1916
Somme's first day kills twenty thousand British
At 7:30 a.m.
Sykes-Picot carves up the Middle East
In a London drawing room, a British colonel and a French diplomat drew lines across a map of the still-standing Ottoman Empire, assigning future colonies…
Verdun grinds up the French army
German guns opened on the Meuse heights, trying to bleed France white.
Easter Rising in Dublin
About sixteen hundred Irish republicans seized the Dublin post office and proclaimed a republic.
Battle of Jutland
The British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet met in a single enormous naval battle in the North Sea.
Arab Revolt launched
Sherif Hussein of Mecca, promised Arab independence by the British, raised the flag of revolt against the Ottomans.
Dada born at Cabaret Voltaire
In a Zurich cafe filled with Romanian exiles, German draft dodgers, and Russian revolutionaries (Lenin was down the street), Hugo Ball put on a cardboard…
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1916?
Saeculum lists 7 events from 1916. The most significant is Somme's first day kills twenty thousand British: At 7:30 a.m. whistles blew and British soldiers walked in lines toward uncut German wire. By sunset nineteen thousand two hundred forty lay dead.
What era was 1916 part of?
1916 falls within the Modern Era (1901-2000). World wars, cold war, and the splitting of the atom.
Which regions saw notable events in 1916?
The events from 1916 span Europe and Middle East.