died of pneumonia

  [July 3], 1919 (Thursday)

• A cease-fire was called between Germany, Latvia and Estonia. German forces were ordered to leave Latvia and the pro-German Baltische Landeswehr was put under the authority of the Latvian government, effectively ending both the Estonian and Latvian Wars of Independence. As part of the ceasefire's terms, pro-German Prime Minister of Latvia Andrievs Niedra resigned and Latvian forces were allowed to occupy Riga on July 8.
• Russian Civil War - General Anton Denikin of the White armies in Tsaritsyn issued a directive for an army of 70,000 White troops positioned on the Southern Front of the Russian Civil War to push north and attack the main Bolshevik stronghold in Moscow.
• Missouri ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
• Red Summer - A riot broke out in Bisbee, Arizona when local police attempted to disarm members of the all-black 10th U.S. Cavalry who were in town to march in the Fourth of July military parade the following day. The hour-long street battle resulted in eight injuries, including the shooting of four soldiers, but no deaths. The United States Army did not formally charge the soldiers for rioting, believing local police harassment resulted in the riot, and allowed the unit to march the following day.
• American envoys Arthur E. Sutherland Jr. and Captain Emory H. Niles of the United States Army began an investigation around Van, Turkey to determine the extent of the Armenian genocide in 1915, eventually releasing findings in a report to Congress along with a report by the Harbord Commission that covered regions outside of Van.
• The Helical Bar and Engineering Company was established as a steel construction company in London. It sold its steel reinforcement business in 1986 and became property developer Helical plc.
• The British-Israel-World Federation was established in London to promote British Israelism, or the belief the British people and its nobility were direct descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.
• Died:
• * Thomas Millie Dow, 70, Scottish artist, member of the Glasgow Boys
• * William MacGregor, 72, British-Australian politician, 11th Governor of Queensland, 60th Governor of Newfoundland

  [July 4], 1919 (Friday)

• Ibn Saud, ruler of the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa, submitted to a British ultimatum to stand down from taking the Kingdom of Hejaz, ending the conflict between the two Arab kingdoms that been ongoing for about a year.
• Food riots and strikes broke out in Romagna and Bologna and soon spread throughout Italy to Milan, Genoa, Livorno, Pisa, Florence, Palermo and other cities. The violence left several people dead, and shopkeepers slashed food prices by as much as 50% to 70% to discourage rioting.
• José Pardo y Barreda was ousted as President of Peru by Augusto B. Leguía, who remained head of state for over a decade before being overthrown in 1930.
• Women in British Rhodesia who were the age of 21 or older were allowed to vote and run for office, provided they met specific occupational and salary qualifications.
• The 57th Infantry Division of the British Army was disbanded.
• The Royal Air Force disbanded squadron No. 38 at RAF Hawkinge, Folkestone, England.
• The 73rd Aero Squadron of the United States Army Air Service was disbanded at Hazelhurst Field, Mineola, New York.
• Jack Dempsey became World Heavyweight Champion by stopping Jess Willard, the defending champion, after three rounds during their match in Toledo, Ohio.
• British news magazine The Guardian Weekly began publication in London as one of the first newspapers intended to have an international reach.

  [July 5], 1919 (Saturday)

• The Hellenic Coast Guard was established to protect the coastlines of Greece.
• The Royal Air Force disbanded squadron No. 273 at Great Yarmouth, England.
• Bella Wright of Leicestershire, England was murdered with a single gunshot to the face. Previous to her murder, witnesses saw her riding with a man on a green bicycle, resulting in the press calling the murder investigation the Green Bicycle Case. Ronald Light, a mathematics teacher, became the prime suspect in the case but was acquitted of murder during his trial after defense lawyer Edward Marshall Hall convinced the jury Wright's death had been the result of an accidental shooting.
• The General German Trade Union Federation was established in Nuremberg as the first postwar congress of trade unions in Germany, with labor leader Carl Legien the first chairperson. It replaced the General Commission of German Trade Unions that operated before the war.
• Born: Bep Voskuijl, Dutch administrator, secretary for Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, and member of the Voskuijl family that hid the Frank family during World War II; as Elisabeth Voskuijl, in Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Died: Eugen Leviné, 36, German revolutionary, president of the Bavarian Soviet Republic; executed

  [July 6], 1919 (Sunday)

• British airship R34 arrived at Mineola, New York from Scotland, achieving the first transatlantic flight by dirigible as well as the first westbound flight. To commemorate the achievement, Major E. M. Pritchard parachuted from the airship, becoming the first person to arrive in the United States by air from Europe.
• German physician Magnus Hirschfeld opened the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft in Berlin to begin providing formal institutional research on human sexuality.
• The Pershing Stadium, built by the United States Army at Bois de Vincennes just outside Paris, was presented as a gift to France from the United States after the completion of the Inter-Allied Games. The stadium hosted the first Women's World Games in 1922 and football matches during the 1924 Summer Olympics. It closed in 1960.
• The Ak-Sar-Ben race track opened in Omaha, Nebraska.
• Born: Lucius D. Clay Jr., American air force officer, 7th Commander of NORAD, recipient of the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, and 11 Air Medals, son of Lucius D. Clay; in Alexandria, Virginia, United States