First meeting of Provisional Council of State, January 1917. Image courtesy Stanisław Dzierzbicki Pamiętnik z lat wojny 1915-1918, Warszawa 1983.
- The Polish Provisional Council of State is officially inaugurated at Warsaw’s Royal Castle. The Council is established by German and Austrian military authorities and consists of 25 members; 10 from Austria and 15 from Germany. The magnate Waclaw Niemojowski is appointed Crown Marshall, with Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski acting as his deputy.
- 305 men die when the Japanese battle cruiser Tsukuba explodes in port at Yokosuka. The number of casualties could have been far more; some 400 crewmen were on shore leave at the time of the explosion. The force of the blast breaks windows in Kamakura, over 12 kilometres away. The explosion was later attributed to a fire in the vessel’s ammunition magazine.
