-
Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary is assassinated by a Serbian nationalist.
-
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
-
As an ally of Serbia, Russia fully mobilizes its armed forces.
-
Germany declares war on Russia.
-
Germany declares war on France.
-
In an effort to capture Paris quickly, Germany invades neutral Belgium. Britain responds by declaring war on Germany.
-
Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia.
-
President Woodrow Wilson declares the the U.S. will remain neutral in the Great War.
-
Germany blockades Britain using submarines.
-
A German U-boat torpedoed the massive passenger ship that they believed was loaded with ammunitions, killing 1,198 passengers, including 128 Americans.
-
Erich Muenter, a German instructor at Cornell University, commits suicide after detonating a bomb in the U.S. Senate reception room and shooting financier J. Pierpont Morgan.
-
Germany responds to U.S. anger by ending its policy of sinking ships without warning.
-
Henry Ford charters a "Peace Ship," in an effort to end World War I.
-
Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, along with 1,500 men, crosses the U.S. border to attack Columbus, N. Mex. Pres. Wilson orders Brig. Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing to capture Villa.
-
President Woodrow Wilson publicly demands that Germany end unrestricted submarine warfare.
-
A bomb explodes at a pro-war preparedness parade in San Francisco, killing ten.
-
Woodrow Wilson re-elected President of the United States with campaign slogan: "He kept us out of the war".
-
Britain intercepts and translates German Foreign Secretary Zimmermann's telegram to Mexico urging its entry into war against the United States.
-
The Associated Press publishes the "Zimmermann Telegram," which proposed a German alliance with Mexico and promised Mexico recovery of lost territory in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
-
President Woodrow Wilson asks congress for a declaration of war against Germany. All but two Senators and fifty Representatives voted against the war resolution. President Wilson says, "The world must be made safe for democracy."
-
President Woodrow Wilson declares war on Germany, officially entering the U.S. into WW1.
