Another year has passed. Every year I look back to see what was happening 100 years ago. Here we go. The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics open in Chamonix, in the French Alps. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing and skating.
On 5 February 1924, a significant milestone in timekeeping was achieved when the hourly time signals from the Greenwich Observatory were inaugurated for broadcast via shortwave radio at precisely 17:30:00 UTC. This development marked a pivotal moment in the dissemination of accurate time information, as it rendered the time ball at the Greenwich Observatory redundant.
The time ball, a physical visual indicator that had been in use for signaling the time to mariners and the public, became obsolete with the advent of radio broadcasts that could reach a wider audience more efficiently. This technological shift underscored the evolving methods of time synchronization and the increasing importance of global communication in the early 20th century.
The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), originally founded in 1911 and based in the U.S. state of New York, underwent a transformative change when it was rebranded as International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924. This renaming reflected the company’s broadened scope and strategic shift toward international markets,
encompassing not only tabulating and recording technologies but also emphasizing the burgeoning field of computing. Under the leadership of Thomas J. Watson, who became president of CTR in 1914, the company expanded its focus on business machines and data processing,
eventually becoming a global leader in information technology and services. The adoption of the IBM name was a pivotal moment that heralded the company’s commitment to innovation and its emergence as a key player in the evolving world of computing.
It was February 22, 1024 when Calvin Coolidge became the first President of the United States to deliver a radio broadcast from the White House. On April 15, 1924 American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) is founded in Los Angeles through the merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Pictures.
On May 10, 1924 J. Edgar Hoover is appointed head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The next day, Mercedes-Benz is formed by the merging of companies owned by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz. Harry Grindell Matthews, a British inventor and engineer, made notable attempts to showcase his “death ray” to the War Office in the United Kingdom during the early 1920s. Matthews claimed that his invention, a supposed directed-energy weapon capable of remotely disabling engines and igniting explosives,
could revolutionize warfare. Despite his ambitious assertions, Matthews faced skepticism and challenges in substantiating his claims. On May 26, 1924, he conducted a demonstration for the War Office, attempting to showcase the capabilities of his invention. However, the lack of conclusive evidence and doubts about the feasibility of the technology led to the rejection of Matthews’ proposal by military authorities.
On June 2, 1924 U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States. On June 5, 1924 Ernst Alexanderson sends the first facsimile (fax) across the Atlantic Ocean, which goes to his father in Sweden.
On June 23. 1924 American airman Russell Maughan flies from New York to San Francisco in 21 hours and 48 minutes on a dawn-to-dusk flight in a Curtiss pursuit.
On September 8, 1924 U.S. Army pilots John Harding and Erik Nelson complete the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe. It has taken them 175 days and 74 stops before their return to Seattle. From October 12-15, 1924, Zeppelin LZ-126 makes a transatlantic delivery flight from Friedrichshafen, Germany, to Lakehurst, New Jersey. On November 4, 1924 Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming is elected as the first woman governor in the United States.
On December 30, 1024 American astronomer Edwin Hubble announces that Andromeda, previously believed to be a nebula, is actually another galaxy, and that the Milky Way is only one of many such galaxies in the universe. Sometime during 2924 Earl W. Bascom, rodeo cowboy and artist, designs and makes rodeo’s first one-hand bareback rigging at Stirling, Alberta, Canada.
Births
On January 10, 1924 Earl Bakken, American engineer and businessman, inventor of the modern Artificial pacemaker (d. 2018) was born. The same day Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer and composer (d. 2007) was also born. On January 11, Slim Harpo, swamp blues, harmonica musician (d. 1970) was born.
Others born in 1924 include Olivier Gendebien, Belgian racing driver (January 12), Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and television director, coach on Cheers (January 19), Benny Hill, English comedian and singer (January 21), Dorothy Malone, American actress (January 29), Budge Patty, American tennis player (February 11), Margaret Truman, American novelist and only child of U.S. President Harry S. Truman and Bess Truman (February 17),
Lee Marvin, American actor (February 19), Gerson Goldhaber, American particle physicist and astrophysicist (February 20), Gloria Vanderbilt, American heiress and entrepreneur (February 20), Christopher C. Kraft Jr., American aerospace engineer, establised Mission Control (February 28),
Al Rosen, American baseball player, Cleveland Indians, (February 29), Roberts Blossom, American actor, Home Alone) and poet (March 25), Sarah Vaughan, African-American jazz singer (March 27), Marlon Brando, American actor (April 3), Jimmy Roberts, American singer (April 6), Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer, Singin’ In The Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face (April 13),
Henry Mancini, American composer and arranger (April 16), Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American actor, folk singer and musician (May 2), Antony Hewish, English radio astronomer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics for Pulsars (May 11), Jimmy Rogers, American musician (June 3), Dennis Weaver, American actor – Chester on Gunsmake, McCloud (June 4), George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States (June 12),
Chet Atkins, American guitarist and record producer (June 20), Eva Marie Saint, American actress(July 4), Pat Hingle, American actor (July 19), Lola Albright, American singer and actress (July 20), Don Knotts, American comedic actor (July 21), James Baldwin, African-American author, novelist, playwright and activist (August 2), Carroll O’Connor, American actor (August 2), Fess Parker, American actor and businessman, Daniel Boone (August 16), Dinah Washington, African-American singer, pianist (August 29),
Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (August 31), Lauren Bacall, American actress (September 16), Truman Capote, American author (Sptember 30), Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States (October 1), William Rehnquist, 16th Chief Justice of the United States (October 1), Ed Wood, American B-movie producer (October 10), Joyce Randolph, American actress, Trixie Norton on the television sitcom The Honeymooners (October 21),
Joseph Campanella, American actor (November 21), Christopher Tolkien, English author, academic and J. R. R. Tolkien’s son (November 21), Geraldine Page, American actress (November 22), Allan Sherman, American comedy writer, television producer and song parodist (November 30), Wally Cox, American television, motion picture actor (December 6),
Bent Fabric, Danish pianist and composer (December 7), Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City (1978-1989) (December 12), Cicely Tyson, American actress (December 19), Charlie Callas, American actor and comedian (December 20), and Rod Serling, American television screenwriter (The Twilight Zone) (December 25).
Deaths
Deaths in 1924 included Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary, first Premier of the Soviet Union (January 21), Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States (February 3), Wilhelm Schmidt, German pioneer of superheated steam for use in locomotives (February 16),
Henry Cabot Lodge, American politician (November 9), and Hugo von Seeliger (1849–1924) who was a German astronomer known for his significant contributions to the field of astronomy during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Guntersblum, Germany, Seeliger served as a professor at the University of Munich and later at the University of Berlin. He made notable advancements in celestial mechanics and observational astronomy, particularly in the study of double stars and the dynamics of stellar systems.
Seeliger also contributed to our understanding of the structure and evolution of planetary rings. His work on the distribution of stars in space and the dynamics of stellar clusters had a lasting impact on the field of astrophysics. Seeliger’s dedication to advancing the knowledge of the cosmos earned him recognition as a prominent figure in German astronomy during his time.
Nobel Prizes
Manne Siegbahn (1886–1978) was a Swedish physicist awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1924 for his pioneering work in X-ray spectroscopy. Siegbahn’s groundbreaking research laid the foundation for the understanding of X-ray emission and absorption spectra of various elements, contributing significantly to the field of atomic physics. His meticulous investigations into the inner structure of atoms, using X-ray techniques, provided essential insights into the arrangement and energy levels of electrons within atoms.
Siegbahn’s precision in measuring X-ray wavelengths and his development of X-ray spectrographs played a pivotal role in advancing the understanding of atomic structures. His Nobel Prize recognized his exceptional contributions to the study of the fine structure of atomic spectra, marking a crucial chapter in the early development of quantum mechanics.
Willem Einthoven (1860–1927), a Dutch physiologist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1924 for his pioneering work on the development and application of the electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). Einthoven’s groundbreaking contributions revolutionized the field of cardiology by providing a non-invasive method to record the electrical activity of the heart.
He invented the string galvanometer, a highly sensitive device that allowed for accurate and detailed measurements of cardiac electrical signals. Einthoven’s work laid the foundation for the modern understanding of the heart’s electrical activity and its role in diagnosing various cardiovascular conditions. His invention of the ECG had a profound impact on the practice of medicine and cardiology, enabling clinicians to diagnose and monitor heart conditions with unprecedented precision.
Further Reading
Sources
- “Winter Olympic Games” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Olympic_Games
- “Greenwich Mean Time” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Mean_Time
- “Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computing-Tabulating-Recording_Company
- Nobel Media AB. (2022). Willem Einthoven – Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1924. NobelPrize.org. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1924/einthoven/facts/
- Nobel Media AB. (2022). Manne Siegbahn – Nobel Prize in Physics 1924. NobelPrize.org. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1924/siegbahn/facts/
- “1924” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1924
