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The 1920s Portal

Wall Street Crash of 1929

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 (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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The Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar was a fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint. Bearing portraits of former U.S. Presidents James Monroe and John Quincy Adams, the coin was issued in commemoration of the centennial of the Monroe Doctrine and was produced at the San Francisco Mint in 1923. Sculptor Chester Beach is credited with the design, although the reverse closely resembles an earlier work by Raphael Beck.

In 1922, the motion picture industry was faced with a number of scandals, including manslaughter charges against star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Although Arbuckle was eventually acquitted, motion picture executives sought ways of getting good publicity for Hollywood. One means was an exposition, to be held in Los Angeles in mid-1923. To induce Congress to issue a commemorative coin as a fundraiser for the fair, organizers associated the exposition with the 100th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine, and legislation for a commemorative half dollar for the centennial was passed. (Full article...)

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Credit: American Colony, Jerusalem

Sultan al-Atrash was a prominent Arab Druze leader, Syrian nationalist and Commander General of the Syrian Revolution (1925–1927). He fought against the Ottomans, French, and even against the Syrian government in days of dictatorship. One of the most influential figures in Syrian and Druze history, he played a major role in deciding the destiny of Jabal ad-Duruz and of Syria in general.

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...that bead crochet (pictured) was a popular method of creating women's fashion accessories during the 1920s?
... that in the 1920s and '30s, various countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Chile issued Art Deco stamps?
... that in 1926, Albert Einstein solved the tea leaf paradox, which states that if the tea in a teacup is stirred, the tea leaves will collect in the middle rather than at the edges?

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Gillis Grafström in 1924

Gillis Emanuel Grafström (7 June 1893 – 14 April 1938) was a Swedish figure skater. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He won three successive Olympic gold medals in Men's Figure Skating (1920, 1924, 1928) as well as an Olympic silver medal in the same event in 1932, and three World Championships (1922, 1924, 1929). He and Eddie Eagan are the only athletes to have won a gold medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Grafström has the further distinction of being the only person to have won an individual gold medal in both the Summer (1920) and Winter Olympics (1924, 1928), although Eagan remains the only one to have managed the feat in different disciplines. Grafström is one of the few athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games. He is one of the oldest figure skating Olympic champions. (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 the serial arsonist who started the fatal Nihon Shōgakkō fire confessed to starting at least 25 other California fires in the early 1920s?
... that Ruth M. Anderson recorded a "timeless" Spain in her photographs of the 1920s?
... that 1920s actress Susie Sutton created her own vaudeville troupe and toured her company throughout the TOBA circuit?
... that in the 1920s, Australian journalist E. George Marks predicted military conflict in the Pacific between Japan and the United States?
... that the League for Human Rights, established in Germany in the early 1920s, was the first mass organization for homosexuals?

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General images

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

Image 1Paavo Nurmi in 1924 Summer Olympics (from 1920s)
Image 2The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) is created in 1922. (from 1920s)
Image 3Georgia O'Keeffe in 1920, photographed by Alfred Stieglitz (from 1920s)
Image 4Frank Lloyd Wright, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 5The British and French colonial empires in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 6Irving Berlin (left) and Al Jolson, c. 1927 (from 1920s)
Image 7The most memorable fashion trend of the Roaring Twenties was undoubtedly "the flapper" look. (from 1920s)
Image 8Thompson submachine gun (1921 model) (from 1920s)
Image 92 out of 10 best-selling American books in the 1920s were written by Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) (from 1920s)
Image 10The 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 11Charlie Chaplin during the 1920s (from 1920s)
Image 121920s phone (from 1920s)
Image 13Crowd gathering after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 14Prohibition agents emptying barrels of alcohol. (from 1920s)
Image 15Babe Ruth in 1920 (from 1920s)
Image 16Albert Einstein, 1921 (from 1920s)
Image 17Spanish troops in San Sebastián, prior to their departure to the Rif War. (from 1920s)
Image 18Map of the world from 1920, two years after World War I (from 1920s)
Image 19Buster Keaton in the 1922 short film The Frozen North (from 1920s)
Image 20From 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 21D. W. Griffith at a rolltop desk, c. 1925 (from 1920s)
Image 22Dow Jones Industrial, 1928–1930 (from 1920s)
Image 23Robert Goddard and his rocket, 1926 (from 1920s)
Image 24George Grosz in 1921 (from 1920s)
Image 25F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1929 (from 1920s)
Image 26Adolf Hitler (standing) delivers a speech in February 1925 (from 1920s)
Image 27Benito Mussolini and Fascist Blackshirts during the March on Rome in 1922. (from 1920s)