October 1923

October 1, 1923 (Monday)

The 1923 Imperial Conference opened in London.

Switzerland issued a new decree banning the display of fascist emblems or the wearing of black shirts. The decree was a response to agitation in Lugano by fascists who wanted the region to join Italy.

Georges Carpentier knocked out former British heavyweight champion Joe Beckett a mere twenty seconds into the first round of their boxing match at Olympia in London. Beckett never boxed again.

October 2, 1923 (Tuesday)

A referendum was held in Oklahoma in which voters approved an amendment permitting the state legislature to convene itself.

The Küstrin Putsch was put down by government troops.

The occupation of Constantinople ended when the Allies completed their withdrawal from the city in accordance with the Lausanne Treaty.

October 3, 1923 (Wednesday)

The entire cabinet of German Chancellor Gustav Stresemann resigned in response to the Social Democrats joining the Communists in their call for the lifting of martial law. President Friedrich Ebert accepted the resignations but asked Stresemann to form another government.

Three convicted murderers in Kentucky State Penitentiary who had obtained guns killed three guards as they attempted to shoot their way out of the prison. They failed to escape, but barricaded themselves in the mess hall and a standoff began.

Born: Edward Oliver LeBlanc, politician, in Vieille Case, Dominican Republic (d. 2004)

October 4, 1923 (Thursday)

In Columbus, Georgia, boxer Young Stribling thought he was the new light-heavyweight boxing champion of the world after defeating Mike McTigue, but referee Harry Ertle released a written statement after leaving the arena saying the match was actually a draw. Ertle claimed that he felt threatened by promoters and the crowd of 8,000 fans, and feared that he wouldn't leave the arena alive if he didn't award the bout to the local fighter Stribling.

Five men were rescued from a flooded mine at Redding, Falkirk, Scotland, after being trapped for ten days.

The drama film Slave of Desire starring George Walsh and Bessie Love was released.

Born: Charlton Heston, actor and political activist, in Cook County, Illinois (d. 2008)

October 5, 1923 (Friday)

Cao Kun was elected President of the Republic of China by the parliament.

Former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George arrived in New York City to begin an unofficial visit to the United States and Canada. Crowds greeted him enthusiastically except for a few groups of Irish protestors, some of which threw eggs at him.

The National Guard targeted the barricaded convicts at the Kentucky State Penitentiary with gas-filled grenades fired through the windows.

Born: Albert Guðmundsson, footballer and politician, in Iceland (d. 1994); Glynis Johns, actress, in Pretoria, South Africa; Ricardo Lavié, actor, in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2010)

October 6, 1923 (Saturday)

Chancellor Gustav Stresemann presented his new cabinet, which was exactly the same as the previous one except for Hans Luther as the new Minister of Finance.

Authorities stormed the barricade in the Kentucky State Penitentiary and found the three convicts had been dead for about two days, at least two of which due to suicide by gunshot.

The Turkish army moved into Istanbul.

Shortstop Ernie Padgett of the Boston Braves turned an unassisted triple play against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Queensland, Australia held a referendum on prohibition; 59.3% voted to maintain the current system and not introduce any form of prohibition.

Czech Airlines was founded.

October 7, 1923 (Sunday)

Police in Tokyo broke up a mob marching on insurance offices to demand a promise to pay insurance for damages from the earthquake.

David Lloyd George visited Westmount, Quebec for the groundbreaking ceremony of a new Baptist church. In a speech he warned against a "wave of materialism sweeping over the world. Europe is in the grip of a grim struggle between hope and despair, and in that struggle it is becoming material."

Born: Irma Grese, concentration camp guard, in Wrechen, Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1945)

October 8, 1923 (Monday)

The musical comedy play Battling Butler, starring Charlie Ruggles, opened on Broadway. In 1926 it was adapted into a film of the same name starring Buster Keaton.

The Western comedy-drama film The Bad Man starring Holbrook Blinn was released.

October 9, 1923 (Tuesday)

Bavarian State Commissioner Gustav von Kahr instituted the death penalty for food profiteering.

During a dinner speech in Ottawa, David Lloyd George endorsed a proposal by U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes for an international commission to determine Germany's capability to pay its reparations.

October 10, 1923 (Wednesday)

Cao Kun became President of the Republic of China.

The airship Shenandoah was commissioned.

The first World Series game ever held at Yankee Stadium was played between the New York Yankees and the crosstown Giants. The Giants won Game 1 by a 5–4 score in exciting fashion; with the game tied at 4 with two out in the top of the ninth inning, Casey Stengel got a full count and then hit an inside-the-park home run.

Saxon Prime Minister Erich Zeigner accepted the entry of Communists into his cabinet, believing they were necessary to fight the threat of nationalists from the neighboring state of Bavaria.

Born: James "Jabby" Jabara, ace fighter pilot, in Muskogee, Oklahoma (d. 1966); Murray Walker, motorsport commentator, in Hall Green, Birmingham, England

October 11, 1923 (Thursday)

The DeAutremont Brothers criminal gang attempted to rob Southern Pacific Railroad Train No. 13 as it passed through the Siskiyou Mountains. The engineer was ordered at gunpoint to stop the train, but the mail clerk saw what was happening and locked himself inside the mail car. A dynamite charge was used to blow open the car, but the explosion caused so much vision-obscuring smoke and dust that the brothers panicked and fled empty-handed after shooting four people to avoid witnesses to the crime.

October 12, 1923 (Friday)

New York State prohibited the Ku Klux Klan from being allowed to incorporate. The Klan was trying to do so in order to get around a law that required them to list the names of their members.

More food rioting broke out in Germany, in and around Düsseldorf.

October 13, 1923 (Saturday)

The Reichstag passed an enabling act trasferring legislative powers to the government to take "in financial, economic and social spheres, the measures it deems necessary and urgent, regardless of the rights specified in the constitution of the Reich."

The capital of Turkey was moved to Ankara.

Thuringian Prime Minister August Frölich allowed three Communists into his cabinet.

Born: Faas Wilkes, footballer, in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 2006)

October 14, 1923 (Sunday)

A bomb exploded outside Cubs Park (now known as Wrigley Field) in Chicago, causing $5,000 in damage but no injuries. The incident was attributed to union agitators angry at an arbitration decision by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, but no arrests were ever made.

French President Alexandre Millerand declared that France had to increase its birth rate which had dropped since the war. The French feared that they may be dominated by the population of Germany in the future.

October 15, 1923 (Monday)

The Rentenmark Ordinance was published in Germany, allowing for the new Rentenmark currency equivalent to the old prewar "gold mark".

The New York Yankees beat the New York Giants 4–2 to win the World Series, four games to two.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Public Lands and Surveys began hearings on the California and Teapot Dome oil leases. Montana Senator Thomas J. Walsh headed the committee.

Born: Italo Calvino, journalist and writer, in Santiago de Las Vegas, Cuba (d. 1985)

October 16, 1923 (Tuesday)

The Walt Disney Company was founded as The Disney Brothers Studio when Disney signed a contract to produce the Alice Comedies film series.

A three-pound loaf of bread cost 480 million marks in Germany.

Bavarian State Commissioner Gustav von Kahr issued a new decree banning communist organizations and dissemination of communist publications.

Born: Bert Kaempfert, orchestra leader, in Barmbek, Hamburg, Germany (d. 1980)

October 17, 1923 (Wednesday)

The Oklahoma legislative house brought twenty-two charges against Governor Jack C. Walton and voted for his impeachment.

Reichswehr commander Alfred Müller moved forces into Saxony and Thuringia, and placed Saxony's police forces under military control.

General Müller also sent an ultimatum to Saxon Prime Minister Erich Zeigner ordering him to disavow statements by his Minister of Economics Paul Böttcher that called for the arming of the communist paramilitary organization known as the Proletarian Hundreds.

Born: Charles McClendon, American football player and coach, in Lewisville, Arkansas (d. 2001)

October 18, 1923 (Thursday)

The Saxon parliament approved Erich Zeigner's rejection of the Müller ultimatum.

The British Ministry of Transport sent a letter to all county councils urging them to take action against "unsightly" roadside billboards that were "disfiguring" the countryside.

October 19, 1923 (Friday)

Chancellor Gustav Stresemann told the Cabinet that units of the Reichswehr had been ordered to invade Saxony and Thuringia, to "intimidate the extremist elements and restore public order and security."

In a luncheon speech in St. Louis, David Lloyd George said that Britain had "a right to give advice" to France. "We've a right to claim that the sacrifice which we made was not made to perpetuate strife and anger and wrong", he stated.

The government of Mexican President Álvaro Obregón issued a statement accusing the recently departed Secretary of the Treasury Adolfo de la Huerta of fiscal mismanagement. "The Present Secretary of the Treasury on taking charge of the department found it in a state of complete bankruptcy through the fact that his predecessor had disposed of, without either authorization from those really responsible or on orders from the executive, several million pesos", the statement read.

October 20, 1923 (Saturday)

Belmont Park in New York hosted an international head-to-head race between Zev, winner of the Kentucky Derby, and Papyrus, winner of the Epsom Derby. Zev won by four lengths.

October 21, 1923 (Sunday)

The Rhenish Republic was proclaimed in the occupied Rhineland.

Reichswehr troops began marching into Saxony with heavy weapons.

At a worker's conference in Chemnitz, Germany, communist leader Heinrich Brandler called for a general strike as a means to launch a revolution, but received little support. The courier for Hamburg was not present and the decision to cancel the revolution did not reach that city in time.

In Mexico City, five died in street clashes between supporters of President Álvaro Obregón and rival presidential candidate Adolfo de la Huerta.

The film Unseeing Eyes, starring Lionel Barrymore, premiered at the Cosmopolitan Theatre in New York City.

The films The Day of Faith and the John Ford-directed Cameo Kirby were released.

October 22, 1923 (Monday)

The failed Leonardopoulos–Gargalidis coup d'état attempt occurred in Greece.

Communists in Hamburg led by Ernst Thälmann were secretly called on to mobilize.

The film On the Banks of the Wabash was released.

October 23, 1923 (Tuesday)

The Hamburg Uprising began. Communists attacked police stations before dawn trying to acquire weapons.

Oklahoma Governor Jack C. Walton was suspended from office; Martin E. Trapp became acting Governor.

The F. W. Murnau-directed film The Expulsion premiered in Germany.

Born: Frank Sutton, actor, in Clarksville, Tennessee (d. 1974)

October 24, 1923 (Wednesday)

The Hamburg Uprising went into its second day. News finally reached Ernst Thälmann and the other local communist leaders that the nationwide revolution had been called off and Hamburg was fighting alone. Orders were given to the communists at the end of the day to retreat.

The Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra performed its first concert.

Born: Sir Robin Day, broadcaster and commentator, in St Edmund Hall, Oxford, England (d. 2000); Denise Levertov, poet, in Ilford, England (d. 1997)

October 25, 1923 (Thursday)

The Hamburg Uprising ended. Hundreds of communists were arrested and hundreds more fled the city.

U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signed a proclamation establishing Carlsbad Caverns National Monument.

Born: J. Esmonde Barry, healthcare activist and political commentator, in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada (d. 2007); Russ Meyer, baseball player, in Peru, Illinois (d. 1997); Bobby Thomson, Scottish-born American baseball player, in Glasgow (d. 2010)

Died: William Crooke, 75, British orientalist

October 26, 1923 (Friday)

David Lloyd George visited Washington, D.C. and had a private hour-long meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes.

The Turkey national football team played its first game, a 2–2 draw against Romania at Taksim Stadium.

Died: Charles Proteus Steinmetz, 58, German mathematician and electric engineer

October 27, 1923 (Saturday)

Chancellor Gustav Stresemann presented an ultimatum to Saxon Prime Minister Erich Zeigner demanding he remove Communists from his cabinet.

23 demonstrators were killed in Freiburg.

Born: Roy Lichtenstein, pop artist, in Manhattan (d. 1997)

October 28, 1923 (Sunday)

Erich Zeigner rejected Chancellor Stresemann's ultimatum.

The submarine USS O-5 sank after collision with a steamship, with three lives lost, in the Panama Canal Zone.

Rezā Khan became Prime Minister of Iran.

Died: Theodor Reuss, 68, German occultist

October 29, 1923 (Monday)

German President Friedrich Ebert invoked Article 48 and authorized Chancellor Stresemann to remove government officials in Saxony from office.

Reichswehr troops occupied the government ministries of Dresden and forced the cabinet ministers out of their offices.

The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed.

The Broadway production Runnin' Wild, starring Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, opened at the New Colonial Theatre. The show featured a show-stopping tune by James P. Johnson called "The Charleston", which popularized the dance of the same name.

October 30, 1923 (Tuesday)

The 1st government of Turkey was formed with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as President and İsmet İnönü as Prime Minister.

Erich Zeigner resigned as Prime Minister of Saxony.

Died: Andrew Bonar Law, 65, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (throat cancer)

October 31, 1923 (Wednesday)

A new government was installed in Saxony composed exclusively of Social Democrats.

The Victorian Police strike began in Melbourne, Australia on the eve of the Spring Racing Carnival.