News and Events of 1916
World Events
- Battle of Verdun
is fought. Battle of the Somme follows in July. Background: World War I
- Pershing
fails in raid into Mexico in quest of rebel Pancho Villa.
- Easter Rebellion in Ireland put down by British troops.
U.S. Events
U.S. Statistics
President: Woodrow WilsonVice President: Thomas R. Marshall
Population: 101,961,000
More U.S. Statistics...
- Congress authorizes a plan to expand the U.S. armed forces over the next five years (June).
- Montana voters elect 36-year-old Republican Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to serve in the U.S. Congress.
- U.S. National Park Service in the Department of the Interior is created by act of Congress (Aug. 20).
- Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic in the country at 46 Amboy St., Brooklyn.
Economics
Federal spending: $0.71 billionConsumer Price Index: 10.9
Unemployment: 5.1%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.02
Sports
World Series
Boston Red Sox d. Brooklyn (4-1)Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens (NHA)Wimbledon
Women: Not held (World War I)Men: Not held (World War I)
Kentucky Derby Champion
George SmithNCAA Football Champions
Pittsburgh (8-0-0)Entertainment
Entertainment Awards
Nobel Prize for Literature: Verner von Heidenstam (Sweden)
More Entertainment Awards...Events
- Charlie Chaplin signs on with Mutual Studios and earns an unprecedented $10,000 a week.
Science
Nobel Prizes in Science
Chemistry: None awarded
Physics: None awarded
Physiology or Medicine: None awarded
- Albert Einstein completes his mathematical formulation of a general theory of relativity, which includes gravity.




