1927 History Events: What Happened in 1927

The first transatlantic telephone call, via radio, was made from New York City to London in 1927. This year also saw the debut of the first “talkie” film. The Jazz Singer was the first feature-length film with synchronised sound, and it was a huge hit, despite the fact that the silent film age would last a few more years.

Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly a solo nonstop transatlantic flight in one of the most significant events of the early twentieth century. The Spirit of St. Louis, a plane that flew from New York City to Paris, took almost 33 hours to accomplish the journey.

There were also some significant advancements in the realm of literature. T.S. Eliot published his renowned poem “Journey of the Magi” in this year, which was also the year he became a British citizen. Another well-known author relocated to the United Kingdom this year. Eric Blair, afterwards known as George Orwell, resigned from the Imperial Police in Burma and relocated to London to pursue a career as a writer.

This year saw the establishment of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as the premiere of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis in Germany. The year 1927 also saw the release of the popular picture It. The picture, starring Clara Bow, is credited with coining the term “It Girl.”

The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act of 1927, which took effect in April 1927, changed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, recognising that the Irish Free State was no longer a part of the Kingdom. In a subsequent proclamation in May, King George V would formally change his title to reflect the change.

Continue reading to discover more about the events of 1927.

Event
(April 30, 1927) The Federal Industrial Institute for Women, the first women's federal prison in the United States, opens at Alderson, West Virginia.
Advertisements (May 21, 1927) On this day in 1927, American aviator Charles Lindbergh flew the first nonstop solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean, taking the monoplane Spirit of Saint Louis from New York to Paris in roughly 33.5 hours.
(June 26, 1927) Coney Island unveils the Cyclone roller coaster.
(June 29, 1927) The Bird of Paradise, a Fokker tri-motor of the United States Army Air Corps, completes the first transpacific trip from the mainland United States to Hawaii.
(July 24, 1927) At Ypres, the Menin Gate war memorial is unveiled.
Advertisements (October 20, 1927) Pirates posing as passengers boarded the Chinese ship Irene, which was manned by British officers. They took control and sailed out to sea, where they were met by two British submarines who requested that they stop and surrender. When the pirates refused to surrender, the submarines fired two torpedoes into the ship's hold, causing it to come to a halt and begin sinking. The passengers and crew were eventually rescued by the British ship. photo source: wikimedia.org