What Happened in January 1924

Historical Events

Baldwin's Government Resigns

Jan 16 British Government of Stanley Baldwin resigns

"Maximam Gravissimamque"

Jan 18 Pope Pius XI's encyclical Maximam gravissimamque

Lenin's Testament

Jan 21 Vladimir Lenin's Testament is handed over to the Communist Party; it calls for changes to the Soviet governing structure and criticizes Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky and other members

Marxist Revolutionary and Soviet Leader Vladimir Lenin

Jan 22 Dutch Blast Furnace & Steel Factory opens
Jan 22 KGO-AM in San Francisco CA begins radio transmissions

First Labour Government

Jan 23 After Stanley Baldwin's resignation, Ramsay MacDonald forms Britain's first Labour Government, climaxing 24 years of struggle by the Labour Party

Non-Fascist Unions

Jan 24 Benito Mussolini disallows non-fascist work union

Jan 24 Russian city of St Petersburg renamed Leningrad (changed back in 1991)

1st Winter Olympics

Jan 25 1st Winter Olympic Games open in Chamonix, France

Einar Landvik, Nordic skier from Norway, competes in the first-ever Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France, 1924

Jan 26 American skater Charles Jewtraw claims the first ever Winter Olympic gold medal; wins 500m speed skating event in 44.0s at the Chamonix Games in France
Jan 26 Australasian Championships Men's Tennis. Melbourne: James Anderson wins 2nd of 3 Australasian titles; beats fellow Australian Richard Schlesinger 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
Jan 26 Australasian Championships Women's Tennis, Melbourne: All-Australian final; Sylvia Lance Harper beats Esna Boyd Robertson 6-3, 3-6, 8-6

Thunberg's First Gold

Jan 26 Clas Thunberg of Finland claims his first of 5 gold medals when he wins the 5,000m speed skating in 2:20.8 at the Chamonix Winter Olympics

Jan 27 Clas Thunberg of Finland claims 3 gold medals in one day when he wins the 1,500m, 5,000m and all-round speed skating events at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; won 5,000m the day before
Jan 27 Egyptian king Foead nominates Saad Zaghloel Pasja premier
Jan 27 The Kingdom of Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes sign the Treaty of Rome, agreeing to the annexation of independent Free State of Fiume by Italy (now Rijeka, Croatia)
Jan 27 The Natal Indian Congress and the Natal Indian Association jointly organise a mass meeting in Durban, South Africa in opposition to the Class Areas Bill
Jan 27 Vladimir Lenin is placed in a Mausoleum in Red Square, Moscow
Jan 29 Ice cream cone rolling machine patented by Carl Taylor, Cleveland
Jan 29 Swiss team of Denis Vaucher (C), Alfred Aufdenblatten, Antoine Julen & Alfons Julen win the military patrol gold medal at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; first version of the biathlon
Jan 30 Gillis Grafström of Sweden wins men's figure skating gold medal at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; first to successfully defend his Summer Olympic title (1920) at the Winter Games
Jan 30 Great Britain clinch inaugural Olympic curling gold medal with a 46-4 win over France at the Chamonix Games
Jan 30 Norway’s Thorleif Haug claims first of 3 gold medals at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; wins 50k cross country in a Norwegian sweep of the medals; also 18k and Nordic combined champion
Jan 30 Ponsford scores second 110 of the game in Vic win over NSW
Jan 31 Austrians Helene Engelmann & Alfred Berger win the pairs skating gold medal at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; beat Finnish pair Ludowika Jakobsson & Walter Jakobsson by just 0.39 points
Jan 31 Herma Szabo of Austria wins the ladies figure skating gold medal at the Chamonix Winter Olympics; only women's event at the Games

Events in 1924

Famous Birthdays

Jan 1 Arthur Prysock, American jazz and R&B singer ("I Didn't Sleep a Wink Last Night"; "In The Rain"), born in Spartanburg, South Carolina (d. 1997) (some sources state year as 1929)
Jan 1 Roberts Blossom, American actor and poet (Home Alone, Deranged, The Great Gatsby), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 2011)
Jan 3 Andre Franquin, Belgian cartoonist (Gaston), born in Etterbeek, Belgium (d. 1997)
Jan 3 Doug Ellis, British entrepreneur (Chairman of Aston Villa), born in Hooton, England (d. 2018)
Jan 3 Henry Fazzie, South African politician and activist (ANC), born in Stutterheim, Cape Province (d. 2011)
Jan 3 Nell Rankin, American operatic mezzo-soprano (Carmen; Metropolitan Opera, 1951-76), born in Montgomery, Alabama (d. 2005)
Jan 4 Sebastian Kappen, Indian theologian (d. 1993)
Jan 5 Dr Gilbert Bogle, New Zealand-Australian scientist who died in the Bogle-Chandler case, born in Wanganui, New Zealand (d. 1963)
Jan 6 Earl Scruggs, American bluegrass banjo player (Flatt & Scruggs - "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"; "Ballad of Jed Clampett"), born in Flint Hill, North Carolina (d. 2012)
Jan 7 Geoffrey Bayldon, British stage and screen actor (Catweazle; Worzel Gummidge - "Crowman"), born in Leeds, England (d. 2017)
Jan 7 Pablo Birger, Argentine racing driver (d. 1966)
Jan 7 Roloff Beny, Canadian painter and photographer (A Time of Gods), born in Medicine Hat, Alberta (d. 1984)
Jan 8 Benjamin Lees [Lysniansky], American composer (Kalmar Nyckel; Memorial Candles), born in Harbin, Manchuria, China (d. 2010)

Kim Dae-jung (1924-2009)

Jan 8 8th President of South Korea (1998-2003) and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, born in Hauido, South Korea

Jan 8 Robert Starer, Austrian-born American composer, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2001)
Jan 8 Ron Moody [Moodnick], British composer, singer and actor (The 12 Chairs; Oliver!), born in London, England (d. 2015)
Jan 9 Sergei Parajanov, Armenian film director, born in Tbilisi, Georgia (d. 1990)
Jan 10 Ludmilla Chiraeff, Latvian-born Canadian ballet dancer, born in Riga, Latvia (d. 1996)
Jan 10 Max Roach, American jazz drummer, born in Newland, North Carolina (d. 2007)
Jan 11 Kai Laursen, Danish concert violinist, born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1996)
Jan 11 Roger Guillemin, French-American neuroscientist (1977 Nobel Prize for Medicine for work on neurohormones), born in Dijon, France (d. 2024) [1]
Jan 11 Sam B. Hall, American politician and judge (Rep (D) Texas 1976-85), born in Marshall, Texas (d. 1994)
Jan 11 Slim Harpo [James Moore], American blues musician ("I'm a King Bee, Baby"; "Scratch My Back"), born in Lobdell, Louisiana (d. 1970)
Jan 12 Jan Willem Radecker, Dutch sculptor and son of John Raedecker, born in Schoorl, Netherlands (d. 2009)
Jan 12 Olivier Gendebien, Belgian auto racer (24 hours of Le Mans 1958, 60-62), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1998)
Jan 13 Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-born philosopher, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1994)
Jan 13 Philip Rawson, English curator, artist and teacher (Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology) (d. 1995)
Jan 14 (Mildred) "Carole" Cook, American stage and screen actress (The Lucy Show; The Incredible Mr. Limpet; Sixteen Candles), born in Abilene, Texas (d. 2023)
Jan 14 Guy Williams [Armando Joseph Catalano], American actor (Zorro; Lost in Space), born in New York City (d. 1989)
Jan 16 Katy Jurado, Mexican actress, 1st Latin actress to win a Golden Globe (High Noon, Broken Lance), born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (d. 2002)
Jan 17 Jewel Plummer Cobb, American biologist and cancer researcher (melanoma), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2017)
Jan 18 Donald Baverstock, British TV producer, born in Cardiff, United Kingdom (d. 1995)
Jan 19 Henry Herbert, 7th earl of Carnarvon, English peer and racing manager to the Queen, born in London, England (d. 2001)
Jan 19 Jean Francois Revel, French philosopher and author (Ni Marx ni Jesus), born in Marseille, France (d. 2006)
Jan 19 Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (Cheers - "Coach"; Family Plot; The Counterfeit Killer), born in Providence, Rhode Island (d. 1985)
Jan 20 Yvonne Loriod, French pianist, composer (Mélopées africaines), and teacher, born in Houilles, France (d. 2010)
Jan 21 Benny Hill [Alfred Hawthorn Hill], British comedian (The Benny Hill Show), born in Southampton, Hampshire, England (d. 1992)
Jan 22 J. J. Johnson, American composer and jazz trombonist, born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 2001)
Jan 23 Frank Lautenberg, American politician (Sen-D-NJ, 1982-2001, 2003-2013), born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 2013)
Jan 24 David Craighead, American organist and educator, born in Strasburg, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
Jan 24 John Spencer, Earl of Spencer, English peer and father of Diana, Princess of Wales, born in London, England (d. 1992)
Jan 24 Marvin Kaplan, American character and voice actor (Top Cat- "Choo Choo"; Alice - "Henry"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2016)
Jan 24 Robert Kastenmeier, American politician (Rep-D-WI, 1959-91), born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin (d. 2015)
Jan 25 (Wesley) "Speedy" West, American, Country Music Hall of Fame steel guitar player, and record producer, born in Springfield, Missouri (d. 2003)
Jan 25 Lou Groza, American football placekicker & offensive tackle (9 × Pro Bowl; 4 × First-team All-Pro; Cleveland Browns), born in Martins Ferry, Ohio (d. 2000)
Jan 26 Alice Babs [Nilson], Swedish jazz singer (The Swe-Danes; Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts), and actress (Swing It, Teacher!), born in Västervik, Sweden (d. 2014)
Jan 26 Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician, born in Houston, Texas (d. 1998)
Jan 26 James W. McCord Jr., American CIA officer who led the Watergate break-in, born in Waurika, Oklahoma (d. 2017)
Jan 26 Warren Frank Benson, American composer (The Leaves Are Falling), and educator (Eastman School, 1967-1993), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2005)
Jan 27 Alexander Chugayev, Soviet Russian composer, born in Yeysk, USSR (d. 1990)
Jan 27 Brian Rix [Lord Rix], British actor and activist (Mencap), born in Cottingham, Yorkshire (d. 2016)
Jan 27 Rauf Denktaş, Turkish-Cypriot politician, founding President of North Cyprus (1983-2005), born in Paphos, British Cyprus (d. 2012)
Jan 27 Sabu [Dastagir], Indian actor (The Thief of Bagdad, Elephant Boy, Drum), born in Mysore, British India (d. 1963)
Jan 29 Brian Trubshaw, British test pilot, first to fly Concorde, born in Liverpool (d. 2001)
Jan 29 Lord John Gregson, British Labour politician and Baron, born in Manchester, England (d. 2009)
Jan 29 Luigi Nono, Italian avant-garde composer (Canonic Variations), born in Venice, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1990)
Jan 29 Marcelle Ferron, Quebec painter and stained glass artist (d. 2001)
Jan 29 Peter Voulkos, American artist (d. 2002)
Jan 30 Lloyd Alexander, American writer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2007)
Jan 30 Margaret Yorke [Margaret Beda Nicholson], English author (Patrick Grant novels, No Medals for the Major), born in Compton, Surrey, England (d. 2012)
Jan 31 Tengiz Abuladze, Soviet Georgian filmmaker (Repentance), born in Kutaisi, Georgian SSR, USSR (d. 1994)