| 1920 in the United States | |
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| Years: | 1917 1918 1919 – 1920 – 1921 1922 1923 |
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 48 stars (1912–1959) |
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Timeline of United States history |
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Events from the year 1920 in the United States.
Incumbents[edit]
- President: Woodrow Wilson (Democratic)
- Vice President: Thomas R. Marshall (Democratic)
- Chief Justice: Edward Douglass White
- Speaker of the House of Representatives: Frederick H. Gillett (R-Massachusetts)
- Congress: 66th
Events[edit]
January[edit]
- January 2 – The second of the Palmer Raids takes place with another 4,000 suspected communists and anarchists arrested and held without trial. These raids take place in several U.S. cities.
- January 6 – Babe Ruth's December 26 trade to the New York Yankees is made public.[1] (See 1919 in the United States.)
- January 9 – Thousands of onlookers watch as "The Human Fly" George Polley, climbs the New York Woolworth Building. He reached the 30th floor when a policeman arrested him for climbing without a permit
- January 13 – The New York Times ridicules the American rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard. The newspaper printed a correction to this editorial on July 17, 1969 while the Apollo crew rocketed to the Moon.[2]
- January 16 – Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, is founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- January 16 – Prohibition in the United States begins with the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution coming into effect.
- January 19 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
- January 30 – The oldest surviving pro wrestling match on film happens, with Joe Stecher defeating Earl Caddock.
February[edit]
- February 14 – The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago.
- February 18- The League of Scrolls is brought to the museum of natural history in Orlando, Florida
March[edit]
- March 1 – 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 19 – United States Congress refuses to ratify Treaty of Versailles.
- March 28 – The 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak hits the Great Lakes region and Deep South states.
April–May[edit]
- May 2 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis, Indiana.
June–July[edit]
- June 13 – The United States Postal Service rules that children may not be sent via parcel post.
- July 29 – The United States Bureau of Reclamation begins construction of the Link River Dam as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
August–September[edit]
- August 20 – The first commercial radio station in the United States, 8MK (WWJ), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan.
- August 26 – 19th Amendment to US constitution is passed, guaranteeing women's suffrage.
- 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 – 38 dead, 400 injured
- September 17 – The National Football League is founded.
- September 29 – First domestic radio sets come to stores in USA – Westinghouse radio costs $10.
October–November[edit]
- November 2 – Warren G. Harding defeats James M. Cox in the U.S. presidential election, the first national U.S. election in which women have the right to vote.
- November 2 – In the United States, KDKA (AM) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (owned by Westinghouse) starts broadcasting as a commercial radio station. The first broadcast was the results of the presidential election.
December[edit]
- December 25 – Foundation of the Rosicrucian Fellowship's Spiritual Healing Temple "The Ecclesia" at Mount Ecclesia, Oceanside, California.
Undated[edit]
- 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[edit]
- Progressive Era (1890s–1920s)
- Lochner era (c. 1897–c. 1937)
- U.S. occupation of Haiti (1915–1934)
- First Red Scare (1917–1920)
- Prohibition (1919–1933)
- Depression of 1920–21 (1920–1921)
- Roaring Twenties (1920–1929)
Deaths[edit]
January[edit]
- January 6 – Early Wynn, baseball player (died 1999)
- January 15 – John O'Connor, American Catholic cardinal
- January 20 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (died 1999)
- January 30 – Delbert Mann, American television and film director
February[edit]
- February 11 – Billy Halop, American actor (died 1976)
- February 12 – William Roscoe Estep, American Baptist historian (died 2000)
- February 18 – Bill Cullen, American game show host (died 1990)
- February 18 – Eddie Slovik, U.S. Army private (died 1945)
- February 26 – Tony Randall, American actor (died 2004)
- February 29 – Howard Nemerov, American poet (died 1991)
March[edit]
- March 14 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist (died 2001)
- March 15 – Lawrence Sanders, American novelist (died 1998)
- March 15 – E. Donnall Thomas, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- March 20 – Pamela Harriman, English-born U.S. Ambassador to France (died 1997)
April[edit]
- April 2 – Jack Webb, American actor, director, and producer (died 1982)
- April 5 – Arthur Hailey, American writer (died 2004)
- April 6 – Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- April 29 – Harold Shapero, American composer
May[edit]
- May 7 – James B. Pearson, United States Senator from Kansas from 1962 till 1978. (died 2009)
- May 8 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer (died 1996)
- May 11 – Denver Pyle, American actor (died 1997)
- May 23 – Helen O'Connell, American singer (died 1993)
- May 26 – Peggy Lee, American singer (died 2002)
- May 28 – Gene Levitt, American television writer, producer, and director (died 1999)
- May 30 – Franklin Schaffner, American film and television director (died 1989)
June[edit]
- June 2 – Tex Schramm, American football executive (died 2003)
- June 12 – Dave Berg, American cartoonist (died 2002)
- June 12 – Jim Siedow, American actor (died 2003)
- June 25 – Ozan Marsh, American pianist
- June 29 – Ray Harryhausen, American animator
July[edit]
- July 10 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 11 – Yul Brynner, Russian-born actor (died 1985)
- July 24 – Bella Abzug, American politician (died 1998)
August[edit]
- August 8 – Jimmy Witherspoon, American singer (died 1997)
- August 16 – Charles Bukowski, American writer (died 1994)
- August 18 – Bob Kennedy, baseball player and manager (died 2005)
- August 18 – Shelley Winters, American actress (died 2006)
- August 22 – Ray Bradbury, American writer (died 2012)
- August 29 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist and composer (died 1955)
September[edit]
- September 14 – Lawrence Klein, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- September 18 – Jack Warden, American actor (died 2006)
- September 22 – William H. Riker, American political scientist (died 1993)
- September 23 – Mickey Rooney, American film actor
- September 27 – Jayne Meadows, American actress
October[edit]
- October 1 – Walter Matthau, American actor (died 2000)
- October 8 – Frank Herbert, American author (died 1986)
- October 15 – Mario Puzo, American author (died 1999)
- October 20 – Janet Jagan, President of Guyana (1997–1999), abdominal aortic aneurysm (died 2009)
- October 22 – Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author (died 1996)
- October 25 – Guy M. Townsend, American Air Force brigadier general and test pilot (died 2011)
November[edit]
- November 30 – Virginia Mayo, American actress (died 2005)
December[edit]
- December 6 – Dave Brubeck, American jazz pianist and composer
- December 21 – J. Roderick MacArthur, American businessman and philanthropist (died 1984)
- December 30 – Jack Lord, American actor (died 1998)
Births[edit]
- February 2 – Field Eugene Kindley, American World War I aviator (born 1896)
- February 3 – Frank Brown, Governor of Maryland (born 1846)
- February 15 – Joseph Burton Sumner, founder of Sumner, Mississippi (born 1837)
- February 20 – Joseph J. Fern, Mayor of Honolulu (born 1872)
- February 20 – Robert Peary, American Arctic explorer (born 1856)
- February 27 – William Sherman Jennings, Governor of Florida (born 1863)
- March 1 – John H. Bankhead, U.S. Senator from Alabama (born 1842)
- March 1 – William A. Stone, Governor of Pennsylvania (born 1846)
- March 4 – Roswell P. Bishop, U.S. Congressman from Michigan (born 1843)
- March 26 – William Chester Minor, American surgeon (born 1834)
- March 31 – Edwin Warfield, Governor of Maryland (born 1848)
- April 8 – John Brashear, American astronomer (born 1840)
- April 8 – Charles Griffes, American composer (born 1884)
- April 21 – Maria L. Sanford, American educator (born 1836)
- May 11 – William Dean Howells, American writer (born 1837)
- May 16 – Levi P. Morton, Vice President of the United States (born 1824)
- May 21 – Eleanor H. Porter, American novelist (born 1868)
- June 5 – Julia A. Moore, American poet (born 1847)
- June 18 – Jewett W. Adams, Governor of Nevada (born 1835)
- July 2 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (born 1846)
- July 22 – William Kissam Vanderbilt, American heir (born 1849)
- August 1 – Frank Hanly, Governor of Indiana (born 1863)
- August 2 – Ormer Locklear, American pilot (born 1891)
- August 17 – Ray Chapman, baseball player (born 1891)
- August 26 – James Wilson, Scottish-born American politician (born 1835)
- September 10 – Olive Thomas, American actress (born 1894)
- October 2 – Winthrop M. Crane, Governor of Massachusetts and Senator (born 1853)
- October 17 – John Reed, American journalist (born 1887)
- November 30 – Eugene W. Chafin, American politician (born 1852)
- December 14 – George Gipp, American football player (born 1895)
References[edit]
- ^ "Ruth Bought By New York Americans For $125,000, Highest Price In Baseball Annals" (PDF). The New York Times. January 6, 1920. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ "FAQs about Robert H. Goddard". Clark University. Archived from the original on 03 November 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2009. "When was the famous New York Times editorial about Dr. Goddard?"
External links[edit]
Media related to 1920 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons
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