July 1921

The following events occurred in July 1921:

July 1, 1921 (Friday) The Chinese Communist Party was founded. The silent crime docudrama Yan Ruisheng became the first full-length feature film made in China to be released. Although commercially successful it was banned within 2 years and believed lost. Mexico's increased tariff on the export of petroleum products went into effect. In response, oil production came to a halt and employees of oil refineries and drilling sites were laid off from work. British troops arrived in Upper Silesia to support French forces in occupying the region, to maintain order in the wake of the Upper Silesia plebiscite. Britain's striking miners voted to approve a settlement proposed by the British government. The House of Commons then voted a subsidy of ten million pounds sterling to the mining industry to cover the pay increase."British Miners Vote to Return to Work— Simultaneously Parliament Passes to Government's Measure for a £10,000,000 Subsidy", The New York Times, July 2, 1921, p. 1 The U.S.-registered EDC Design 1023 cargo ship Mopang was sunk by a mine at the entrance to Burgas Bay in the Black Sea. Born: Seretse Khama, Motswana politician, the first President of Botswana; in Serowe, Bechuanaland (now Botswana) (d. 1980)

July 2, 1921 (Saturday) In the U.S., the first “million dollar gate” in the sport of boxing took place in Jersey City, New Jersey, when Jack Dempsey met Georges Carpentier in front of crowd of 90,000."Dempsey Knocks Out Carpentier in the Fourth Round; Challenger Breaks His Thumb Against Champion's Jaw; Record Crowd of 90,000 Orderly and Well Handled", The New York Times, July 3, 1921, p. 1 Dempsey won with a fourth-round knockout in a scheduled 12-round fight which was broadcast on radio,"Wireless Telephone Spreads Fight News Over 120,000 Miles", The New York Times, July 3, 1921, p. 6 with ringside commentary relayed over the new radiophone to people in the northeastern United States. U.S. President Warren G. Harding signed the Knox-Porter Resolution, ending America's war with Germany, Austria and Hungary. The 1921 Wimbledon tennis championships concluded with the American Bill Tilden defeating South African Brian Norton in the final of the Men's Singles. Born: Andrei S. Monin, Soviet Russian physicist and mathematician known for the Monin–Obukhov length measurement and the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory; in Moscow, Russian SFSR (d. 2007)

July 3, 1921 (Sunday) The Icelandic Order of the Falcon (Hin Islenska Fálkaorða), the only order of chivalry in Iceland, was created by proclamation of King Christian X. At the time, the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union of 1918 had recently established the sovereign Kingdom of Iceland (Konungsríkið Ísland) as separate from Denmark but ruled by the same monarch. In his capacity as King of Iceland, Christian visited Reykjavík and announced the uniquely Icelandic honor, which would continue after Iceland's independence from Denmark as a republic in 1944. The Founding Congress of the Red International of Trade Unions, an international organization of labor unions with Communist members, was convened in Moscow with 380 delegates from multiple nations. Based on the Russian word for a trade union (profsoyuzov) and internatsional, the organization was called Profintern and would exist until 1937. Died: Viktor von Lang, 83, Austrian chemist, pioneer of crystal physics (b. 1838) Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, 77, French-born member of the German royal family (b. 1844)

July 4, 1921 (Monday)

Ivanoe Bonomi became Prime Minister of Italy and formed a new government. Ireland's President Éamon de Valera held a peace conference at the Mansion House, Dublin, which was attended by the Earl of Midleton, and other southern Unionists."Irish Leaders Reach Some Agreements at First Meeting", The New York Times, July 5, 1921, p. 1 James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, declined an invitation to the conference because it was wrongly addressed. U.S. warships were anchored off of the coast of Tampico as a precaution against unemployment rioting after the shutdown of oil refineries."Tampico Has a Stir Over Our Warships", The New York Times, July 5, 1921, p. 6 The ships were ordered by the U.S. Navy to return to the U.S. on July 8. Born: Dudar Hahanov, Soviet Georgian composer, violinist and conductor; in Tskhinvali, Georgian SSR (present-day Georgia) (d. 1995) Died: Antoni Grabowski, 64, Polish engineer known for being fluent in Esperanto (b. 1857)Julius Glück, El la klasika periodo de Esperanto (Grabowski kaj Kabe), en Muusses Esperanto Biblioteko No. 5, Purmerend, 1937. p. 6.

July 5, 1921 (Tuesday)

American inventor Miller Reese Hutchison, the former chief engineer to Thomas Edison, demonstrated his new noiseless and smokeless weapon in a press conference at the Woolworth Building, capable of firing a projectile at speeds of up to five miles (8 km) per second, equivalent to . Hutchison claimed that a larger version of the cannon could be adapted to fire a shell weighing five tons — — a distance of up to ."New Gun Marvel May Shoot 5 Tons 200 to 300 Miles; Noiseless and Smokeless Weapon Has Muzzle Velocity up to Five Miles a Second", The New York Times, July 6, 1921, p. 1 South Africa's Prime Minister Jan Smuts conferred with Republicans and Unionists meeting at Dublin and suggested a proposal to remove barriers to a meeting in London."Smuts Meets Irish; Craig and Midleton Go to Lloyd George", The New York Times, July 6, 1921, p. 1

July 6, 1921 (Wednesday) At the Leipzig War Crimes Trials in Germany, General Karl Stenger was acquitted of charges of murdering prisoners-of-war during World War I. His subordinate, Major Bruno Crusius, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison."German General Free, Major Gets Two Years; Crusius Convicted at Leipsic of Slaying Prisoners, but Stenger Is Acquitted", The New York Times, July 7, 1921, p. 2 Japanese troops killed 500 Koreans who they claimed had joined the Soviet Bolsheviks. Members of the recently formed Arditi del Popolo, an Italian anti-fascist movement, were arrested by police in Rome. The two-day world Christian Endeavor conference opened in New York City with 16,000 delegates from around the world."Endeavors Hear World Peace Plea", The New York Times, July 11, 1921, p. 10 The convention closed the next day with a resolution encouraging worldwide disarmament with the goal of "A Warless World in 1923"."End of War in 1923, Endeavorers' Aim", The New York Times, July 12, 1921, p. 10 Born: Nancy Reagan, actress and First Lady of the United States; as Anne Frances Robbins, in New York City (d. 2016)

July 7, 1921 (Thursday) In a move criticized by observers as corrupt, Delaware's Governor William D. Denney appointed a Republican U.S. Senator after persuading the incumbent Democrat Senator to vacate the seat in order to be appointed the Attorney General (or Chancellor) of Delaware. Josiah O. Wolcott, in his first term as U.S. Senator, had resigned on July 2 in return for being given the state post, and Denney then appointed multi-millionaire and retired General T. Coleman du Pont to serve the remainder of Wolcott's term. The change of seats gave the Republican Party a 60 to 36 majority in the U.S. Senate."Gen. Du Pont Chosen for Senate Vacancy— Republicans Gain a Seat", The New York Times, July 8, 1921, p. 5 A U.S. Navy dirigible, C-3, caught fire in mid-air while flying at an altitude of above the Naval Air Station Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Virginia. The pilot, O. O. Atwood, was able to make a safe landing and the other five persons on board were able to escape before the hydrogen inside the dirigible exploded. Louise McIlroy, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Royal Free Hospital for Women, delivered a paper at the Medico-Legal Society London, and described the contraceptives dispensed at Marie Stopes Mothers' Clinic as the "most harmful method of which I have experience." Dr Halliday Sutherland would quote her words in his 1922 book Birth Control. When Stopes sued Sutherland for libel, McIlroy testified for the defence. Born: Ezzard Charles, American boxer and world heavyweight champion 1949-1951; in Lawrenceville, Georgia (d. 1975)

July 8, 1921 (Friday) At the conclusion of the Dublin Conference, a truce between British troops and Irish Republicans was announced by Irish Republican leader Éamon de Valera and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in Dublin and in London, respectively, scheduled to take effect at noon on Monday, July 11."Truce in Ireland Declared, to Begin Monday at Noon; De Valera Agrees to Meet Lloyd George on Peace Terms; Dublin Crowds Cheer British Commander and Unionists", The New York Times, July 9, 1921, p. 1 The truce came in conjunction with De Valera's response to Lloyd George's invitation to discuss a peace treaty in London. De Valera wrote in his reply, "Sir: The desire you expressed on the part of the British Government to end the centuries of conflict between the peoples of these two islands and to establish relations of neighborly harmony is the genuine desire of the people of Ireland. I have consulted with my colleagues... in regard to the invitation you have sent me. In reply I desire to say that I am ready to meet and discuss with you on what basis such a conference as that proposed can reasonably hope to achieve the object desired." The British Government then announced, "In accordance with the Prime Minister's offer and Mr. de Valera's reply, arrangements are being made for hostilities to cease from Monday next, July 11, at noon.""Text of De Valera's Letter to Lloyd George; Official Announcement of Truce on Monday", The New York Times, July 9, 1921, p. 1 The Land O'Lakes agricultural cooperative was founded in Saint Paul, Minnesota, by 320 producers to promote the marketing of butter, initially named the Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association. The U.S. and Canadian Joint Commission reported that the proposed St. Lawrence Seaway canal linking the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean could be constructed at a cost of $252,278,200."St. Lawrence Cost to Be Paid in Power", The New York Times, July 15, 1921, p. 4 U.S. warships anchored off of the coast of Tampico to protect against unrest were ordered to return to the U.S. France's observers at Germany's war crime trials departed from Leipzig after declaring that the German trials were "a farce.""France Calls Back Mission in Anger at Leipsic Trials", The New York Times, July 9, 1921, p. 1 An intense heat wave, with high humidity and temperatures, affected most of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. The Agreement Between Great Britain and Sweden Relating to the Suppression of the Capitulations in Egypt was concluded in Stockholm.League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 5, pp. 330-333. Labour candidate Walter Halls won a by-election in the UK parliamentary constituency of Heywood and Radcliffe, by a majority of just over 300 votes. Born: John Money, New Zealand psychologist and sexologist, known for controversial sexual identity study on David Reimer; in Morrinsville (d. 2006)

July 9, 1921 (Saturday) Mongolia declared its independence from China during the Mongolian Revolution.Ts. Nasanbaljir, Revolyutsionnye meropriyatiya narodogo pravitel'stva Mongolii v. 1921-1924 gg. [Revolutionary measures of the Mongolian people's government, 1921-1924], (Moscow, 1960), pp. 22-23. In a "man-driven airplane", French aviator Gabriel Poulain was able to fly at least one meter off the ground for a distance of at least 10 meters, winning the Peugeot Prize of 10,000 French francs. The pedal-powered aircraft, Aviette, weighed while unoccupied."Man-Driven Plane Flies in Paris Test— Gabriel Poulain Wins Peugeot's 10,000-Franc Prize with his 37-Pound 'Aviette'", The New York Times, July 10, 1921, p. 1