Video: 'This Place in History: Levi P. Morton'
(Sunday, May 16, 1920, 8:30 p.m. local time) — Levi P. Morton, the 22nd vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893, during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison, died tonight from bronchial pneumonia at his home at Ellerslie in Rhinebeck, New York, on his 96th birthday. Continue reading Former U.S. Vice President Levi P. Morton dies 100 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 16 1920)
Video: 'Weather History: 1920 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak'
(Palm Sunday, March 28, 1920, 12:00 p.m. CST; during the 1920 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak) — 380 people were killed and at least 1,215 injured today by a series of 37 tornadoes that swepted through the eastern half of the United States, from Illinois to Georgia. Continue reading 380 Americans killed in Palm Sunday tornado outbreak 100 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 28 1920)
Video: 'Prohibition in the United States: National Ban of Alcohol'
(Saturday, January 17, 1920, 12:01 a.m. EST) — The prohibition of “intoxicating liquors” in the United States began early this morning as the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took effect, one year to the day after its ratification.
This rang in the era of bootleg liquor when people whispered passwords through speak-easy doors, flappers ruled the dance floor and mobsters like Al Capone made millions from a thirsty public.
The Eighteenth Amendment would be repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933.
(Saturday, January 10, 1920, 4:11 p.m. Western European Time) — World War I formally ended and the League of Nations was established today in Paris when Allied and German representatives exchanged ratifications of the Treaty of Versailles. Continue reading League of Nations established as Treaty of Versailles goes into effect 100 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 10 1920)
Video: 'Byrd's First Antarctic Expedition 1928' (crew reaches South Pole at 38:44)
(Friday, November 29, 1929, 114 GMT) — Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, radio operator Harold June and photographer Ashley McKinney today became the first people to fly over the South Pole as they flew the Floyd Bennett to the South Pole and back to Little America, Antarctica, on the Ross Ice Shelf, south of the Bay of Whales, in 18 hours, 41 minutes. Continue reading Byrd and three crewmen become first people to fly over South Pole 90 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 28 1929)
Video: '1929 Wall Street Stock Market Crash' (Oct. 29, 1929, at 5:41)
(Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. EST) — On the fourth and final day of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, stock prices virtually collapsed today, swept downward with gigantic losses in the most disastrous trading day in the New York Stock Exchange’s history.
Investors traded a record 16.4 million shares as panic selling reached its peak.
Video: 'Herbert Hoover Biography' (Oct. 1929, at 12:28)
$14 billion in open market values was lost, wiping out thousands of investors and setting the stage for the Great Depression, the longest, deepest, and most widespread economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world up to that time.
Video: 'The Crash of 1929 & The Great Depression (PBS) 5of6' (Oct. 29, 1929, at 6:03)
The Dow lost an additional 30 points, or 12 percent.
The Dow would continue to slide for three more years, bottoming out on July 8, 1932, having lost almost 90 percent of its value since its peak on Sept. 3, 1929.
Video: '1929 Wall Street Stock Market Crash' (Oct. 24, 1929, at 3:55)
(Black Thursday, October 24, 1929, 10:00 a.m. EST) — The New York Stock Exchange plunged 11 percent at the opening bell on very heavy trading today, precipitating the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression of the 1930s. Continue reading Black Thursday: Wall Street Crash of 1929 begins 90 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 24 1929)
Video: 'Anne Frank The Life of a Young Girl'
(Wednesday, June 12, 1929, 7:30 a.m. Central European Time) — Anne Frank, the teenager who gained fame posthumously with the publication of The Diary of a Young Girl in which she documented her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II, was born Annelies Marie Frank today at the Maingau Red Cross Clinic in Frankfurt, Germany. Continue reading Holocaust diarist Anne Frank born in Frankfurt 90 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 12 1929)
Video: '1st Oscar Winners in history'
(Thursday, May 16, 1929, 8:00 p.m. EDT) — Wings was named Outstanding Picture tonight as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) held its 1st Academy Awards ceremony at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. Continue reading ‘Wings’ named Outstanding Picture at 1st Academy Awards ceremony 90 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 16 1929)
Video: 'Herbert Hoover Takes the Oath of Office'
(Monday, March 4, 1929, 1:07 p.m. local time) — Herbert Hoover, 51, was inaugurated as the 31st President of the United States today at the east portico of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., with Chief Justice and former President William Howard Taft administering the oath of office. Continue reading Hoover sworn in as 31st POTUS, Sherman as 31st VP 90 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Mar 4 1929)
