1916
Oswald Villard resigns from the NAACP Board in protest against DuBois's militancy. Black leaders meet at the home of Joel Spingarn in New York City and agree that suffrage, equal education, and cessation of violence against blacks are priorities. The NAACP expands to the South, naming James Weldon Johnson to organize local chapters.
1916
In the midst of WWI, with millions dying on the western front, the French and British governments reach an understanding on how the Middle East should be carved up after the war. Soon afterward, they sign the Sykes-Picot agreement, dividing the Middle East into zones of influence.
1916
Lazar Kaganovich, now a member of the Kiev Bolshevik Committee, makes a speech opposing the "imperialist war." He is quickly arrested and banished from Kiev. He then began a period of travelling and union organizing using various aliases.
1916
Lloyd George becomes prime minister of Britain's wartime coalition government.
1916
General Josef Pilsudski is imprisoned by the Germans after refusing to join the Central Powers.
1916
The Trans-Siberian railway, the longest continuous railroad line in the world, is completed.
1916
U.S. Marines land in Santo Domingo to quell unrest and will not leave until 1924.
1916
U.S. troops under General Pershing invade Mexico in retaliation for raids by Pancho Villa. Colonel Charles Young, the highest ranking black in the U.S. Army, commands a squadron against Villa.
1916
Henry Ford spends $465,000 to finance a so-called "Peace Ship" and travels to Europe in an unsuccessful attempt to personally negotiate an end to the war. Ford later blames his failure on the Jews.
1916
Allen W. Dulles enters U.S. diplomatic service.
1916 January 1
Yuan Shih-kai, unmoved by the opposition of the Kuomintang, declares himself emperor and accepts congratulations from officials at the Hsinhua Palace in Beijing.
1916 January 7
Germany notifies the U.S. State Department that it will abide by strict international rules of maritime warfare.
1916 January 8
The remaining 35,000 Allied troops at Gallipoli are secretly withdrawn without alerting the Turks. Allied casualties for the entire campaign are estimated at 252,000, with the Turks suffering about 251,000.
1916 January 10
General Francisco "Pancho" Villa, in an attempt to embroil the U.S. in the turmoil in Mexico, forces 18 American mining engineers off a train and shoots them in cold blood.
1916 January 11
General Yudenich, one of the most capable Russian commanders, advances from Kars toward Erzerum in the Caucasus.
1916 January 24
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the new federal income tax, established in 1913, is constitutional.
1916 February 13
General Yudenich reaches Erzerum and breaks through its ring of forts in a 3-day battle (February 16).
1916 February 21
Following an enormous bombardment, the crown
prince's German Fifth Army attacks the fortified but lightly garrisoned area
around Verdun. The assault gains considerable territory, capturing a key
position, Fort Douaumont. Joffre prohibits any further retreat and sends Gen.
Henri Philippe Petain with reinforcements to defend the region.
1916 March
Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg and 17 other Social
Democrats are expelled from the party's Reichstag delegation for their
radiacal extremism.
1916 March 6
The second German attack at Verdun, launched on the
western face of the salient, is eventually checked by French counterattacks. For
the remainder of the month, attacks and counterattacks litter the battlefield
with corpses. The watchword for the defense becomes France's motto for the rest
of the war: Ils ne passeront pas! ("They shall not pass!")
1916 March 9
Pancho Villa leads a raid into New Mexico, killing 17
Americans.
1916 March 11
The Italians launch the Fifth Battle of the Isonzo.
Like its predecessors, this battle is a succession of inconclusive conflicts.
1916 March 12
Russian General N. N. Baratov reaches Karind and
advances on Baghdad.
1916 March 18
The Russians, responding to French appeals, launch a
two-pronged drive in the Vilna-Naroch area as a counter to the German Verdun
assault in the west. The Russian assault soon breaks down in the mud of the
spring thaw, costing 70,000 to 100,000 casualties and 10,000 prisoners. German
losses are about 20,000 men.
