Much has changed in the world during the 100 years since 1920

 Francisco or "Pancho" Villa

This week’s paper marks the final edition of The Courant for the year 2019, and next week’s paper will be the first edition of the year 2020. Much has taken place in Conecuh County and the rest of the world during the preceding year, and I’m sure that we’ll be able to say the same this time next year.

Next week in this space, as I usually do on the first Thursday of every month, I’ll offer up my monthly review of all the interesting things that were happening in Conecuh County a century ago, way back in January 1920. The year 1920 was an interesting year in history, and you might be surprised by some of the things that occurred during that year a century ago.

The year 1920 began with one of the most significant events in military history. It was on Jan. 10, 1920 that the Treaty of Versailles took effect, officially ending World War I. Less than a week later, on Jan. 16, the 18^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, officially beginning Prohibition in America.

In February 1920, Switzerland joined the League of Nations, and the League of Women Voters was formed in Chicago. On Feb. 22, the dog track in Emeryville, Calif. opened and became the first dog track to use an imitation rabbit. On Feb. 24, Hitler made a big presentation to the German Workers’ Party, which later changed its name to the Nazi Party.

In March 1920, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, and on March 28, what’s now known as the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak hit the Deep South and the Great Lakes region. In April 1920, the Summer Olympics opened in Belgium, and on May 2, the first game of the Negro National Baseball League was played in Indiana. On May 16, long-dead Joan of Arc was canonized in Rome in a ceremony attended by over 30,000 people.

On June 13, the U.S. post office officially ruled that children could not be sent through the mail via parcel post, and on July 26, during the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa officially surrendered. On Aug. 20, the first commercial radio station in the U.S. began operating in Detroit, and less than a week later, on Aug. 26, the 19^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed, guaranteeing women the right to vote.

On Sept. 17, the National Football League was established, and on Sept. 29, the first domestic radio sets appeared in U.S. stores, costing a grand total of $10. On Oct. 27, the League of Nations moved its headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland, and on Nov. 2, Warren G. Harding was elected president in the first U.S. election in which women were allowed to vote. On Dec. 1, the Mexican Revolution came to an end, an event that many consider to mark the end of the “Old West.”

As you can see, 1920 as a whole was an eventful year in American and world history. Who’s to say what 2020 will bring, but I’m sure that it will likely be as eventful as that remarkable year a century ago.