January 21, 1924: Soviet Union founder and leader Vladimir Lenin dies of a strokeJanuary 25, 1924: The first Winter Olympics open at Chamonix
The following events occurred in January 1924:
January 1, 1924 (Tuesday)
The Rose Bowl football game, at the time the only postseason bowl game in the U.S., was played before 40,000 spectators between the Washington Huskies (who had an 8-1-0 record and were selected by the Rose Bowl Committee despite having lost to the unbeaten California Golden Bears) and the Navy Midshipmen (a 5-1-2 team whom the Huskies had been allowed to pick as their opponent). The teams played to a 14–14 tie after Washington tied the game with a fourth quarter touchdown.[1]
During a New Year's Day party at the home of millionaire oil broker Courtland S. Dines, the chauffeur of actress Mabel Normand shot and wounded Dines in the abdomen with a pistol belonging to Normand. When police arrived they found Normand and fellow actress Edna Purviance in the kitchen frantically insisting they didn't know how Dines came to be shot. Alcohol was found on the premises (illegal at the time under Prohibition), and the whole episode caused a scandal which caused some exhibitors to pull Purviance's film A Woman of Paris from theaters.[2][3]
Primary railway stations in Paris closed as the water level of the Seine rose due to flooding.[6]
The Bulgarian government gave former King Ferdinand, who had been living in exile since 1918, permission to return to Sofia. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia immediately sent an ultimatum objecting to the move.[7]
Clara Abbott, 66, American business executive and the first woman to serve on the board of directors of a major U.S. corporation. She was on the board of Abbott Laboratories from 1900 to 1908 and again from 1911 until her death.[8]
Born: Otto Beisheim, German businessman and founder of Metro AG membership discount retailer; in Vossnacken, near Velbert (d. 2013)
January 4, 1924 (Friday)
Germany issued an emergency decree known as the Emminger Reform, best known for abolishing the jury system in court proceedings and replacing it with a mixed system of judges.
Factories and mines in the Ruhr region shut down as laborers refused to work ten hours a day.[17]
In the U.S., 19-year-old Celia Cooney began a string of armed robberies, starting with the Thomas Ralston Grocery in Brooklyn, where she walked out with $680 and left in a car driven by her husband Ed Cooney. Dubbed "The Bobbed Hair Bandit" by the New York press, Celia continued working with Ed until both were arrested on April 20.[18][19][20]
January 6, 1924 (Sunday)
Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk survived a bomb attack, but his wife Latife Uşşaki was injured.[6] The assailant visited Atatürk's home and asked to see him, then threw a bomb when he appeared.[21]
The French government gave the Catholic Church the right to reoccupy its former property under the "diocesan associations" system.[22]
The Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) was founded in Paris by representatives of field hockey of Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Spain, and Switzerland, with Paul Léautey as its first president.[23] A century later, the FIH would govern the rules of field hockey and oversee 140 national associations.
Mexican rebels captured the oil port city of Tampico.[24]
Gene L. Coon, American TV producer known for developing the Star Trek TV series with Gene Roddenberry; in Beatrice, Nebraska (died of lung cancer, 1973)
January 8, 1924 (Tuesday)
The Soviet newspaper Pravda reported that Leon Trotsky was ill, a statement which the rank and file took to mean as a sign of his imminent removal.[25]
United Kingdom Labour Party leader Ramsay MacDonald gave a speech at a packed Royal Albert Hall where he announced that Labour would accept office as soon as it was invited to do so, though it would be taking over a "bankrupt estate". MacDonald pledged to run the country along sound economic lines, make efforts through the League of Nations to retain peace in Europe, and end the "pompous folly" of refusing to recognize the Soviet Union.[26]
Born:Ron Moody, English stage and film actor known for his portrayal of Fagin in the 1968 film musical Oliver! and the 1983 Broadway revival; actor, in Tottenham, Middlesex (d. 2015)
Mary Kaye (stage name for Malia Ka'aihue), American guitarist and performer, in Hawaii (d. 2007)
Died:Franz Josef Heinz, 39, German separatist former leader of the "Autonomous Palatinate" in association with the Rhenish Republic, was assassinated in Speyer by 20 members of the German nationalist paramilitary group, the Viking League. The attack on the dining room of the Wittelsbacher Hof also killed a hotel guest and an employee, while two of the assassins died in a shootout.[29]
January 10, 1924 (Thursday)
All 43 crew of the British submarine HMS L24 were killed when the sub sank after a collision with the battleship HMS Resolution in a training exercise in the English Channel.[30][31]
In the occupied Rhineland, France imposed a curfew and closed the borders between the occupied section and the rest of Germany, permitting no traffic in or out except for railroad business and food supplies and a curfew was imposed. The move came amid fears of a new separatist coup attempt after the murder of Franz Josef Heinz the previous day.[33] Relations between Britain and France became strained when French Prime MinisterRaymond Poincaré refused to allow British officials into the occupied Rhineland to conduct their own investigation of the separatist movement there.[33]
Born:
Earl Bakken, American inventor who created (in 1957) the first wearable artificial pacemaker, developed by his company Meditronic; in Columbia Heights, Minnesota (d. 2018)
Marilyn Cotlow, American opera singer known for starring in the original Broadway production of Gian Carlo Menotti's 1947, The Telephone; in Minneapolis (living in 2024).
Died: Peter MacQueen, 60, U.S. war correspondent, church pastor and adventurer, died one day before his 61st birthday.[34]
January 11, 1924 (Friday)
Mexican government troops recaptured Pachuca from the rebels, and began a battle to retake Tuxpan.[35]
Mexican mountaineer irregulars loyal to President Obregón recaptured Oaxaca City from the rebels.[36]
France rejected a British-backed proposal to arrange a League of Nations committee to investigate separatism in the Rhineland Palatinate. Prime Minister Poincaré insisted it was strictly the business of the countries directly involved in administrating the region.[37]
Bengali activist Gopinath Saha shot a man he thought was Calcutta police commissioner Charles Tegart, but learned that he had killed a different Englishman, Ernest Day, instead. Saha was sentenced to death for the crime and hanged on March 1.[38]
Chris Chase (stage name for Irene Greengard), American journalist, model and actress; in New York City (d. 2013)
Died:Alexis Lapointe, 63, eccentric French Canadian endurance runner, was killed when he was struck by a train.[39]
January 13, 1924 (Sunday)
The second stage of Egypt's first election for parliament took place as 38,000 electors (who had been selected in September 27) cast their votes for candidates for the 215 members of the Chamber of Deputies and 147 members of the Egyptian Senate. The Wafd Party, led by exiled nationalist Saad Zaghloul, won 188 of the 215 seats available in the Chamber, with only 27 seats for the independent candidates, prompting the resignation of Prime Minister Ibrahim Pasha.[40]
A long meeting between British ambassador Crewe and Prime Minister Poincaré over the Rhineland separatism issue was said to be unproductive.[41]
The American Communist newspaper The Worker changed its name to Daily Worker.[42]
The Chicago Daily Tribune announced a nationwide contest to name the new general interest magazine the paper's owners were planning to launch in the spring. The winner would receive a $20,000 cash prize. The entry eventually chosen would be Liberty.[43]
Britain began an independent investigation into the Rhineland separatist movement, against the wishes of France.[41]
Born:
Guy Williams (stage name for Armando Catalano), American TV actor known as the star of Zorro 1957-1959 and of Lost in Space (1965-1968); in New York City (d. 1989)
Luther Emmett Holt, 68, American pediatrician, author of the best selling books The Care and Feeding of Children and Diseases of Infancy and Childhood
Howard R. Hughes Sr., 54, American inventor who founded the Hughes Tool Company and became wealthy as the developer of the two-cone rotary Sharp-Hughes Rock Bit for drilling of oil wells, died of a heart attack.
The French Cabinet drafted a plan to stabilize the franc, which had lost more than three-quarters of its pre-war value. The plan called for many tax hikes and a reduction in civil servants.[48]
SMS Berlin became the first German Navy warship since the 1918 end of World War One to embark on an overseas voyage, departing Kiel on a two-month tour of the islands of the North Atlantic Ocean, before returning on March 18.[49]
January 16, 1924 (Wednesday)
Argentine engineer Raúl Pateras Pescara broke his own record for helicopter flight when he kept his model 2F aloft in the air for 8 minutes and 13.8 seconds at Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris. It flew in a straight line almost three-quarters of a mile[50] at an altitude of about fifteen feet.[51]
At around 7:00 in the evening, the American dirigible Shenandoah broke free of its mooring mast in Lakehurst, New Jersey during a raging gale and began drifting with 22 men aboard.[54] The airship was brought back under control and lowered into the hangar around 3:20 the next morning.[54]
Born:Katy Jurado, Mexican film actress who was one of the first Latin American actresses to become popular in U.S. film, and 1952 Golden Globe Award winner for High Noon; in Guadalajara (d. 2002)
The most popular song of 1924, "California, Here I Come", was recorded by Al Jolson and the Isham Jones Orchestra at the Brunswick Records studio in Chicago.[56]
January 18, 1924 (Friday)
Conflicting accounts arose as to the whereabouts of Leon Trotsky amid rumors he had been arrested.[57] He was in fact traveling to the Black Sea to convalesce from illness.[25]
A Soviet party conference ended with the passing of a resolution blaming Trotsky for divisions within the Communist Party. Joseph Stalin attacked Trotsky in a withering speech accusing him of sowing dissent.[25][58]
A preliminary hearing into the New Year's Day shooting of Courtland Dines began in Los Angeles.[3]Edna Purviance testified that she was not present in the room when the shooting occurred.[59]
U.S. Secretary of the NavyEdwin Denby testified before the House Naval Affairs Committee in support of an expedition to the Arctic by the airship USS Shenandoah, to claim any undiscovered land. "This area is certain to be of high strategic value if we look forward to warfare and commerce in the future", he said.[61]
The short story "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell appeared in the popular weekly magazine Collier's.[62] The tale of a big game hunter who becomes the human prey of another hunter, the story was made into a film in 1932, and the plot of the "hunter becoming the hunted" would be adapted numerous times in film, radio and television. Connell's work has been described as "the most popular short story ever written in English."[62]
Mexican rebels captured Villahermosa, capital of the Mexican state of Tabasco.[63] Governor Tomás Garrido Canabal was able to escape and the rebels installed Manuel Antonio Romero as the new Governor of Tabasco.
The Swedish football club Växjö BK was founded.[64]
January 21, 1924 (Monday)
Vladimir Lenin, the semi-retired founder and leader of the Soviet Union and the de facto leader of the USSR as First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, died at his estate in Gorki at 18:50 hrs Moscow time following a stroke.[25][65] Top Soviet leaders were convening at the Eleventh All-Russia Congress of Soviets at the Bolshoi Theatre when news of Lenin's death was communicated by telephone, and an eyewitness reported never seeing so many men in tears.[25]
At midnight, 60,000 rail workers went on strike in the United Kingdom to protest a recent reduction in wages ordered by the National Wage Board. British newspapers with nationwide distribution arranged fleets of trucks to maintain their circulations during the work stoppage.[69]
Mabel Normand and Courtland S. Dines testified in the New Year's Day shooting case when the court convened in the hospital where they were staying (Normand was there with an inflamed appendix). Both of them claimed to be unable to remember much about the incident.[70][71][72]
Benny Hill (stage name for Alfred Hawthorne Hill), English comedian and TV actor known for his risque syndicated program, winner of two Emmy Awards for outstanding variety; in Southampton (d. 1992)
Madhu Dandavate, Indian physicist and modernized the railroad system of India while serving as Minister of Railways (1977 to 1979) and later became India's Minister of Finance; in Ahmednagar, Bombay Province (now in Maharashtra state), British India (d. 2005)
Died: Vladimir Lenin, 53, Russian Communist and leader of the Soviet Union since 1918
A complete autopsy was conducted on Vladimir Lenin's body. A cerebral hemorrhage was given as the cause of death.[25][65] The brain was subsequently removed for study, as part of a directive that had been issued by Lenin, and a detailed, two-year study would begin at the Brain Research Institute in Moscow on January 24, under the direction of a German neurologist, Dr. Oskar Vogt.[75]
U.S. President Calvin Coolidge announced that he would appoint special counsel from both parties to prosecute any criminal wrongdoing in the Teapot Dome scandal.[84]
The Soviet Union announced that the city of Petrograd (which had been Saint Petersburg until World War One) had been renamed Leningrad.[85] In 1991, voters in Russia would elect to return the city to its original name of Saint Petersburg.[86]
An explosion killed 36 miners at the Lancashire No. 18 Mine in Shanktown, Pennsylvania, located in Indiana County.[87]
Born:Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician, Mayor of Dallas from 1987 to 1991; in Houston (d. 1998)
January 27, 1924 (Sunday)
A state funeral was held for Vladimir Lenin in Moscow's Red Square under frigid (−35 degrees Fahrenheit) conditions, with a screen temperature of −35 °F (−37 °C).[88]
In the French West African colony of Senegal, Mahecor Joof was crowned as the last King of Sine (Maad a Sinig) at a ceremony in Diakhao, and would be permitted limited authority to reign until his death on August 3, 1969.[90]
Supported by the Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Mexicana), Mexican federal troops won a hard-fought battle for Esperanza in the state of Puebla. The battle was one of the turning points of the Delahuertista Rebellion, the attempt by former President Adolfo de la Huerta to overthrow President Álvaro Obregón. Ralph O'Neill, a Mexican-born American with dual citizenship and a veteran pilot for the U.S. in World War One, led a counterattack against the insurgents with strafing runs by the FAM's De Havilland DH-4B combat aircraft, which had been purchased when De la Huerta had been president.[92][93]
Japanese Prime Minister Kiyoura Keigo dissolved the National Diet and called for new elections. A brawl broke out during the morning session over accusations that the government had failed to protect a train that prominent opposition leaders were riding on when it was pelted with rocks and timbers.[98]
Former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was reported to be seriously ill with a digestive disorder.[99]
Twenty-four days after the death of his wife, Prussian state executioner Paul Spaethe dressed in formal evening wear, lit 45 candles – one for each person he had beheaded – and committed suicide with a revolver.[6][100][101]
References
^"Annual East-West Football Battle Ends In 14-14 Tie", by Walter Eckersall, Detroit Free Press, January 2, 1924, p.16
^Baxter, John (2010). Von Sternberg. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 55–56. ISBN978-0-8131-2601-2.
^ abMilton, Joyce (1998). Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin. Da Capo Press. pp. 221–223. ISBN0-306-80831-5.
^"What it Means to Be a Book Publisher at 29: What Simon and Schuster Have Found Out in Their Pursuit of Best Sellers"], by Beatrice Barmby, McClure's magazine (October 1927) p.62
^Cornyn, John (January 2, 1924). "Mexico Rebels Trap 2,000 Men, Battle 2 Days". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^ abcdeMercer, Derrik (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 314. ISBN978-0-582-03919-3.
^Fendrick, Raymond (January 2, 1924). "Ultimatum to Bulgars Sent by Jugo-Slavs". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^Holston, Kim R. (2013). Movie Roadshows: A History and Filmography of Reserved-Seat Limited Showings, 1911–1973. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 35. ISBN978-0-7864-6062-5.
^"Balkan Clash Near on Former King Ferdinand". Chicago Daily Tribune. January 5, 1924. p. 1.
^Wilhelm Kreutz and Karl Scherer, Die Pfalz unter französischer Besetzung ("The Palatinate under French occupation")(Bezirksverband Pfalz, 1999) p.72
^Steele, John (January 11, 1924). "Locate Wreck of Submarine". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^"British Give Up Hope of Saving Any on Submarine". Chicago Daily Tribune. January 13, 1924. p. 16.
^Bernard F. Dick, Columbia Pictures: Portrait of a Studio (University Press of Kentucky, 1992)
^ abClayton, John (January 11, 1924). "Allies Resume Check on German Military Moves". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 4.
^"Peter MacQueen Dies at Boothbay Harbor," Boston Globe, January 11, 1924
^Cornyn, John (January 12, 1924). "Obregon Troops Open Battle for Rebel Tuxpam". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 7.
^Cornyn, John (January 13, 1924). "Loyal Mountaineers Drive Mexican Rebels from Town". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 16.
^Clayton, John (January 13, 1924). "Allied Officers Hunting German Arms Face Mob". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 16.
^Sengupta, Nitish K. (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. London: Penguin Books. p. 342. ISBN978-0-14-341678-4.
^Steele, John (January 16, 1924). "King's Ermine Rubs Tweeds of Socialism". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^Wales, Henry (January 16, 1924). "France Boosts Taxes to Stem Finance Crash". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^Hans H. Hildebrand, et al., Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe, Biographien: Ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart (The German Warships, Biographies: A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present) (Mundus Verlag, 1993) pp.56-59
^ abTumarkin, Nina (1997). Lenin Lives! The Lenin Cult in Soviet Russia. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 169. ISBN0-674-52431-4.
^Steele, John (January 22, 1924). "Britain Calls Socialists to Rule Monarchy". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^L. F. Rushbrook Williams, India In 1923—24 ( Government Of India, 1924)
^"37 Killed in Illinois Coal Mine Explosion". Chicago Daily Tribune. January 26, 1924. p. 1.
^Cornyn, John (January 29, 1924). "400 Yaquis Battle 4,000 Rebels 4 Days". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^Matheson, Roderick (January 27, 1924). "Rally Japs to War on Peers as Prince Marries". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 5.
^Bruce Carty, Australian Radio History (Gosford Council, 2011)
^Wilcox, Grafton (January 27, 1924). "Special Counsel Ordered to Let No Guilty Escape". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^"Rename Petrograd Leningrad, Honor Late Red Premier". Chicago Daily Tribune. January 25, 1924. p. 3.
^Jack F. Matlock Jr., Autopsy on an Empire: The American Ambassador's Account of the Collapse of the Soviet Union, Random House, 1995, ISBN0-679-41376-6
^Louis Diène Faye, Mort et Naissance le monde Sereer ("Death and Birth in the Sereer world") (Les Nouvelles Éditions Africaines, 1983. (ISBN 2-7236-0868-9). p.59
^"$100,000 Voted for Coolidge to Strain Oil Dregs". Chicago Daily Tribune. January 29, 1924. p. 4.
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