December 1913

The following events occurred in December 1913: Crete, having obtained self rule from Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War, was annexed by Greece. The Ford Motor Company introduced the first moving automobile assembly line, reducing chassis assembly time from hours in October to 2 hours, 40 minutes. Although Henry Ford was not the first to use an assembly line, and had started the process the month before with the assembly of magnetos, his successful adoption of the line for factories was a milestone in the beginning of the era of mass production. The Auckland Exhibition officially opened to the public in Auckland Domain Park, Auckland with an estimated 18,000 attendees the opening day of the world's fair. The first drive-in gasoline station opened in Pittsburgh. A record blizzard hit Colorado, with four to six feet (one to two meters) of snow falling in the first week of December. Georgetown, in the foothills west of Denver, was the hardest hit with a record 86 inches of snow, just over seven feet (over two meters). The Buenos Aires Underground, the subway system for Buenos Aires, opened to the public with Line A carrying 220,000 passengers on the first day. It was the 13th subway system built in the world and the first in Latin America, with stations Alberti, Alberti Norte, Congreso, Lima, Pasco, Pasco Sur, Perú, Piedras, Plaza de Mayo, Plaza Miserere, and Sáenz Peña serving Line A. The Victorian Rail Track Corporation opened rail stations at Rupertswood to serve the Bendigo railway line, and the Seaford to serve the Frankston railway line in Victoria, Australia. The London Underground extended the Bakerloo line with a new tube station at Paddington. Born: Mary Ainsworth, American-Canadian psychologist who developed the concept of attachment theory and the strange situation procedure; in Glendale, Ohio (d. 1999) Mary Martin, American actress and singer, known for stage roles in South Pacific and The Sound of Music; in Weatherford, Texas (d.