1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
Federal News Network presents a daily update of important moments in the history of the U.S. government.
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ended. Germany faced imminent invasion and so signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. By the end of World War I, 9 million soldiers had died and 21 million were wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least 5 million civilians died from disease, starvation or exposure. The war is widely considered to have begun on June 28, 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, was shot to death with his wife by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia — an ally of Russia — and France, allied with Russia, began to mobilize on Aug. 1. France and Germany declared war against each other on Aug. 3. After crossing through neutral Luxembourg, the German army invaded Belgium on the night of Aug. 3-4, prompting Great Britain, Belgium’s ally, to declare war against Germany. American troops joined Allied forces in 1917 and the following year the war turned in favor of Great Britain, France and Russia.
Copyright © 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
