July 1928

July 1, 1928 (Sunday)

Álvaro Obregón was elected unopposed to succeed Plutarco Elías Calles as President of Mexico beginning December 1.

The NBC-owned experimental television station W2XBS was founded.

New York police ended a dance marathon after 20 days. The $8,600 prize money was distributed among the nine remaining couples.

Died: Frankie Yale, 35, American gangster (assassinated)

July 2, 1928 (Monday)

Prominent temperance activist Ernest Cherrington declared Al Smith the "most influential and powerful enemy of Prohibition that has ever appeared in public life" and urged all prohibitionists to unite against the Democratic presidential nominee.

The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928 became law in the United Kingdom.

Born: Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr., test pilot, aeronautical engineer and Korean War flying ace, in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1958)

July 3, 1928 (Tuesday)

John Logie Baird successfully transmitted colour television for the first time.

The first commercially available television set went on sale in the United States, retailing for $75.

July 4, 1928 (Wednesday)

Daredevil Jean Lussier went over Niagara Falls in a specially constructed rubber ball.

Eleftherios Venizelos became Prime Minister of Greece for the fifth time.

Born: Teofisto Guingona, Jr., politician, in San Juan, Rizal, Philippines; Chuck Tanner, baseball player and manager, in New Castle, Pennsylvania (d. 2011)

Died: Alfred Loewenstein, 51, Belgian financier (fell out of airplane)

July 5, 1928 (Thursday)

Italian aviators Arturo Ferrarin and Carlo del Prete set a new distance record for sustained flight when they landed north of Natal, Brazil, 7,218 kilometres (4,485 mi) away from Montecelio, Italy where they took off from two days earlier.

Born: Lorraine Fisher, baseball player, in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2007); Warren Oates, actor, in Depoy, Kentucky (d. 1982)

July 6, 1928 (Friday)

Lights of New York, the first all-talking full-length film, premiered at the Strand Theatre in New York City.

René Lacoste defeated Henri Cochet in the Gentleman's Singles Final of the Wimbledon tennis championships.

The Chilean transporter Angamos sank off Punta Morguillas; only 7 were rescued of the 269 on board.

The experimental television station W3XK began airing programming broadcast from the laboratory of Charles Francis Jenkins. Broadcasting began at 8:00 p.m. every night except Sunday, and initially consisted of short films lasting a few minutes each. The images were scanned at a resolution of 48 lines.

A Swedish aviator landed at the site of the stranded Italia crew and rescued Einar Lundborg.

Born: Néstor de Villa, actor, in Cabanatuan, Philippines (d. 2004)

July 7, 1928 (Saturday)

American Helen Wills retained her Wimbledon title, defeating Lilí Álvarez of Spain in a rematch of last year's Ladies' Singles Final.

Two German aviators set a new flight duration record, staying aloft for 65 hours and 26 minutes flying back and forth between Dessau and Leipzig.

The Plymouth automobile was introduced.

July 8, 1928 (Sunday)

A U.S. Treasury report was released showing that the Internal Revenue Service collected almost $75 million less in taxes in the fiscal year ended June 30 than the year before.

Died: Joseph J. Dowling, 77, American actor; Crystal Eastman, 47, American feminist (nephritis); Howard Elliott, 67, American railroad executive

July 9, 1928 (Monday)

The tobacco strike in Greece was called off after four weeks.

The LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin was christened.

Born: Federico Bahamontes, road racing cyclist, in Santo Domingo-Caudilla, Spain

July 10, 1928 (Tuesday)

Deposed Greek dictator Theodoros Pangalos was released from prison.

Born: Moshe Greenberg, rabbi and Bible scholar, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2010)

July 11, 1928 (Wednesday)

Al Smith made John J. Raskob the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

The Farmer–Labor Party nominated Nebraska Senator George W. Norris for president, despite his refusal to head any third-party ticket.

Born: Bobo Olson, boxer, in Honolulu, Hawaii (d. 2002)

July 12, 1928 (Thursday)

The Russian icebreaker Krasin rescued the seven remaining survivors of the Italia crash. They had been stranded for a total of 48 days.

The Bolzano Victory Monument was inaugurated in northern Italy by King Victor Emmanuel III. Thousands protested in cities across the border in Austria, angered by what they saw as another provocation in the Italianization of South Tyrol. No battle had actually been fought at the site and the Latin inscription on the monument read, "Here are the borders of the fatherland, set down the banner. From here we brought to the others language, law and arts."

Born: Elias James Corey, organic chemist, in Methuen, Massachusetts

Died: Emilio Carranza, 22, Mexican aviator (plane crash)

July 13, 1928 (Friday)

Chile and Peru agreed to restore diplomatic relations for the first time since the War of the Pacific.

Born: Tommaso Buscetta, mafioso, in Palermo, Sicily, Italy (d. 2000); Bob Crane, actor, in Waterbury, Connecticut (d. 1978); Daryl Spencer, baseball player, in Wichita, Kansas; Leroy Vinnegar, jazz bassist, in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 1999)

July 14, 1928 (Saturday)

A Berlin court ruled that it was not immoral for businessmen to work in shirt sleeves.

July 15, 1928 (Sunday)

Nicolas Frantz won the Tour de France.

Five heat deaths were reported in Britain as the temperature hit 92 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. In Paris, the Rue de la Paix was deserted as the thermometer registered 95.

July 16, 1928 (Monday)

An international cancer conference opened in London.

Born: Jim Rathmann, race car driver, in Alhambra, California (d. 2011); Robert Sheckley, science fiction author, in New York City (d. 2005)

July 17, 1928 (Tuesday)

Mexican president-elect Álvaro Obregón was assassinated at a banquet in San Ángel by José de León Toral.

Born: Vince Guaraldi, jazz musician, in San Francisco (d. 1976); Joe Morello, jazz drummer, in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2011)

Died: Giovanni Giolitti, 85, five-time Prime Minister of Italy; Álvaro Obregón, 48, former President of Mexico (assassinated)

July 18, 1928 (Wednesday)

A general election was held in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Premier John Duncan MacLean and the incumbent Liberals were swept out of power by the Conservative Party led by Simon Fraser Tolmie.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill announced that Britain's betting tax would be reduced.

Born: Simon Vinkenoog, Dutch poet and writer (d. 2009)

July 19, 1928 (Thursday)

The Kuomintang unilaterally annulled all "unequal treaties" made with Western powers.

The body of Alfred Loewenstein was recovered in the English Channel near Boulogne-sur-Mer, dispelling rumors that he had faked his own death.

July 20, 1928 (Friday)

Wrongly convicted German-born man Oscar Slater was freed by a Scottish appeals court after serving 19 years for a murder he did not commit.

A government decree in Hungary ordered the country's Romani people to integrate with the general population in dress and language and settle down in fixed abodes.

Government offices in Washington, D.C. closed at noon due to a deadly heat wave.

Died: Kostas Karyotakis, 31, Greek poet (suicide)

July 21, 1928 (Saturday)

A revolt by soldiers in Portugal was put down after an all-night bombardment of the San Jorge barracks.

Wallis Spencer, née Warfield, married her second husband, Ernest Aldrich Simpson in London.

Died: Ward Crane, 38, American film actor (pneumonia); Dame Ellen Terry, 81, English stage actress

July 22, 1928 (Sunday)

Japan broke off diplomatic relations with China.

American pilots John Henry Mears and Charles B.D. Collyer completed an aerial circumnavigation of the globe in 23 days 15 hours and 21 minutes and 3 seconds, beating the old record by 4 days and 23 hours.

150,000 marched in Vienna in favor of a union between Germany and Austria.

Born: Orson Bean, actor, in Burlington, Vermont; Keter Betts, jazz bassist, in Port Chester, New York (d. 2005)

Died: William M. Folger, 84, American naval officer

July 23, 1928 (Monday)

Benito Mussolini told the Council of Ministers that a full investigation would be conducted into the Italia airship disaster.

Born: Leon Fleisher, pianist and conductor, in San Francisco, California

July 24, 1928 (Tuesday)

The Vatican endorsed the Kellogg–Briand agreement.

Mourners at the funeral of Dame Ellen Terry wore summer dress instead of black, in compliance with her last wishes.

July 25, 1928 (Wednesday)

The Archbishop of Canterbury Randall Davidson announced his resignation effective November 12.

The United States and China signed a treaty regulating tariff relations. The treaty also essentially granted diplomatic recognition to the Kuomintang government by the United States, though this fact was only agreed upon by legal experts after study.

Born: Dolphy, comedic actor, in Tondo, Manila, Philippines (d. 2012); Mario Montenegro, film actor, in Metro Manila, Philippines (d. 1988)

July 26, 1928 (Thursday)

Gene Tunney retained the World Heavyweight Title of boxing with a technical knockout of Tom Heeney in the 11th round at Yankee Stadium.

Umberto Nobile and the other survivors of the Italia disaster disembarked at Narvik and boarded a train under heavy guard.

Carl Hubbell made his major league baseball debut for the New York Giants, taking the loss in a 7–5 defeat against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Born: Francesco Cossiga, 8th President of Italy, in Sassari, Sardinia (d. 2010); Joe Jackson, manager and father of the Jackson family, in Fountain Hill, Arkansas; Stanley Kubrick, filmmaker, in the Bronx, New York (d. 1999)

July 27, 1928 (Friday)

It was announced that Archbishop of York Cosmo Lang would succeed Randall Davidson as Archbishop of Canterbury.

The day before the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, some international athletes and delegates came around to the Olympic Stadium to get a glimpse of the structure. Some kind of altercation broke out between the French group and a Dutch gatekeeper, who punched one of the French officials in the jaw. The French immediately demanded, and received, an apology from the Dutch Olympic Committee and a promise to discharge the gatekeeper.

July 28, 1928 (Saturday)

The opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands was held. France boycotted the ceremony after their delegation arrived at the stadium and saw that the Dutch gatekeeper from the day before had not been discharged as the Olympic Committee had promised. Germany received the biggest ovation from the 45,000 on hand, this being their first Olympics since 1912 after not being invited to the 1920 and 1924 Games.

Anton Korošec became Prime Minister of Yugoslavia.

July 29, 1928 (Sunday)

Heavweight boxing champion Gene Tunney announced his retirement through his manager.

Born: Philippe Bär, Roman Catholic bishop, in Manado, Dutch East Indies; Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong business magnate, investor and philanthropist, in Chaozhou, China.

July 30, 1928 (Monday)

George Eastman gave a demonstration of color film for home movies to a group of scientists in Rochester, New York.

Chuck Klein made his major league baseball debut as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, going 0-for-1 in a pinch hitting appearance.

Born: Joe Nuxhall, baseball player, in Hamilton, Ohio (d. 2007)

July 31, 1928 (Tuesday)

Umberto Nobile and the surviving crew of the Italia disaster arrived by train in Rome to a hero's welcome.

Flooding in Blagoveshchensk, Russia rendered 36,000 homeless when the Amur River burst its banks.

Born: Gilles Carle, director, screenwriter and painter, in Maniwaki, Quebec (d. 2009)