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Sacco and Vanzetti arrested for armed robbery and murder
Despite worldwide demonstrations in support of their innocence, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed for murder on August 23, 1927. -
KDKA goes on the air from Pittsburgh
first commercial radio station was KDKA in Pittsburgh, which went on the air in the evening of Nov. 2, 1920, with a broadcast of the returns of the Harding-Cox presidential election. The success of the KDKA broadcast and of the musical programs that were initiated thereafter motivated others to install… -
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Teapot Dome Scandal
The Teapot Dome Scandal of the 1920s shocked Americans by revealing an unprecedented level of greed and corruption within the federal government. The scandal involved ornery oil tycoons, poker-playing politicians, illegal liquor sales, a murder-suicide, a womanizing president and a bagful of bribery cash delivered on the sly. In the end, the scandal would empower the Senate to conduct rigorous -
1st Miss American Pageant
In the summer of 1921, on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, an American icon was born. For the past 100 years, Miss America has been one of the country’s most recognizable household names and has been at the center of everything from national trends to social movements to the birth of television. -
1st Winter Olympics Held
On January 25, 1924, the first Winter Olympics take off in style at Chamonix in the French Alps. Spectators were thrilled by the ski jump and bobsled as well as 12 other events involving a total of six sports. The “International Winter Sports Week,” as it was known, was a great success, and in 1928 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially designated the Winter Games, staged in St. Moritz, Switzerland, as the second Winter Olympics. -
The Great Gatsby published by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. -
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Scopes Monkey Trial6
July 10, 1925: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called Scopes Monkey Trial begins with John Thomas Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a Tennessee state law. -
The Jazz Singer debuts (1st movie with sound)
- 35mm film (black and white, sound), 89 min. The Jazz Singer stars popular actor, comedian, and singer Al Jolson as the son of a cantor who is expected to follow in his father's footsteps, but who instead yearns to sing jazz.
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Charles Lindberg completes solo flight across the Atlantic
The 1920s saw major advancements in the field of aviation. Airplanes were now capable of flying longer distances than ever before. Since Charles Lindbergh was living in the bustling aviation community of St. Louis, he was able to keep track of the advancements being made throughout the industry. It was while living in St. Louis that he learned of the $25,000 Orteig Prize, which helped encourage many of these advancements. -
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, as it was known, remains an unsolved crime and was never officially linked to Capone, but he was generally considered to have been responsible for the murders. -
Black Tuesday (Stock Market Crash)
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 occurred on October 29, 1929, when Wall Street investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. In the aftermath of that event, sometimes called “Black Tuesday,” America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression.