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Prohibition
16 January. The 18th Amendment (Prohibition Amendment) goes into effect at midnight. Although the law is challenged in some states (New Jersey), the Supreme Court later declares the law valid -
Albert Einstein
2 April. Albert Einstein lectures in New York about his theory of relativity. -
Women Can Vote
The Supreme Court declares the 19th Amendment (votes for women) to be constitutional. -
Labor
U. S. Steel implements the 8-hour day, a victory for labor. -
Immigration Laws
Congress passes a new and more restrictive immigration law; quotas are now set at only 2 percent of existing nationalities in the U.S. in 1920, and Japanese immigration is suspended. -
Clarence Darrow
July. The Scopes trial begins as John T. Scopes of Tennessee is arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. Clarence Darrow defends Scopes as William Jennings Bryan heads the prosecution. In an unusual move, Bryan takes the witness stand to defend his strict interpretation of the Bible. Scopes loses the trial and is fined $100, but the trial publicity has given the debate over evolution national attention -
Army Air Corps
The Air Commerce Act regulates civil aviation; the Army Air Corps is established. This occurs just one year after Col. William "Billy" Mitchell had been suspended from the Army for 5 years without pay for insisting on the importance of air power in the national defense. -
Jazz
6 October. The Jazz Singer, starring Broadway star Al Jolson, debuts as the "first" talking picture, and its success spells the beginning of the end for silent movies. -
St. Francis Dam
12 March. In southern California, the two-year-old St. Francis Dam gives way, killing over 500 people. The dam is part of the water system designed by William Mulholland, creator of the Los Angeles Aqueduct systerm. -
St. Valentine's Day Massace
14 February. In the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre," six gangsters from the "Bugs" Moran mob and another man are gunned down in a Chicago garage.