Historical Events In 1918
May 23 SS Moldavia, lost off Littlehampton, Sussex. This P & O ship of 9,500 tons was requisitioned in 1915 and converted to an auxilliary cruiser and commissioned by the British Admiralty. Later she was used as a troopship after the USA joined the war and while carrying troops to France she was torpedoed. Most soldiers were rescued but 56 lost their lives.
May 26 Kyarra, torpedoed by a German submarine UB57 2 miles off Anvil Point off the Dorset coast while on a voyage from London to Sydney with a general cargo. 6 lives were lost.
May 15 Greek troops lands at Smyrna
May 26 Georgian Social Democratic Republic declares independence from Russia
May 23 King Oil/Shell refinery on Curaçao officially opens
May 13 The first US airmail stamps issued (24¢)
May 27 Battle of Aisne
May 10 HMS Vindictive sunk to block entrance of Ostend Harbor
May 31 HMS Fairy, Built by Fairfields at Govan, Glasgow this 'C' Class destroyer of about 400 tons rammed the German submarine UC75 off the Yorkshire coast. The Uboat had previously been rammed by the steamer Blaydonian, damaging the casing. The Uboat then surfaced and at first the Commanding Officer of Fairy thought the submarine must be Royal Navy but the normal challenge was not replied to. Fairy then rammed the uboat at the stern because if the boat was British the crew would have time to get out. It then became quite quite clear the boat was German so HMS Fairy rammed her hard just forward of the conning tower. Two of the men from the submarine jumped on to the forecastle of the destroyer and the other twelve crew were rescued from the water. The submarine sank but the bows of the destroyer were seriously damaged as the submarine was a much bigger vessel than HMS Fairy and she, herself, later sank.
May 18 The birth of Pope John Paul II, Head of the Catholic Church
May 31 General Monash succeeds Birdwood as GOC Australian Corps
May 20 The first electrically propelled warship (the New Mexico)
May 28 Tatars declares Azerbaijan, in Russian Caucasus, independent
May 18 Netherlands Indian Volksraad installed in Batavia
May 15 The first regular airmail service (between New York, Philadelphia & Washington DC) inaugurated
May 21 House of Representatives passes amendment allowing women to vote
May 18 TNT explosion in chemical factory in Oakdale PA kills 200
Jan 03 US employment service opens as a unit of Department of Labor
Jan 24 Oral Roberts evangelist founder Oral Roberts University was born
Jan 08 President Wilson outlines his4 points for peace after WWI
Jan 25 Russia declared a Soviets republic
Jan 19 Soviets disallows a Constitution Assembly
Jan 28 Trotsky becomes leader of Reds
Jan 06 Over France, Canadian Captain J. Hedley of the Royal Flying Corps sucked from his seat and out of the plane while diving to escape German fighters; slipstream pulled him back to the plane when it levelled out.
Jan 03 US employment service opens as a unit of Department of Labor
Jan 14 Finland & USSR adopts New Style (Gregorian) calendar
Jan 08 Mississippi becomes first state to ratify the 8th amendment (prohibition). What were they thinking???
Jan 28 Leon Trotsky becomes leader of red army
Jan 26 President Hoover calls for "wheatless" &"meatless" days for war effort
Jan 25 Russia declared a republic of Soviets
Jan 01 Last day of the Julian calendar in Finland
Jan 05 British premier Lloyd George demand for unified peace
Jan 08 President Wilson outlines his 14 points for peace after WWI
Jan 28 Strike on Berlin ammunitions factory
Jan 27 "Tarzan of the Apes," first Tarzan film, premieres at Broadway Theater
