1923 Fun Facts, Trivia and History
Quick Facts from 1923:
- World (Pop Culture) Changing Event: Howard Carter opened the inner burial chamber of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb and finds the sarcophagus
- Influential Songs include: Yes! We Have No Bananas by Billy Jones and others. Also Parade of the Wooden Soldiers and I’ll Build A Stairway to Paradise by Paul Whiteman.
- The Big Movie: November 23, 1923: Cecil B. DeMille’s (first) version of The Ten Commandments premiered.
- Other Movies to Watch include Safety Last!, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Pilgrim, Three Ages and The Extra Girl
- The Most Famous Person in America was probably Babe Ruth
- Notable books include: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
- Price of Men’s Mohair Suit in 1923: $14.00
- Roy and Walt Disney founded The Walt Disney Company.
- Yankee Stadium opened in The Bronx.
- The Funny Guy was: Harold Lloyd
- The Date: November 9th is known as the day of fate in German history- on the same November Day, Robert Blum was executed in 1848, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated in 1918, Hitler’s Munich Putsch occurred in 1923, Kristallnacht occurred in 1938, and the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.
Top Ten Baby Names of 1923: Mary, Dorothy, Helen, Margaret, Betty, Ruth, Virginia, Mildred, Elizabeth
John, Robert, William, James, Charles, George, Joseph, Edward, Richard, Donald
*The name “John” was the most popular name for boys in America for every year from 1880 to 1923.
US Life Expectancy: (1923) Males: 56.1 years, Females: 58.5 years
The Stars: Theda Bara, Marion Davies, Pola Negri, Mary Pickford
Miss America: Mary Katherine Campbell (Columbus, Ohio)
*Mary Katherine won twice and was also was 1st Runner-up at 1924 pageant.
Firsts, Inventions and Wonders:
The word Junkie, in context of a drug addict.
The Hollywood(land) Sign, constructed in 1923, was designed to only stand for 18 months.
The first 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race was held (won by André Lagache and René Léonard).
Time Magazine began publication.
Warner Brothers film studio incorporated.
The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company startedproducing inflatable tires.
The first recorded use of the word Guesstimate.
The Poinsettia as we know it was created in 1923 by grafting two other types of poinsettias.
On April 28, 2023, Wembley Stadium opened.
Coca-Cola invented the six-pack in 1923.
The biggest Pop Artists of 1923 include:
Nora Bayes, Ben Bernie and His Orchestra, Henry Burr, Eddie Cantor, Carl Fenton & His Orchestra, Ernest Hare, Marion Harris, Al Jolson, Isham Jones and His Orchestra, Billy Jones, Dolly Kay, Benny Krueger and His Orchestra, Art Landry & His Orchestra, Ted Lewis & His Band, Abe Lyman and His Californians, The Original Dixieland Band, Blossom Seeley, Ed Smalle, Bessie Smith, John Steel, Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians, Van & Schenck, Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
Charts based on Billboard music charts.
US Politics:
August 3, 1923 (Friday) First inauguration of Calvin Coolidge
Pop Culture News:
The first ‘known’ dance marathon winner was Alma Cummings, who danced for 27 hours without stopping. A few months later her record was overtaken by 69 hours of dancing by Vera Sheppard. The American Society of Teachers of Dancing had a petition against them because it was “dangerous and a disgrace to the art of dancing.”
The Coca-Cola ‘6 pack’ was introduced. The famed curved bottle was made beginning in 1916. That specific curve is actually copyrighted, so noone else can use it. The Coca-Cola logo is written in Spenserian font.
Frank Hayes became the first ever jockey to win a horse race despite being dead. He died from a heart attack mid-race but somehow his body stayed strapped onto the horse and he crossed the finish line in first place, beating 20-1 odds.
John Hertz, the owner of the Yellow Cab Company, bought Walter Jacob’s Chicago-based car rental company, and renamed it after himself. The yellow/black Hertz logo is a carry-on from the Yellow Cab Company.
Skippy Peanut Butter was originally part of a merchandising gimmick for a comic strip called Skippy, which ran from 1923 to 1945.
Yankee Stadium – ‘The House That (Babe) Ruth Built’ was opened.
Lou Gehrig had a better batting average than Babe Ruth in each of the years 1923-25, but Ruth had a better batting average than Gehrig over the 3 years combined. This is an example of a mathematical curiosity called Simpson’s Paradox.
Delaware’s chicken industry can trace its origins back to 1923 when an Ocean View, Delaware farm received 500 chicks instead of the 50 they ordered.
The Distress Call “Mayday – Mayday – Mayday” was first used by Frederick Stanley Mockford a senior radio operator in London. Because most of the radio traffic was between London and Paris, Mayday comes from the French word “m’aider” in “Venez m’aider” means “come help me.”
Gene Salazar was a professional golfer who signed a lifetime endorsement deal with Wilson in 1923 and collected on it for 75 years, until he passed away in 1997.
Joseph Goebbels attributed everything he knew about population control to just two books, entitled Propaganda (1928) and Crystalizing Public Opinion (1923). To this day, the techniques in these books are used extensively by figures in politics, media and advertising.
An estimated 70/80% of Soviet males born in 1923 didn’t survive World War II.
The first American president to visit Canada was Warren Harding in 1923. He made a speech and played golf in Vancouver but contracted pneumonia and died a week later.
“American” was the official language of Illinois from 1923 to 1969.
As a promotional stunt in 1923, Otto Schnering, founder of Curtiss Candy Company, had Baby Ruth candy bars dropped from airplanes in cities around the country, with tiny parachutes attached to each candy bar.
Nerd News:
The discovery of other Galaxies outside our own Milky way was only made 89 years ago, in 1923, by Edwin Hubble.
Nobel Prize Winners:
Physics – Robert Andrews Millikan
Chemistry – Fritz Pregl
Physiology or Medicine – Frederick Grant Banting, John James Rickard Macleod
Literature – William Butler Yeats
Popular and Notable Books From 1923:
Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
Black Oxen by Gertrude Atherton
The Breaking Point by Mary Roberts Rinehart
His Children’s Children by Arthur Train
The Dim Lantern by Temple Bailey
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
This Freedom by A. S. M. Hutchinson
The Mine with the Iron Door by Harold Bell Wright
The Prophet by Kahil Gibran
The Sea Hawk by Rafael Sabatini
Spring and All by William Carlos Williams
Wanderer of the Wasteland by Zane Grey
Sports:
World Series Champions: New York Yankees
Stanley Cup Champs: Ottawa Senators
U.S. Open Golf: Bobby Jones
U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): William (Bill) T. Tilden/Helen Wills
Wimbledon (Men/Women): Bill Johnston/Suzanne Lenglen
NCAA Football Champions: Illinois & Michigan
Kentucky Derby Winner: Zev
Boston Marathon Winner: Clarence DeMar Time: 2:23:47
