Early 20th Century Cultural Events Timeline
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It is commonly believed that architects and designers are influenced by and reflect the culture of the period in which they work. To better understand the cultural influences on architects of the Art Deco period, this timeline offers a listing of events that may have inspired them:
1909 —- The Ballet Russes is founded and introduces Paris to Russian folklore and a new aesthetic

1914 Ford Model T Assembly Line
1913 —- Presidency of Woodrow Wilson and lasts until 1921
1914 —- First automobile assembly line started by Henry Ford
1917 —- U.S. enters World War I
1919 —- 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote
1919 —- World War I ends

1919 Prohibition begins
1919 —- Joseph Sinel first uses the term ‘Industrial Design’
1919 —- Prohibition begins and lasts until 1933
1921 —- Presidency of Warren G. Harding through 1923
1922 —- First public radio station, KDKA, launched in Pittsburgh
1922 —- King Tut’s tomb discovered
1922 —- Chicago Tribune hosts an international design competition to design “the most
beautiful and distinctive office building in the world” for their new headquarters
1923 —- Harlem’s Cotton Club presents all-black entertainment to all-white audiences
1923 —- Presidency of Calvin Coolidge through 1929
1924 —- George Gershwin writes Rhapsody in Blue
1925 —- Josephine Baker firsts preforms in La Revue Négre
1925 —- Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris
1925 —- The first Goodyear blimp floats ads through the sky
1925 —- Scopes ”Monkey Trial”
1926 —- Robert Goddard fires the first liquid-fuel rocket
1927 —- The Jazz Singer First motion picture with sound, was released

1928 Charleston contest
1927 —- Lindbergh’s first nonstop solo transatlantic flight
1928 —- Maurice Ravel composes the orchestral piece, Bolero
1928 —- Charleston dance craze begins
1928 —- Walt Disney created the first Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie
1929 —- At age 14, Les Paul creates forerunner of the electric guitar
1929 —- Stock market crashes
1929 —- Presidency of Herbert Hoover through 1933
1930 —- Golden Age of radio begins

FDR New Deal Button
1931 —- “The Star-Spangled Banner” becomes the U.S. national anthem
1931 —- Exposition Coloniale Internationale in Paris
1932 —- Amelia Earhart first woman to complete a solo transatlantic flight
1932 —- Franklin D. Roosevelt elected; launches New Deal the next year
1933 —- Hitler becomes German chancellor
1933 —- Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago
1933 —- The original King Kong film is released, showcasing the Empire State Building
1934 —- Dust Bowl ravages Midwest
1934 —- MoMA in New York created the Machine Art exhibition
1935 —- Porgy and Bess debuts on Broadway
1936 —- BBC starts world’s first television service, three hours per day

Hindenburg crash
1936 —- Hoover Dam completed
1936 —- LIFE magazine created the Photo-Essay which let Americans see the world through photographs for the first time
1937 —- Pablo Picasso paints Guernica, showing the horrors of war
1937 —- Hindenburg crashes, ending the age of dirigibles
1938 —- Orson Welles’ radio drama, War of the Worlds, causes national panic
1939 —- New York World’s Fair shows television to the public
1939 —- World War II begins; U.S. enters two years later