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Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were assassinated in Sarajevo -
After weeks of speculation and mounting tension, Great Britain declared war on Germany -
A German U-Boat torpedoes the British passenger liner Lusitania off the Irish coast. It sinks in 18 minutes, drowning 1,201 persons, including 128 Americans. President Woodrow Wilson subsequently sends four diplomatic protests to Germany -
American voters re-elect President Woodrow Wilson who had campaigned on the slogan, "He kept us out of war." -
British naval intelligence intercepted and decrypted a telegram sent by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the German Ambassador in Mexico City -
The United States of America declares war on Germany -
The first American troops land in France -
The Sedition Act of 1918 was enacted on May 16, 1918 to extend the Espionage Act of 1917 -
after more than four years of horrific fighting and the loss of millions of lives, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. Although fighting continued elsewhere, the armistice between Germany and the Allies was the first step to ending World War I. -
The Versailles Peace Treaty, signed on June 28, 1919, officially ended World War I