Timeline October 1918

Events in October 1918 15

• 1888 – 1918 Roland Garros (1888-1918) Died 5 October 1918, aged 30 French aviator Roland Garros, famed before the war for the first solo flight across the Mediterranean Sea, was shot down and killed in aerial combat over the Ardennes weeks before the Armistice. He had earlier been a prisoner of war and escaped German captivity in 1918. The Paris tennis stadium and French Open venue was later named in his honour.
• 1890 – 1918 Egon Schiele (1890-1918) Died 31 October 1918, aged 28 Austrian Expressionist painter Egon Schiele, known for raw, angular figurative works, died of the Spanish flu in Vienna just three days after his pregnant wife Edith succumbed to the same illness. He had studied under Gustav Klimt, who died earlier the same year. His brief career left a major mark on 20th-century figurative art.
• 1916 – 1918 The Arab Revolt -- Lawrence of Arabia and the Hashemites The Arab Revolt (June 1916 - October 1918) is organised by Britain and led by Sharif Hussein of Mecca, who is promised an independent Arab kingdom in return for rebelling against the Ottomans. T.E. Lawrence ('Lawrence of Arabia') serves as British liaison, coordinating Bedouin raids on the Hejaz Railway. The revolt ties down Ottoman forces in Arabia and the Levant, supports Allenby's advance through Palestine, and captures Damascus (October 1918). Britain's simultaneous promises to the Arabs (Hussein-McMahon correspondence), the Zionists (Balfour Declaration, 1917) and the French (Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916) create contradictions that shape the modern Middle East's conflicts.
• 1918 Damascus falls Damascus, Ottoman Syria Arab forces entered the city and Faisal formed a government. Lawrence left within days, knowing that the Sykes-Picot agreement had already promised Syria to France.
• 1918 Frederick Charles of Hesse King-elect of Finland Frederick Charles was elected King of Finland but never ruled because Finland abandoned plans for monarchy.
• 1918 – 1951 Robert Walker (1918-1951) American actor, MGM's shy young soldier who became Hitchcock's charming psychopath in Strangers on a Train.
• 1918 Robert Walker born in Salt Lake City Robert Walker is born in Salt Lake City.
• 1918 – 1987 Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) Died 14 May 1987, aged 68 Hayworth was an American actress and dancer who became one of the top Hollywood stars of the 1940s, known for films including Gilda. Her later years and death drew public attention to Alzheimer's disease, with which she had been diagnosed. She died in New York City.
• 1918 Chaplin releases Shoulder Arms Charlie Chaplin's wartime comedy becomes a box-office hit Charlie Chaplin released Shoulder Arms, a silent comedy following his Tramp character as an awkward army recruit in the trenches of World War I. The film was a major commercial success and helped cement Chaplin's standing as the era's leading screen comedian. It remains notable for finding humour in the ongoing war without trivializing its horrors.
• 1918 – 2005 Teresa Wright (1918-2005) American actress, nominated for an Oscar for each of her first three films and winner for Mrs. Miniver.
• 1918 Teresa Wright born in New York Teresa Wright is born in New York.
• 1918 Czechoslovakia declares independence Czechoslovak National Council proclaims independence in Prague The Czechoslovak National Council declared independence from Austria-Hungary, founding the new state of Czechoslovakia with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk as its first president. The declaration capitalized on the collapse of Austro-Hungarian authority in the war's final weeks. Czechoslovakia remained an independent state until its dissolution in 1993.
• 1918 Armistice of Mudros Armistice ends Ottoman Empire's participation in World War I The Ottoman Empire signed an armistice with the Allied Powers aboard HMS Agamemnon at the port of Mudros, ending its involvement in World War I. The terms allowed Allied occupation of the Turkish Straits and demobilization of Ottoman forces. The empire's defeat set the stage for its eventual partition and the rise of the Turkish War of Independence.
• 1918 The Ottoman Empire signs an armistice Mudros, Aegean Sea Six centuries of empire ended in a harbour off Lemnos. The partition of its Arab provinces was already agreed between Britain and France.
• 1918 Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolves Centuries-old Habsburg monarchy breaks apart at the end of World War I The Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated in late October and early November 1918 as its constituent nationalities declared independence and Emperor Karl I relinquished his role in state affairs. The collapse gave rise to successor states including Czechoslovakia, Poland, Austria, Hungary, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It ended nearly four centuries of Habsburg rule over Central Europe.