Hear it pronounced1920
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | 19th century - 20th century - 21st century |
| Decades: | 1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s |
| Years: | 1917 1918 1919 - 1920 - 1921 1922 1923 |
| 1920 by topic: |
| Subject: Archaeology - Architecture - Art |
| Aviation - Film - Literature (Poetry) Meteorology - Music (Country) Rail transport - Radio - Science |
| Sports - Television |
| Countries: Australia - Canada - India - Ireland - Malaysia - New Zealand - Norway - Singapore - South Africa - Soviet Union - UK - Zimbabwe |
| Leaders: Sovereign states - State leaders |
| Religious leaders - Law |
| Categories: Births - Deaths - Works - Introductions |
| Establishments - Disestablishments - Awards |
Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920) of the Gregorian calendar.
| Contents: |
|---|
[ Events of 1920
[ January
- January 1 - Babe Ruth is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. (at the rate of inflation that equals $3,125,000 as of January 1st 2009)
- January 7 - The forces of Russian White Admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. The Great Siberian Ice March ensues.
- January 9
- Thousands of onlookers watch as "The Human Fly" George Polley climbs the New York Woolworth Building. He reaches the 30th floor before being arrested.
- January 13 - The New York Times ridicules the American rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard. The newspaper had to publicly take it all back later in 17 July 1969 when the Apollo crew landed on the Moon. [1]
- January 16
- Prohibition begins in the United States with the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution coming into effect.
- The World War I Allies demand that the Netherlands extradite the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, who has fled there.
- Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, is founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- January 19 - The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
- January 22 - The Australian Country Party is officially formed, led by Nelson Pollard.
- January 23 - The Netherlands refuses to extradite the German Kaiser.
- January 28 - The Spanish Legion is founded and stationed in North Africa to fight rebels in Morocco.
- January 28 - Turkey gives up the Ottoman Empire and most of the non-Turkish areas.
- January 30 - The oldest surviving pro wrestling match on film happens, with Joe Stecher defeating Earl Caddock.
[ February
- February 2
- Estonian Freedom War: The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed, ending the war and recognizing Estonian independence.
- France occupies Memel.
- Sayyid Muhammad, Khan of Khiva abdicates.
- February 7 - Admiral Kolchak and Viktor Pepelyayev are executed by firing squad near Irkutsk.
- February 9 - The League of Nations gives Spitsbergen to Norway.
- February 10 - Józef Haller de Hallenburg performs the symbolic wedding of Poland to the sea, celebrating the restitution of Polish access to the open sea.
- February 14 - The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago.
- February 17 - A woman named Anna Anderson tries to commit suicide in Berlin and is taken to a mental hospital, where she claims she is Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia.
- February 21 - The island province of Marinduque in the Philippines archipelago is founded.
- February 22 - In Emeryville, California, the first dog racing track to employ an imitation rabbit opens.
- February 24 - Adolf Hitler presents his National Socialist program in Munich.
[ March
- March - Syrian National Congress proclaim Syria independent with Faisal I of Iraq as king.
- March - The world's first peaceful establishment of a social democratic government takes place in Sweden. Hjalmar Branting takes over when Nils Edén resigns.
- March 1
- Hungarian Admiral and statesman Miklós Horthy becomes the Regent of Hungary.
- The United States Railroad Administration returns control of American railroads to its constituent railroad companies.
- March 10 - The Baylor Business Men's Club changes its name to the Baylor University Chamber of Commerce. It has operated under this name since the change.
- March 13-March 17 - Wolfgang Kapp fails in his coup attempt in Germany due to public resistance and a general strike.
- March 15 - The Ruhr Red Army, a communist army 60,000 men strong, is formed in Germany.
- March 19 - The United States Congress refuses to ratify the Treaty of Versailles.
- March 23 - Admiral Horthy declares that Hungary is a monarchy without anyone on the throne.
- March 26
- The German government asks France for permission to use its own troops against the rebellious Ruhr Red Army in the French-occupied area.
- Irish War of Independence: The Black and Tans special constables arrive in Ireland.
- March 28 - The 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak hits the Great Lakes region and Deep South states.
- March 29 - Sir William Robertson, who enlisted in 1877, becomes a field marshal in the British Army, the first man to rise to this rank from private.
- March 31 - The Government of Ireland Act 1920 is presented in the British Parliament.
[ April
- April 2 - The German army marches to the Ruhr to fight the Ruhr Red Army.
- April 4 - Jerusalem pogrom of April, 1920: Violence erupts between Arabic and Jewish residents in Jerusalem; the governor declares a state of siege.
- April 6 - The short-lived Far Eastern Republic is declared in eastern Siberia.
- April 11 - Mexican Revolution: Álvaro Obregón flees from Mexico City during a trial intended to ruin his reputation; he flees to Guerrero where he joins Fortunato Maycotte.
- April 19 - Germany and Bolshevist Russia agree to the exchange of prisoners of war.
- April 20 - Mexican Revolution: Álvaro Obregón announces in Chilpancingo that he intends to fight against the rule of Venustiano Carranza.
- April 23 - A national council in Turkey denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces a temporary constitution.
- April 24 - Polish–Soviet War: Polish and anti-Soviet Ukrainian troops attack the Red Army in Soviet Ukraine.
- April 26 - The Khorezm People's Soviet Republic is officially created by Bolshevist Russia as the successor to the Khanate of Khiva.
[ May
- May 2 - The first game of Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- May 7
- Polish–Soviet War: Polish troops occupy Kiev. The government of the Ukrainian People's Republic returns to the city.
- Mexican Revolution: Venustiano Carranza leaves Mexico City in a large train.
- Treaty of Moscow (1920): Soviet Russia recognizes independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
- May 19 - Mexican Revolution: Álvaro Obregón's troops enter Mexico City.
- May 15 - Russian Revolution: Russian White soldier Maria Bochkareva is executed in Soviet Russia.
- May 16
- Joan of Arc is canonised. Over 30,000 people attend the ceremony in Rome, including 140 descendants of Joan of Arc's family. Pope Benedict XV presides over the rite, for which the interior of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is richly decorated.
- A referendum in Switzerland is favorable to joining the League of Nations.
- May 17
- May 20 - Mexican Revolution: Venustiano Carranza arrives in San Antonio Tlaxcalantongo. Troops of Rodolfo Herrera attack him at night and shoot him.
- May 24 - Venustiano Carranza is buried in Mexico City; all of his mourning allies are arrested. Adolfo de la Huerta is elected provisional president.
- May 27 - Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk becomes president of Czechoslovakia.
- May 29 - The Great Horncastle Flood kills 20.
[ June
- June 4 - Treaty of Trianon: Peace is restored between the Allied Powers and Hungary.
- June 12 - Polish–Soviet War: The Red Army retakes Kyiv.
- June 13 - The United States Post Office Department rules that children may not be sent via parcel post.[2]
- June 15 - A new border treaty between Germany and Denmark gives northern Schleswig to Denmark.
- June 22 - Greece attacks Turkish troops.
[ July
- July 1 - Germany declares its neutrality in the war between Poland and Soviet Russia.
- July 2 - Polish–Soviet War: Red Army continues offensive into Poland.
- July 10 - Arthur Meighen becomes Canada's ninth prime minister.
- July 12 - Bolshevist Russia recognizes independent Lithuania.
- July 13 - London County Council bars foreigners from council jobs.
- July 19 – August 7 – The Second Congress of the Communist International takes place in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. The notorious Twenty-one Conditions are adopted.
- July 20 – The United Kingdom cedes its brief control of the key Black Sea port of Batum to the Democratic Republic of Georgia.
- July 22 - Polish–Soviet War: Poland sues for peace with Bolshevist Russia.
- July 23 - Battle of Maysalun: The French defeat the Syrian army.
- July 24 - French troops occupy Damascus and depose Faisal I of Syria as king.[3]
- July 26 - Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa takes over Sabina and contacts de la Huerta to offer his conditional surrender. He signs his surrender on July 28.
- July 29 - The United States Bureau of Reclamation begins construction of the Link River Dam as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
- July 31 - France prohibits the sale or prescription of contraceptives.
[ August
- August 2 - Irish War of Independence: The British Parliament passes a bill to restore order in Ireland, suspending jury trials.
- August 3 - Irish War of Independence: Catholics riot in Belfast.
- August 10 - Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI's representatives sign the Treaty of Sèvres.
- August 11 - Bolshevik Russia recognizes independent Estonia and Latvia.
- August 13 - August 25 - Polish–Soviet War: The Red Army is defeated in the Battle of Warsaw.
- August 15 - Irish War of Independence: The town hall of Templemore, Ireland, is burned down during the riots.
- August 19-August 25 - Second Silesian Uprising: The Poles in Upper Silesia rise up against the Germans.
- August 20 - The first commercial radio station in the United States, 8MK (WWJ), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan.
- August 26 - The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed, guaranteeing women's suffrage.
[ September
- September 4 - El Tercio de Extranjeros, the "Regiment of Foreigners" (modern-day Spanish Legion) is inaugurated in Spain.
- September 5 - Presidential elections begin in Mexico.
- September 8 - Gabriele d'Annunzio proclaims the Italian Regency of Carnaro in the city of Fiume.
- September 16 - The Wall Street bombing: A bomb in a horse wagon explodes in front of the J. P. Morgan building in New York City, killing 38 and injuring 400.
- September 20 - The first soldier joins the Spanish Legion.
- September 22 - The Flying Squad is formed in the London Metropolitan Police.
- September 29
- The first domestic radio sets come to stores in the United States; a Westinghouse radio costs $10.
- Adolf Hitler makes his first public political speech, in Austria.
[ October
- October 9 - Polish troops take Vilnius.
- October 10 - Carinthian Plebiscite: A large part of Carinthia Province votes to become part of Austria rather than Yugoslavia.
- October 12 - Polish–Soviet War: After the Polish army captures Tarnopol, Dubno, Minsk, and Dryssa, the ceasefire is enforced.
- October 18 - Thousands of unemployed demonstrate in London; 50 are injured.
- October 26 - Álvaro Obregón is announced the elected president of Mexico.
- October 27 - The League of Nations moves its headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland.
[ November
- November 2
- United States presidential election, 1920: Republican Warren G. Harding defeats Democrat James M. Cox and Socialist Eugene V. Debs, in the the first national U.S. election in which women have the right to vote.
- In the United States, KDKA AM of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (owned by Westinghouse) starts broadcasting as a commercial radio station. The first broadcast is the results of the presidential election.
- November 11 - The Unknown Warrior is buried in Westminster Abbey.
- November 15 - In Geneva, the first assembly of the League of Nations is held.
- November 16 - Queensland and Northern Territory Aviation Services (Qantas) is founded by Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinniss.
- November 17 - The council of the League of Nations accepts the constitution for the Free City of Danzig.
- November 21 - Bloody Sunday: British forces open fire on spectators and players during a football match in Dublin's Croke Park, killing 14 Irish civilians. This follows the assassinations of 12 British agents by the IRA in an earlier attack elsewhere.
- November 28 - Kilmichael Ambush: The Third Cork Brigade Flying Column under Tom Barry successfully ambushes 2 lorries of British soldiers at Kilmichael, County Cork,
- The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra holds its first concert in the world, along with Martha Washington.
[ December
- December 5 - A referendum in Greece is favorable to the reinstatement of the monarchy.
- December 11 - Martial law is declared in Ireland.
- December 16
- Finland joins the League of Nations.
- An 8.6 Richter scale Haiyuan earthquake causes a landslide in Gansu Province, China, killing 180,000.
- December 15 - December 22 - The Brussels Conference establishes a timetable for German war reparations intended to extend for over 42 years.
- December 22 - The 8th Congress of Soviets of the Russian SFSR adopts the GOELRO plan, the major plan of the economical development of the country.
- December 23 - The United Kingdom and France ratify the border between French-held Syria and British-held Palestine.
- December 25 - The Rosicrucian Fellowship's spiritual healing temple The Ecclesia is founded at Mount Ecclesia, Oceanside, California.
[ Undated
- Because there are so many mixed-race persons and because so many Americans with some black ancestry appear white, the United States Census stops counting mixed-race peoples and the one drop rule becomes the national legal standard.
[ Ongoing
sound movies
[ Births
| Gregorian calendar | 1920 MCMXX |
| Ab urbe condita | 2673 |
| Armenian calendar | 1369 ԹՎ ՌՅԿԹ |
| Bahá'í calendar | 76 – 77 |
| Berber calendar | 2870 |
| Buddhist calendar | 2464 |
| Burmese calendar | 1282 |
| Byzantine calendar | 7428 – 7429 |
| Chinese calendar | 己未年十一月十一日 (4556/4616-11-11) — to —
庚申年十一月廿二日(4557/4617-11-22) |
| Coptic calendar | 1636 – 1637 |
| Ethiopian calendar | 1912 – 1913 |
| Hebrew calendar | 5680 – 5681 |
| Hindu calendars | |
| - Vikram Samvat | 1975 – 1976 |
| - Shaka Samvat | 1842 – 1843 |
| - Kali Yuga | 5021 – 5022 |
| Holocene calendar | 11920 |
| Iranian calendar | 1298 – 1299 |
| Islamic calendar | 1338 – 1339 |
| Japanese calendar | Taishō 9 (大正9年) |
| Korean calendar | 4253 |
| Thai solar calendar | 2463 |
[ January-February
- January 1 - Virgilio Savona, Italian singer and songwriter (Quartetto Cetra)
- January 2 - Isaac Asimov, Russian-born author (I, Robot) (d. 1992)
- Anne-Sofie Østvedt, Norwegian resistance leader
- January 3 - Renato Carosone, Italian musician and singer (d. 2001)
- January 5 - Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (d. 1995)
- January 6
- Sun Myung Moon, Korean evangelist, founder of the Unification Church
- John Maynard Smith, English biologist (d. 2004)
- Early Wynn, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- January 9 - Hakim Said, Pakistani scholar and philanthropist (d. 1998)
- January 12 - Bill Reid, Canadian artist (d. 1998)
- January 15 - John O'Connor, American Catholic cardinal (d. 2000)
- January 19 - Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian Secretary-General of the United Nations
- January 20
- Federico Fellini, Italian film director (d. 1993)
- DeForest Kelley, American actor (Star Trek) (d. 1999)
- January 23 - Gottfried Böhm, German architect
- January 27 - Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (d. 2002)
- January 30 - Delbert Mann, American television and film director (d. 2007)
- February 2 - Heikki Suolahti, Finnish composer (d. 1936)
- February 7 - An Wang, Chinese-born computer pioneer (d. 1990)
- February 11
- Farouk I, King of Egypt (d. 1965)
- Billy Halop, American actor (d. 1976)
- February 12 - William Roscoe Estep, American Baptist historian (d. 2000)
- February 13 - Seneka Bibile, Sri Lankan pharmacologist (d. 1977)
- February 17 - Ivo Caprino, Norwegian film director (d. 2001)
- February 18 - Bill Cullen, American game show host (The Price is Right & The $25,000 Pyramid) (d. 1990)
- February 18 - Eddie Slovik, U.S. Army private (executed) (d. 1945)
- February 26
- Tony Randall, American actor (The Odd Couple) (d. 2004)
- Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer, and traveler (d. 2006)
- February 29 - Howard Nemerov, American poet (d. 1991)
[ March-April
- March 3
- James Doohan, Canadian-born actor (Star Trek) (d. 2005)
- Ronald Searle, British cartoonist
- March 4
- Jean Lecanuet, French politician (d. 1993)
- Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish actor (d. 2002)
- March 10
- Alfred Peet, Dutch American entrepreneur, founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea (d. 2007)
- Boris Vian, French writer, poet, singer, and musician (d. 1959)
- March 11 - Nicolaas Bloembergen, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- March 14 - Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist (Dennis thee Menace) (d. 2001)
- March 15