Passenger pigeons once formed the most abundant bird in North America, in flocks of billions that darkened the sky for days. Commercial hunters killed millions with nets and guns, shipping them east by railway, while forests were cleared for farms. By the 1890s wild birds were almost gone. On 1 September 1914 Martha, the last of her kind, died at the Cincinnati Zoo, aged about 29. Her death is one of the best-known extinctions, a famous case of a species destroyed within a few decades, and recent proposals aim to revive the bird from DNA.
Before and after
- 9 August 1914Birth of Tove Jansson
- from 15 August 1914 to 24 August 1914Battle of Cer
- 15 August 1914Construction of Panama Canal
- from 17 August 1914 to 3 March 1918WWI Eastern Front
- 1 September 1914Martha, the last passenger pigeon, dies
- from October 1914 to July 1915German campaign in Angola
- from 16 October 1914 to 31 October 1914Battle of the Yser
- 16 October 1914Founding of Goethe University Frankfurt
- from 19 October 1914 to 22 November 1914First Battle of Ypres
More in Evolution & life
- 28 November 1924Discovery of Taung Child
- 2 December 1929A skull of Peking Man is found at Zhoukoudian
- 1933Discovery of Harbin cranium
- 7 October 1935Discovery of Loschbour man
- 7 September 1936The last thylacine dies in captivity
- from 18 May 1944 to 20 May 1944Deportation of the Crimean Tatars
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.