June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand heir to the Austria-Hungary throne and his wife are assassinated by a Serbian Nationalist in Sarejevo. July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. July 29, 1914 Russia begins to mobilize troops. August 1, 1914 Germany declares war on Russia August 3, 1914 Germany declares war on France August 4, 1914 Great Britain joins in aid of France and declares war. Canada must follow suit and joins the British in the war effort. August 6, 1914 Austria-Hungary at war with Russia August 7, 1914 Great Britain lands its Expeditionary Force in France to defend against the German offensive. August 19, 1914 Canadian Parliament authorises the raising of an expeditionary force to send overseas. Valcartier Camp is constructed to give basic training to new recruits. August 23, 1914 Japan declares war on Germany and attacks Tsingtau. October 14, 1914 Canadian Expeditionary Force of 32,000 men land at Plymouth, England, to prepare for fighting at the Front. April 22, 1915 Poison gas used for the first time by Germans in an attack on Canadian soldiers at Ypres. April 23, 1915 Italy declares war on Austria and invades creating another battle front. October 13, 1915 German Zeppelins bomb London killing 55 people and injuring more. December 15, 1915 General Sir Douglas Haig takes Field Marshal Sir John French's position as Commander-in Chief of the British Forces in France. This also gave him control of the Canadian Forces in Europe. February 21, 1916 Battle of Verdun commences and French soldiers take heavy losses. April 19, 1916 President Wilson, of the U.S.A., publicly calls for the German's to stop their submarine policy of sinking all ships in enemy waters without warning. July 1, 1916 The Somme offensive begins with 100,000 soldiers attacking out of the trenches. The British army takes its worst losses in history. February 3, 1917 The United States, which has not yet entered the war, severs diplomatic relations with Germany. April 6, 1917 The United States comes out of neutrality and declares war on Germany, joining the Allied effort. April 13, 1917 Canadian troops take Vimy Ridge and the surrounding area in one of Canada's finest battles of the war. July 31, 1917 The Third Battle of Ypres, Passchendaele, commences with a huge artillery barrage. August 8, 1917 Canadian Conscription Bill passes the third reading in the Senate. August 8, 1917 Canadian House of Commons passes the Compulsory Military Service Bill ending the promise of no conscription made by Prime Minister Borden. October 12, 1917 Sir Robert Borden wins Canadian election with a coalition government and is returned for another term in office. November 6, 1917 Passchendaele is captured by the Canadians after months of hard fought battle. November 21, 1917 Tanks play their first major role in battle at Cambrai. Tanks were soon to replace cavalry as a major offensive weapon. December 15, 1917 Armistice is signed between Germany and Russia. April 22, 1918 Baron Von Richthofen, German ace known as the 'Red Baron', is shot down by a Canadian pilot. April 29, 1918 General Foch is chosen as Commander-in-Chief of the entire Allied force. June 28, 1919 The Treaty of Versailles is signed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versaille, officially ending the Great War.

June 23, 1911 King George V is crowned at Westminster Abbey. April 15, 1912 The 'unsinkable' ship Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg drowning 1595 people. January 1, 1913 Albert Schweitzer opens his famous hospital in Lambaréné, French Congo. January 1, 1913 Neils Bohr and Ernest Rutherford develop the Bohr-Rutherford theory of atomic structure. February 10, 1913 Explorer Robert F. Scott is found dead after reaching the south pole. October 7, 1913 Henry Ford constructs the first assembly line automobile factory. Workers receive an unprecedented $5/hour and work only 8 hour days. December 1, 1913 Charlie Chaplin stars in his first movie 'Keystone Comedies'. December 13, 1913 The Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, is recovered two years after it was stolen from the Louvre in Paris. January 1, 1914 First full-length feature film in colour 'The Word, The Flesh, And The Devil' is produced and shown in London, England. January 1, 1914 First successful heart surgery, preformed on a dog. Surgery carried out by Dr. Alexis Carrel. This event would lead to the eventual operations performed on humans. February 13, 1914 A.S.C.A.P. (American Association of Composers Authors and Performers) is established. May 9, 1914 Hank Snow, Canadian country music singer, guitarist, and songwriter is born. May 26, 1914 Photographer and journalist Jacob Riis dies. Famous for his work in New York's slums, he strived to end poverty in the city. 'The Tramp' is one of his photographs of the slums. August 5, 1914 The first electric traffic lights in the world are installed in Cleveland, Ohio. August 15, 1914 Panama Canal opens and shorten passage from Atlantic-Pacific by many days. January 1, 1915 Picasso paints 'Harlequin'. January 1, 1915 Aspirin available for the first time in tablet form. (Produced by Bayer pharmaceuticals in Germany) January 1, 1915 Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity. January 25, 1915 Alexander Graham Bell, in New York, and Dr. Thomas A. Watson, in San Francisco, make the first transcontinental telephone call. On June 2, 1875, these same men conducted the first-ever telephone call. July 4, 1915 Billie Holiday, American jazz singer is born. December 12, 1915 Frank Sinatra, famed American pop singer and actor is born. January 1, 1916 The first cartoon in natural colour 'The debut of Thomas Kat' produced by Bray Pictures Corp. January 1, 1916 Gustav Holst composes his suite 'The Planets'. January 1, 1916 First blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. Performed by the R.A.M.C., the procedure was very successful. January 1, 1916 Impressionist Monet paints 'Water Lilies'. May 21, 1916 Britain initiates daylight savings time. August 14, 1916 U.S.A. purchase the Virgin Islands for $25 million from Denmark. November 22, 1916 Jack London, American novelist, dies at the age of 40. His most famous works included 'Call of the Wild', 'Sea Wolf', and 'White Fang'. January 10, 1917 Frontiersman and renowned showman William F. Cody, 'Buffalo Bill', dies at the age of 71. March 17, 1917 Nat 'King' Cole, jazz singer and pianist is born. November 6, 1917 Lenin leads the October Revolution, setting up a Communist organisation in Russia. January 1, 1918 Harlow Shapley, an American astronomer, discovers the true dimensions of the Milky Way Galaxy. July 16, 1918 Czar Nicholas II and his family are assassinated by revolutionaries in Russia October 31, 1918 The worst epidemic of the century strikes the world. Influenza, an extremely contagious disease, leaves nearly 20 million people dead by 1919. May 16, 1919 Liberace, famed popular pianist and showman is born. May 29, 1919 A study of a total eclipse of the sun provides prove Einstein's theory of relativity to be true.