1935
*****
Pan-African Chronology
January
*Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia created a military school at Holeta.
January 3
*Ethiopia appealed to the League of Nations for arbitration into the Walwal incident.
January 4
January
*Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia created a military school at Holeta.
January 3
*Ethiopia appealed to the League of Nations for arbitration into the Walwal incident.
January 4
*Boxer Floyd Patterson was born in Waco, North Carolina. He would become the first Olympic gold medalist (1952) to win a world professional boxing title.
January 7
*On Pierre Laval's visit to Rome, the French and Italians signed a pact which, among other conditions, allowed Italy a free hand in dealing with Ethiopia in exchange for Italian support against German aggression.
January 9
*On Pierre Laval's visit to Rome, the French and Italians signed a pact which, among other conditions, allowed Italy a free hand in dealing with Ethiopia in exchange for Italian support against German aggression.
January 9
*Earl G. Graves, publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
January 14
*The Lower Zambezi Railroad Bridge, the longest bridge in Africa at more than 2 miles, opened in Mozambique.
February 11
*Benito Mussolini mobilized 250,000 soldiers and ordered 50 planes to Eritrea.
February 16
*The first Italian troops departed for Africa as Mussolini told Italy to "be ready for any eventuality".
February 19
*Italy rejected a proposal from Ethiopia to establish a neutral zone along the borders of Italian Somaliland.
January 14
*The Lower Zambezi Railroad Bridge, the longest bridge in Africa at more than 2 miles, opened in Mozambique.
February 11
*Benito Mussolini mobilized 250,000 soldiers and ordered 50 planes to Eritrea.
February 16
*The first Italian troops departed for Africa as Mussolini told Italy to "be ready for any eventuality".
*Italy rejected a proposal from Ethiopia to establish a neutral zone along the borders of Italian Somaliland.
February 23
*Benito Mussolini dispatched Emilio De Bono to Eritrea and Rodolfo Graziani to Italian Somaliland along with 100,000 Italian troops to prepare for an invasion.
March 5
*Italy and Ethiopia agreed to establish a neutral zone along the border of the Italian Somaliland, although Italy continued to build up its military in the region.
March 8
*Ethiopia again requested arbitration and noted the Italian military build-up.
*George Coleman, a hard bop saxophonist, bandleader, and composer known chiefly for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s, was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master 2015.
March 13
*Italy and Ethiopia agreed on a neutral zone in the Ogaden.
March 14
*Richard B. Harrison, who starred as "De Lawd" in The Green Pastures on Broadway, died in New York City, New York (March 14)..
Stage performer Richard Berry Harrison (b. September 28, 1864, London, Ontario, Canada - d. March 14, 1935, New York City, New York) found his passion for acting as a child. He devoted his life to pursuing this passion despite the barriers imposed by the era of Jim Crow. He finally achieved acclaim in the last years of his life for his portrayal of "De Lawd" in the Broadway production of The Green Pastures.
Harrison was born on September 28, 1864 in London, Ontario, Canada, to Thomas L. Harrison and Ysobel Benton. His parents had escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad.
Growing up in Ontario, Harrison loved to recite poetry and attend the local theater. He also performed his own plays for this neighbors. When his father died in 1881, Harrison became the main provider for his family at age seventeen. He moved to Detroit to work at the Russell House hotel. While in Detroit, Harrison met Chambless Hull, a theater manager, who arranged for him to study at the Detroit Training School of Art.
After graduating from the Detroit Training School of Art in 1887, Harrison sought work as an actor but was rejected because of his race. In response to this discrimination in the white theater industry, Harrison began touring the United States and Canada putting on one-man shows and reciting poetry in tents, churches, and schools.
In 1893, Harrison travelled to Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition. In Chicago, he met the noted African American poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar. The two became good friends. Indeed, Dunbar was Harrison's best man when he married Gertrude Janet Washington in 1895 in Chicago.
Harrison continued his tours into the early twentieth century, which now included theaters in Mexico as well as the United States and Canada, under the sponsorship of the Great Western Lyceum Bureau of California. By 1913, Harrison performed at the first black-owned theater, the Pekin, in Chicago. Theatrical performances, however, never completely supported his family, so he intermittently worked as a porter and a waiter.
Constantly on the move and under pressure to learn scripts, Harrison suffered a nervous breakdown in 1922. Afterward James B. Dudley, President of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (North Carolina A&T) College at Greensboro, offered Harrison the position of Chair of the Department of Dramatics. Harrison, interested in improving the theatrical training of African Americans, remained at the college for seven years and led the effort to strengthen its programs.
Harrison left North Carolina A&T College in 1929 when he was offered the role of "De Lawd" in Marc Connelly's play The Green Pastures. The play told the story of the Old Testament with one of the first all-black casts on Broadway. Although this was by far the most important theatrical opportunity of his career, Harrison was initially reluctant to accept the role fearing to play the stereotypical dumb and lazy black person. Despite these concerns, Harrison accepted the role. The Green Pastures became extraordinarily popular as audiences were impressed by the dignity and passion of Harrison's character.
Harrison never missed a show. He went on to perform his role in more than 1,650 shows in some 203 different cities and towns. The play and its leading actor won multiple awards and were featured on the cover of Time magazine on March 4, 1935. However, only ten days after Time lauded the play, Richard Harrison died of heart failure. He died on March 14, 1935 at the age of 71.
Two funeral services were held for Harrison. The first was at St. Philip's Church in Harlem and the second was the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Chicago where he was buried. Thousands of people came to his funerals in order to honor the man who had enchanted the country with his protrayal of "De Lawd".
March 17
*Ethiopia again appealed to the League due to the Italian military build-up.
March 18
*Haile Selassie said that Ethiopia would never apologize to Italy for wrongs not committed. "We will not be coerced or intimidated by the military preparations recently announced into according the satisfaction which Italy demands", he said.
March 19
*Benito Mussolini dispatched Emilio De Bono to Eritrea and Rodolfo Graziani to Italian Somaliland along with 100,000 Italian troops to prepare for an invasion.
March 5
*Italy and Ethiopia agreed to establish a neutral zone along the border of the Italian Somaliland, although Italy continued to build up its military in the region.
March 8
*Ethiopia again requested arbitration and noted the Italian military build-up.
*George Coleman, a hard bop saxophonist, bandleader, and composer known chiefly for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s, was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master 2015.
March 13
*Italy and Ethiopia agreed on a neutral zone in the Ogaden.
March 14
*Richard B. Harrison, who starred as "De Lawd" in The Green Pastures on Broadway, died in New York City, New York (March 14)..
Stage performer Richard Berry Harrison (b. September 28, 1864, London, Ontario, Canada - d. March 14, 1935, New York City, New York) found his passion for acting as a child. He devoted his life to pursuing this passion despite the barriers imposed by the era of Jim Crow. He finally achieved acclaim in the last years of his life for his portrayal of "De Lawd" in the Broadway production of The Green Pastures.
Harrison was born on September 28, 1864 in London, Ontario, Canada, to Thomas L. Harrison and Ysobel Benton. His parents had escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad.
Growing up in Ontario, Harrison loved to recite poetry and attend the local theater. He also performed his own plays for this neighbors. When his father died in 1881, Harrison became the main provider for his family at age seventeen. He moved to Detroit to work at the Russell House hotel. While in Detroit, Harrison met Chambless Hull, a theater manager, who arranged for him to study at the Detroit Training School of Art.
After graduating from the Detroit Training School of Art in 1887, Harrison sought work as an actor but was rejected because of his race. In response to this discrimination in the white theater industry, Harrison began touring the United States and Canada putting on one-man shows and reciting poetry in tents, churches, and schools.
In 1893, Harrison travelled to Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition. In Chicago, he met the noted African American poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar. The two became good friends. Indeed, Dunbar was Harrison's best man when he married Gertrude Janet Washington in 1895 in Chicago.
Harrison continued his tours into the early twentieth century, which now included theaters in Mexico as well as the United States and Canada, under the sponsorship of the Great Western Lyceum Bureau of California. By 1913, Harrison performed at the first black-owned theater, the Pekin, in Chicago. Theatrical performances, however, never completely supported his family, so he intermittently worked as a porter and a waiter.
Constantly on the move and under pressure to learn scripts, Harrison suffered a nervous breakdown in 1922. Afterward James B. Dudley, President of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (North Carolina A&T) College at Greensboro, offered Harrison the position of Chair of the Department of Dramatics. Harrison, interested in improving the theatrical training of African Americans, remained at the college for seven years and led the effort to strengthen its programs.
Harrison left North Carolina A&T College in 1929 when he was offered the role of "De Lawd" in Marc Connelly's play The Green Pastures. The play told the story of the Old Testament with one of the first all-black casts on Broadway. Although this was by far the most important theatrical opportunity of his career, Harrison was initially reluctant to accept the role fearing to play the stereotypical dumb and lazy black person. Despite these concerns, Harrison accepted the role. The Green Pastures became extraordinarily popular as audiences were impressed by the dignity and passion of Harrison's character.
Harrison never missed a show. He went on to perform his role in more than 1,650 shows in some 203 different cities and towns. The play and its leading actor won multiple awards and were featured on the cover of Time magazine on March 4, 1935. However, only ten days after Time lauded the play, Richard Harrison died of heart failure. He died on March 14, 1935 at the age of 71.
Two funeral services were held for Harrison. The first was at St. Philip's Church in Harlem and the second was the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Chicago where he was buried. Thousands of people came to his funerals in order to honor the man who had enchanted the country with his protrayal of "De Lawd".
*Getatchew Mekurya, an Ethiopian saxophonist, was born in Yifat, Ethiopia.
*Ethiopia again appealed to the League due to the Italian military build-up.
March 18
*Haile Selassie said that Ethiopia would never apologize to Italy for wrongs not committed. "We will not be coerced or intimidated by the military preparations recently announced into according the satisfaction which Italy demands", he said.
March 19
*Tensions arising from racial discrimination and poverty fueled a riot in Harlem that killed three African Americans and caused over two million dollars in property damage.
March 22
*The Italians yielded to pressure from the League of Nations for arbitration of the Walwal dispute.
March 30
*Ethiopia broke off direct talks with Italy over their border disputes and sent a new note to the League of Nations.
April 1
*The United States Supreme Court decided the case of Grovey v. Townsend.
*In response to the Patterson v. Alabama decision, Alabama Governor Bibb Graves ordered that the names of colored persons be put on the jury rolls in all 67 state counties.
April 14
*Ethiopia introduced compulsory military service for both men and women.
April 22
*Paul Chambers, a jazz double bassist, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
April 23
*Vernice "Bunky" Green, a jazz alto saxophonist and educator, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
April 29
May 7
*Italy mobilized three more divisions.
*Liberia had a constitutional referendum alongside general elections. The referendum confirmed special legislation approving a term extension for the President.
May 11
*Ethiopia again protested the Italian mobilization.
May 12
*Felipe Alou, a baseball player and manager, was born in Haina, Dominican Republic.
May 14
*Benito Mussolini made a senate speech warning other nations not to intervene in the Abyssinia Crisis, saying that only Italy "can be the judge in this most delicate matter."
May 15
*Italian newspapers began a campaign of words clearly meant to justify an Italian invasion and takeover of Ethiopia. Il Giornale d'Italia wrote that Ethiopia had an "incapacity to comprehend and assimilate the elementary values of civilization", making it necessary for the country to undergo "an organization which will deprive it of the possibility of menacing any more neighboring colonies – above all, Italian interests which have been attacked."
May 18
*Serfdom was abolished in Ethiopia.
May 20
*Haile Selassie sent his most strongly-worded telegram yet to the League of Nations, saying "It is patent that Italy is illegally occupying an important part of Ethiopian territory. She has recently initiated a campaign of propaganda to endeavor to justify her occupation of Ethiopian territory as a mission of civilization, and her aggression and rapacity against our people as the treatment due a barbarous nation. No agreement will be possible by diplomatic means to arrange for a genuinely impartial examination in Italy's present state of mind."
May 20 - 21
*The League of Nations held a special session to discuss the crisis in Ethiopia.
May 25
*The League council resolved to meet if no fifth arbitrator was selected by June 25, or if a settlement was not reached by August 25.
*Italy accepted mediation by the League of Nations in the Abyssinia Crisis, although the League Council gave in to Mussolini's refusal to agree to stop massing troops along the border of Italian Somaliland.
*Jesse Owens broke five world records and matched a sixth in a single afternoon of track and field events during the Big Ten championships at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
May 29
*The Italians yielded to pressure from the League of Nations for arbitration of the Walwal dispute.
March 30
*Ethiopia broke off direct talks with Italy over their border disputes and sent a new note to the League of Nations.
April 1
*The United States Supreme Court decided the case of Grovey v. Townsend.
*The United States Supreme Court decided the case Patterson v. Alabama.
April 2
*Bennie Moten, a jazz pianist and band leader who recruited Count Basie for his band, died in Kansas City, Missouri.
April 5
*In response to the Patterson v. Alabama decision, Alabama Governor Bibb Graves ordered that the names of colored persons be put on the jury rolls in all 67 state counties.
April 14
*Ethiopia introduced compulsory military service for both men and women.
April 22
*Paul Chambers, a jazz double bassist, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
April 23
*Vernice "Bunky" Green, a jazz alto saxophonist and educator, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
April 29
*Otis Rush, a blues musician, singer and guitarist, was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi. His distinctive guitar style features a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With similar qualities to Magic Sam and Buddy Guy, his sound became known as West Side Chicago blues and was an influence on many musicians including Michael Bloomfield, Peter Green, and Eric Clapton.
May 7
*Italy mobilized three more divisions.
*Liberia had a constitutional referendum alongside general elections. The referendum confirmed special legislation approving a term extension for the President.
May 11
*Ethiopia again protested the Italian mobilization.
May 12
*Felipe Alou, a baseball player and manager, was born in Haina, Dominican Republic.
May 14
*Benito Mussolini made a senate speech warning other nations not to intervene in the Abyssinia Crisis, saying that only Italy "can be the judge in this most delicate matter."
May 15
*Italian newspapers began a campaign of words clearly meant to justify an Italian invasion and takeover of Ethiopia. Il Giornale d'Italia wrote that Ethiopia had an "incapacity to comprehend and assimilate the elementary values of civilization", making it necessary for the country to undergo "an organization which will deprive it of the possibility of menacing any more neighboring colonies – above all, Italian interests which have been attacked."
May 18
*Serfdom was abolished in Ethiopia.
May 20
*Haile Selassie sent his most strongly-worded telegram yet to the League of Nations, saying "It is patent that Italy is illegally occupying an important part of Ethiopian territory. She has recently initiated a campaign of propaganda to endeavor to justify her occupation of Ethiopian territory as a mission of civilization, and her aggression and rapacity against our people as the treatment due a barbarous nation. No agreement will be possible by diplomatic means to arrange for a genuinely impartial examination in Italy's present state of mind."
May 20 - 21
*The League of Nations held a special session to discuss the crisis in Ethiopia.
May 25
*The League council resolved to meet if no fifth arbitrator was selected by June 25, or if a settlement was not reached by August 25.
*Italy accepted mediation by the League of Nations in the Abyssinia Crisis, although the League Council gave in to Mussolini's refusal to agree to stop massing troops along the border of Italian Somaliland.
*Jesse Owens broke five world records and matched a sixth in a single afternoon of track and field events during the Big Ten championships at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
May 29
*Rioting occurred in Northern Rhodesia between police and some of the 9,000 native workers on strike. Six natives were killed in the Copperbelt Province near Luanshya.
*Andre Philippus, a South African novelist, was born.
June 1
*Reverend Ike, a televangelist, was born in Ridgeland, South Carolina.
June 8
*In a blunt speech in Cagliari, Benito Mussolini told the British to stay out the Abyssinia Crisis, saying "they never took into consideration world opinion" while creating the British Empire, "we have got old, and we have got new accounts to settle with Ethiopia, and we will settle them", Mussolini declared. "We will pay no attention to what is said in foreign countries. We exclusively are the judges of our own interests and the guarantors of our future."
June 11
*Earlene Brown, an athlete notable for her careers in track and field and roller games, was born in Latexo, Texas. She competed at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics in the shot put and discus throw and won a bronze medal in the shot put in 1960.
June 14
*The New York Times was banned in Italy for coverage critical of the Fascist regime during the Abyssinia Crisis.
June 15
*Italy ordered the recall of all silver currency in the country due to necessity for the metal in its war preparations against Ethiopia.
June 19
*Ethiopia requested neutral observers.
June 23 - 24
*Britain dispatched Anthony Eden to offer concessions about Ethiopia. The concessions were rejected by Italy.
June 25
*African Americans received an emotional boost when the boxer Joe Louis defeated Primo Carnera, at Yankee Stadium in New York. Louis then began his great boxing career in earnest.
*57,000 boxing fans packed Yankee Stadium to watch Joe Louis defeat Primo Carnera by technical knockout in the sixth round.
*57,000 boxing fans packed Yankee Stadium to watch Joe Louis defeat Primo Carnera by technical knockout in the sixth round.
*Italian and Ethiopian officials met in the Hague to discuss arbitration.
June 26
*Anthony Eden left Rome after three days of unproductive discussions with Mussolini.
July 1
*Anthony Eden gave his report to the House of Commons on the failed Rome conference with Mussolini. Eden revealed that Mussolini turned down an offer to let Ethiopia have a seaport in the British Somaliland in exchange for territorial and economic concessions from Ethiopia to Italy.
*James Cotton, a blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter who performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time, was born in Tunica, Mississippi.
July 4
*Ethiopia appealed to the United States to study means of persuading Italy to abandon its warlike actions and respect the Kellogg-Briand Pact. American public disapproval of Italy's methods, Ethiopia hoped, would help turn sufficient world opinion against Italy to prevent it from starting a war.
July 5*Ethiopia appealed to the United States to study means of persuading Italy to abandon its warlike actions and respect the Kellogg-Briand Pact. American public disapproval of Italy's methods, Ethiopia hoped, would help turn sufficient world opinion against Italy to prevent it from starting a war.
*The United States delivered a curt reply to Ethiopia's request, saying the mediation being conducted by the League of Nations still had a chance to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
July 6
*The wireless antenna of Benito Mussolini's plane was struck by lightning as it landed in Salerno, but Mussolini was unharmed. There he made a speech from atop a cannon, declaring, "We have decided on a struggle in which we as a government and a people will not turn back. The decision is irretrievable."
*The American Legion told all United States citizens to leave Ethiopia.
July 9
*Slinger Francisco, better known as Mighty Sparrow, a calypso singer, songwriter, and guitarist of Trinidadian citizenship. Known as the "Calypso King of the World", was born in Grand Roy, Grenada. Mighty Sparrow became one of the best-known and most successful calypsonians. He won Trinidad's Carnival Road March competition eight times, Calypso King/Monarch eight times, and twice won the Calypso King of Kings title.
*The Hague arbitration discussions with the Italians and Ethiopians fell apart.
July 17
*Actress and singer Carol Diahann Johnson, known as Diahann Carroll, was born in the Bronx, New York. She would earn an Oscar nomination as best actress for her work in the movie Claudine.
July 18
*Haile Selassie made a speech before Ethiopian parliament calling all his people to prepare for war. "Italy is provided with all the modern methods of warfare", Selassie said. "Ethiopia is a poor country, but we shall show the world how a united people can fight to preserve its independence. Should a peaceful solution not be found, Ethiopia, stretching her hands to God, will struggle to the last man, but – right up to the last minute – we shall persist in our efforts for peace."
*Haile Selassie made a speech before Ethiopian parliament calling all his people to prepare for war. "Italy is provided with all the modern methods of warfare", Selassie said. "Ethiopia is a poor country, but we shall show the world how a united people can fight to preserve its independence. Should a peaceful solution not be found, Ethiopia, stretching her hands to God, will struggle to the last man, but – right up to the last minute – we shall persist in our efforts for peace."
July 19
*An African-American man accused of attacking a white woman was lynched by a white mob in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
*Britain declared an arms embargo on both Italy and Ethiopia.
*An African-American man accused of attacking a white woman was lynched by a white mob in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
July 25
*Britain declared an arms embargo on both Italy and Ethiopia.
July 26
*The League of Nations confirmed that no fifth arbitrator had been selected to arbitrate the dispute between Italy and Ethiopia.
July 27
*Jacqueline Vaughn, the first African American woman president of the Chicago Teachers Union, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Vaughn began to teach in the Chicago schools in 1956, and was a vice-president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers in 1969.
July 29
*Francois Legitime, a Haitian general who served as President of Haiti from 1888 to 1889, died in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
*The League limited arbitration talks between Italy and Ethiopia to matters except for the sovereignty of Walwal. The Italian and Ethiopian representatives were to meet again on September 4 to examine relations between the two countries.
August 6
*In response to the Abyssinia Crisis, Italy called 75,000 more men to arms.
August 7
*Ethiopian Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen reviewed 100,000 tribal warriors near Gondar.
*The League of Nations confirmed that no fifth arbitrator had been selected to arbitrate the dispute between Italy and Ethiopia.
July 27
*Jacqueline Vaughn, the first African American woman president of the Chicago Teachers Union, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Vaughn began to teach in the Chicago schools in 1956, and was a vice-president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers in 1969.
July 29
*Francois Legitime, a Haitian general who served as President of Haiti from 1888 to 1889, died in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
August 3
*About 25,000 people in Harlem, New York marched in protest against the threatened Italian invasion of Ethiopia.
*About 25,000 people in Harlem, New York marched in protest against the threatened Italian invasion of Ethiopia.
*The League limited arbitration talks between Italy and Ethiopia to matters except for the sovereignty of Walwal. The Italian and Ethiopian representatives were to meet again on September 4 to examine relations between the two countries.
August 6
*In response to the Abyssinia Crisis, Italy called 75,000 more men to arms.
August 7
*Ethiopian Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen reviewed 100,000 tribal warriors near Gondar.
*Jazz tenor saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk was born in Columbus, Ohio. He would become famous for making his own instruments and playing more than one at a time.
August 12
August 13
*James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant, a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians (1958–64), Minnesota Twins (1964–67), Los Angeles Dodgers (1968), Montreal Expos (1969), St. Louis Cardinals (1969), Oakland Athletics (1970 and 1971) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1970–71) was born in Lacoochee, Florida. He was named to the 1963 and 1965 American League All-Star Teams.
August 12
*Ethiopia (Abyssinia) pleaded for the British arms embargo to be lifted.
*Jan Smuts warned that a war between Italy and Ethiopia could spark a wider ethnic conflict between blacks and whites all throughout the continent of Africa.
*Jan Smuts warned that a war between Italy and Ethiopia could spark a wider ethnic conflict between blacks and whites all throughout the continent of Africa.
*James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant, a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians (1958–64), Minnesota Twins (1964–67), Los Angeles Dodgers (1968), Montreal Expos (1969), St. Louis Cardinals (1969), Oakland Athletics (1970 and 1971) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1970–71) was born in Lacoochee, Florida. He was named to the 1963 and 1965 American League All-Star Teams.
August 15
*Lionel Thomas Taylor, a football wide receiver who led the American Football League (AFL) in receptions each year for the first six years of the league's existence, was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
August 16
*France and Britain offered Italy large concessions in Ethiopia to avert war. Italy again rejected the concessions.
August 18
*Gail Fisher, an actress who was the first African American woman to win a Golden Globe and an Emmy, was born in Orange, New Jersey.
*Rafer Johnson, a decathlete who became the 1960 Olympic gold medalist, was born in Hillsboro, Texas.
*The Paris conference broke up with nothing resolved.
*Hifikepunye Pohamba, a Namibian politician who served as the second President of Namibia from 2005 to 2015, was born in Okanghudi, South-West Africa.
August 22
*Britain reaffirmed its embargo on armaments with regards to Italy and Ethiopia.
*The major Italian newspaper Il Giornale d'Italia ran a front page editorial directed at Britain, warning that British newspapers urging economic sanctions against Italy were "working for war."
August 23
*Britain ordered a buildup of its forces in the Mediterranean region to guard the Suez Canal from potential Italian attack.
August 24
*Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie ordered civilians to leave Addis Ababa and disperse across the country in order to reduce casualties from the anticipated aerial bombardment by Italian planes.
August 28
*In an address to 2,000 Catholic nurses, Pope Pius XI commented on the Abyssinia Crisis by saying, "A war of sheer conquest and nothing else would certainly be an unjust war. It ought, therefore, to be unimaginable – a thing sad and horrible beyond expression. An unjust war is unthinkable. We cannot admit its possibility, and we deliberately reject it ... if it be true that the need for expansion and the need for frontier defence do exist, then we cannot forbid ourselves from hoping that the need will be met by means other than war."
August 31
*Eldridge Cleaver, the author of Soul On Ice, was born in Wabbaseka, Arkansas.
*Frank Robinson, a Hall of Fame baseball player, was born in Beaumont, Texas.
September 3
*The League exonerated both Italy and Ethiopia of the Walwal incident since both powers believed it was within their borders.
September 4
*The Italian delegation at the League of Nations demanded that Ethiopia be expelled from the organization, claiming it was "a state incapable of controlling itself or the people subject to it." The chief Italian delegate told the international press that the members of the League council would have to decide whether they wanted to expel Ethiopia or Italy.
September 6
*Italy accepted the appointment of a five-power committee (consisting of France, Britain, Spain, Turkey and Poland) to arbitrate in the Abyssinia Crisis.
September 7
*Lionel Thomas Taylor, a football wide receiver who led the American Football League (AFL) in receptions each year for the first six years of the league's existence, was born in Kansas City, Missouri.
August 16
*France and Britain offered Italy large concessions in Ethiopia to avert war. Italy again rejected the concessions.
August 18
*Gail Fisher, an actress who was the first African American woman to win a Golden Globe and an Emmy, was born in Orange, New Jersey.
*Rafer Johnson, a decathlete who became the 1960 Olympic gold medalist, was born in Hillsboro, Texas.
*The Paris conference broke up with nothing resolved.
*Hifikepunye Pohamba, a Namibian politician who served as the second President of Namibia from 2005 to 2015, was born in Okanghudi, South-West Africa.
August 22
*Britain reaffirmed its embargo on armaments with regards to Italy and Ethiopia.
*The major Italian newspaper Il Giornale d'Italia ran a front page editorial directed at Britain, warning that British newspapers urging economic sanctions against Italy were "working for war."
August 23
*Britain ordered a buildup of its forces in the Mediterranean region to guard the Suez Canal from potential Italian attack.
August 24
*Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie ordered civilians to leave Addis Ababa and disperse across the country in order to reduce casualties from the anticipated aerial bombardment by Italian planes.
August 28
*In an address to 2,000 Catholic nurses, Pope Pius XI commented on the Abyssinia Crisis by saying, "A war of sheer conquest and nothing else would certainly be an unjust war. It ought, therefore, to be unimaginable – a thing sad and horrible beyond expression. An unjust war is unthinkable. We cannot admit its possibility, and we deliberately reject it ... if it be true that the need for expansion and the need for frontier defence do exist, then we cannot forbid ourselves from hoping that the need will be met by means other than war."
August 31
*Eldridge Cleaver, the author of Soul On Ice, was born in Wabbaseka, Arkansas.
*Frank Robinson, a Hall of Fame baseball player, was born in Beaumont, Texas.
September 2
*Emperor Haile Selassie began issuing gas masks to his people in anticipation of a possible chemical attack by Italian forces.
September 3
*The League exonerated both Italy and Ethiopia of the Walwal incident since both powers believed it was within their borders.
September 4
*The Italian delegation at the League of Nations demanded that Ethiopia be expelled from the organization, claiming it was "a state incapable of controlling itself or the people subject to it." The chief Italian delegate told the international press that the members of the League council would have to decide whether they wanted to expel Ethiopia or Italy.
September 6
*Italy accepted the appointment of a five-power committee (consisting of France, Britain, Spain, Turkey and Poland) to arbitrate in the Abyssinia Crisis.
September 7
*Sculptor Richard Hunt was born in Chicago.
*Abdou Diouf, a Senegalese politician who served as the second President of Senegal from 1981 to 2000, was born in Louga, French West Africa.
September 10
*The five-power abritration committee in the Abyssinia Crisis concluded that any further negotiations were pointless.
*Abdou Diouf, a Senegalese politician who served as the second President of Senegal from 1981 to 2000, was born in Louga, French West Africa.
September 10
*The five-power abritration committee in the Abyssinia Crisis concluded that any further negotiations were pointless.
*Pierre Laval, Anthony Eden and Samuel Hoare agreed on limitations to Italian sanctions.
September 11
*British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare spoke before the League of Nations Assembly, affirming Britain's dedication to the League but asserting that it was conditional on its fellow members doing their share.
September 12
*Viscount Cecil called Hoare's speech "the best made by a British foreign minister at Geneva since the creation of the League." Haile Selassie called the speech "a wonderful New Year's present", saying "The tide seems to have turned."
September 13
*Pierre Laval spoke before the League of Nations, echoing many of Hoare's statements by proclaiming France's commitment to the League Covenant. Separately, French government officials said they would implement economic sanctions against Italy the moment it invaded Ethiopia.
*Haile Selassie made a plea for peace in a radio address transmitted around the world.
*David Smyrl, Mr. Handford on Sesame Street, was born in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September 14
*Italy declared that no compromise in the Abyssinia Crisis was possible and announced it was considering withdrawal from the League of Nations if the organization interfered with its objective.
September 17
*Britain amassed fifteen warships at Gibraltar as a precaution against Italy.
September 18
*Benito Mussolini rejected the League's latest peace offering of Danakil and Ogaden, scoffing that he had been taken for "a collector of deserts."
*Writer Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson died in Philadelphia.
September 22
*Mussolini named his terms for settlement of the Abyssinia Crisis, demanding a huge eastern swath of Ethiopia's territory and for its army to be reduced by half, with the other half put under control of Italian officers.
September 23
*British delegates told the five-power committee at the League of Nations that Italy's conditions were unacceptable.
*200,000 Italian soldiers born between 1911 and 1914 were mobilized, bringing Italy's total army to the 1 million Mussolini had promised by October 1.
September 24
*Joe Louis established himself as the number one challenger for boxing's world heavyweight title by knocking out Max Baer in the fourth round of a bout at Yankee Stadium in New York.
*The five-power committee drafted a report admitting its efforts at mediation in the Abyssinia Crisis had failed and turned the matter back over to the League.
September 25
*Ethiopia again asked for neutral observers.
September 26
*The League of Nations informed Italy and Ethiopia that they could not start war before December 4 without violating the League Covenant and becoming subject to punishment by its other members.
September 28
*Ethiopia began to mobilize its large, but poorly-equipped, army.
*The Cuba hurricane made landfall in Camaguey Province.
September 30
*Mussolini named his terms for settlement of the Abyssinia Crisis, demanding a huge eastern swath of Ethiopia's territory and for its army to be reduced by half, with the other half put under control of Italian officers.
September 23
*British delegates told the five-power committee at the League of Nations that Italy's conditions were unacceptable.
*200,000 Italian soldiers born between 1911 and 1914 were mobilized, bringing Italy's total army to the 1 million Mussolini had promised by October 1.
September 24
*Joe Louis established himself as the number one challenger for boxing's world heavyweight title by knocking out Max Baer in the fourth round of a bout at Yankee Stadium in New York.
*The five-power committee drafted a report admitting its efforts at mediation in the Abyssinia Crisis had failed and turned the matter back over to the League.
September 25
*Ethiopia again asked for neutral observers.
September 26
*The League of Nations informed Italy and Ethiopia that they could not start war before December 4 without violating the League Covenant and becoming subject to punishment by its other members.
September 28
*Ethiopia began to mobilize its large, but poorly-equipped, army.
*The Cuba hurricane made landfall in Camaguey Province.
September 30
*The George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess was performed for the first time at the Colonial Theatre in Boston.
*Z. Z. Hill, a blues singer known for his hit "Down Home Blues", was born in Naples, Texas.
*Singer Johnny Mathis was born in Gilmer, Texas. He would earn more than 50 gold and platinum records.
October 1
*The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters became the first official bargaining agent for African American railroad workers.
October 2
*Unconfirmed reports circulated of a battle between Italians and Ethiopians in the vicinity of Mousa Ali. Italian officials denied the reports.
*Benito Mussolini gave a radio address in Rome informing Italians that "A solemn hour is about to sound in the history of the fatherland ... For many months the wheels of destiny have been moving toward their goal under the impulse of our calm determination. In the latter hours their rhythm has become more swift and by now cannot be stopped. It is not only an army that strives towards its objectives but a whole people of 44 million souls against whom an attempt is being made to consummate the blackest of injustices – that of depriving us of some small place in the sun."
*Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., a United States Air Force officer and the first African-American astronaut, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
October 3
*The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters became the first official bargaining agent for African American railroad workers.
October 2
*Unconfirmed reports circulated of a battle between Italians and Ethiopians in the vicinity of Mousa Ali. Italian officials denied the reports.
*Benito Mussolini gave a radio address in Rome informing Italians that "A solemn hour is about to sound in the history of the fatherland ... For many months the wheels of destiny have been moving toward their goal under the impulse of our calm determination. In the latter hours their rhythm has become more swift and by now cannot be stopped. It is not only an army that strives towards its objectives but a whole people of 44 million souls against whom an attempt is being made to consummate the blackest of injustices – that of depriving us of some small place in the sun."
*Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., a United States Air Force officer and the first African-American astronaut, was born in Chicago, Illinois.
October 3
*The first phase of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War began with De Bono's invasion of Abyssinia in the north.
*League of Nations officials announced that they had received a communication from Ethiopia asserting that Adwa had been bombed by Italian warplanes. Emperor Haile Selassie informed a Reuters correspondent: "I have just received the news that the first bombs dropped by Italian planes on Adwa fell on the Red Cross Hospital there, killing and wounding nurses." The Second Italo-Ethiopian War had begun.
*Haile Selassie ordered a general mobilization.
*Nazi Germany declared neutrality in the Ethiopian conflict.
October 4
*France informed Britain that it would support the enforcement of sanctions against Italy and pledged military support in the event of any attack that arose from them.
*Italian forces captured Enticho.
*The Italian delegation at the League of Nations maintained that Italy was not waging war, but was only engaged in "military police measures to establish order."
*The northern Italian army captured Adigrat in Ethiopia.
*United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt invoked the August 31 Neutrality Act to place an arms embargo on both Italy and Ethiopia.
October 6
*The northern Italian army captured Adowa (Adwa) in Ethiopia.
*Haile Selassie made another public statement to the world through the Associated Press, saying, "Mr. Mussolini charges us with being barbarians and says he wishes to civilize us. Is the wanton slaughter of women and children by air bombs and machine guns the kind of civilization he wishes to give us? ... Despite the fact that our empire is faced with the gravest crisis of its long and glorious history – a crisis with which we have always striven to live in peace and amity – we still place all our faith in the League of Nations, which is pledged to defend its members, the small as well as the great, from unjustifiable aggression."
October 7
*The League of Nations declared Italy the aggressor in Ethiopia and prepared to set sanctions against it.
*By unanimous vote, the League of Nations declared Italy guilty of committing an act of war against all members of the organization by invading Abyssinia. The vote laid the basis for economic sanctions.
*The French dockworker's union called on its members to boycott the loading and unloading of Italian ships.
October 9
*Austria and Hungary announced that they would not co-operate with the League of Nations in applying any sanctions against Italy.
October 10
*Ethiopian commander Haile Selassie Gugsa defected to the Italian side.
October 11
*League members voted to impose sanctions unless Italy withdrew from Ethiopia.
*The League of Nations applied its first round of sanctions against Italy, imposing a general arms embargo against the country. Members were asked to take steps to prevent arms from passing indirectly to Italy through any third party such as Austria.
October 14
*De Bono, the Italian military commander, issued a proclamation ordering the suppression of slavery in Ethiopia.
October 15
*The northern Italian army captured Axum in Ethiopia.
*Axum fell to the Italians.
*Willie Eldon O'Ree, a professional ice hockey player, known best for being the first black player in the National Hockey League, was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. O'Ree played as a winger for the Boston Bruins and is often referred to as the "Jackie Robinson of ice hockey" due to his breaking the black color barrier in the sport.
October 16
*Sugar Pie DeSanto (b. Umpeylia Marsema Balinton), a Filipino-African American rhythm and blues singer of the 1950s and 1960s, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
October 18
*Britain assured Italy that it would not take independent action in the Mediterranean.
October 19
*The sanctions committee of the League of Nations approved a British proposal for a complete boycott of Italian goods.
*The sanctions committee of the League of Nations approved a British proposal for a complete boycott of Italian goods.
October 22
*The Jeremie hurricane left three dead and four injured in Santiago de Cuba. The USS Houston, bearing President Roosevelt home from a fishing trip, avoided the hurricane.
October 24
*The Rio Piedras massacre occurred at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras.
*Winston Churchill warned that Nazi Germany was a greater threat to peace than the war in Abyssinia. "We cannot afford to see Nazidom in its present phase of cruelty and intolerance, with all its hatreds and all its gleaming weapons, paramount in Europe at the present time", he told the House of Commons.
*The Rio Piedras massacre occurred at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras.
*Winston Churchill warned that Nazi Germany was a greater threat to peace than the war in Abyssinia. "We cannot afford to see Nazidom in its present phase of cruelty and intolerance, with all its hatreds and all its gleaming weapons, paramount in Europe at the present time", he told the House of Commons.
October 25
*2,500 died in Haiti from floods caused by the Jeremie hurricane.
October 26
*During a speech commemorating the 13th anniversary of the March on Rome, Benito Mussolini called international sanctions against Italy "the most odious of injustices".
*During a speech commemorating the 13th anniversary of the March on Rome, Benito Mussolini called international sanctions against Italy "the most odious of injustices".
*Gloria Conyers Hewitt (b. October 26, 1935, Sumter, South Carolina), a mathematician who became the third African-American woman to receive a PhD in Mathematics, was born Sumter, South Carolina. Hewitt entered Fisk University in 1952 and graduated in 1956 with a degree in secondary mathematics education. She received her PhD in mathematics in 1962 from the University of Washington (completing her masters in 1960).
October 28
*Civilians in Mek'ele (Ethiopia) were ordered to evacuate in anticipation of an Italian offensive.
*Civilians in Mek'ele (Ethiopia) were ordered to evacuate in anticipation of an Italian offensive.
October 29
*Mussolini proclaimed food restrictions, going into effect November 5, in order to fight the effects of boycotting and sanctions. Butcher shops were to close on Tuesdays and were forbidden from selling beef, veal, mutton, lamb or pork on Wednesdays. Since butcher shops already usually closed on Thursdays and most Italians refrained from eating meat on Fridays, the decree amounted to a half-week ban on meat.
*Mussolini proclaimed food restrictions, going into effect November 5, in order to fight the effects of boycotting and sanctions. Butcher shops were to close on Tuesdays and were forbidden from selling beef, veal, mutton, lamb or pork on Wednesdays. Since butcher shops already usually closed on Thursdays and most Italians refrained from eating meat on Fridays, the decree amounted to a half-week ban on meat.
October 31
*In Chicago, Big Joe Williams and the Washboard Blues Singers made the first recording of the classic blues song "Baby, Please Don't Go".
*John Henry Lewis defeated Bob Olin in St. Louis for the World Light Heavyweight Championship of boxing.
*In Chicago, Big Joe Williams and the Washboard Blues Singers made the first recording of the classic blues song "Baby, Please Don't Go".
*John Henry Lewis defeated Bob Olin in St. Louis for the World Light Heavyweight Championship of boxing.
*The Italian offensive in northern Abyssinia was halted for two days because of heavy rains.
November 6
*Due to the cautious approach of General De Bono, Mussolini threatened to replace him.
*Adolf Hitler gave the International Olympic Committee President Henri de Baillet-Latour his personal assurance that there would be no racial discrimination against athletes or visitors at the coming summer's Berlin Olympics.
November 8
*Italian troops captured the Ethiopian provincial capital Makale (Mek'ele).
November 9
*Bob Gibson, a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher, was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
November 12
*A 700-person lynch mob in Columbus, Texas hanged two African-American youths accused of raping and murdering a young white woman. The county attorney said he did not consider the citizens who committed the lynching a mob, and called their act "the expression of the will of the people.
*The Ethiopian government reported a victory over Italian forces in Ogaden.
November 17
*Pietro Badoglio replaced Emilio De Bono as commander of Italian forces in East Africa.
November 18
*Sanctions went into effect against Italy. However, they did not include oil or steel.
November 9
*Bob Gibson, a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher, was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
*A 700-person lynch mob in Columbus, Texas hanged two African-American youths accused of raping and murdering a young white woman. The county attorney said he did not consider the citizens who committed the lynching a mob, and called their act "the expression of the will of the people.
*The Ethiopian government reported a victory over Italian forces in Ogaden.
November 17
*Pietro Badoglio replaced Emilio De Bono as commander of Italian forces in East Africa.
November 18
*Sanctions went into effect against Italy. However, they did not include oil or steel.
November 20
*Mussolini declared government control of all the gold in Italy. All sellers of gold would be required to declare their holdings and record every transaction, and gold could not be sold without first offering it to the government at a 5 percent interest rate.
November 21
*Mussolini granted three months' leave to 100,000 troops and sent them to work in agriculture and industry to combat the effects of sanctions.
November 24
*The Piazza di Spagna in Rome was renamed the Piazza De Bono because of Spain's participation in sanctions against Italy.
November 25
*Mussolini declared government control of all the gold in Italy. All sellers of gold would be required to declare their holdings and record every transaction, and gold could not be sold without first offering it to the government at a 5 percent interest rate.
November 21
*Mussolini granted three months' leave to 100,000 troops and sent them to work in agriculture and industry to combat the effects of sanctions.
*The Piazza di Spagna in Rome was renamed the Piazza De Bono because of Spain's participation in sanctions against Italy.
November 25
*Namahyoke Sokum Curtis, leader of 32 African American nurses who aided yellow-fever victims in the Spanish-American War, died and was interred with honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
*Brazil declared a state of siege to fight a leftist uprising in the country's north.
*Iyasu V, the emperor-designate of Ethiopia, died in the Ethiopian Empire.
November 27
*The uprising in Brazil was crushed.
November 28
*The Italian Ministry of Propaganda announced a ban on performances of music by any countries who had voted in the League of Nations for the sanctions against Italy.
December 3
*Italian children had a three-hour school day (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) in order to save coal.
December 7
*Dessie was heavily bombarded again. International Red Cross representatives sent a formal protest of the bombings to the League of Nations.
*Mussolini defiantly told his parliament that sanctions would not deter Italy from its path and that only "full recognition of our rights and the safeguarding of our East African interests" could solve the crisis.
*British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare arrived in Paris for talks with French Prime Minister Pierre Laval on the Italo-Abyssinian conflict.
December 8
*The uprising in Brazil was crushed.
November 28
*The Italian Ministry of Propaganda announced a ban on performances of music by any countries who had voted in the League of Nations for the sanctions against Italy.
December 2
*The British cabinet decided to support a motion at the League of Nations that sanctions against Italy be expanded to include an oil embargo.
*The British cabinet decided to support a motion at the League of Nations that sanctions against Italy be expanded to include an oil embargo.
*Italian children had a three-hour school day (10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) in order to save coal.
December 6
*Italian planes bombed Emperor Haile Selassie's headquarters at Dessie. The American Seventh-day Adventist Hospital and a Red Cross tent were also hit by the indiscriminately dropped bombs, though the hospital was evacuated minutes before the attack. The emperor sent a vigorously worded protest to the League of Nations over the incident.
*Italian planes bombed Emperor Haile Selassie's headquarters at Dessie. The American Seventh-day Adventist Hospital and a Red Cross tent were also hit by the indiscriminately dropped bombs, though the hospital was evacuated minutes before the attack. The emperor sent a vigorously worded protest to the League of Nations over the incident.
*Dessie was heavily bombarded again. International Red Cross representatives sent a formal protest of the bombings to the League of Nations.
*Mussolini defiantly told his parliament that sanctions would not deter Italy from its path and that only "full recognition of our rights and the safeguarding of our East African interests" could solve the crisis.
*British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare arrived in Paris for talks with French Prime Minister Pierre Laval on the Italo-Abyssinian conflict.
December 8
*The Hoare-Laval Pact which called for the partition (dismemberment) of Ethiopia was proposed.
December 9
*The French newspapers L'Ouevre and L'Echo de Paris leaked details of the Hoare–Laval Pact.
*The Hoare-Laval Plan (Hoare- Laval Pact), which conceded two-thirds of Ethiopia to Italy, was made public. It was rejected by Ethiopians and caused large political embarrassment in France and Britain.
December 10
*The British newspaper The Times published its own report of leaked details of the Hoare–Laval Pact. As public anger about the proposal grew, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin responded to a question in the House of Commons by saying it would be "premature to make a statement on the subject at present" because he was not sure if the proposal had been finalized.
December 11
*Referring to the leaked details of the Hoare-Laval Pact, Ethiopia announced that it strongly rejected any proposal that would "reward Italian aggression."
December 13
*The full text of the Hoare-Laval Pact was revealed to the public, causing a huge split at the League of Nations. Haile Selassie told the League that the plan violated the spirit of the League Covenant.
*Italy sent a protest to the League accusing Ethiopia of abusing the Red Cross emblem by placing it in militarized areas.
December 14
*In New York City, a fundraising rally was held in Madison Square Garden for the Italian Red Cross. The crowd cheered every mention of Mussolini's name and booed references to Britain and sanctions. Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia spoke at the event but kept his comments politically neutral.
December 15
*The Christmas Offensive began when Ethiopians launched a counterattack against the Italians at Dembeguina Pass.
*Rodolfo Graziani sent Mussolini a telegram requesting "maximum freedom of action for use of asphyxiating gases."
December 16
*Haile Selassie held a conference for reporters on the porch of his headquarters to formally reject the Hoare–Laval Pact. Selassie declared that acceptance of the proposal "would not only be cowardice toward our people, but a betrayal of the League of Nations and of all states that have thought up to now that they could have confidence in the system of collective security."
*Mussolini authorized the use of chemical weapons in Ethiopia.
*The French newspapers L'Ouevre and L'Echo de Paris leaked details of the Hoare–Laval Pact.
*The Hoare-Laval Plan (Hoare- Laval Pact), which conceded two-thirds of Ethiopia to Italy, was made public. It was rejected by Ethiopians and caused large political embarrassment in France and Britain.
December 10
*The British newspaper The Times published its own report of leaked details of the Hoare–Laval Pact. As public anger about the proposal grew, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin responded to a question in the House of Commons by saying it would be "premature to make a statement on the subject at present" because he was not sure if the proposal had been finalized.
December 11
*Referring to the leaked details of the Hoare-Laval Pact, Ethiopia announced that it strongly rejected any proposal that would "reward Italian aggression."
December 13
*The full text of the Hoare-Laval Pact was revealed to the public, causing a huge split at the League of Nations. Haile Selassie told the League that the plan violated the spirit of the League Covenant.
*Italy sent a protest to the League accusing Ethiopia of abusing the Red Cross emblem by placing it in militarized areas.
December 14
*In New York City, a fundraising rally was held in Madison Square Garden for the Italian Red Cross. The crowd cheered every mention of Mussolini's name and booed references to Britain and sanctions. Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia spoke at the event but kept his comments politically neutral.
December 15
*The Christmas Offensive began when Ethiopians launched a counterattack against the Italians at Dembeguina Pass.
*Rodolfo Graziani sent Mussolini a telegram requesting "maximum freedom of action for use of asphyxiating gases."
December 16
*Haile Selassie held a conference for reporters on the porch of his headquarters to formally reject the Hoare–Laval Pact. Selassie declared that acceptance of the proposal "would not only be cowardice toward our people, but a betrayal of the League of Nations and of all states that have thought up to now that they could have confidence in the system of collective security."
*Mussolini authorized the use of chemical weapons in Ethiopia.
*In South Africa, the All-African Convention was founded in an effort to stop the disenfranchisment of African in the Cape.
December 17
*De Bono was replaced by Marshal Pietro Badoglio as Commander in Chief of the entire Ethiopian operation and as the commander in the north. Soon after, Haile Selassie launched his "Christmas Offensive" to test the new Italian commander.
December 18
*Samuel Hoare resigned as British Foreign Secretary over the unpopular Hoare–Laval Pact.
*While inaugurating the new municipality of Pontinia, Mussolini introduced "Faith Day", in which Italians were to donate their wedding rings so the material could be melted down for use by the state. Queen Elena inaugurated the day in Rome by donating the King and Queen's own rings and receiving steel substitutes in return.
December 19
*Labour Party leader Clement Attlee brought a motion of censure against the government of Stanley Baldwin, explaining, "If it is right for (Samuel Hoare) to resign, then it is right for the Government to resign." Baldwin stood and took chief responsibility for the Hoare–Laval debacle, and declared that the proposals were "absolutely and completely dead" and that the government would "make no attempt to resurrect them." Attlee's motion was defeated, 397 to 165.
*Tony Taylor, a professional baseball player, was born in Central Álava, Cuba.
*Bobby Timmons, a jazz pianist and composer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
December 21
*Anthony Eden informed Prime Minister Baldwin that Turkey, Greece, Romania, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia would aid Britain in the event of war with Italy.
December 22
*Anthony Eden was named Britain's new Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
December 23
*The Italians first used chemical weapons in Ethiopia, spraying mustard gas and dropping bombs with mustard agent on Ethiopian soldiers and civilians.
*"Little" Esther Phillips, a singer best known for the songs "And I Love Him" and "Release Me", was born in Galveston, Texas.
December 24
*Haile Selassie gave a Christmas message asking all Christian nations to pray for peace.
December 25
*Italian colonial authorities sentenced three Eritreans to be shot in the back as spies for Ethiopia.
*Sadiq al-Mahdi, a Sudanese political and religious figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1986 to 1989, was born in Al-Abasya, Omdurman, Sudan. He became head of the National Umma Party and Imam of the Ansar, a Sufi sect that pledges allegiance to Muhammad Ahmad, who claimed to be Islam's messianic saviour, or the Mahdi.
*Alvin Neill Jackson, affectionately referred to as "Little" Al Jackson, a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1959 to 1969, was born in Waco Texas. His 43 wins with the New York Mets were the franchise record until Tom Seaver eased past the mark in 1969.
*Aviator Tito Minniti was killed. Badoglio received permission to use mustard gas to speed up the invasion. This was in direct violation of the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions, which outlawed the use of chemical weapons. The alleged torture and mutilation of Minniti was claimed as justification for the use of mustard gas.*Gnassingbé Eyadéma, the President of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, was born in Pya, Togo. Eyadema participated in two successful military coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became President on April 14, 1967. As President, he created a political party, the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), and headed an anti-communist single-party regime until the early 1990s, when reforms leading to multiparty elections began. Although his rule was seriously challenged by the events of the early 1990s, he ultimately consolidated power again and won multi-party presidential elections in 1993, 1998, and 2003. The opposition boycotted the 1993 election and denounced the 1998 and 2003 election results as fraudulent. At the time of his death, Eyadéma was the longest-serving ruler in Africa.
December 28
*Mussolini renounced the Stresa Front and Four-Power Pact due to hostile relations with Britain and France.
December 29
*Italian warplanes bombed a Swedish Red Cross field hospital in southern Ethiopia, killing 42. The bombing greatly angered Sweden and led to a diplomatic row with Italy.
*Ethiopia protested to the League of Nations that Italy had used chemical weapons in violation of the Geneva Convention.
*Italian warplanes bombed a Swedish Red Cross field hospital in southern Ethiopia, killing 42. The bombing greatly angered Sweden and led to a diplomatic row with Italy.
*Ethiopia protested to the League of Nations that Italy had used chemical weapons in violation of the Geneva Convention.
December 30
*El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba, a Gabonese politician who was President of Gabon from 1967 to 2009, was born in Lewai (since renamed Bongoville), French Equatorial Africa.
Date Unknown
*El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba, a Gabonese politician who was President of Gabon from 1967 to 2009, was born in Lewai (since renamed Bongoville), French Equatorial Africa.
Date Unknown
*Malick Sidibe, a Malian photographer who was the first African photographer to receive the Hasselblad Award, was born in Soloba, French Sudan.
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