March 1917

Thursday, March 1, 1917

• Colonel General Arthur Arz von Straußenburg replaced Field Marshal Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf to become the last Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff. Conrad was given command of the South Tyrolean Army Group.
• Toplica Uprising - Serbian Chetniks occupied Lebane, Serbia as part of efforts to liberate the country from the Central Powers.
• Royal Navy destroyer struck a mine and sank in the Atlantic Ocean west of Orkney with the loss of 88 crew.
• British hospital ship struck a mine and was damaged in the English Channel. She was repaired and returned to service.
• The U.S. government enacted the Flood Control Act in order to respond to costly floods in the Mississippi River and Ohio River between 1907 and 1913.
• Teatro Nacional de El Salvador, the oldest theater in Central America, was inaugurated in San Salvador.
• The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru was founded in Lima.
• Born:
• * Robert Lowell, American poet, 6th United States Poet Laureate; in Boston, United States
• * Tom Keating, English art restorer and art forger, credited for creating 2,000 forgeries from over 100 artists; as Thomas Patrick Keating, in Lewisham, London, England
• * Ralph J. Gleason, American music critic, founding editor of Rolling Stone and co-founder of the Monterey Jazz Festival; as Ralph Joseph Gleason, in New York City, United States
• Died: Antonina Miliukova, 68, Russian matriarch, wife to composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

  Friday, March 2, 1917

• The enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship.
• The Guilford Courthouse National Military Park was established near Greensboro, North Carolina.
• The New Birmingham Orchestra was established in Birmingham, England and ran until 1919 before it was dissolved and replaced by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
• Born:
• * Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, musician, and television producer, co-founder of Desilu Productions, husband to Lucille Ball; as Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
• * Harriet Frank Jr., American screenwriter, known for her screenplay collaborations with her husband Irving Ravetch for director Martin Ritt for The Long, Hot Summer, Hud and Norma Rae; as Harriet Goldstein, in Portland, Oregon, United States
• * Laurie Baker, British-born Indian architect, pioneered cost-effective energy-efficient architecture; as Lawrence Wilfred Baker, in Birmingham, England
• * John Gardner, English composer, known for his prolific output from orchestral, such as Symphony No 1 in D Minor, Op.2, to Christmas carols including the adaptation of "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day"; in Manchester, England
• * P. N. Oak, Indian historian, known for his theories that Christianity and Islam originated from Hinduism; as Purushottam Nagesh Oak, in Indore, British India

  Saturday, March 3, 1917

• Some 20,000 workers were locked out at the Putilov Plant, the largest factory in Petrograd, following disputes with plant authorities on the denial of a pay increase. The workers then organized a general strike to protest.
• Toplica Uprising - Serbian Chetniks freed Prokuplje, Serbia.
• Zimmermann Telegram - Arthur Zimmermann, State Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the German Empire, said to an American journalist about the intercepted coded telegram, "I cannot deny it. It is true."
• British troopship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel by German submarine with the loss of three crew.
• John Ford debuted as a director with the film The Tornado, with himself starring in the lead role. The film is now considered lost.
• New York City Subway stations for the IRT White Plains Road Line, including Allerton Avenue, Bronx Park East, Burke Avenue, East 180th Street, Gun Hill Road, Nereid Avenue, Pelham Parkway, 219th Street, 225th Street, and 233rd Street were opened for service.
• Born:
• * Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist, creator of the "Atoms for Peace" movement; as Sameera Moussa Ali, in El Gharbia, Sultanate of Egypt
• * Carmen Rosales, Filipino actress, known for film including Arimunding-Munding, Lambingan, and MN; as Januaria Constantino Keller, in Rosales, Pangasinan, Philippine Islands
• * Dave P. Tyndall Jr., Irish business leader, known for his supermarket chains in Ireland, held the title in the Guinness World Records for oldest person to pilot a helicopter solo; as David Patrick Tyndall Jr., in Ireland
• * David Fairbairn, Australian air force officer and politician, commander of the No. 79 Squadron during World War II, member of the Parliament of Australia for Farrer from 1949 to 1975; in Surrey, England

  Sunday, March 4, 1917

• The Central Council of Ukraine was established in Kiev with Mykhailo Hrushevsky as parliament head.
• French forces under the command of Louis Franchet d'Espèrey launched a limited attack against the Germans on the Western Front when it was apparent the army was withdrawing. While the attack had some success, it failed to disrupt the organized withdrawal as French commander-in-chief Robert Nivelle held resources back for a planned spring offensive.
• The first American Dog Derby was held in Ashton, Idaho. Subsequent races have been held annually during the third week of February.
• Born: Clyde McCullough, American baseball player, catcher for the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1940 to 1956; in Nashville, Tennessee, United States

  Monday, March 5, 1917

• Woodrow Wilson was sworn in for a second term as President of the United States.
• Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman member of the United States House of Representatives.
• Toplica Uprising - Serbian Chetniks freed Blace, Serbia, and expanded the rebellion into the regions of West Morava and the Sokobanja and Svrljig areas.
• Mesopotamian campaign - A British force of 50,000 men under command of Lieutenant-General Stanley Maude began their march from Kut to Baghdad.
• Danish passenger ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by German submarine with the loss of six lives.
• The of railroad from Izingolweni to Harding, South Africa was completed.
• Harry C. Wheeler, sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, and his deputy were ambushed by Mexican bootleggers near the town of Gleeson, Arizona. Both lawmen traded gunfire with the gang, wounding one and forcing the rest to flee without their contraband alcohol. The gunfight was considered one of the last recorded Old West style gunfights.
• The comedy-drama The Poor Little Rich Girl, starring Mary Pickford and directed by Maurice Tourneur, was released. Screenwriter Frances Marion adapted it from the hit play by Eleanor Gates. The film was a box office success and became one of Pickford's trademark films. It is preserved by the National Film Registry and Library of Congress.
• Born:
• * István Fenyő, Hungarian mathematician, best known for his research into applied mathematics, author of On the theory of mean values; in Budapest, Austria-Hungary
• * Raymond P. Shafer, American politician, 39th Governor of Pennsylvania; as Raymond Philip Shafer, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, United States
• * Mutsuo Toi, spree killer; in Okayama Prefecture, Empire of Japan
• Died: Manuel de Arriaga, 76, Portuguese state leader, 1st President of Portugal

  Tuesday, March 6, 1917

• British cargo ship Caldergrove was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by German submarine with the loss of 19 crew.
• The Polish Executive Committee in Ruthenia, the Polish representative governing body in Ukraine, was established in Kiev.
• Born:
• * Samael Aun Weor, Colombian religious leader, founder of the Universal Christian Gnostic Movement; as Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez, in Bogotá, Colombia
• * Donald Davidson, American philosopher, leading expert of philosophy of language and philosophy of action including the slingshot argument; in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
• * Will Eisner, American comic book artist, creator of the Spirit, author of the graphic novel A Contract with God; as William Erwin Eisner, in New York City, United States
• * Frankie Howerd, British comedian, known for comedic roles such as the British TV series Up Pompeii!; as Francis Alick Howard, in York, England
• Died:
• * Jules Vandenpeereboom, 73, Belgian state leader, 17th Prime Minister of Belgium
• * Valdemar Psilander, 32, Danish actor, best known for his film roles including the Danish version of The Picture of Dorian Gray, A Victim of the Mormons and The Secret of the Desert
• * Cecil Brown, 66, Hawaiian politician, member of the Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom from 1876 to 1892 and Senator for the Territory of Hawaii from 1895 to 1913

  Wednesday, March 7, 1917

• British Prime Minister David Lloyd George announced that the United Kingdom was ready to confer self-government to the parts of Ireland that wanted it, adding the northeastern part would not be "coerced".
• The strike at the Putilov Plant expanded to 100,000 protesters in Petrograd.
• The Romanian Volunteer Corps in Russia was established using Romanian prisoners of war ordered to fight against Romania and would be involved in the battles of Mărăști and Mărășești.
• "Livery Stable Blues", by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, became the first jazz recording commercially released.
• Born:
• * Janet Collins, American ballet choreographer, pioneered ballet for African American dancers; in New Orleans, United States
• * Ted W. Lawson, American air force officer, member of the Doolittle Raid and author of Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross; as Ted William Lawson, in Fresno, California, United States
• * Reginald Maudling, British politician, held several cabinet posts for the Winston Churchill, Edward Heath and Harold Macmillan administrations; in London, England