January 1926

1926

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January 26, 1926: John Logie Baird demonstrates his television camera.

January 8, 1926: Ibn Saud becomes the King of Hejaz, later Saudi Arabia.

January 31, 1926: Prime Minister Benito Mussolini is given the power to rule Italy by decree.

January 8, 1926: Bao Dai becomes Emperor of Vietnam.

The following events occurred in January 1926:

January 1, 1926 (Friday)

• Flooding of the Rhine River struck the German city of Köln and 50,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. The torrent of water rose 35 feet (11 m) for the worst flooding there in more than 100 years.
• Radio programming was introduced to Ireland as its first radio station, 2RN (later Radio Éireann), began regular broadcasting.
• The unbeaten and untied (9-0-0) Alabama Crimson Tide, champion of the Southern Conference played against unbeaten and the once-tied (10-0-1) Pacific Coast Conference champion Washington Huskies met in the Rose Bowl at Pasadena, California before 56,000 spectators. Despite trailing, 12-0 at halftime, Alabama scored three touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to take a 20-12 lead and won by a single point, 20 to 19. The victory has been referred to at Alabama as "the game that changed the South" because it showed to the American public that the impoverished Deep South states could compete with the western and eastern programs that had previously dominated college football.
• Earlier in the day, the collapse of wooden seats during the annual Tournament of Roses Parade severely injured 30 people and hurt more than 200 others.
• The U.S. city of Daytona Beach, Florida was created by the merger of the towns of Daytona, Daytona Beach, Kingston, and Seabreeze
• Born:
  • V. K. Ramasamy, Indian comedian and film actor who appeared in more than 500 films over a 54-year career; in Virudhunagar, Presidency of Fort St. George, British India (now the Indian state of Tamil Nadu) (d. 2002)
  • USMC Sergeant James E. Johnson, posthumous Medal of Honor recipient for his heroism in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War; in Pocatello, Idaho (killed in action, 1950)
  • Robert Descharnes, French photographer who served as business manager and press agent for the artist Salvador Dali; in Nevers, Nièvre département (d.2014)
  • D. Jamison Cain, U.S. Post Office promoter who coined the terms "Zone Improvement Plan" and "ZIP code" to describe the five-digit postal code launched in the U.S. on July 1, 1963; in Sumter, South Carolina (d. 2010)

January 2, 1926 (Saturday)

• An explosion of the in the U.S. city of Pensacola, Florida, killed 12 people and injured 17 others
• The United States Lawn Tennis Association announced that Bill Tilden was ranked as the U.S. national champion for the sixth consecutive year, surpassing the record set by William A. Larned of five titles in a row from 1907 to 1911.
• Flooding continued to ravage Europe, from England to Romania, due to heavy rains and unseasonably high temperatures.
• Born:
  • Bruce Harlan, American diver and 1948 Olympic gold medalist who was later the diving coach at the University of Michigan; in Marple Newtown, Pennsylvania (killed in accidental fall, 1959)
  • Moideen Kutty, Pakistani footballer and captain of the Pakistan national team in 1954; in Melmuri, Presidency of St. George, British India (now Kerala state in India).(d. 2011)
  • Harold Bradley, American country music guitarist; in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 2019)
  • Howard Caine (stage name for Howard Cohen), American character actor, best known for the recurring role of Major Hochstetter on Hogan's Heroes; in North Hollywood, Los Angeles (d. 1993)
• Died:
  • Richard Caton, 83, English physiologist noted for his 1875 discovery of the electrical nature of the brain and laying the groundwork for the 1929 discovery of the alpha wave rhythm in the human brain.
  • John Gray McKendrick, 84, Scottish physiologist noted for co-founding the Physiological Society

January 3, 1926 (Sunday)

• General Theodoros Pangalos, who had become Prime Minister of Greece on June 24, 1925 in a coup d'etat and restricted freedom of the press, declared a state of emergency and assumed dictatorial powers.
• Born: George Martin, producer for The Beatles; in London (d. 2016)

January 4, 1926 (Monday)

Prince Carol and Miss Lupescu

• The Parliament of Romania voted to acceptance of Crown Prince Carol's renunciation of his right to the throne in the wake of his scandalous affair with Magda Lupescu, the Roman Catholic daughter of a Jewish pharmacist. Carol's four-year-old son Michael became the new Crown Prince. Carol would later renege on the renunciation and reigned as King of Romania from 1930 to 1940.
• Andrey Lyapchev took office as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria, forming a government to succeed Aleksandar Tsankov. Lyapchev would serve until 1931.
• Died:
  • Margherita of Savoy, 74, queen consort of Italy from 1878 to 1900 as wife of King Umberto I
  • Mary Eliza Mahoney, 80, the first professionally trained African American nurse

January 5, 1926 (Tuesday)

• In the United Kingdom, the first Widow's Pensions were paid out at post offices.
• Born:
  • Ghassan Tueni, Lebanese journalist and publisher of An Nahar; in Beirut (d.2012)
  • W.D. Snodgrass, American poet who wrote under his own name and the backward pseudonym "S. S. Gardons"; in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania (d. 2009)
  • Nandanar (pen name for P. C. Gopalan), Indian novelist; in Angadippuram, Madras presidency, British India (now the state of Kerala in India) (committed suicide, 1974)
  • Candida Tobin, British music educator known for creating the Tobin Method; in Chingford, Essex (d. 2008)

January 6, 1926 (Wednesday)

• The airline Deutsche Luft Hansa (DLH), whose name and staff were used by as part of the 1953 creation of the West German national airline Lufthansa was created in Berlin by the merger of the two largest airlines in Germany, Deutsche Luft-Reederei and Junkers Luftverkehr.
• Born: Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born American bodybuilder and 1955 Mr. Universe; in Budapest (d. 2006)Hevesi, Dennis (September 20, 2006). "Mickey Hargitay, 80, Actor and Former Mr. Universe, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.

January 7, 1926 (Thursday)

• Ongoing downpours in Europe submerged Great War cemeteries in France and flooded the London subway system.
• The 15th Canadian Parliament was seated. William Lyon Mackenzie King continued as Prime Minister despite the Conservatives winning more seats in the last federal election, by forming a coalition with the Progressives. King had no seat in the House of Representatives after losing the election in district of York North, Ontario.
• The Dartmouth Indians were announced as having been the number one team in U.S. college football for the 1925 season, as University of Illinois economics professor released the first ratings under what was called the Dickinson System. Under his ratings, which used a measurement that considered overall records, number of games, margins of victory or loss, and strength of the opponent Dartmouth finished first with 20.00 points, while Michigan and Alabama were tied for second at 19.18 points. In order, the other teams in the Top 11 were Colgate, Missouri, Tulane, Washington, Wisconsin and Stanford, Pitt, and Lafayette College.

Allen and Burns in 1924

• The comedy team of Burns and Allen was created as vaudevillians Gracie Allen and George Burns married by a justice of the peace in Cleveland, Ohio.
• The Royal Academy of Italy was created by Italy's Fascist Party with a declared purpose "to promote and coordinate Italian intellectual activity" and "to preserve the integrity of the national spirit, according to the genius and tradition of the race". The Royal Academy was dissolved after the fall of the Mussolini government in 1943.
• Born:
  • Lieutenant General Srinivas Kumar Sinha, Indian military officer and politician who served as Governor of two states (Jammu and Kashmir, and Assam) as well as Vice Chief of Army Staff; in Patna, Bihar and Orissa Province, British India (d. 2016)
  • Rosekrans Hoffman (Ruth Olive Rosekrans Hoffman), American children's book author; in Denton, Nebraska (d.2007)

January 8, 1926 (Friday)

• At the Imperial City of Huế, the 12-year-old Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy was crowned as Emperor of Vietnam, taking the regnal name Bảo Đại. His father, the Emperor Khải Định, had died two months earlier on November 6.
• At the Grand Mosque of Mecca, Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud, Sultan of Nejd, was proclaimed King of Hejaz by the Public Assembly in a ceremony that included his taking of the oath of allegiance (the bayaa), completing the conquest that would lead to the creation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.
• Three brothers, Herman, Henry and Hillel Hassenfeld incorporated the Hassenfeld Brothers company, initially to manufacture school supplies. The company would eventually begin making toys, under the name Hasbro.
• Born:
  • Chester Feldman, U.S. game show producer; in The Bronx, New York (d. 1997)
  • Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano; in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2012)
  • Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer; in Yoshika, Shimane (d. 2022)
  • Kerwin Mathews, American film actor known for starring as the title character in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Three Worlds of Gulliver (1960), and Jack the Giant Killer (1962); in Seattle (d.2007)
  • Soupy Sales (stage name for Milton Supman); American comedian, in Franklinton, North Carolina (d. 2009)
• Died: Andy Smith, 42, American college football coach known for leading the California Golden Bears since 1916, died from pneumonia seven weeks after his last game of the 1925 season. Credited by the NCAA with three national championships (1920, 1921 and 1922), he would later be inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame.

January 9, 1926 (Saturday)

• A band of 20 Mexican rebels, under the command of Colonel Manuel Núñez, opened fire aboard a train traveling from Guadalajara to Mexico City, then looted and burned the cars. The train had passed Vista Hermosa de Negrete and was approaching Yurécuaro in the state of Michoacan when the bandits brought it to a halt. Afterward, the bandits escaped on the engine, "carrying away 300,000 pesos in plunder", equivalent to about U.S.$150,000) of cash and bar silver. Although initial reports reported that as many as 50 guards and passengers were murdered, the figure was later revised to 11 deaths, all of whom had been guards.
• The Navy League of the United States released a report finding the United States Navy to be unprepared for war and well short of the tonnage limitation set by the Washington Naval Treaty.
• In Botswana, at the time the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Tshekedi Khama was named as the regent for his 4-year-old nephew, future Botswana president Seretse Khama and Kgosi (monarch) of the ruling Bamangwato people. Tshkedi would serve as the de facto ruler of the Bechuanaland natives until 1949, when he would step aside in light of the reaffirmation of Seretse's rule by the tribal elders.
• Born:
  • James M. Beggs, U.S. government official who served as Administrator of NASA, the U.S. space agency, from 1981 to 1985; in Pittsburgh (d.2020)
  • Chérifa (stage name for Ouardia Bouchemlal), Algerian singer and songwriter; at Ait Hallia, El Main, French Algeria(d.2014)
• Died: William Henry Warren, 73, Australian engineer, lawyer and professor, died nine days after his retirement from the University of Sydney.

January 10, 1926 (Sunday)

• Hernando Siles was sworn into office as the new President of Bolivia after having won the presidential election held on December 1, 1925.
• Voting was held in the European principality of Liechtenstein for all 15 seats of the nation's parliament, the Landtag. The Christlich-Soziale Volkspartei (CSV) won 8 seats for a majority while the Fortschrittliche Bürgerpartei (FBP) won 6. A runoff election took place on January 24 for the other seat, which went to the Christian Socialists for a 9 to 6 majority, down from the 11 to 4 it had previously held.
• In the U.S., the capsizing of the four-masted schooner Prinz Valdemar blocked all ship traffic in and out of Biscayne Bay and the harbor of Miami, Florida. The 35-year old Danish barkentine ship had been sold to investors for conversion to a floating hotel and was stranded on a sandbar at low tide when it became top-heavy and tipped over. The 80 construction workers onboard were rescued unharmed but two ocean liners, the George Washington and the Seneca, were unable to leave, and other ships at sea were unable to sail in.
• Mexican federal troops tracked down bandits responsible for the previous evening's train massacre to a ranch in Jalisco and engaged them in a shootout. Most of the rebels were killed in the fighting, and eight who were captured were immediately executed. All the stolen loot was recovered.
• A tournament to decide the championship of Gaelic football was won by the Galway GAA Tribesmen at Croke Park in Dublin. Because of problems in going beyond the semifinal round of the 1925 tournament, no final had been held and Galway had been declared champion by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) on December 5. A tournament of four teams was organized, and Galway defeated Wexford GAA, 3-2 to 1-2 (equivalent to an 11 to 5 win).
• Born: Carol Duvall, American TV personality whose arts and crafts program, the The Carol Duvall Show ran for 12 seasons on the HGTV cable channel; as Carol-Jean Reihmer in Milwaukee.(d.2023)

January 11, 1926 (Monday)

• U.S. Representative John W. Langley of Kentucky's 10th Congressional District, resigned after 19 years in Congress, because the U.S. Supreme Court had affirmed his jail sentence for his conviction of violating the prohibition laws by illegally selling alcohol to New York bootleggers in organized crime. Over three years during the prohibition era, Congressman Langley had deposited $115,000 in his bank account while earning only $22,500 in salary.
• The Whittemore Gang robbed Belgian diamond merchants Albert Goudris and Emanuel Veerman on West 48th Street in Manhattan, making off with $175,000 in gems, the largest haul of their crime spree. Sentenced to two years in prison, he would be pardoned by President Calvin Coolidge at the end of 1928.
• Born: Lev Dyomin, Russian cosmonaut who was launched itno space on Soyuz 15 in 1974; in Moscow (d. 1998)

January 12, 1926 (Tuesday)

• The Director of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Dr. Émile Roux, announced the discovery of an antitoxin vaccine that could provide immunity against tetanus. The serum, developed by Dr. Gaston Ramon and Dr. Christian Zoeller of the Institute, had been successfully tested on more than 100 patients.
• Toray Industries, one of the world's largest producers of synthetic fiber and the largest producer of carbon fiber, was created in Japan as Toyo Rayon Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., with Mitsui managing director Yunosuke Yasukawa]] servings as the new company's first chairman.

Correll and Gosden

• Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll premiered their radio program Sam 'n' Henry, in which the two white performers portray two black characters from Harlem looking to "strike it rich in the big city". It was a precursor to Gosden and Correll's more popular later program, Amos 'n' Andy.
• Born: Ray Price, U.S. country music singer; near Perryville, Texas (d. 2013)

January 13, 1926 (Wednesday)

• A mine explosion in Wilburton, Oklahoma, killed 91 coal miners.
• The Shura Council of the Hijaz, the first legislative assembly in what would become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was organized by King Ibn Saud and Saud's 19-year-old son, Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (who would become King Faisal almost 40 years later) served as the first council chairman.
• Britain and Iraq signed a new treaty extending their relations for 25 years or until Iraq joined the League of Nations.
• Born:
  • Michael Bond, English author who created the Paddington Bear series of books; in Newbury, Berkshire (d.2017)
  • U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Sumner Shapiro, Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence from 1978 to 1982; in Nashua, New Hampshire (d. 2006)

January 14, 1926 (Thursday)

• African railway workers at the British African colony of Sierra Leone began a [[1926 Sierra Leone railway strike|strike that would last for six weeks.
• German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann warned that the Locarno Pact was at risk of breaking down, as Germany accused the Allied powers of infringing on the limits on troops they were allowed to station in the Rhineland.
• A total solar eclipse took place that was visible in the Southern Hemisphere from French Equatorial Africa (corresponding to the Central African Republic and the British colonies of Uganda, Kenya and the Sudan, as well as Italian Somalia, the Seychelles islands, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), Sarawak and North Borneo (in Malaysia) and the Philippines. Scientists gathered in Sumatra to perform observational experiments, inclduing an evaluation of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.
• The Ivo Tijardović operetta Little Floramye (Mala Floramye) was given its premiere performance, making its debut in the Yugoslavian (now Croatian) city of Split.
• Born:
  • Wu Zhaonan, popular Taiwanese and American xiangsheng comedian and cook known for creating the recipe for "Mongolian barbecue"; in Beijing, Republic of China (d.2018)
  • Tom Tryon, American film and TV actor and writer; in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1991)
  • K. B. Tilak, Indian Telugu language and Hindi language film director and producer, known for Chhoti Bahu (1971, Hindi) and Eedu Jodu (1963, Telugu); in Denduluru, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Andhra Pradesh state of India) ((d.2010)
  • Frank Aletter, American TV actor and comedian known for Bringing Up Buddy and It's About Time; in College Point in Queens, New York City (d.2009)

January 15, 1926 (Friday)

• Turkey adopted the Swiss Civil Code as part of the ongoing reforms instituted by President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
• The film The Sea Beast, starring John Barrymore, was released.
• Born: Maria Schell, Austrian actress; in Vienna (d. 2005)
• Died: Louis Majorelle, 66, French furniture designer

January 16, 1926 (Saturday)

• A BBC comic radio play broadcast by Ronald Knox about a workers' revolution caused a panic in London.

January 17, 1926 (Sunday)

Ayn Rand

• Twenty-year-old Ayn Rand left Russia, departing from Leningrad by train. Her early life experiences in Communist Russia were a major influence on her philosophy.
• Born: Moira Shearer, Scottish ballet dancer and actress; in Dunfermline (d. 2006)

January 18, 1926 (Monday)

• The Italianization of South Tyrol escalated as the government issued a decree requiring citizens of South Tyrol to Italianize any names and titles of nobility "which have been translated into other languages or deformed by foreign orthography or foreign endings." Failure to comply carried a fine of up to 1,000 lira.

January 19, 1926 (Tuesday)

• Lev Karakhan, the Soviet ambassador to China, sent a protest to the Chinese Foreign Ministry warning of "serious consequences" if a dispute over the two countries' joint management of the Chinese Eastern Railway was not resolved. Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin had been seizing parts of the railway line and arresting Soviet officials in retaliation for a decision that made Chinese troops pay half-fare instead of being allowed to ride for free. The dispute was a precursor to the Sino Soviet Conflict of 1929.
• Born: Fritz Weaver, U.S. actor; in Pittsburgh (d. 2016)

January 20, 1926 (Wednesday)

• German Chancellor Dr. Hans Luther formed his second cabinet, a minority coalition involving the Centre Party, German People's Party and National People's Party.
• Born:
  • Patricia Neal, actress; in Packard, Kentucky (d. 2010)
  • David Tudor, U.S. pianist and composer; in Philadelphia (d. 1996)

January 21, 1926 (Thursday)

• The Chinese Eastern Railway dispute worsened as the general manager of the railway, A.N. Isonov, was arrested by Zhang Zuolin's troops.
• The Belgian Parliament accepted the Locarno Treaties.
• The D.H. Lawrence novel The Plumed Serpent was published.
• Born:
  • Steve Reeves, U.S. bodybuilder and actor; in Glasgow, Montana (d. 2000)
  • Franco Evangelisti, Italian composer; in Rome (d. 1980)
• Died: Camillo Golgi, 82, Austrian physician, pathologist, scientist and Nobel laureate

January 22, 1926 (Friday)

• Soviet Foreign Minister Georgy Chicherin sent a threatening note to the Manchurian government seeking "permission" for the Soviet army to enter Manchuria if the Chinese Eastern Railway's administration was not restored. Manchuria responded by agreeing to comply, ending the crisis.

January 23, 1926 (Saturday)

• The Shrine Auditorium opened in Los Angeles.
• Born: Bal Thackeray, Indian politician; in Pune, British India (d. 2012)
• Died: Désiré-Joseph Mercier, 74, Belgian cardinal

January 24, 1926 (Sunday)

• The Third International Radio Week began, featuring transatlantic tests of distance reception. Listeners in New York and Chicago reported successful reception of English and South American radio broadcasts.

January 25, 1926 (Monday)

• British surgeon Sir Berkeley Moynihan said cancer of the tongue was partly caused by smoking.
• Born: Bob Clarke, American illustrator; in Mamaroneck, New York (d. 2013)

January 26, 1926 (Tuesday)

• Scottish inventor John Logie Baird demonstrated a mechanical television system for members of the Royal Institution and a reporter from The Times at his London laboratory.
• Galician aviator Ramón Franco completed a Trans-Atlantic flight from Huelva, Spain to Buenos Aires, Argentina. There were stopovers at Gran Canaria, Cape Verde, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo along the way. The 10,270-kilometre (6,380 mi) journey was completed in 59 hours and 39 minutes.

January 27, 1926 (Wednesday)

• The U.S. Senate voted in favor of joining the World Court, but with several specific reservations.
• 30 communists and 12 monarchists were wounded in street fighting in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin during demonstrations on the birthday of the former Kaiser, Wilhelm II. The fighting broke out as communists paraded an effigy of the ex-Kaiser hanged from a gallows. Riot police opened fire after attempts to separate the combatants were met with attacks from both sides.
• Born:
  • Fritz Spiegl, Austrian musician, journalist and broadcaster; in Zurndorf (d. 2003)
  • Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress; in Sollefteå (d. 2004)

January 28, 1926 (Thursday)

• King Albert, Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Louis-Ernest Dubois were among the attendees for the funeral of Belgian cardinal and national hero Désiré-Joseph Mercier, who died on January 23. Thousands lined the streets of Brussels to watch the funeral procession.
• Died:
  • Katō Takaaki, 66, Prime Minister of Japan since 1924, died from pneumonia.
  • Ernest Troubridge, 63, Royal Navy officer

January 29, 1926 (Friday)

• Eugene O'Neill's play The Great God Brown opened at the Greenwich Theatre.
• Born: Abdus Salam, Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize laureate; in Jhang (d. 1996)

January 30, 1926 (Saturday)

• Wakatsuki Reijirō, Minister of Home Affairs, formed a new government as Prime Minister of Japan, replacing Katō Takaaki, who had died two days earlier.
• In the U.S., a gas explosion killed 27 miners in Mossboro, Alabama, while another 26 escaped unhurt.
• The Allied occupation of the first zone of the Rhineland in Germany formally ended. At 3:00 in the afternoon, local time, the British, French and Belgians in the zone all hauled down their flags and withdrew their remaining troops in advance of much of the Rhineland's sovereignty being formally returned to Germany at the stroke of midnight.
• Died: Barbara La Marr, 29, American actress, died of complications from tuberculosis.

January 31, 1926 (Sunday)

• Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini assumed the power to rule by decree.
• Died: Lou Bierbauer, 60, American baseball player