November 1918

[November 1], 1918 (Friday)

• Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro - The Serbian First Army under command of Petar Bojović liberated Belgrade from the control of the Central Powers.
• Following the establishment of the West Ukrainian People's Republic in Galicia with the capital at Lemberg, ethnic Polish residents opposed to the creation of the republic began an uprising in the city known as the Battle of Lemberg, ignited the Polish–Ukrainian War.
• Meuse-Argonne Offensive - The final major offensive for the Americans and French against the Germans in France yielded the capture of Buzancy near the River Aisne and Le Chesne near the Ardennes Woods.
• The Italian Navy attacked Austro-Hungarian ships anchored in the port of Pula, Croatia in the last major engagement the fleet committed in World War One. During the attack, the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Viribus Unitis was destroyed by Italian saboteurs, killing between 300 and 400 crew including Admiral Janko Vuković.
• The Banat Republic was established around the city of Timișoara within the dissolving Austria-Hungary.
• The worst rapid transit accident in world history occurred under the intersection of Malbone Street and Flatbush Avenue, in Brooklyn, New York City, with at least 93 dead and over 100 passengers injured.
• The National Conservative Party won the most seats in the parliamentary elections in Cuba.
• French flying ace René Fonck scored his 75th and final aerial victory, ending the war as the highest-scoring Allied ace and second-highest scoring ace overall of World War One after German ace Manfred von Richthofen.
• German submarine was scuttled at Kotor, Montenegro.
• The French Navy expanded its French Naval Aviation arm to 37 airships, 1,264 airplanes, and over 11,000 men.
• The French West Africa School of Medicine was established in Dakar, French West Africa, with students selected for academic success in sciences from École normale supérieure William Ponty.
• The Polish Scouting and Guiding Association was established.
• Born: Werner Baake, German air force officer, commander of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 for the Luftwaffe during World War Two, recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, in Nordhausen, Germany ; Héctor Benítez, Venezuelan baseball player, center fielder for the Leones del Caracas from 1946 to 1954, two-time winner of the Baseball World Cup, in Caracas, Venezuela

  [November 2], 1918 (Saturday)

• Canadian and British forces captured Valenciennes, France in one of the last battles of World War One. Canadian non-commission officer Sergeant Hugh Cairns successfully lead the capture of several German machine gun nests the previous day before he was critically wounded. He died from his wounds the same day the commune was liberated from the Germans, and was awarded posthumously the Victoria Cross. He was the last of 71 Canadians to receive the decoration.
• Battle of Przemyśl - Ukrainian and Polish soldiers clashed at Przemyśl in the former region of Galicia.
• U.S. Democrat Thomas Kilby was elected the 36th Governor of Alabama, defeating independent Dallas B Smith with 80 percent of the electorate in the Alabama state election.
• The Norwegian Mathematical Society was established with mathematician Carl Størmer as its first president.
• Born: Raimon Panikkar, Spanish theologian, leading researcher on comparative religion, in Barcelona ; Alexander Vraciu, American air naval officer, commander of the VF-16 and VF-20 squadrons during World War Two in the Pacific Theatre, three-time recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy Cross, and four Air Medals, in East Chicago, Indiana

  [November 3], 1918 (Sunday)

• Austria-Hungary signed an armistice with the Allies in Padua to end the war on the Italian Front.
• Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro - Allied forces reached Bosnia and stopped as the ceasefire with Austria-Hungary had been signed.
• Battle of Vittorio Veneto - The battle ended as soon as the armistice between the Allies and Austria-Hungary was signed. At that point, the Central Powers had suffered 30,000 killed and wounded with another 300,000 taken prisoner. Italy sustained 37,461 casualties, with most from the attempt to recapture Monte Grappa.
• Bombing campaigns between Italy and Austria-Hungary ended. Since 1915, Austria-Hungary had conducted 343 bombing raids on Italy, killing 984 people and injuring 1,193.
• Kiel mutiny - Thousands of supporters descended on the German port of Kiel to support a mutiny of sailors in the German High Seas Fleet. A German force sent to quell the demonstration shot into the crowd, killing seven and wounding another 29 men. Although supporters withdrew, the act was considered the start of the German Revolution.
• Battle of Przemyśl - Ukrainian forces pushed Polish defenders into the western half of the city of Przemyśl, Galicia.
• The Imperial German Navy scuttled several destroyers including near Ghent, Belgium.
• The Provisional All-Russian Government was established in opposition to the Bolshevik government in Russia.
• The Communist Party of Austria was established.
• The Robespierre Monument was unveiled in Moscow to commemorate the first anniversary of the October Revolution. However, its shoddy concrete and steel wire design proved unstable and the statue collapsed four days later.
• Czech nationalists in Prague destroyed a Baroque Marian column that was built in 1650.
• The opera La nave by Italian composer Italo Montemezzi premiered at the La Scala in Milan.
• Born: Bob Feller, American baseball player, pitcher for the Cleveland Indians from 1936 to 1956, including the 1948 World Series, in Van Meter, Iowa ; Russell B. Long, American politician, U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1948 to 1987, chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Finance from 1966 to 1981, in Shreveport, Louisiana ; Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American army officer, first American woman to obtain the rank of brigadier general, commander of the Women's Army Corps, two-time recipient of the Legion of Merit and U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal, in Newton, Kansas
• Died: Aleksandr Lyapunov, Russian physicist and mathematician, known for the development of the stability theory for dynamical systems in mathematics, brother to composer Sergei Lyapunov

  [November 4], 1918 (Monday)

• Kiel mutiny - German militia were called to occupy the port of Kiel but many of the soldiers called in defected to the revolutionary side. By the end of the day, some 40,000 revolutionaries had occupied the port and released 14 demands to the German government.
• The Komancza Republic was established with the intention to unite with the West Ukrainian People's Republic. It was dissolved in less than three months into Poland.
• Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro - Austro-Hungarian forces withdrew from Cetinje, Montenegro, ending the Central Powers occupation of the country.
• Under the terms of the Armistice of Villa Giusti, the Allies occupied Tirol, Austria, including Innsbruck.
• Battle of the Sambre - British and French forces captured the Sambre–Oise Canal from the Germans, the last major battle of World War One. British war poet Wilfred Owen was killed during the battle, but news of his death only reached his parents in Shrewsbury a week later on Armistice Day. He was awarded posthumously the Military Cross a year later.
• The New Zealand Division captured Le Quesnoy, France, taking 2,000 German prisoners. Casualties for New Zealand were 122 killed and 375 wounded, while the Germans suffered 43 killed and 251 wounded.
• Forty German Fokker aircraft attacked nine Sopwith Camels with the No. 65 Squadron southeast of Ghent, Belgium. Aircraft with No. 204 Squadron joined the action, and the resulting massive dogfight ended with 22 German aircraft reported either shot down or last seen headed earthward out of control.
• Battle of Przemyśl - Ukrainian and Polish forces called for a temporary ceasefire in Przemyśl to allow the release of Polish commanding officer and to exchange food supplies.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established for the government of Lithuania.
• Born: Art Carney, American actor, best known for the role of Ed Norton in The Honeymooners, recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for Harry and Tonto, in Mount Vernon, New York ; Cameron Mitchell, American actor, best known for the lead role in 1960s television western The High Chaparral, in Dallastown, Pennsylvania ; Gisela Arendt, German swimmer, silver and bronze medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics, in Berlin
• Died: Andrew Dickson White, American academic and diplomat, co-founder and first president of Cornell University, 16th United States Ambassador to Germany ; Thomas Baker, Australian air force officer, commander of the No. 4 Squadron of the Australian Flying Corps, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Military Medal

  [November 5], 1918 (Tuesday)

• The first Polish Soviet of Delegates, composed of over 100 workers' councils, met in Lublin, Poland to discuss establishing new sovereign Polish nations among the dissolving Austria-Hungary and Russian Empires.
• Several state elections were held in the United States, with results as follows:
• * Republican Thomas Edward Campbell elected as the second Governor of Arizona, defeating Democrat challenger Fred Colter by a mere 339 votes.
• * Republican William Stephens was elected as the 24th Governor of California, defeating independent Theodore Arlington Bell with 56 percent of the vote.
• * Republican incumbent Joseph A. A. Burnquist retained his seat as Governor of Minnesota with only 42 per cent of the vote, by splitting the vote between main opponent David H. Evans and others.
• * Republican incumbent James Withycombe retained his seat as Governor of Oregon against Democrat challenger Walter M. Pierce, but died in office five months later.
• * Republican William Cameron Sproul was elected 27th Governor of Pennsylvania with 61 percent of the vote.
• * Democrat Robert Archer Cooper was elected 93rd Governor of South Carolina, defeating main opponent John Gardiner Richards Jr. with 58 percent of the vote.
• * Republic Percival W. Clement was elected 57th Governor of Vermont with 67 percent of the vote.
• Former Cunard ocean liner HMS Campania sank in a violent squall off the coast of Scotland with no loss of life.
• Treutlen County, Georgia, named after American Revolution leader John A. Treutlen, was established with its seat in Soperton.
• Died: Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, British occultist, co-founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

  [November 6], 1918 (Wednesday)

• German Revolution - German Parliament leader Friedrich Ebert advocated for Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate the throne and allow a different monarch to take his place, warning, "If the Kaiser does not abdicate, the social revolution is inevitable. But I do not want it, I even hate it like sin."
• The Polish Soviet of Delegates in Lublin, Poland established the Provisional People's Government of the Republic of Poland as the governing body of the newly independent nation, with Ignacy Daszyński as Prime Minister.
• A massive demonstration of 30,000 Polish peasants led by communist activist Tomasz Dąbal took control of the town of Tarnobrzeg, Galicia in the former Austro-Hungarian Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and proclaimed the region as the Republic of Tarnobrzeg.
• Meuse-Argonne Offensive - French and American forces captured Sedan and much of the surrounding German-held territory around the Meuse River.
• Died: Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian fighter pilot, last Canadian air force officer to receive the Victoria Cross during World War One ; Jim Johnson, American boxer, famously fought Jack Johnson for the 1913 world heavyweight title

  [November 7], 1918 (Thursday)

• The Anglo-French Declaration was signed between Great Britain and France, agreeing to implement a "complete and final liberation" of countries that had been part of the Ottoman Empire.
• German Revolution - Revolution groups spread to other German cities including Hanover, Brunswick, Frankfurt on Main, and Munich. Ludwig III of Bavaria fled with his family from Munich when revolutionaries took control of the Anif Palace near Salzburg, becoming one of the first monarchs Germany to be deposed.
• The American Expeditionary Forces established the Third United States Army at Chaumont, France with Major-General Joseph T. Dickman given command on November 15.
• A Cossack regiment of 600 men known as Tchernetzov's Partisans, named after regiment leader Vasily Tchernetzov, were formed in Novocherkassk, Russia.
• Smolensk State University was established in Smolensk, Russia.
• The Czechoslovak War Cross was established to award for Czech soldiers performing acts of valor during World War One. It was also on occasion awarded to Allied officers, including General John J. Pershing of the American Expeditionary Forces.
• The Soviet Yiddish paper Oktyabr published its first edition in Smolensk, Russia.
• Born: Paul Aussaresses, French army officer, commander of French forces during World War Two, First Indochina War, and the Algerian War, in Saint-Paul-Cap-de-Joux, France ; Fred Cusick, American sports broadcaster, announcer for the Boston Bruins on WSBK-TV from 1971 to 1997, and the New England Sports Network from 1984 to 1995, in Brighton, Massachusetts
• Born: Billy Graham, American religious leader, founder of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, spiritual adviser to several U.S. Presidents including Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon, in Charlotte, North Carolina

  [November 8], 1918 (Friday)

• German Revolution - Pressure strengthened against Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate the throne as the German Empire began to dissolve into free states:
• * The People's State of Bavaria was established in the dissolving German Empire with Kurt Eisner as Minister-President.
• * Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick, abdicated the throne, allowing the Free State of Brunswick to be established within the dissolving German Empire.
• Polish war hero Józef Piłsudski and fellow colleague Colonel Kazimierz Sosnkowski were released from prison in Magdeburg, Germany after three months for leading a mutiny in July 1917 known as the Oath crisis.
• Born: Hermann Zapf, German graphic designer, creator of noted typefaces Palatino, Optima and Zapfino, in Nuremberg
• Died: Robert J. Collier, American publisher, editor of Collier's magazine, son of Peter F. Collier

  [November 9], 1918 (Saturday)

• German Revolution - The German Empire formally dissolved :
• * Kaiser Wilhelm II handed supreme command of the army to Paul von Hindenburg and fled to the Netherlands the following day, ending 400 years of rule by the House of Hohenzollern over the Kingdom of Prussia and allowing it to become the Free State of Prussia.
• * Philipp Scheidemann, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, proclaimed the establishment of the German Republic on the balcony of the Reichstag building in Berlin.
• * Prince Maximilian of Baden resigned as Chancellor of Germany and was succeeded by Friedrich Ebert.
• Violent unrest between ethnic Italians and Croats broke out in Split, Dalmatia after Italian flags were hung in house windows in honor of two French destroyers entering the port, giving the impression citizens were supporting Italy's bid for annexation.
• A communist revolution was attempted in Luxembourg City. It failed and was quickly suppressed with the help of local German forces.
• Red Week - Dutch social activist Pieter Jelles Troelstra declared in Rotterdam that a socialist revolution, similar to the ones that brought down the Russian Empire and German Empire, was possible in the Netherlands. In response, the Dutch government armed police officers in Utrecht and in Amsterdam and secured the royal family.
• British battleship was sunk by a German submarine off Cape Trafalgar, killing 50 sailors and another injuring 80 crew, in what was the last major naval engagement of World War One.
• Spartacus League members Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg established the German political organization's own newspaper Die Rote Fahne.
• The Argentine Central Railway in Colorado officially ceased operations.
• Born: Spiro Agnew, American politician, 39th Vice President of the United States, 55th Governor of Maryland, in Baltimore ; Florence Chadwick, American swimmer, first women to swim the English Channel both ways, in San Diego
• Born: Sverre Granlund, Norwegian soldier, member of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 during World War Two, recipient of the War Cross, War Medal and Distinguished Conduct Medal, in Sauherad, Norway ; Thomas Ferebee, American air force officer, bombardier for the Enola Gay when it dropped the atomic bomb "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, in Mocksville, North Carolina
• Died: Guillaume Apollinaire, French poet and playwright, known for works including The Breasts of Tiresias, The Cubist Painters, Aesthetic Meditations and Calligrammes ; Albert Ballin, German shipping magnate, director of the Hamburg America Line which introduced the modern cruise ship ; Peter Lumsden, British army officer, noted commander in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Second Opium War, and Second Anglo-Afghan War, recipient of the Order of the Bath

  [November 10], 1918 (Sunday)

• The Council of the People's Deputies was established as the new governing body of Germany, with goals to prepare an armistice with the Allies and prepare for the election of a new National Assembly the following year.
• Liberation of Serbia, Albania and Montenegro - Romania re-entered the war to retake territory lost to Bulgaria, while Allied forces entered Svishtov and Nikopol, Bulgaria.
• The Republic of Ostrów was established in the Polish area of Ostrów Wielkopolski.
• The Whites set up counterrevolutionary government in northwest Russia.
• Battle of Przemyśl - Some 400 Polish reinforcements under command of Julian Stachiewicz arrived at Przemyśl.
• Royal Navy minesweeper was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by German submarine with the loss of 51 of her crew.
• Józef Piłsudski and Colonel Kazimierz Sosnkowski arrived in Warsaw at 7 a.m. where they were greeted at the rail station by Polish Regent Zdzisław Lubomirski.
• Born: Ernst Otto Fischer, German chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work in organometallic chemistry, in Solln, Germany ; John Henry Moss, American sports executive, key developer of Minor League Baseball, in Kings Mountain, North Carolina ; Yue-Kong Pao, Chinese business leader, founder of the World-Wide Shipping Group, in Zhenhai District, China

  [November 11], 1918 (Monday)

• Germany signed an armistice with the Allies between 5:12 AM and 5:20 AM in Marshal Ferdinand Foch's railroad car in Compiègne Forest, France. The end of World War One became official on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It was the largest war ever fought until World War Two 21 years later, with 40 million recorded military and civilian casualties including 9 to 15 million combat deaths.
• * American soldier Henry Gunther was killed by machine gun fire at the French village of Chaumont-devant-Damvillers, France one minute before the armistice went into effect, one of the last known Allied soldiers killed in World War One.
• * Canadian soldier George Lawrence Price was killed by a sniper during a skirmish with German unit at Ville-sur-Haine, Belgium. He was the last soldier of the British Empire to die in World War One, two minutes before the armistice was to go into effect.
• * French soldier Augustin Trébuchon was killed 15 minutes before the armistice, becoming the last French military casualty of the war. However, his death was recorded one day earlier as the French army was embarrassed to have soldiers engaged in combat on the day of the armistice.
• * British soldier George Edwin Ellison of the 5th Royal Irish Lancers was killed while on a patrol on the outskirts of Mons, Belgium, 90 minutes before the armistice came into effect. He was the last British soldier to die in World War One.
• Meuse-Argonne Offensive - The armistice immediately suspended all fighting in the campaign. American and French casualties totaled 192,000, while German casualties were around 126,000. It had been the largest American operation of World War One, with 1.2 million soldiers committed to the offense.
• A communist revolution was attempted in the city of Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg. It failed and was quickly suppressed with the help of local German forces.
• Poland regained independence after 123 years of partitions, with Józef Piłsudski appointed by the Regency Council as Commander-in-Chief. The date since then is celebrated as National Independence Day.
• Charles I of Austria proclaimed he would give up absolute power in Austria, and again two days later for Hungary. However, he did not formally abdicate the throne in hopes the people of either country to vote to recall him.
• Red Week - A mix of Catholic, Protestant and moderate socialist organizations met in The Hague to organize a counter-campaign against the far-left socialist uprising in the Netherlands, calling themselves the "Orange Movement", after the Dutch royal family Orange-Nassau.
• The Liberal Party won the parliamentary election in Norway with 51 of the 123 seats in the Parliament of Norway after a second round of votes. Despite receiving the most votes, the Labour Party won just 18 seats, one less compared with the 1915 elections.
• Battle of Tulgas - A joint American, British and Canadian force of 600 men involved in the North Russia Intervention clashed with a Red Army force of 2,500 soldiers at Tulgas, Russia.
• Battle of Przemyśl - Polish artillery shelled Ukrainian defenses in the eastern half of Przemyśl after an ultimatum to withdraw was rejected.
• A Jewish rally in Kielce, Poland ended in violence after rumors spread of anti-Polish sentiment and speeches were being expressed at the event. Soldiers entered the city theater where the event was being held after the meeting ended, rounding up 300 attendees who remained behind. After searching them for arms, the soldiers handed them over to an angry mob that beat them. Four members of the local Jewish community were killed and several Jewish business and homes were vandalized, but no charges were made against any of the participants.
• All military aircraft ended operations, with streamers attached to planes' wings to show no hostile intent. Of the states of the air forces of both the Allies and Central Powers at war's end:
• * Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service, and Royal Air Force in total suffered 16,623 casualties. However, the RAF remained the largest in the world 20,000 aircraft and over 300,000 personnel, but in nine months the service was reduced to 35,000 personnel.
• * French Aéronautique Militaire finished the war with 3,222 aircraft for the front line. However, it has lost 8,500 pilots by war's end.
• * The Luftstreitkräfte had 2,709 aircraft by war's end but suffered in excess of 15,000 casualties.
• * The Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare finished the war with a strength of 2,725 aircraft. During the war, 105 Italian factories manufactured airframes, aero engines, and aviation propellers, producing 11,986 airplanes, almost half under license and only 2,208 made entirely of Italian components.
• * The U.S. Marine Corps aviation force had grown from seven officers and 43 enlisted men during the United States entry into World War One to 282 officers and 2,180 enlisted men at the end of the war.
• The Finnish all-women paramilitary force during the Finnish Civil War was reorganized as Lotta Svärd, an all-women auxiliary force that grew to 60,000 members by 1930 and 240,000 members during the height of World War Two.
• The Quaker Oil Products Corporation was established in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania as a manufacturer of lubricant products for the textile industry. It was renamed the Quaker Chemical Corporation in 1930.
• The Felixstowe Fury, the largest seaplane in the world and first to incorporate servo-assisted controls, made its first flight from the Seaplane Experimental Station in England.
• The first tractors by Renault were produced at a factory in Billancourt, France.
• The Strand Theatre, a movie house and vaudeville theater, opened to a double bill night in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
• Born: Georgie Abrams, American boxer, top contender for the World Middleweight Championship in the 1940s, in Roanoke, Virginia

  [November 12], 1918 (Tuesday)

• Austria became a republic with Karl Renner as chancellor.
• German Revolution - The German Empire continued to dissolve into a collection of free states:
• * Ludwig III of Bavaria issued the Anif declaration, which released all civil servants and military personnel loyal to the monarchy from their official oaths, ending the 738-year rule of the House of Wittelsbach in Bavaria.
• * Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and brother-in-law to Wilhelm II, was forced from his throne from the Saxe-Meiningen duchy. It became the Free State of Saxe-Meiningen until 1920 when it merged with German state of Thuringia.
• * Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt, abdicated his throne for the Duchy of Anhalt within the dissolving German Empire, allowing the Free State of Anhalt to be established.
• Battle of Przemyśl - Ukrainian troops retreated from Przemyśl, allowing it to be fully under Polish control.
• Serbian forces entered the Banat Republic with support from Hungary and the Allies.
• Battle of Tulgas - Russian gun boats along the Northern Dvina River began shelling North Russia Intervention forces at Tulgas, Russia while the Red Army tried unsuccessfully to take a strategic bridge over the river.
• Red Week - Dutch Prime Minister Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck announced that the daily bread ration would be increased from to provided the call to overthrow the government ceased. However, socialist leader Pieter Jelles Troelstra continued for calls for a socialist revolution in the Netherlands.
• Voronezh State University was established in Voronezh, Russia.
• The Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways ceased operations.
• The U.S. Naval Torpedo Station was established in Alexandria, Virginia.
• The opera Phi-Phi by French composer Henri Christiné at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in Paris and began a popular post-war success.
• The Yugoslav krone replaced the Austro-Hungarian krone as the official currency of the Balkans.

  [November 13], 1918 (Wednesday)

• Germany and Russia annulled the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk following the signing of the armistice.
• The Allies occupied Constantinople.
• The Romanian Army began to advance into Transylvania as the Central Powers withdrew, starting with the commune of Palanca, Bacău.
• German Revolution - More free states emerged from the dissolving German Empire:
• * Frederick II abdicated his throne for the Grand Duchy of Baden.
• * Frederick Augustus III of Saxony abdicated his throne for the Kingdom of Saxony.
• * Troops in German East Africa, unaware that Germany had signed an armistice with the Allies two days earlier, entered and occupied the abandoned British colonial capital of Kasama in Northern Rhodesia.
• Red Week - The "Orange Movement" proclaimed supporters of the socialist revolution were in the minority and further attempts at revolution did not come about, ending the campaign.
• Born: George Grant, Canadian philosopher, noted thinker of Canadian politics including Canadian nationalism, author of Lament for a Nation, in Toronto
• Died: Alfred Hindmarsh, Australian-New Zealand politician, first Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party ; Samuel F. Nixon, American business entrepreneur, founder of the Theatrical Syndicate ; R. Bruce Ricketts, American army officer, commander of the artillery barrage at Cemetery Hill during the Battle of Gettysburg

  [November 14], 1918 (Thursday)

• Czechoslovakia officially became an independent nation with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk as the country's first president.
• The British coalition government under Prime Minister Lloyd George dissolved. With coalition members from the Labour Party leaving, a call was made for a general election in December.
• Józef Piłsudski was appointed Chief of State for newly independent Poland.
• German Revolution - More free states from the German Empire emerged:
• * The provisional government of Baden proclaimed former monarchy a republic.
• * Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, was forced from his throne, leading to the establishment of the People's State of Hesse.
• * Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin abdicated his throne, leading to the establishment of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
• * Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, announced he has "ceased to rule" the throne Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as opposed to formally abdicating it, leading to the establishment of the Free State of Coburg.
• * Troops in German East Africa were informed of the armistice.
• Battle of Tulgas - American forces lead by John Cudahy staged a counterattack against the Red Army and forced them to retreat. In all, the Red Army had 500 casualties and 30 prisoners, while the Allied forces suffered 30 killed and 100 wounded in the battle.
• Royal Navy cruiser ran aground in the River Mersey, England and later broke in two. The wreck was recovered and scrapped the following year.
• The Vitebsk Museum of Modern Art opened in Vitebsk, Belarus.
• Roosevelt High School opened in The Bronx, New York City in recognition of the Roosevelt family. It was renamed Theodore Roosevelt High School after the former U.S. president died on January 6, 1919.
• Born: John Bromwich, Australian tennis player, two time singles champion of the Australian Open, triple crown winner in doubles and mixed doubles for the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, in Sydney
• Died: Robert Anderson Van Wyck, American politician, 91st Mayor of New York City

  [November 15], 1918 (Friday)

• Brazilian president-elect Rodrigues Alves, suffering from influenza, was unable to take office on the scheduled date, and was replaced by Vice President Delfim Moreira.
• German Revolution - Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe, abdicated his throne for the Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, allowing it to become the Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe.
• Rear-Admiral Hugo Meurer, representing Admiral Franz von Hipper of the German High Seas Fleet, met British Admiral David Beatty aboard to work out the terms for surrender of the German naval fleet to the Royal Navy.
• Serbian forces entered the city of Timișoara to suppress the Banat Republic on endorsements by the Allies.
• Surviving United States Army Air Service pilots serving with bomber squadrons of the Corpo Aeronautico Militare on the Italian Front assembled at San Pelagio Airfield outside Padua, Italy to receive the Italian War Merit Cross. About 100 American pilots served with the Italians, accumulating more than 500 combat hours using Caproni bombers while taking part in 65 bombing missions.
• The United States Army Air Service established the 5th Pursuit Group but with the end of World War One, the air group was disbanded the following year.
• The Soviet Red Army established the 16th Army.
• The Estonian national railway company was established.
• Rosa Ponselle made her Metropolitan Opera début as Leonora in Verdi's La forza del destino, opposite Enrico Caruso.
• Died: Robert Anderson, British law enforcer, Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in London from 1888 to 1901 ; Nelly Erichsen, English illustrator, best known for her collaborations with travel writer Janet Ross

  [November 16], 1918 (Saturday)

• The Hungarian Democratic Republic was declared, marking Hungary's independence from Austria.
• Political leaders against the Bolsheviks gathered for the Jassy Conference in Iași, Romania.
• Italian Navy cruiser struck a mine and sank in the Adriatic Sea, killed 93 crew members.
• The 1st Division of Estonia was established to defend the country against the Red Army.
• Lithuania established its own postal service.
• American socialist leader Louis C. Fraina began publishing the radical newspaper The Revolutionary Age in Boston.
• Born: Nicholas Moore, English poet, member of the New Apocalyptics group in London, in Cambridge ; Carter Manny, American architect, designer of the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, the J. Edgar Hoover Building for the FBI on Washington D.C., and the First Chicago Bank building, in Michigan City, Indiana

  [November 17], 1918 (Sunday)

• The Red Army launched a massive advance against the independent Baltic states, Belarus, and the Ukraine.
• Serbian forces occupied the capital city of Timișoara of the Banat Republic.
• The Communist Party of Greece was established.
• The Haugesund Naval Air Station was established near Haugesund, Norway.
• The Tallinn Higher Music School was established, the precursor to the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
• The fantasy adventure film The Ghost of Slumber Mountain showcased some of the earliest stop-motion animation by special effects pioneer Willis H. O'Brien who refined the technique for the 1925 film The Lost World. The original cut was 40 minutes long but only a 19 minute cut of the film survives.
• Born: Parey Branton, American politician, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1960 to 1972, Mayor of Shongaloo, Louisiana from 1972 to 1990, in Shongaloo, Louisiana
• Died: Andrew H. Burke, American politician, second Governor of North Dakota

  [November 18], 1918 (Monday)

• The People's Council declared Latvian independence from Russia.
• German submarine sank in the Weser River in northern Germany but was raised and scrapped the following year.
• The association football Club Atlético Douglas Haig was established Pergamino, Brazil, in honor of British Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig.
• Born: Willie McKnight, Canadian air force officer, member of the No. 242 Squadron during the Battle of France and Battle of Britain in World War Two, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, in Edmonton ; Tasker Watkins, Welsh judge, Lord Justice of Appeal from 1980 to 1993, recipient of the Victoria Cross for action during the Normandy landings during World War Two, in Nelson, Caerphilly, Wales
• Died: David Buick, New Zealand politician, member of the New Zealand Parliament for Palmerston from 1908 to 1918

  [November 19], 1918 (Tuesday)

• An Italian royal decree was issued that abolished criminalizing acts of defeatism
• Belgian daily newspaper L'Avenir published its first edition in Namur, Belgium as a replacement for the defunct Catholic daily L'Ami de l'Ordre, which published its last issue the previous day.
• The Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk M.F.5 aircraft was first flown in Norway.
• The women's fraternity Phi Theta Kappa was established at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. It currently has over 2 million members at 1,250 chapters in 10 countries.
• Born: Naomi Frankel, German-Israeli writer, best known for the Saul and Joanna trilogy, in Berlin ; Brendan Corish, Irish politician, cabinet minister for the 13th and Government of the 15th Dáil in Ireland, in Wexford, Ireland ; Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, Indian philosopher, leading proponent of Charvaka, recipient of the Padma Bhushan, in Calcutta, British India
• Died: Joseph F. Smith, American religious leader, 6th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ; Charles R. Van Hise, American academic, president of the University of Wisconsin from 1903 to 1918

  [November 20], 1918 (Wednesday)

• Elections were held for the new National Assembly created to unify Romania and Transylvania into one country. In all, 680 out of 1,228 seats were contested over a 12-day campaign.
• Serbian forces occupied much of the Banat Republic in an attempt to secure as much of the region as possible before the upcoming peace talks in Paris.
• German U-boats started to rendezvous off Harwich under the supervision of British Rear-Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt of the Royal Navy Harwich Force.
• Swedish steamer ship Per Brahe sank during a storm in Lake Vättern, Sweden, killing all 24 passengers on-board including famed folklore illustrator John Bauer, his wife and fellow artist Ester Ellqvist, and their three-year old son.
• The Government of Canada took over control of the Canadian Northern Railway, appointing a new board of directors and placing the management of the Canadian Government Railways under the new board's control.
• The Latvian Red Cross was established in Riga.
• The American Expeditionary Forces opened a military hospital in Rimaucourt, France, with Hospital No. 238 treating wounded American soldiers even though the armistice had ended fighting nine days earlier.
• Born: Corita Kent, American artist, best known for the silkscreen work including the Rainbow Swash in Boston, in Fort Dodge, Iowa

  [November 21], 1918 (Thursday)

• Battle of Lemberg - Following the end of the battle, soldiers with Second Polish Republic, along with mobs of vigilantes and freed criminals from local jails, began to loot and murder ethnic Jews in the city on rumors of collaborating with the Central Powers in the closing weeks of World War One.
• The Qualification of Women Act received royal assent, giving British women over the age of 21 the right to stand as a Member of Parliament.
• Rear-Admiral Ludwig von Reuter lead an escort of over 70 ships with the German High Seas Fleet under supervision of over 370 Allied ships from Harwich, England to the Scapa Flow off the coast of Scotland.
• The Estonian Army began to organize an aviation and naval arm to their force, leading to the establishment of the Estonian Air Force and Estonian Navy. On the same day, Estonia debuted its own national flag.
• The National Institute of Public Health was established in Poland.
• Born: Dorothy Maguire, American baseball player, catcher and outfielder for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1943 to 1949, in LaGrange, Ohio ; Sydney Dowse, British air force officer, member of the escape crew from German POW camp Stalag Luft III during World War Two, recipient of the Military Cross, in Hammersmith, England

  [November 22], 1918 (Friday)

• The Belgian royal family returned to Brussels after the war, with King Albert I of Belgium having commanded the Allied army group in the autumn Courtrai offensive which liberated his country.
• Violence against Jews in the city of Lwów, Galicia intensified as some 500 businesses, homes, and synagogues were looted, vandalized and burned. Polish commanding officer Czesław Mączyński of the Second Polish Republic ordered martial law on the city by the end of the day, although many sources alleged he intentionally delayed it for a day while the violence happened.
• French forces occupied the former German-held region of Alsace-Lorraine.
• The German National People's Party was established.
• The American Japan Glass Sheet Company was established in Osaka.
• Born: Claiborne Pell, American politician, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island from 1961 to 1997, in New York City
• Died: Rose Cleveland, American social leader, First Lady of the United States during the presidency of Grover Cleveland ; William D. Hoard, American politician, 16th Governor of Wisconsin

  [November 23], 1918 (Saturday)

• German Revolution - Günther Victor, Prince of Schwarzburg, abdicated his throne of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, the last of the German monarchs to abdicate, and allowing the kingdom to become the Free state of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt until it merged with the German state of Thuringia in 1920.
• The British military governance of Palestine began.
• Violence ended in Lwów, Galicia with the arrest of over a thousand people involved in the rioting. Accounts following the violence were confusing, with estimated casualties ranging from 50 to 150 Jewish residents murdered and at least 443 more injured. As a result of the violence, the West Ukrainian People's Republic created a 1,000-man unit composed solely of Ukrainian Jews.
• The Marriott Wardman Park, a 1,200-room hotel with 625 baths, opened in Washington D.C. as the largest hotel in the city at the time.
• Died: Fritz von Below, German army officer, commander of German forces during the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, Battle of the Somme and Second Battle of the Aisne, recipient of Pour le Mérite ; Michael Verdon, English-New Zealand clergy, second bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunedin ; Harald Kidde, Danish writer, author of Helten

  [November 24], 1918 (Sunday)

• French minesweepers Inkerman and Cerisoles both disappeared while during a major storm on Lake Superior, with a total 78 crew lost.
• The Podgorica Assembly was established as the legislative governing body of the Kingdom of Montenegro with the goal to determine whether to join the Kingdom of Serbia, eventually leading to the creation of Yugoslavia.
• The Hungarian Communist Party was established by wartime partisan hero Béla Kun.
• The First Estonian Oil Shale Industry was established in Kohtla-Järve, Estonia, a predecessor to the Viru Keemia Grupp.
• The comic strip Gasoline Alley by Frank King first appeared in the Chicago Tribune, becoming the second longest-running comic strip after The Katzenjammer Kids.
• Died: Annie Hall Cudlip, English writer, noted pioneer of the modern romance novel including Theo Leigh, A Passion in Tatters, He Cometh Not, She Said, and Allerton Towers, wife to theologian Pender Hodge Cudlip

  [November 25], 1918 (Monday)

• General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German commander in German East Africa, signed a ceasefire at Abercorn, Northern Rhodesia, the last German force to end hostilities in World War One.
• The Constitution of Uruguay of 1830 was replaced by a new constitution following a referendum.
• The Crimean Karaites overthrew the German-backed Crimean Regional Government and established the Crimean Frontier Government lead by Solomon Krym. However, it fell to the Bolsheviks on April 2, 1919.

  [November 26], 1918 (Tuesday)

• The Spanish flu pandemic ravaged Tonga, killing eight percent of the population, including the country's sitting monarch Queen Takipō.
• The Podgorica Assembly voted for a "union of the people", deposing Nicholas I as monarch of the Kingdom of Montenegro and declaring its union with the Kingdom of Serbia.
• The United States Marine Corps established the 15th Marine Regiment.
• The Soviet Red Army established the 18th Rifle Division.
• The Australian film The Sentimental Bloke, based on the popular poem The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke by C. J. Dennis, was first screened in Adelaide, Australia. Directed by Raymond Longford and starring Arthur Tauchert in the title role, it would take a full year before it would be widely release and become a major hit in Australia.
• Born: Patricio Aylwin, Chilean state leader, 32nd President of Chile, in Viña del Mar, Chile ; Bill DeCorrevont, American football player, defensive back for Northwestern University from 1938 to 1942 and running back for the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, and Chicago Bears from 1945 to 1949, in Chicago ; Huber Matos, Cuban activist, member of the 26th of July Movement, opponent to Fidel Castro and political prisoner for 20 years, in Yara, Cuba

  [November 27], 1918 (Wednesday)

• Most of the German High Seas Fleet arrived at Scapa Flow off the coast of Scotland.
• The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was established.
• The Broadway musical Oh, My Dear!, by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse with music by Louis A. Hirsch premiered at the Princess Theatre in New York City for a run of 189 performances.
• Born: Royal N. Baker, American air force officer, commander of various squadrons during World War Two, Korean War and Vietnam War, most notably 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group during the Korean War, recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, four Legion of Merits, the Silver Star, and 43 Air Medals, in Corsicana, Texas

  [November 28], 1918 (Thursday)

• German Revolution - After settling in Amerongen, Netherlands, Wilhelm II formally abdicated the throne with the statement: "I herewith renounce for all time claims to the throne of Prussia and to the German Imperial throne connected therewith."
• Estonian War of Independence - Russia invaded Estonia when the 6th Rifle Division of the Red Army struck the border town of Narva, occupying it the next day.
• The Kingdom of Montenegro was formally absorbed into the Kingdom of Serbia.
• The General Congress of Bukovina voted to dissolve the Duchy of Bukovina, formerly of Austria-Hungary, and united with Romania.
• The Saint-Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts was established in Petrograd.
• The Central Railroad of Pennsylvania ceased operations.
• Born: Jack H. Harris, American film producer, best known for B movies including The Blob, 4D Man, and Equinox, in Philadelphia ; Billy McLean, British special forces officer and politician, member of the Special Operations Executive during World War Two, Member of Parliament for Inverness from 1954 to 1964, recipient of the Distinguished Service Order, in Sutherland, Scotland
• Died: Margaret Cruickshank, New Zealand physician, first women to practice medicine in New Zealand

  [November 29], 1918 (Friday)

• Russian Civil War - The anti-Bolshevik Siberian Army under command of Anatoly Pepelyayev on the Northwest Front went up against the Red Army in what was the start of the Perm Operation.
• The Commune of the Working People of Estonia was established as a Soviet puppet state in Narva.
• The Association of Port Authorities was established in Norway, and operated until 1972 when it was replaced by Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities.
• Born: Madeleine L'Engle, American young adult writer, author of the A Wrinkle in Time series, in New York City

  [November 30], 1918 (Saturday)

• The Act of Tilsit was signed which formally unified Lithuania proper and Lithuania Minor into one nation.
• German Revolution - William II abdicated the throne for the Kingdom of Württemberg, allowing the establishment of the Free People's State of Württemberg.
• The All-Russian Central Executive Committee established the Council of Labor and Defense to manage Russia's economy and produce military material for the ongoing Russian Civil War.
• Ernest Ansermet conducted the first concert by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva.
• The Oslo Opera Comique held its opening performance, with Benno Singer as director.
• Born: Efrem Zimbalist Jr., American actor, best known for television roles in 77 Sunset Strip, The FBI, as well as the voice of Alfred Pennyworth in ', in New York City ; John Rosenberger, American comic book artist, best known for Girls' Romances, Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane and The Superman Family, in New York City
• Died:''' Karl Jessen, Russian naval officer, commander during the Russo-Japanese War