December 3, 1926: Mystery writer Agatha Christie mysteriously disappears for 11 days
December 25, 1926: Japan's Emperor Yoshihito dies, succeeded by Hirohito as Shōwa Era begins
The following events occurred in December 1926:
Wednesday, December 1, 1926
The legislature of Ontario voted to strike down the Ontario Temperance Act in the province after a decade of enforcement. The repeal was to go into effect in February 1927. This left the Maritime provinces as the only region in Canada to have Prohibition laws.[1]
Charlie Chaplin was left by his second wife, Lita Grey, after two years of marriage.[2] They officially divorced in August 1927.
At a conference in Tianjin, the northern warlords of China formed an alliance to fight the Kuomintang.[3]Zhang Zuolin was elected commander of the army to be known as the Ankuochun.[4]
British mystery writer Agatha Christie disappeared from her home in Shere, Surrey.[6] Her car was found abandoned several miles away with her clothes and identification inside strewn about inside, but there were no signs of foul play.[7]
Benito Mussolini decreed a bachelor tax in Italy, effective January 1, on all unmarried men. The tax was progressive by income and sought to increase the country's birth rates.[12]
Tuesday, December 7, 1926
U.S. President Calvin Coolidge made his fourth State of the Union address to Congress. "In reporting to the Congress the state of the Union, I find it impossible to characterize it other than one of general peace and prosperity", he began.[13] One of the items he called for was new legislation of the radio, which led to the Radio Act of 1927.[14] Coolidge also reminded listeners that Prohibition was "the law of the land" and urged its enforcement, saying, "Some people do not like the amendment, some do not like other parts of the Constitution, some do not like any of it. Those who entertain such sentiments have a perfect right to seek through legal methods for a change. But for any of our inhabitants to observe such parts of the Constitution as they like, while disregarding others, is a doctrine that would break down all protection of life and property and destroy the American system of ordered liberty."[13]
Carmi Thompson, leader of a commission to survey the condition of the Philippines, recommended the postponement of independence.[10]
The Calles government of Mexico recognized the Nicaraguan rebel government of Juan Bautista Sacasa and not President Adolfo Díaz as the legitimate government of Nicaragua, putting it at odds with the United States.[15]
Thursday, December 9, 1926
In Britain, coal restrictions in force during the labour dispute were lifted.[5]
The Italian Socialist Filippo Turati completed a dramatic overnight journey by motorboat to Corsica, escaping the Fascists who had restricted his movements under the country's new confinement laws. Turati's escape to France was aided by Carlo Rosselli, Ferruccio Parri and future Italian President Sandro Pertini.[23]
Irvington, New Jersey, invoked the state's blue law from 1854 to arrest 95 people for doing business on the Sabbath. An organization of ten local ministers was behind the push for enforcement.[24]
Agatha Christie, missing for 11 days, was found at a spa in Harrogate. Her husband Archie issued a statement claiming she had been suffering from amnesia.[7]
A specially prepared phonograph record was played over WGN radio in Chicago, in which Benito Mussolini addressed the American people in the first recording ever made of his voice. The nine-minute address was in Italian and then announcer Bill Hay read an English translation after the recording was finished. Mussolini stated that he felt "the heartiest friendship" for the United States, that he was a "sincere admirer" of American civilization, and that Italian-Americans were "a complete example of the fusion of the two civilizations, a wonderful and profitable treaty of union. So is built an indissoluble relation of cordiality, friendship, and collaboration. The two lands will, I am convinced, travel a long road together."[25]
Wednesday, December 15, 1926
Roman Catholic clergy in the United States issued a collective pastoral letter condemning the ongoing persecution of Catholics in Mexico.[26]
The Wilhelm Marx government fell in the Reichstag on a motion of no confidence. The decision on who should form the next government was put off until January as the Reichstag adjourned for Christmas vacation.[30]
The Condé diamond, stolen in October, was recovered in Paris when a hotel chambermaid bit into an apple left in the room and found it contained the stolen gem. She took it to authorities and several arrests were made.[34]
Baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis released the findings of a three-month investigation into allegations made by Dutch Leonard that Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Smoky Joe Wood had conspired to fix a game in 1919. The evidence included letters from Cobb and Wood describing the plot and details on betting, as well as testimony in which they admitted to writing the letters but denied betting on the game.[36]
The government of Romania introduced a bill that would make it a crime for anyone to send out news offending the King, Queen or Crown Prince. The punishment would be four years in prison and a $100 fine.[38]
Nicaraguan President Adolfo Díaz requested U.S. military assistance in the ongoing civil war. American peacekeeping troops immediately set up neutral zones in Puerto Cabezas and at the mouth of the Rio Grande to protect American and foreign lives and property.[39][40]
Emperor Hirohito and Empress Kōjun held their first levée. Hirohito read a script outlining his policies of what was to be sought, among them "national harmony in purpose and action" and "beneficience to all classes of people and friendship for all nations on earth."[43]
Korean nationalist Na Seok-ju attacked the Oriental Development Company Building, a symbol of Imperial Japan's colonialism, in Seoul. He killed several Japanese office workers and a police officer with grenades and bullets before fatally shooting himself as police were closing in. He was later hailed for his actions as a national hero.[45][46]
District Attorney Asa Keyes announced that the Aimee Semple McPherson trial would not go forward and that the charges against her of faking her kidnapping story would be dropped. "Dismissal of charges is necessary because of the impossibility of conviction in the present state of the case", Keyes stated.[47]
Turkey, the last nation in the world to use the old Julian calendar, marked the day as "December 18, 1926", then switched over at midnight to the Gregorian calendar as part of the reforms set by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. At 12:01 am, the official date in Turkey was "January 1, 1927".
As a New Year's gift, King Alfonso XIII of Spain either granted pardons or commuted the sentences of all the artillery officers involved in the protests of the previous September.[49]
The Académie française voted in the affirmative, by a count of eight to five, on the question of whether animals have souls.[50]
^Dailey, Charles (December 3, 1926). "List Dr. Sun's Widow to Be China's Ruler". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^Gu, Sharron (2009). Law and Politics in Modern China: Under the Law, the Law, and Above the Law. Amherst, New York: Cambria Press. p. 85. ISBN978-1-60497-604-5.
^ abcdMercer, Derrik (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 348. ISBN978-0-582-03919-3.
^"Europe's Peace Hopes Snagged on Rhine Army". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 6, 1926. p. 1.
^Clayton, John (December 7, 1926). "Marry or Pay Tax, Mussolini to Bachelors". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^ abWoolley, John; Peters, Gerhard. "Fourth Annual Message". The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
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