1920s

Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s

Years: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

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Sometimes referred to as the "Jazz Age" or primarily in North America and in Australia as the "Roaring Twenties" . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties.

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Events and trends

Since the closing of the 20th Century, the 1920s has drawn close associations with the 1990s, especially in the United States. This due to the fact both decades were considered very economically prosperous times, and a prosperity which lasted throughout almost the entire decade following a tremendous event at the closing of the previous decade (World War I and Spanish flu in the late 1910s, and the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s). In Australia, this decade was known as the Roaring Twenties.

Despite the comparisons, however, there were a number of differences. First of all, Germany, like many other European countries, had to face a severe economic downturn in the opening years of the decade, due to the enormous debt caused by the war as well as the one-sided Treaty of Versailles. Such a crisis would culminate with a devaluation of the Mark in 1923, eventually leading to economic prosperity during the remainder of the period. Second, the decade was characterized by the rise of radical political movements, especially in regions that were once part of empires. Communism began attracting large numbers of followers following the success of the October Revolution and the Bolsheviks' determination to win the subsequent Russian Civil War. The Bolsheviks would eventually adopt semi-capitalist policies-- New Economic Policy-- from 1921 to 1928. The 1920s also experienced the rise of the far-right in Europe and elsewhere, starting with Italy, and were perceived by some in the Western world as an antidote to Communism.

The Stock Market collapsed during October 1929 (see Black Tuesday) and drew a line under prosperous 1920s.

Technology

• John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as "Tommy gun"
• John Logie Baird invents the first working mechanical television system (1925)
• Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean (20 May-21 May 1927)
• Penicillin is discovered by Sir Alexander Fleming (1928)
• Philo T. Farnsworth invents the modern electronic cathode ray tube|CRT television
• Insulin is discovered by Frederick Banting during the winter of 1921-1922

Science

• Great advances in quantum mechanics
  • Wave mechanics and the Schrödinger equation
  • Werner Heisenberg formulates the uncertainty principle
• Prediction and discovery of the expanding universe

War, peace and politics

• Rise of communism after World War I
• The Red Scare in the United States (1920-1921)
• In the United States, peak of the Ku Klux Klan (about five million members)
• In the United States, KKK auxiliaries established.
• Irish Civil War
• The Irish Free State gains independence from the United Kingdom in 1922
• Marie C. Brehm becomes temperance movement leader.
• Turkish War of Independence
• Moderation League of New York worked for repeal of prohibition.
• Polish-Soviet war
• First UK Labour Government of Ramsay MacDonald formed in the United Kingdom
• Kellogg-Briand Pact to end war
• Prohibition leaders were at the height of their power.
• The Qajar dynasty ended under Ahmad Shah Qajar and Reza Pahlavi formed the Pahlavi Dynasty, which would later become the last monarchy of Iran.

Economics

• Economic boom ended by "Black Tuesday" (October 29, 1929); the stock market crashes, leading to the Great Depression

Culture, religion

• Prohibition