next turn year 1920
events
January[edit]
Main article: January 1920
January 17: Beginning of Prohibition in the United States
January 2 – First Red Scare in the United States: The second of the Palmer Raids takes place with another 4,025 suspected communists and anarchists arrested and held without trial in several cities.
January 7
The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I.[1]
January 13 – The New York Times ridicules American rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard,[3] which it will rescind following the launch of Apollo 11 in 1969.[4]
January 16
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, is founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.
January 17 – Prohibition in the United States begins, with the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution coming into effect.
January 19 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is founded.[5]
January 22 – The Australian Country Party is officially formed.
January 28 – El Tercio de Extranjeros (the "Regiment of Foreigners"), later the Spanish Legion, is established by decree of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
January 30 – A pro wrestling match in which Joe Stecher defeats Earl Caddock in the United States is filmed for later viewing by cinema audiences, the oldest existing movie of professional wrestling.
February[edit]
Main article: February 1920
February 1 – The South African Air Force (SAAF) is established, the second autonomous Air Force in the world, after the Royal Air Force (RAF).[6]
February 2
Estonian War of Independence: The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed, ending the war and recognizing the independence of both the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic.
Sayyid Muhammad, Khan of Khiva, abdicates.
February 9 – Admiral Kolchak and Viktor Pepelyayev are executed by firing squad near Irkutsk.
February 14 – The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago.
February 17 – A woman named Anna Anderson tries to commit suicide in Berlin and is taken to a mental hospital where she claims she is Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia.
February 20 – 1920 Gori earthquake: An earthquake hits Gori in the Democratic Republic of Georgia, killing 114.
February 21 – The island province of Marinduque in the Philippines archipelago is founded.
February 22 – In Emeryville, California, the first dog racing track to employ an imitation rabbit opens.
February 24 – Adolf Hitler presents his National Socialist Program in Munich to the German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), which renames itself as the Nazi Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei).
March[edit]
Main article: March 1920
March 1
The United States Railroad Administration returns control of American railroads to its constituent railroad companies.
March 10
The world's first peaceful establishment of a social democratic government takes place in Sweden, as Hjalmar Branting takes over as Prime Minister, when Nils Edén leaves office.
March 18 – Greece begins using the Gregorian calendar.
March 25 – Irish War of Independence: British recruits to the Royal Irish Constabulary begin to arrive in Ireland. They become known from their improvised uniforms as the "Black and Tans".[8]
March 28 – The 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak hits the Great Lakes region and Deep South of the United States.
March 29 – Sir William Robertson is promoted to Field Marshal, the first man to rise from private (enlisted 1877) to the highest rank in the British Army.[9]
April[edit]
Main article: April 1920
April 4 – 1920 Palestine riots: Violence erupts between Arab and Jewish residents in Jerusalem; 9 are killed, 216 injured.
April 11 – Mexican Revolution: Álvaro Obregón flees from Mexico City (during a trial intended to ruin his reputation) to Guerrero, where he joins Fortunato Maycotte.
1920 Summer Olympics
April 20
Mexican Revolution: Álvaro Obregón announces (in Chilpancingo) that he intends to fight against the rule of Venustiano Carranza.
The 1920 Summer Olympics open in Antwerp, Belgium. The Olympic symbols of five interlocking rings and the associated flag are first displayed at the games.