December 1911

• At Urga (now Ulan Bator), a new Mongolian Empire was declared independent from the Chinese Empire. Chinese officials of the Qing dynasty were expelled from what had been "Outer Mongolia", and set up its own government on the 11th day of the First Winter Month of the year of the Pig. Unlike other provinces of China that would become part of the Republic of China, Mongolia remained a separate nation.{{cite book |last1=Onon |first1=Urgunge |last2=Derrick |first2=Pritchatt |title=Asia's First Modern Revolution: Mongolia Proclaims its Independence in 1911 |date=1989 |publisher=Brill Publishers |page=15}}
• James B. McNamara and John J. McNamara stunned Americans who had been following their trial for murder, when James pleaded guilty to the dynamiting of the Los Angeles Times building on October 1, 1910, and John, the secretary-treasurer of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers, pleaded to having caused an explosion at the Llewellyn Iron Works."DYNAMITERS ADMIT GUILT - TIMES BOMB EXPLODED BY M'NAMARA". Milwaukee Sentinel, December 2, 1911, p. 1. Chief counsel Clarence Darrow explained the plea, saying, "From the first, there was never the slightest chance to win," adding, "There was overwhelming evidence of all kinds which no one could have surmounted if he would.""Darrow Defends His Course". The New York Times, December 6, 1911. James was sentenced to life imprisonment and his brother John to 15 years.
• The first International Opium Conference opened at the Hague. The United States, United Kingdom, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Persia (Iran), Portugal, Russia, and Siam (Thailand), sent representatives, presided over by Bishop Charles H. Brent, Episcopal bishop for the Philippines."Opium Conference To-Day". The New York Times, December 1, 1911.{{cite book |last1=Hollinger |first1=Mannfred A. |title=Introduction to Pharmacology |date=2003 |publisher=CRC Press |page=357}}
• Born: Walter Alston, American baseball manager who guided the Brooklyn Dodgers and then the Los Angeles Dodgers to four World Series championships; in Venice, Ohio (d. 1984).{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• King Vajiravudh of Siam (now Thailand) was crowned in Bangkok."Another Coronation; It Is That of King Chowfa Maha Vajiravudh of Siam". The New York Times, December 3, 1911.
• George V, who was not only the King of the United Kingdom, but also the Emperor of India (at that time a British colony), arrived at Bombay (now Mumbai), becoming the first British monarch to visit British India."King George at Bombay". The New York Times, December 2, 1911.
• The Australasian Antarctic Expedition, commanded by Douglas Mawson, began with the departure of the Aurora from Hobart, for the purpose of mapping the uncharted coastline of Antarctica directly south of Australia.{{cite book |last1=Rubin |first1=Jeff |title=Antartica |date=2008 |publisher=Lonely Planet |page=56}}
• Eladio Victoria was elected as President of the Dominican Republic.The Britannica Year-Book 1913: A Survey of the World's Progress Since the Completion in 1910 of the Encyclopædia Britannica. (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1913) pp. xix to xxi.

• Maurice Prevost and a passenger reached an altitude of 9,800 feet over Courcy, France, breaking the record of 8,471 feet set the year before by Ralph Johnstone.
• The "General Plan for the Organization of the Provisional Government" was promulgated by China's Republican revolutionaries, proposing an American-style presidential system. On March 11, 1912, the Provisional Constitution would change to a cabinet system headed by a Prime Minister.{{cite book |last1=Chen |first1=Jianfu |title=Chinese Law: Context and Transformation |date=2008 |publisher=Brill Publishers |page=81}}
• Born: Nino Rota, Italian film score composer; in Milan (d. 1979).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• A mosque was bombed in Istib, at the time a European possession of the Ottoman Empire, and now Štip in North Macedonia, killing 12 Muslim worshipers and wounding 20, leading to the outbreak of rioting. The Turkish Army retaliated by attacking Bulgarian nationalists whom they blamed for the bombing, wounding 171, of whom 14 died."Turks Kill 14 Bulgarians". The New York Times, December 7, 1911.
• An antitrust suit was brought against the National Cash Register company, alleging conspiracy to restrain trade. NCR had 95% of cash register sales in the U.S."Government Sues Cash Register Co.". The New York Times, December 5, 1911.
• John D. Rockefeller resigned as President of the company that he had founded, the recently dismembered Standard Oil Company, and John D. Archibold succeeded him."Rockefellers Out of Standard Oil". The New York Times, December 5, 1911.

• Voters in Los Angeles rejected the prospect of electing a Socialist government, four days after the surprise conviction of the McNamara brothers. Mayor George Alexander, whose re-election had been uncertain, defeated Job Harriman by a more than 2-1 margin, and voters rejected the entire slate of city councilmen and Board of Education members."Harriman Defeated by Big Margin". Milwaukee Sentinel, December 6, 1911, p. 1.
• The Aerial Experiment Association, headed by aviator Glenn Curtiss, was awarded U.S. Patent No. 1,011,106 for the aileron (which controls the rolling and turning of an aircraft) after being successful in litigation against the Wright Brothers.{{cite book |last1=Cashman |first1=Sean Dennis |title=America in the Age of the Titans: the Progressive Era and World War I |date=1988 |publisher=NYU Press |page=299}}
• The town of Blackdom, New Mexico, an all-black community located in Chaves County, was incorporated. The town was abandoned in the 1920s.{{cite book |last1=Melzer |first1=Richard |title=Buried Treasures: Famous and Unusual Gravesites in New Mexico History |date=2007 |publisher=Sunstone Press |page=142}}
• Joseph Stalin was sent into exile for his third and final time, being sent to Vologda for a five-year stretch.{{cite book |last1=Kun |first1=Miklós |title=Stalin |date=2003 |publisher=Central European University Press |page=117}}
• Born:
• Władysław Szpilman, Polish Jewish composer and pianist who avoided capture during the Holocaust; in Sosnowiec. His story was dramatized in the film The Pianist (d. 2000).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Carlos Marighella, Brazilian guerilla leader, in Salvador, Bahia state (killed, 1969).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• Prince Chun, the regent for (and father of) the Emperor of China, resigned from office. He was succeeded by Prince Shi-Hsu, former National Assembly president, and Hsu Shi-Chang, VP of the Privy Council."Prince Chun Drops Regency of China". The New York Times, December 7, 1911.
• Western Union introduced discount rates for its trans-Atlantic cable service between New York and London.{{cite book |last1=Oslin |first1=George P. |title=The Story of Telecommunications |date=1999 |publisher=Mercer University Press |page=254}}

• More than 150 construction workers were killed in the collapse of a bridge over Russia's Volga River at Kazan. Pressured by a buildup of ice, the supports for the structure gave way without warning, throwing the men into the icy waters.

"Hundreds Drown in Russian Bridge Collapse on Volga". Milwaukee Sentinel, December 8, 1911, p. 1.

• The New Zealand Liberal Party, headed by Prime Minister Joseph Ward, lost its majority of 50 of the 80 seats in Parliament, falling to 33.{{cite web |url= https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/historical-events/18901993-general-elections |title=1890–1993 general elections |publisher=Electoral Commission New Zealand |access-date=9 July 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230408001916/https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/historical-events/18901993-general-elections |archive-date=8 April 2023}} The Reform Party won 37, and, after the Liberals were unable to maintain a government, captured the post of premier under William Massey.
• The mandatory requirement for Chinese men to wear their hair in a queue was abolished by Imperial edict, and provisions were announced for implementing the Western calendar.

• Thirteen years after the destruction of the USS Maine in the Havana Harbor, a committee of naval experts concluded that the blast was, as originally suspected, caused by an external explosion which had ignited munitions stored on board.
• The San Francisco Symphony, conducted by Henry Kimball Hadley, held its first concert.{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Leta E. |title=Music and Politics in San Francisco: From the 1906 Quake to the Second World War |date=2011 |publisher=University of California Press |page=31}}
• Born: Lee J. Cobb (stage name for Leo Jacoby), American stage, film and TV actor known for starring in TV western series The Virginian; in New York City (d. 1976).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• The Cross Mountain Mine disaster killed 84 coal miners in the explosion of the Knoxville Iron and Coal Company's mine at Briceville, Tennessee. Shortly after their shift had started, the blast occurred at 7:30 am, entombing all but five survivors.{{cite web |title=CROSS MOUNTAIN MINE DISASTER AND RESCUE |url=http://www.coalcreekaml.com/Legacy5.htm |website=COAL CREEK: WAR AND DISASTERS |publisher=Coal Creek Watershed Foundation, Inc. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240414065331/http://www.coalcreekaml.com/Legacy5.htm |archive-date=April 14, 2024}}"156 Men Entombed by Mine Explosion". The New York Times, December 10, 1911. "Find 5 Men Alive in Wrecked Mine". The New York Times, December 12, 1911.
• Russia's ambassador in Tehran delivered an ultimatum to the government of Persia, demanding that it dismiss W. Morgan Shuster within 48 hours, and pledge not to hire foreign subjects without the consent of Russia and Britain. The Persians initially ignored the demand.{{cite book |last1=Kinzer |first1=Stephen |title=Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America's Future |date=2010 |publisher=Macmillan |page=22}}
• Born: Broderick Crawford, American film (All the King's Men) and TV (Highway Patrol) actor (d. 1986).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• Dante's Inferno, a 69-minute (five reel) silent film based on the 14th Century vision of Hell written by Dante Alighieri, premiered at the Gane's Manhattan Theater in New York. Bringing the Devil to the silver screen for the first time, the Italian made film was a success.{{cite book |last1=De La Torre |first1=Miguel |last2=Hernández |first2=Albert |title=The Quest for the Historical Satan |date=2011 |publisher=Fortress Press |page=16}}
• Convicted Los Angeles Times bombers J.B. McNamara and J.J. McNamara began their sentence at San Quentin Prison in California.{{Cite web |title=The Clarence Darrow Digital Collection: A University of Minnesota Law Library Digital Exhibit |url=http://moses.law.umn.edu/darrow2/index.html |access-date=February 23, 2023 |website=moses.law.umn.edu |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131034401/http://moses.law.umn.edu/darrow2/trialsid=2.html |archive-date=January 31, 2023}}File:John_Joseph_McNamara_James_Barnabas_McNamara_Los_Angeles_Times_bombing_1910_01.jpg
• Born: Chet Huntley, American newscaster who co-anchored NBC's evening news program, The Huntley-Brinkley Report, from 1956 to 1970; in Cardwell, Montana (d. 1974).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Died: Joseph Dalton Hooker, 94, British explorer and botanist.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• Fourteen people were killed and 30 injured in the derailment of a train near the Portuguese city of Porto, after the cars fell into the Douro River."16 Killed by Disaster in Portugal". The New York Times, December 12, 1911.
• The city of Tabriz in northwest of Iran was invaded by Russian troops during a campaign to suppress pro-constitutional movement.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Born:
• Qian Xuesen (Hsue-Shen Tsien), Chinese rocket scientist who had helped found the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the United States before becoming the "Father of Chinese Rocketry" for Communist China; in Shanghai (d. 2009).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Val Guest (stage name for Valmond Grossman), British film director; in London (d. 2006).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian novelist and winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature; in Cairo (d. 2006).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Died: Victor Lemoine, 88, French flower breeder who created the French lilac.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• At the Coronation Durbar in British India, King George V was formally proclaimed the Kaisar-i-Hind, King-Emperor of India, at Delhi, before an audience of 80,000. On the subcontinent, he had 315,000,000 subjects in the Indian Kingdom and Empire, which included modern-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.{{cite book |last1=Harrison |first1=Thomas |title=The Great Empires of the Ancient World |date=2009 |publisher=Getty Publications |page=231}} (At the time, the population of the British Isles was 45,370,530).{{cite web |title=Population of Great Britain & Ireland 1570-1931 |url=http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/pop.html |website=GenDocs Genealogy Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023053103/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hitch/gendocs/pop.html |archive-date=October 23, 2015 |url-status=dead}} The Emperor announced, without consultation of the British Parliament, that the capital of British India would be moved from Calcutta to a new city built near Delhi.[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/12/13/104885609.pdf "Sensation Sprung at Imperial Durbar"]. The New York Times, December 13, 1911. New Delhi was built on the site southwest of Shahjahanabaad, the capital of the Mughal Emperors from 1658 to 1739, and finally and inaugurated on February 13, 1931.{{cite book |last1=Kaminsky |first1=Arnold P. |last2=Long |first2=Roger D. |title=India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic |date=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=503}}
• A bill proposed by U.S. Representative Isaac Sherwood, to provide a pension of $15 to $30 a month to every American military veteran, passed the House, 229-92."Dollar a Day Bill for Pensions Passes". The New York Times, December 13, 1911.
• Voters in the Arizona Territory elected to eliminate the provision in the proposed constitution for judicial recall, by a margin of 14,963 to 1,980 and cleared the last impediment for President Taft to sign the statehood bill. Arizona would become the 48th state in February{{Year needed|date=July 2024}}.{{cite book |last1=Berman |first1=David R. |title=Arizona Politics and Government: The Quest for Autonomy, Democracy, and Development |date=1998 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |page=35}}
• Born: Margo Jones, American stage director credited with launching "regional theater" in the United States; in Livingston, Texas (died by accidental poisoning, 1955).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• The House passed the Sulzer Resolution, asking for abrogation of the 1832 treaty with Russia due to its discrimination against American Jews, by a margin of 300-1. The lone dissent came from Congressman George R. Malby of New York.{{cite book |last1=Adler |first1=Cyrus |last2=Margalith |first2=Aaron Morris |title=With Firmness in the Right: American Diplomatic Action Affecting Jews, 1840-1945 |date=1977 |publisher=Ayer Publishing |page=286}} "Votes 300 to 1 Against Treaty". The New York Times, December 14, 1911.
• Five German nationals, convicted of espionage for Britain, were sentenced by a German court in Leipzig to prison terms ranging from 2 to 12 years. The maximum sentence was for a Herr Hipsich, an engineer at the Bremen shipyards, who sold plans for the new German dreadnoughts to the British."Anglophobism Increases". The New York Times, December 17, 1911.
• Born:
• Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist, winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Economics; in Skedsmo (d. 1999).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Kenneth Patchen, American poet; in Niles, Ohio (d. 1972).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• The South Pole was reached by human beings for the first time, as the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition arrived at 3:00 in the afternoon. The weather was sunny, winds were slight, and the temperature only -10 °F.{{cite book |first=Roald |last=Amundsen |author-link=Roald Amundsen |title=The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the "Fram," 1910-1912 |publisher=Lee Keddick Publishing |year=1913 |page=xvii}} Roald Amundsen, the leader of the expedition, was accompanied by Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel and Oscar Wisting, and all five planted the Norwegian flag. They pitched a tent and remained for three days at their settlement, which they called Polheim, on the plateau that they named for King Haakon VII of Norway.{{cite book |first=Jeff |last=Rubin |title=Antarctica |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2008 |page=53}}
• At the same time, the British Antarctic Expedition, led by Robert Falcon Scott, was continuing its ascent of the Beardmore Glacier.{{cite book |first=Susan |last=Solomon |title=The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2002}} At 84°8', and unaware that Amundsen was at the South Pole, Scott wrote in his journal, ironically, "It is splendid to be getting along and to find some adequate return for the work we are putting into the business."{{cite book |first=J. M. |last=Barrie |author-link=J. M. Barrie |title=Scott's Last Expedition - The Personal Journals of Captain R. F. Scott, C.V.O., R.N., on His Journey to the South Pole |year=1913 |edition=READ BOOKS, 2009 |page=392}}
• Dr. Eleanor Davies-Colley became the first woman to be admitted as Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Britain.
• Born: Hans von Ohain, German engineer who patented the jet engine; in Dessau (d. 1998).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• Anti-aircraft warfare was pioneered by Turkish troops in Libya, two weeks after Italy pioneered aerial bombardment.{{cite book |last1=Paoletti |first1=Ciro |title=A Military History of Italy |date=2008 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=135}}
• British suffragettes began a new tactic, destroying mailboxes in order to attract attention to their cause. Emily Wilding Davison saturated a piece of linen with paraffin, set it on fire, and placed it into a public mail drop. By July{{Year needed|date=July 2024}}, the group began setting fire to unoccupied buildings.{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Katherine H. |last2=Keene |first2=Michael L. |title=Alice Paul and the American Suffrage Campaign |date=2008 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |page=26}}
• The North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911, signed by the U.S., U.K., Japan, and Russia on July 7, went into effect.
• Born: Stan Kenton, American bandleader; in Wichita, Kansas (d. 1979).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• The Javzundamba Khutagt, spiritual leader of Mongolia's Buddhists, was proclaimed as the Bogd Khan, Emperor of Mongolia.{{cite book |last1=Rossabi |first1=Morris |last2=Rossabi |first2=Mary |title=Herdsman to Statesman: The Autobiography of Jamsrangiin Sambuu of Mongolia |date=2010 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=52}}
• Britain's National Health Insurance Act received royal assent.{{cite book |last1=Tonge |first1=Neil |title=Industrialisation and Society |date=1993 |publisher=Nelson Thornes, Ltd. |page=405}}
• Khalifa bin Harub of Zanzibar was proclaimed as Sultan Khalifa II of Zanzibar upon the abdication of his cousin, Ali bin Hamud.{{cite book |last1=Bang |first1=Anne K. |title=Sufis and Scholars of the Sea: Family Networks in East Africa, 1860-1925 |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge |page=154}}
• British Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George was struck in the face by a man who threw a "brass bound box" at the future Prime Minister as Lloyd George was departing a meeting of supporters of women's suffrage."Lloyd-George Hurt". The New York Times, December 17, 1911. The assailant, 18-year-old Allan McDougall, was sentenced to two months hard labor."Lloyd George's Assailant". Ohineumuri (N.Z.) Gazette, December 20, 1911.

• Pope Pius X broke a centuries-old tradition of Pontiffs always partaking of their meals alone. Following the ceremony for the consecration of two new cardinals, the Pope invited everyone to breakfast."Pope Breaks Precedent". The New York Times, December 18, 1911.

• With the encouragement of Russia, leaders of the Tuvan minority declared the independence of their homeland, Tannu Tuva, from China. The mostly rural state on the Chinese-Russian border became a Russian protectorate in 1914 and was later annexed into the Soviet Union, and is now a part of the Russian Federation.{{cite book |last1=Minahan |first1=James |title=The Former Soviet Union's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook |date=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=137–138}}
• Born: Jules Dassin, American film director who was blacklisted during the era of McCarthyism; in Middletown, Connecticut (d. 2008).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• U.S. President William H. Taft asked Congress to rescind the commercial treaty that the U.S. had made with Russia more than 70 years prior. The termination was ratified unanimously (72-0) by the U.S. Senate, and the next day by the House with only one dissenting vote, from Robert B. Macon of Arkansas."Senate Affirms Treaty Break". The New York Times, December 20, 1911. "Repeal of Treaty Ratified by House". The New York Times, December 21, 1911.
• Two thousand physicians met at Queen's Hall in London to protest against the limitations for payment under the Insurance Act.

• The Agadir Crisis came to an end as the Chamber of Deputies of France approved the Moroccan agreement with Germany by a vote of 393-36, but 141 of the deputies abstained. The matter then moved on to the French Senate.{{cite book |last1=Keiger |first1=J. F. V. |title=Raymond Poincaré |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=125}}
• Votes were counted in the New Zealand election, with Prime Minister Ward's party losing its majority in Parliament.
• Born: Hortense Calisher, American writer; in New York City (d. 2009).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• The Illinois Supreme Court became the first in the United States to uphold the admissibility of fingerprint evidence, affirming the murder conviction of Thomas Jennings. Jennings was hanged on February 16, 1912. By 1925, all state courts had followed the reasoning in People v. Jennings.{{cite book |last1=Fisher |first1=Jim |title=Forensics under Fire: Are Bad Science and Dueling Experts Corrupting Criminal Justice? |date=2008 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |pages=104–105}}
• The first armed robbery using a "getaway car" took place in Paris as four members of the Bonnot Gang used a stolen limousine to escape after robbing a courier who was bringing cash to the Société Générale Bank. Octave Garnier and Raymond Callemin stepped from the vehicle and confronted the courier and his bodyguard with pistols, shot him when he resisted, stole a case with money and hopped back in the car. Driver and gangleader Jules Bonnot then raced away.{{cite book |last1=Hoobler |first1=Dorothy |last2=Hoobler |first2=Thomas |title=The Crimes of Paris: A True Story of Murder, Theft, and Detection |date=2009 |publisher=Hachette Digital}}
• Russian troops arrived at the Persian city of Tabriz, and exacted vengeance on the civilian population after having battled Persian troops earlier. In taking control of government buildings, the Russians reportedly attacked schoolchildren and women. The next day, bombardment of the Northern Iranian city began, and on Saturday, mosques and other buildings were burnt down.[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/12/28/104846373.pdf "Persians Describe Russians' Butchery"]. The New York Times, December 28, 1911.
• Explorer Hiram Bingham returned to the United States and gave reporters their first interview concerning his expedition to Peru.{{cite book |last1=Heaney |first1=Christopher |title=Cradle of Gold: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu |date=2011 |publisher=Macmillan |page=126}}
• Born: Josh Gibson, African-American baseball player who hit 800 home runs in his career, mostly for the Homestead Grays in the Negro leagues; in Buena Vista, Georgia. He would be admitted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. (d. 1947).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Died: Emilio Estrada, 56, President of Ecuador since September, died of a heart attack.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• Persia agreed to dismiss W. Morgan Shuster from his job as Treasurer, capitulating to the ultimatum made by Russia."Persia Gives In: Shuster to Quit". The New York Times, December 23, 1911.
• The British steamer Menzaleh was seized in the Red Sea by the Italian Navy warship Puglia, along with its cargo of $150,000 worth of gold coins. The Menzaleh had passed through the Suez Canal been on its way to the Turkish port of Hodeidah at Yemen."Gold for Turkey Seized". The New York Times, December 23, 1911.
• Born: Grote Reber, amateur astronomer and ham radio enthusiast who pioneered radio astronomy in 1938; in Wheaton, Illinois (d. 2002).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Died: Odilon Lannelongue, 71, French surgeon.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• Russian and Persian troops fought at Tabriz, and Russian reinforcements were deployed from Erivan.
• Born: James Gregory, American character actor on stage, film and TV; in the Bronx, New York City (d. 2002).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• Persia's regent, Nasir al-Mulk, and the cabinet members dissolved Parliament, placing Prime Minister Samsam al-Saltanah in control of the nation until new elections could be held. The voting did not take place until 1914, by which time Iran's government was dependent on approval of Britain and Russia.{{cite book |author=Saïd Amir Arjomand |title=The Turban for the Crown: the Islamic Revolution in Iran |date=1989 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=46}}
• French pilot Armand Gobe set a record by flying {{convert|462|mi}} before landing.

• Sun Yat-sen arrived in Shanghai, by way of the United States, the United Kingdom and France.{{cite book |last1=Bergère |first1=Marie-Claire |last2=Lloyd |first2=Janet |title=Sun Yat-sen |date=1998 |publisher=Stanford University Press |pages=211–213}}
• The play Kismet premiered at the Knickerbocker Theatre in New York City. The controversial drama included a scene of simulated nude bathing, with the actress wearing a skin colored outfit.{{cite book |last1=Sova |first1=Dawn B. |title=Banned Plays: Censorship Histories of 125 Stage Dramas |date=2004 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |page=141}}
• Born: Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor; in Paris (d. 2010).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• Shortly after midnight, the first of 75 men, staying in Berlin's municipal homeless shelter, began dying from poisoning. The evening before, smoked herring had been offered at Christmas dinner, in addition to soup and bread. By the end of the day, 18 were dead."Smoked Herring Kills 36". The New York Times, December 28, 1911. "50 Now dead from Eating Herrings". The New York Times, December 29, 1911 "Nine More Die of Poison". The New York Times, December 30, 1911. By Sunday, the deaths were traced to a wholesale liquor dealer who had been selling whiskey containing 2/3rds methyl alcohol, commonly used for antifreeze and as a solvent. The case was later referred to as the "Scharmach Catastrophe.""Poison Victims Now 75". The New York Times, December 31, 1911. "More Berliners Poisoned-- No Further Deaths-- Liquor Dealer Held for Selling Suspected Whisky". The New York Times, January 1, 1912.{{cite book |last1=Molinari |first1=Ettore |title=Treatise on General and Industrial Organic Chemistry, Volume 1 |date=1921 |publisher=P. Blakiston's Son & Co. |page=128}}
• Cotton textile workers across Mexico walked off the job, shutting down the entire industry. The companies' owners would agree to labor's demands on January 20, with a 10% increase in pay and reduction of work to ten hours a day. The pact "marked a permanent change in labour relations", one historian notes{{Who|date=July 2024}}, with workers successfully organizing unions and striking without retaliation.{{cite book |last1=Bortz |first1=Jeffrey |title=The Ashgate Companion to the History of Textile Workers, 1650-2000 |date=2010 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |pages=346–347 |chapter=Mexican textile workers: from conquest to globalization}}

• The melody that would become India's National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, was first performed, on the occasion of a meeting in Calcutta of the Indian National Congress. Composed by Rabindranath Tagore, the song originally had lyrics in the Bengali language. A Hindi-language version was adopted in 1950 as the Republic's anthem.{{cite book |last1=Chandra |first1=Anjana Motihar |title=India Condensed: 5000 Years of History and Culture |date=2007 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish}}

• The first M1911 pistol, sidearm for the U.S. Army, was manufactured, part of a set of 40 made that day at the Colt firearms factory in Hartford. Serial numbers 1 through 50 were shipped on January 4{{Year needed|date=July 2024}}.{{cite book |last1=Sapp |first1=Rick |title=Standard Catalog of Colt Firearms |date=2007 |publisher=F+W Media, Inc. |page=138}}
• Born: Gustave Malécot, French mathematician and geneticist; in La Grand-Croix, Loire département (d. 1998).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• On December 29, 1911. Bogd Khanate declared its independence. The same day Bogd Khan was declared Khan. Mongolia regained independence after over 153 years

• At Nanjing, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen was elected as the first President of the Republic of China by 16 of the 17 provincial representatives there. He would take office on January 1.Marie-Claire Bergère and Janet Lloyd, Sun Yat-sen (Stanford University Press, 1998) pp211-213
• General Pedro Montero, commander of troops in Guayaquil, was proclaimed as the new President of Ecuador by the Army, a week after the death of President Estrada."Montero Ecuador's Ruler". The New York Times, December 30, 1911. A brief civil war ensued, with General Montero being defeated by General Leonidas Plaza, and, on January 25, Montero was executed."Montero Beheaded by Mob". The New York Times, January 27, 1912.
• Born:
• Klaus Fuchs, German-born nuclear physicist and traitor who secretly passed American nuclear secrets to the Soviets; in Rüsselsheim (d. 1988).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Antonio Arcaño, Cuban musician credited with popularizing mambo music; in Havana (d. 1994).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
• Died: Rosamund Marriott Watson, 51, British poet, died of cancer.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• Turkey's Grand Vizier and all of his ministers resigned after opposition members of the Chamber of Deputies boycotted the assembly."Turkish Cabinet Out". The New York Times, December 31, 1911.
• Born: Alfred Friendly, American journalist and managing editor of The Washington Post, credited with bringing the newspaper to national prominence; in Salt Lake City (d. 1983).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

• China's National Assembly voted to begin using the "Western calendar" to replace the traditional Chinese lunar calendar used by the Emperor, with full use to begin effective January 1, 1912, which was declared as the "first day of the first month of the first year of the Republic of China" (and was the 13th day of 11th month of the 4609th year of the traditional calendar).{{cite book |last1=Xu |first1=Guogi |title=China and the Great War: China's Pursuit of a New National Identity and Internationalization |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=34}}
• Russian troops, occupying the Persian city of Tabriz, carried out the execution of Shiite Muslim cleric Seqat-ol-Eslam Tabrizi, along with 12 other Iranian nationalists, in retaliation for their opposition to the Russian invasion.{{cite book |last1=St. Marie |first1=Joseph J. |last2=Naghshpour |first2=Shahdad |title=Revolutionary Iran and the United States: Low Intensity Conflict in the Persian Gulf |date=2011 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |page=45}}

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{{Events by month links}}

1911

*1911-12