June 3, 1924: Renowned novelist Franz Kafka dies in obscurity in AustriaJune 2, 1924: U.S. President Coolidge poses with Osage Indian representatives at signing of law granting U.S. citizenship to all American IndiansJune 10, 1924: Fascists kidnap and murder Italian legislator Giacomo Matteotti after his harsh criticism of Prime Minister Mussolini
June 8, 1924: British climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine vanish during Mount Everest climb
The following events occurred in June 1924:
June 1, 1924 (Sunday)
Seipel
Austrian Chancellor Ignaz Seipel was shot by a disgruntled worker. A bullet was extracted from his lung and he survived.[1][2]
The Bengal Provincial Congress Committee passed a resolution acknowledging the sacrifice of Gopinath Saha. It stated that 'this conference, while denouncing and dissociating itself from violence and adhering to the principle of non-violence, appreciates Gopinath Saha's idea of self-sacrifice, misguided though it is, in respect of the country's best interest and expresses respect for such self-sacrifice.' Mahatma Gandhi opposed the resolution.[5]
What would become one of the most widely-heard radio stations in the U.S. as well as a widely-seen television station was created as the Chicago Tribune newspaper purchased Chicago's WDAP radio station and renamed it WGN, an abbreviation of the Tribune slogan, "World's Greatest Newspaper".[6]
In the United States, the Indian Citizenship Act was signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge, recognizing U.S. citizenship for all indigenous Native Americans (referred to at the time as "American Indians") who had been born within the United States and its territories, regardless of whether they had been granted citizenship by other means, such as service in the U.S. military or formal renunciation of tribal affiliation. At the time, there were 300,000 Native Americans in the U.S., of whom 175,000 had already been granted U.S. citizenship, out of a population measured in 1920 as 106,021,537 people.[7]
In Germany, miners in the Ruhr ended their strike after accepting a 6 percent wage increase.[11]
Born:
Eric Voice, British Scottish nuclear scientist known for his decision to voluntarily ingest plutonium to demonstrate his belief that exposure was not lethal; in London (died of neurological disease, 2004)
The Gila Wilderness, which would become the first government-protected wilderness area (defined as an area not significantly affected by human activity) in the world, was founded in the U.S. state of New Mexico as the first wilderness area in the National Forest System.[12] The designation followed the lobbying efforts of Aldo Leopold, the United States Forest Service supervisor of the Carson National Forest, who proposed that the headwaters area of the Gila River should be preserved by an administrative process of excluding roads and denying use permits.[13]
In Albania, fighting was reported in Shkodër and Vlorë, while an Italian destroyer arrived at the port of Durrës. It was thought that Italy might intervene in the June Revolution if any Italian interests in Albania were threatened.[14]
Died:Franz Kafka, 40, Austro-Hungarian-born author and playwright, died of starvation due to complications from laryngeal tuberculosis.
June 4, 1924 (Wednesday)
Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose contacted Albert Einstein to report his development of what would become known as the Bose–Einstein statistics. Bose mailed his short manuscript, Planck's Law and the Light Quantum Hypothesis to Einstein to get it published after the prestigious journal Philosophical Magazine rejected it. Einstein, recognizing the importance of the paper, translated it from English into German himself and submitted it on Bose's behalf to the prestigious Zeitschrift für Physik. Einstein would later apply Bose's principles on particles with mass and quickly predict the Bose-Einstein condensate.[15]
The two unbeaten teams of the Olympic soccer football championship, Uruguay (4 wins, no draws or losses) and Switzerland (3 wins, 1 draw, no losses) played before 40,522 fans at the Olympic Stadium in Colombes. Uruguay won, 3 to 0 for the championship and the gold medal.[37]
Ecuador became the first nation in South America to extend the right to vote to women, after the lobbying of Dr. Matilde Hidalgo, as the Council of State of Ecuador ruled that Ecuadorian women enjoyed the right to elect and be elected ("Las mujeres ecuatorianas gozaban del derecho de elegir y ser elegidas.")[citation needed]
Frederick Burlingham, 47, American world traveler and film documentary producer known for his series of silent film travelogues, died of a heart attack at his home.[39]
Giacomo Matteotti, a socialist member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and one of Benito Mussolini's most outspoken critics, was kidnapped in broad daylight. On May 30, he had spoken out against Prime Minister Mussolini and the Fascist movement in general. His fate would be a mystery until his body was found in August, with signs that he had been beaten to death.[41] Six men were arrested for the crime, including Amerigo Dumini, who would confess a week later. Mussolini said he would order summary justice if any of the kidnappers were identified.[42]
The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922, making Iraq a self-governing British protectorate, was ratified by the Iraqi Constituent Assembly by a vote of 36 to 25, with the United Kingdom having control of Iraq's foreign affairs and Iraq handling its own domestic affairs.[43]
Died: General Salvador Alvarado, 43, former Mexican Treasury Secretary and Governor of Yucatán, later an anti-government rebel, was killed by agents of Mexico's President Obregon.[47]
Comedian and actor Frank Tinney was held to the grand jury on $25,000 bail over the assault charge brought by Imogene Wilson. Tinney denied ever striking her and made jokes on the witness stand despite admonitions from the bench.[49]
The largest train robbery in American history, based on adjusted value of the money taken, took place as the Newton Gang carried out the robbery of the express mail train number 57 of the Milwaukee Road (the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad) near Rondout, Illinois.[50] The train was stopped by the robbers while it was carrying out its "Fast Mail" service.[51] The amount of cash and bonds taken was more than three million dollars (similar to $54.3 million in 2024).
Asphyxiation killed 44 crewmen aboard the USS Mississippi off San Pedro, when the battleship's Number Two main battery turret exploded and filled the interior with smoke from a fire. A few minutes later, four rescuers were killed when the fire caused gunpowder in another cannon to explode.[52] The explosion was, at the time, the deadliest peacetime disaster in U.S. Navy history.
On the last day of the Republican National Convention, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge was formally nominated as the Republican candidate for the 1924 U.S. presidential election, receiving the votes of all but 44 delegates. Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin received 44 votes of delegates from Wisconsin and North Dakota, and Hiram Johnson of California got 10 delegate votes from South Dakota. Charles G. Dawes won the Republican nomination for vice president to be Coolidge's running mate.[53]
U.S. Army Lieutenant John A. Macready became the first airplane pilot to bail out of a stricken aircraft at night successfully. Macready was approaching McCook Field at Dayton, Ohio, when the engine died. Unable to see a site for an emergency landing, Macready parachuted from his plane and was able to survive after landing in a tree.[57]
The oratorioLe Laudi, written by Swiss composer Hermann Suter, was performed for the first time, premiering at Basel to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Basel Choral Society.[58]
Aldo Finzi resigned as Italy's Under Secretary of State over the Matteotti disappearance, explaining he was doing so in order to defend himself from "libelous accusations" spread against him by the opposition.[61] Rome's Chief of Police, Emilio De Bono, resigned three days later.[62]
Frank Bunker Gilbreth, 55, American efficiency expert and occupational engineer, died of a heart attack while talking to his wife by telephone.[63] Gilbreth would become best known as the central figure in the bestselling book and popular film Cheaper by the Dozen.[64]
Joseph Henry Kibbey, 71, American politician and jurist, Territorial Governor of Arizona 1905 to 1909[65]
June 15, 1924 (Sunday)
President Gaston Doumergue of France and Prime Minister Édouard Herriot
Died:Bill Brennan, 30, American boxer, was shot and killed outside the Tia Juana Tavern that he owned in New York City, after ejecting two mobsters from his establishment.[69]
Fan Noli (Theofan Stilian Noli), one of the leaders of Albania's June Revolution, formed a government of ministers with himself as Prime Minister of Albania.[71]
King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy held an extraordinary council with former Prime Ministers and members of the royal family to discuss the Matteotti crisis as Mussolini's hold on power appeared increasingly tenuous.[72] Italian Fascist politician Cesare Rossi surrendered to police the same day after having been in hiding.[73]
The much-delayed trial of Mabel Normand's chauffeur, over the New Year's Day shooting of millionaire Courtland S. Dines, opened in Los Angeles. Edna Purviance once again testified that she was out of the room when the shooting happened.[74]
Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi broke two world records on the same day at a meet at Eläintarha Stadium in Helsinki, running the 1500 meters in 3 minutes, 52.6 seconds, and later winning the 5000 meters in 14 minutes, 28.2 seconds.[81][82]
Italian fascist Giovanni Marinelli, was arrested in relation to the Matteoti Crisis.[83]
Mabel Normand's chauffeur was acquitted on the assault charge from the New Year's Day shooting, though he was immediately re-arrested on a separate liquor charge.[84] Despite the acquittal, the scandal was too much for Normand's film career after the William Desmond Taylor murder and she was effectively finished as a Hollywood star.[85]
Bill Malone (stage name for William Malone Polglase), American game show host known for Supermarket Sweep; in Brooklyn (killed in car accident, 1973)[90]
The South American nations of Peru and Ecuador reached an agreement on their disputed border in the Ponce-Castro Oyanguern Protocol", agreeing to U.S. arbitration if they were unable to reach any points on the division of Tacna and Arica.[92]
In advance of the Democratic National Convention in the U.S., Governor Al Smith of New York "spoke for six minutes via Phonofilm, three years before the first motion picture with sound, to the delegates of the New York Democratic Convention.[93]
Wally Fawkes (pen name for Walter Pearsall), Canadian-born British cartoonist who signed his work with the name "Trog"; in Vancouver (d. 2023)
June 22, 1924 (Sunday)
Britain and France agreed to hold a conference in London starting in mid-July to discuss implementation of the Dawes Plan.[94]
Died:Judson Whitlocke Lyons, 65, African-American attorney who served as the highest-ranked black federal government official during the administrations of Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt as the Register of the Treasury, 1898 to 1906[95][96]
German serial killer Fritz Haarmann, called the Butcher of Hanover, was arrested eight days after murdering and dismembering his final victim, Erich de Vries, after he was seen stalking boys at the Central Station. A search of his apartment turned up bloodstains and possessions of victims as one of the most notorious serial killers in German history was revealed.[99][100][101] Haarmann was implicated by another teenager who had been arrested at Hanover station the night before.
The brand name for Kleenex, which would become synonymous with facial tissue, was used for the first time in commerce, according to an application for registered trademark filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) by the original manufacturer, the Cellucotton Products Company of Neenah, Wisconsin.[105]
The Italian Senate held a ceremony commemorating Giacomo Matteotti, now presumed dead.[73]Benito Mussolini promised to reform his government and then put it to a vote of confidence the last week of July, but said that the Fascists did not need to be removed from power over the crisis.[106]
The New York Daily Mirror was launched by publisher William Randolph Hearst as a morning paper in New York City, to compete against the popular New York Daily News.[107] Hearst, who already owned the morning New York American and the New York Evening Journal, would sell the Daily Mirror in 1928 and then buy it back in 1932; the paper would continue publication until October 16, 1963.
Jesse Barnes of the Boston Braves opposed Virgil Barnes of the New York Giants in the first brother vs. brother pitching matchup in major league baseball history. Jesse took the loss and Virgil a no-decision as the Giants won, 8 to 1.[114]
The United States and Bulgaria exchanged ratifications of an extradition treaty.[115]
John Strohmeyer, American journalist and 1972 Pulitzer Prize winner; in Boston (d. 2010)
June 27, 1924 (Friday)
The "Aventine Secession" took place as 123 members of the opposition in the Italian Chamber of Deputies walked out of the Chamber, retreated to Aventine Hill and gave Premier Benito Mussolini an ultimatum. The Deputies demanded an acknowledgment of government responsibility for Fascist crimes, a complete and thorough investigation of the Matteotti affair and the abolition of the Blackshirts. If the government did not accede, the ultimatum read, the opposition would stage a boycott of parliament.[116] On the same day, 10 minutes of silence were observed all over Italy in respect for Giacomo Matteotti.[117] Ultimately, the strategy of the 123 legislators would backfire and they would be declared on November 9, 1926, to have forfeited their seats, clearing the way legally for Italy to become a one-party state under Fascist control.
A tornado killed 85 people in the U.S. state of Ohio, 72 of them in Lorain, Ohio (including 15 inside a theater and eight inside a bath house on Lake Erie), after starting off the coast of Sandusky, where it killed eight people.[118]
Flo Sandon's (stage name for Mammola Sandon), Italian singer; in Vicenza (d. 2006)
Irene Pollin, American sports executive and philanthropist; as Irene Sue Kerchek in St. Louis. (d. 2020)
June 30, 1924 (Monday)
Mexico's President Álvaro Obregón announced that he was suspending further payments from the Mexican Treasury to the International Committee of Bankers on Mexico (ICBM), abrogating the De la Huerta–Lamont Treaty that had been signed on June 16, 1922. Mexico had paid $16,250,000 to the ICBM Bankers in 1922 and 1923.[124]
After the first day of balloting and 15 rounds of voting, and no candidate receiving the necessary 729 votes for a two-thirds majority, the Democratic National Convention adjourned at midnight. William Gibbs McAdoo (with 479 votes) and Al Smith (with 305.5) were deadlocked in balloting.[125] On the first ballot, McAdoo had 431.5 and Smith 241, with the eventual nominee in seventh place with 31.[104]
Sixteen-year-old Calvin Coolidge Jr. played a tennis match on the White House tennis court wearing tennis shoes but no socks. During the course of the match he developed a toe blister that would lead to fatal blood poisoning.[126]
Dutch-born Jewish poet Jacob Israël de Haan was assassinated in Jerusalem by the Avraham Tehomi on the orders of Haganah leader Yitzhak Ben-Zvi[127] for his anti-Zionist activity and contacts with Arab leaders. Tehomi waited outside of the Shaare Zedek Hospital for De Haan, then shot him three times.[128]
^"French "Left" Demands Scalp of Millerand". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 2, 1924. p. 18.
^Sengupta, Nitish K. (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. London: Penguin Books. p. 342. ISBN978-0-14-341678-4.
^Peterson, Helen L. (May 1957). "American Indian Political Participation". American Academy of Political and Social Science. 311 (1): 116–121. doi:10.1177/000271625731100113. S2CID144617127.
^"Criticizing Tax Measure, Coolidge Signs It". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 3, 1924. p. 1.
^Sobel, Robert (1998). Coolidge: An American Enigma. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc. ISBN978-1-59698-737-1.
^Holston, Kim R. (2013). Movie Roadshows: A History and Filmography of Reserved-Seat Limited Showings, 1911–1973. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 37. ISBN978-0-7864-6062-5.
^"Ruhr Miners Expected to Resume Work Monday". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 1, 1924. p. 11.
^"Mexican Rebel Leader Killed by Own Men— Alvardo Arrested and Executed on Charge of Leading Troops to Disaster". Washington Evening Star. June 14, 1924. p. 1.
^"Millerand Quits; Elysee Is Flagless", The New York Times, June 12, 1924
^"Tinney Loses Court Bout to "Kis" Imogene". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 12, 1924. p. 13.
^"Doumergue Chosen French President; Cabinet Resigns", The New York Times, June 14, 1924
^Diana G. Cornelisse, Splendid Vision, Unswerving Purpose: Developing Air Power for the United States Air Force During the First Century of Powered Flight (U.S. Air Force Publications, 2002)
^Shaffer, George (June 17, 1924). "Dines a Stingy Host When it Came to Attire". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 6.
^"Smuts Is Certain of Victory Today— Dramatic Turn Throughout Country Towards Premier— Hertzog Distrusted", Montreal Gazette, June 17, 1924, p.1
^"Smuts Loses Seat; Party May Be Beaten; Returns From Urban Districts Show Defeats for His Supporters in Many Instances", The New York Times, June 18, 1924, p.11
^South Africa 1982: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa (Chris van Rensburg Publications,1981)
^Steele, John (June 19, 1924). "U.S. Takes Over British Embassy in Mexico City". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 9.
^"Denmark Recognizes Red Government in Russia". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 20, 1924. p. 7.
^"Greer, Freed in Shooting, Taken on Booze Charge". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 20, 1924. p. 1.
^Milton, Joyce (1998). Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin. Da Capo Press. pp. 221–223. ISBN0-306-80831-5.
^"2 Die Trying to Reach Peak of Mt. Everest". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 21, 1924. p. 1.
^Susan Au, Ballet and Modern Dance (Thames and Hudson Ltd., 2002)
^"Dundee Loses Junior Title to Sullivan; Brooklyn Boxer Wins 130-Pound Crown, Getting Decision in 10-Round Battle", The New York Times, June 21, 1924, p.8
^"The Ecuador-Peru Dispute: A reconsideration", by Ronald Bruce St John, in The Americas: World Boundaries, Volume 4, ed. by Pascal O. Girot (Taylor & Francis, 2002)
^Douglas Gomery, The Coming of Sound: A History (Taylor & Francis, 2005) p.30
^Steele, John (June 23, 1924). "British, French Premiers Call Allied Parley". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 5.
^Richardson, Darcy G. (2008). Others: "Fighting Bob" La Follette and the Progressive Movement: Third-Party Politics in the 1920s. Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse. p. 179. ISBN978-0-595-60224-7.
^Evans, Arthur (June 29, 1924). "Wilson League Plank Beaten 353 to 742". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^Henning, Arthur Sears (June 29, 1924). "Democrats Spare Klan by Close Vote". Chicago Daily Tribune: 1.
^"Canada's Postal Strike Ends; Men Go Back to Jobs". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 30, 1924. p. 1.
^"Leather Collar Latest Fancy of Women in Paris?". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 30, 1924. p. 1.
^Merrill Rippy, Oil and the Mexican Revolution (Brill Archive, 1972) pp. 120–122
^Henning, Arthur Sears (July 1, 1924). "Deadlock After 15 Ballots". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^Mikkelson, Barbara and David (June 12, 2014). "Too Young to Dye". Snopes. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
^Shlomo Nakdimon; Shaul Mayzlish (1985). Deh Han : ha-retsah ha-politi ha-rishon be-Erets Yisraʼel / De Haan: The first political assassination in Palestine (in Hebrew) (1st ed.). Tel Aviv: Modan Press. OCLC21528172.
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