On This Day

Russian Revolution: Socialist Alexander Kerensky becomes Russian Prime Minister

Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (4 May [O.S. 22 April] 1881 – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for...

Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (4 May [O.S. 22 April] 1881 – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early November 1917 (N.S.).

After the February Revolution of 1917, he joined the newly formed provisional government, first as Minister of Justice, then as Minister of War, and after July as the government's second Minister-Chairman. He was the leader of the social-democratic Trudovik faction of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. Kerensky was also a vice-chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, a position that held a sizable amount of power. Kerensky became the prime minister of the Provisional Government, and his tenure was consumed with World War I.

Historical Significance

Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (4 May [O.

Events Before

  1. The first blood transfusion using stored and cooled blood is performed during World War I

    The first blood transfusion using stored and cooled blood is performed during World War I

  2. Rodman Wanamaker organises a lunch to discuss forming a golfers association (later the PGA) at the Taplow Club, Martiniq

    Rodman Wanamaker organises a lunch to discuss forming a golfers association (later the PGA) at the Taplow Club, Martinique Hotel, New York City

  3. Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties, and becomes the longest bat

    Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties, and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)

  4. British author of "The Lord of the Rings", J.R.R. Tolkien marries Edith Mary Bratt at St. Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic

    British author of "The Lord of the Rings", J.R.R. Tolkien marries Edith Mary Bratt at St. Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic Church, Warwick

  5. Actress Gloria Swanson (17) weds actor Wallace Beery (30)

    Actress Gloria Swanson (17) weds actor Wallace Beery (30)

Events After

  1. Last day of the Julian calendar in Finland; January 2 becomes January 14

    The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception).

  2. Russian Bolshevik Party is renamed the All-Russian Communist Party

    The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP) or the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP), was a socialist political party…

  3. Fearing foreign invasion, Vladimir Lenin shifts revolutionary Russia's capital from Petrograd (St. Petersburg) to Moscow

    Fearing foreign invasion, Vladimir Lenin shifts revolutionary Russia's capital from Petrograd (St. Petersburg) to Moscow

  4. American jazz musician Louis Armstrong (17) weds Daisy Parker (21); divorce in 1923

    American jazz musician Louis Armstrong (17) weds Daisy Parker (21); divorce in 1923

  5. German World War I fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen aka "The Red Baron," is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur S

    German World War I fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen aka "The Red Baron," is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur Somme in France. Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown is credited with the kill.

More from the 1910s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on July 21, 1917?
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (4 May [O.S. 22 April] 1881 – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early November 1917 (N.S.). After the February Revolution of 1917, he joined the newly formed provisional government, first as Minister of Justice, then as Minister of War, and after July as the government's second Minister-Chairman.
Why is Russian Revolution: Socialist Alexander Kerensky becomes Russian Prime Minister significant?
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky (4 May [O.

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