What Happened in 1911 — Events, Births & Deaths

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.

A gun battle in the East End of London leaves two dead. It sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.

Kappa Alpha Psi, the world's third-oldest and largest black fraternity, is founded at Indiana University.

The University of the Philippines College of Law is established.

Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition makes landfall on the eastern edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.

Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.

Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.

The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.

Mexican Revolution: Mexicali is captured by the Mexican Liberal Party, igniting the Magonista rebellion of 1911.

The destroyer USS Terry makes the first airplane rescue at sea saving the life of Douglas McCurdy 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Havana, Cuba.

The first official flight with airmail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away.

In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 garment workers.

Andrey Yushchinsky is murdered in Kiev, leading to the Beilis affair.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics conducts the country's first national census.

During the Battle of Deçiq, Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg).

The Second Canton Uprising takes place in Guangzhou, Qing China, but is suppressed.

Tsinghua University, one of mainland China's leading universities, is founded.

In Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, the United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up.

More than 300 Chinese immigrants are killed in the Torreón massacre when the forces of the Mexican Revolution led by Emilio Madero take the city of Torreón from the Federales.

Parks Canada, the world's first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.

The New York Public Library is dedicated.

At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race.

The RMS Titanic is launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz flees the country during the Mexican Revolution.

IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York.

George V and Mary of Teck are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Mexican Revolution: Government forces bring an end to the Magonista rebellion of 1911 in the Second Battle of Tijuana.

The Nakhla meteorite, the first one to suggest signs of aqueous processes on Mars, falls to Earth, landing in Egypt.

The United States, UK, Japan, and Russia sign the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 banning open-water seal hunting, the first international treaty to address wildlife preservation issues.

Harry Atwood, an exhibition pilot for the Wright brothers, is greeted by president William Howard Taft after he lands his aeroplane on the South Lawn of the White House, having flown from Boston.

Hiram Bingham III re-discovers Machu Picchu, "the Lost City of the Incas".

The Australasian Antarctic Expedition began as the SY Aurora departed London.

Harriet Quimby takes her pilot's test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's certificate.

The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee.

Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California.

The Canadian Naval Service becomes the Royal Canadian Navy.

A fire that started on Fraser's Million Dollar Pier destroys six to eight square blocks of Ocean Park, California.

Russian Premier Pyotr Stolypin is shot by Dmitry Bogrov while attending a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tale of Tsar Saltan at the Kiev Opera House, in the presence of Tsar Nicholas II.

The White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with the British warship HMS Hawke.

His Majesty's Airship No. 1, Britain's first rigid airship, is wrecked by strong winds before her maiden flight at Barrow-in-Furness.

An explosion of badly degraded propellant charges on board the French battleship Liberté detonates the forward ammunition magazines and destroys the ship.

Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire, In this war , Italy gains Libya which ends Ottoman rule in North Africa .

The Kowloon–Canton Railway commences service.

An accidental bomb explosion triggers the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing dynasty, beginning the Xinhai Revolution.

The day after a bomb explodes prematurely, the Wuchang Uprising begins against the Chinese monarchy.

Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, becomes the first Governor General of Canada of royal descent.

Orville Wright remains in the air for nine minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

The Xinhai Revolution spreads to Guangzhou, where the Qing general Fengshan is assassinated by the Chinese Assassination Corps.

Chevrolet officially enters the automobile market in competition with the Ford Model T.

After declaring war on the Ottoman Empire on September 29, 1911, Italy annexes Tripoli and Cyrenaica.

The Doom Bar in Cornwall claims two ships, Island Maid and Angele, the latter killing the entire crew except the captain.

A mine explosion near Briceville, Tennessee, kills 84 miners despite rescue efforts led by the United States Bureau of Mines.

Roald Amundsen's team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole.

"Jana Gana Mana", the national anthem of India, is first sung in the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress.

Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia.