- February 3
- US liner Housatonic is sunk by German submarine; diplomatic relations are severed. [1]
- February 4
- Belgium Council of Flanders is established. [1]
- February 5
- US Congress overrides President Woodrow Wilson's veto, curtailing Asian immigration. [1]
- Mexican constitution is adopted. [1]
- February 10
- End of Punitive Expedition of US General Pershing into Mexico. [450.86]
- February 16
- First synagogue in 425 years opens in Madrid, Spain. [1]
- February 20
- Ammunitions ship explodes in Archangelsk harbor, about 1,500 die. [1]
- February 21
- British ship Mendi sinks off Isle of Wight, 627 die. [1]
- Train near Chirurcha, Romania catches fire and explodes; hundreds die. [1]
- February 22
- German Navy torpedoes seven Dutch ships. [1]
- February 24
- German plan to get Mexican help in Great War is exposed (Zimmerman telegram). [1]
- Russian revolution breaks out. [1]
- February 26
- The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first ever jazz record for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York. [5]
- February 28
- Associated Press reports México and Japan will ally with Germany if US enters Great War. [1]
- Russian Duma sets up Provisional Committee; workers set up Soviets. [1]
- March 7
- First jazz record "Dixie Jazz Band One Step", recorded by Nick LaRocca Original Dixieland Jazz Band, released by RCA Victor in Camden, New Jersey. [1]
- March 8
- In Russia, riots and strikes over the scarcity of food erupt in Petrograd. [1] [129]
- March 11
- British troops occupy Baghdad. [1]
- March 12
- Russian Dumas sets up Provisional Committee; workers set up Soviets. [1]
- March 15
- Russian Czar Nicholas II abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Michael, who refuses the crown, bringing an end to the czarist autocracy. [1] [129] [861.8]
- March 23
- Four-day series of tornadoes kills 211 in Midwest USA. [1]
- March 28
- Jews are expelled from Tel Aviv and Jaffa by Turkish authorities. [1]
- March 31
- The USA assumes control of the Danish West Indies. [1] [552.80]
- April 2
- US President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany. [1] [5]
- April 3
- Leon Trotsky is detained in Halifax, Nova Scotia, by Canadian authorities, under instruction of the British Admiralty in London. He is released several hours later. [916.90]
- Vladimir Lenin leaves Switzerland for Petrograd, Russia. [1]
- April 6
- US declares war on Germany, enters Great War. [1] [916.89]
- April 9
- Battle of Arras begins. [1]
- Vimy Ridge, France stormed by Canadian troops. [1]
- April 10
- Munition factory explosion at Eddystone, Pennsylvania, USA, kills 133 workers. [1]
- April 16
- Vladimir Lenin returns to Russia to start Bolshevik Revolution. [1]
- April 18
- Moritz F Freiherr von Bissing, Governor-General of Belgium (1914-17), dies at age 73. [1]
- April 21
- British Amiralty orders the release of Leon Trotsky from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to continue on his way to Russia. [861.9]
- May 4
- May 10
- Atlantic ships get destroyer escorts to stop German attacks. [1]
- May 11
- Britain grants Royal Letters Patent to New Zealand. [1]
- May 20
- Turkish Government authorizes Jews to return to Tel Aviv and Jaffa. [1]
- May 23
- Dutch second Chamber okays 1908 conscription draft. [1]
- May 31
- First jazz record released (Dark Town Strutters Ball). [1]
- June 5
- Ten million American men begin registering for draft for war duty. [1]
- June 14
- US General John Pershing and his headquarters staff arrive in Paris, France. [1]
- June 16
- First Congress of Soviets convenes in Russia. [1]
- June 19
- King George V orders members of British royal family to dispense with German titles and surnames, they take the name Windsor. [1]
- June 26
- First American Expeditionary Force arrives in France. [1]
- July 1
- Race riots in East Saint Louis, Illinois, USA; 40 to 200 reported killed. [1]
- July 9
- British warship Vanguard explodes at Scapa Flow, killing 800. [1]
- July 13
- Vision of Virgin Mary appears to children of Fátima, Portugal. [1]
- July 17
- King George V proclaims the name of the Royal House is changed from House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to House of Windsor. [1] [614.21]
- July 22
- Alexander Kerensky becomes Russian Prime Minister. [1]
- August 14
- China declares war on Germany and Austria. [1]
- August 23
- Race riot in Houston, Texas, USA; two blacks and 11 whites killed. [1]
- September 1
- The US government prohibits gold exports. [497.56] [545.36]
- September 14
- Provisional government of Russia established, Republic proclaimed. [1]
- October 15
- Mata Hari, Dutch dancer/German spy, executed by firing squad in Paris, France. [1]
- October 21
- First Americans see action on the front lines of European war. [1]
- November 2
- First US soldiers killed in combat in Great War. [1]
- Balfour Declaration proclaims support for a Jewish state in Palestine. [1]
- Lansing-Ishii Agreement: US recognizes Japan's privileges in China. [1]
- November 6
- Bolshevik revolution in Russia begins with the capture of the Winter Palace. [1]
- November 7
- British capture Gaza, Palestine from the Turks. [1]
- October Revolution (October 26 Old Style) in Russia, Vladimir Lenin seizes power. [1]
- November 8
- The second All-Russian Congress of Soviets approves the Council of People's Commissars, establishing the first Communist Government. [55.43]
- November 20
- Ukrainian Republic is declared. [1]
- December 2
- Han Yong-woon founds Zen awakening at Osean Monastery in Korea. [1]
- December 6
- Finland declares independence from Russia. [1] [1000.26]
- French munitions ship Mont Blanc explodes in Halifax, kills 1,639+ and injures 9,000+. Most powerful man-made explosion to date. [1] [71.27]
- December 7
- US becomes 13th country to declare war on Austria. [1]
- December 9
- British forces under General Edmund Allenby capture Jerusalem. [1]
- December 11
- German-occupied Lithuania proclaims independence from Russia. [1] [5]
- December 12
- Train derails near mouth of Mount Cenis tunnel in Modane, France; 543 French troops killed; worst train disaster ever. [1]
- December 15
- Moldavian Republic declares independence from Russia. [1]
- December 18
- Soviet regiment (Stalin/Lenin) declares Finland independent. [1]
- December 20
- Russian secret police in Czechoslovakia forms under Felix Dzerzjinski. [1]
- December 22
- Flanders declares its independence, under Pieter Tack. [1]
- December 26
- US government takes over operation of American railroad for duration of European war. [1]
- December 31
- The Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic recognizes independence of Finland. [1000.26]
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