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What Happened in August 1921

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Historical Events

  • Aug 2 After 3 hours deliberation a Chicago jury acquits 8 Chicago White Sox accused in Black Sox scandal; next day they are banned from organised baseball for life
  • Aug 3 1st aerial crop dusting in Troy, Ohio, to kill caterpillars
  • Aug 3 MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Landis hands out life bans to 8 Chicago White Sox players accused in Black Sox scandal despite their acquittal by a Chicago jury
  • Aug 5 KDKA Pittsburgh presents first radio broadcast of MLB; Pirates beat Phillies, 8-0; Harold Arlin first play-by-play broadcaster
  • Aug 5 Treaty of Berlin: US and Germany sign separate peace treaty
  • Aug 6 Clason Point, Bronx to College Point, Queens muni ferry system begins

Sports History

Aug 7 Dutch cyclist Piet Moeskops wins the 1st of 4 straight, and 5 total world sprint championships when he beats defending champion Bob Spears of Australia in Copenhagen

Track Cyclist Piet Moeskops

Polio

Aug 10 FDR stricken with a paralytic illness at summer home on Canadian island of Campobello. At the time it was thought to be polio, but could possibly have been Guillain–Barré syndrome

Children with polio in a US hospital, inside an iron lung. In about 0.5% of cases, patients suffered from paralysis, sometimes resulting in the inability to breathe. More often, limbs would be paralyzed.

Dulcy

Aug 13 Simon Kaufman & Marc Connelly's comedic play "Dulcy" premieres in NYC

Playwright Marc Connelly
  • Aug 14 Tannu Tuva, later Tuvinian People's Republic is established as a completely independent country (which is supported by Russia).
  • Aug 16 Members of the Dail (parliament) swear allegiance to the Irish Republic at their first meeting, held at Dublin House

Baseball Record

Aug 19 Detroit's Tiger Ty Cobb, is 4th to get 3,000 hits against Boston Red Sox, the youngest ever

MLB Legend Ty Cobb
  • Aug 20 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Germantown CC, PA: Molla Bjurstedt Mallory wins her 6th US singles title; beats 3-time champion Mary Browne 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

Rise of J. Edgar Hoover

Aug 22 J. Edgar Hoover appointed Assistant Director of the Bureau of Investigation

First Director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover
  • Aug 23 Austria and the US formally end war; the US does the same with Germany on the 25th, and Hungary on the 29th
  • Aug 23 British declare a truce with Irish Nationalists Sinn Féin
  • Aug 24 Battle of Sakaray Valley begins between Turkey & Greece
  • Aug 24 British airship R-38 crashes in River Humber, 44 die
  • Aug 25 The first skirmishes of the Battle of Blair Mountain, a civil uprising in Logan County, West Virginia
  • Aug 25 US signs peace treaty with Germany
  • Aug 25 Yankee pitcher Harry Harper hits 3 batters in an inning tying record
  • Aug 27 J E Clair of Acme Packing Co of Green Bay granted an NFL franchise
  • Aug 28 2nd Pan-African Congress meets (London, Brussels & Paris)

Babe Ruth Starts Streak

Aug 28 Babe Ruth starts streak of an extra-base hit in 9 straight games

Baseball Legend Babe Ruth

Events in 1921

Famous Birthdays

  • Aug 1 Galip Haktanır, Turkish soccer defender (5 caps; Vefaspor SK), born in Iznik, Turkey (d. 2023)

Jack Kramer (1921-2009)

Aug 1 American tennis player (Wimbledon 1947, US Open 1946, 47), born in Las Vegas, Nevada

Jack Kramer
  • Aug 2 Alan Whicker, British journalist and TV broadcaster (Whicker's World), born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 2013)
  • Aug 3 Alec Wyton, English-born American composer, born in London, England (d. 2007)
  • Aug 3 Hayden Carruth, American poet (The Crow and the Heart), born in Waterbury, Connecticut (d. 2008)
  • Aug 3 Marilyn Maxwell, American actress and entertainer (Champion, The Lemon Drop Kid, East of Sumatra), born in Clarinda, Iowa (d. 1972)
  • Aug 3 Richard Adler, American composer and songwriter (Pajama Game; Damn Yankees), born in New York City (d. 2012)

Maurice Richard (1921-2000)

Aug 4 Canadian NHL star (Montreal Canadiens, MVP-1947), born in Montreal, Quebec

Maurice Richard
  • Aug 5 Nazar Mohammad, Pakistani cricket batsman (5 Tests, 1 x 100 Pakistan's 1st centurion), born in Lahore, Pakistan (d. 1996)
  • Aug 7 Karel Husa, Czech-American Pulitzer prize winning composer (Trojan Women), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2016)
  • Aug 7 Manitas de Plata [Ricardo Baliardo], French gypsy flamenco guitarist, born in Sète, France (d. 2014)
  • Aug 8 Esther Williams, American swimmer and actress (Dangerous When Wet), born in Inglewood California (d. 2013)
  • Aug 8 Roger Nixon, American composer, born in Tulare, California (d. 2009)
  • Aug 8 Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian medical scientist, born in Srikakulam, British India (d. 2001)
  • Aug 8 Webb Pierce, American honky-tonk country singer-songwriter, and guitarist ("In The Jailhouse Now"; "Wondering"; "There Stands The Glass"), born in West Monroe, Louisiana (d. 1991)
  • Aug 9 Ernest Angley, American Christian televangelist, born in Gastonia, North Carolina (d. 2021)
  • Aug 9 J. James Exon, American Democratic politician (33rd Governor of Nebraska), born in Geddes, South Dakota (d. 2005)

Alex Haley (1921-1992)

Aug 11 American writer (Autobiography of Malcolm X, Roots), born in Ithaca, New York

Alex Haley
  • Aug 13 Jimmy McCracklin [Walker], American R&B pianist, and composer ("The Walk"; "Tramp"), born in Elaine, Arkansas (d. 2012)
  • Aug 13 Louis Frémaux, French conductor (Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, 1956-65; City of Birmingham Symphony, 1969-78; Sydney Symphony, 1979-82), born in Aire-sur-la-Lys, France (d. 2017)
  • Aug 14 Giorgio Strehler, Italian opera and theatre director, born in Barcola, Trieste, Italy (d. 1997)
  • Aug 16 Gido Kokars, Latvian choral conductor, born in Gulbene, Latvia (d. 2017)
  • Aug 17 Geoffery Elton, German born British historiographer, born in Tübingen, Germany (d. 1994)
  • Aug 18 Zdzisław Żygulski, Jr., Polish art historian (d. 2015)
  • Aug 19 Gene Roddenberry, American creator of Star Trek, born in El Paso, Texas (d. 1991)
  • Aug 19 Philip Potter, Dominica Methodist church leader (Secretary-General World council of Churches), born in Roseau, Dominica, West Indies (d. 2015)
  • Aug 20 Gloria Parker [Rosenthal], American marimbist, glasspiel player, songwriter (Clap Your Hands and Shake Your Blues Away), and bandleader, born in Brooklyn, NYC (d. 2022) [1]
  • Aug 20 Jack Wilson, Australian cricket spin bowler (1 Test; 43 wickets on England Tour 1956), born in Albert Park, Victoria (d. 1985)
  • Aug 22 James Menter, British physicist and principal (Queen Mary College), born in Teynham, Kent (d. 2006)
  • Aug 23 Kenneth Arrow, American economist, (Nobel Prize, 1972), born in New York City (d. 2017)
  • Aug 23 Sam Cook, English cricket spin bowler in (1 Test; Gloucestershire CCC), born in Tetbury, England (d. 1996)
  • Aug 24 Sam Tingle, Zimbabwean racing driver, born in Manchester, England (d. 2008)
  • Aug 25 Brian Moore, Irish novelist (Catholics, Doctor's Wife), born in Belfast, Ireland (d. 1999)
  • Aug 25 Bryce Mackasey, Canadian politician, born in Quebec, Canada (d. 1999)
  • Aug 25 Monty Hall, Canadian-American TV game show host (Let's Make a Deal), born in Winnipeg Canada (d. 2017)

Ben Bradlee (1921-2014)

Aug 26 American editor, journalist and newspaper executive (Washington Post), born in Boston, Massachusetts

Ben Bradlee
  • Aug 26 David Begelman, American film producer who embezzled Columbia Pictures, born in New York City (d. 1995)
  • Aug 26 Naomi Parker Fraley, American who inspired "Rosie the Riveter" poster, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma (d. 2018)
  • Aug 27 Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg, head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, born in Nice, France (d. 1996)
  • Aug 27 Leo Penn, American actor and film director, born in Lawrence, Massachusetts (d. 1998)
  • Aug 28 Fernando Fernán Gómez, Spanish actor, director, academic and playwright (All About My Mother), born in Lima, Peru (d. 2007)
  • Aug 28 Johan "Joop" Doderer, Dutch actor (Swiebertje; My Fair Lady), born in Velsen, Netherlands (d. 2005)
  • Aug 28 John Herbert Chapman, Canadian physicist, and space researcher, born in London, Ontario (d. 1979)
  • Aug 28 Nancy Kulp, American actress (The Beverly Hillbillies, The Aristocats, Shane), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (d. 1991)

Iris Apfel (1921-2024)

Aug 29 American businesswoman, interior designer and fashion icon, born in Queens, New York City

Iris Apfel
  • Aug 29 Wendell Scott, American auto racer (first black driver to win a race at NASCAR's premier level [Jacksonville 200 1963]), born in Danville, Virginia (d. 1990)
  • Aug 30 Angelo Dundee, American boxing trainer and cornerman (Muhammad Ali 1960–81 & 15 other world boxing champions), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
  • Aug 31 Charles "Chub" Feeney, American MLB executive (President of the National League), born in Orange, New Jersey (d. 1994)
  • Aug 31 Raymond Williams, Welsh academic and novelist (Second Generation), born in Llanfihangel Crucorney, Wales (d. 1988)
Born in 1921

Famous Deaths

Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)

Aug 2 Italian operatic tenor (Faust), dies of pleurisy at 48

Enrico Caruso
  • Aug 7 Alexander Block, Russian poet (Dvenatsat), dies at 40
  • Aug 8 Juhani Aho, Finnish journalist and writer (Panu, Tuomio), dies at 59
  • Aug 10 John M Martin, last confederate congress member, dies
  • Aug 16 Peter I Karadjordjevic, King of Serbia/Yugoslavia (1903-21), dies at 77
  • Aug 21 Ernest Daudet, French journalist and writer (White Terror), dies at 84
  • Aug 24 Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet, dies at 35
  • Aug 26 Ludwig Thoma, German writer, dies at 54
  • Aug 26 Matthias Enzberger, German writer and politician (Minister of Finance, 1919-20), assassinated at 45
  • Aug 29 Joel Asaph Allen, American zoologist (Allen's rule) and first curator of birds and mammals at the American Museum of Natural History, dies at 83


What Happened in 1921

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