Sunday, February 24, 1924. Machines.

Mexican Federals defeated rebels in Tamaulipas.

The Berliner gyrocopter No. 5 gave its first successful demonstration.  U.S. Army Lt. Harold R. Harris flew it for one minutes and 20 seconds at the College Park Airport, near the University of Maryland, in front of the press and members of the U.S. Navy.

Harris has been mentioned here before due to his career as a test pilot.  He lived until 1988, dying at age 92.

The Beverly Hills Speedway hosted its final race, which was attended by 85,000 automobile racing fans.  Harlan Fengler broke the world's record for a 250 mile race, averaging 116.6 mph.

Fengler would go on to be the Chief Steward of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1958 until 1974.  He passed away in 1981 at age 78.

Saturday, May 26, 1923. The Twenty Four Hours of Le Mans

The first Le Mans automobile race took place.

The French executed some Germans who were committing acts of sabotage and the like against their occupation of the Ruhr.

One of the terrorist was one Albert Leo Schlageter, a former German officer of the Great War and a Freikorps officer who had engaged in acts of sabotage against the French.  He was not a "Red" and would go on to obtain mythic status in the German far right, including the early Nazis, who in fact murdered his betrayer.  The killers of that individual were one Rudolf Höss and Martin Bormann, who would later go on to roles in the Third Reich.  They were first captured and sentenced for their role in the murder.  

Bormann is well known, but Höss less so.  He was Auschwitz's longest commanding officer and was executed in 1947.  Facing execution, he came to see his actions as gravely immoral and wrote this out to his wife prior to his execution:

My conscience compels me to make the following declaration. In the solitude of my prison cell, I have come to the bitter recognition that I have sinned gravely against humanity. As Commandant of Auschwitz, I was responsible for carrying out part of the cruel plans of the 'Third Reich' for human destruction. In so doing I have inflicted terrible wounds on humanity. I caused unspeakable suffering for the Polish people in particular. I am to pay for this with my life. May the Lord God forgive one day what I have done. I ask the Polish people for forgiveness. In Polish prisons I experienced for the first time what human kindness is. Despite all that has happened I have experienced humane treatment which I could never have expected, and which has deeply shamed me. May the facts which are now coming out about the horrible crimes against humanity make the repetition of such cruel acts impossible for all time.

On this same day, a Communist lead strike in the Ruhr expanded.

The British made the Emirate of Transjordan autonomous, but not independent of British oversight. It would achieve full independence in 1946.

Turkey waived reparations claims against Greece at Lausanne in exchange for the Thracian territory.

Sunday, September 17, 1922. Separations.

The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania declared its autocephalous nature at the conclusion of a conference.   That status would be recognized by the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1937.

Metropolitan Visarion Xhuvani, the head of the Albanian Orthodox Church during its unrecognized autocephalous stage.

Today there are seventeen autocephalous, i.e., self-governing, Orthodox Churches, with the most recent one to be granted that status being the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.  The topic can be a bit controversial in a larger Apostolic Christian sense, as the Catholic Church, which is also comprised of self-governing churches, and which by far makes up the largest body of Christians on Earth, does not recognize the theological claim of the Orthodox Churches that occupant of the Chair of St. Peter is the head of all the Apostolic Christian churches.  For its part, Orthodoxy recognizes the legitimacy of the Chair of St. Peter, but holds its occupant to be the "First among Equals".  The Catholic Church recognizes the legitimacy of the Orthodox Churches, but disputes its position on that point.

Orthodox Churches that obtain autocephalous status must do so through the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is the head of the "Mother Church".

The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico formed through the union of a number of similarly minded parties.  Its goal was and remains independence for Puerto Rico.

Flag of the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico.

The viability of Puerto Rico as a potential independent state is increasingly questionable.  It would always have been a small country, but the territory has become increasingly economically distressed.  Finding a legitimate reason for it not to obtain statehood, however, is also increasingly difficult to do.

The Kansas City Speedway held its first race.

The USGS guys were out again.

This photograph below is interesting.  It's the first one I can recall of a man wearing a t-shirt as outerwear.

Saturday, July 29, 1922. Late July Summer.

The Saturday magazines hit the stands, with The Saturday Evening Post featuring a circus dog and clown by Leyendecker.

It's certainly a well done illustration, but I've always found clowns creepy.

An article appeared in that issue on Elanor Franklin, certainly an early one.

The Literary Digest featured a Rockwell.
 

And a poll on prohibition, which was already becoming unpopular, even though it had really only just recently become the law overall.

The Country Gentleman featured an illustration that likely couldn't grace the cover of a magazine today.

Colliers simply went with the always popular female portrait.

The German Mark hit a new low.

Oil was discovered at Smackover, Arkansas, that had a population of 100.  That population would reach 25,000 within a few months.

The government reported that the Catholic population of the United States had reached 23,000,000.

People were out doing Saturday things.

Tuesday, July 4, 1922. Independence Day.

It was, of course, Independence Day, and parades and celebrations took place in communities across the country, such as this one at Takoma Park, Maryland.

Sybil Bauer shattered a series of female swimming records on this day in 1922, swimming at Brighton Beach.

Bauer, who became engaged in college to future television host Ed Sullivan, went on to swim in the 1924 Olympics. The marriage did not take place, however, as she died at age 23 of cancer.

At Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Marines reenacted the pivotal day of the battle.

The last race at the Tacoma Speedway took place.

Tuesday, May 30, 1922. Lincoln Memorial Dedicated.

Today was Memorial Day for 1922, the date at that time coming on May 30 and not being tied to a Sunday.

The day features national, and local, celebrations.

On this day in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated.

The event drew many notables, including the surviving son of the late President, Robert Todd Lincoln.

Speeches were delivered by a collection of dignatories, including former President Taft and current President Harding.

One of the big events was the Indianapolis 500, then as now.

On the same day, Germany flew its flags at half-mast outside of the Reichstag over the loss of Upper Silesia.

Latvia signed a concordat with the Vatican, allowing Catholics freedom to practice their faith.

Monday, December 29, 1941. The growing restrictions on Japanese Americans and a Japanese American Tragedy.

As we earlier noted in Today In Wyoming's History: December 29: .

1941  All German, Italian and Japanese aliens in California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington and are ordered to surrender contraband. (WWII List).

"Contraband", in this context, was defined to include short-wave radios, cameras, binoculars, and weapons, or in other words items that the authorities  feared could be used for espionage, or defend a person engaged in espionage.

The US and Canada were moving rapidly towards internment of their ethnic Japanese residents who lived on the coast.

1941  Sunge Yoshimoto, age nineteen, killed in the Lincoln-Star Coal Company tipple south of Kemmerer.  He was a Japanese American war worker.

He lived in the household of his father, Charlie, who had been born in Japan.  Mr. Yoshimoto was widowed, but he still had six children at home in Rock Springs, ranging from 23 years old to eleven.  A daughter-in-law, Hatsuko, of his also lived in the household at the time.  Sunge had been born in Rock Springs as had all of his siblings.  His sister-in-law had been born in Idaho.

On the same day, the Japanese bombed Corregidor for the first time.

Douglas MacArthur was on the cover of the Time magazine released on this day.  An aerial gunner was on the cover of Life.

The Red Army took back Kerch in Crimea.  Elsewhere in the East the Germans were completely on the defensive.

Eddie Rickenbacker announced that the 1942 Indianapolis 500 would be canceled for the duration of the war.  He was then the President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Pvt Moss wrote another letter home.

Sunday September 4, 1921. Replies.

On this day in 1921, Eamon de Valera replied to the British proposals for dominion status, agreeing to it but on the basis co equal to that of other dominions such as Canada, and including full union with Northern Ireland.

The first Italian Grand Prix race was also held on this day.
 

Friday, June 6, 1941. Advancing towards a wider war.

The war was marching day by day to expansion, with day seeing several steps.

German troops arrived in Finland to stage for Operation Barbarossa,  having received permission from the Finns just the prior day.   The Finns were by this time aware of the intended German invasion and for their part were planning on participating in it to the extent that they could recover territory lost in the recent Winter War, a goal far different and far short of what the Germans were preparing for.

On the same day, Hitler issued the order proclaiming that any Commissar captured by German forces in the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union were to be executed immediately.  A prior set of instructions already had made it plain that Commissars were to be executed and that Jews were equated with Commissars and likewise to be given lethal consideration.

Also on this day, President Roosevelt signed a statute that allowed the US to seize foreign ships "idling" in American ports and selling them.  The same day was an extremely heavy one for Axis submarines.

Louis Chevrolet

Louis Chevrolet, founder of the Chevrolet automobile manufacturing company, and a Swiss born race car driver died at age 62.  He had been ill for some time.  His company had merged with General Motors decades prior.

The symbol used on Chevrolet automobiles is a stylized outline of the borders of Switzerland.

May 29, 1921. Graduations, Memorials and Races

Boy Scouts decorating graves at Arlington National Cemetery, May 29, 1921.

Women were among Columbia's graduating medical students for the first time in its history.

It was racing season.

Ugo Sivocci in his Alfa Romeo 20-30 ES at the 1921 Targa Florio

Voters in the Austrian Salzburg province voted overwhelmingly to join Germany. The results weren't a surprise, as that was the dominant feeling in the German regions of Austria, which keenly felt the loss of Austria's Empire and which felt their fortunes were better secured by union with the German state, irrespective of Germany's economic and political woes at the time.  Be that as it may, such a union was specifically prohibited under the treaties bringing about the end of the Great War and the vote was unofficial and unrecognized by Austria in any event.

President Harding, standing on the lawn of the White House, with large group of newspapermen seated and standing around him.  President's dog, Laddie Boy, laying down in front of front row.

 

November 25, 1920. Thanksgiving Day

It was Thanksgiving Day for 1920. 

Thanksgiving's date has moved over the years but this one was nearly on the exact same day as it will be this year, 2020.  Also the same as a century later, normally, there was a full slate of football games, including a local high school game, to entertain people on their Thursday off.

And it was the start of broadcasting those games as well, which you can read about here:

November 25, 1920: The First Broadcast of Play by Play College Football By Radio Station

Commercial radio, as we've discussed before, was brand new.  1920 was turning out to be quite a year for radio firsts.

My father used to listen to football and baseball both on the radio, and I've listed to baseball occasionally that way. Football is a sport I lost interest in when I was a kid, although my wife likes it.  I haven't listed to a football game on the radio for years, and probably haven't ever listened to one that way of my own volition.  Indeed, the last time I did that I think I was going hunting with a friend during football season and he wanted to listen to a game that was being played.

The day wasn't limited to team sports.  On the same day the Pulitzer Prize Trophy Race was held, which is mentioned in the newspaper above, and which you can read about on this blog here:

This Day In Aviation:  25 November 1920

Aviation was a new thing as well, as we have been tracking, and things associated were still so novel as to make the front page in newspapers.

Also on this day the last big event of the automobile racing season occurred with a 250 mile race in which the youngest of the Chevrolet brothers, Gaston, was killed.

Gaston Chevrolet.

The day is also St. Catherine's Day,, the feast day for that saint, which at the time was still celebrated in France as a day for unmarried women who had obtained twenty-five years of age.  Such women were known as Catherinettes. Women in general were committed since the Middle Ages to the protection of St. Catherine and on this day large crowds of unmarried 25 year old women wearing hats to mark their 25th year would gather for a celebration of sorts, where well wishers would wish them a speedy end to their single status. The custom remained strong at least until the 1930s but has since died out.

Catherinettes parading in 1932 in Paris.  By this time the tradition must have been changing as a photograph from 1920 (copyright protected, apparently, and therefore unable to be posted here) shows a huge crowed of young women on the streets generally dressed in the fashions of the day, save for odd hats. The weather must have been colder on that 1920 day as well, as  they're all wearing coats.  This photo makes less sense, but the references to sailors probably is a bit more salacious.

Then, as now, magazines offered advice on how to cook the perfect Thanksgiving Dinner:

How to Serve a Great Thanksgiving Dinner, 1920 Style