What Happened in May 1923

Historical Events

Hitler, Rohn Disrupt May Day

May 1 Adolf Hitler and Ernst Rohm attempt to break up socialist May Day demonstrates, inviting Nazis from as far away as Nuremberg to take part in the violence

Sports History

May 2 MLB Washington Senator Walter Johnson pitches his 100th shutout, beats Yanks 3-0

May 3 1st nonstop north American transcontinental flight (NY-San Diego) completed
May 4 Bloody street battles between Nazis, socialist & police in Vienna
May 4 New York state revokes its Mullan-Gage Act Prohibition law; federal Volstead Act still in place
May 7 Mine strike at Belgian Borinage railroad

Hobbs Scores 100th Century

May 8 England Test opening batsman Jack Hobbs scores his 100th 1st-class cricket 100 with 116 not out for Surry v Somerset at Bath

May 11 10 HRs hit in Phillies 20-14 victory over St Louis Cardinals at the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia
May 12 48th Preakness: Benny Marinelli aboard Vigil wins in 1:53.6
May 13 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Willa Cather for her World War I-based novel "One of Ours"
May 15 Cooperation of Dutch Molen forms
May 17 Fire during closing day ceremonies at Grover Cleveland School, South Carolina

49th Kentucky Derby

May 19 49th Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande wins aboard Zev for his first Derby success

May 19 KPD (communist revolts) in German Ruhr cities occupied by Allies
May 23 Launch of Belgium's SABENA airline: first flight from Brussels to Lympne, England

Stanley Baldwin Prime Minister

May 24 Stanley Baldwin succeeds Andrew Bonar Law as British Prime Minister

May 25 Britain recognizes Transjordan with Abdullah as its leader
May 26 Inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race for cars starts through public roads around Le Mans, France; inaugural winners: André Lagache and René Léonard (France) for Chenard & Walcker
May 26 Socialist Workers Youth International forms in Hamburg
May 28 US Attorney General says it is legal for women to wear trousers anywhere

Hansen's Nordic Premieres

May 30 Howard Hanson's 1st Symphony "Nordic" premieres

May 30 Indianapolis 500: 1921 champion Tommy Milton becomes first multiple race winner; Howdy Wilcox drives relief for laps 103-151 as Milton's hands are bandaged due to blisters
May 31 China & USSR exchange diplomats
May 31 The South African Indian Congress (SAIC) forms in Durban, South Africa, with Omar Hajee Amod Jhaveri as President

Events in 1923

Famous Birthdays

May 1 Frank Brian, American basketball guard (NBA All-Star 1951, 52; Fort Wayne Pistons), born in Zachary, Louisiana (d. 2017)
May 1 Joseph Heller, American novelist (Catch-22, 1963 Arts & Letters Award), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1999)
May 2 Christina Spierenburg, Dutch singer, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1979)
May 3 George Hadjinikos, Greek pianist and conductor, born in Volos, Greece (d. 2015)
May 3 Ralph Hall, American politician, (oldest to serve in the House of Representatives, Texas 1981-2014), born in Fate, Texas (d. 2019) [1]
May 4 Assi Rahbani, Lebanese musical theater composer, with his lyricist brother, Mansour (Biya el-Khawatim - The Ring Seller), born in Antelias, Lebanon (d. 1986)
May 4 Edward "Ed" Cassidy, American musician (Spirit), born in Harvey, Illinois (d. 2012)
May 4 Eric Sykes, British radio, stage and television comedy writer, actor and director (Goon Show; Sykes and A...), born in Oldham, Lancahsire, England (d. 2012)
May 4 Mrinal Sen, Bengali film director (In Search of Famine), born in Faridpur, East Bengal (d. 2018)
May 5 Godfrey Quigley, Irish actor (Barry Lyndon, Educating Rita, Rooney), born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine (d. 1994)
May 5 Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (deeply engaged with issues that were central to the visual arts), born in London (d. 2003)
May 6 Chih Ree Sun, Chinese-American physicist and poet, born in Anhui, Republic of China (d. 2007) [1]
May 6 Guiseppe Martelli, Italian physicist, born in Pistoia, Italy (d. 1994)
May 7 Anne Baxter, American actress, (The Razor's Edge; All About Eve), and singer, born in Michigan City, Indiana (d. 1985)
May 7 Jim Lowe, American DJ (WNEW) "King of Trivia", born in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 2016)
May 7 Pete Domenici, American politician, U.S. Senator from New Mexico (1973-2009), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico (d. 2017)

May 9 Johnny Grant, American radio personality, television producer, and "honorary mayor" of Hollywood (d. 2008)
May 10 Herb Carneal, American sports broadcaster (Minnesota Twins 1962-2006; Ford C. Frick Award 1996), born in Richmond, Virginia (d. 2007)
May 10 Heydar Aliyev, Ex-President and Leader of Azerbaijan Republic (d. 2003)
May 11 Gordon White, British business tycoon and co-founder of corporate raider Hanson Group, born in Hull, England (d. 1995)
May 12 Ewart Abner, American record company executive (President of Motown, manager of Stevie Wonder), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1997)
May 12 Giovanni Testori, Italian writer (Rocco e i suoi fratelli), born in Milan, Italy (d. 1993)
May 12 Hector Laing, English biscuit manufacturer (McVitie & Price), pilot and Director of the Bank of England (d. 2010)
May 13 (William) "Red" Garland, American jazz pianist (Miles Davis Quintet), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 1984)
May 14 Adnan Pachachi, Iraqi and Emirati politician and diplomat (Iraq Minister of Foreign Affairs during Six-Day War), born in Baghdad, Iraq (d. 2019)
May 15 Ellis Larkins, American classically trained (1st Black student at Peabody Institute) jazz pianist (Ruby Braff), and accompanist (Ella Fitzgerald; Eartha Kitt, Mildred Bailey), born in Baltimore Maryland (d. 2002)
May 15 John Lanchbery, British-Australian composer and conductor (Royal Ballet, 1959-72; Australian Ballet, 1972-77; American Ballet Theatre, 1978-80), born in London, England (d. 2003)
May 15 Johnny Walker [Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi], Indian actor (Madhumati, Chachi 420), born in Indore, British India (d. 2003)
May 15 Richard Avedon, American photographer (Harper's Bazaar, The New Yorker), born in New York City (d. 2004) [1]
May 16 Merton Miller, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000)
May 17 Michael Beetham, British Marshall of the RAF (Falklands War), born in London, England (d. 2015)

May 17 Peter Mennin [Mennini], American composer (Moby Dick; The Cycle), and educator (Juilliard, 1962-83), born in Erie, Pennsylvania (d. 1983)
May 18 Liam Sullivan, American singer and actor (Star Trek, The Magic Sword, Monroes), born in Jacksonville, Illinois (d. 1998)
May 20 Edith Fellows, American actress (Pennies From Heaven, She Married Her Boss), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2011)
May 20 Samuel "Sam" Selvon, Trinidad-born writer (The Lonely Londoners), born in San Fernando (d. 1994)
May 21 Ara Parseghian, American College Football HOF coach (Northwestern; NCAA C'ship 1966, 73 Notre Dame), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 2017)
May 21 Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (d. 2003)
May 21 Bettye Danoff, American golfer (co- founder LPGA Tour), born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2011)
May 21 Doris Mae Akers, American gospel singer-songwriter (Sky Pilot Choir - Sweet, Sweet Spirit), born in Brookfield, Missouri (d. 1995)
May 22 Aline Griffith, American-born Spanish aristocrat, Countess of Romanones, spy and author, born in Pearl River, New York (d. 2017)
May 23 Alicia de Larrocha, Spanish pianist (Orquesta Sinfonica), born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 2009)
May 23 Nirode Chowdhury, Indian cricket medium pace bowler (2 Tests, 1 wicket; Bengal, Bihar), born in Jharkhand, India (d. 1979)
May 24 Seijun Suzuki, Japanese cult film director, born in Tokyo (d. 2017)
May 24 Siobhán McKenna [Cionnaith], Irish stage actress (Saint Joan, The Chalk Garden), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 1986)
May 25 John Weitz, American author and fashion designer (Friends in High Places), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2002)
May 26 Horst Tappert, German director, actor and former SS member (Derrick), born in Elberfeld, Germany (d. 2008)

May 26 James Arness, American actor (Gunsmoke, How the West Was Won), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2011)
May 26 Oren Lee Staley, 1st President of the National Farmers Organization (1955-79), born in Whitesville, Missouri (d. 1988)
May 26 Roy Dotrice, British actor (A Moon for the Misbegotten, Amadeus) and narrator (A Song of Ice and Fire), born in Guernsey, Channel Islands (d. 2017)
May 27 Bernard Freyberg, British-New Zealand army officer (Victoria Cross, Governor General of New Zealand 1946-52), born in London, England (d. 1963)

Henry Kissinger (1923-2023)

May 27 German-American diplomat (US Secretary of State, 1973-77) and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, born in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany [1]

May 27 Ingeborg "Inge" Morath, Austrian-born Magnum photographer and wife of Arthur Miller, born in Graz Austria (d. 2002)
May 27 Sumner Redstone, American media mogul (ViacomCBS), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2020)
May 28 Gyorgy Ligeti, Hungarian classical composer (Le Grand Macabre), born in Transylvania, Romania (d. 2006)
May 28 Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, also known as NTR, Indian film star (Patala Bhairavi; Mayabazar), and politician (Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (1983-89 & 1994-95), born in Nimmakuru, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Andhra Pradesh, India) (d. 1996)
May 29 Eugene Wright, American jazz bassist (The Dave Brubeck Quartet), sometimes known as "The Senator", born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2020) [1]
May 29 John Parker, 6th Earl of Morley, British peer and soldier, born in Saltram House, Devon (d. 2015)
May 29 Richard Worsley, British Army officer, born in Ballywalter, County Down, Northern Ireland (d. 2013)
May 30 Jimmy Lydon, American actor (Twice Blessed, Life with Father), born in Harrington Park, New Jersey (d. 2022)

Rainier III (1923-2005)

May 31 Prince of Monaco (1949-2005), born in Monaco

Born in 1923

Famous Weddings

Marlene Dietrich

May 17 Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich (21) weds assistant director Rudolf Sieber (26) in Berlin, Germany

Famous Deaths

May 10 Vaslav Vorovsky, Russian delegate, assassinated
May 11 Henry Martyn Robert, American soldier & parliamentarian (Robert's Rules of Order), dies at 86
May 14 Charles de Freycinet, French prime minister (b. 1828)
May 20 Hans Goldschmidt, German chemist, dies
May 30 Camille Chevillard, French composer, dies at 63
May 30 Charles Fichardt, cricketer (South African batsman in 2 Tests 1892-96), dies

On This Day