1929 History Events: What Happened in 1929

On March 4th, 1929, the torch was transferred from President Calvin Coolidge to America’s 31st president, Herbert Hoover. The world population is currently estimated to be little over 2.1 billion people, according to census data.

Robert and Mary were the most popular baby names at the time, as they had been for many years. Martin Luther King Jr., a well-known civil rights activist; Liz Claiborne, a well-known female fashion designer; John Turney, a future Canadian Prime Minister; and Jacqueline Kennedy, a future first lady. In the same year that the sun dawned on those four, Wyatt Earp, Karl Benz, and Elijah McCoy died.

During these 364 days, Sunday comics changed, a tragedy changed February 14th forever, and Grand Teton National Park was established. Books like All Quiet on the Western Front, A Farewell to Arms, and The Sound and the Fury were difficult to keep on the shelf. Movies like Pandora’s Box, The Broadway Melody, and The Cocoanauts, on the other hand, soared to the top of the box office rankings.

Many things did not exist before 1929, whether you knew it or not. Sci-fi (Buck Rogers) and first adventure-based (Tarzan) comic strips, the Academy Awards, and nudist societies are among these items. Other notable events included the formation of the Seeing Eye Guide Dog Organization in the United States, the expulsion of Trotsky from Russia, the arrival of Mother Theresa in Calcutta, the British troop withdrawal from Germany in September, and the invention of the car radio, even if they were not the first in the world.

Unfortunately, several tragedies stained these 365 days as well. During the Valentine’s Day massacre, eight people were killed by mobsters. The worst of it all happened on October 29th, when the Dow Jones index plunged, signalling the start of the Great Depression. While this helped to make Hoover synonymous with a sucking device, the vacuum cleaner, he also gave his name to the Boulder Dam this year.

Continue reading to discover more about the events of 1929.

Event
(January 17, 1929) In the newspaper comic strip Thimble Theatre, the cartoon character Popeye, a sailor famed for his love of spinach, made his debut.
Advertisements (February 26, 1929) In 1950, Grand Teton National Park was enlarged to encompass the majority of Jackson Hole National Monument in Wyoming.
(June 07, 1929) Vatican City became an independent state after the Lateran Treaty was signed on February 11, 1929, by Benito Mussolini for Italy and Pietro Gasparri, cardinal secretary of state, for the papacy, and ratified on the same day.
Happy Birthday! (September 28, 1929) Lata Mangeshkar, Indian playback singer and composer. photo source: wikimedia.org
(October 29, 1929) This day, known as "Black Tuesday," came just five days after almost 13 million shares of U.S. stock were sold in one day in 1929, further stoking the Great Depression crisis. photo source: wikimedia.org
Advertisements (November 29, 1929) Richard E. Byrd, an American pioneer aviator, flew over the South Pole. photo source: wikimedia.org
(December 23, 1929) Chet Baker, an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist known for his plaintive, frail tone in both his playing and singing, was born. photo source: wikimedia.org