About WWI

John Lewis Barkley was a U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient of World War I, for his valiant action in fighting holding off two German attacks with a captured machine gun.

On May 7, 1915, the passenger liner Lusitania was sunk by German submarine U-20 in British waters. Of the passengers, 1,198 drowned, including many women and children and 124 U.S. citizens.

After 1918, Nov. 11 became a day of remembrance. Commemoration practices involved both celebration and somber remembrance with ceremonies often including parades, speeches and a moment of silence.

On Nov. 11, 1918, after more than four years of horrific fighting and the loss of millions of lives, the guns on the Western Front fell silent.

When the 19th Amendment took effect on Aug. 18, 1920, it followed over a century and a half of activism by and for women.

While Halloween is widely celebrated in the United States, for many people in Europe the two days following Oct. 31 are publicly and privately more significant.

Grace Banker was the Chief Operator of the U.S. Signal Corps’ women telephone operators.

Edith Cavell was a British nurse who operated a medical clinic and nursing school in Brussels at the start of the war in August 1914.

At the outset of World War I, women in the United States did not have the right to vote in national elections and could not serve in the military.

On Nov. 11, 1918, after more than four years of horrific fighting and the loss of millions of lives, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. 

Formally opened on Jan. 18, 1919, the Paris Peace Conference was the international meeting that established the terms of peace after World War I. 

With millions of men away from home, women filled manufacturing and agricultural positions on the home front.

Why did America enter World War I? Learn about the events that led the U.S. to enter WWI in 1917.

This interactive map shows you which countries and territories were involved in the Great War and how they were aligned.

How long did World War I last? Who fought whom? Journey through the story of the Great War with our Interactive WWI Timeline, covering the world events of 1914‑1920.