Portal:1920s

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The 1920s Portal

The 1920s (pronounced "nineteen-twenties" often shortened to the "'20s" or the "Twenties") was a decade that began on January 1, 1920, and ended on December 31, 1929. In America, it is frequently referred to as the "Roaring Twenties" or the "Jazz Age", while in Europe the period is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Twenties" because of the economic boom following World War I (1914–1918). French speakers refer to the period as the "Années folles" ("crazy years"), emphasizing the era's social, artistic, and cultural dynamism.

The 1920s saw foreign oil companies begin operations in Venezuela, which became the world's second-largest oil-producing nation. The devastating Wall Street Crash in October 1929 is generally viewed as a harbinger of the end of 1920s prosperity in North America and Europe. In the Soviet Union, the New Economic Policy was created by the Bolsheviks in 1921, to be replaced by the first five-year plan in 1928. The 1920s saw the rise of radical political movements, with the Red Army triumphing against White movement forces in the Russian Civil War, and the emergence of far-right political movements in Europe. In 1922, the fascist leader Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy. Other dictators that emerged included Józef Piłsudski in Poland, and Peter and Alexander Karađorđević in Yugoslavia. First-wave feminism made advances, with women gaining the right to vote in the United States (1920), Albania (1920), Ireland (1921), and with suffrage being expanded in Britain to all women over 21 years old (1928).

In Turkey, nationalist forces defeated Greece, France, Armenia and Britain in the Turkish War of Independence, leading to the Treaty of Lausanne (July 1923), a treaty more favorable to Turkey than the earlier proposed Treaty of Sèvres. The war also led to the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate. Nationalist revolts also occurred in Ireland (1919–1921) and Syria (1925–1927). Under Mussolini, Italy pursued a more aggressive domestic and foreign policy, leading to the nigh-eradication of the Sicilian Mafia and the Second Italo-Senussi War in Libya respectively. In 1927, China erupted into a civil war between the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China (ROC) and forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Civil wars also occurred in Paraguay (1922–1923), Ireland (1922–1923), Honduras (1924), Nicaragua (1926–1927), and Afghanistan (1928–1929). Saudi forces conquered Jabal Shammar and subsequently, Hejaz.

A severe famine occurred in Russia (1921–1922) due to the combined effects of economic disturbance because of the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War, exacerbated by rail systems that could not distribute food efficiently, leading to 5 million deaths. Another severe famine occurred in China (1928–1930), leading to 6 million deaths. The Spanish flu pandemic (1918–1920) and Russian typhus epidemic (1918–1922), which had begun in the previous decade, caused 25–50 million and 2–3 million deaths respectively. Major natural disasters of this decade include the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake (258,707~273,407 deaths), 1922 Shantou typhoon (50,000–100,000 deaths), 1923 Great Kantō earthquake (105,385–142,800 deaths), and 1927 Gulang earthquake (40,912 deaths).

Silent films were popular in this decade, with the highest-grossing film of this decade being either the American silent epic adventure-drama film Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ or the American silent war drama film The Big Parade, depending on the metrics used. Sinclair Lewis was a popular author in the United States in the 1920s, with his books Main Street and Elmer Gantry becoming best-sellers. Best-selling books outside the US included the Czech book The Good Soldier Švejk, which sold 20 million copies. Songs of this decade included "Mack the Knife" and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".

During the 1920s, the world population increased from 1.87 to 2.05 billion, with approximately 700 million births and 525 million deaths in total. (Full article...)

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Aerial view in August 2002

The original Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees, one of the city's Major League Baseball franchises, from 1923 to 2008, except for 1974–1975 when the stadium was renovated. It hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the home of the New York Giants National Football League (NFL) team from October 21, 1956 through September 23, 1973. The stadium's nickname, "The House That Ruth Built", is derived from Babe Ruth, the baseball superstar whose prime years coincided with the stadium's opening and the beginning of the Yankees' winning history. It has often been referred to as "The Cathedral of Baseball". Since the opening of the new Yankee Stadium in 2009, it is sometimes retroactively referred to as Old Yankee Stadium to distinguish it from the current one.

The stadium was built from 1922 to 1923 for $2.4 million ($43 million in 2023 dollars). Its construction was paid for entirely by Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, who was eager to have his own stadium after sharing the Polo Grounds with the New York Giants baseball team the previous ten years. Located only a half-mile (0.8 km) north of the upper Manhattan location of the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium opened for the 1923 season and was hailed at the time as a one-of-a-kind facility in the country. Over the course of its history, Yankee Stadium became one of the most famous venues in the United States, having hosted a variety of events and historic moments during its existence. While many of these moments were baseball-related—including World Series games, no-hitters, perfect games, and historic home runs—the stadium also hosted boxing matches, the 1958 NFL Championship Game (referred to as The Greatest Game Ever Played), college football, concerts, Jehovah's Witnesses conventions (see record attendance), and three Papal Masses. The stadium went through many alterations and playing surface configurations over the years. The condition of the facility worsened in the 1960s and 1970s, prompting its closure for renovation from October 1973 through 1975. The renovation significantly altered the appearance of the venue and reduced the distance of the outfield fences. (Full article...)

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Credit: American Colony, Jerusalem

Haile Selassie I was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. The heir to a dynasty that traced its origins to the 13th century, and from there by tradition back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, he is a defining figure in both Ethiopian and African history. Selassie is revered as the religious symbol for God incarnate among the Rastafari movement, whose name comes from Ras (literally "Head," an Ethiopian title equivalent to Duke), and Tafari Makonnen, Selassie's pre-coronation name.

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... that the colorfully-painted common room of the Jazz Age Naniboujou Club Lodge (pictured) has been called "a psychedelic marriage of Art Deco and traditional Cree Indian patterns"?
... that Charlie Bowman was a major influence on the distinctive fiddle sound that helped shape and develop early country music in the 1920s and 1930s?
... that Margie (ABC, 1961–1962) is one of the few network programs set during the Roaring Twenties, complete with jalopies, raccoon coats, period music, and references to flappers?

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Coolidge in 1919

Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; /ˈkuːlɪdʒ/; July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929.

Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed the ladder of Massachusetts politics, becoming the state's 48th governor. His response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight as a man of decisive action. The next year, Coolidge was elected the country's 29th vice president and succeeded the presidency upon the sudden death of President Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, Coolidge gained a reputation as a small-government conservative with a taciturn personality and dry sense of humor that earned him the nickname "Silent Cal". Though his widespread popularity enabled him to run for a second full term, Coolidge chose not to run again in 1928, remarking that ten years as president would be "longer than any other man has had it – too long!" (Full article...)

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... that in the 1920s, Hickson Inc. had the "most elegant and expensive specialty shop" on New York's Fifth Avenue?
... that B. Max Mehl, a coin dealer in Texas who made the hobby popular, advertised his "Mehl-ing list" in the 1920s?
... that in the 1920s, Australian journalist E. George Marks predicted military conflict in the Pacific between Japan and the United States?
... that Cleo Damianakes's 1920s book dust jacket designs "made sex respectable", but Hemingway did not like the "large misplaced breasts" on A Farewell to Arms?
... that the serial arsonist who started the fatal Nihon Shōgakkō fire confessed to starting at least 25 other California fires in the early 1920s?
... that Rannveig Þorsteinsdóttir, a newspaper clerk and part-time teacher in the 1920s, became the first woman to practice law in the Supreme Court of Iceland thirty years later?

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The following are images from various 1920s-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The most memorable fashion trend of the Roaring Twenties was undoubtedly "the flapper" look. (from 1920s)
Image 2Robert Goddard and his rocket, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 3Crowd gathering after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 4Buster Keaton in the 1922 short film The Frozen North (from 1920s)
Image 5Thompson submachine gun (1921 model) (from 1920s)
Image 6Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922. (from 1920s)
Image 7D. W. Griffith at a rolltop desk, c. 1925 (from 1920s)
Image 8Albert Einstein, 1921 (from 1920s)
Image 9Charlie Chaplin during the 1920s (from 1920s)
Image 101920s phone (from 1920s)
Image 11Dow Jones Industrial, 1928–1930 (from 1920s)
Image 12From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States throughout the entire decade; In 1927, Charles Lindbergh embarks on the first solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris on the Spirit of St. Louis; A crowd gathering on Wall Street after the 1929 stock market crash, which led to the Great Depression; Benito Mussolini and fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922; the People's Liberation Army attacking government defensive positions in Shandong, during the Chinese Civil War; The women's suffrage campaign leads to numerous countries granting women the right to vote and be elected; Babe Ruth becomes the most famous baseball player of the time. (from 1920s)
Image 13Paavo Nurmi in 1924 Summer Olympics (from 1920s)
Image 14Flag map of the world from 1920, two years after World War I (from 1920s)
Image 15The period from the end of the First World War until the start of the Depression in 1929 is known as the "Jazz Age" (from 1920s)
Image 16F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 17Irving Berlin (left) and Al Jolson, c. 1927 (from 1920s)
Image 18Babe Ruth in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 19The British and French colonial empires in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 20Spanish troops in San Sebastián, prior to their departure to the Rif War. (from 1920s)
Image 21Adolf Hitler (standing) delivers a speech in February 1925 (from 1920s)
Image 22Frank Lloyd Wright, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 23The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) is created in 1922. (from 1920s)
Image 24George Grosz in 1921 (from 1920s)
Image 25Prohibition agents emptying barrels of alcohol. (from 1920s)
Image 26Georgia O'Keeffe in 1920, photographed by Alfred Stieglitz (from 1920s)