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August 1916

{{short description|Month in 1916}}

{{Events by month|1916}}

{{calendar|year=1916|month=August}}

File:WWI Poster Rumania.jpg poster, welcoming Romania's decision to join the Entente]]

File:Elephant island party (cropped).jpg party of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, before they were rescued by expedition leader Ernest Shackleton on August 30 with help from Chile.]]

File:Stamp-Irl Roger Casement 50th.jpg's death, executed for treason for his role in the Easter Rising.]]

The following events occurred in August 1916:

[[August 1]], 1916 (Tuesday)

  • Battle of Verdun – The Germans launched a new attack on Fort Souville, forcing a two-week campaign of French counterattacks.{{cite book |last=Doughty |first=R. A. |author-link=Robert A. Doughty |title=Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-67401-880-8 |page=299}}
  • Battle of Bitlis – The Russian Caucasus Army, supported by Armenian militia, attacked the Ottoman Second Army in Bitlis Province located in eastern Turkey.{{cite book |last=McMeekin |first=Sean |author-link=Sean McMeekin |title=The Berlin-Baghdad Express: The Ottoman Empire and Germany's Bid for World Power |title-link=The Berlin-Baghdad Express |publisher=Belknap Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-674-05739-5 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |page=243}}
  • Anglo-Egyptian Darfur Expedition – Talks of surrender broke down between the Anglo-Egyptian force commanded by Philip James Vandeleur Kelly and Sultan Ali Dinar of the Sultanate of Darfur, leader of a rebellion against British colonial rule in what is now Sudan. Dinar had barricaded his force in the mountains outside the regional capital of El Fasher since abandoning it in May. Dinar's force of 2,000 men began to dwindle down to half as men deserted him.{{cite book |last1=MacMunn |first1=Sir George Fletcher |last2=Falls |first2=Cyril |author2-link=Cyril Falls |title=Military Operations, Egypt & Palestine: From the Outbreak of War with Germany to June 1917 |series=Official History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence |volume=1 |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |year=1928 |location=London |oclc= 817051831|pages=147–153}}
  • The Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park was established in Hawaii, the 11th National Park in the United States and the first in a Territory.{{cite web |url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hawaii-notes/vol5-2h.htm |title=The Final Thrust |work=Hawaii Nature Notes number 2 |publisher=National Park Service |date=November 1953 |access-date=2010-12-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023123640/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hawaii-notes/vol5-2h.htm |archive-date=2012-10-23}}
  • The Royal Flying Corps established No. 59,{{cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/59squadron.cfm |title=Historic Squadrons: 59 Squadron |publisher=Royal Air Force |access-date=19 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216012938/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/59squadron.cfm |archive-date=16 February 2016 |url-status=dead}} No. 64{{cite web |title=History of 64 Squadron |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/64squadron.cfm |publisher=Royal Air Force |access-date=22 November 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055747/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/64squadron.cfm |url-status=dead}} and No. 65 Squadrons.{{cite web |title=History of 65 Squadron |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/65squadron.cfm |publisher=Royal Air Force |access-date=22 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215728/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/65squadron.cfm |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}
  • Robert Baden-Powell published The Wolf Cub's Handbook in the United Kingdom, establishing the basis of the junior section of the Scouting movement, the Wolf Cubs (modern-day Cub Scouts).{{cite web |url=http://scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com/ |title=Scouting Milestones: Scouting for younger boys - The Wolf Cubs |last=Walker |first=Colin |website=scoutguidehistoricalsociety.com |publisher=C R Walker |access-date=9 January 2015}}{{failed verification|date=February 2025}}
  • The first edition of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Horse Association Bulletin news magazine was published for local horse breeders in Lexington, Kentucky. The magazine grew in popularity with horse breeders across the United States and was renamed The Blood-Horse in 1929.{{cite web |url=http://www.exclusivelyequine.com/AboutUs.aspx |website=ExclusivelyEquine.com |title=About Us |publisher=Blood-Horse Publications |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301174348/http://www.exclusivelyequine.com/AboutUs.aspx |archive-date=2012-03-01 |access-date=19 February 2012}}
  • Born:
  • Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian clergy, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers from 1985 to 1996; in Rome, Kingdom of Italy (present-day Italy) (d. 2014){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Angela Calomiris, American photographer, secret FBI informant in the Communist Party USA from 1942 to 1949; in New York City, United States (d. 1995){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Anne Hébert, Canadian poet and novelist, author of Kamouraska, three-time recipient of the Governor General's Awards; in Sainte-Catherine-de-Fossambault, Quebec, Canada (d. 2000){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Bernard Ramm, American theologian, author of The Christian View of Science and Scripture which argued against the young earth theory; in Butte, Montana, United States (d. 1992){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Lois Roden, American religious leader, founded the Branch Davidians with husband Benjamin Roden; in Stone County, Montana, United States (d. 1986){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 2]], 1916 (Wednesday)

  • An on-board explosion sank the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci while anchored in Taranto harbor, killing 248 officers and crew.{{cite book |last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Battleships of World War II|year=1998|location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=978-1-55750-184-4|pages=157–58}}
  • A Bristol Scout from the Royal Navy seaplane tender Vindex unsuccessfully attacked a German Zeppelin. It was the first interception of an airship by a carrier-based aircraft.{{cite book |last=Layman |first=R.D. |title=Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849–1922 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-87021-210-9 |page=50}}
  • German flying ace Erwin Böhme shot down and killed Latvian flying ace Eduard Pulpe after an hour-long battle.{{cite book|last1=Durkota|first1=Allen|last2=Darcey|first2=Thomas|last3=Kulikov|first3=Victor|title=The Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots and Aircraft and World War I|date=1995|publisher=Flying Machines Press|isbn=978-0963711021|page=177}}
  • The Apotheosis of Democracy sculpture by Paul Wayland Bartlett on the east wing of the United States Capitol was unveiled to the public.{{cite web|author=Architect of the Capitol |title=Apotheosis of Democracy |work=Capitol Campus |publisher=Architect of the Capitol |url=http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/pediments/apoth_hse.cfm |access-date=15 Feb 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203094200/http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/pediments/apoth_hse.cfm |archive-date=3 February 2011 |url-status=dead }}
  • Born: Georgette Seabrooke, American artist, best known for her mural Recreation in Harlem at the Harlem Hospital Center in New York City; in Charleston, South Carolina, United States (d. 2011){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 3]], 1916 (Thursday)

File:8th Light Horse Romani.jpg at Romani, Egypt.]]

[[August 4]], 1916 (Friday)

  • The Treaty of the Danish West Indies was signed to allow transfer of sovereignty of the Danish West Indies from Denmark to the United States, in exchange for a sum of US$25,000,000 in gold (US$ {{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|25,000,000|1916|r=-4}}}} in {{CURRENTYEAR}}).{{USStat|39|1706}}; 7 Bevans 56
  • Battle of Pozières – After several delays due to German bombardment, the Australian 2nd Division was able to push forth and secure most of the second network of German trenches east of Pozières, France.{{cite book|last=Keegan|first=J.|title=The First World War|year=1998|publisher=Random House|location=London|isbn=978-0-09-180178-6|page=319}}{{cite book|title=The 1916 Battle of the Somme: A Reappraisal|last=Liddle|first=P. H.|publisher=Wordsworth|location=Hertfordshire|year=2001|isbn=978-1-84022-240-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/1916battleofsomm0000lidd/page/78 78–79]|url=https://archive.org/details/1916battleofsomm0000lidd/page/78}}
  • Battle of Delville Wood – A British effort to take the eastern side of Delville Wood near Longueval, France, failed.{{cite book |series=History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence |title=Military Operations France and Belgium, 1916: 2nd July 1916 to the End of the Battles of the Somme |volume=II |last=Miles |first=W. |year=1992 |orig-year=1938 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London |edition=Imperial War Museum & Battery Press |isbn=978-0-901627-76-6|pages=185–186}}
  • Battle of Romani – British reinforcements launched a front attack on German-Ottoman forces at Wellington Ridge and a rearguard action at Katia that overturned the enemy's assault on the Sinai Peninsula.Falls 1930, p. 191Powles 1922, pp. 32-34
  • Died: Frédéric Janssoone, 77, French clergy, reintroduced the Order of Friars Minor in Canada, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988 (b. 1838){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 5]], 1916 (Saturday)

[[August 6]], 1916 (Sunday)

[[August 7]], 1916 (Monday)

  • Portugal joined the Allies.{{cite web|last1=Duffy|first1=Michael|title=Who Declared War and When|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/declarationsofwar.htm|website=First World War|access-date=21 January 2016}}
  • Battle of Pozières – German forces launched a final counterattack to recapture their lost trench network. As Germans overran the trench system and began to take prisoners, Australian officer Lieutenant Albert Jacka, a veteran of the Gallipoli campaign, led seven soldiers to resist in heavy hand-to-hand combat that repelled the attack, capturing 50 Germans in the process.{{cite book |author=Kevin J. Fewster |chapter-url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090442b.htm |title=Jacka, Albert (1893–1932) |chapter=Albert Jacka (1893–1932) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |volume=9 |pages=442–453 |year=1983 |publisher=Melbourne University Press |access-date=11 July 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080720061031/http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090442b.htm| archive-date= 20 July 2008 | url-status= live}} He was subsequently award the Military Cross for his actions, although many eyewitnesses insisted he should have won a second Victoria Cross.{{London Gazette |issue=29824 |date=14 November 1916 |page=11074 |supp=y }} (MC)
  • Battle of Delville Wood – A renewed attacked yielded limited success, with new posts established beyond Delville Wood and north of the village of Longueuil, France.{{sfn|Miles|1992|pp=185–186}}
  • Battle of Romani – British forces occupied Oghratina on the Sinai Peninsula.Falls 1930, pp. 195-196
  • The United States Army activated the 32nd Infantry Regiment in Oahu, Hawaii.{{cite web |title=1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment |url=https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/inf/0032in001bn.htm |website=Army History |publisher=Centre of Military History |access-date=8 April 2019 |date=3 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408073658/https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/inf/0032in001bn.htm |archive-date=8 April 2019 |url-status=dead}}
  • A large audience attended the Bohemian Theatre in Dublin for the first screening of the Film Company of Ireland's first film O'Neill of the Glen.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • The Imperial Russian Air Service began flying Anatra aircraft, although it would not be used extensively until the Russian Civil War.Andrzej Kiński, Tomasz J. Kopański: Anatra Anasal in Lotnictwo Wojskowe 2/1999, ISSN 1505-1196, pp. 56-60 (in Polish)
  • Born:
  • Kermit Love, American puppeteer, designer of many of The Muppets on Sesame Street; in Spring Lake, New Jersey, United States (d. 2008){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Leslie George Bull, British bomber pilot, member of the "Great Escape" from Stalag Luft III during World War II; in Highbury, London, England (executed, 1944){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Died: David McMurtrie Gregg, 83, American army officer, decorated cavalry officer for the Union during the Gettysburg campaign (b. 1833){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 8]], 1916 (Tuesday)

  • Battle of Kowel – Austria-Hungary successfully stalled the Brusilov Offensive, inflicting tens of thousands of casualties on the Russians.{{cite book|last1=Lanning|first1=Michael Lee|title=The Battle 100: the stories behind history's most influential battles|date=2003|isbn=978-1-4022-0263-6|page=297}}
  • Sixth Battle of the Isonzo – Italy captured city of Gorizia and established a bridgehead along the Isonzo River, a symbolic victory that greatly boosted the morale of the Italian army.{{cite web|last1=Duffy|first1=Michael|title=The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo6.htm|website=First World War.com|publisher=Michael Duffy|access-date=19 January 2017}}
  • Battle of Romani – The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade occupied Debabis on the Sinai Peninsula.{{cite book |title=The Mounted Riflemen in Sinai & Palestine: The Story of New Zealand's Crusaders|last=Moore |first=A. Briscoe |year=1920 |publisher=Whitcombe & Tombs |location=Christchurch|oclc=561949575|page=32}}
  • German submarine SM UB-44 disappeared after departing from port for the Dardanelles although naval historians speculate she was sunk by a patrol boat.{{cite book | last = Messimer | first = Dwight R. |title=Verschollen: World War I U-boat losses | location = Annapolis, Maryland | publisher = Naval Institute Press | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-1-55750-475-3 | oclc = 231973419|page=165}}
  • The Royal Flying Corps established the No. 62 Squadron.[http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/62squadron.cfm "62 Squadron"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221727/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/62squadron.cfm |date=2016-03-03 }}. Royal Air Force. Retrieved 1 October 2012
  • The one-act play Trifles by Susan Glaspell was first performed by the Provincetown Players at the Wharf Theatre in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with Glaspell playing one of the key roles. Loosely based on an actual murder case, the play is considered an early feminist drama and is often anthologized in many play collections.{{cite book |first1=Susan |last1=Belasco |first2=Linck |last2=Johnson |title=The Bedford Anthology of American Literature, Volume II: 1865-Present |publisher=Bedford-St.Martin's Press |location=Boston |year=2008 |page=782}}
  • Died:
  • Kamimura Hikonojō, 67, Japanese naval officer, admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Russo-Japanese War (b. 1849){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Edgar Dewdney, 80, Canadian statesman, lieutenant governor of Northwest Territories and lieutenant governor of British Columbia (b. 1835){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Lily Braun, 51, German feminist writer, advocate for economic freedom and abolition of legal marriage for women in Germany; died of a stroke (b. 1865){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Torakusu Yamaha, 65, Japanese business executive, founder of the Yamaha Corporation (b. 1851){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 9]], 1916 (Wednesday)

File:Australian Light Horse 1916.jpg.]]

File:Turkish troops in action at Qatia 1915.jpg.]]

  • Battle of Dorian – British and French forces attacked Bulgarian defense positions around Doiran Lake in Serbia.{{cite web|url=http://www.gwpda.org/memoir/Salonica/salon4.htm|title=G. Ward Price. The Story of the Salonica Army. 1918. Chapters X-XIII.|access-date=30 November 2014}}
  • Battle of Bitlis – Russian and Armenian forces captured the Turkish provincial of Bitlis and the surrounding region in eastern Turkey.McMeekin, p. 243
  • Battle of Bir el Abd – Ottoman forces repelled the ANZAC Mounted Division at Bir el Abd on the Sinai Peninsula that slowed the British pursuit of retreating German and Ottoman forces. The joint Australian-New Zealand unit lost 300 casualties.{{cite book|last=Gullett|first=Henry Somer|author-link=Henry Gullett|title=The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine, 1914–1918|series=Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918|volume=VII|location=Sydney|publisher=Angus and Robertson|year=1923|oclc=59863829|pages=176–186}}
  • An Austro-Hungarian aircraft sank British submarine HMS B-10 in the Adriatic Sea, the first time aircraft succeeded in sinking such a vessel.{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Michael|editor=Roberts, John|title=Warship Volume V|year=1981|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-85177-244-8|page=79|chapter=The British 'B' Class Submarine}}{{cite book|last=Kemp|first=Paul J.|title=British Submarines of World War One|year=1990|publisher=Arms and Armour Press|location=London|isbn=9781854090102|page=8}}
  • Australian soldier Martin O'Meara began a heroic act of repeatedly going out and bringing in wounded officers and men from "no man's land" under intense artillery and machine gun fire during the Battle of Pozières.{{London Gazette|issue=29740|page=8871|supp=y|date=9 September 1916}}
  • Lassen Volcanic National Park was established in California.Geology of National Parks, pp. 542–46
  • Capulin Volcano National Monument was established in New Mexico.{{cite web|url= http://www.nps.gov/cavo/historyculture/index.htm |title= History & Culture |work= Capulin Volcano |access-date=25 October 2009|author=National Park Service}}
  • The crime drama Cheating Cheaters by Max Marcin — a melodrama about two groups of jewel thieves posing as wealthy families to rob the other — premiered on Broadway and would run for 286 performances.{{cite book |first=Gerald |last=Bordman |title=American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1914-1930 |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-19-509078-9 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mmr35sTB0AoC&pg=PA47 47]}}{{cite book |first=Thomas S. |last=Hischak |title=Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007 |year=2009 |publisher=McFarland |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-0-7864-3448-0 |page=77}}
  • Born:
  • William E. Dyess, American air force officer, survivor and chief eyewitness to the Bataan Death March; as WILLIAM EDWIN Dyess, in Albany, Texas, United States (killed in plane crash, 1943){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Peter Wright, British intelligence officer, member of MI5 counter-intelligence unit, author of Spycatcher; in Chesterfield, England (d. 1995){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Died: Alpheus Beede Stickney, 76, rail executive, first president of Chicago Great Western Railway (b. 1840){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 10]], 1916 (Thursday)

File:Japanese_cruiser_Kasagi_at_Kobe_1899.jpg

  • Japanese cruiser Kasagi sank after running aground in the Tsugaru Strait.Chesneau, Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Page 230{{incomplete citation|date=February 2025}}
  • The German air squadrons Jagdstaffel 2 and 3 were established as the second and third dedicated fighting squadrons for the Imperial German Flying Corps.{{cite web|url=http://www.jastaboelcke.de/birth_of_jasta2.htm |title=Birth of Jasta 2 |work=jastaboelcke.de |access-date=31 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718212015/http://www.jastaboelcke.de/birth_of_jasta2.htm |archive-date=July 18, 2007 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.theaerodrome.com/services/germany/jasta/jasta3.php |title=Jasta 3 |work=The Aerodrome |year=2015 |access-date=16 December 2015}}{{better source needed|date=February 2022|reason=theaerodrome.com is considered generally unreliable}}
  • The official British documentary propaganda film The Battle of the Somme premièred in London. In the first six weeks of general release, 20 million people viewed it.{{cite journal |title=Battle of the Somme: British War-Propaganda |last=Badsey |first=S. |year=1983 |journal=Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television |volume=3 |issue=2 |issn=0143-9685 |doi=10.1080/01439688300260081 |page=99}}
  • Born: Hubert Maga, Beninese state leader, President of the Republic of Dahomey from 1960 to 1963; in Parakou, Dahomey (present-day Benin) (d. 2000) {{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Died:
  • Addie L. Ballou, 79, American poet activist, leading advocate for women's suffrage, temperance and prison reform, author of poetry collections Driftwood and The Padre’s Dream and Other Poems (b. 1838){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Charles Dawson, 52, British amateur archaeologist, charged with fraud on several archaeological discoveries including the Piltdown Man (b. 1864){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • John J. Loud, 71, American entrepreneur, designer of the ballpoint pen (b. 1844){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 11]], 1916 (Friday)

[[August 12]], 1916 (Saturday)

  • Battle of Romani – A planned attack on Bir el Abd was cancelled as supply and communications for the ANZAC forces were stretched to the limit on the Sinai Peninsula, ending the British pursuit of the remaining German-Ottoman forces to Arish. The action formally ended any further military action in the region and cemented the Allies' hold on the Suez Canal.Powells 1922, p. 38 In all, British casualties for the battle ranged from 1,200 to 1,300, while Ottoman-German casualties were estimated at 9,000.Falls 1930, p. 199
  • Sixth Battle of the Isonzo – Emergency reinforcements from Austria-Hungary slowed the Italian advance.{{cite web|last1=Duffy|first1=Michael|title=The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo6.htm|website=First World War.com|publisher=Michael Duffy|access-date=19 January 2017}}
  • For his actions of rescuing wounded comrades under enemy fire over three days, Australian soldier Martin O'Meara was awarded the Victoria Cross.
  • Born: Ralph Nelson, American film maker, director of Lilies of the Field and Charly; in New York City, United States (d. 1987){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Died: Mark Hovell, 28, British educator and military officer, author of The Chartist movement (b. 1888){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 13]], 1916 (Sunday)

File:Gibraltar bunker Pozieres (AWM EZ0098).jpg, France, in late August. A fatigue party laden with sandbags heads for the fighting at Mouquet Farm.]]

[[August 14]], 1916 (Monday)

[[August 15]], 1916 (Tuesday)

  • 1916 Texas hurricane — The tropical storm intensified into a hurricane while south of Hispaniola and made landfall at Kingston, Jamaica, killing two people and causing extensive damage in the capital city as well as to banana plantations in the surrounding area.{{cite news|title=Hurricane Strikes Jamaica|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/890981/1916_texas_hurricane/?|access-date=August 20, 2014|work=The Wilmington Morning Star|date=August 16, 1916|location=Wilmington, North Carolina|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|volume=98|issue=147}} {{Open access}}{{cite news|title=Jamaica Banana Crop Destroyed|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/891057/1916_texas_hurricane/?|access-date=August 20, 2014|work=The Evening Dispatch|date=August 17, 1916|location=Wilmington, North Carolina|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|volume=22|agency=Associated Press}} {{Open access}}
  • British submarines {{HMS|E4}} and {{HMS|E41}} collided into one another in the North Sea, killed a total 47 crew from both vessels while another 15 survived.{{cite book|first1=Innes |last1=McCartney|first2=Tony |last2=Bryan|title=British Submarines of World War I|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWFapIxWZSUC&pg=PA11|date=20 February 2013|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-4728-0035-0|pages=11–12}}
  • Royal Navy battle cruiser HMS Furious was launched by Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and would serve in both world wars before being scrapped in 1948.{{cite book|last=Burt|first=R. A.|title=British Battleships of World War One|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|year=1986|isbn=978-0-87021-863-7|page=306}}
  • U.S. Navy destroyer USS Davis was launched by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine by sponsor Miss E. Davis, granddaughter of Rear Admiral Charles Henry Davis after whom the naval vessel was named. The destroyer served in World War I and the United States Coast Guard before it was scrapped in 1934.{{cite web| title=USS Davis (DD-65)| url=http://www.destroyers.org/DANFS/h-DD-65.htm| website=Destroyers.com| publisher=The National Association of Destroyer Veterans| access-date=20 February 2017| archive-date=17 May 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517121734/http://www.destroyers.org/DANFS/h-DD-65.htm| url-status=dead}}
  • The association football club Atlas was established in Guadalajara, Mexico.{{cite web|title=Club History|url=http://www.atlasfc.com.mx/static/historiaclub|website=Atlas FC|publisher=Atlac FC|access-date=5 November 2016|archive-date=13 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813010853/http://www.atlasfc.com.mx/static/historiaclub|url-status=dead}}
  • Born:
  • Derek Freeman, New Zealand anthropologist, famously critiqued Margaret Mead and her research on Samoan society; as John Derek Freeman, in Wellington, New Zealand (d. 2001){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Joseph Raya, Lebanese clergy, Archbishop of Haifa for the Melkite Greek Catholic Church from 1968 to 1974, prominent promoter of civil rights and religious reconciliation; in Zahlé, Lebanon (d. 2005){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 16]], 1916 (Wednesday)

[[August 17]], 1916 (Thursday)

  • The Treaty of Bucharest was signed secretly between Romania and the Allies.{{cite book |author-link=Constantin Kirițescu |first=Constantin |last=Kirițescu |title=Istoria războiului pentru întregirea României: 1916-1919 |year=1922 |page=179}}{{publisher needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Sixth Battle of the Isonzo – Italian General Luigi Cadorna called off the offensive after advancing five kilometers into Austro-Hungarian territory. The Italians sustained 51,000 casualties while Austro-Hungarian forces had 40,000.{{cite web|last1=Duffy|first1=Michael|title=The Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/isonzo6.htm|website=First World War.com|publisher=Michael Duffy|access-date=19 January 2017}}
  • Battle of Florina – The Bulgarian First Army of 116,000 men under command of Kliment Boyadzhiev captured the cities of Lerin and Banitsa in Macedonia (now part of Greece) in an opening offensive against Serbian forces under command of Pavle Jurišić Šturm.{{cite book |first=Richard C. |last=Hall |title=Balkan Breakthrough: The Battle of Dobro Pole 1918 |year=2010 |publisher=Indiana University Press |page=68}}
  • British poet F. W. Harvey was captured by the Germans and spent the rest of the war circulated between seven prisoner of war camps. Much of it would be spent in solitary confinement which allowed Harvey time to write a wealth of poetry and memoirs that were published in the post-war period.{{cite book |first=F.W. |last=Harvey |title=Comrades in Captivity: a Record of Life in Seven German Prison Camps |place=London |publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson |year=1920|pages=2–7}}
  • Born:
  • Dudley E. Faver, American air force officer, director for the Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council from 1966 to 1973; as Dudley Ervin Faver, in Sweetwater, Texas, United States (d. 2011){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Clint Grant, American photographer, photojournalist for The Dallas Morning News from 1949 to 1986; as Donald Clinton Grant, in Nashville, Tennessee, United States (d. 2010){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Died: Umberto Boccioni, 33, Italian painter and sculptor, member of the Futurism movement, known for such works as The City Rises and Dynamism of a Cyclist; fatally injured after being trampled by his horse (b. 1882){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 18]], 1916 (Friday)

{{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 300 | header = Storm damage in Corpus Christi | image1 = 1916MuchOfCityLostPower.jpg | alt1 = Utility poles downed by the hurricane | caption1 = Much of Corpus Christi was affected by power outages. | image2 = Building destroyed by the 1916 Texas Hurricane.jpg | alt2 = = A disheveled remains of a wooden building along the coast | caption2 = The waterfront was the city's hardest-hit area.}}

  • Battle of Dorian – Bulgarian forces repulsed Allied assaults on Doiran Lake in Serbia, inflicting 3,200 casualties on French and British units.Price 1918, Chapters X-XIII
  • Bulgarian forces with support from Austria-Hungary occupied Korçë, Albania.{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/stream/timeshistoryofwa12londuoft/timeshistoryofwa12londuoft_djvu.txt| title=The Times history of the war| work=The Times| location=London| format=txt| access-date=January 11, 2011|page= 85}}
  • Battle of Verdun – French forces recaptured the commune of Fleury-devant-Douaumont, France, from the Germans.{{sfn|Doughty|2005|p=299}}
  • Battle of Delville Wood – The British launched further attacks on Delville Wood with mixed results.{{sfn|Miles|1992|pp=193–194}}
  • Attacks on High Wood – British forces failed to take the woods near Bazentin, France, with a loss 104 men. {{sfn|Miles|1992|p=195}}
  • 1916 Texas hurricane — The hurricane made landfall at Baffin Bay, Texas, with maximum wind speeds at 135 mph (215 km/h) and bringing an estimated 1.58 inches (25.4 mm) of rain.{{cite web|title=Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAT|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/metadata_master.html|publisher=National Hurricane Center|access-date=August 20, 2014|author=Landsea, Chris|date=April 2014|display-authors=etal}} The storm left $1.6 million (1916 USD) in damages in Texas and 24 people dead in total.{{cite news|title=HURRICANE SWAMPS CAMPS ON BORDER|access-date=April 5, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1916/08/19/archives/troops-driven-from-camp-hurricane-swamps-camps-on-border.html | work=The New York Times | date=August 19, 1916 |url-access=limited}}
  • The Second Army of Romania was established.{{cite web

|url=http://www.jointophq.ro/index1.php?pagina=istoric |title=History |website=2nd Infantry Division |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416144711/http://www.jointophq.ro/index1.php?pagina=istoric |archive-date=2013-04-16 |language=ro }}

[[August 19]], 1916 (Saturday)

  • The British and German navies clashed in the North Sea in an attempt to regain sea advantage after the losses at the Battle of Jutland in June. A total of 18 German battleships, supported by submarines and Zeppelins, fought 29 Royal Navy battleships and supporting naval vessels. German submarines sank British light cruisers HMS Nottingham and HMS Falmouth while a British sub damaged German battleship SMS Westfalen. Despite the loss of ships, casualties were light as crews had time to abandon ship and reach new vessels.{{cite book |last=Massie |first=Robert K. |author-link=Robert K. Massie |title=Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea |year=2003 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-345-40878-5|pages=683–684|title-link=Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea }}
  • The Irish Times in Dublin issued a 264-page handbook detailing the events of the Easter Rising with a second edition published at the end of the year.Sinn Fein Rebellion Handbook, Easter, 1916: a complete and connected narrative of the Rising, with detailed accounts of the fighting at all points in Dublin and in the country.
  • Born: Ramon Bagatsing, Filipino politician, longest-serving Mayor of Manila from 1972 to 1986; in Fabrica, Sagay, Philippine Islands (present-day Philippines) (d. 2006){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 20]], 1916 (Sunday)

[[August 21]], 1916 (Monday)

[[August 22]], 1916 (Tuesday)

  • Battle of Delville Wood – The British captured the north end of a key front line German trench but wet weather prevented further attacks for about a week.{{sfn|Miles|1992|pp=201-202}}
  • British submarine HMS E16 struck a mine and sunk with all 30 crew in the Heligoland Bight.{{cite book |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Robert |title=Jane's Submarines: War Beneath the Waves from 1776 to the Present Day |date=2001 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=London |isbn=978-0007105588}}{{page needed|date=February 2025}}
  • The German air squadron Jagdstaffel 1 was established as the third dedicated fighting squadron for the Imperial German Flying Corps (despite having first top numerical order), with fighter pilot Kurt Wintgens as its first war ace.{{cite web |url= http://www.theaerodrome.com/services/germany/jasta/jasta1.php |title=Jasta 1 |work=The Aerodrome.com |year=2015 |access-date=16 December 2015}}{{better source needed|date=February 2022|reason=theaerodrome.com is considered generally unreliable}}
  • Born: Finis Alonzo Crutchfield Jr., American clergy, bishop of the United Methodist Church; in Henrietta, Texas, United States (d. 1987){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 23]], 1916 (Wednesday)

[[August 24]], 1916 (Thursday)

  • Battle of Mlali – British colonial forces under General Jan Smuts attempted to draw out the opposing German side to fight their superior numbers near Mlali in what is now Tanzania, but failed in their attempts. As no ground was yielded, the British considered the battle a victory. During the fighting, cavalry officer Captain William Bloomfield was awarded a Victoria Cross for rescuing a wounded comrade at considerable risk for his own safety.{{London Gazette |issue=29885|date=29 December 1916 |pages=12735–12736|supp=y }}
  • Attacks on High Wood — Three British battalions attacked German machine defenses in the wood.{{sfn|McCarthy|2005|p=79}}
  • The U.S. government established the Council of National Defense.{{cite web|date=January 2, 2006 |title=Title 50: Chapter 1: Council of National Defense |url=http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/50C1.txt |publisher=U.S. House of Representatives Downloadable U.S. Code |access-date=2008-02-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228033334/http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/50C1.txt |archive-date=February 28, 2008 }}
  • Thirteen German naval airships under command by Peter Strasser attacked England. British antiaircraft fire damaged several airships and most of their bombs miss their targets widely, but L 31 under command of Heinrich Mathy bombed southeast London, inflicting £130,000 in damage, including damage to a power station at Deptford, and killing nine and injuring 40 civilians.{{cite book |last=Whitehouse |first=Arch |title=The Zeppelin Fighters |location=New York |publisher=Ace Books |year=1966 |pages=163–164}}
  • British armed steamer Duke of Albany was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by German U-boat {{SMU|UB-27||6}} with the loss of 24 crew.{{cite web |url=http://uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/1740.html |title=Duke Of Albany |publisher=Uboat.net |access-date=1 November 2012}}
  • Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition – A final attempt was made to rescue the main body of the stranded British polar expedition party on Elephant Island following the sinking of the polar ship Endurance, with expedition leader Ernest Shackleton persuading the government of Chile to charter the cargo ship Yelcho for the rescue mission under the command of Luis Pardo.{{cite book|author-link= Ernest Shackleton|last= Shackleton|first= Ernest|title= South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition, 1914-1917|publisher= Century Publishing|location= London|year= 1983|isbn= 978-0-7126-0111-5|pages=218–19}}
  • After a bankruptcy, the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad was reorganized as the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (often called the "Frisco").{{cite web| title=History of the Frisco| url=https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/history/1962history.cfm| website=TheLibrary.org| publisher=Springfield-Greene County Library District| location=Springfield, Missouri |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130091524/https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/history/1962history.cfm |archive-date=30 January 2018 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web| url=http://tacnet.missouri.org/history/railroads/ch_slsf.html| title=Corporate History: St. Louis - San Francisco Railway Company| website=The Truman Area Community Network| publisher=Henry County Library| date=June 2, 2008| access-date=2017-02-13| archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722184215/http://tacnet.missouri.org/history/railroads/ch_slsf.html| archive-date=2012-07-22| url-status=dead}}
  • Born:
  • Hal Smith, American actor, best known for the role of Otis Campbell in The Andy Griffith Show; as Harold John Smith, in Petoskey, Michigan, United States (d. 1994){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Léo Ferré, French-Monégasque singer and composer, known for recorded work including Il n'y a plus rien, Verlaine et Rimbaud and Amour Anarchie; in Monaco (d. 1993){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Died: Thomas W. O'Brien, 57, Canadian gold rush entrepreneur, founder of the Klondike Mines Railway and Klondike Brewery in the Yukon (b. 1859){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 25]], 1916 (Friday)

[[August 26]], 1916 (Saturday)

[[August 27]], 1916 (Sunday)

File:Tropas-rumanas-cárpatos--rumaniassacrific00neguuoft.png, 1916]]

[[August 28]], 1916 (Monday)

[[August 29]], 1916 (Tuesday)

  • Battle of Transylvania – The Romanian Army captured the city of Brașov, Transylvania.
  • U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones Law which would act as the constitution of the Philippines until 1934.{{cite book |last=Kramer |first=Paul Alexander |title=The Blood of Government: Race, Empire, the United States, & the Philippines |publisher=UNC Press |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_Lx0KCui5IC |isbn=978-0-8078-5653-6 |page=354 |via=Google Books}}
  • U.S. Navy cruiser USS Memphis was wrecked in Santo Domingo harbor during heavy weather, killing 43 crew and injuring another 204. Ship's officers and crew George William Rud, Claud Ashton Jones, and Charles H. Willey made heroic efforts to save the ship from complete damage, and would subsequently be awarded the Medal of Honor.{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/events/ev-1910s/ev-1916/memphis.htm |publisher=Department of the Navy |website=Naval Historical Center |title=1916 Loss of USS Memphis, 29 August 1916 |date=28 February 2005}}
  • Paul von Hindenburg replaced Erich von Falkenhayn as German Chief of Staff.{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Military History and the Art of War |first1=André |last1=Corvisier |first2=John |last2=Childs |author2-link=John Childs (historian) |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=1994 |page=357}} General Erich Ludendorff now commanded German forces at Verdun, France.{{cite book |last=Holstein |first=Christina |title=Fort Douaumont: Verdun. |date=2010 |publisher=Pen and Sword |location=Havertown |isbn=978-1-84884-345-5 |page=95}}

[[August 30]], 1916 (Wednesday)

  • The Ottoman Empire declared war on Romania.{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/digitized-books/world-war-i-declarations/foreign.php#U |title=World War: Declarations of War from Around the World|publisher=Library of Congress |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925083523/http://www.loc.gov/law/help/digitized-books/world-war-i-declarations/foreign.php |archive-date=25 September 2017}}{{cite web |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/declarationsofwar.htm |title=Who Declared War and When|publisher = Firstworldwar.com}}
  • Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition – The Chilean vessel Yelcho reached Elephant Island in Weddell Sea and rescued the remaining 22 men of the expedition.Shackleton 1983, pp. 218-19 Had the rescue not come, appointed interim expedition leader Frank Wild had planned to use one of the two remaining lifeboats to reach Deception Island to find rescue.{{cite book|last= Alexander|first= Caroline|title= The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition|publisher= Bloomsbury Publications|location= London|year= 1998|isbn= 978-0-7475-4123-3|page=182}}
  • German fighter ace Oswald Boelcke was given command of German air squadron Jagdstaffel 2 and allowed to pick his own pilots.
  • Born:
  • Shag Crawford, American baseball umpire, officiated with the National League from 1956 to 1975; as Henry Charles Crawford, in Philadelphia, United States (d. 2007){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Johnny Lindell, American baseball player, played outfielder and pitcher for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1941 to 1954; as John Harlan Lindell, in Greeley, Colorado, United States (d. 1985){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[August 31]], 1916 (Thursday)

  • Battle of the Somme — The Germans launched the largest counterattack of the battle against the British at Delville Wood and High Wood in France.{{sfn|Miles|1992|pp=205-207}}{{sfn|McCarthy|2005|p=85}}
  • Battle of Transylvania – The Romanian Army captured several more villages in Transylvania and set themselves up completing the first objective of the offensive.
  • The Royal Flying Corps established the No. 63 Squadron.{{cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/history%5Fold/h63.html |title=RAF History: History of No. 63 Squadron |access-date=2007-12-26 |work=RAF History website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221063635/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history_old/h63.html |archive-date=2007-12-21 |url-status=dead }}
  • The art gallery Kestnergesellschaft was founded in Hanover, Germany.{{cite web|title=History|url=https://kestnergesellschaft.de/en/page/history|website=Kestner Gesellschaft|access-date=6 September 2016}}
  • The Danish news tabloid BT began publication in Copenhagen.{{cite news|title=The Press in Denmark|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4059213.stm|access-date=17 December 2014|work=BBC|date=20 December 2005}}
  • Surabaya Zoo was established by decree of the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies in Surabaya, East Java (now Indonesia).{{cite web |language=id |url=http://www.surabaya.go.id/dinamis/?id=583 |title=Kebun Binatang Surabaya |author= |website=Surabaya.go.id |publisher=Surabaya City Government |access-date=24 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525213814/http://www.surabaya.go.id/dinamis/?id=583 |archive-date=25 May 2014 |url-status=dead }}
  • Born:
  • Daniel Schorr, American journalist, best known for his work with CBC News and NPR, winner of three Emmy Awards for television journalism; in New York City, United States (d. 2010){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
  • Robert Hanbury Brown, British astronomer, designer of the Narrabri Stellar Intensity Interferometer used to measure the size of stars; in Aruvankadu, British India (present-day India) (d. 2002){{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

References

{{reflist|2}}

{{Events by month links}}

1916

*1916-08