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The IBM Corporation is founded
The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, the precursor to IBM, was founded on June 16, 1911. At its beginning, it was a merger of three manufacturing businesses, a product of the times orchestrated by the financier, Charles Flint. -
The 18th amendment goes into effect
On 16 January 1920, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes" went into effect. -
The Palmer Raids arrest and deport over 6,000 suspected "radicals"
Palmer Raids, also called Palmer Red Raids, were raids conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 1919 and 1920 in an attempt to arrest foreign anarchists, communists, and radical leftists, many of whom were subsequently deported. -
The League of Nations is founded
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organisation founded on 10 January 1920 as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first international organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. -
The 19th amendment is ratified by congress
In 1919, the 19th Amendment, which stated that “the rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex,” passed both houses of Congress and was sent to the states for ratification. -
Radio station KDKA airs the first commercially broadcast program
On November 2, 1920, station KDKA made the nation's first commercial broadcast (a term coined by Conrad himself). They chose that date because it was election day, and the power of radio was proven when people could hear the results of the Harding-Cox presidential race before they read about it in the newspaper. -
Warren G. Harding is elected president
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States from 1921 until his death in 1923, a member of the Republican Party. -
Sacco and Vanzetti Trial concludes
The authorities concluded that the behavior of Sacco and Vanzetti meant that the men were guilty of something—presumably the payroll murders. The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti for the South Braintree murders was held in Dedham, Massachusetts, from May 31 to July 14, 1921. -
Readers Digest is founded
The reader's digest is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. It was founded by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace. -
The Teapot Dome Scandal is uncovered
The "Teapot Dome scandal" was a bribery scandal involving the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding from 1921–1923. -
First game in the newly built Yankee Stadium is played
On April 18, 1923 the Yankee Stadium was opened for major league baseball. In the historic first game, the Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 4-1. -
President Warren G. Harding dies
President Warren G. Harding died of apparent heart failure while in the midst of a cross-country tour. -
Adolf Hitler leads a failed attempt to overthrow the German government (Beer Hall Putsch)
From November 8 to November 9, 1923, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and his followers staged the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, a failed takeover of the government in Bavaria, a state in southern Germany. -
The first winter Olympics are held
The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. -
George Gershwin releases "Rhapsody in Blue"
Rhapsody in Blue is a 1924 musical composition by American composer George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. -
The National Origins Act is passed limiting immigration
Congress passed a discriminatory immigration law that restricted the immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans and practically excluded Asians and other nonwhites from entry into the United States. The National Origins Act drastically lowered the annual quota of immigration, from 358,000 to 164,000. -
President Calvin Coolidge is elected president
John Calvin Coolidge Jr was an American politician and the 30th President of the United States (1923–1929). -
The Great Gatsby is published by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional towns of West Egg and East Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. -
Scopes Monkey Trial begins in Dayton, TN
In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called “Monkey Trial” begins with John Thomas Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a Tennessee state law. -
Adolf Hitler published Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a 1925 autobiographical book by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany. -
Langston Hughes publishes his first set of poems in his "The Weary Blues"
"The Weary Blues" is a collection of poems by American poet Langston Hughes. Written in 1925, "The Weary Blues" was first published in the Urban League magazine, Opportunity -
The Ford Motor Company announces the creation of a 40 hour work week
Ford Motor Company became one of the first companies in America to adopt a five-day, 40-hour week for workers in its automotive factories. -
Gertrude Ederle is the first woman to swim in the English Channel
Gertrude Caroline Ederle (October 23, 1905 – November 30, 2003) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in five events. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. -
The great Mississippi Flood displaces 700,000 people
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with 27,000 square miles inundated up to a depth of 30 feet. -
Charles Lindbergh makes the first non-stop Trans-Atlantic flight
Charles Lindbergh was a famous American aviator who became the first man to successfully fly an airplane across the Atlantic Ocean. His courageous feat helped make Missouri a leader in the developing world of aviation. -
Babe Ruth hits 60 home runs
Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the 1927 season and with it sets a record that would stand for 34 years. -
The Holland Tunnel connecting NYC and NJ opens
At the time of its opening, the Holland Tunnel was the longest continuous underwater vehicular tunnel in the world. It connects Manhattan and New Jersey. -
The first film with sound "The Jazz Singer" debuts
On December 30, 1927, The Jazz Singer, the first commercially successful full-length feature film with sound, debuts at the Blue Mouse Theater at 1421 5th Avenue in Seattle. The movie uses Warner Brothers' Vitaphone sound-on-disc technology to reproduce the musical score and sporadic episodes of synchronized speech. -
Alexander Fleming discovers Penicillin
In 1928 Alexander Fleming (1881–1955) discovered penicillin, made from the Penicillium notatum mold, but he did not receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery until 1945. -
Herbert Hoover is elected president
Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), America’s 31st president, took office in 1929, the year the U.S. economy plummeted into the Great Depression -
Mickey Mouse makes his first appearance in short film "Steamboat Willie"
Mickey Mouse made his movie debut in Steamboat Willie, one of the earliest animated cartoons. This seven-minute film, directed by Walt Disney, was the first to combine animation technology with synchronized sound. -
Chicago's St. Valentine's Day Massacre
This day five members of a Chicago gang were murdered by anonymous shooters who made them line up against a wall and stand there while they shot them. -
US stock market crashes on 'Black Tuesday'
Black Tuesday hit Wall Street as 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. -
Amelia Earhart attempts to fly around the world
She became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and the first person ever to fly solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland. During a flight to circumnavigate the globe, Earhart disappeared somewhere over the Pacific in July 1937. -
Ellis Island closes as an Immigration point to the United States
Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shuts it doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892.
