On a warm August evening in the city of Liege in 1914, German forces opened fire on a Belgian fortification — the opening salvo of what is now known as the First World War.
The world had never seen death and destruction on such a scale. More than 16 million troops and civilians died; 20 million more were wounded.
In 1917, America entered the conflict, an event that many experts say marked a turning point in the war and signaled the entry of the United States onto the world stage.
In 2014, the 100th anniversary of the start of the war, YaleNews published a series of stories and videos that included conversations with Yale faculty and a look at rare materials in Yale collections and archives. These are posted below.
This spring, the 100th anniversary of the United States’ entry into the war, the university will host talks, exhibits, and other events exploring how Yale faculty, staff, alumni, and students have helped shape American foreign and military policy in the last century. Stories and videos about these events will appear here throughout the spring commemoration.
2017
Yale Goes to War: Helen Hagan (Video)
Yale Goes to War: Answering the Call (Video)
Yale Goes to War: The First Yale Unit (Video)
Yale Goes to War: Profiles in Aviation (Video)
Yale Goes to War: Mobile Hospital No. 39 (Video)
Yale Goes to War: Profiles in Medicine (Video)
Archive provides vivid picture of American entry into WWI
Conference explores ‘Grand Strategy and the American Century’
Events emphasize Yale’s military connections, history ahead of WWI anniversary
Exhibit highlights Yale Medicine’s role in WWI
2014
Historian Jay Winter on the conflict’s centennial
David Bromwich on the great poetry of World War I
Defending Allied skies: Yale’s pioneering pilots form first naval aviation unit
Yale collections are time capsules of the people, politics, and propaganda of WWI
Judith Schiff on chronicling “The Great War” in Yale’s collections (video)
Judith Schiff on honoring Yale’s fallen (video)
