December 1, 1923: Collapse of Italy's Gleno Dam destroys two villages, kills 356 peopleDecember 21, 1923: Midair explosion kills all 50 crew on French Navy dirigible Dixmude
The damburst of the Gleno Dam killed 356 people in the province of Bergamo, sweeping away people in the villages of Bueggio, Corna and Dezzo.[2] Initial reports from the Associated Press said that of the 500 residents of Dezzo, only three survived [3][4]
In Montevideo, Uruguay defeated Argentina, 2 to 0 to win the South American Championship of football. The format was tournament with the teams of Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil playing one game apiece against each other. After they both defeated Paraguay and Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina had records of 2 wins and no losses going into the final scheduled game.
Born:
Maria Callas (stage name for Sophie Kalos), American-born Greek soprano singer; in Manhattan, New York City (died of a heart attack, 1977)
Portions of The Ten Commandments were in Technicolor
The Cecil B. DeMille-directed epic film The Ten Commandments, the most popular movie of 1924, premiered at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. One critic closed his review by saying, "'The Ten Commandments' is a picture that you cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, afford to miss. It offers splendors of photography and theatrical wonders hitherto unrevealed. It is, in fact, the greatest masterpiece, thus far, of pictoral artistry— and it has a lot to offer besides."[8] Unlike DeMille's 1956 remake, the 1923 version had two parts, with a 50-minute prologue that recounted the events of the Book of Exodus before moving forward in time to the present (in the year 1923) for the remaining 85 minutes to show the different approaches to the ten commandments by members of the McTavish family.[9]
Philip Slier, Dutch Jewish typesetter whose letters detailing life at a Nazi labor camp, Camp Molengoot, would be published 65 years after his death; in Amsterdam (killed at Sobibor extermination camp, 1943)
An insurrection began in Mexico as officers in five states — Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Chihuahua, Michoacán and Tamaulipas — ousted the federal officials and installed their own replacements. General Guadalupe Sanchez and several other officers sent a message to President Álvaro Obregón declaring that "to contribute with our military honor to the conservation of peace and respect for the free will of the people, and to prevent the odious impositions which aim at destroying in its cradle our democratic form of government, we have resolved to assume the defense of the institutions offended so seriously by the government you represent."[12][13] The rebellion was nominally led by Adolfo de la Huerta, but the rebels had little in common with each other besides opposition to Obregón.[14]
Six days before the conclusion of his term, Governor Edwin P. Morrow of the U.S. state of Kentucky commuted the death sentence of convicted murderer Steve McQueen, who had been a juvenile at the time of the crime. Pleas had been made to the governor's office from around the U.S. and Morrow said that he "heard the voice of God" in the requests.[15]
Gregory Zervoudakis, the Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan of Chalcedon, was elected as the Church leader as Patriarch of Constantinople. He took the ecclesiastical name Gregory VII, and served less than a year before his sudden death from a heart attack.
The Chamber of Deputies of France voted, 408 to 127, to adopt the electoral reform bill proposed by the government of Prime Minister Raymond Poincare. After a previous measure had been failed to win support, 270 to 295, Poincare presented the question again as a vote of confidence in his government.[26]
Lloyd Gomez, American serial killer who committed nine murders of homeless men over one year in 1950 and 1951; in Caliente, Nevada (executed 1953)
Died: Friedrich Rosenbach, 80, German microbiologist known for his studies of staphylococcus variations; Rosenbach's disease was named for him after he discovered its etiology from contaminated seafood.
Born:Ted Knight, American TV actor known for the Mary Tyler Moore show and for Too Close for Comfort; as Tadeusz Konopka in Terryville, Connecticut (d. 1986)
Died:
Sir Frederick Treves, 70, British surgeon known for his pioneering treatment of appendicitis and for saving the life of King Edward VII in 1902
Rebels in Mexico captured Xalapa, the capital of the state of Veracruz, and took 200 prisoners, including Governor Angel Casarin.[29] With the fall of Veracruz state, the insurgents began their advance toward Mexico City.[30]
Pio Taofinuʻu, Samoan Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Samoa-Apia, who became, in 1923, the first Polynesian Catholic Cardinal; in Falealupo, Savaiʻi island (d. 2006)
Wolfgang Harich, East German journalist who was imprisoned for eight years for counterrevolutionary plotting; in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad in Russia) (d. 1995)[34]
National Dairy Products Corporation, which would become the leading manufacturer of dairy products and then a worldwide food conglomerate, was founded by a merger of Thomas H. McInerney's Hydrox Corporation and Edward E. Rieck's Rieck—McJunkin Dairy Company.[citation needed] As of 2023[update], the company is now called Kraft Heinz.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., holding that only the U.S. Supreme Court could review decisions of individual U.S. state courts, and that federal district courts or circuit appellate courts lacked jurisdiction to review state decisions.
The Board of Regents of the University of California system voted to turn its Southern Branch, located in Los Angeles, from a three-year junior college into a four-year program authorized to award a bachelor's degree to students, beginning with the 1924–1925 academic year. The first Southern Branch bachelor's degree would be awarded on June 12, 1925, and on February 1, 1927, the institution would be renamed the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).[39]
Died: John R. Rathom, 55, Australian-born American reporter and editor of The Providence Journal, known for his dubious and sometimes fraudulent stories
December 12, 1923 (Wednesday)
HOLLYWOODLAND
The famous Hollywood Sign in the U.S. state of California, with letters 45 feet (14 m) high and stretching across a mountain above Hollywood, California, was completed by S. H. Woodruff, the developer of the new "Hollywoodland" subdivision. The completion of the sign, which initially spelled out the 13 letters of the subdivision, was announced in an advertisement by Electrical Products Corporation, with the declaration "We thank you, Mr. Woodruff, for having given us the opportunity to engineer and install this great electrical sign," and adding, "May your expenditure be appreciated by those who love to see Los Angeles lead in enterprise and really 'big' things."[40]
German Finance Minister Hans Luther announced that the country had exhausted its gold reserves and domestic credit, and would need a foreign loan to continue functioning.[41]
The wreck of the Norwegian steamer Runa killed 18 of its 23 crew after the vessel was wrecked on the coast of the U.S. state of North Carolina and sank in a few minutes. While two lifeboats were launched, the six occupants of one of the boats froze to death before they could be rescued.[46]
Turkey and Hungary signed a treaty of friendship.[37]
Inventor Eric Mackintosh applied for the patent for the Celestion electric loudspeaker system for radio.[citation needed]
Six days after ending the 1923 NFL season in first place with an 11-0-1 record, the NFL champion Canton Bulldogs defeated the non-NFL Frankford Yellow Jackets in a challenge game against in Philadelphia. Frankford, not an NFL team, billed themselves as "champions of the East" with a 9-1-2 record against teams in the "Anthracite League" and against four other NFL teams. Described in the U.S. as the pro football championship, the game was won by Canton, 3 to 0, in the final two minutes of play on a field goal from future Pro Football Hall of Famer Pete Henry.[47]
Jimmy Carter (James Walter Carter), American boxer and world lightweight champion three times between 1951 and 1954; in Aiken, South Carolina (d. 1994)
Died: Joe Pullen, 40, African-American tenant farmer, was lynched by white citizens of Drew, Mississippi, but not before he killed at least three members of the lynch mob and wounded several others.[48]
December 16, 1923 (Sunday)
Voting was held in Greece for the 395 seats of the Ethnikís Synélefsis.[49] The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Stylianos Gonatas, running on a platform of abolishing the monarchy, more than doubled its share of seats, from 118 to 250, and won control of the parliament. The new Democratic Union and Democratic Liberals won 120 seats.
The wreck of the American lumber freighter C. A. Smith killed 11 of its crew after their lifeboat capsized while it was being lowered into the water after the ship struck rocks at the entrance to Coos Bay in the U.S. state of Oregon.[51]
Born:
Jim Forbes, Australian politician, president of the Liberal Party of Australia 1982–1985, who served simultaneously for three months as Minister for the Army (1963-1966) and Minister for the Navy (1963-1964), Health Minister (1966-1971) and Immigration Minister (1971-1972); in Hobart, Tasmania (d. 2019)
Died: Rabbi Albert Katz, 65, Polish-born German Jewish author and journalist who wrote multiple tracts under the pen name Ish ha-Ruah. He also served as the chief editor of the magazine Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums
December 17, 1923 (Monday)
The kingdom of Thailand officially adopted the metric system, although not wholly abandoning the traditional Thai units of measure. Among the units lost were the khuep [25 centimetres (9.8 in)] and the chang [1.2 kilograms (2.6 lb)]. The thanan was equivalent to one liter.[52]
Died:Joseph Orpen, 95, British colonial administrator and anthropologist
December 18, 1923 (Tuesday)
Farmer James D. Cummings and draftsman J. Earl McLeod, both of Washington, Kansas, filed the patent application for their invention, the bulldozer. U.S. Patent No. 1,522,378 would be granted on January 6, 1925.[55] In the patent application, they wrote "Our invention is an attachment for tractors by the use of which the surface of the ground may be easily brought into a level condition. The device is intended more particularly for filling ditches in which pipe lines have been laid but is capable of use as a grader and for other purposes."
The Tangier Protocol was signed in Paris by representatives of France, Spain and the United Kingdom, creating the Tangier International Zone in Morocco.[56] The Zone would be abolished in 1956 upon the independence of Morocco.
Born: British Army Field Marshal Edwin Bramall, Chief of the Defence Staff 1982–1985; in Tonbridge, Kent (d. 2019)
December 19, 1923 (Wednesday)
King George II of Greece and Queen Consort Elisabeth left the country in compliance with the Greek government's request that they leave temporarily pending settlement by the National Assembly on the future form of government. They went to Elisabeth's home country of Romania.[58]
Died: Sun Meiyao, 25, Chinese bandit leader who masterminded the May 6 Lincheng Outrage, was executed on orders of the Governor of Shandong Province.[60]
Born: Charita Bauer, American radio and TV actress known for The Aldrich Family and later for The Guiding Light; in Newark, New Jersey (d. 1985)
December 21, 1923 (Friday)
The French airship Dixmude exploded and crashed into the Mediterranean during a thunderstorm. All 50 on board were killed in the worst air disaster in history to that point.[63] The dirigible's fate was not immediately known at the time.[64] One body, identified as lieutenant commander Du Plessis de Grenandan on the Dixmude, was found on December 26.[65]
Mexico's federal army, commanded by General Eugenio Martinez, recaptured the city of Puebla from the De la Huerta rebels.[67] The government estimated that it lost 150 federales, while more than 2,000 rebels had been killed in battle and another 2,000 taken prisoner.[68]
At Washington, D.C., the tradition of the National Christmas Tree was inaugurated in the U.S. at the conclusion of a 100-member choir from the city's First Congregational Church at the South Portico of the White House. At 5:00 in the evening, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge pressed a button and turned on 2,500 electric bulbs.[75]
In a Christmas message, German Chancellor Wilhelm Marx stated that the government was willing to "fulfill reparations to the limit of our capacity", but made an international appeal to "give us peace, take away the unfair sanctions and oppositions, and give us a chance to work and live and then Germany will save her finances and pay reparations accordingly."[76]
Died: Alexander Neverov (pen name for Alexander Skobelev), 37, Soviet Russian novelist known for his recently published Tashkent— The City of Bread (Tashkent— Gorod Chlebniy), died of heart failure
U.S. Patent No. 1,478,704 was granted to the estate of the late German optician Heinrich Erfle his invention, the first wide-angle eyepiece for telescopes and binoculars. Erfle had died from blood poisoning more than eight months earlier, on April 8, at the age of 39.[78] The application had been filed on August 13, 1921.[79]
France's budget for 1924 showed a surplus of 568 million francs.[81]
Ships, planes and camel riders searched the Mediterranean and North African coastline looking for any trace of the Dixmude, though expectations of finding survivors were low.[82] On December 29, the search for more survivors halted and the French government began sending condolences to the families of the victims.[83]
A fire at one of the buildings of the Illinois State Hospital for the Insane in Chicago killed 14 patients and a nurse.[84]
Born: Victor Owusu, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Ghana 1966-1969 and 1971–1972, Foreign Minister 1969–1971; in Agona, Gold Coast crown colony (d. 2000)
Died:Dietrich Eckart, 55, German journalist and early member of the Nazi Party, died of a heart attack
December 27, 1923 (Thursday)
An assassination attempt was made against Japan's Prince RegentHirohito when a 24-year-old communist student, Daisuke Namba, fired a pistol and shattered the window of Hirohito's automobile as it was passing through the Toranomon district of Tokyo.[85] The Prince Regent, who had been on his way to the opening of the Imperial Parliament, was unhurt. Prime Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyōe and his cabinet resigned after taking responsibility for the lack of security for the Emperor.[86]
Mexican government forces routed rebels in northern Jalisco.[87]
The American freight steamship Conejos sank in the Black Sea with the loss of all 37 sailors.[88]
Josef Hassid (stage name for Józef Chasyd), Polish violinist; in Suwalki (died of meningitis, 1950)
Died:Frank Hayes, 52, American silent film actor in 11 of Fatty Arbuckle's films, died of pneumonia
December 29, 1923 (Saturday)
Zworykin's invention
Russian-born American engineer Vladimir K. Zworykin and Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company filed the first application for Zworykin's invention, "Television System". U.S. Patent No. 2,141,059 would be granted on December 20, 1938. His application stated "One of the objects of my invention is to provide a system for enabling a person to see distant moving objects or views by radio. Another object of my invention is to eliminate synchronizing devices heretofore employed in television systems. Still another object of my invention is to provide a system for broadcasting, from a central point, moving pictures, scenes from plays, or similar entertainments."[92]
The government of Germany agreed to pay the expenses incurred by France and Belgium for occupation of Germany's Ruhr area.[93]
The Italian steamship SS Mutlah and its crew of 40 disappeared after sending a distress call while sailing in the Mediterranean Sea.[94]
Britain and France clashed over the French collection of taxes on a mine in the Ruhr owned by British subjects.[95]
Dutch Anderson, Danish-born American gang member and bandit, escaped from Atlanta Federal Prison through a tunnel along with three other convicts [96] and soon teamed up with his former partner in crime, Gerald Chapman, who had escaped the same prison on March 27.
The rising Seine submerged all the quays and docks in Paris.[97]
Experts announced after an examination of charred wreckage that had washed up along Sicily that the Dixmude was probably destroyed by a mid-air explosion.[99]
^"300 Drown as Dike Bursts and Italian Towns Are Swept— Artificial Lake at Dezzo Pours Millions of Cubic Yards of Water Into Valleys", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 2, 1923, p.1
^"Six Hundred Perish as Floods Inundate Fifty Square Miles— Three Italian Villages Washed Away When Dam Bursts", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 3, 1923, p.1
^"The Curious Traveler". Biblioteca Italia Grassi. June 16, 2002. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
^"Liberty Given 3,500 Rebels By Free State". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 31, 1923. p. 2.
^"Dr. Elmer Gates, Scientist, Dies", The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), December 4, 1923, p. 3
^"De Mille's Film Thrills— 'Ten Commandments,' Given Premiere at Hollywood, Declared Producer's Masterpiece", by Edwin Schallert, Los Angeles Times, December 5, 1923, p. II-1
^Birchard, Robert S. (2004). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN978-0-8131-3829-9.
^Eric Barnouw, A Tower in Babel: A History of Broadcasting in the United States to 1933, Volume 1 (Oxford University Press, 1966) p.159
^"Five Mexican States United in Open Revolt— Leading Generals, Meeting at Vera Cruz, Repudiate Obregon, Oust Federal Employees", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 7, 1923, p.1
^Sánchez, Mario Raúl Mijares (2013). Mexico: The Genesis of its Political Decomposition. Palibrio. p. 107. ISBN978-1-4633-2894-8.
^Buchenau, Jürgen (2007). Plutarco Elías Calles and the Mexican Revolution. Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 106. ISBN978-1-4616-4095-0.
^"'Voice of God' Leads to Pardoning of Slayer", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 6, 1923, p.1
^"Sixteen Believed Dead in Pacific Coast Gale; Fifteen Thought Drowned When Steamer Sinks During Storm", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 8, 1923, p.2
^Newell, Gordon R., ed., H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, Superior Publishing Co., Seattle, WA (1966) p. 343.
^Seaman, L.C.B. (2005). Post Victorian Britain 1902–1951. Methuen & Co. p. 129. ISBN978-1-134-95491-9.
^"Free Trade Wins by Early Count of British Vote— Liberals and Laborites Gain Over Conservatives; Lady Astor Is Elected Again at Plymouth", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 7, 1923, p.1
^"Conservatives Elect 259, Other Parties Total 343", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 8, 1923, p.3
^ abcdMercer, Derrik (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 312. ISBN978-0-582-03919-3.
^"Poincare Forces Electoral Reform— Chamber Passes Bill, 408 to 127, When Vote Is Made One of Confidence", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 7, 1923, p.1
^"Full Control Given to Marx Cabinet; Rule Minus Sanction of Reichstag Is Passed by Vote of 313 to 18", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 9, 1923, p.4
^"Rebels Capture State Capital of Vera Cruz— Jalapa Falls After Siege, 200 Prisoners, Including the Governor, Taken", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 10, 1923, p. 1
^"10,000 Insurgents Converging Upon Mexican Capital", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 11, 1923, p. 1
^Clayton, John (December 13, 1923). "Germany at End of Rope; Appeals for League Loan". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 3.
^"One Farthing in Damages Given to British Lord". Chicago Daily Tribune. July 19, 1923. p. 3.
^Steele, John (December 14, 1923). "British Noble is Guilty of Libel; 6 Months in Jail". Chicago Daily Tribune: 26.
^"U. S. Flier Drowned When Plane Falls— Lawrence Sperry, Aerial Pioneer, Meets Death in English Channel", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 14, 1923, p. 3
^"Quakes Wreck Towns, Kill Many in Colombia; Eighty-Five Dead Already Found in Ruins of Cumbal, Near the Ecuador Border", The New York Times, December 16, 1923, p. 2
^"29 Men Perish in Atlantic and Pacific Wrecks— Seamen Frozen to Death in Open Boat Before Arrival of Rescue Vessels Off Carolina", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 17, 1923, p. 1
^"Terrible results of battle with lone negro farmer", Easton (PA) Daily Free Press, December 15, 1923, p. 3
^"Greece Facing Dynastic Crisis; Radicals Gain— Republicans Claim Victory in Elections and Clamor for Deposition of King George", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 18, 1923, p.1
^"Obregon's Air Forces Bomb Rebel Troops". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 17, 1923. p. 1.
^"Pacific Wreck Costs Eleven Lives", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 17, 1923, p.8
^Keirns, Aaron J. (2010). America's Forgotten Airship Disaster: The Crash of the USS Shenandoah. Little River Publishing. p. 26. ISBN978-0-9647800-5-7.
^"French Vessel with 50 Aboard Hit by Storm". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 24, 1923. p. 1.
^Wales, Henry (December 29, 1923). "Body in Sea Only Clew to Lost Airship". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^Percival Landon, Nepal (Constable and Company, Ltd., 1928) p. 151.
^"Rebels Driven Out of Puebla; Aim at Capital", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 23, 1923, p.1
^"Only 500 Escape When Puebla Falls", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 25, 1923, p.2
^Wales, Henry (December 22, 1923). "Dawes Named as Head of German Financial Quiz". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 3.
^"Mother-in-Law of Balkans Hits Bad Boy Greece". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 23, 1923. p. 3.
^Wales, Henry (December 27, 1923). "Dawes' Expert Board to Meet in Paris Jan. 14". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 11.
^"Three Nations Hunt 50 Men from Airship". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 27, 1923. p. 3.
^"France Ends Hope for Dixmude Crew— Government Sends Official Condolence to Dirigible's Victims", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 30, 1923, p.2
^"14 Maniacs Die with Nurse in Hospital Fire— Three Other Patients Missing in Illinois Pavilion Blaze; 500 Insane Saved", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 27, 1923, p.1
^"Assassin's Bullet Misses Prince on Way to Japan Diet— Regent Hirohito in Auto Is Fired on From the Street", Philadelphia Inquirer, December 29, 1923, p. 1
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