1919

Events from the year **1919 in the United States**.

* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Champ Clark (D-MO) (until March 4), Frederick H. Gillett (R-MA) (starting May 19)
* Congress: 65th (until March 4), 66th (starting March 4)

Governors
* Governor of Alabama: Charles Henderson (Democratic) (until January 20), Thomas Kilby (Democratic) (starting January 20)
* Governor of Arizona: George W. P. Hunt (Democratic) (until January 6), Thomas Edward Campbell (Republican) (starting January 6)
* Governor of Arkansas: Charles Hillman Brough (Democratic)
* Governor of California: William Stephens (Republican)
* Governor of Colorado: Julius Caldeen Gunter (Democratic) (until January 14), Oliver Henry Shoup (Republican) (starting January 14)
* Governor of Connecticut: Marcus H. Holcomb (Republican)
* Governor of Delaware: John G. Townsend Jr. (Republican)
* Governor of Florida: Sidney Johnston Catts (Prohibition)
* Governor of Georgia: Hugh M. Dorsey (Democratic)
* Governor of Idaho: Moses Alexander (Democratic) (until January 6), D. W. Davis (Republican) (starting January 6)
* Governor of Illinois: Frank O. Lowden (Republican)
* Governor of Indiana: James P. Goodrich (Republican)
* Governor of Iowa: William L. Harding (Republican)
* Governor of Kansas: Arthur Capper (Republican) (until January 13), Henry Justin Allen (Republican) (starting January 13)
* Governor of Kentucky:
	+ until May 19: Augustus O. Stanley (Democratic)
	+ May 19-December 9: James D. Black (Democratic)
	+ starting December 9: Edwin P. Morrow (Republican)
* Governor of Louisiana: Ruffin G. Pleasant (Democratic)
* Governor of Maine: Carl E. Milliken (Republican)
* Governor of Maryland: Emerson C. Harrington (Democratic)
* Governor of Massachusetts: Samuel W. McCall (Republican) (until January 2), Calvin Coolidge (Republican) (starting January 2)
* Governor of Michigan: Albert Sleeper (Republican)
* Governor of Minnesota: J. A. A. Burnquist (Republican)
* Governor of Mississippi: Theodore G. Bilbo (Democratic)
* Governor of Missouri: Frederick D. Gardner (Democratic)
* Governor of Montana: Sam V. Stewart (Democratic)
* Governor of Nebraska: Keith Neville (Democratic) (until January 9), Samuel R. McKelvie (Republican) (starting January 9)
* Governor of Nevada: Emmet D. Boyle (Democratic)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Henry W. Keyes (Republican) (until January 6), John H. Bartlett (Republican) (starting January 6)
* Governor of New Jersey: Walter Evans Edge (Republican) (until May 16), William Nelson Runyon (Republican) (starting May 16)
* Governor of New Mexico: Washington E. Lindsey (Republican) (until January 1), Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo (Republican) (starting January 1)
* Governor of New York: Al Smith (Democratic)
* Governor of North Carolina: Thomas Walter Bickett (Democratic)
* Governor of North Dakota: Lynn Frazier (Republican)
* Governor of Ohio: James M. Cox (Democratic)
* Governor of Oklahoma: Robert L. Williams (Democratic) (until January 13), James B. A. Robertson (Democratic) (starting January 13)
* Governor of Oregon: James Withycombe (Republican) (until March 3), Ben W. Olcott (Republican) (starting March 3)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: Martin Grove Brumbaugh (Republican) (until January 21), William Cameron Sproul (Republican) (starting January 21)
* Governor of Rhode Island: R. Livingston Beeckman (Republican)
* Governor of South Carolina: Richard Irvine Manning III (Democratic) (until January 21), Robert Archer Cooper (Democratic) (starting January 21)
* Governor of South Dakota: Peter Norbeck (Republican)
* Governor of Tennessee: Tom C. Rye (Democratic) (until January 15), A. H. Roberts (Democratic) (starting January 15)
* Governor of Texas: William P. Hobby (Democratic)
* Governor of Utah: Simon Bamberger (Democratic)
* Governor of Vermont: Horace F. Graham (Republican) (until January 9), Percival W. Clement (Republican) (starting January 9)
* Governor of Virginia: Westmoreland Davis (Democratic)
* Governor of Washington: Ernest Lister (Democratic) (until February 13), Louis Folwell Hart (Republican) (starting February 13)
* Governor of West Virginia: John J. Cornwell (Democratic)
* Governor of Wisconsin: Emanuel L. Philipp (Republican)
* Governor of Wyoming: Frank L. Houx (Democratic) (until January 6), Robert D. Carey (Republican) (starting January 6)

Lieutenant Governors
* Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Thomas E. Kilby (Democratic) (until January 20), Nathan Lee Miller (Democratic) (starting January 20)
* Lieutenant Governor of California: vacant (until January 6), Clement Calhoun Young (Republican) (starting January 6)
* Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: James A. Pulliam (Democratic) (until January 14), George Stepham (Republican) (starting January 14)
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Clifford B. Wilson (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Lewis E. Eliason (Democratic) (until May 2), vacant (starting May 2)
* Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Ernest L. Parker (Democratic) (until January 6), Charles C. Moore (Republican) (starting January 6)
* Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: John G. Oglesby (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Edgar D. Bush (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Ernest Robert Moore (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: William Yoast Morgan (Republican) (until January 13), Charles Solomon Huffman (Republican) (starting January 13)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky:
	+ until May 19: James D. Black (Democratic)
	+ May 19-December 9: vacant
	+ starting December 9: S. Thruston Ballard (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Fernand Mouton (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Calvin Coolidge (Republican) (until January 6), Channing H. Cox (Republican) (starting January 6)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Luren D. Dickinson (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Thomas Frankson (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Theodore G. Bilbo (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Wallace Crossley (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Montana: W. W. McDowell (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Edgar Howard (Democratic) (until January 9), Pelham A. Barrows (Republican) (starting January 9)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Maurice J. Sullivan (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: vacant (until January 1), Benjamin F. Pankey (Republican) (starting January 1)
* Lieutenant Governor of New York: Harry C. Walker (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Oliver Max Gardner (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Anton T. Kraabel (Republican) (until month and day unknown), Howard R. Wood (Republican) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Earl D. Bloom (Democratic) (until January 12), Clarence J. Brown Sr. (Republican) (starting January 12)
* Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Martin E. Trapp (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Frank B. McClain (Republican) (until January 20), Edward E. Beidleman (Republican) (starting January 20)
* Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Emery J. San Souci (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Andrew Bethea (Democratic) (until January 21), J. T. Liles (Democratic) (starting January 21)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: William H. McMaster (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: W. R. Crabtree (Democratic) (until month and day unknown), Andrew L. Todd Sr. (Democratic) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Texas: vacant (until January 21), Willard Arnold Johnson (Democratic) (starting January 21)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Roger W. Hulburd (Republican) (until January 9), Mason S. Stone (Republican) (starting January 9)
* Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Benjamin Franklin Buchanan (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Louis Folwell Hart (Republican) (until February 13), vacant (starting February 13)
* Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Edward F. Dithmar (Republican)

## Events

### January

* January 1 – Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company.
* January 6 – Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, dies in his sleep at the age of 60.
* January 15 – The Boston Molasses Disaster: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, killing 21 and injuring 150.
* January 16 – The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing Prohibition, goes into effect in the United States.
* January 22 – The United States recognizes the independence of Poland.
* January 25 – The Hotel Pennsylvania opens in Manhattan.

### February

* February 6 – The Seattle General Strike begins. Over 65,000 workers strike.
* February 11 – The Seattle General Strike ends when Federal troops are summoned by the state of Washington's Attorney General.
* February 25 – Oregon places a 1 cent per U.S. gallon (.26¢/L) tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.
* February 26 – An act of the United States Congress establishes most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park (see Grand Canyon National Park).

### March

* March 3 – The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the conviction of Charles Schenck.
* March 5 – A. Mitchell Palmer becomes Attorney General of the United States through recess appointment.
* March 15 – The American Legion forms in Paris.

### April

* April 13 – Eugene V. Debs enters prison at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia for speaking out against the draft during World War I.
* April 15 – Boston Telephone Strike of 1919 begins. Ends successfully for the telephone operators and supporters on April 20.
* April 30 – Several bombs are intercepted in the first wave of the 1919 United States anarchist bombings carried out by followers of Luigi Galleani.

### May

* May 1 – Riots break out on International Labor Day in Cleveland, Ohio; 2 people are killed, 40 injured, and 116 arrested.
* May 9 – The United States recognizes the independence of Finland.
* May 10 – Charleston riot in Charleston, South Carolina killing three black men; beginning of Red Summer.
* May 16 – A U.S. Navy Curtiss aircraft (NC-4), commanded by Albert Cushing Read, departs Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
* May 23 – The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is established as the Southern Branch of the University of California, making it the second-oldest undergraduate campus of the ten-campus University of California system. The school's motto is *Fiat lux*, "Let there be light."

### June

* June 2 – Eight mail bombs are sent to prominent figures as part of the 1919 United States anarchist bombings.
* June 4 – Women's rights: The United States Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which would guarantee suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
* June 5 – Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster.
* June 15 – Pancho Villa attacks Ciudad Juárez. When the bullets begin to fly to the U.S. side of the border, two units of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment cross the border and repulse Villa's forces.
* June 28 – The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending World War I.
* June 30 – The Algonquin Round Table group of writers, critics, actors and wits led by Alexander Woollcott first meets at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City.

### July

* July 1 – "Thirsty First": The Wartime Prohibition Act comes into effect.
* July 6 – The British dirigible airship *R34* lands at Mineola, New York, completing the first transatlantic flight by airship.
* July 7 – The First Transcontinental Motor Convoy: The U.S. Army sends an expedition across the continental U.S., starting in Washington, D.C., to determine how well troops could be moved from one side of the country to the other by motor vehicles.
* July 18 – 1919 Kimball mining disaster.
* July 21 – *Wingfoot Air Express* crash: The Goodyear dirigible airship *Wingfoot Air Express* catches fire over downtown Chicago and crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building; 2 passengers, 1 crew member, and 10 people on the ground are killed; 2 people parachute to the ground safely.
* July 27 – The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 begins when a white man throws rocks at a group of 4 black teens on a raft.

### August

* August 1 – 1919 Streetcar Strike of Los Angeles occurs begins.
* August 6 – 1919 Streetcar Strike of Los Angeles ends.
* August 11 – The first NFL team for Wisconsin (the Green Bay Packers) is founded by Curly Lambeau.
* August 30 – After a three-way splintering of the Socialist Party of America, the leadership of the remaining 30,000 members of the Right Wing of the Socialist party continue their national convention in Chicago on August 30, 1919.
* August 31 – In a three-way splintering of the Socialist Party of America, the leadership of the 10,000 native-born English speaking members of the Left Wing form the Communist Labor Party of America in Chicago on August 31, 1919.

### September

* September 1 – In a three-way splintering of the Socialist Party of America, the leadership of the 60,000 alien members of the Left Wing form the Communist Party of America at a separate convention in Chicago on September 1, 1919.
* September 6 – The First Transcontinental Motor Convoy: The U.S. Army expedition across America, which started July 7, ends in San Francisco.
* September 9 - The Boston Police Strike occurs.
* September 10 – September 15: The Florida Keys Hurricane kills 600 in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and Texas.
* September 22 – The Steel strike of 1919 begins across the United States.
* September 28 – Omaha Riot: A lynch mob besieges the police station and courthouse in Omaha, Nebraska, and lynches alleged rapist Will Brown.

### October

* October 1 – The Elaine Race Riot breaks out in Arkansas.
* October 2 – President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed.
* October 9 - Black Sox Scandal: The Chicago White Sox throw the World Series.
* October 16 – *Ripley's Believe It or Not!* first appears as a cartoon under this title in *The New York Globe*.
* October 28 – Prohibition begins: The United States Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto.

### November

* November 1 – The Coal Strike of 1919 begins in the United States by the United Mine Workers under John L. Lewis. Final agreement comes on December 10.
* November 7 – The first Palmer Raid is conducted on the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Over 10,000 suspected communists and anarchists are arrested in 23 different U.S. cities.
* November 9 – Felix the Cat appears in Feline Follies, making him the first cartoon character.
* November 10 – The first national convention of the American Legion is held in Minneapolis, Minnesota (until November 12).
* November 11 – The Centralia Massacre in Centralia, Washington results in the deaths of four members of the American Legion, and the lynching of a local leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
* November 14 – Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society (La Sociedad Nacional Honoraria Hispánica), was established at the University of California Berkeley in Berkeley, California.
* November 19 – The Treaty of Versailles fails a critical ratification vote in the United States Senate. It will never be ratified by the U.S.
* November 27 – Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity, is established at Oklahoma A&M College (now named Oklahoma State University) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

### December

* December 19 – The fictional character Ham Gravy makes his début in *Thimble Theatre* comics.
* December 21 – The United States deports 249 people, including Emma Goldman to Russia, during the Red Scare.
* December 26 – Babe Ruth is sold by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. The deal was announced on January 6, 1920.

## Memoriam

* January 2 – Eliza Putnam Heaton, journalist and editor (aged 58; Brooklyn, NY, USA)
* January 6
	+ Max Heindel, Danish-American astrologer and mystic (aged 53; Oceanside, CA, USA)
	+ Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909, 25th Vice President of the United States from March to September 1901 (aged 60; Oyster Bay, NY, USA)
* January 7 – Henry Ware Eliot, industrialist and philanthropist (aged 75; St. Louis, MO, USA)
* January 8 – Jim O'Rourke, baseball player and MLB Hall of Famer (aged 68; Bridgeport, CT, USA)
* January 14 – Shelley Hull, stage & film actor, husband of Josephine Hull, brother of Henry Hull (aged 34; New York City, NY, USA)
* January 31 – Nat Goodwin, veteran stage star & silent film actor (aged 61; New York City, NY, USA)
* January 27 – French Ensor Chadwick, admiral (aged 74; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 18 – Henry Ragas, jazz pianist (aged 28; New York City, NY, USA)
* March 23 – Henry Blossom, lyricist (aged 52; New York City, NY, USA)
* April 8 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, businessman (aged 66; Glen Cove, NY, USA)
* April 9
	+ Sidney Drew, actor (aged 55; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ James Reese Europe, jazz musician and composer, band leader (aged 38; Boston, MA, USA)
* April 15 – Jane Delano, nurse and founder or the American Red Cross Nursing Service (aged 57; Savenay, France)
* May 6 – L. Frank Baum, author, poet, playwright, actor and independent filmmaker (The Wizard of Oz) (aged 62; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* May 14 – Henry J. Heinz, businessman (aged 74; Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
* May 12 – D. M. Canright, Seventh-day Adventist minister and author, later one of the church's severest critics (aged 78; Hillsdale, MI, USA)
* May 13 – Helen Hyde, etcher and engraver (aged 51; Pasadena, CA, USA)
* May 21 – Lamar Johnstone, silent film actor and director (aged 35; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
* May 25 – Madam C. J. Walker, African American entrepreneur and philanthropist (aged 51; Irvington, NY, USA)
* June 1 – Caroline Still Anderson, African American physician, educator and activist (aged 70; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* July 8 – John Fox Jr., journalist, novelist and short story writer (aged 56; Big Stone Gap, VA, USA)
* August 1 – Oscar Hammerstein I, musical theatre impresario (aged 73; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* August 9 – Ralph Albert Blakelock, American painter (aged 71; Elizabethtown, NY, USA)
* August 11 – Andrew Carnegie, industrialist (aged 83; Lenox, MA, USA)
* September 29 – Donald L. Munro, politician (aged 62; PA, USA)
* October 24 – Charles H. Matchett, socialist politician (aged 76; Allston, MA, USA)
* October 30 – Ella Wheeler Wilcox, author and poet (aged 68; Short Beach, CT, USA)
* November 23 – Henry Gantt, project engineer (aged 58; Montclair, NJ, USA)
* November 24 – William Stowell, silent film actor and director (aged 34; Belgian Congo (Now DRC))
* December 2 – Henry Clay Frick, industrialist (aged 69; New York City, NY, USA)
* December 7 – J. Thompson Baker, politician from New Jersey (aged 72; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* December 10 – William E. Miller soldier and Pennsylvania State Senator (aged 83; Gettysburg, PA, USA)