October 1913

October 1, 1913 (Wednesday)

• The Culebra Cut of the Panama Canal was completed near Gatún, Panama after nearly 32 years. Engineers from France had begun excavation on January 20, 1882, before halting the project, which was resumed later by American engineers. The structure include Gatun Dam, the largest embankment dam in the world at the time, which formed Gatun Lake, then the largest artificial lake ever created.
• English singer and actress Marie Lloyd and her lover, Bernard Dillon, were arrested by the U.S. immigration authorities on their arrival in New York City when it was discovered that they were not married.
• A series of rail stations opened across England and Wales including:
• * Darras in Newcastle upon Tyne to serve the Ponteland Railway;
• * Eydon to serve the Great Central Main Line in England;
• * Gillett's Crossing in Lancashire to serve the Fylde Coast rail line;
• * Wolf's Castle in Pembrokeshire to serve the Clarbeston Road and Letterston Railway.
• Joseph F. Smith, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, unveiled the Seagull Monument in front of the Salt Lake Assembly Hall in Salt Lake City. The monument was inspired by a miraculous event in 1848 where a Mormon settler harvest was saved from locusts by a flocks of seagulls.
• The symphonic composition Falstaff, composed by Edward Elgar and based on the Shakespearean character, premiered at the Leeds music festival.
• Born: Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist, author of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, developed Brazilian jiu-jitsu with brother Carlos Gracie; in Belém, Brazil
• Died: Eugene O'Keefe, 85, Canadian business leader, philanthropist, and founder of the O'Keefe Brewery Company

  October 2, 1913 (Thursday)

• China's National Assembly passed a law limiting the President of China to a five-year term of office, with only one re-election.
• Flooding in Southern Texas caused $50,000,000 of property damage, though only 12 lives were lost.
• The Mexican city of Torreón fell to rebel invaders, led by Pancho Villa, a day after Mexican federal troops evacuated the area.
• Scottish murderer Patrick Higgins was hanged after being convicted of the November 1911 murder of his two sons, based on forensic evidence developed by Sydney Smith. Higgins, a habitual drinker, had admitted to the killings but had raised the defense of "insanity caused by epilepsy". This was disproved by analysis and testimony from Smith.
• Well-known American author Ambrose Bierce decided, at the age of 71, that he wanted to conclude his life by leaving his Washington, D.C., home to participate in the Mexican Revolution, departing by train after writing to his niece that "being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags... beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs." After reaching Mexico and sending a letter from Chihuahua City on December 26, Bierce vanished "without a trace."
• The State Bank of Mysore was established in Bangalore, India.
• Born: Roma Mitchell, Australian politician and judge, first woman to serve as a judge in Australia and as a Governor of an Australian state, Governor of South Australia from 1991-1996; in Adelaide, Australia

  October 3, 1913 (Friday)

• At 9:10 p.m., U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Revenue Act, also known as the Underwood–Simmons Tariff Act, dropping or reducing many of the tariffs of the United States. An amendment to the bill also provided the first federal income tax authorized by the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, though the initial rates were modest in comparison to the lowered cost of living provided by the tariff elimination. The charges on imported meats, fish, dairy products, flour and potatoes were eliminated, as well as those for coal, iron ore and lumber from abroad, and farm machinery and office machinery made outside the United States. On the average the tariff rate was reduced from 37 percent to 27 percent. Wilson said afterwards, "We have set the business of this country free from those conditions which have made monopoly not only possible, but, in a sense, easy and natural." The U.S. Senate had approved the bill, 36–17, the day before, and the House of Representatives had voted, 254–103, in its favor on September 30.
• The government of Austria-Hungary passed a bill increasing the size of its army to 600,000 men and authorizing an army of 2,000,000 men in the event of war. The war against Serbia, less than nine months later, would escalate into World War I.
• The Allentown State Hospital was opened in Allentown, Pennsylvania as the Allentown Homeopathic Hospital for the Insane, which primarily served residents of Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Monroe, and Pike counties. The hospital was closed in 2010 and was fully demolished in 2021.
• Died: Paul Preuss, 27, Austrian mountaineer, was killed in a climbing accident on the North Ridge of the Mandlkogel in the Gosaukamm.

  October 4, 1913 (Saturday)

• Oregon, though it was the second of American state to pass an authorization for a minimum wage law, became the first state to have orders implementing a wage, beginning with a regulation for girls between the ages of 16 and 18 who had worked at least one year and who were working the maximum 54 hours per week; the $8.25 for the 54 hour week was equivalent to slightly more than 15 cents per hour. Later rules would extend coverage to experienced adult women in Portland and to all women, regardless of experience.
• The new site of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina opened to the public in Sarajevo.
• At Marion, Illinois, legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley gave the last public performance of her shooting skills. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, where Oakley had been a major star, had gone bankrupt earlier in the year.
• Survivalist Joseph Knowles, who had gone into the forests of Maine on August 4 without clothing, food or tools, emerged after completing his two-month experiment. Not only had he survived, but he had fashioned "a bearskin robe, deerskin moccasins, and a knife, bow and arrows" from the materials in the wilderness.
• Mexican rebel leader Emiliano Zapata issued a widely circulated order to his troops, commanding them that "under no pretext nor for any personal cause should crimes be committed against lives and properties". Officers were directed to punish any soldiers who violated the order, or to face court-martial themselves.
• Born: Martial Célestin, first Prime Minister of Haiti ; in Ganthier, Haiti
• Died: Faisal bin Turki, 49, Sultan of Muscat and Oman within the Ottoman Empire since 1888

  October 5, 1913 (Sunday)

• Taimur bin Feisal became the new Sultan of Oman. He would abdicate on February 10, 1932, in favor of his son, Said bin Taimur, who would become the new Sultan.
• Henry Spencer was arrested by Chicago police for the murder of Mildred Rexroat nine days earlier. Spencer confessed to her murder, then told police that he had killed 13 other people over the years.
• The University of Manila was established in Manila, Philippines.
• The association football club Associação Atlética Internacional was established in Limeira, Brazil.
• Atotxa Stadium opened in San Sebastián, Spain as the home ground for Real Sociedad. It was replaced in 1993 by Anoeta Stadium.
• Born:
• *Eugene B. Fluckey, American naval officer, Medal of Honor recipient and U.S. Navy submarine commander; in Washington, D.C., United States
• *Dan Smoot, American activist, advocate of the influence of communism in various public and government institutions; as Howard Smoot, in East Prairie, Missouri, United States
• *Jack Mullin, American audio engineer, inventor of high fidelity recordings by magnetic tape; as John Mullin, in San Francisco, United States
• *Ken Weeks, Australian supercentenarian, oldest living person in Australia and the oldest verified man in Australian history; in Grafton, New South Wales
• Died: Hans von Bartels, 56, German painter and member of the Düsseldorf school of painting

  October 6, 1913 (Monday)

• Barely receiving the two-thirds majority required, Yuan Shikai was formally elected by the National Assembly after three rounds of voting, to a five-year term as the President of China. A total of 759 of the 850 Chinese Senators and Representatives participated in Beijing. With a candidate needing 506 votes, Yuan received 507 on the third ballot. Li Yuan-Heng, who had already said that he would not be a candidate for the office, received 179 votes, while the other legislators abstained. The votes for Yan and Li were 471–153 on the first round, and 497–162 on the second. After the second round, a mob of Yuan's supporters surrounded the legislative building and blocked the exits. Li was elected vice-president the next day. President Yuan would dissolve the legislature four weeks later and assume dictatorial powers, then proclaim himself the Emperor.
• Chicago became the first major American city to pass a resolution declaring the immorality of the tango, a dance which had recently become popular in the United States after originating in Argentina. The tango differed from acceptable dances because of the contact between the upper thighs of the dancers.
• At his inauguration as the new American Governor-General of the Philippines, Francis Burton Harrison delivered a promise, from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, that Filipinos would be granted a majority of the seats on the Philippine Commission, the appointed group that had to approve bills passed by the Philippine legislature.
• Heavy rains killed more than 600 people in the Bosphorous straits around Istanbul.
• Born:
• *Inga Arvad, Danish-American journalist, known for her romantic relationship with U.S. President John F. Kennedy; as Inga Maria Arvad Petersen, in Copenhagen, Denmark
• *Alfred Harvey, American comic book publisher, founder of Harvey Comics; as Alfred Harvey Wiernikoff, in New York City, United States