-
The Treaty of Versailles was signed
At the end of World War 1, during a peace conference held in Paris, the victorious allies concluded a series of peace treaties that would be imposed on the defeated Central Powers. The most important treaties of those was the Treaty of Versailles. This codified peace terms between the Allies and Germany, held Germany responsible for starting the war, and imposed harsh penalties in terms of loss of territory, massive reparations payments and demilitarization. -
Mass media was born
The world's first commercial-licensed radio station began broadcasting live results of the presidential election. This was breaking news for the whole world, the "talking box" soon became popular. Two years later Americans bought 100,000 radios, then in 1923, they bought 500,000. By 1926, there were over 700 commercial radio stations and practically the entire country was covered by radio signals. -
End of the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was one of the strongest and longest-lasting dynasties in world history. The Ottoman Turks entered the war in 1914 on the side of the Central Powers this included Germany and Austria/Hungary and they were defeated in 1918. The Ottoman empire officially ended in 1922 when the title of Ottoman Sultan was eliminated. Turkey was then later declared a republic in 1923. -
Vladimir Lenin dies
Vladimir Lenin was an architect of the Bolshevik Revolution and was the first leader of the Soviet Union. He died from a brain hemorrhage, he was 54 at the time. His body was embalmed and placed in a mausoleum near the Moscow Kremlin. -
The Locarno Pacts are signed
It was a series of agreements where Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain and Italy mutually guaranteed peace in Western Europe. The treaties were signed initialed at Locarno on October 16 and were signed in London on the first of December. -
The Great Depression begun
The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis in the modern world. The great depression started in 1929 and lasted through to 1939. It was a severe worldwide economic depression that began in the United States. It started when there was a massive stock market crash in October 1929, this crash sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. -
Adolf Hitler is named chancellor of Germany
President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party as chancellor of Germany. This was Hitler’s first major step into his rise to dictatorship. Also on this day Hitler is elected president of Germany in an unprecedented consolidation of power in the history of the republic. -
Spanish Nationals bomb Guernica
The small northern town of Guernica is bombed, and civilians are gunned down as they flee the scene. In this brutal massacre 1500 die and 800 are wounded, but the military targets in the town remain intact. -
Superman makes his first appearance
The comic superhero Superman made his first appearance during April when Action Comics #1 is published. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster in 1933. They created the Superman comic until they were fired in 1947 and they made very little money off the character as they had sold their rights for $130. The Action Comics issue that first featured Superman is considered one of the most valuable comic books ever created and has sold for more than $3 million. -
The beginning of WW2
Hitler invaded Poland from the west then two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II. On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east. Under attack from both sides, Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940 Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over the nation
