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January 1918

{{short description|Month in 1918}}

{{Events by month|1918}}

{{calendar|year=1918|month=January}}

File:Turku Female Red Guards.jpg during the Finnish Civil War.]]

File:President Woodrow Wilson (1913).jpg delivers his Fourteen Points to achieve peace to U.S. Congress.]]

The following events occurred in January 1918:

[[January 1]], 1918 (Tuesday)

  • The Stavropol Soviet Republic was established around Stavropol, Russia until it eventually merged with North Caucasian Soviet Republic in December.{{cite web|title=Stavropol Soviet Republic| url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Stavropol+Soviet+Republic| website=The Free Dictionary| publisher=The Great Soviet Encyclopedia| access-date=18 December 2017}}
  • The Royal Flying Corps established air squadrons No. 117,{{cite web|title=History of 117 Squadron| url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/history/117squadron.cfm|website=Royal Air Force|access-date=13 December 2017}} No. 120,{{cite web|title=History of 120 Squadron| url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/history/120squadron.cfm|website=Royal Air Force|access-date=13 December 2017}} No. 121,{{cite web|title=History of 121 Squadron| url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/history/121squadron.cfm| website=Royal Air Force| access-date=13 December 2017}} No. 122,{{cite web|title=History of 122 Squadron| url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/history/122squadron.cfm|website=Royal Air Force|access-date=13 December 2017}} and No. 141.{{cite web|title=History of 141 Squadron| url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/history/141squadron.cfm| website=Royal Air Force| access-date=13 December 2017}}
  • The Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army, established air squadrons Jagdstaffel 54, 55, and 56.{{cite book |first1=Norman |last1=Franks |author-link1=Norman Franks |first2=Frank W. |last2=Bailey |first3=Russell F. |last3=Guest |title=Above The Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service, and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918 |location=London, UK |publisher=Grub Street |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-948817-73-1 |pages=48–49}}
  • The Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York was established as the replacement for the Coroner of New York City, with Charles Norris as the first chief medical examiner.Evans, Colin. Blood on the Table; The Greatest Cases of New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 2008
  • The Mare Island Marines of California beat the Camp Lewis Army from American Lake, Washington 19–7 in the fourth Rose Bowl football game.[http://www.tournamentofroses.com/photogallery/RBGtimeline/1910s.htm Rose Bowl Game Timeline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100317130143/http://www.tournamentofroses.com/photogallery/RBGtimeline/1910s.htm |date=2010-03-17 }}, Pasadena Tournament of Roses
  • Popular British novelist and wartime propagandist Hall Caine was made an Order of the British Empire.{{citation | last =Allen | first =Vivien | title =Hall Caine: Portrait of a Victorian Romancer | publisher =Sheffield Academic Press | year =1997 | location =Sheffield | isbn =978-1-85075-809-9|pages=367–368}}
  • The operetta Where the Lark Sings, by Hungarian composer Franz Lehár, premiered at the Royal Opera House in Budapest.* {{Cite book|last1=Roshwald|first1=Aviel|last2=Stites|first2=Richard|title=European Culture in the Great War: The Arts, Entertainment, and Propaganda, 1914–1918|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2002|page=156}}
  • The Serbian-Croatian literary magazine Literary south released its first edition as a medium to promote Yugoslavism in literary culture.{{cite web|url=https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/knjizevni-jug|title=Književni jug|publisher=Croatian Encyclopedia|access-date = 16 August 2015}}
  • Born:
  • Patrick Anthony Porteous, British army officer, commander of the No. 4 Commando unit during World War II, recipient of the Victoria Cross; in Abbottabad, British India (present-day Pakistan) (d. 2000){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Jaja Wachuku, Nigerian politician, first Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria from 1961 to 1965; in Nbawsi, Southern Region, British Nigeria (present-day Abia State, Nigeria) (d. 1996){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Died: William Wilfred Campbell, 57, Canadian poet, known for his poetry collections including Lake Lyrics and Other Poems, member of the Confederation Poets (b. 1860){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 2]], 1918 (Wednesday)

File:Arena Fire.JPG.]]

  • The Air Ministry for the Government of the United Kingdom was established with Lord Rothermere appointed as its first minister.{{cite book |last=Joubert de la Ferté |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Joubert de la Ferté |title=The Third Service |year=1955 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London |page=61}}
  • The hockey team Montreal Wanderers disbanded following the destruction of the Montreal Arena by fire.{{cite news| last1=Prewitt| first1=Alex| title=The most famous fire in hockey history: The day the Montreal Arena burned down| url=https://www.si.com/nhl/2017/02/09/montreal-arena-fire-wanderers| access-date=February 9, 2017| publisher=Sports Illustrated| date=February 11, 2017}}
  • Popular British novelist Marie Corelli was convicted under wartime legislation for hoarding food.{{cite news|title=Miss Marie Corelli's Food Supply: £50 Fine for Hoarding|newspaper=The Times|location=London|date=1918-01-03|page=3|issue=41677}}
  • U.S. President Woodrow Wilson established the Distinguished Service Cross on the recommendation of General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. Pershing suggested Americans serving in World War I should receive an award similar to those cited by European armed forces as opposed to the tradition Medal of Honor usually awarded for heroic action in American military operations. By the end of war, over 6,309 awards were made to 6,185 recipients.{{Cite web |url=http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/distinguished_srv_cross.aspx |title=Institute of Heraldry Distinguished Service Cross |access-date=2018-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109090005/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/distinguished_srv_cross.aspx |archive-date=2012-01-09 |url-status=dead }}
  • Died: Katharine A. O'Keeffe O'Mahoney, 62-66, American poet and educator, noted instructor to Robert Frost, author of Famous Irishwomen (b. 1855){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 3]], 1918 (Thursday)

  • The Daily Mail published an editorial strongly criticizing the British Army's policy of not disclosing the names of successful Royal Flying Corps pilots unless they were killed, and that naming successful pilots as done in France and Germany would improve public morale.Mortimer, Gavin, "Aces Without Faces," Aviation History, March 2016, pp. 39-40
  • The Air Council for the newly established Air Ministry of the United Kingdom was formed.{{cite web| last1=Barrass| first1=M. B.| title=Air Boards pre Air Ministry, The evolution of an Air Ministry| url=http://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/Air_Boards.htm|website=www.rafweb.org| publisher=M B Barrass, 2001- 2015| access-date=20 February 2017| language=EN}}
  • The United States Marine Corps established the 11th Marine Regiment as part of the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade in France.{{Cite book|last=Emmet|first=2ndLt Robert|title=A Brief History of the 11th Marines|editor=Marine Corps Historical Branch|publisher=United States Marine Corps|location=Washington D.C.| year=1968| id=19000318600| url=http://www.marines.mil/news/publications/Pages/BRIEF%20HISTORY%20OF%2011TH%20MARINES.aspx|access-date=2008-12-12}}
  • Sri Lankan newspaper baron D. R. Wijewardena founded the English-language newspaper Daily News.{{cite web | url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/newsceylon.htm | title=Newspapers in Ceylon | publisher=Ancestry.com | access-date=22 April 2012}}
  • Died: Edwin Dodgson, 71, English clergy, missionary to Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic Ocean, youngest brother to Lewis Carroll (b. 1846){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 4]], 1918 (Friday)

  • Finland was officially recognized as a sovereign nation by Russia.{{cite web | url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/onthisday/1918_01_04.htm |title= On This Day - 4 January 1918 |website= first world war|access-date=20 August 2016 |quote=Eastern front: Bolshevik Government recognises independence of Finland}}
  • British hospital ship {{HMHS|Rewa}} was torpedoed and sunk in the Bristol Channel by German submarine {{SMU|U-55||6}}, killing four people with the rest of the 566 on board rescued.{{cite web |url=http://uboat.net/wwi/ships_hit/5098.html |title=Rewa |publisher=Uboat.net |access-date=11 October 2012}}{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Lost hospital ship |date=11 January 1918 |page=5 |issue=41684 |column=B }}
  • The South Indian Railway Company opened a new rail line between Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, India, including stations for Eravipuram, Mayyanad and Paravur.{{cite web|url=http://irfca.org/articles/jimmyjose-20051128-quilon.html |title=History of Quilon |access-date=15 June 2015}}
  • Born: Robert L. Floyd, American politician, 24th (and youngest) Mayor of Miami; in Cincinnati, United States (d. 2007){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 5]], 1918 (Saturday)

[[January 6]], 1918 (Sunday)

[[January 7]], 1918 (Monday)

[[January 8]], 1918 (Tuesday)

  • Shamkhor massacre – An Azerbaijani unit under orders from the Military Council of Nationalities of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic moved to engage and disarm a retreating and disorganized Russian army column in the South Caucasus region, meeting up with thousands of Russian troops at a rail line near the village of Shamkhor in what is now Azerbaijan. After Russian soldiers refused to give up their arms, the conflict escalated until shots were fired and the Azerbaijanis stormed the train, killing hundreds before disarming the column and seizing 20 artillery pieces and 70 machine guns.{{cite web|title=Russian troops massacre by Caucasian Tatars| url=http://panarmenian.net/eng/details/204280|website=Panarmenian.net| publisher=PanARMENIAN Network| access-date=21 November 2017| date=May 19, 2016}}
  • Billy Hughes resigned as Prime Minister of Australia as promised following the defeat of the referendum on conscription. He was immediately sworn in again by the Governor-General of Australia as there were no alternative candidates.{{cite web| first=L.F.| last=Fitzhardinge| title=Hughes, William Morris (Billy) (1862–1952)| publisher=Australian National University| work=Australian Dictionary of Biography| url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090395b.htm| access-date=25 July 2014}}
  • U.S. President Woodrow Wilson delivered his Fourteen Points speech to United States Congress outlining the statement of principles the United States would use in peace negotiations following the end of World War I.{{Cite web|title = President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points|url = http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=62|website = www.ourdocuments.gov|access-date = 2015-12-20}}
  • A group of wineries in Paarl, South Africa formed the Co-operative Winemakers Union' of South Africa, or KWV for its Afrikaner acronym, becoming known for its international brand of wines, spirits, and liqueurs.{{cite book|last=Van Zyl|first=D|title=They Shaped our Century: The Most Influential South Africans of the Twentieth Century|year=1999|publisher=Human and Rousseau|location=South Africa| pages=399–403|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/charles-w-h-kohler}}{{cite book|last=Van Zyl|first=D.J.|title=KWV: 1918-1993.|year=1993|publisher=Human and Rousseau|location=South Africa|page=17}}
  • Born: Bruce Kingsbury, Australian soldier, member of the 2/14th Australian Battalion, recipient of the Victoria Cross for action at the Battle of Isurava during World War II; in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1942, killed in action){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Died: Ellis H. Roberts, 90, American politician, 20th Treasurer of the United States (b. 1827){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 9]], 1918 (Wednesday)

File:Yaqui prisoners.jpg prisoners following the Battle of Bear Valley in Arizona.]]

  • An election for 301 deputies to the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly was called, with the elected assembly to convene by January 20.{{Cite Ukrainian law|type=Universal of the Central Rada| number=III|law=n0005300-17| name=Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada (III)| date=1917-11-07}} However, Bolshevik uprisings in major Ukrainian cities during the following weeks prevented the assembly from happening, even though unofficial election results had 70 percent of the electorate voting for Ukrainian political parties as opposed to Soviet ones.{{cite book|title=Ukraine: A History|author=Subtelny, Orest|author-link=Orest Subtelny|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8020-8390-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ukrainehistory00subt_0/page/350 350]|url=https://archive.org/details/ukrainehistory00subt_0/page/350}}
  • U.S. President Woodrow Wilson pledged the United States House of Representatives pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution for women to have the right to vote.{{Cite journal | last1 = Lunardini | first1 = Christine A. | last2 = Knock | first2 = Thomas J. | title = Woodrow Wilson and woman suffrage: a new look | journal = Political Science Quarterly | volume = 95 | issue = 4 | pages = 655–671 | doi = 10.2307/2150609 | date = Winter 1980–1981 | jstor = 2150609 }}
  • Federal troops engaged Yaqui Indian warriors at the Battle of Bear Valley in Arizona, a minor skirmish and one of the last battles of the American Indian Wars between the United States and Native Americans.{{cite book| last=Martinez| first=Oscar J.| title=U.S.-Mexico borderlands: historical and contemporary perspectives| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield| year=1996| isbn=978-0-8420-2447-1| pages=130–131}}
  • German submarine {{SMU|UB-69||6}} was depth charged and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Algeria with the loss of all 31 crew.{{cite web | url=http://uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=UB+69 |title=UB 69 |publisher=Uboat.net |access-date=11 November 2012}}
  • According to a Japanese government official report, a powder snow avalanche hit in Mitsumata village, (now Yuzawa), Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The resulting death toll number was 158 persons, the worst avalanche accident in nation's history.:ja:三俣の大雪崩 （Japanese language edition） Ritreveted date on 19 May 2020.
  • German flying ace Max Ritter von Müller was killed during a dog fight with three British planes over Moorslede, Belgium. Bullets struck the fuel tank of the German pilot's Albatros airplane, causing it to ignite. Müller was forced to abandon the plane without a parachute and plummeted to his death. He was credited with 36 kills, making him the 15th-highest scoring German flying ace of World War I.{{cite web| url=http://www.jastaboelcke.de/aces/max_v_mueller/mueller_bio.htm| title=Max Ritter von Muller January 1, 1887 – August 26, 1917| publisher=www.jastaboelcke.de| access-date=2009-08-12}}
  • Born: Alma Ziegler, American baseball player, infielder and pitcher for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1944 to 1954; in Chicago, United States (d. 2005){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Died: Émile Reynaud, 73, French inventor, developed the praxinoscope, precursor to modern film projection (b. 1844){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 10]], 1918 (Thursday)

[[January 11]], 1918 (Friday)

  • Ukrainian–Soviet War – Bolshevik forces defeated Ukrainian counterrevolutionaries in Ekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Ukraine.Tynchenko, Ya. [https://web.archive.org/web/20141210221220/http://vijsko.milua.org/Tinchenko-1UBV_1.htm Conflict between the Central Council and the Soviet People's Commissariat]. First Ukrainian-Bolshevik War (December 1917 - March 1918). Kiev: "Krypiakevych Institute of Ukrainian Studies", 1996
  • The Luftstreitkräfte established air squadrons Jagdstaffel 60 and 61.{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|p=50}}
  • The Catholic Church established the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana.{{Catholic-hierarchy|diocese|dlafa|Diocese of Lafayette|21 January 2015}}
  • The association football league Federação Maranhense was established to manage all football tournaments in Maranhão, Brazil.{{cite book|title=Escudos dos Times do Mundo Inteiro|publisher=Panda Books|author=Rodolfo Rodrigues|year=2009|page=35}}

[[January 12]], 1918 (Saturday)

  • The Central Powers recognized the Ukrainian People's Republic as a sovereign nation and began peace negotiations.[http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkPath=pages\B\R\Brest6LitovskPeaceTreatyof.htm Encyclopedia of Ukraine]
  • Battle of Galați – A rogue Russian army of 12,000 troopers retreating from the dissolving Eastern Front threatened Galați, Romania which was defended by a Romanian garrison of 500 men.{{cite web| url=http://cristiannegrea.blogspot.com/2011/03/primele-lupte-cu-bolsevicii.html| title=Primele lupte cu bolşevicii| date=2011-03-28| author=Cristian Negrea}}
  • Royal Navy destroyers {{HMS|Narborough|1916|6}} and {{HMS|Opal|1915|6}} ran aground and were wrecked off Orkney, Scotland in a severe storm, with a total 268 sailors lost (only one survivor was picked up).{{cite web|title=A précis of the article by K.D. McBride in the Mariner's Mirror, vol 85 1999 - published by the Society for Nautical Research.|url=http://www.kbrady.com/opalsnr.html|website=The loss of HMS Opal and HMS Narborough 12 January 1918.|access-date=14 December 2014}}{{Historic Environment Scotland|cat=PLA |desc=HMS Opal: Cletts of Clura: Wind Wick: South Ronaldsay, North Sea| num=102343 |num2=ND48NE 8002 |access-date=25 June 2025}}
  • A mining explosion caused by firedamp killed 155 miners (plus one rescue worker in the aftermath) at Halmer End in the North Staffordshire Coalfield, England.[http://www.atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sirthomasboughey/history/halmer/MINN2.html The Minnie Pit Disaster, extracts from a book by Mrs C Lamb] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131175114/http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sirthomasboughey/history/halmer/MINN2.html |date=2011-01-31 }} retrieval date:01-02-09
  • Finland enacted a "Mosaic Confessors" law which granted Finnish Jews full civil rights.{{Cite web |url=http://www.jewish-heritage-europe.org/country/finland/finland.htm |title=Jewish Heritage Europe – Finland |access-date=2018-02-05 |archive-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810084253/http://www.jewish-heritage-europe.org/country/finland/finland.htm |url-status=dead }}
  • A decree issued by the Council of Peoples' Commissars of the Republic put all Russian aircraft manufacturing companies under state control.Hardesty, Von, Red Phoenix: The Rise of Soviet Air Power 1941-1945, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1982, {{ISBN|0-87474-510-1}}, p. 41.
  • The RAF Scopwick airbase was established near Scopwick, England.{{cite web|title=Command arrangements and history |publisher= JSSO Digby |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafdigby/}}
  • United States Congress established the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal for those distinguishing themselves for exceptional service in the American military. The medal was awarded more than 2,000 times during World War I, and was also awarded to eleven of the Allied command including Ferdinand Foch, Joseph Joffre, Philippe Pétain, Douglas Haig, John J. Pershing, and Arthur Currie.{{cite web|url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/julqtr/32cfr578.11.htm|title=Distinguished Service Medal| website=edocket.access.gpo.gov}}
  • Died: Émile Storms, 71, Belgian army officer and explorer, founder of the Mpala missionary in the Belgian Congo (b. 1846){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 13]], 1918 (Sunday)

[[January 14]], 1918 (Monday)

  • Bolshevik forces captured Simferopol, the capital of Crimean People's Republic, where they arrested its president Noman Çelebicihan.{{cite web|url=http://crimeanews.tripod.com/krimskie+sti-2.htm#six|title=KURULTAY AND CENTRAL COUNCIL|access-date=2008-06-10|last=Garchev|first=Petr|work=Center of Information and Documentation of Crimean Tatars}}
  • German submarine {{SMU|UB-63||6}} departed for a patrol in the North Sea and was never seen again, with all 33 crew lost.{{cite web |url=http://uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=UB+63 |title=UB 63 |publisher=Uboat.net |access-date=11 November 2012}}
  • Royal Navy submarine {{HMS|G8}} disappeared while on patrol in the North Sea. It was believed to have struck a mine and sank with all 31 crew on board.{{Cite web |url=http://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/memorial-chapel/submarine-losses?start=7 |title='Submarine losses 1904 to present day' - Royal Navy Submarine Museum |access-date=2018-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130714021235/http://www.submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/memorial-chapel/submarine-losses?start=7 |archive-date=2013-07-14 |url-status=dead }}

[[January 15]], 1918 (Tuesday)

  • The keel of Royal Navy vessel {{HMS|Hermes|95|6}} was laid in Britain, the first purpose-designed aircraft carrier to be built.{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft|year=1988|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-0-87021-054-9|page=73}}
  • The United States Army established First Corps in Neufchâteau, France with Major General Hunter Liggett taking command on January 20.{{cite web |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/army/001cp.htm |title=Lineage and Honors Information: I Corps |publisher=United States Army Center of Military History |access-date=19 June 2009 |archive-date=8 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608030914/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/army/001cp.htm |url-status=dead }} With the corps including the famous First ("Big Red One") and Second U.S. Infantry Divisions, the corps played a decisive role in the Second Battle of the Marne.{{cite web| url=http://www.lewis-mcchord.army.mil/icorps/icorps-history.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006143245/http://www.lewis-mcchord.army.mil/ICorps/icorps-history.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 6, 2013 |title=I Corps History: World War I |publisher=I Corps Public Affairs Office | access-date=19 June 2009}}
  • Devastated by savage reviews for the musical Gay Paree that he personally financed and produced in Glasgow, popular performing artist Mark Sheridan disappeared from the theater and was later found dead in Kelvingrove Park with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Sheridan was one of the first major popular recording artists, with hit songs such as "I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside" and "Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser".[http://entertainment.caledonianmercury.com/2010/03/20/day-the-laughter-stopped-in-a-cold-glasgow-park/00309 Mark Sheridan] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708112053/http://entertainment.caledonianmercury.com/2010/03/20/day-the-laughter-stopped-in-a-cold-glasgow-park/00309 |date=8 July 2011 }} Laing, Allan The Caledonian Mercury, The Caledonian Press online edition, 20 March 2010, accessed 12 December 2011
  • The Fløibanen funicular rail line was established in Bergen, Norway.{{cite web|title=Fløibanen - The funicular cable car of Bergen |url=http://www.floibanen.com/visartikkel.asp?art=107 |publisher=Fløibanen AS |access-date=9 September 2016 |archive-date=17 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717075307/http://www.floibanen.com/visartikkel.asp?art=107 }}
  • The Hamburg U-Bahn opened the Alster Valley Railway in Hamburg with stations in Hoheneichen, Kornweg, Poppenbüttel, and Wellingsbüttel.{{cite web|title=Haltestelle Hoheneichen |url=http://www.hamburger-bahnhoefe.de/ahch.html|website=hamburger-bahnhoefe.de| language=de| access-date=22 April 2016}}{{cite web|title=Haltestelle Kornweg |url=http://www.hamburger-bahnhoefe.de/akws.html|website=hamburger-bahnhoefe.de| language=de| access-date=27 December 2014}}Cf. [http://www.bahnstatistik.de/Direktionen/BD_Hamburg.htm „Königlich preußische Eisenbahndirection zu Altona - Zeittafel: Errichtungen – Bezeichnungen – Auflösungen“], on: [http://www.bahnstatistik.de/ Bahnstatistik], retrieved on 22 January 2017{{cite web|title=Haltestelle Wellingsbüttel |url=http://www.hamburger-bahnhoefe.de/awbs.html|website=hamburger-bahnhoefe.de|language=de|access-date=22 April 2016}}
  • Born:
  • João Figueiredo, Brazilian state leader, 30th President of Brazil; in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (d. 1999){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian state leader, second President of Egypt; in Alexandria, Sultanate of Egypt (present-day Egypt) (d. 1970){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Rachel B. Noel, American public servant, elected to the Denver Public Schools board of education in 1965, the first African-American woman elected to a public position in Colorado; in Hampton, Virginia, United States (d. 2008){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Diana Barnato Walker, British aviator, first woman to break the sound barrier; as Diana Barnato, in Surrey, England (d. 2008){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Died: William Caley, 44, American football player, fullback for the University of Colorado Boulder from 1893 to 1895 and University of Michigan from 1896 to 1898; died in a mining accident (b. 1873){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 16]], 1918 (Wednesday)

[[January 17]], 1918 (Thursday)

File:USS Monocacy in 1928.jpg while on the Yangtze.]]

[[January 18]], 1918 (Friday)

  • The Russian Constituent Assembly met at Tauride Palace in Petrograd, with assembly president Viktor Chernov presiding. With only two months passed since the October Revolution, tensions were so high at the assembly that armed guards were brought into the chambers to keep order.Viktor Chernov, edited Dmitri Sergius von Mohrenschildt, selection from pages 68-72 from The Russian Revolution of 1917: Contemporary Accounts, in Russia in War and Revolution, 1914-1922, edited by Jonathan Daly and Leonid Trofimov (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2009), pp. 214-215
  • The American Section of the Société de Chimie Industrielle was established in New York City in an attempt to rebuild the chemistry field disrupted from World War I.{{cite journal| last1=Fauque| first1=Danielle M. E.| title=French Chemists and the International Reorganisation of Chemistry after World War I| journal=Ambix| date=18 July 2013| volume=58| issue=2| pages=116–35| doi=10.1179/174582311X13008456751071| pmid=21936238| s2cid=9619665}}{{cite book| last1=Schroeder-Gudehus| first1=Brigitte| title=Les scientifiques et la paix : la communauté scientifique internationale au cours des années 20| date=2014| publisher=Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal| location=Montreal, Quebec| isbn=9782760633643}}
  • The Historic Concert for the Benefit of Widows and Orphans of Austrian and Hungarian Soldiers was held at Konzerthaus, Vienna.{{Cite web| title = Historical Concert for the Benefit of Widows and Orphans| work = World Digital Library| access-date = 2014-06-22| date = 2014-02-10| url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4585/#languages=deu&page=5}}

[[January 19]], 1918 (Saturday)

File:1918 Timepiece.jpgFile:Russian Democratic Federal Republic.png.]]

[[January 20]], 1918 (Sunday)

File:Sms goeben beached.jpg beached following the Battle of Imbros.]]

[[January 21]], 1918 (Monday)

  • Royal Navy armed boarding steamer HMS Louvain was torpedoed and sunk in the Aegean Sea by German submarine {{SMU|UC-22||6}} with the loss of 227 lives.{{Cite newspaper The Times|title=Naval Vessel Sunk. Louvain Torpedoed In Mediterranean., Loss Of 224 Lives|department=News |date=4 February 1918|page=6|issue=41704|column=F}}
  • A cyclone struck Mackay, Queensland, Australia, delivering drenching rain over 72 hours totaling 2,161 mm. A total 30 people were killed in the storm and communications were knocked out so completely, it cut the town off from the rest of the country for five days.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-20/centenary-1918-cyclone-100-year-mackay-30-people-dead-category-4/9313774|title=100 years ago, a cyclone without a name killed 30 people and almost levelled a young city|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=20 January 2018|access-date=20 January 2018}}
  • The Holsworthy railway line was established in New South Wales, Australia.[https://web.archive.org/web/20161231051447/http://www.rahs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/History-of-LHMR.pdf The Liverpool to Holdsworth Military Railway] Royal Australian Historical Society[http://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/5226/The-Coming-of-the-Railway-Fact-Sheet.pdf Transport in Liverpool: The Coming of the railway] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324090702/http://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/5226/The-Coming-of-the-Railway-Fact-Sheet.pdf |date=2016-03-24 }} City of Liverpool
  • The film drama Stella Maris, starring Mary Pickford and directed by Marshall Neilan, was adapted by screenwriter Frances Marion from the novel of the same name by William John Locke. It became the second highest-grossing film of the year. Copies of the film exist at the Mary Pickford Film Institute for Film Education and the Library of Congress.[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/S/StellaMaris1918.html Stella Maris (1918) at SilentEra]
  • Born: Richard Winters, American army officer, commander of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II, recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross and the Bronze Star Medal; in New Holland, Pennsylvania, United States (d. 2011){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Died: Emil Jellinek, 64, German automobile manufacturer, designer of the Mercedes 35 (b. 1853){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 22]], 1918 (Tuesday)

[[January 23]], 1918 (Wednesday)

  • The Luftstreitkräfte established air squadrons Jagdstaffel 64 and 65.{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|p=51}}
  • British poet Robert Graves married painter Nancy Nicholson in London. Wedding guests included Wilfred Owen, whose first nationally published poem "Miners" appeared three days later in The Nation. Unfortunately, Graves' personal traumas from the war put pressure on the marriage, causing it to fall apart a few years later.{{cite book |last=Graves |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Graves |title=Goodbye to All That |title-link=Good-Bye to All That |year=1960 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |page=236}}
  • Born:
  • Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the development of the drug azathioprine; in New York City, United States (d. 1999){{cite web |title=Gertrude B. Elion – Facts |website=NobelPrize.org |publisher=Nobel Prize Outreach AB |year=2023 |access-date=19 December 2023 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1988/elion/facts/}}
  • Charlie Kerins, Irish partisan leader, Chief of Staff for the Irish Republican Army; in Tralee, Ireland (d. 1944, executed){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 24]], 1918 (Thursday)

[[January 25]], 1918 (Friday)

[[January 26]], 1918 (Saturday)

[[January 27]], 1918 (Sunday)

File:Red Cross hospital in Vyborg 1918.jpg recovering in hospital in Vyborg, Finland at the start of the country's civil war.]]

  • The Finnish Civil War began with the Battle of Kämärä between the Whites (loyal to Finnish independence) and the Reds (in support of soviet government with close ties to Russia).{{cite web|url=http://tampereensuomalainenklubi.fi/Portals/klubi/arkisto/tapahtumat/05112007.html|title=Mistä Vapaussota alkoi?|author=Hytönen, Olavi|work=The Finnish Society of Tampere|date=5 November 2007|language=fi|access-date=30 January 2017|archive-date=25 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025234830/http://tampereensuomalainenklubi.fi/Portals/klubi/arkisto/tapahtumat/05112007.html|url-status=dead}}
  • Ukrainian–Soviet War – An uprising in Odessa involving Bolshevik militia and the Black Sea Fleet captured the rail station, post office, and key government buildings.{{cite web|title=Odessa January Armed Uprising 1918| url=http://leksika.com.ua/10691104/ure/odeske_sichneve_zbroyne_povstannya_1918| website=Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia| access-date=15 January 2018}}
  • British ocean liner {{RMS|Andania|1913|6}} was torpedoed and sunk in the Irish Sea by German submarine {{SMU|U-46||6}} with the loss of seven crew.{{cite Uboat.net|id=279|name=Andania|type=1ship|access-date=2009-08-09}}
  • Royal Navy submarine {{HMS|E14}} attempted to destroy the vulnerable Ottoman battlecruiser Yavûz Sultân Selîm while it was waiting to be towed back to port by Ottoman battleship Turgut Reis, but failed to score a proper hit.{{cite book| last=Jameson| first=William| title=Submariners VC| publisher=Periscope Publishing Ltd.| year=2004| location=Penzance, Cornwall| pages=95–96 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Mu1bEYEjRTcC&q=e+14+raglan+goeben&pg=PA88|isbn=978-1-904381-24-2}}
  • The Luftstreitkräfte established air squadrons Jagdstaffel 66 and 67.{{sfnp|Franks|Bailey|Guest|1993|pp=51-52}}
  • The adventure film Tarzan of the Apes was the first movie released featuring the hero created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Elmo Lincoln played Tarzan with Enid Markey as Jane. The film, directed by Scott Sidney, was filmed in the Louisiana swamps to stand in as the African jungle. The film grossed $1 million and spawned the sequel The Romance of Tarzan released later the same year.{{cite web|title=Tarzan of the Apes| url=http://www.erbzine.com/mag5/0503.html| website=ERBzine| publisher=Bill Hillman| access-date=22 September 2017}}
  • Born:
  • Skitch Henderson, American musician, bandleader for The New York Pops and The Tonight Show Band; as Lyle Russel Henderson, in Halstad, Minnesota, United States (d. 2005){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Elmore James, American blues musician, best known for his slide guitar work for songs including "The Sky Is Crying" and "Bleeding Heart"; as Elmore Brooks, in Holmes County, Mississippi, United States (d. 1963){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Died: William Greenwell, 97, English archaeologist, chief excavator of the Danes Graves and Grime's Graves (b. 1820){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 28]], 1918 (Monday)

  • The Council of People's Commissars of the newly evolved Soviet Russia began organizing a regular army "formed from the class-conscious and best elements of the working classes."{{Citation | chapter-url = http://www.marxistsfr.org/history/ussr/government/red-army/1937/wollenberg-red-army/append01.htm | title = The Red Army | chapter = Appendix 1 – The Scheme For A Socialist Army | type = decree | publisher = The Council of People's Commissars | date = 15 January 1918 | access-date = 28 May 2010}}
  • The Kuban People's Republic was established to oppose the Bolsheviks but was defeated by the Red Army the following year.{{cite book |title=One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National |last=Minahan |first=James |year=2000 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-30984-7}}
  • Germany launched the first bombing raid on England after two months with 13 Gotha and two Riesenflugzeug bombers. Six Gothas turned back due to poor visibility, but the others bombed targets that killed a total 67 people and injured 166 civilians. The Royal Flying Corps scrambled aircraft to intercept the bombers, with pilots Charles C. Banks and George Hackwill of the No. 40 Squadron shooting down a Gotha, the first victory over a heavier-than-air bomber (both received the Distinguished Flying Cross for the achievement.Fredette, Raymond H., The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918, New York: Harvest, 1976, {{ISBN|0-15-682750-6}}, pp. 181-182
  • Ukrainian–Soviet War – Ukrainian forces recaptured many of the public buildings taken by Bolshevik forces the previous day in Odessa.[http://leksika.com.ua/10691104/ure/odeske_sichneve_zbroyne_povstannya_1918 Odessa January Armed Uprising 1918]
  • German submarine {{SMU|U-109||6}} struck a mine and sank in the English Channel with the loss of all 43 crew.{{cite Uboat.net|id=109|name=U 109|type=1sub|access-date=25 January 2010}}
  • While being pursued by the Ottoman Navy for attempting to destroy the disabled Ottoman battlecruiser Yavûz Sultân Selîm, Royal Navy submarine {{HMS|E14}} was damaged when one of the torpedoes exploded by accident on board. The sub was forced to surface and beach itself where the crew tried to scuttle it. The sub was hit again by coastal artillery off Turkey with the loss of 21 of her 30 crew, including sub commander Geoffrey Saxton White. The seven survivors were taken as prisoners of war. White was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts to beach the submarine and save his crew.{{London Gazette| issue=31354| supp=y| page=6445| date=23 May 1919}}{{London Gazette|issue=31354 |supp=y|page=6445|date=23 May 1919}}
  • Porvenir massacre – A posse of Texas Rangers and local ranchers on the trail for Mexican raiders that attacked the Britte Ranch on Christmas Day in Presidio County, Texas entered the nearby Mexican village of Porvenir to round up potential suspects. In the ensuing commotion, 15 village men were separated and taken to a nearby hill in the outskirts where they were shot.{{Cite book| title=Forgotten Dead, Mob Violence Against Mexicans in The United States, 1848-1928| last1=Carrigan| first1=William D.| last2=Webb| first2=Clive| publisher=Oxford University Press| year=2013| page=63}} A 1919 federal investigation concluded there was no evidence the villagers were connected to the local banditry. While a grand jury did not find the Texas Rangers involved guilty, their unit was dissolved with five being dismissed and the rest reassigned.{{Cite book|title=The Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution: The Bloodiest Decade, 1910-1920| last1=Harris| first1=Charles H.| last2=Sadler| first2=Louis R.| publisher=University of New Mexico Press| year=2007| pages=354}}
  • The United States Telephone Herald Company officially dissolved after its business charter in Delaware was repealed.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89017616558&view=1up&seq=1291 "United States Telephone Herald Company"], Marvyn Scudder Manual of Extinct or Obsolete Companies: Vol. I (1926), p. 1263
  • Born: Jerry Andrus, American magician, best known for his optical illusions showcased at the Capital of Chaos in Albany, Oregon; in Sheridan, Wyoming, United States (d. 2007){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
  • Died: John McCrae, 45, Canadian army medical officer and poet, author of "In Flanders Fields" (b. 1872){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

[[January 29]], 1918 (Tuesday)

File:Riesenflugzeug Siemens Schuckert VIII 1918.jpg bombers that attacked England.]]

[[January 30]], 1918 (Wednesday)

File:January uprising.jpg.]]

[[January 31]], 1918 (Thursday)

  • Battle of May Island – Ships part of a large Royal Navy fleet in the Firth of Forth began accidentally colliding with each other due to confusion in heavy fog, resulting in the sinking of submarines {{HMS|K4}} and {{HMS|K17}}, damage to three other submarines and a light cruiser, and 104 men killed.{{cite web| url=http://news.mod.uk/news/press/news_headline_story.asp?newsItem_id=1392| title="Battle of May Island" remembered| access-date=2010-02-10| date=2002-01-30| work=UK Defence Today| publisher=Ministry of Defence| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020202170246/http://news.mod.uk/news/press/news_headline_story.asp?newsItem_id=1392| archive-date=2002-02-02}}
  • Died: Ivan Puluj, 72, Ukrainian-German physicist, early developer of X-ray medical imaging (b. 1845){{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

References

{{reflist|2}}

{{Events by month links}}

1918

*1918-01