May 1913

May 1, 1913 (Thursday)

• At the ambassador's conference in London, Montenegro offered to evacuate its newly conquered territory in Scutari, Albania, if it could receive territory elsewhere.
• The trade union Congreso Obrero de Filipinas was established in the Philippines.
• The Taiwan Railways Administration began operating the precursor to the Taitung rail line between Hualien and Taitung, Taiwan, with stations Fengtian and Guangfu serving the line.
• The Kilauea Light house was officially lit on the north side of Kauai, Hawaii.
• The sport club Parnahyba was established in Parnaíba, Brazil.
• Born:
• *Louis Nye, American comedian best known for his work on The Steve Allen Show; as Louis Neistat, in Hartford, Connecticut
• *Victor Stafford Reid, Jamaican writer, author of New Day and The Leopard; in Kingston
• *Walter Susskind, Czech conductor, music director for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, founder of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada; as Jan Walter Susskind, in Prague, Austria-Hungary
• Died: John Barclay Armstrong, 63, American law enforcer, U.S. Marshal who apprehended outlaw John Wesley Hardin

  May 2, 1913 (Friday)

• The U.S. recognized the government of the new Republic of China, with American Chargé d'Affaires Edward T. Williams presenting U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's message to Chinese President Yuan Shikai. As the first world leader to give recognition to the Republic of China, Wilson acted without prior notice even to Congress.
• Tancrède Auguste, President of Haiti since August 1912, died suddenly, "a victim of severe anemia caused by advanced untreated syphilis, though most Haitians believed he was a victim of poison." His death set off a period of political unrest in the country for the next two years.

  May 3, 1913 (Saturday)

• The California State Senate passed the Alien Land Act, prohibiting Japanese persons from owning property in California, by a margin of 26-10 and the bill went to Governor Hiram Johnson for his signature.
• Ahkay Humar Mozumdar became the first believer in Hinduism to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, when U.S. District Judge Frank H. Rudkin of Spokane, Washington, administered him the oath. Mozumdar had filed suit two years earlier and was found entitled by the court on grounds that he was a "free white person".
• Clorox was established in Oakland, California as the first American commercial-scale liquid bleach manufacturer.
• Raja Harishchandra, the first full-length feature film in India, was released by director Dadasaheb Phalke, setting the format for Indian cinema. Although it was a silent movie, the premiere event at the Coronation Cinema in Bombay was accompanied by a live performance of music and chanting.
• The Federal League, which would become a challenger to baseball's National and American Leagues in 1914 and 1915, began play as a minor league with teams in Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Covington, Kentucky, with Cleveland and Covington tying 6–6 in a ten-inning game. The teams would play a 120-game schedule, ending on September 13.
• Born:
• *Heinz Kohut, Austrian-born American psychologist, best known for his development of self psychology; in Vienna, Austria-Hungary
• *William Inge, American playwright, known for his plays including Bus Stop and Come Back, Little Sheba, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Picnic; in Independence, Kansas

  May 4, 1913 (Sunday)

• Senator Michel Oreste was elected as the new President of Haiti by the Haitian Parliament. The city governor of Port-au-Prince attempted to attack the parliament building during voting, and was repulsed by the Haitian Army, while the U.S. gunboat USS Nashville stayed outside the harbor to be ready to intervene. Oreste would serve for only eight months, being overthrown on January 27, 1914.
• Ismael Montes was elected a second time as President of Bolivia.

  May 5, 1913 (Monday)

• Montenegro's King Nicholas agreed to turn over control of Scutari to a multinational force from the Great Powers.
• Greece and Serbia signed a secret agreement to fight together against Bulgaria, their recent ally in the First Balkan War.
• The Arizona House of Representatives, following the lead of California, passed a bill prohibiting ownership of land by "any alien who has not declared his intention of becoming a citizen." The state senate passed the bill one week later, and it was signed by Governor George W. P. Hunt on May 16.
• The Amir of Najd, Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, entered Al Hasa with his troops and ended the Turkish occupation of the Eastern part of Arabia which has been ongoing since 1871.
• German battleship was launched by AG Vulcan in Hamburg as one of four ships in her class that would participate in the Battle of Jutland in 1916.
• The Chicago Opera House was demolished to make way for the new Conway Building in downtown Chicago.
• Died: Helen Carte, 60, Scottish theater executive, co-manager of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company with husband Richard D'Oyly Carte

  May 6, 1913 (Tuesday)

• A proposed women's suffrage bill failed to pass the United Kingdom's House of Commons, 219–266, on a vote following the second reading. Fifty of the "no" votes were from Irish members of Parliament, and Prime Minister H. H. Asquith voted against it as well.
• The Hague Court of Arbitration ordered the Kingdom of Italy to pay $32,800 damages to France for seizing the steamers Carthage and Manouba during the Italo-Turkish War.
• Henry H. Rose was elected Mayor of Los Angeles with 54% of the vote.
• Born:
• *Stewart Granger, British-born American actor known for adventure film roles in King Solomon's Mines and Scaramouche; as James Lablanche Stewart, in London
• *Douglas Stewart, New Zealand-born Australian poet, known for his verse plays including The Fire on the Snow and Ned Kelly, literary editor of The Bulletin; in Eltham
• *Marianne Appel, American artist, known for her mural work with the Works Progress Administration; in Woodstock, New York
• *Angelo Herndon, American labor leader, famous defendant by the International Labor Defense in 1932; in Sweet Home, Arkansas

  May 7, 1913 (Wednesday)

• Stunt performer Rodman Law, self-billed as "The Human Fly", climbed up the outside of the U.S. Capitol while both houses of Congress were in session, starting from the side of the building and then making his way up to the top of the Dome where he intending to place his hat on the statue at the top of the dome. A guard at the Capitol persuaded Law to go no further than the statue's base.
• HMS Hermes became the first Royal Navy seaplane carrier, after being outfitted with a crane from which planes on its deck could be lowered to sea and raised back again.
• Royal Navy cruiser was launched by Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle upon Tyne, England to serve in the Grand Fleet during World War I. She was eventually decommissioned in 1931.
• Spanish battleship Alfonso XIII was launched by Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval in Ferrol, Spain as part of the class assigned to the first squadron of the Spanish Navy. It would serve the fleet until 1937 when it struck a mine and sank.
• The controversial film, The Sons of a Soldier, produced by Alec B. Francis, was released by Eclair Pictures. The movie followed generations of a family fighting in America's wars from the American Revolution to the Spanish–American War, then gave a glimpse of a war between the U.S. and Japan in the then-future year of 1920.

  May 8, 1913 (Thursday)

• The Underwood Tariff Bill, sponsored by Alabama Congressman Oscar Underwood passed the United States House of Representatives, 281–139. Besides lowering the tariff charged on many products imported from abroad, the bill was the first step toward enacting a federal income tax.
• French aviator Messr. Frangeois set a new record by carrying six passengers in his airplane. The group of seven stayed aloft for 75 minutes.
• The American Newspaper Publishers Association was incorporated.
• Born:
• *Bob Clampett, American animator, best known for his work with the animated series Looney Tunes and 1950s children's television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil; as Robert Clampett, in San Diego
• *Sid James, South African-British comedian, regular in the Carry On film series; as Solomon Joel Cohen, in Johannesburg
• *Fritzie Zivic, American boxer, World Welterweight Champion from 1940 to 1941; as Ferdinand Henry John Zivcich, in Pittsburgh

  May 9, 1913 (Friday)

• Japan's ambassador to the United States, Chinda Sutemi, delivered a formal protest against California's Alien Land Act to U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan.
• William D. Coolidge applied for a patent for his invention of the x-ray tube, which "made the use of x-rays for medical diagnosis safe and convenient."
• Al-Hasa was captured from the Ottoman Turks by a guerrilla army led by Ibn Saud, the King of Najd, as he expanded the territory that he would eventually call Saudi Arabia.
• The Eldon Public Library, funded by the Carnegie Foundation, opened in Eldon, Iowa. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
• German-American financial investor Otto Hermann Kahn co-founded the Century Opera Company in New York City.
• The first episode of the Fantômas French film serial was released. Directed by Louis Feuillade and starring René Navarre in the title role, the series emphasis on mysteries and ending each episode with a cliffhangers made the thriller successful in its eight-episode run over 12 months.