From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1926 in the United States
none
none
Events from the year 1926 in the United States.
Incumbents
[[Federal government of the United States|Federal government]]
- President: Calvin Coolidge (R-Massachusetts)
- Vice President: Charles G. Dawes (R-Illinois)
- Chief Justice: William Howard Taft (Ohio)
- Speaker of the House of Representatives: Nicholas Longworth (R-Ohio)
- Senate Majority Leader: Charles Curtis (R-Kansas)
- Congress: 69th
State governments
| Governors and lieutenant governors |
|---|
Events
January–March
- February 1 – Land on Broadway and Wall Street in New York City is sold at a record $7 per sq inch.
- March 16 – Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fuel rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.
April–June
- April 12 – By a vote of 45–41, the United States Senate unseats Iowa Senator Smith W. Brookhart and seats Daniel F. Steck, after Brookhart has served for over one year.
- April 30 – African-American pilot Bessie Coleman is killed after falling 2000 ft from an airplane.
- May 10 – Planes piloted by Major Harold Geiger and Horace Meek Hickam, students at the Air Corps Tactical School, collide in mid-air over Langley Field, Virginia. Hickam parachutes to safety.
- May 18 – Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting a beach at Venice, California; on June 23 she is found stumbling in the desert of Agua Prieta, Mexico just south of Douglas, Arizona, claiming she has been kidnapped, drugged, tortured and held for ransom, but has escaped.
- May 20 – The United States Congress passes the Air Commerce Act, licensing pilots and planes.
- June 19 – DeFord Bailey is the first African-American to perform on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry.
- June 23 – The College Board administers the first SAT, a major standardized test for university and college admission in the U.S.
July–September
- July 1 – Benjamin Franklin Bridge opens.
- July 4 – The United States sesquicentennial is celebrated.
- July 12 – A lightning strike destroys an ammunition depot in Dover, New Jersey.
- July 26 – The National Bar Association incorporates in the United States.
- August 6 – In New York City, the Warner Brothers' Vitaphone system premieres with the movie Don Juan starring John Barrymore.
- August 18 – A weather map is televised for the first time, sent from NAA Arlington to the Weather Bureau Office in Washington, D.C.
- September 11 – Aloha Tower is officially dedicated at Honolulu Harbor in the Territory of Hawai'i.
- September 16 – Philip Dunning and George Abbott's play Broadway premieres in New York City.
- September 18 – Great Miami Hurricane: A strong hurricane devastates Miami, Florida, leaving over 100 dead and causing several hundred million dollars in damage (equal to nearly $100 billion today).
- September 20 – Twelve cars full of gangsters open fire at the Hawthorne Inn, Al Capone's Chicago headquarters. Only one of Capone's men is wounded.
- September 25 – The Detroit Cougars, a professional ice hockey club (National Hockey League) and predecessor of the Detroit Red Wings, is founded.
October–December
- October 10 – The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the New York Yankees, 4 games to 3, to win their first World Series Title. This World Series ended when Babe Ruth attempted to steal second base and is the only World Series to end this way.
- October 14 – Poland presents President Calvin Coolidge with a 111 volume gift called a "Polish Declaration of Admiration and Friendship for the United States of America" comprising some 15,000 bound sheets with the signatures of an estimated 5,500,000 Polish citizens on the occasion of America's 150th anniversary of independence.
- November 2 – Bibb Graves is elected the 38th governor of Alabama defeating J. A. Bingham.
- November 10 – In San Francisco, California, a necrophiliac serial killer named Earle Nelson (dubbed "Gorilla Man") kills and then rapes his 9th victim, a boardinghouse landlady named Mrs. William Edmonds.
- November 11 – The plan for a United States Numbered Highway System is approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials, so establishing U.S. Route 66.
- November 15 – The NBC radio network opens with 24 stations (formed by Westinghouse, General Electric and RCA).
- November 27 – In Williamsburg, Virginia, the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg begins.
- December 23 – Conservative Nicaraguan President Adolfo Díaz requests U.S. military assistance in the Nicaraguan civil war (1926–27). U.S. Marines immediately set up neutral zones in Puerto Cabezas and at the mouth of the Rio Grande to protect American and foreign lives and property.
Undated
- Microbiologist Selman Waksman publishes Enzymes.
- The Pike School in Andover, Massachusetts, is founded.
- Lundy's Restaurant is founded at Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.
Ongoing
- Lochner era (c. 1897–c. 1937)
- U.S. occupation of Haiti (1915–1934)
- Prohibition (1920–1933)
- Roaring Twenties (1920–1929)
Births
January

- January 2
- January 5
- January 6
- January 8
- January 11 – Grant Tinker, television executive (d. 2016)
- January 12 – Ray Price, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 2013)
- January 14 – Tom Tryon, American actor, novelist (d. 1991)
- January 17 – Newton N. Minow, attorney (d. 2023)
- January 20
- January 21
- January 24 – Ruth Asawa, sculptor (d. 2013)
- January 29 – Bob Falkenburg, tennis player and entrepreneur (d. 2022)
- January 31 – Chuck Willis, singer and songwriter (d. 1958) (some sources give his year of birth as 1928)
February


- February 1 – Nancy Gates, American actress (d. 2019)
- February 3 – Richard Yates, novelist (d. 1992)
- February 7 – Bill Hoest, cartoonist (d. 1988)
- February 8 – Neal Cassady, American writer (d. 1968)
- February 10 – Mimi Sheraton, food critic (d. 2023)
- February 12
- February 13 – Bill Mercer, sportscaster (d. 2025)
- February 14
- February 17
- February 18
- February 20
- February 22 – Nelson Bunker Hunt, businessman (d. 2014)
- February 23
- February 26
March


- March 1 – Pete Rozelle, National Football League commissioner (d. 1996)
- March 2 – Murray Rothbard, economist (d. 1995)
- March 3
- March 4
- March 5 – Joan Shawlee, actress (d. 1987)
- March 6 – Alan Greenspan, economist
- March 8 – Dick Teed, Major League Baseball player (d. 2014)
- March 9 – Joe Franklin, radio, television personality (d. 2015)
- March 11
- March 12 – George Ariyoshi, American politician, lawyer
- March 15
- March 16
- March 17 – Jaynne Bittner, baseball player (d. 2017)
- March 18 – Peter Graves, American actor (d. 2010)
- March 20 – Marge Calhoun, surfer (d. 2017)
- March 25 – Gene Shalit, film and book critic and television personality
- March 27 – Harry Connick Sr., attorney (d. 2024)
- March 30 – Peter Marshall, entertainer (d. 2024)
April
_Grissom_portrait.jpg)


- April 1
- April 3
- April 4
- April 5 – Roger Corman, American filmmaker, producer, actor and businessman (d. 2024)
- April 6 – Randy Weston, American jazz pianist and composer (d. 2018)
- April 8
- April 9
- April 11 – David Manker Abshire, United States Army officer (d. 2014)
- April 12 – Jane Withers, American actress (d. 2021)
- April 15 – Walter Dee Huddleston, U.S. Senator from Kentucky from 1973 to 1985 (d. 2018)
- April 21 – Wayne E. Meyer, American rear-admiral (d. 2009)
- April 22 – Charlotte Rae, American actress, singer (d. 2018)
- April 23 – J. P. Donleavy, American novelist (d. 2017 in Ireland)
- April 24 – Marilyn Erskine, actress
- April 27
- April 28
- April 29
- April 30 – Cloris Leachman, American actress (d. 2021)
May

- May 5
- May 8 – Don Rickles, American stand-up comedian, actor (d. 2017)
- May 10 – Tichi Wilkerson Kassel, American film personality, publisher of The Hollywood Reporter (d. 2004)
- May 11 – Caesar Trunzo, American soldier and politician (d. 2013)
- May 12
- May 18 – Douglas Henry, American politician (d. 2017)
- May 19 – Mark Andrews, U.S. Senator from North Dakota from 1981 to 1987 (d. 2020)
- May 21 – Robert Creeley, American poet (d. 2005)
- May 23 – Aileen Hernandez, African American civil rights activist (d. 2017)
- May 25
- May 26 – Miles Davis, African-American jazz musician (d. 1991)
- May 30
June
.jpg)


- June 1
- June 3
- June 5 – Peter G. Peterson, American banker and businessman, American Secretary of Commerce (d. 2018)
- June 6 – Sholom Rivkin, American rabbi (d. 2011)
- June 9
- June 10 – June Haver, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
- June 11 – Carlisle Floyd, American composer (d. 2021)
- June 13
- June 14
- June 16 – William F. Roemer, Jr., United States FBI agent (d. 1996)
- June 18 – Murray A. Straus, American sociologist and professor (University of New Hampshire), creator of the Conflict tactics scale (d. 2016)
- June 19
- Erna Schneider Hoover, mathematician and inventor
- Arno Mayer, historian and writer (d. 2023)
- June 21
- June 22
- June 24
- June 27
- June 28
- George Booth, American cartoonist (d. 2022)
- Mel Brooks, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
- June 29
- Roger Stuart Bacon, American politician (d. 2021)
- Bobby Morgan, baseball player (d. 2023)
July



- July 1
- July 3 – Rae Allen, American actress, director, and singer (d. 2022)
- July 4
- July 5
- July 8 – John Dingell, American politician (d. 2019)
- July 10
- July 11
- July 12 – Abe Addams, American soccer player (d. 2017)
- July 13
- July 14
- July 16
- July 17
- July 18 – Nita Bieber, American actress (d. 2019)
- July 19
- July 23 – Johnny Groth, American baseball player and scout (d. 2021)
- July 27
- July 31
August


- August 1 – Meg Randall, actress (d. 2018)
- August 2 – W. Carter Merbreier, television host (Captain Noah) (d. 2016)
- August 3
- August 6 – Janet Asimov, American writer and psychiatrist (d. 2019)
- August 7
- August 9 – Frank M. Robinson, American science fiction and techno-thriller writer (d. 2014)
- August 11 – Ron Bontemps, American basketball player (d. 2017)
- August 12
- August 14 – Buddy Greco, American jazz and pop singer and pianist (d. 2017)
- August 16 – Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (d. 1999)
- August 21 – Carolyn Leigh, lyricist (d. 1983)
- August 22 – Lois Hall, American actress (d. 2006)
- August 26 – Robert Vickrey, American artist and author (d. 2011)
- August 27 – Albert H. Owens Jr., American oncologist (d. 2017)
- August 29
September


- September 1 – Stanley Cavell, American philosopher (d. 2018)
- September 3
- September 4 – Robert J. Lagomarsino, American politician (d. 2021)
- September 6
- September 7
- September 9 – Charles Duncan Jr., American businessman and politician (d. 2022)
- September 14
- September 15 – William J. Bauer, American judge (d. 2025)
- September 16
- September 17 – Bill Black, American bass player and bandleader, a pioneer of rock and roll music (d. 1965)
- September 18
- Joe Kubert, American author and illustrator, founded The Kubert School (d. 2012)
- Bob Toski, American golfer
- September 19
- September 21 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- September 22 – Bill Smith, American clarinet player and composer (d. 2020)
- September 23
- September 25 – Charles J. Colgan, American politician and businessman (d. 2017)
- September 26 – Julie London, American jazz and pop singer, screen actress and model (d. 2000)
- September 28
- September 29
- Chuck Cooper, basketball player (d. 1984)
- Philip Ruppe, American politician
- September 30 – Dave Hunt, American apologist, speaker, radio commentator and author (d. 2013)
October


- October 1 – Max Morath, American musician (d. 2023)
- October 4 – Senaida Wirth, American female professional baseball player (d. 1967)
- October 10 – Richard Jaeckel, American actor (d. 1997)
- October 11 – Earle Hyman, American actor (d. 2017)
- October 13 – Jesse L. Brown, first African-American aviator in the United States Navy (d. 1950)
- October 15
- October 16 – Charles Dolan, American billionaire businessman (d. 2024)
- October 17
- October 18
- October 19 – Marjorie Tallchief, American ballerina (d. 2021)
- October 21 – Bob Rosburg, American golfer (d. 2009)
- October 25
- October 27 – H. R. Haldeman, 4th White House Chief of Staff (d. 1993)
- October 28 – Bowie Kuhn, American Commissioner of Baseball (d. 2007)
November

- November 1 – Betsy Palmer, American actress (d. 2015)
- November 2
- November 4
- Carmen A. Orechio, American politician (d. 2018)
- Laurence Rosenthal, composer
- November 8
- November 9 – Stu Griffing, American Olympic rower (d. 2021)
- November 13 – Harry Hughes, American politician (d. 2019)
- November 14 – Tom Hatten, American radio and television personality (d. 2019)
- November 16 – Amy Applegren, American professional baseball player (d. 2011)
- November 19 – Jeane Kirkpatrick, American ambassador (d. 2006)
- November 20 – Ann Turner Cook, American educator and writer (d. 2022)
- November 22 – Bobbie Wygant, American broadcaster (d. 2024)
- November 23 – R. L. Burnside, American musician (d. 2005)
- November 25
- November 30 – Richard Crenna, American actor (d. 2003)
December

- December 7 – William John McNaughton, American bishop (d. 2020)
- December 8 – Ralph Puckett, U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2024)
- December 9
- December 10 – Guitar Slim, American New Orleans blues guitarist (d. 1959)
- December 12 – Dorli Rainey, American political activist (d. 2022)
- December 13 – Carl Erskine, American baseball player (d. 2024)
- December 16 – James McCracken, American tenor (d. 1988)
- December 17 – Patrice Wymore, American actress (d. 2014)
- December 19 – Herb Stempel, American game show contestant (d. 2020)
- December 20 – David Levine, American artist and illustrator (d. 2009)
- December 21
- December 23 – Robert Bly, poet (d. 2021)
- December 26 – Champ Butler, singer (d. 1992)
Deaths
- January 26 – John Flannagan, Roman Catholic priest (born 1860)
- January 30 – Barbara La Marr, silent film actress (born 1896)
- February 9 – Edith Julia Griswold, patent attorney (born 1863)
- February 21 – Charles Ellis Johnson, photographer (born 1857)
- March 2 – Victory Bateman, stage and silent screen actress (born 1865)
- March 11 – Maibelle Heikes Justice, novelist and screenwriter (born 1871)
- March 12 – E. W. Scripps, newspaper publisher (born 1854)
- March 16 – Sergeant Stubby, World War I hero war dog (born 1916)
- April 11 – Luther Burbank, botanist (born 1849)
- May 10 – Alton B. Parker, judge and political candidate (born 1852)
- May 26 – Frank Nelson Cole, mathematician (born 1861)
- July 10 – Sarah P. Monks, naturalist and educator (born 1841)
- July 26 – Robert Todd Lincoln, statesman and businessman, son of Abraham Lincoln (born 1843)
- July 30 –
- Albert B. Cummins, U.S. Senator from Iowa from 1908 to 1926 (born 1850)
- Max Levy, American inventor and scientist (born 1857)
- October 20 – Eugene V. Debs, labor leader (born 1855)
- October 22 – John G. Shedd, businessman (born 1850)
- October 23 – Olympia Brown, suffragette (born 1835)
- October 24 – Charles Marion Russell, "cowboy artist" (born 1864)
- October 31 – Harry Houdini, illusionist and stunt performer, known for escape acts (born 1874)
- November 3 – Annie Oakley, performance artist (born 1860)
- November 12 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1903 to 1911 (born 1836)
- November 15 – Lafayette Young, U.S. Senator from Iowa from 1910 to 1911 (born 1848)
- December 10 – Peter Remondino, Italian-born physician, author, first president of the San Diego Board of Health, co-founder of San Diego's first private hospital (born 1846)
- December 31 – Henry A. du Pont, U.S. Senator from Delaware from 1906 to 1917 (born 1838)
References
References
- "U.S. Senate: The Election Case of Daniel F. Steck v. Smith W. Brookhart of Iowa (1926)".
- Barfoot, Chas H.. (2011). "Aimee Semple McPherson and the Making of Modern Pentecostalism, 1890–1926". Equinox.
- Stewart, Mark. (2010). "The Detroit Red Wings". Norwood House Press.
- "Nicaragua (1909-present)". [[University of Central Arkansas]].
- "The long legacy of the U.S. occupation of Haiti". Washington Post.
- "Volstead Act {{!}} History, Definition, & Significance {{!}} Britannica".
- "Patricia Neal {{!}} Biography, Movies, & Facts".
- Kozinn, Allan. (August 15, 1996). "David Tudor, 70, Electronic Composer, Dies". [[The New York Times]].
- "The Magical Spell of Saul Mandel". ZAKS Illustrators Source.
- [https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2022-01-11/bob-falkenburg-wimbledon-champion-dies Bob Falkenburg, California kid who won Wimbledon at 22, dies]
- (2013). "Blues - A Regional Experience". Praeger Publishers.
- Hawtree, Christopher. (June 25, 2013). "Richard Matheson obituary". Guardian.co.uk.
- Holst, Don. (2005). "American men of Olympic track and field : interviews with athletes and coaches". McFarland.
- (December 7, 1996). "Pete Rozelle, 70, Dies; Led N.F.L. in its Years of Growth". The New York Times.
- [[David Stout]], [https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/11/obituaries/murray-n-rothbard-economist-and-free-market-exponent-68.html Obituary: Murray N. Rothbard, Economist And Free-Market Exponent, 68] {{Webarchive. link. (September 5, 2019 , ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 11, 1995.)
- Mel Gussow. (February 7, 1995). "James Merrill Is Dead at 68; Elegant Poet of Love and Loss".
- [https://www.aaii.com/investor-update/article/17121-remembering-geraldine-weiss-and-her-winning-dividend-strategy Remembering Geraldine Weiss and Her Winning Dividend Strategy]
- [https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1220472-peter-marshall-hollywood-squares-host-breathes-his-last-at-98 'Hollywood Squares' host, breathes his last at 98]
- "Virgil I. Grissom {{!}} American astronaut".
- [https://www.cookfuneralhomect.com/obituary/Addo-Bonetti Addo E. Bonetti]
- (28 September 2017). "Hugh Hefner obituary".
- McFadden, Robert D.. (July 25, 2016). "Tim LaHaye Dies at 90; Fundamentalist Leader's Grisly Novels Sold Millions". The New York Times.
- [https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/politics/2021/11/29/former-us-rep--carrie-meek-dies-at-95 Former US Rep. Carrie Meek dies at 95]
- "Marilyn Monroe {{!}} Biography, Movies, & Facts".
- Roberts, Sam. (2017-05-21). "Roxcy Bolton, Feminist Crusader for Equality, Including in Naming Hurricanes, Dies at 90". The New York Times.
- (March 20, 2018). "Peter G. Peterson, a Power From Wall St. to Washington, Dies at 91". [[The New York Times]].
- McFadden, Robert D.. (May 19, 2015). "Happy Rockefeller, Whose Marriage to Governor Scandalized Voters, Dies at 88". The New York Times.
- [https://operawire.com/obituary-american-opera-composer-carlisle-floyd-dies-at-95/ Obituary: American Opera Composer Carlisle Floyd Dies at 95]
- (August 10, 2014). "Known as the 'Mother of Masters Swimming' June Krauser Dies at 88; Set 154 Records in the Pool". [[The New York Times]].
- [https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2023/04/05/gene-derricotte-one-of-michigans-first-black-football-players-dies-at-age-96/70085326007/ Gene Derricotte, one of Michigan's first Black football players, dies at age 96]
- http://cola.unh.edu/article/2016/05/passing-murray-straus {{Webarchive. link. (2016-06-04 Passing: Murray A. Straus)
- Narins, Brigham. (2002). "World of computer science". Gale Group/Thomson Learning.
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/04/business/media/noel-parmentel-jr-dead.html Noel Parmentel Jr., Essayist, Polemicist and Apostate, Dies at 98]
- (June 6, 2015). "Ronnie Gilbert, Folk Singer for the Weavers, Dies at 88". [[New York Times]].
- [https://eu.commercialappeal.com/story/news/local/2022/03/10/dr-donald-pinkel-obituary-st-jude-childrens-research-hospital-director/6987452001/ Dr. Donald Pinkel, St. Jude hospital's first director and a leukemia pioneer, has died]
- (1986). "Contemporary Graphic Artists". Gale Research Company.
- [https://ew.com/movies/henry-silva-dead-95/ Henry Silva, Ocean's Eleven and Johnny Cool actor, dies at 95]
- [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ralph-ahn-dead-actor-new-girl-1235101534/ Ralph Ahn, Actor on ‘New Girl,’ Dies at 95]
- "Most Rev. William J. McNaughton, M.M. (Obituary)". [[The Eagle-Tribune]].
- (April 18, 2020). "Lorenzo Wright Bio, Stats, and Results {{pipe}} Olympics at Sports-Reference.com".
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/us/dorli-rainey-dead.html Dorli Rainey, Unlikely Face of the Occupy Movement, Dies at 95]
- [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5421671/2024/04/17/carl-erskine-brooklyn-dodgers-obituary/ Remembering Carl Erskine: An appreciation of a legendary Brooklyn Dodger]
- Dales, Ossie. (June 2012). "Down Yonder With". Jasmine Records.
- [https://www.nytimes.com/1926/08/01/archives/max-levy-scientist-and-inventor-dies-pioneer-in-photoengraving.html?sq=inventor%2520dies&scp=28&st=cse New York Times;Max Levy, scientist, inventor and one of the pioneers of the photo-engraving business;August 1, 1926]
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1926 in the United States — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report