Modern Era
Weimar Hyperinflation (1923): When German Money Became Worthless
The paper mark collapsed completely; the Rentenmark introduced in November 1923 stabilised the currency, followed by the Reichsmark in 1924.
Era · c. 1800 – 1945
Modern Era
Industry, science and global conflict: the century and a half that built the modern world.
Modern Era
Great Kanto Earthquake (1923): Tokyo and Yokohama in Ruins
About 105,000 people died, most in fires; Tokyo and Yokohama were largely destroyed and thousands of Koreans were murdered in the aftermath.
Modern Era
Tri-State Tornado (1925): The Deadliest Tornado in US History
The tornado killed 695 people and injured more than 2,000 along a track of about 219 miles (352 km), the deadliest tornado in US history.
Modern Era
Goddard's Rocket (1926): The First Liquid-Fuelled Rocket Launch
The world's first liquid-fuelled rocket flew for about 2.5 seconds, proving a technology that later powered spaceflight.
Modern Era
Baird's Television (1926): The First Public Demonstration
The first public demonstration of live television images with tonal gradation; Baird's mechanical system was later replaced by electronic television.
Modern Era
General Strike of 1926: Britain's Nine Days of Industrial Action
The Trades Union Congress called off the strike after nine days without guarantees; the miners fought on alone until they were forced back to work on worse terms late in 1926.
Modern Era
Cristero War (1926-1929): Mexico's Church-State Conflict
The 1929 arrangements restored public Catholic worship without changing the constitution; the rebels disbanded under an amnesty.
Modern Era
Lindbergh's Transatlantic Flight (1927): Spirit of St. Louis
Lindbergh completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight, won the $25,000 Orteig Prize and became a world celebrity.
Modern Era
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927: America's Worst River Flood
Some 27,000 square miles were flooded and hundreds of thousands displaced; Congress passed the Flood Control Act of 1928, making flood control a federal responsibility.
Modern Era
Discovery of Penicillin (1928): Alexander Fleming's Mouldy Plate
Fleming identified penicillin's antibacterial effect; the Oxford team developed it into a drug, mass-produced from 1943–44, opening the antibiotic era.
Modern Era
Okeechobee Hurricane (1928): Lake Okeechobee Floods Florida
At least 2,500 people died in Florida, most in the flooded farm towns south of the lake; the disaster led to the building of the Herbert Hoover Dike.
Modern Era
St Francis Dam Disaster (1928): The Collapse in California
The dam failed shortly before midnight; the flood killed at least 431 people and led California to create state oversight of dam safety.