Lord Northcliffe Dies (1922)

In August of 1922, Lord Northcliffe passed away. Originally Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, he was born on July 15, 1865, and is given credit for creating the Daily Mail, Britain’s first well-known newspaper. Aside from the Daily Mail, Northcliffe also owned The Times and other newspapers. He was made Baron Northcliffe in1905, and was chairman of the British war mission during the first world war. He died from streptococcus and his burial took place on August 17, 1922.

The Duke and Duchess of York (1923)

In 1923, the Duke of York (1895 – 1952) and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900 – ) were joined in marriage. The couple would have two children, one of which, Elizabeth, would later become Queen. The Duke of York became King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and emperor of India when King George V’s oldest son, Edward VIII, gave up the throne in 1936. George VI died on February 6, 1952. His wife, the queen consort, celebrated her 100th birthday in 2000.

Vladimir Lenin Dies (1924)

                

Following Czar Nicholas II’s removal from the throne in Russia, a man named Aleksandr Fyodorovich Kerensky (1881 – 1970) seized power. However, a revolutionary leader named Vladimir Ilyich/Ilich Lenin (1870 – 1924) would soon overthrow him. Born in 1870, the communist and Bolshevik would go on to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922. His opponents were the Mensheviks or the minority. Bolshevik, on the other hand, meant majority.

Lenin passed away on January 21, 1924, and a total of 900,000 people viewed the leader’s lifeless body in Moscow. He had previously suffered from a stroke on three occasions. His death would create a struggle for power between Joseph Stalin, who eventually won, and Lenin’s original choice, Leon Trotsky (1879 – 1940). In 1940, a follower of Stalin murdered Trotsky.

Joseph Stalin (1879 – 1953), who was originally Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, became dictator after Lenin’s death. While the Bolshevik had been alive, Stalin had served in several positions such as the Communist Party’s secretary (1922). In March of 1953, he died of a stroke.

Queen Elizabeth II is Born (1926)

Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor (1926 – ) was born on April 21, 1926, to King George VI and the Duchess of York (later Queen Consort). Queen Elizabeth II’s official time of birth, in London, was 2:40 a.m.

Queen Elizabeth II married Prince Philip on November 20, 1947. They had four children: three sons and one daughter. In the months following her father’s death, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on June 2, 1953.

Today Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State of Canada and ruler of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Rudolph Valentino Dies (1926)

The Italian actor Rodolfo Guglielmi (1895 – 1926) was born in 1895. Better known as Rudolph Valentino, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1913. His big break came in 1921 when he starred in a silent film, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He became an even bigger star with his role in The Sheik, also in 1921. Other film credits include Camille, Blood and Sand, The Young Rajah, Monsieur Beaucaire, A Sainted Devil, The Eagle, and The Son of the Sheik, all made during the 1920s.

Valentino died at the age of 31 in his sleep on August 23, 1926. He had recently suffered from peritonitis and had undergone an operation at a Manhattan hospital. Immediately following notice of his death, rumors began to circulate about the possibility of poisoning. Dr. William B. Rawles (Polyclinic Hospital) dismissed allegations. Valentino’s coffin, which cost $10,000, was made of silver and bronze. Fans hoping to get one last glimpse of the star rioted and several were trampled.

Harry Houdini Declared Dead (1926)

       

Erik Weisz (1874 – 1926), or Ehrich Weiss, was born on March 21, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary. He and his family later relocated in Appleton, Wisconsin and then New York. At a young age, Weisz shined shoes, sold newspapers, worked in a sweatshop, and delivered messages. He showed athletic ability in swimming and running, skills that would later help him. Originally calling himself Erik the Great, he later took his stage name from Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, a magician from France. Robert-Houdin’s autobiography The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin, A. Medium’s Revelations of a Spirit Medium, and a traveling magician named Dr. Lynn helped to kindle Weisz’s interest in magic.

While working at Coney Island, Harry Houdini met Wilhelmina Beatrice “Bess” Rahner and married her in July 1894. Rahner assisted her husband by working as a singer, dancer, and performer. She eventually replaced Harry’s brother Theodore (Hardeen), who had taken the place of Jack Hayman in the Houdini Brothers. As Houdini progressed in his career, he set a record for being the only magician to star in five films and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Contrary to popular belief, Houdini did not die in an escape but from peritonitis, a type of internal gangrene in which the lining of the abdominal cavity becomes inflamed. Days before his death, on October 22, 1926, the magician performed at the Princess Theater in Montreal. A McGill University student later asked Houdini if he could, as boasted, endure blows to the stomach. The magician was not prepared when the young man punched him. A source has listed amateur boxer Joselyn Whitehead as the man who delivered the blow. After conducting a number of additional shows in Montreal, the magician performed again at Garrick Theater in Michigan. Houdini later collapsed and was taken to Grace Hospital. Never knowing that he might have been suffering from appendicitis prior to the blow, he passed away on October 31, 1926 (Halloween).

Isadora Duncan is Killed (1927)

 

Isadora Duncan (1877 – 1927), originally Dora Angela Duncan, was accidentally suffocated to death in Nice, France. An American dancer (professionally since 1899), her trademark was dancing barefoot and displaying long garments. She was widely influenced by the ancient Greek way of life. Duncan was riding in a Bugatti car when her scarf became entangled in a wheel.

Sergei Diaghilev Dies (1929)

Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (1872 – 1929), who was born on March 31, 1872, passed away in 1929. He was the founding father of the Ballets Russes and helped to get ballet noticed. The Russian Diaghilev also created Mir Iskusstva, an art journal.

 

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