1924 in the United States

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1924 in the United States" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

← 1923 1922 1921 1924 in the United States → 1925 1926 1927
Decades:	1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s
See also:	History of the United States (1918–1945) Timeline of United States history (1900–1929) List of years in the United States

Events from the year 1924 in the United States.

• President: Calvin Coolidge (R-Massachusetts)
• Vice President: vacant
• Chief Justice: William Howard Taft (Ohio)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Frederick H. Gillett (R-Massachusetts)
• Senate Majority Leader:

Henry Cabot Lodge (R-Massachusetts) (until November 9)

vacant (November 9–28)

Charles Curtis (R-Kansas) (starting November 28)

• Congress: 68th

• January 10 – American media company Cohn-Brandt-Cohn (CBC) Film Sales Corporation (founded 1918) officially reorganizes as Columbia Pictures Corporation.
• February 8 – Capital punishment: Gee Jon suffers the first state execution using a gas chamber in the United States, at Nevada State Prison.
• February 9 – Canada's National Hockey League expands to the United States for the first time with the inclusion of the Boston Bruins.^[1]
• February 12 – Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin, is first performed in New York City, at Aeolian Hall.^[2]
• February 14 – International Business Machines (IBM) is founded in New York State.
• February 16–26 – Dock strikes break out in various U.S. harbors.
• February 22 – Calvin Coolidge becomes the first president of the United States to deliver a radio broadcast from the White House.
• March 8 – The Castle Gate mine disaster kills 172 coal miners in Utah.

• April 16 – American media company Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) is founded in Los Angeles, California, through the merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures.^[3]
• May 3 – The Aleph Zadik Aleph, the oldest Jewish youth fraternity, is founded in Omaha, Nebraska.
• May 10 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• May 21 – University of Chicago students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr. murder 14-year-old Bobby Franks, in a thrill killing. The event will inspire the 1929 play Rope.^[4]
• May 26 – The Asian Exclusion Act is enacted, banning all Asian immigration to the United States. It is a slap in the face to Japan after their participation as a principal ally in WWI, and is seen as the spark that spurred Japan's alliance with Germany and down the path to World War II.
• June 2 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
• June 12 – Rondout Heist: Six men of the Egan's Rats gang rob a mail train in Rondout, Illinois; the robbery is later found to have been an inside job.
• June 23 – American airman Russell L. Maughan flies from New York to San Francisco in 21 hours and 48 minutes on a dawn-to-dusk flight in a Curtiss pursuit.
• June 24–July 9 – The 1924 Democratic National Convention takes a record 103 ballots to nominate John W. Davis of West Virginia as Democratic Party candidate to oppose Calvin Coolidge in the presidential election.

• September 9 – The Hanapepe massacre occurs on Kauai, Hawaii.

• October 9 – Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears opens.
• October 10
  • The Alpha Delta Gamma fraternity is founded at the Lake Shore Campus of Loyola University, Chicago.
  • The Washington Senators defeat the New York Giants (baseball), 4 games to 3.
• November – The last known sighting of a California grizzly bear is recorded, by Colonel John R. White at Sequoia National Park.^[5]
• November 4
  • U.S. presidential election, 1924: Republican Calvin Coolidge defeats Democrat John W. Davis and Progressive U. S. Senator Robert M. La Follette
  • Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming is elected as the first woman governor in the United States.
• November 15 – In Los Angeles, silent film director Thomas Ince ("The Father of the Western") meets publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst to work out a deal. When Ince dies a few days later, reportedly of a heart attack, rumors soon surface that he was murdered by Hearst.^[6]
• November 27 – In New York City the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held.
• December 1 – George Gershwin's Lady Be, Good, including the song "Fascinating Rhythm", (book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, lyrics by Ira Gershwin) premieres in New York City.

• Alice Vanderbilt Morris, a wealthy heiress, founds the International Auxiliary Language Association in New York City.^[7]
• U.S. bootleggers begin to use Thompson submachine guns.
• The earth inductor compass is developed by Morris Titterington at the Pioneer Instrument Company in Brooklyn, New York.

• Lochner era (c. 1897–c. 1937)
• U.S. occupation of Haiti (1915–1934)^[8]
• Prohibition (1920–1933)^[9]
• Roaring Twenties (1920–1929)

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president (1977–1981)

George H. W. Bush, the 41st president (1989–1993)

Two U.S. presidents were born in the year 1924

• January 1 – Charlie Munger, businessman and philanthropist (d. 2023)
• January 4
  • Walter Ris, freestyle swimmer (d. 1989)
  • Charles Thone, politician (d. 2018)
• January 5 – Glenn Boyer, historian and author (d. 2013)
• January 6 – Earl Scruggs, musician (d. 2012)
• January 7 – Gene L. Coon, screenwriter and producer (d. 1973)
• January 8 – James Clinkscales Hill, jurist (d. 2017)
• January 9 – Mary Kaye, guitarist and singer (d. 2007)
• January 10
  • Earl Bakken, engineer and businessman, inventor of the modern Artificial pacemaker (d. 2018)
  • Max Roach, African-American percussionist, drummer and composer (d. 2007)
• January 11
  • Don Cherry, pop singer (d. 2018)^[10]
  • Sam B. Hall Jr., politician (d. 1994)
  • Slim Harpo, musician (d. 1970)
• January 12 – Chris Chase (also known as Irene Kane), model, film actress, writer and journalist (d. 2013)
• January 13 – Lillian B. Rubin, writer, professor, psychotherapist and sociologist (d. 2014)
• January 14
  • Carole Cook, actress and singer (d. 2023)
  • Guy Williams, actor (d. 1989)
• January 19 – Nicholas Colasanto, actor and television director (d. 1985)^[11]
• January 23 – Frank Lautenberg, politician (d. 2013)
• January 25
  • Lou Groza, American football player and coach (d. 2000)
  • Rollie Seltz, basketball player (d. 2022)^[12]
  • Speedy West, musician (d. 2003)
• January 26 – Annette Strauss, philanthropist and politician (d. 1998)
• January 28 – Betty Tucker, baseball player (d. 2012)
• January 30
  • Lloyd Alexander, writer (d. 2007)
  • Dorothy Malone, actress (d. 2018)

• February 1 – Richard Hooker, writer and surgeon (d. 1997)
• February 4 – Dorothy Harrell, professional baseball player (d. 2011)
• February 7 – Catherine Small Long, politician (d. 2019)
• February 8 – Joe Black, African-American baseball player (d. 2002)
• February 10 – Randy Van Horne, singer and musician (d. 2007)
• February 11 – Budge Patty, tennis player (d. 2021)
• February 14 – Gabe Pressman, journalist (d. 2017)
• February 15 – Toni Arden, singer (d. 2012)
• February 16 – Frank Saul, basketball player (d. 2019)
• February 17 – Margaret Truman, novelist and only child of U.S. President Harry S. Truman and Bess Truman (d. 2008)
• February 19 – Lee Marvin, actor (d. 1987)
• February 20
  • Donald M. Fraser, politician (d. 2019)
  • Gerson Goldhaber, German-American physicist and astrophysicist (d. 2010)
  • Gloria Vanderbilt, socialite, artist and fashion designer (d. 2019)
• February 21 – William Hathaway, politician and lawyer (d. 2013)
• February 28
  • Bettye Ackerman, actress (d. 2006)
  • Christopher C. Kraft Jr., aerospace engineer (d. 2019)
• February 29 – Al Rosen, baseball player (d. 2015)

• March 1 – Deke Slayton, American astronaut (d. 1993)
• March 3 – Isadore Singer, American mathematician (d. 2021)
• March 4 – Kenneth O'Donnell, American political consultant, aide to U.S. President John F. Kennedy (d. 1977)
• March 6
  • Ed Mierkowicz, American baseball player (d. 2017)
  • William H. Webster, American lawyer and jurist
• March 9
  • Herbert Gold, American novelist (d. 2023)
  • George Haines, American swimmer and coach (d. 2006)
  • William Hamilton, American theologian (d. 2012)
  • Ben Schadler, American basketball player (d. 2015)
• March 12 – Helen Parrish, American actress (d. 1959)
• March 17 – Edith Savage-Jennings, African-American civil rights leader (d. 2017)
• March 20 – Philip Abbott, American actor (d. 1998)
• March 22
  • Al Neuharth, American businessman and journalist (d. 2013)
  • Bill Wendell, American TV announcer (d. 1999)
  • Lionel Wilson, American voice actor (d. 2003)
• March 23 – Bette Nesmith Graham, American typist, commercial artist, and inventor (d. 1980)
• March 24
  • Lois Andrews, American actress (d. 1968)
  • Norman Fell, American actor (d. 1998)
• March 25
  • Roberts Blossom, American actor and poet (d. 2011)^[13]
  • Julia Perry, African-American composer (d. 1979)
• March 27 – Sarah Vaughan, African-American jazz singer (d. 1990)
• March 28 – Byrd Baylor, American novelist, essayist and author (d. 2021)
• March 29 – Jimmy Work, American singer-songwriter (d. 2018)
• March 31 – Kathleen O'Malley, American actress (d. 2019)

• April 1 – Brendan Byrne, American politician, statesman, and prosecutor (d. 2018)
• April 2 – Delwin Jones, American politician (d. 2018)
• April 3 – Marlon Brando, American actor (d. 2004)
• April 4
  • Gil Hodges, American baseball player (d. 1972)
  • Joye Hummel, American comic book author (d. 2021)
  • Noreen Nash, American actress (d. 2023)
• April 6 – Jimmy Roberts, American singer (d. 1999)
• April 8 – Bob Mann, American football player (d. 2006)
• April 9 – Milburn G. Apt, American test pilot (d. 1956)
• April 13
  • Jack Chick, American fundamentalist Christian illustrator and publisher (d. 2016)
  • Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (d. 2019)
• April 14 – Shorty Rogers, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1994)
• April 16
  • Henry Mancini, American composer and arranger (d. 1994)
  • Rudy Pompilli, American musician (d. 1976)
• April 18
  • Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, American blues musician (d. 2005)
  • Henry Hyde, American politician (d. 2007)
• April 23
  • Chuck Harmon, American baseball player and scout (d. 2019)
  • Bobby Rosengarden, American jazz drummer (d. 2007)
• April 28 – Emily W. Sunstein, American campaigner, political activist and biographer (d. 2007)
• April 30 – Sheldon Harnick, American lyricist (d. 2023)

• May 1
  • Art Fleming, American actor and game show host (d. 1995)
  • Evelyn Boyd Granville, American mathematician, computer scientist and academic (d. 2023)
  • Big Maybelle, American R&B singer (d. 1972)
• May 2 – Ladislava Bakanic, American gymnast (d. 2021)
• May 3 – Isadore Singer, American mathematician (d. 2021)
• May 6 – Patricia Kennedy Lawford, American socialite (d. 2006)
• May 11 – Ninfa Laurenzo, American businessman, founder of Ninfa's (d. 2001)
• May 16 – Frank Mankiewicz, American journalist, presidential campaign press secretary (d. 2014)
• May 18
  • Jack Barlow, American country music singer (d. 2011)
  • Priscilla Pointer, American actress
  • Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (d. 2019)
• May 21 – Peggy Cass, American actress and comedian (d. 1999)^[14]
• May 24 – Philip Pearlstein, American soldier, painter (d. 2022)
• May 29 – Pepper Paire, American female baseball player (d. 2013)
• May 31 – Patricia Roberts Harris, American administrator (d. 1985)

• June 1 – William Sloane Coffin, American clergyman (d. 2006)
• June 3
  • Bernard Glasser, American film producer, director (d. 2014)
  • Herk Harvey, American film director (d. 1996)
  • Jimmy Rogers, American musician (d. 1997)
• June 4 – Dennis Weaver, American actor (d. 2006)
• June 5
  • Lou Brissie, baseball player and scout (d. 2013)
  • Art Donovan, American football player and radio host (d. 2013)
• June 6
  • Robert Abernathy, American science fiction author (d. 1990)
  • W. Marvin Watson, American presidential advisor, Postmaster General (d. 2017)
• June 7 – Edward Field, poet and author
• June 8
  • Sheldon Allman, American-Canadian actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
  • Lyn Nofziger, American journalist and author (d. 2006)
  • David Pines, American physicist (d. 2018)
• June 12 – George H. W. Bush, American politician, 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 & 43rd vice president of the United States from 1981 to 1989 (d. 2018)^[15]
• June 20 – Chet Atkins, American guitarist, record producer (d. 2001)
• June 22 – John C. Whitcomb, American theologian (d. 2020)
• June 23
  • Frank Bolle, American comic strip artist, comic book artist and illustrator (d. 2020)
  • June Brooks, American businesswoman (d. 2010)
• June 24
  • Leonard Everett Fisher, American artist known best for children's books (d. 2024)
  • Yoshito Takamine, American politician (d. 2015)
• June 25
  • Martin J. Klein, American historian and physicist (d. 2009)
  • Sidney Lumet, American film director (d. 2011)
• June 27
  • Charles Norman Shay, American Penobscot tribal elder, writer and decorated veteran of both World War II and the Korean War
  • Paul Conrad, American cartoonist (d. 2010)
• June 26
  • Richard Bull, American actor (d. 2014)
  • James W. McCord Jr., American CIA officer (d. 2017)
• June 29
  • Philip H. Hoff, American politician (d. 2018)
  • Ezra Laderman, American composer (d. 2015)

• July 1
  • Ralph Parr, American double-flying ace (d. 2012)
  • Curtis W. Harris, American minister, civil rights activist and Virginia politician (d. 2017)
  • Richard Longaker, American political scientist (d. 2018)
• July 2 – Charley Winner, American football player
• July 4 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
• July 6
  • Ernest Graves Jr., United States Army officer (d. 2019)
  • Robert Michael White, American military aircraft test pilot, fighter pilot, electrical engineer and major general (d. 2010)
• July 7 – Sam Cathcart, American football halfback, defensive back (d. 2015)
• July 8 – Charles C. Droz, American politician
• July 10 – Gloria Stroock, American actress (d. 2024)
• July 11
  • F. James Rutherford, American science professor (d. 2021)
  • Oscar Wyatt, American businessman, self-made millionaire
  • Al Federoff, American professional baseball infielder, manager (d. 2011)
• July 12 – Shirley Neil Pettis, American politician (d. 2016)
• July 14
  • Val Avery, American character actor (d. 2010)
  • Warren Giese, American football player, coach and politician (d. 2013)
• July 15 – Jeremiah Denton, American politician (d. 2014)
• July 16
  • James L. Greenfield, American administrator (d. 2024)
  • Bess Myerson, American politician, model and television actress (d. 2014)
• July 18 – Will D. Campbell, American minister, author and activist (d. 2013)
• July 19
  • Pat Hingle, American actor (d. 2009)
  • Frank Ivancie, American businessman and politician (d. 2019)
  • Arthur Rankin Jr., American film director, producer and co-founder of Rankin/Bass Productions (d. 2014)
• July 20 – Lola Albright, American singer, actress (d. 2017)
• July 21 – Don Knotts, American comedic actor (d. 2006)
• July 22 – Margaret Whiting, American singer (d. 2011)
• July 23 – Avern Cohn, American judge (d. 2022)
• July 24 – Paul Meier, American statistician (d. 2011)
• July 25 – Frank Church, American politician (d. 1984)
• July 28
  • Anne Braden, American civil rights activist (d. 2006)
  • C. T. Vivian, American civil rights activist, minister and author (d. 2020)
• July 29
  • Lillian Faralla, American female professional baseball player (d. 2019)
  • Robert Horton, American actor, singer (d. 2016)
• July 30 – William H. Gass, American novelist (d. 2017)

• August 1
  • Marcia Mae Jones, American actress (d. 2007)
  • Frank Havens, American canoeist (d. 2018)
  • Michael Stewart, American playwright, stage librettist (d. 1987)
• August 2
  • James Baldwin, African-American author and civil rights activist (d. 1987)
  • Joe Harnell, American pianist and composer (d. 2005)
  • Carroll O'Connor, American actor, producer and director (d. 2001)
• August 3 – Leon Uris, American writer (d. 2003)
• August 6 – Ella Jenkins, American folk singer of children's music
• August 8 – Gene Deitch, American illustrator, animator and film director (d. 2020)
• August 9 – Marta Becket, American dancer (d. 2017)
• August 10 – Martha Hyer, American actress (d. 2014)
• August 15 – Phyllis Schlafly, American activist (d. 2016)
• August 16
  • Fess Parker, American actor and businessman (d. 2010)^[16]
  • Inez Voyce, American female baseball player (d. 2022)
  • Benny Bartlett, American child actor and musician (d. 1999)
• August 17
  • Evan S. Connell, Jr., American fiction writer and poet (d. 2013)
  • Charles Simmons, American author (d. 2017)
• August 18 – Frank Logue, 25th mayor of New Haven, Connecticut (d. 2010)
• August 20 – Frank Joseph Guarini, American politician
• August 23
  • Elaine Sturtevant, American artist (d. 2014)
  • Robert Solow, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2023)
• August 24 – Louis Teicher, American pianist (Ferrante & Teicher) (d. 2008)
• August 26 – Barbara Staff, American political activist (d. 2019)
• August 28 – Peggy Ryan, American dancer (d. 2004)^[17]
• August 29
  • Clyde Scott, American athlete (d. 2018)
  • Dinah Washington, African-American singer, pianist (d. 1963)
• August 31
  • Buddy Hackett, American actor, comedian (d. 2003)
  • Thomas J. Hudner Jr., American naval aviator (d. 2017)

• September 1 – Diana Decker, American-English actress and singer (d. 2019)
• September 2 – Sidney Phillips, American physician, WW2 Marine documentary consultant (d. 2015)
• September 3 – Mary Grace Canfield, American actress (d. 2014)
• September 5
  • Paul Dietzel, American college football coach (d. 2013)
  • Roy Andrew Miller, American linguist (d. 2014)
• September 6
  • John Melcher, American politician (d. 2018)
  • Dale E. Wolf, American businessman and politician (d. 2021)
• September 7 – Daniel Inouye, American politician (d. 2012)
• September 8 – Wendell H. Ford, American politician (d. 2015)
• September 9
  • Jane Greer, actress (d. 2001)
  • Sylvia Miles, actress (d. 2019)
  • Russell M. Nelson, heart surgeon and religious leader
• September 11
  • Daniel Akaka, soldier, engineer and politician (d. 2018)
  • Tom Landry, football player and coach (d. 2000)
• September 12 – Howard C. Nielson, politician (d. 2021)
• September 13 – Scott Brady, actor (d. 1985)
• September 14 – Jerry Coleman, baseball player, manager, broadcaster, and Marine aviator (d. 2014)
• September 15 – Bobby Short, entertainer (d. 2005)
• September 16 – Lauren Bacall, actress (d. 2014)
• September 20
  • Gogi Grant, singer (d. 2016)
  • Helen Grayco, singer, actress (d. 2022)
• September 22
  • J. William Middendorf, soldier and politician
  • Gerald Schoenfeld, chairman (d. 2008)
• September 27
  • Wendell Bell, futurist (d. 2019)
  • Fred Singer, Austrian-American physicist and academic (d. 2020)^[18]
• September 28 – Merwin Coad, politician
• September 30
  • Truman Capote, author (d. 1984)
  • Georgiana Young, actress (d. 2007)

• October 1
  • Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981
  • William Rehnquist, 16th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (d. 2005)
  • Roger Williams, American pianist (d. 2011)
• October 2 – Ruby Stephens, American female baseball player (d. 1996)
• October 3 – Harvey Kurtzman, American editor, cartoonist and creator of Mad (d. 1993)
• October 5 – Bill Dana, American comedian, actor, screenwriter (d. 2017)
• October 7 – Joyce Reynolds, American actress (d. 2019)
• October 9 – Arnie Risen, American basketball player (d. 2012)
• October 10
  • David Shepherd, American producer, director and actor (d. 2018)
  • Ed Wood, American filmmaker, actor, writer, producer and director (d. 1978)
• October 11 – Mal Whitfield, American Olympic athlete (d. 2015)
• October 13 – Terry Gibbs, American vibraphone player and bandleader
• October 14 – Robert Webber, American actor (d. 1989)
• October 15
  • Warren Miller, American ski and snowboarding filmmaker (d. 2018)
  • Lee Iacocca, American automobile executive (d. 2019)
  • Mark Lenard, American actor (d. 1996)
• October 17 – Fredd Wayne, American actor (d. 2018)
• October 18
  • Arthur J. Jackson, American military officer (d. 2017)
  • Buddy MacMaster, American artist (d. 2014)
• October 21 – Joyce Randolph, American actress (d. 2024)
• October 25
  • Billy Barty, American actor (d. 2000)
  • Bobby Brown, baseball player (b. 2021)
  • Earl Palmer, American R&B drummer (d. 2008)
  • Weston E. Vivian, American politician (d. 2020)
• October 27 – Bonnie Lou, American singer (d. 2015)

• November 6
  • Harlon Block, U.S. Marine flag raiser on Iwo Jima (d. 1945)
• November 10 – Russell Johnson, American actor (d. 2014)
• November 11 – Leonard D. Wexler, American judge (d. 2018)
• November 13 – Edward F. Welch, Jr., American admiral (d. 2008)
• November 16 – Sam Farber, American businessman, co-founder of OXO (d. 2013)
• November 19 – J. D. Sumner, American gospel singer (d. 1998)
• November 20 – Mark Miller, American actor (d. 2022)
• November 21 – Joseph Campanella, American actor (d. 2018)
• November 22
  • Geraldine Page, American actress (d. 1987)
  • Robert M. Young, American film director and producer (d. 2024)
• November 24
  • James M. Burns, American attorney and judge (d. 2001)
  • Joanne Winter, American female professional baseball pitcher, LPGA player (d. 1996)
• November 25 – Paul Desmond, American jazz alto saxophonist and composer (d. 1977)
• November 26 – Ruth Bradley Holmes, linguist (d. 2021)^[19]
• November 28 – Calvin J. Spann, African-American Tuskegee Airman, fighter pilot (d. 2015)
• November 29 – Irv Noren, American baseball and basketball player (d. 2019)
• November 30
  • Shirley Chisholm, American politician (d. 2005)
  • Allan Sherman, American comedy writer, television producer and song parodist (d. 1973)

• December 2 – Alexander Haig, American politician, U.S. Secretary of State (d. 2010)
• December 4 – John C. Portman Jr., American architect (d. 2017)
• December 6 – Wally Cox, American television, motion picture actor (d. 1973)
• December 9 – Frank Sturgis, one of the five Watergate burglars whose capture led to the end of the American Presidency of Richard Nixon (d. 1993)
• December 12 – Ed Koch, American politician (d. 2013)
• December 13
  • Robert Coogan, American actor (d. 1978)
  • Maria Riva, American actress
• December 17 – Margaret Wigiser, American female professional baseball player (d. 2019)
• December 19 – Cicely Tyson, American actress (d. 2021)
• December 23 – Bob Kurland, American basketball player (d. 2013)
• December 25 – Rod Serling, American television screenwriter (The Twilight Zone) (d. 1975)
• December 26 – Frank Broyles, American college football coach, athletic director (d. 2017)
• December 27
  • James A. McClure, American politician (d. 2011)
  • Frank North, American football coach (d. 2017)
• December 31
  • Frank J. Kelley, 50th Michigan Attorney General (d. 2021)
  • Taylor Mead, American actor (d. 2013)
  • J. Donald Monan, American academic administrator (d. 2017)
  • Lawrence W. Pierce, American judge (d. 2020)
  • Robert Ravenstahl, American politician (d. 2015)

• List of American films of 1924
• Timeline of United States history (1900–1929)

• Media related to 1924 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons