Dashed left edge = started before October 1912 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond October 1912
Events in October 1912 10
1911 – 1912Italo-Turkish War -- Libya lostItaly invades Libya (then the Ottoman provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica) in September 1911, seeking a colonial empire in North Africa. The Ottoman Empire, fighting its first major war since 1878, resists more effectively than expected -- Mustafa Kemal serves here as a young officer -- but cannot reinforce Libya across the Mediterranean. The Treaty of Lausanne (October 1912) cedes Libya and the Dodecanese islands to Italy. The loss of Libya is the last Ottoman territory in Africa. The war also demonstrates Ottoman military weakness to its Balkan neighbours, who immediately form the Balkan League and attack.
1912 – 1913First Balkan War -- Europe lost in eight weeksThe First Balkan War (October 1912 - May 1913) is the most catastrophic Ottoman military defeat since Ankara (1402). The Balkan League (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro) attacks simultaneously on all fronts. Within eight weeks the Ottoman army is routed: Bulgaria advances to within 45km of Istanbul; Serbia takes Macedonia; Greece takes Thessaloniki (one day before Bulgaria); Montenegro besieges Shkodër. The empire loses 83% of its remaining European territory and 69% of its European population in eight weeks. The Ottoman army, despite recent modernisation under German advisors, proves unable to fight on multiple fronts against coordinated enemies. It is the definitive end of European Ottoman power.
1912Little Women on BroadwayMarian de Forest's playA stage adaptation by Marian de Forest opens on Broadway.
1912First Balkan War beginsBalkan League attacks the Ottoman EmpireMontenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire on 8 October 1912, quickly joined by Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece as the Balkan League. The war strips the Ottomans of nearly all their remaining European territory within months.
1912 – 1913The First Balkan WarThe BalkansThe Balkan League drove the Ottomans almost entirely out of Europe. Serbia doubled in size, which Vienna regarded as intolerable.
1912 – 1989Cornel Wilde (1912-1989)American actor and director, Chopin in A Song to Remember.
1912Cornel Wilde born in PrivigyeCornel Wilde is born in Privigye.
1912Assassination attempt on Theodore RooseveltShot before a campaign speech in MilwaukeeSaloonkeeper John Schrank shoots former president Theodore Roosevelt in the chest as he leaves a Milwaukee hotel to give a campaign speech on 14 October 1912. Roosevelt, slowed by his eyeglass case and a folded speech in his pocket, insists on delivering the 90-minute speech before seeking treatment.
1912 – 1978Pope John Paul I (1912-1978)Died 28 September 1978, aged 65Born Albino Luciani, he was elected pope on 26 August 1978 and died suddenly 33 days later, giving him one of the shortest papal reigns in Church history. His sudden death prompted a second conclave within the same year.
1912Treaty of Ouchy ends the Italo-Turkish WarItaly gains control of LibyaItaly and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Ouchy near Lausanne on 18 October 1912, ending their war over Libya. The Ottomans recognize Italian authority over Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, while Italy returns the occupied Dodecanese islands.