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  • New York, U.S.
    Saturday Dec 2, 1916
    Statue of Liberty

    Lighting the Statue

    New York, U.S.
    Saturday Dec 2, 1916

    In 1916, Ralph Pulitzer, who had succeeded his father Joseph as the publisher of the World, began a drive to raise $30,000 (equivalent to $705,000 in 2019) for an exterior lighting system to illuminate the statue at night. He claimed over 80,000 contributors but failed to reach the goal. The difference was quietly made up by a gift from a wealthy donor—a fact that was not revealed until 1936. An underwater power cable brought electricity from the mainland and floodlights were placed along the walls of Fort Wood. Gutzon Borglum, who later sculpted Mount Rushmore, redesigned the torch, replacing much of the original copper with stained glass. On December 2, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson pressed the telegraph key that turned on the lights, successfully illuminating the statue.




  • Bucharest, Romania
    Wednesday Dec 6, 1916
    World War 1

    Battle of Bucharest

    Bucharest, Romania
    Wednesday Dec 6, 1916

    The Battle of Buchares was the last battle of the Romanian Campaign of 1916 in World War I, in which the Central Powers' combatants, led by General Erich von Falkenhayn, occupied the Romanian capital and forced the Romanian Government, as well as the remnants of the Romanian Army to retreat to Moldavia and re-establish its capital at Iaşi.




  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Wednesday Dec 6, 1916
    Winston Churchill

    Asquith resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Lloyd George

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Wednesday Dec 6, 1916

    In December 1916, Asquith resigned as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Lloyd George who, in May 1917, sent Churchill to inspect the French war effort.




  • Germany
    Tuesday Dec 12, 1916
    World War 1

    Rejected Negotiations

    Germany
    Tuesday Dec 12, 1916

    On 12 December 1916, after ten brutal months of the Battle of Verdun and a successful offensive against Romania, Germany attempted to negotiate a peace with the Allies. However, this attempt was rejected out of hand as a "duplicitous war ruse".




  • Italy
    Wednesday Dec 13, 1916
    05:30:00 AM
    Disasters with highest death tolls

    White Friday Avalanches

    Italy
    Wednesday Dec 13, 1916
    05:30:00 AM

    White Friday occurred during the Italian Front of World War I, when an avalanche struck an Austrian barracks on Mount Marmolada, killing 270 soldiers. Other avalanches the same day struck Italian and other Austrian positions, killing hundreds. An accurate estimation of the number of casualties from the White Friday avalanches is not available. Historical documents suggest at least 2,000 victims among the soldiers and a few dozens among civilians.




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