What Happened in December 1918

Historical Events

Dec 1 Danish parliament passes an act to grant Iceland independence under Danish crown
Dec 1 Yugoslavia declares independence with a monarchy proclaimed in Belgrade

Wilson Sails for Versailles

Dec 4 US President Woodrow Wilson sails for Versailles Peace Conference in France

Dec 5 Oil refinery on Curacao opens
Dec 9 French troops occupies Mainz
Dec 10 John Heyder becomes president of baseball's National League for the 2nd time
Dec 13 US army of occupation crosses Rhine, enters Germany
Dec 14 David Loyd George's coalition Government wins a clear majority in the UK general election

Il Trittico

Dec 14 Giacomo Puccini's opera "Il Trittico" premieres in NYC

Dec 14 Sinn Féin candidates win 73 of 105 Irish seats in UK general election, though all will refuse to take seats in Westminster, instead meeting at a Dail Eireann in Dublin
Dec 15 American Jewish Congress holds its 1st meeting
Dec 16 German troops evacuate Finland, give over Kiev in the Ukraine to revolutionary forces and pull back from Estonia as Bolshevik forces move in

Dempsey vs. Morris

Dec 16 Jack Dempsey KOs Carl Morris in 14 seconds

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Dempsey

Dec 17 A conference of workers' and soldiers' councils take control of German government in Berlin, until elections in January selects new national assembly
Dec 19 Robert Ripley begins his "Believe It or Not" column (NY Globe)

"Moon of the Caribees"

Dec 20 Eugene O'Neill's play "Moon of the Caribees" premieres in NYC

Dec 20 The Allies turn their attention to Bolshevik expansion in the East, landing troops in Crimea and Latvia
Dec 21 Red Sox trade Dutch Leonard, Ernie Shore & Duffy Lewis to Yankees for Ray Caldwell & Slim Love, Frank Gilhooey, Al Walters & $15,000
Dec 26 1st day of 1st-class cricket in Aust after WW I (Vic v NSW)
Dec 26 After spending Christmas with American troops in France, Wilson goes to London for preliminary discussions about the forthcoming peace conference
Dec 27 The Great Poland Uprising against the Germans begins.

Vezina 1st Assist

Dec 28 Montreal's Georges Vezina becomes the first NHL goalie to record an assist during the Canadiens’ 6-3 win over the Toronto Arenas

Hoover Decides Name

Dec 30 John E. Hoover decides to be called J. Edgar Hoover

First Director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover

Dec 31 Kid Gleason replaces Pants Rowland as Chicago White Sox manager; reach World Series but lose in the "Black Sox" betting scandal; Gleason not involved

Events in 1918

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Bill Strannigan, American all-round athlete and basketball coach (Uni of Wyoming), born in Dalry, North Ayrshire, Scotland (d. 1997)
Dec 2 Milton Delugg, American pianist, accordion player, composer ("Hoop-Dee-Do"; "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians"), and orchestra leader (The Tonight Show, 1966; The Paul Winchell Show; The Gong Show), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2015) [1]
Dec 3 Abdul Haris Nasution, Indonesian army general, born in Koetanopan, North Sumatera, Dutch East Indies (d. 2000)
Dec 6 Harold Horace Hopkins, British physicist and inventor (Endoscope), born in Leicester, England (d. 1994)
Dec 7 Jórunn Viðar, Icelandic pianist and composer, born in Reykjavík, Iceland (d. 2017)
Dec 8 Gérard Souzay, French baritone, born in Angers, France (d. 2004)
Dec 9 Jerome Beatty Jr., American author of children's literature (Matthew and Maria Looney books), born in New Rochelle, New York (d. 2002)
Dec 10 Anatoly Tarasov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (considered as the father of Russian ice hockey), born in Moscow (d. 1995)
Dec 10 Anne Gwynne [Marguerite Gwynne Trice], American model and actress (Ride 'em Cowboy, House of Frankenstein), born in Waco, Texas (d. 2003)

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)

Dec 11 Russian writer (Cancer Ward, Nobel Prize for Literature 1970), born in Kislovodsk, Russia

Dec 12 Joe Williams [Joseph Goreed], American jazz singer (Everyday I Have the Blues), born in Cordele, Georgia (d. 1999)
Dec 12 Nilda Pinto, Curacao writer (Nanzi), born in Otrobanda (d. 1954)
Dec 13 Bill Vukovich, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500, 1953-4), born in Fresno, California (d. 1955)
Dec 14 B.K.S. Iyengar, Indian yoga advocate, born in Bellur, Kolar district, Kingdom of Mysore (d. 2014)
Dec 14 James T. Aubrey, American television executive (President of the CBS television network 1959-65), born in LaSalle, Illinois (d. 1994)
Dec 15 Jeff Chandler [Ira Grossel], American actor (Broken Arrow), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1961)
Dec 16 Henry Clarke, American fashion photographer (Vogue), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1996)
Dec 16 Pierre Delanoë [Leroyer], French songwriter and lyricist, born in Paris (d. 2006)
Dec 19 Professor Longhair [Henry Roeland Byrd], American boogie-woogie, New Orleans R&B, and mambo pianist and singer ("Tipitina"; "Go To The Mardis Gras"), born in Bogalusa, Louisiana (d. 1980)
Dec 21 Donald Regan, US Secretary of the Treasury (1981-85) and White House Chief of Staff (1985-87), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 2003)

Kurt Waldheim (1918-2007)

Dec 21 Austrian 4th Secretary-General of the United Nations (1972-81) and 9th President of Austria (1986-92), born in Sankt Andrä-Wördern, Austria

Dec 22 Frankie Darro [Frank Johnson], American actor (Radio Ranch, Wild Boys of the Road, Valley of Wanted Men), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1976)
Dec 22 William Kennedy, American baseball player, born in Alexandria, Virginia (d. 1995)

Helmut Schmidt (1918-2015)

Dec 23 German politician, Chancellor of West Germany (SPD, 1974- 82), born in Hamburg, Germany

Dec 23 Jose Greco, Italian-American flamenco dancer (Holiday for Lovers), born in Montorio nei Frentani, Italy (d. 2000)
Dec 23 Kumar Pallana, Indian character actor and vaudevillian (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore), born in Indore, India (d. 2013)
Dec 24 Carolyn DeZurik, American country and polka singer and yodeler (The Cackle Sisters; Prairie Ramblers; The Polka Chips), born in Royalton, Minnesota (d. 2009)
Dec 24 Dave Bartholomew, American R&B, rock, and jazz musician, composer, producer, and songwriter ("I Hear You Knocking"; "Ain't That A Shame"; "Walkin' To New Orleans"), born in Edgard, Louisiana (d. 2019)
Dec 25 Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian socialist revolutionary and 1st President of Algeria (1963-65), born in Maghnia, Algeria (d. 2012)

Anwar Sadat (1918-1981)

Dec 25 3rd President of Egypt (1970-81, Nobel 1978), born in Monufia, Egypt

Dec 25 Eddie Safranski, American jazz double bassist and orchestra leader (Jonathan Winters Show), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1974)
Dec 26 George Rallis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2006)
Dec 27 John Celardo, American comic strip artist (Tarzan), born in Staten Island, New York (d. 2012)
Dec 30 W. Eugene Smith, American photojournalist (Saipan, Walk to Paradise Garden), born in Wichita, Kansas (d. 1979)

Born in 1918

Famous Weddings

Manuel L. Quezon

Dec 17 Philippine Senator (and later 2nd President) Manuel L. Quezon (40) weds first cousin Aurora Aragon (30) in Hong Kong

Al Capone

Dec 30 Gangster Al Capone (19) marries Mae Josephine Coughlin, mother of his child

Famous Deaths

Dec 2 Edmond Rostand, French poet and dramatist (Cyrano de Bergerac), dies during the flu epidemic at 50
Dec 2 Margit Kaffka, Hungarian writer, dies in the flu pandemic at 38
Dec 11 Ivan Cankar, Slovene author, poet, novelist and playwright (Erotika, The Bailiff Yerney and His Rights), dies of pneumonia at 42, a complication of the Spanish flu
Dec 14 Sidónio Pais, Portuguese politician (4th President of Portugal, 66th Prime Minister of Portugal), murdered at 46
Dec 18 Henryk Jarecki, Polish composer, dies at 72
Dec 22 Albijn van de Abeele, Flemish author and painter, dies at 83
Dec 22 Randolph Bourne, American writer (Education and Living), dies at 32
Dec 26 Bertram Luard-Selby, British organist and composer, dies at 65
Dec 28 George H White, last post Reconstruction congressman (Penn), dies
Dec 28 Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet (b. 1865)

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