April 1923

1923

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The following events occurred in April 1923:

April 1, 1923 (Sunday)

• Four directors of the Krupp works were arrested by French authorities and charged with inciting their workers in the altercation of the previous day.[1]
• The romantic comedy film Safety Last!, starring Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis, was released. This film features one of the most famous scenes of the silent movie era: Lloyd clutching the hands of a large clock while dangling from the outside of a skyscraper.[2]
• Paterson F.C. and St. Louis Scullin Steel tied 2–2 in the National Challenge Cup Final. Paterson was declared the winner of the soccer tournament when Scullin declined to play a rematch.

April 2, 1923 (Monday)

• 50,000 Krupp workers threatened to go on strike if the four directors were not released.[3]
• Born: Alice Haylett, baseball player, in Coldwater, Michigan (d. 2004); Gloria Henry, actress, in New Orleans; G. Spencer-Brown, polymath, in Grimsby, England

April 3, 1923 (Tuesday)

• The Soviet Union announced that Konstantin Budkevich had been executed on March 31.[4]
• Closing arguments were presented in the William Z. Foster trial.[5]

April 4, 1923 (Wednesday)

• Adolf Hitler told the Chicago Tribune that rumors he was planning a march on Berlin to overthrow the government were "fairy tales" and asserted that his only fight was against bolshevism.[6]
• Warner Bros. film studio was founded.
• Born: Peter Vaughan, actor, in Wem, England
• Died: John Venn, 88, English logician and philosopher

April 5, 1923 (Thursday)

• Upon the death of Lord Carnarvon, speculation abounded of a "curse" placed on those who disturbed the tomb of a Pharaoh.[7]
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle suggested that an evil spirit, or "elemental", might have induced the death of Lord Carnarvon. "The Egyptians had powers we know nothing of", he explained. "They easily may have used these powers, occult and otherwise, to defend their graves. They always opposed digging up the mummies."[8]
• The trial of William Z. Foster ended in a hung jury, deadlocked 6-6 after 31 hours of deliberation. "The verdict is for the best", Foster told the media. "It is a victory for the jury, I think, in that they had the courage to stand that way. There must have been a mountain of prejudice against these ideas."[9]
• The second Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas was destroyed by fire. 1 fireman was killed when the walls collapsed.[10]
• Born: Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, President of South Vietnam, in Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm (d. 2001)
• Died: George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, 56, English aristocrat (probable blood poisoning)

April 6, 1923 (Friday)

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave a lecture at Carnegie Hall in New York City in which he displayed a series of "spirit photographs", including a pair taken at the Cenotaph in London at the time of the two-minute silence to England's war dead. One picture showed a faint luminous patch which Doyle described as "ectoplasm", and another showed what appeared to be ghostly faces floating above the crowd.[11][12]
• The second Herrin Massacre jury acquitted six defendants after seven hours of deliberation.[13]
• Former Supreme Court Justice John Hessin Clarke said that only American entry into the League of Nations could keep Britain and France from going to war against each other in the future. "France and Britain have been enemies oftener than friends during the last 200 years", he explained. "It is plain truth to say that there has not been a time in modern history when two nations controlling the destiny of the world stood so much in need of an impartial counselor, guide, and friend to compose inevitable differences as they arise as Britain and France stand in need of each a one today."[14]
• Louis Armstrong made his recording debut, with King Oliver's Creole Band on "Chimes Blues".[15]
• Born: Ramón Valdés, actor, in Mexico City (d. 1988)

April 7, 1923 (Saturday)

• Nine Irish Republicans were reported killed when government troops surrounded a house where they were meeting in Glencar, County Kerry.[16]
• Land mines blew up a bridge in Dublin; two bridges over the River Fane were also blown up.[16]
• The Soviet Union issued a statement distancing itself from the William Z. Foster affair, saying it took "no responsibility" for the actions of American communists because "the Russian government does not direct the affairs, plans or theories of the international communist contingent."[17]

April 8, 1923 (Sunday)

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lectured again at Carnegie Hall, describing a recent talk he had with the spirit of William Thomas Stead in which Doyle was advised as to the preface of a new book he was writing.[18]
• U.S. President Warren Harding returned to Washington after five weeks of vacation.[19]
• Born: George Fisher, political cartoonist, in Beebe, Arkansas (d. 2003); Edward Mulhare, actor, in Cork, Ireland (d. 1997)

April 9, 1923 (Monday)

• Harvard University passed a resolution declaring that "men of the white and colored races shall not be compelled to live and eat together, nor shall any man be excluded by reason of his color."[20]
• The U.S. Supreme Court decided Adkins v. Children's Hospital and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. v. United States

April 10, 1923 (Tuesday)

• The Conservative government of Bonar Law was defeated on a snap vote with many members absent following a dull debate on civil service estimates. Labour members gleefully called on the government to resign, but few took the vote seriously.[21]
• The first ban on marathon dancing was issued in Sunderland, England when the mayor invoked an existing local regulation. The magistrate called the fad "an idiotic idea, verging on lunacy."[22][23]
• Died: Liam Lynch, 29, officer in the Irish Republican Army (fatally wounded in battle)

April 11, 1923 (Wednesday)

• U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover addressed the National League of Women Voters, advocating American participation in the World Court.

April 12, 1923 (Thursday)

• Lee de Forest successfully demonstrated his Phonofilm system to the New York Electrical Society.[24]
• The Seán O'Casey play The Shadow of a Gunman premiered at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.[25]
• The Kandersteg International Scout Centre was founded in Switzerland.

April 13, 1923 (Friday)

• Moscow was hit with flooding as the Moskva River overflowed.[26]
• A crowd of workers took over the town hall of Mülheim in the Ruhr and established a workers' council.[27]
• The outdoor play The Ramona Pageant was first performed at Hemet, California.
• Born: Don Adams, television actor (Get Smart), in New York City (d. 2005); Supriyadi, Indonesian national hero, in East Java (d. 1945?)

April 14, 1923 (Saturday)

• The National League of Women Voters voted against an endorsement of the League of Nations as presently constituted, but urged that the United States "associate itself with other nations" in order to prevent war.[28]
• A dance marathon in Baltimore was stopped by police after 53 hours.[22]
• Born: Roberto De Vicenzo, golfer, in Villa Ballester, Buenos Aires, Argentina

April 15, 1923 (Sunday)

• A collection of Phonofilms were shown at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City, demonstrating Lee de Forest's revolutionary sound-on-film technique. The short film subjects included a dancing ballerina, a string quartet, and vaudeville performers including Eddie Cantor. However, as the musical accompaniment to the films was non-synchronous and the sound quality rather poor, they failed to generate much interest at the time.[29][30][31]
• The romantic drama film Enemies of Women, starring Lionel Barrymore and Alma Rubens, and the drama The Trail of the Lonesome Pine starring Mary Miles Minter were released.
• Insulin first became broadly available for diabetes patients in North America.[32]

April 16, 1923 (Monday)

• 11 housing officials in Moscow were condemned to death for taking bribes.[33]
• The Stanley Baldwin government presented its budget for the year. Revenues were higher than forecast so taxes on income and beer sales were cut.[34][35]

April 17, 1923 (Tuesday)

• Irish troops captured Dan Breen and a number of other Irish Republicans without resistance at the Glen of Aherlow.[36]
• Born: Solly Hemus, baseball player, manager and coach, in Phoenix, Arizona

April 18, 1923 (Wednesday)

• Yankee Stadium opened its doors in New York City. Babe Ruth hit the first home run in the ballpark's history as the New York Yankees downed the Boston Red Sox 4-1.[37] 74,200 packed the stadium, setting a new single-game attendance record.[38]

April 19, 1923 (Thursday)

• 5 were killed and at least 40 wounded in fighting in Mülheim.[39]
• Clarence DeMar won the Boston Marathon.[40]

April 20, 1923 (Friday)

• The first issue of the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer was published.
• Born: Mother Angelica, Franciscan nun, in Canton, Ohio; Irene Lieblich, artist, in Zamość, Poland (d. 2008); Tito Puente, salsa and Latin jazz musician, in New York City (d. 2000)

April 21, 1923 (Saturday)

• Italy celebrated the Founding of Rome as a holiday for the first time. Benito Mussolini had May Day festivities replaced with this holiday instead, suppressing International Workers' Day.[41]
• The farm worker's strike ended in England.[34]

April 22, 1923 (Sunday)

• Benito Mussolini slashed 1 billion lire from Italy's budget, reducing the projected deficit for the fiscal year 1923–24 to 3 billion. Most of the reductions were achieved by cutting civil service jobs.[42]
• The Bulgarian Agrarian National Union won a majority of seats in the Bulgarian parliamentary election.
• A bomb exploded at Comiskey Park in Chicago, but there were no injuries. It was suspected that the hiring of non-union labor to paint the exterior of the ballpark was the reason for the bomb, but no arrests were ever made.[43]
• Born: Geoffrey Hattersley-Smith, geologist and glaciologist, in London, England (d. 2012); Bettie Page, model, in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 2008); Aaron Spelling, film and television producer, in Dallas, Texas (d. 2006)

April 23, 1923 (Monday)

• France blocked an Anglo-Swedish attempt to set up an inquiry into the administration of the Saar Basin after complaints were received from the population there of censorship. French delegate Gabriel Hanotaux said the measures were "temporary".[44]
• Cannabis was added to the list of prohibited narcotics in Canada. The move received virtually no attention because little was known in Canada about the drug at the time.[45]
• Born: Dolph Briscoe, 41st Governor of Texas, in Uvalde, Texas (d. 2010)
• Died: Princess Louise of Prussia, 84

April 24, 1923 (Tuesday)

• The Fascist Grand Council approved Benito Mussolini's motion to embody all the Fascists into a national militia, giving the country a reserve army of 500,000 with no expenditures as they were considered volunteers.[46]
• The city of Beverly Hills, California voted 507 to 337 to remain independent and not be annexed to Los Angeles.[47]
• Born: Gus Bodnar, ice hockey player, in Fort William, Ontario, Canada (d. 2005)

April 25, 1923 (Wednesday)

• The San Pedro Maritime Strike began.
• Turkey demanded that the Soviet Union be allowed to participate in the reopened Conference of Lausanne.[48]
• Wisconsin Senator and projected 1924 presidential candidate Robert M. La Follette denounced the World Court as "a cunning plan of the international bankers to entangle the United States in the European chaos."[49]
• Born: Albert King, blues guitarist and singer, in Indianola, Mississippi (d. 1992)

April 26, 1923 (Thursday)

• The Wedding of the Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon took place at Westminster Abbey.
• An international coalition of women's suffragists, including the American Carrie Chapman Catt, threatened to picket the home of Benito Mussolini if he did not participate in a women's suffrage congress in Rome next month.[50]

April 27, 1923 (Friday)

• Éamon de Valera announced that the Irish Republican Army was prepared to agree to a ceasefire in the civil war.[51]

April 28, 1923 (Saturday)

• Wembley Stadium hosted its first event, the FA Cup Final. Bolton Wanderers beat West Ham United 2-0 in front of an official attendance of 126,047, though estimates place the actual number at around 200,000 as approximately 75,000 fans scaled the venue's inadequate barriers and gained free admission. The game was almost canceled when the crowd spilled over onto the playing area, but it was feared that doing so would cause a riot and so a police contingent led by PC George Scorey slowly coaxed the crowd off the pitch before the match could start.[34][52]
• Leeds defeated Hull F.C. 28-3 to win the Challenge Cup of rugby at Belle Vue, Wakefield.[53]
• Eighty-year-old Minnesota senator Knute Nelson died on a Pennsylvania Railroad train shortly after it left Baltimore en route to his home in Alexandria. The cause of death was given as angina pectoris.[54][55]
• Died: Knute Nelson, 80, U.S. Senator from Minnesota

April 29, 1923 (Sunday)

• Two splinter groups of the French Communist Party merged to form the Socialist-Communist Union.
• Born: Irvin Kershner, film director, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2010)
• Died: Ernst von Plener, 81, Austrian statesman

April 30, 1923 (Monday)

• By a 7–2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court barred foreign vessels from bringing liquor into American ports, but allowed American ships to sell liquor three miles outside of U.S. territory.[56]
• Born: Percy Heath, jazz bassist, in Wilmington, North Carolina (d. 2005); Al Lewis, actor, in New York City (d. 2006); Francis Tucker, rally driver, in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 2008)

References

1. Williams, Paul (April 2, 1923). "French Arrest 4 Krupp Chiefs for Ruhr Riot". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 5.
2. "How Harold Lloyd filmed the Safety Last! finale (at three places)". Silent Locations. June 20, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
3. Clayton, John (April 3, 1923). "Strike of 50,000 in Krupp Plant is Threatened". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 7.
4. Seldes, George (April 4, 1923). "Rome Prelate Shot". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
5. Mears, Patrick E. (January 6, 2012). "From the Palmer Raids to the Bridgman Raid, part 3". Legal news. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
6. "Hittler Ready for War on Reds in All Germany". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 5, 1923. p. 7.
7. "See 'Curse of Pharaoh' on Carnarvon". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 5, 1923. p. 1.
8. "Tut May Have Sent Spirit to Kill His Finder, Doyle Says". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 6, 1923. p. 3.
9. Kinsley, Philip (April 6, 1923). "Trial of Foster Fails; Jury, 6-6, is Discharged". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 12.
10. "Fire Destroys the Arlington at Hot Springs". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 6, 1923. p. 3.
11. "Doyle's 'Spirit' Photos of War Heroes Thrill". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 7, 1923. p. 1.
12. "Ada Emma Deane's Armistice Day Series". Museum of Hoaxes. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
13. "Six Defendants Held Innocent of Massacre". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 7, 1923. p. 1.
14. "French-British War Seen Unless U.S. is in League". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 7, 1923. p. 5.
15. Smitha, Frank E. (2013). "1923". Macrohistory and World Timeline. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
16. "9 Irish Rebels Slain in Battle; Dublin Bombed". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 8, 1923. p. 18.
17. Seldes, George (April 8, 1923). "Russia Denies Giving Help to Michigan Reds". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 7.
18. "Doyle Says He Had Recent Talk with W.T. Stead". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 9, 1923. p. 1.
19. "Bronze, Hale, and Rested, President Is Back at Desk". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 9, 1923. p. 3.
20. "Race or Creed no Bar, Harvard Overseers Rule". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 10, 1923. p. 2.
21. Steele, John (April 11, 1923). "Bonar Law Will Retain Office Despite Defeat". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 7.
22. Martin, Carol J. (1994). Dance Marathons: Performing American Culture of the 1920s, and 1930s. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-60473-768-4.
23. Calabria, Frank M. (1993). Dance of the Sleepwalkers: The Dance Marathon Fad. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. ISBN 978-0-87972-570-9.
24. Slide, Anthony (1998). The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry. Oxon and New York: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-135-92554-3.
25. Felton, R. Todd (2010). A Journey Into Ireland's Literary Revival. ReadHowYouWant. p. 216. ISBN 978-1-4587-8545-9.
26. Seldes, George (April 14, 1923). "Flood Menaces Moscow; Curse, Peasants Cry". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 11.
27. Broué, Pierre (2004). The German Revolution, 1917–1923. Brill Academic. p. 691. ISBN 978-90-04-13940-4.
28. Webber, Kate (April 15, 1923). "Women Voters Refuse O.K. for World League". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 2.
29. Gomery, Douglas. "The Coming of Sound: Technological Change in the American Film Industry." The Classical Hollywood Reader Ed. Stephen Neale. Oxon: Routledge, 2012. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-415-57672-7.
30. Gomery, Douglas (2004). The Coming of Sound. Routledge. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-415-96900-0.
31. Schwarz, Ted (2003). Joseph P. Kennedy: The Mogul, the Mob, the Statesman, and the Making of an American Myth. John Wiley & Sons. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-471-17681-7.
32. "April 15, 1923: Insulin goes mainstream". Daily Dose. April 15, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
33. "11 Grafting City Officials Facing Death in Russia". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 17, 1923. p. 3.
34. Mercer, Derrik (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 305. ISBN 978-0-582-03919-3.
35. Jeremy, Wormell (2000). The Management of the National Debt of the United Kingdom 1900–1932. Routledge. p. 442. ISBN 978-1-134-60407-4.
36. Ryan, Thomas (April 18, 1923). "Irish Capture Ex-Chicagoan Who Led Rebels". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 9.
37. Frommer, Harvey. "Remembering the First Game at Yankee Stadium April 18, 1923". Travel-Watch.com. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
38. "Baseball Fans Break Records". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 19, 1923. p. 1.
39. Williams, Paul (April 20, 1923). "Five Die, Many Hurt as Riots Flame in Ruhr". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
40. "Boston Marathon Yearly Synopses (1897–2013)". Boston Marathon Media Guide. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
41. Falasca-Zamponi, Simonetta (1997). Fascist Spectacle: The Aesthetics of Power in Mussolini's Italy. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 0-520-22677-1.
42. Fendrick, Raymond (April 23, 1923). "Mussolini Cuts Millions Out of Italy's Budget". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 3.
43. Pomrenke, Jacob. "Judge Landis and the Forgotten Chicago Baseball Bombings". The National Pastime Museum. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
44. "French Prevent League Inquiry on Rule of Saar". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 24, 1923. p. 16.
45. Schwartz, Daniel (May 3, 2014). "Marijuana was criminalized in 1923, but why?". CBC News. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
46. De Santo, V. (April 26, 1923). "Mussolini Puts 500,000 Alert for Big Fight". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 2.
47. Wanamaker, Marc (2005). Early Beverly Hills. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-7385-3068-0.
48. Wales, Henry (April 26, 1923). "Turks Demans Allies Invite Reds to Parley". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 7.
49. Wilcox, Grafton (April 26, 1923). ""Fighting Bob" Hotly Assails World Couty". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
50. De Santo, V. (April 27, 1923). "Women Purpose to Picket Home of Mussolini". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 15.
51. "De Valera Seeks Peace in Ireland". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 28, 1923. p. 1.
52. "The History of Wembley Stadium". WembleyStadium.com. Wembley National Stadium Ltd. April 25, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
53. "Match Report – 28 April 1923". Hull F.C. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
54. "U.S. Senator Dies on Train". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 29, 1923. p. 1.
55. Grover, Barbara (2013). Alexandria. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7385-9852-9.
56. Wilcox, Grafton (May 1, 1923). "Court Permits Liquor on U.S. Ships at Sea". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.