By the Numbers in 1919
World Population
—
UK Life Expectancy
49.9 years
US Life Expectancy
51.1 years
Gold Price (per oz)
$20.69
Dow Jones Index
74
US National Debt
—
Sovereign Nations
54
How Much Did Things Cost in 1919?
| Item | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Average house price | £350 | $4,000 |
| Average salary | £110 | $750 |
| Pint of milk | 4d | 11¢ |
| Loaf of bread | 5½d | 10¢ |
| Dozen eggs | 2s 2d | 52¢ |
| Pint of beer | 4d | 5¢ |
Technology and Inventions in 1919
Aviation made dramatic peacetime advances. Surplus military aircraft were converted for civilian use. The first transatlantic flight by Alcock and Brown captured the world's imagination. Radio broadcasting was on the cusp of becoming a mass medium. The war had left behind a legacy of industrial capacity that would fuel the 1920s boom.
- ● Alcock and Brown completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June
- ● The first purpose-built commercial airline service began (KLM founded in October)
- ● Shortwave radio transmission experiments paved the way for international broadcasting
- ● Ernest Rutherford split the atom for the first time, transmuting nitrogen into oxygen
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