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Gertrude Ederle is the first woman to swim the English Channel
Gertrude Ederle. 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 IBM Corporation is founded
International Business Machines Corporation is an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States, with operations in over 170 countries. -
The Ford Motor Company announces the creation of 40 hour work week
The Ford Motor Company advanced the idea in 1914, when it scaled back from a 48-hour to a 40-hour workweek after founder Henry Ford believed that too many hours were bad for workers' productivity. The formation of unions helped to strengthen the idea of working five days a week as well. -
The 18th Amendment goes into effect
From State to Federal Prohibition Legislation. By 1916, 23 of 48 states had passed anti-saloon legislation. ... On January 29, 1919, Congress ratified the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the manufacturing, transportation and sale of alcohol within the United States; it would go into effect the following January. -
The Palmer Raids arrest and deport over 6,000 suspected "radicals"
Palmer Raids, also called Palmer Red Raids, 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. -
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
Westinghouse Radio Station KDKA, 1920. Westinghouse Radio Station KDKA was a world pioneer of commercial radio broadcasting. Transmitting with a power of 100 watts on a wavelength of 360 meters, KDKA began scheduled programming with the Harding-Cox Presidential election returns on November 2, 1920. -
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. -
Warren G. Harding is elected president
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th President of the United States from 1921 until his death in 1923, a member of the Republican Party. -
The Teapot Dome Scandal is uncovered
Warren G. Harding transferred supervision of the naval oil-reserve lands from the navy to the Department of the Interior in 1921, Fall secretly granted to Harry F. Sinclair of the Mammoth Oil Company exclusive rights to the Teapot Dome (Wyoming) reserves (April 7, 1922). -
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
Reader's Digest is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace. -
Adolf Hitler leads a failed attempt to overthrow the German government
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch, and, in German, as the Hitlerputsch, Hitler-Ludendorff-Putsch, Bürgerbräu-Putsch or Marsch auf die Feldherrnhalle ("March on the Feldherrnhalle"), was a failed coup d'état by the Nazi Party (NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler—along with Generalquartiermeister Erich -
President Warren G. Harding dies
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th President of the United States from 1921 until his death in 1923, a member of the Republican Party. -
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. -
The National Origins Act is passed limiting immigration
In 1924 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. -
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 composition was commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman. -
President Calvin Coolidge is elected president
John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was an American politician and the 30th President of the United States. A Republican lawyer from New England, born in Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor. -
Scopes Monkey Trial begins in Dayton, TN
Monkey Trial begins 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. -
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 -
Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf (German: [maɪ̯n kampf], My Struggle) 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. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926. -
Langston Hughes publishes his first set of poems in his The Weary Blues
In response, the speaker calls out, "O Blues!" The "Negro" sways back and forth on his stool and plays the mournful tune like a "musical fool." The speaker calls out, "O Blues!" The "Negro" sings in his deep voice with its "melancholy tone" and the piano moans. -
Charles Lindbergh makes the first nonstop transatlantic flight
Charles Lindbergh would make his historic flight between New York and Paris to win the Orteig Prize. It was the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic and the first to link the two major cities. -
The Great Mississippi Flood displaces 7000,000 people
Mississippi River flood of 1927, also called Great Flood of 1927, flooding of the lower Mississippi River valley in April 1927, one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States. More than 23,000 square miles (60,000 square km) of land was submerged, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, and around 250 people died. -
Babe Ruth hits 60 home runs
On September 30, 1927, Babe Ruth hits his 60th home run of the 1927 season and with it sets a record that would stand for 34 years. George Herman Ruth was born February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. -
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. The Holland Tunnel is one of three vehicular crossings between Manhattan and New Jersey, the others being the Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge. -
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 discovered penicillin, though he did not realize the full significance of his discovery for at least another decade. He eventually received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945. -
Mickey Mouse makes his first appearance in the short film "Steamboat Willie"
On November 18, 1928, 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 St Valentine's Day Massacre
he Saint Valentine's Day Massacre is the name given to the Valentine's Day murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park garage on the morning of Valentine's Day, where they were made to line up against a wall and shot by four unknown assailants. -
Stock Market crashes on 'Black Tuesday'
Part of the panic that caused Black Tuesday resulted from how investors played the stock market in the 1920s. The other reason for the panic was the new method for buying stocks, called buying on margin. Investors could place huge stock orders with only 10 percent or 20 percent down. -
Herbert Hoover is elected president
Herbert Clark Hoover was an American engineer, businessman and politician who served as the 31st President of the United States from 1929 to 1933 during the Great Depression. -
Amelia Earhart attempts to fly around the world
Amelia Earhart's Last Flight. She decided that her next trip would be to fly around the world. In March 1937, she flew to Hawaii with fellow pilot Paul Mantz to begin this flight. Earhart lost control of the plane on takeoff, however, and the plane had to be sent to the factory for repairs. -
Ellis Island closes as an immigration point to the United Sates
On this day in 1954, the federal government shut down the Ellis Island immigrant reception station in New York Harbor. From 1892 to 1924, the facility processed some 12 million immigrants. -
First game in the newly built Yankee Stadium is played
The ballpark in the Bronx opened April 2, 2009, when the Yankees hosted a workout day in front of fans from the Bronx community. The first game at the new Yankee Stadium was a preseason exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs played on April 3, 2009, which the Yankees won 7–4.
