1921 in the United States

::Warren G. Harding (R-Ohio) (starting March 4) - Vice President: ::Thomas R. Marshall (D-Indiana) (until March 4) ::Calvin Coolidge (R-Massachusetts) (starting March 4) - Chief Justice: ::Edward Douglass White (Louisiana) (until May 19) ::William Howard Taft (Ohio) (starting July 11) - Speaker of the House of Representatives: Frederick H. Gillett (R-Massachusetts) - Senate Majority Leader: Henry Cabot Lodge (R-Massachusetts) - Congress: [66th](66th-united-states-congress) (until March 4), [67th](67th-united-states-congress) (starting March 4) #### State governments ::data[format=table] | Governors and lieutenant governors | |---| | | :: ## Events ### January–March ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Warren_G_Harding-Harris_&_Ewing.jpg" caption="March 4: [[Warren G. Harding]] becomes the 29th U.S. president"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/29_Calvin_Coolidge_3x4.jpg" caption="[[Calvin Coolidge]] becomes the 29th U.S. vice president"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/UnknownSoldierWW1.jpg" caption="C-6}} at the [[Washington Navy Yard]] and transported to the US Capitol to lay in state. On November 11 the body is interred at [[Arlington National Cemetery]]."] :: - January – E. W. Scripps and William Emerson Ritter found *Science Service*, later renamed Society for Science & the Public, in the United States, with the goal of keeping the public informed of scientific developments. - January 1 – In American football, the University of California defeats Ohio State 28–0 in the Rose Bowl. - January 2 - The first religious radio broadcast is heard, over station KDKA (AM) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. - The De Young Museum opens in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. - January 21 – The full-length silent comedy-drama film *The Kid*, written, produced, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin (in his Tramp character), with Jackie Coogan, is released. - March 4 – Warren G. Harding is sworn in as the 29th president of the United States, and Calvin Coolidge is sworn in as the 29th vice president of the United States. - March 25 – The first Lowe's opens in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. ### April–June - April – The United States Figure Skating Association is formed. - April 20 – Ferenc Molnár's play *Liliom* is first produced on Broadway in English. - May 19 – The Emergency Quota Act passes the U.S. Congress, establishing national quotas on immigration. Because this drastically limits immigration from Eastern Europe, Jews emigrating from there begin to prefer Palestine as a destination rather than the U.S. - May 22 – In the first golf international between the two countries, the United States beats the United Kingdom 9 rounds to 3. - May 27 – First victim of the Osage Indian murders is discovered in Osage County, Oklahoma. - May 31–June 1 – Tulsa Race Massacre (Greenwood Massacre): Mobs of white residents attack black residents and businesses in Greenwood District, Tulsa, Oklahoma. The official death toll is 36, but later investigations suggest an actual figure between 100 and 300. 1,250 homes are destroyed and roughly 6,000 African Americans imprisoned in one of the worst incidents of mass racial violence in the United States. - June 15 - 29-year-old Bessie Coleman gets her pilot's licence in France and becomes the first African American to earn an international pilot's licence. - Compagnie Générale Transatlantique's liner makes her maiden voyage from Le Havre to New York. ### July–September - July 2 – U.S. President Warren Harding signs a joint congressional resolution declaring an end to America's state of war with Germany, Austria and Hungary. - July 11 – Former President of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States, making him the only person ever to hold both positions. - July 14 – A Massachusetts jury finds Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti guilty of first degree murder following a widely publicized trial. - July 26 – U.S. President Warren G. Harding receives Princess Fatima of Afghanistan who is escorted by imposter Stanley Clifford Weyman. - August 5 – The first radio baseball game is broadcast: Harold Arlin announces the Pirates-Phillies game from Forbes Field over Westinghouse KDKA in Pittsburgh. - August 11 - Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic illness strikes while he is vacationing on Campobello Island; on August 25 he is diagnosed with polio and aged 39 becomes permanently disabled. - James Coyle, a Catholic priest in Birmingham, Alabama, is shot and killed by Klan member E. R. Stephenson after presiding over the wedding of Stephenson's daughter, Ruth, and Pedro Gussman, a Puerto Rican working for her father. - August 25–September 2 – An uprising of striking coal miners in West Virginia leads to the Battle of Blair Mountain. - September - A hurricane hits Texas, followed by flooding that left at least 224 people dead. - September 5 – Popular comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle attends a party at the St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, during which actress Virginia Rappe is fatally injured; although he is eventually acquitted of rape and manslaughter, the scandal derails his career. - September 8 – Sixteen-year-old Margaret Gorman wins the Golden Mermaid trophy at a beauty pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey; officials later dub her the first Miss America. - September 13 – White Castle hamburger restaurant opens in Wichita, Kansas, the foundation of the world's first fast food chain. ### October–December - October 5 – The World Series baseball game in North America is first broadcast on the radio, by Newark, New Jersey, station WJZ, Pittsburgh station KDKA, and a group of other commercial and amateur stations throughout the eastern U.S. - October 8 – The first Sweetest Day is staged in Cleveland, Ohio. - October 26 – The Chicago Theatre, the oldest surviving grand movie palace, opens. - October 29 - Construction of the Link River Dam, a part of the Klamath Project in Oregon, is completed. - [1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game](1921-centre-vs-harvard-football-game): Centre College's football team, led by quarterback Bo McMillin, defeats Harvard University 6–0 to snap Harvard's five-year winning streak. For decades afterward, this is called "football's upset of the century." - November 11 – During an Armistice Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknowns is dedicated by U.S. President Warren G. Harding. - November 23 – The Sheppard–Towner Act is signed by President Harding, providing federal funding for maternity and child care. - December 13 – In the Four Power Treaty on Insular Possessions, the Empire of Japan, the United States, United Kingdom and French Third Republic agree to recognize the status quo in the Pacific. ### Undated - Simon Rodia begins construction of the Watts Towers in Los Angeles. - The central tower is added to the De Young (museum) museum in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. - Potawatomi Zoo established in South Bend, Indiana. - The Tau Epsilon Chi Jewish high school sorority is founded in Atlantic City, New Jersey. ### Ongoing - Lochner era (c. 1897–c. 1937) - U.S. occupation of Haiti (1915–1934) - Prohibition (1920–1933) - Depression of 1920–21 (1920–1921) - Roaring Twenties (1920–1929) ## Births ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/LloydBentsen.jpg" caption="[[Lloyd Bentsen"] :: - January 1 – William Pulgram, Austrian-American architect (d. [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - January 3 - [[John Russell (actor)|John Russell]], actor (d. [1991](1991-in-the-united-states)) - Cecil Souders, American football player (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - January 4 – Leo Sarkisian, musicologist, broadcaster (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - January 6 – Cary Middlecoff, golfer (d. [1998](1998-in-the-united-states)) - January 9 – John Sperling, businessman, founded the University of Phoenix (d. [2014](2014-in-the-united-states)) - January 10 – Rodger Ward, race car driver (d. [2004](2004-in-the-united-states)) - January 11 - Gory Guerrero, wrestler, father of Eddie Guerrero (d. [1990](1990-in-the-united-states)) - Juanita M. Kreps, government official and businesswoman (d. [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - Judith Leiber, Hungarian-American fashion designer, businesswoman (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - January 14 – Murray Bookchin, libertarian socialist (d. [2006](2006-in-the-united-states)) - January 16 – Henry Sayler, politician (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - January 17 – Herb Ellis, American actor (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - January 19 – Patricia Highsmith, crime fiction writer (died 1995 in Switzerland) - January 21 – Howard Unruh, spree killer (d. [2009](2009-in-the-united-states)) - January 24 – Beatrice Mintz, biologist (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - January 27 - Raymond E. Peet, admiral (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - Donna Reed, actress (died [1986](1986-in-the-united-states)) - January 29 - Anthony George, television actor (died [2005](2005-in-the-united-states)) - Geraldine Pittman Woods, African American science administrator and promoter of community service (died [1999](1999-in-the-united-states)) - January 31 - Carol Channing, actress (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - Mario Lanza, tenor, actor (died [1959](1959-in-the-united-states)) - Anthony Lazzaro, university administrator (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - February 4 – Betty Friedan, feminist author (died [2006](2006-in-the-united-states)) - February 8 - Betsy Jochum, female baseball player (died [2025](2025-in-the-united-states)) - Lana Turner, actress (died [1995](1995-in-the-united-states)) - February 11 – Lloyd Bentsen, U.S. Senator from Texas from 1971 to 1993 (died [2006](2006-in-the-united-states)) - February 12 - Don Bollweg, baseball player (died [1996](1996-in-the-united-states)) - Betty Jaynes, actress and singer (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Henry Simon, Air Force general (died [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - February 14 - Hugh Downs, broadcaster, television host, news anchor, TV producer, author, game show host, and music composer (died [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - John Henry Waddell, artist (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - February 15 - Jefferson J. DeBlanc, World War II United States Marine Corps fighter ace (died [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - Martha Farkas Glaser, Hungarian-American civil rights activist, manager of jazz musician Erroll Garner (died [2014](2014-in-the-united-states)) - February 17 – Duane Gish, biochemist and academic (died [2013](2013-in-the-united-states)) - February 20 – Buddy Rogers, pro wrestler (died [1992](1992)) - February 24 – Abe vigoda, actor (died [2016](2016)) - February 26 - Jacob W. Gruber, anthropologist, archaeologist, historian and educator (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - Betty Hutton, actress (died [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - Louis Roney, opera singer (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - February 27 – Michael Fox, actor (died [1996](1996-in-the-united-states)) - March 1 – Richard Wilbur, poet laureate (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - March 2 – Cornelius Edward Gallagher, politician (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - March 3 – Diana Barrymore, actress (died [1960](1960-in-the-united-states)) - March 4 – Robert F. Ruth, politician (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - March 5 – Berkley Bedell, politician (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - March 11 – Frank Harary, mathematician (died [2005](2005-in-the-united-states)) - March 12 – Gordon MacRae, singer and actor (died [1986](1986-in-the-united-states)) - March 13 – Al Jaffee, cartoonist (*MAD Magazine*) (died [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - March 16 – Donald M. Kendall, businessman (d. [2020](2020)) - March 27 – Tom Bevill, U.S. Representative from Alabama from 1967 to 1997 (died [2005](2005-in-the-united-states)) - March 30 – Clemens Kalischer, photojournalist, art photographer (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - March 31 – Peggy Rea, television actress (died [2011](2011-in-the-united-states)) - April 1 - Beau Jack, boxer (died [2000](2000-in-the-united-states)) - Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith, musician and songwriter (died [2014](2014-in-the-united-states)) - April 3 - Robert Karvelas, actor (died [1991](1991-in-the-united-states)) - Jan Sterling, actress (died [2004](2004-in-the-united-states)) - April 7 – Robina Asti, flight instructor and LGBT activist (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - April 9 - William G. Callow, judge (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Mary Jackson, African-American mathematician and engineer (died [2005](2005-in-the-united-states)) - Frankie Thomas, actor (died [2006](2006-in-the-united-states)) - April 10 - Chuck Connors, basketball and baseball player turned actor (d. [1992](1992)) - Sheb Wooley, actor and singer (d. [2003](2003)) - April 15 – Ken Potts, U.S. Navy sailor and World War II veteran (died [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - April 20 – Kenneth O. Chilstrom, U.S. Air Force officer (died [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - April 21 – John R. Huizenga, nuclear physicist (died [2014](2014-in-the-united-states)) - April 23 - Judy Agnew, Second Lady of the United States as wife of Spiro Agnew (died [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) - Janet Blair, American actress (died [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - Warren Spahn, American baseball player (died [2003](2003-in-the-united-states)) - May 1 – Boo Morcom, pole vaulter and jumper (died [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) - May 9 - Daniel Berrigan, Jesuit priest, anti-war activist and poet (died [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - Mona Van Duyn, poet and academic (died [2004](2004-in-the-united-states)) - May 23 - James Blish, science fiction author (died [1975](1975-in-the-united-states)) - Laurin L. Henry, researcher (died [2025](2025-in-the-united-states)) - May 20 – Hal Newhouser, baseball player (died [1998](1998-in-the-united-states)) - May 25 - Hal David, songwriter, lyricist (died [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) - Kitty Kallen, singer (died [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - James C. Quayle, newspaper publisher (died [2000](2000-in-the-united-states)) - May 30 – Leon Hale, journalist and author (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - June 3 – John Shelton Wilder, politician, Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee (died [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - June 7 – Dorothy Ruth Pirone, horse breeder and author (died [1989](1989-in-the-united-states)) - June 9 – Forrest Bird, biomedical engineer (died [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - June 10 – Jim Cullivan, American football coach (died [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - June 13 – Nancy Warren, baseball pitcher (died [2001](2001-in-the-united-states)) - June 15 – James Emanuel, African American poet and scholar (died [2013](2013-in-the-united-states)) - June 17 – Tony Scott, jazz clarinetist (died [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - June 19 – Howell Heflin, U.S. Senator from Alabama from 1979 to 1997 (died [2005](2005-in-the-united-states)) - July 2 – William Proctor Wilson, businessman and philanthropist (died [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - July 4 - Madelon Mason, model and pin-up girl (died [2011](2011-in-the-united-states)) - Philip Rose, actor, playwright and theatrical producer (died [2011](2011-in-the-united-states)) - Galen L. Stone, diplomat (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - July 5 – Al Kozar, second baseman (d. [2007](2007)) - July 6 - Billy and Bobby Mauch, twin actors (d. [2006](2006)) and (d. [2007](2007)) - Ed Erban, professional basketball player (d. [2008](2008)) - Nancy Reagan, born Anne Frances Robbins, First Lady of the United States and film actress (died [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - F. Michael Rogers, general (died [2014](2014-in-the-united-states)) - July 7 – Johnny Van Cuyk, relief pitcher (died [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - July 8 – Don Ray, basketball player (died [1998](1998-in-the-united-states)) - July 9 – David C. Jones, U.S. General (died [2013](2013-in-the-united-states)) - July 10 - John K. Singlaub, U.S. Army Major General (died [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - Harvey Ball, designer (died [2001](2001-in-the-united-states)) - Eunice Kennedy Shriver, philanthropist, a member of the Kennedy family and the founder of Special Olympics (died [2009](2009-in-the-united-states)) - July 12 – Brother Blue, African-American educator, storyteller, actor, musician and street performer (died [2009](2009-in-the-united-states)) - July 15 - Madge Meredith, actress (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - Robert Bruce Merrifield, chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died [2006](2006-in-the-united-states)) - Carl Richardson, American football coach (died [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - Patricia Wright, actress - July 16 – Bernard W. Rogers, United States Army general (died [2008](2008-in-the-united-states)) - July 18 - Aaron T. Beck, psychiatrist (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - John Glenn, first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth and U.S. Senator from Ohio from 1974 to 1999 (died [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - July 19 – Elizabeth Spencer, writer (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - July 22 - Jim Rivera, Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - Al LaMacchia, professional baseball player, scout (died [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - William Roth, U.S. Senator from Delaware from 1971 to 2001 (died [2003](2003-in-the-united-states)) - July 24 – Billy Taylor, jazz musician (died [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - July 25 – Marv Rackley, baseball player (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - July 26 – Jean Shepherd, storyteller, radio and television personality (died [1999](1999-in-the-united-states)) - August 3 - Richard Adler, Broadway composer (died [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) - Edward Tipper, World War II veteran (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - August 4 - Charles H. Coolidge, Medal of Honour recipient (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - Herb Ellis, jazz guitarist (died [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - August 9 - Ernest Angley, televangelist, author and station owner (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - J. James Exon, Governor of Nebraska, U.S. Senator (died [2005](2005-in-the-united-states)) - Patricia Marmont, actress (died [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - August 10 - Yuki Shimoda, actor (died [1981](1981-in-the-united-states)) - Jack B. Weinstein, federal judge (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - August 11 - Henry Graff, historian (died [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - Alex Haley, author (died [1992](1992-in-the-united-states)) - August 13 - Barney Liddell, musician (died [2003](2003-in-the-united-states)) - Jimmy McCracklin, pianist, singer-songwriter (died [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) - August 14 - Audrey Geisel, second wife of Dr.Seuss and CEO of Dr. Seuss Enterprises (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Sidney Rittenberg, journalist, consultant and author (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - August 18 – Joe Caroff, graphic designer (died [2025](2025-in-the-united-states)) - August 19 – Gene Roddenberry, television producer (died [1991](1991-in-the-united-states)) - August 20 – Gloria Parker, musician and bandleader (died [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - August 21 - Lawrence Lindemer, politician (died [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - John Osteen, televangelist (died [1999](1999-in-the-united-states)) - August 23 – Kenneth Arrow, economist, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1972 (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - August 24 – George W. Blair, politician (died [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - August 25 – Henry Abraham, academic (died [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - August 26 - Ben Bradlee, newspaperman (died [2014](2014-in-the-united-states)) - Naomi Parker, war worker, probable model for the "We Can Do It!" poster (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - August 29 – Iris Apfel, interior designer (died [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - August 30 – David Finn, public relations executive (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - September 2 – Josephine Lenard, professional baseball player (died [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - September 3 - Henry Bellmon, U.S. Senator from Oklahoma from 1969 to 1981 (died [2009](2009-in-the-united-states)) - Harry Landers, actor (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - September 8 – Mosie Lister, singer (died [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - September 11 - George Joseph, businessman - Francis Quinn, Roman Catholic bishop (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - September 12 – Frank McGee, television personality (died [1974](1974-in-the-united-states)) - September 13 - Lou Conter, naval officer (died [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - Odore Joseph Gendron, Roman Catholic, bishop (died [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - September 17 – Roger H. Zion, politician (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - September 19 – Morton Mandel, businessman (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - September 22 – Robert I. Price, admiral (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - September 27 - John Malcolm Patterson, politician (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - Bernard Waber, American children's author (died [2013](2013-in-the-united-states)) - October 3 – John H. Cushman, military officer (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - October 5 - Mahlon Hoagland, biochemist (died 2009) - Bill Willis, American football player (died [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - October 6 - Joseph Lowery, African-American minister, activist (died 2020) - Alex Wizbicki, American football player (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - October 7 - Richard L. Duchossois, businessman (died [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - Tommy Farrell, supporting actor and comedian (died [2004](2004-in-the-united-states)) - October 11 – Shaw McCutcheon, cartoonist (died [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - October 14 – Jeffrey G. Smith, general (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - October 18 - Jerry Cooke, photographer (died [2005](2005-in-the-united-states)) - Jesse Helms, U.S. Senator from North Carolina (died [2008](2008-in-the-united-states)) - October 19 - John William Ditter, Jr., federal judge (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - George Nader, actor (died [2002](2002-in-the-united-states)) - October 21 – Victor A. McKusick, "father of genetic medicine" (died [2008](2008-in-the-united-states)) - October 26 - Frances Scott Fitzgerald, writer, daughter of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (d. [1986](1986)) - Joe Fulks, basketball player (d. 1976) - October 27 – Warren Allen Smith, gay rights activist, writer and humanities humanist (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - October 31 – Wendell Nedderman, American engineering educator (died [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - November 3 – Charles Bronson, film actor (died [2003](2003-in-the-united-states)) - November 6 – James Jones, novelist (died [1977](1977-in-the-united-states)) - November 8 - Walter Mirisch, film producer (died [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - Gene Saks, actor and film director (died [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - November 10 – Owen Bush, actor (died [2001](2001-in-the-united-states)) - November 11 – Molly Dodd, actress (died [1981](1981-in-the-united-states)) - November 15 - Jimmy Fitzmorris, politician and businessman (died [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - Alexander Jefferson, Air Force officer (died [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - November 20 – Dan Frazer, actor (died [2011](2011-in-the-united-states)) - November 22 – Rodney Dangerfield, born Jacob Rodney Cohen, comedian (died [2004](2004-in-the-united-states)) - November 24 - John Lindsay, lawyer, politician and Mayor of New York City (died [2000](2000-in-the-united-states)) - John P. Yates, politician (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - November 29 – Jackie Stallone, born Jacqueline Labofish, astrologer, dancer, wrestling promoter and mother of Sylvester Stallone (died [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - December 3 - Phyllis Curtin, soprano (died [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - Ruby M. Rouss, WAC and first female president of the Virgin Islands Legislature (died [1988](1988-in-the-united-states)) - December 4 – Sanford K. Moats, American Air Force general (died [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - December 5 - Alvy Moore, actor (died [1997](1997-in-the-united-states)) - Peter Hansen, actor (died [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - Eddie Platt, saxophonist (died [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - December 6 – Otto Graham, American football player, in Waukegan, Illinois (died [2003](2003-in-the-united-states)) - December 8 – Carl Corley, author and illustrator (died [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - December 10 – John P. Fullam, judge (died [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - December 14 - Mike McCormack, politician (died [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - Charley Trippi, American football player (died [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - December 21 – Robert Lipshutz, lawyer and politician, 17th White House Counsel (died [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - December 26 - Steve Allen, television host (died [2000](2000-in-the-united-states)) - Earle Basinsky, crime novelist (died [1963](1963-in-the-united-states)) - John Severin, comics artist (died [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) ## Deaths - January 20 – Mary Watson Whitney, astronomer (born [1847](1847-in-the-united-states)) - February 7 – John J. Gardner, member of the House of Representatives from New Jersey from 1893 to 1913 (born [1845](1845-in-the-united-states)) - February 17 – Rosetta Luce Gilchrist, physician and author (born [1850](1850-in-the-united-states)) - March 8 – Thomas H. Paynter, U.S. Senator from Kentucky from 1907 to 1913 (born [1851](1851-in-the-united-states)) - March 29 - Levi Ankeny, U.S. Senator from Washington from 1903 to 1909 (born [1844](1844-in-the-united-states)) - John Burroughs, naturalist (born [1837](1837-in-the-united-states)) - April 21 – Tom O'Brien, baseball player (born [1860](1860-in-the-united-states)) - April 23 – John P. Young, managing editor of the *San Francisco Chronicle* (b. [1849](1849-in-the-united-states)) - May 19 – Edward Douglass White, 9th Chief Justice of the United States from 1910 to 1921, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1894 to 1910 and U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1891 to 1894 (born [1845](1845-in-the-united-states)) - May 26 – Donald Evans, poet, publisher, music critic and journalist (born [1884](1884-in-the-united-states)) - June 12 – Murphy J. Foster, U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1901 to 1913 (born [1849](1849-in-the-united-states)) - June 16 – William E. Mason, U.S. Senator from Illinois from 1897 to 1903 (born [1850](1850-in-the-united-states)) - July 24 – C. I. Scofield, theologian (born [1843](1843-in-the-united-states)) - August 20 – Grace Carew Sheldon, journalist and businesswoman (born [1855](1855-in-the-united-states)) - August 25 – Peter Cooper Hewitt, electrical engineer and inventor (born [1861](1861-in-the-united-states)) - September 9 – Virginia Rappe, model and silent film actress (born [1891](1891-in-the-united-states)) - October 12 – Philander C. Knox, United States Attorney General from 1901 to 1904 and United States Secretary of State from 1909 to 1913 (born [1853](1853-in-the-united-states)) - October 25 – Bat Masterson, gunfighter (born [1853](1853-in-the-united-states)) - October 31 – William Egan, gangster (born [1884](1884-in-the-united-states)) - November 26 – Charles W. Whittlesey, United States Army officer, commander of the "Lost Battalion" in World War I (suicide) (born [1884](1884-in-the-united-states)) - December 12 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, astronomer (born [1868](1868-in-the-united-states)) - December 28 - Hester A. Benedict, president, Pacific Coast Women's Press Association (born [1821](1821-in-the-united-states)) - Thomas Walter Bickett, Governor of North Carolina (born [1869](1869-in-the-united-states)) - December 31 – Boies Penrose, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (born [1860](1860-in-the-united-states)) - Nat Love, African American cowboy (born [1854](1854-in-the-united-states)) ## References ## References 1. Tobey, Ronald C.. (1971). ["The American Ideology of National Science, 1919–1930"](https://books.google.com/books?id=QTpaQgQVj9AC&pg=PA66). *University of Pittsburgh Press*. 2. Chris Pollock. (2001). ["San Francisco's Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories"](https://books.google.com/books?id=o2o6jRFjsMMC&pg=PA77). *Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co.*. 3. Onkst, David H.. (2016). ["Women in History: Bessie Coleman"](https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/nv/about/?cid=nrcs144p2_037528). 4. Beauchet, Patrick. (2015). "Ma vie à bord des cargos et cargos mixtes de la Compagnie Générale Transatlantique". *Société des Ecrivains*. 5. (3 July 1921). ["Harding Ends War; Signs Peace Decree at Senator's Home. Thirty Persons Witness Momentous Act in Frelinghuysen Living Room at Raritan."](https://www.nytimes.com/1921/07/03/archives/harding-ends-war-signs-peace-decree-at-senators-home-thirty-persons.html). *The New York Times*. 6. Tobin, James. (2013). ["The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency"](https://archive.org/details/manhebecamehowfd0000tobi/page/50). *Simon & Schuster*. 7. (8 July 2025). 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["The Films of Lana Turner"](https://books.google.com/books?id=LQQvAAAAMAAJ). *Citadel Press*. 20. (1993). ["Anticipated Nomination of Hon, Lloyd Bentsen: Hearing Before the Committee on Finance, United States Senate"](https://books.google.com/books?id=IsGk4a90dyQC&pg=PA39). *U.S. Government Printing Office*. 21. (1974). ["World Defence Who's who"](https://books.google.com/books?id=5BkxAQAAIAAJ&q=%22SIMON,+HENRY+%22+1921+Rosemont). *Macdonald and Jane's*. 22. Steve Knopper. (1999). ["MusicHound Swing!: The Essential Album Guide"](https://books.google.com/books?id=6TZCAQAAIAAJ). *Visible Ink Press*. 23. John A. Willis. (1957). ["Theatre World"](https://books.google.com/books?id=vA1lAAAAMAAJ). *Crown Publishing Company*. 24. (2002). ["Who's who in the West"](https://books.google.com/books?id=95lmAAAAMAAJ). *Marquis-Who's Who.*. 25. Folkart, Burt A.. (January 24, 1986). 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McFadden, Robert D.. (December 23, 2019). ["Elizabeth Spencer, Author of 'The Light in the Piazza,' Dies at 98"](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/arts/elizabeth-spencer-dead.html). *The New York Times*. 32. [https://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/gloria-parker-1921-2022-bandleader-known-for-playing-singing-glasses/ Gloria Parker (1921–2022), bandleader known for playing “singing glasses”] 33. August C. Bolino. (August 2012). ["Men of Massachusetts: Bay State Contributors to American Society"](https://books.google.com/books?id=R0-FQWk1jE4C&pg=PA275). 34. [https://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/16944/2021-10-19/david-finn-dies-at-100.html David Finn Dies at 100] 35. (January 4, 2018). ["Harry Landers Dies: 'Ben Casey' Co-Star Appeared on Many TV Classics, Was 96"](https://deadline.com/2018/01/harry-landers-dies-ben-casey-co-star-appeared-on-many-tv-classics-was-96-1202236070/). 36. [https://www.npr.org/2024/04/03/1242430911/lou-conter-uss-arizona-pearl-harbor Lou Conter, last survivor of the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, dies at 102] 37. (October 6, 2004). ["Rodney Dangerfield, Comic Seeking Respect, Dies at 82"](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/06/arts/06dangerfield.html). *The New York Times*. 38. Andrew L. Pincus. (2002). ["Musicians with a Mission: Keeping the Classical Tradition Alive"](https://books.google.com/books?id=szmBNRH93BcC&pg=PA52). *UPNE*. 39. McHenry, Robert. (1980). "Liberty's Women". *G. & C. Merriam*. ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921_in_the_United_States) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the [article history page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921_in_the_United_States?action=history). ::