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The IBM Corporation is founded
It was a merger of three manufacturing businesses created by Charles Flint. It is known for its contributions to technology, management, and culture. -
The Ford Motor Company announces the creation of a 40 hour work week
The labor unions held strikes demanding 40 hour work days instead of 48. Henry Ford agreed that too many hours were bad for workers' productivity and did as they pleased. -
The 18th Amendment goes into effect
The 18th Amendment prohibited the manufacturing, transportation, and sale of alcohol within the United States. It was deemed a huge failure and was overtuned soon after. -
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. Also known as the Red Scare. -
The League of Nations is founded
The League of Nations was an international organization in Geneva, Switzerland, created to conserve disputes and fulfill world peace. It was first proposed by President Woodrow Wilson as a part of his Fourteen Points, although the United States never became a member. -
19th Amendment is ratified by Congress
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. It was adopted on August 18, 1920. -
Radio station KDKA airs the first commercial broadcast program
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation, which served as the radio licensing agency of the day, issued the first radio license ever to KDKA, on Oct. 27, 1920. -
Warren G. Harding is elected president
Republican Warren G. Harding defeated Democrat James M. Cox in a landslide. Harding won the election with 404 votes and Cox's 127. -
Reader's Digest is founded
It was founded by DeWitt Wallace and his wife, Lila Acheson in 1922. Its first publication consisted of condensed articles and content from periodicals. -
The Teapot Dome Scandal is uncovered
After Pres. 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 reserves. -
First game in the newly built Yankee Stadium is played
On April 18, 1923 that Yankee Stadium was opened for major league baseball. In the historic first game, the Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 4-1. -
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. -
Adolf Hitler leads a failed attempt to overthrow the German government (Beer Hall Putsch)
Adolf Hitler and his followers staged the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, a failed takeover of the government in Bavaria, a state in southern Germany. In the aftermath of the failed “putsch,” or coup d’état, Hitler was convicted of treason and sentenced to five years in prison. -
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. -
George Gershwin releases "Rhapsody in Blue"
perhaps Gershwin’s most famous, is one of the most performed of all American concert works, and its opening clarinet glissando is one of the most recognized musical passages in the world. United Airlines’s use of the music in its advertisements since the 1980s greatly expanded its global popularity. -
The National Origins Act is passed, limiting immigration
The main objective of the National Origins Act of 1924 was to favor the immigration from Northern and Western Europe. The government did this to tighten the 1921 quota formula for immigration. -
President Calvin Coolidge is elected president
In a three-way contest, incumbent Republican President Calvin Coolidge won election to a full term. Coolidge had been vice president under Warren G. Harding and became president in 1923 upon Harding's death. -
The Great Gatsby is published by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald provided social commentary on the 1920s American life, particularly those belonging to the upper class. It is deemed a classic of twentieth-century literature to this day. -
Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf 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. -
Scopes Monkey Trial begins in Dayton,TN
The 1925 persecution of science teacher John Scopes for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public school, which a bill had made illegal. The trial consisted of Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan as opposing attorneys. In the end, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100. -
Langston Hughes publishes his first set of poems in his The Weary Blues
"The Weary Blues" is a collection of poems by American poet Langston Hughes. Written in 1925, "The Weary Blues" was first published in the Urban League magazine, Opportunity. -
Gertrude Ederle is the first woman to swim the English Channel
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competition swimmer. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. -
The Great Mississippi Flood displaces 700,000 people
The most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with 27,000 square miles inundated up to a depth of 30 feet. To try to prevent future floods, the federal government built the world's longest system of levees and floodways. -
Charles Lindbergh makes the first nonstop Trans-Atlantic flight
Charles Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris, and Paris to New York. Lindbergh was just 25 years old when he completed the trip. -
Sacco and Vanzetti Trial concludes
On Aug. 23, 1927, Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery. They were exonerated in 1977 by Gov. Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts. -
Babe Ruth hits 60 home runs
Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run on September 30, 1927. It would not be broken until Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run on April 8, 1974, 39 years later. -
The first film with sound "The Jazz Singer" debuts
The national release of the film's sound version in early 1928 dates it to January. In March, Warners announced that The Jazz Singer was playing at a record 235 theaters (though many could still show it only silently). -
The Holland Tunnel connecting NYC and NJ opens
The tunnel, which runs under the Hudson River between New York City and Jersey City, New Jersey, had opened to traffic the week before, at the stroke of midnight on November 13. On that first day, 51,694 vehicles traveled through the tunnel. -
Alexander Fleming discovers Penicillin
Fleming researched another bacteria and while doing so, discovered penicillin within it. It was soon proven by other scientists, that penicillin could be used to fight off a number of bacterial diseases. -
Herbert Hoover is elected president
Republican Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover defeated the Democratic nominee, Governor Al Smith of New York. Hoover was the last Republican to win a presidential election until 1952. -
Mickey Mouse makes his first appearance in the short film "Steamboat Willie"
Disney's Steamboat Willie is a landmark in the history of animation. It was the first Mickey Mouse film released and the first cartoon with synchronized sound. -
Chicago's St. Valentine's Day Massacre
The seven members and associates of the North Side Gang were gathered at Lincoln Park garage on the morning of Valentine's Day, when ordered to be lined against a wall to be shot and killed. The four participants are unknown. -
Stock Market crashes on "Black Tuesday"
Wall Street investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day, which led to billions of dollars lost, wiping out thousands of investors. Soon after, America and the rest of the world fell into a Great Depression. -
Amelia Earhart attempts to fly around the world
In 1937, Amelia Earhart embarked on a flight around the world and soon disappeared. She has never been found since. -
Ellis Island closes as an immigration point to the United States
It was America's first federal immigration center. Due to importing 12 million immigrants there, Ellis Island shut down.
