October 1917

[October 1], 1917 (Monday)

• Germany launched counterattacks on British positions in Polygon Wood, West Flanders, Belgium.
• Eighteen Gotha bombers of the Luftstreitkräfte set out on to raid the United Kingdom, with 11 of them reaching England. British antiaircraft guns fired 14,000 rounds at them without scoring a single hit, but falling fragments from spent antiaircraft shells from the worn-out guns killed eight and injured another 67 people.
• United States Coast Guard ship USS Mohawk collided with a British cargo ship in the Atlantic Ocean off Sandy Hook, New Jersey and sank, with all 77 crew members rescued.
• The Royal Navy conducted the first launch of an aircraft from a battleship. Royal Naval Air Service Flight Commander Frederick Rutland took off in a Sopwith Pup fighter from a platform mounted on a 15-inch gun turret of the battlecruiser.
• The Royal Navy tested an aircraft catapult for the first time, using a compressed-air catapult aboard Slinger to launch an unmanned Short aircraft in a series of trial launches.
• The 139th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army was established with the merger of infantry regiments from Kansas and Missouri.
• The U.S. government established the Aircraft Board with Howard E. Coffin as chair.
• Albert Einstein was appointed director of the newly formed Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Munich.
• Born:
• * Guido Fibbia, Italian air force officer, top fighter ace for Regia Aeronautica during World War II, two-time recipient of the Silver Medal of Military Valor and the Iron Cross; in Treviso, Kingdom of Italy
• * Cahal Daly, Irish clergy, Archbishop of Armagh and Primacy of Ireland from 1990 to 1996; as Charles Brendan Daly, in Loughguile, Ireland
• Died: Ivan Aguéli, 48, Swedish artist and writer, known for his melding of Post-Impressionism with Arabic art following his conversion to Islam; killed in a train accident

  [October 2], 1917 (Tuesday)

• Finland held parliamentary elections with the Social Democratic Party of Finland winning 44 per cent of the vote.
• Royal Navy armored cruiser HMS Drake was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine off Rathlin Island with the loss of 18 out of her 900 crew.
• The Flying Field at Anacostia, a U.S. military air base, was opened to train pilots and test new aircraft. It was renamed the Anacostia Experimental Flying Field shortly thereafter and eventually the Bolling Air Force Base after Colonel Raynal Bolling on July 1, 1918.
• Born:
• * Christian de Duve, English biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research into cell biology; in Thames Ditton, England
• * Charles Drake, American actor, known for roles in Winchester '73 and Harvey; as Charles Ruppert, in New York City, United States
• * Francis Jackson, English composer and organist, director of York Minster from 1946 to 1982; in Malton, North Yorkshire, England
• * Rosaleen Norton, New Zealand-Australian occultist, proponent of witchcraft and wiccanism in Sydney, earning her the media nickname "The Witch of Kings Cross"; in Dunedin, New Zealand
• Died: Camille Tissot, 48, French naval officer, pioneer of wireless telegraphy; died of tuberculosis and influenza

  [October 3], 1917 (Wednesday)

• A soldiers' revolt erupted at a garrison in Dubno, Ukraine.
• German submarine struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of all 14 crew.
• The National Party of the United States held its first conference in Chicago where it formally endorsed American participation in World War I.
• Born:
• * Les Schwab, American business leader, founder of Les Schwab Tire Centers; in Bend, Oregon, United States
• * Odd Lundberg, Norwegian speed skater, silver and bronze medalist at the 1948 Winter Olympics; in Brandbu, Norway

  [October 4], 1917 (Thursday)

• Battle of Broodseinde - The British Second and Fifth Armies, supported by the First ANZAC Corps, overwhelmed German Fourth Army's defenses at Broodseinde Ridge in West Flanders, Belgium. Some 5,000 German troops were taken prisoner, adding to the 30,000 casualties the army suffered overall in the first 10 days of fighting in October. British suffered around 20,000 casualties, including 6,423 for Australia and 1,853 for New Zealand.
• An Italian royal decree was issued allowing heavy criminal sanctions against anyone who committed or incited acts of defeatism.
• Born:
• * Violeta Parra, Chilean folk musician, leading figure in the Nueva canción movement that popularized traditional Chilean music; in San Carlos, Chile
• * Luis Carniglia, Argentine football player and manager, striker for the Boca Juniors in the 1940s and manager for Real Madrid in the 1950s; in Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Died: Dave Gallaher, 43, Irish-born New Zealand rugby player, team captain for The Original All Blacks and member of the New Zealand national rugby union team from 1896 to 1909; killed in action during the Battle of Passchendaele

  [October 5], 1917 (Friday)

• German submarine struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off Scarborough, England with the loss of all 22 crew.
• The Palestine Brigade of the Royal Flying Corps was established to provide air support during the Sinai and Palestine campaign, which included the No. 40 Wing.
• British politician Arthur Lee donated the country house Chequers to the British government.
• Born:
• * Allen Ludden, American game show host, best known for the television game show Password; as Allen Packard Ellsworth, in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, United States
• * Magda Szabó, Hungarian novelist, known for works including Abigél; in Debrecen, Austria-Hungary

  [October 6], 1917 (Saturday)

• The fourth and final Duma, the legislative assembly of the Russian Empire, formally ended and was dissolved, with the Russian Provisional Government anticipating elections for the Russian Constituent Assembly to replace it.
• The U.S. government enacted the Trading with the Enemy Act, which restricted trade with countries hostile to the United States.
• Born:
• * Marjorie Guthrie, American choreographer, wife to folk singer Woody Guthrie and mother to Arlo Guthrie; as Marjorie Greenblatt, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
• * Fannie Lou Hamer, American activist, chief organizer of Freedom Summer for the civil rights movement; as Fannie Lou Townsend, in Montgomery County, Mississippi, United States

  [October 7], 1917 (Sunday)

• The largest airship ever built at the time, the L 57, was wrecked and destroyed by fire while trying to take off for a test flight in poor weather. The Zeppelin aircraft was in length and could carry 2,418,700 cubic feet of hydrogen gas for long-distance flights from Europe to Africa.
• German submarine struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of all 41 crew.
• Born:
• * June Allyson, American actress, best known for her on-screen pairings with Van Johnson in films such as Too Young to Kiss in which she won a Golden Globe; as Eleanor Geisman, in New York City, United States
• * Rose Piper, American painter, known for abstract works inspired by blues music including The Death of Bessie Smith; as Rose Theodora Sams, in New York City, United States
• Died: Serhii Vasylkivsky, 62, Ukrainian artist, known his prolific work on Ukraine including the Cossack series

  [October 8], 1917 (Monday)

• German submarine sank British cargo ships SS Memphian and SS Greldon in St George's Channel, killing 32 and 28 crew respectively.
• German submarine sank British cargo ship SS Richard de Larrinaga in the Atlantic Ocean, killing 35 crew.
• The Royal Flying Corps established air squadrons No. 90 and No. 107.
• Born:
• * Danny Murtaugh, American baseball player and manager, second baseman for Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1941 to 1951, manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1960 and 1971 World Series; as Daniel Edward Murtaugh, in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States
• * Billy Conn, American boxer, world light heavyweight champion from 1939 to 1941; as William David Conn, in Pittsburgh, United States
• * Rodney Robert Porter, English biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on antibodies; in Newton-le-Willows, England
• * Tex Banwell, British army officer, served as political decoy for Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery during World War II; as Keith Deamer Banwell, in Newport, Essex, England
• * Walter Lord, American writer, author of A Night to Remember, about the sinking of the Titanic; as John Walter Lord Jr., in Baltimore, United States
• Died: Ebenezer Ward, 80, Australian politician, member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1870 to 1900

  [October 9], 1917 (Tuesday)

• Battle of Poelcappelle - German forces halted the British advance on the Western Front in West Flanders, Belgium but at a cost of 35,000 casualties during the first ten days of October. Total British and Commonwealth casualties for the day's fighting were around 11,500.
• During the Battle of Poelcappelle, a squad of 71 Australian soldiers with the 10th Battalion disappeared without a trace in Celtic Wood during a diversionary attack on German positions. Speculations for the unaccounted men ranged from clerical error to the troops being massacred and buried in a mass grave. Official Australian military documents confirm at least 37 men remained unaccounted.
• Royal Navy cruiser HMS Champagne was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea by German submarine with the loss of 58 of her 305 crew.
• The U.S. Marines established the 8th Marine Regiment.
• Died:
• * Hussein Kamel of Egypt, 63, Egyptian noble, Sultan of Egypt from 1914 to 1917
• * Sarah Aaronsohn, 27, Jewish Palestinian spy, member of the Nili spy network, sister to botanist Aaron Aaronsohn; died by suicide