World Events in 1922
Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb
On 4 November, archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the entrance to the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. The intact treasures inside sparked worldwide Egyptomania.
Mussolini's March on Rome
On 28 October, Benito Mussolini and his Blackshirts marched on Rome. King Victor Emmanuel III invited Mussolini to form a government, making him the youngest Italian Prime Minister at 39.
Irish Civil War Begins
Following the Anglo-Irish Treaty, civil war erupted between pro-Treaty Free State forces and anti-Treaty Republicans. The conflict tore communities and families apart.
Soviet Union Formally Established
On 30 December, the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR was signed, formally uniting Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Transcaucasia into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Ottoman Empire Abolished
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey abolished the Ottoman Sultanate on 1 November, ending over 600 years of Ottoman rule.
Gandhi Imprisoned
Mahatma Gandhi was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison for sedition by the British colonial government in India. His trial drew global attention to the independence movement.
Music in 1922
"Three O'Clock in the Morning"
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
This waltz was one of the biggest hits of 1922, enormously popular in dance halls on both sides of the Atlantic. It sold over 3.5 million copies.
"Three O'Clock in the Morning"
Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
Paul Whiteman's smooth orchestral style made dance music enormously popular. This gentle waltz was everywhere in 1922, played at dances and on the new radio stations.
#1 Film of 1922
Robin Hood
Box Office: $2.5 million
Douglas Fairbanks starred in this lavish silent adventure, one of the most expensive films made to that point. Fairbanks did his own stunts, swashbuckling his way across enormous sets at a cost of over $1 million.
Born in 1922
Judy Garland
Actress and singer (The Wizard of Oz, A Star Is Born)
Jack Kerouac
Beat Generation author (On the Road)
Doris Day
Actress and singer (Calamity Jane, Pillow Talk)
Kurt Vonnegut
Author (Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle)
Ava Gardner
Actress (The Killers, Mogambo, The Night of the Iguana)
Lost in 1922
Alexander Graham Bell
Inventor of the telephone
Age 75
Michael Collins
Irish revolutionary leader and Free State Chairman
Age 31
Marcel Proust
French novelist (In Search of Lost Time)
Age 51
Arthur Griffith
Founder of Sinn Féin and President of Dáil Éireann
Age 51
Technology in 1922
Radio was the wonder of the age. The BBC began broadcasting on 14 November 1922. The first issue of Reader's Digest was published. Insulin was first used to treat a diabetic patient. The automobile industry was booming, and the first shopping mall opened in Kansas City.
- ● BBC begins radio broadcasting from Marconi House, London
- ● Insulin first administered to a human diabetic patient
- ● First aircraft carrier, HMS Argus, fully operational with the Royal Navy
- ● Country Club Plaza opens in Kansas City — first shopping mall
Cost of Living in 1922
| Item | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Average house price | £320 | $4,200 |
| Average salary | £110 | $1,250 |
| Pint of milk | 2d | $0.07 |
| Loaf of bread | 3½d | $0.09 |
| Dozen eggs | 1s 3d | $0.47 |
| Pint of beer | 3½d | Prohibited |
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The Zeitgeist of 1922
The Jazz Age was in full swing. Nightclubs and speakeasies thrived despite Prohibition. Fashion was becoming more daring, with dropped waistlines and beaded dresses. Sport was a national obsession — baseball in America, football and cricket in Britain. The literary world was shaken by James Joyce's Ulysses and T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land.
In the News in 1922
Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Benito Mussolini's Fascists marched on Rome and seized power in Italy. The BBC began radio broadcasts from London. James Joyce's Ulysses was published in Paris. The Ottoman Empire officially dissolved.