Early Twentieth Century Cultural Events Timeline

Early Twentieth Century

Cultural Events Timeline

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 designers of the Art Deco period, this timeline offers a listing of some events that may have inspired them. Click the grey arrow to the right of the timeline to move chronologically through the years.

1909

The Ballet Russes was founded and introduced Paris to Russian folklore and a new aesthetic

1913

Woodrow Wilson

became President of

the United States

through1921

1914

The first automobile assembly line was started by Henry Ford

1917

The United States entered

World War I

1919

The 19th Amendment was passed and gave women the right to vote in the United States

1919

World War I ends

1919

Joseph Sinel first used the term "Industrial Design"

1919

The constitutional ban on the production, import, sale, and transport, of alcoholic beverages began in the United States

1919

The Bauhaus was founded in Weimar by German architect Walter Gropius

1921

Warren G. Harding became President of

the United States

through 1923

1922

The first public radio station, KDKA, was launched in Pittsburgh

1922

Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in Egypt's East Valley of the Kings

1922

The Chicago Tribune hosted an international design competition for their new headquarters, seeking “the most beautiful and distinctive office building in the world”

1923

The Cotton Club opened in Harlem, featuring many of the most recognizable

African-American entertainers of the era

1923

Calvin Coolidge became President of

the United States

through 1929

1924

George Gershwin composed Rhapsody in Blue, a transformational

classical music composition with jazz-influence effects

1925

American-born French entertainer Josephine Baker first preformed in La Revue Négre, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris

1925

L'exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes opened in Paris, giving Art Deco a global stage

1925

The first Goodyear Blimp, the Pilgrim, floated ads through the sky and was the first blimp to fly with safe helium

1925

Scopes ”Monkey Trial” challenged the Butler Act, which made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school

1925

F. Scott Fitzgerald writes The Great Gatsby, which created a unique portrait of the Roaring Twenties

1926

Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-propellant rocket outside Worcester, Massachusetts

1926

The Met opens Modern Decorative Arts from International Exposition of Modern Decorative & Industrial Art, Paris to showcase modern design

1927

The Jazz Singer, the first motion feature-length motion picture with sound, was released

in the United States

1927

Charles A. Lindbergh completed the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight from Long Island to Paris in his aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis