September 1921

[September 1], 1921 (Thursday)

• Poplar Rates Rebellion in London: Several members of Poplar Borough Council are arrested, including its leader, George Lansbury, after refusing to hand over payments to London County Council.

  [September 2], 1921 (Friday)

• The Asociacion Argentina de Tennis is founded.
• The Football Association of Ireland holds its first meeting, in Dublin.

  [September 3], 1921 (Saturday)

• The SS Abessinia, a German-registered cargo ship, is wrecked on Knivestone in the Farne Islands off the coast of England, where its remains can still be seen.

  [September 4], 1921 (Sunday)

• Born: Ariel Ramírez, Argentine composer, in Santa Fe

  [September 5], 1921 (Monday)

• The Teatro Nacional Cervantes is inaugurated in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• A riotous party at the St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, United States, where alcohol is illegally served, results in the death of actress Virginia Rappe, followed later by the arrest of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
• The 16th International Lawn Tennis Challenge, is retained by the United States team, after they defeat Japan 5-0 in the challenge round.
• Born:Queen Farida, consort of King Farouk of Egypt, in Gianaclis

  [September 6], 1921 (Tuesday)

• The Peace Arch, situated near the westernmost point of the Canada–United States border, between the communities of Blaine, Washington, US, and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, one of the first earthquake-resistant structures built in North America, is publicly dedicated.
• The New York World begins its exposé of the Ku Klux Klan with the first in a series of daily articles discussing aspects of Ku Klux Klan organisation and beliefs.
• Born: Norman Joseph Woodland, US inventor, in Atlantic City, New Jersey

  [September 7], 1921 (Wednesday)

• The British-registered ocean liner Almanzora runs aground at Oporto, Portugal. Her 1,200 passengers are taken off the following day, and the ship is refloated on 13 September.

  [September 8], 1921 (Thursday)

• Soviet troops complete their withdrawal from the short-lived Soviet Republic of Gilan, following negotiations with Persia.
• Partition of Ireland: David Lloyd George's offers independent Ireland's new leader Éamon de Valera the proposals for the country's limited sovereignty within the British Empire.
• Margaret Gorman is crowned the first Miss America at a beauty pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States.
• Born: Harry Secombe, Welsh entertainer, in Swansea

  [September 9], 1921 (Friday)

• The Praya East Reclamation Scheme is launched with an order from the Hong Kong government.
• The Ku Klux Klan announces its intention to take legal action against any publications that run the New York World Exposé of its activities for libel.

  [September 10], 1921 (Saturday)

• Part of the Naval Station Great Lakes, known as "Camp Ross", is signed over to the United States Veterans' Bureau for use as a hospital.

  [September 11], 1921 (Sunday)

• An earthquake measuring 7.6 occurs in Indonesia, causing minor damage on Java and a small tsunami
• Died: Prince Louis of Battenberg, German nobleman and British admiral, 67

  [September 12], 1921 (Monday)

• Dock workers in parts of Ireland are forced to accepts a reduction of 1 shilling per day in their pay because of a downturn in the industry.

  [September 13], 1921 (Tuesday)

• In the Lewisham West by-election to the British House of Commons, brought about by the death of Unionist MP Sir Edward Coates, Unionist candidate Philip Dawson is elected by only 47 votes.
• Born: Cyrille Adoula, Congolese trade unionist and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Zaire, in Léopoldville, Belgian Congo

  [September 14], 1921 (Wednesday)

• The 79th Field Artillery Regiment of the United States Army is deactivated at Camp Meade, Maryland.

  [September 15], 1921 (Thursday)

• Born: Moshe Shamir, Israeli writer, in Safed

  [September 16], 1921 (Friday)

• Three British schooners are destroyed by bad weather in the Atlantic: The Farlings and the Socrates are both wrecked on the coast of Barbados, whilst the Namara is dismasted and abandoned.
• The French coaster Sophie strikes a mine and sinks in the Black Sea off Constanţa, Romania. The crew are rescued.

  [September 17], 1921 (Saturday)

• The first Air League Challenge Cup competition takes place at the Royal Aero Club Aviation Race Meeting at Croydon Airport, UK. The winners are No. 24 Squadron at RAF Kenley, flying an SE.5a on the first and third laps and an Avro 504K on the second lap.
• The Dovre Line rail link between Oslo and Trondheim in Norway is officially opened.
• The first season of the newly-established Football League of Ireland begins.
• Born: Virgilio Barco Vargas, Colombian politician and civil engineer, President 1986-1990, in Cúcuta

  [September 18], 1921 (Sunday)

• Nidareid train disaster: The inaugural train returning from the celebrations in Trondheim, Norway, after the opening of the Dovre Line on the previous day collides with another train on the Trondhjem–Støren Line. The accident results in the deaths of six people, including politician Thomas Heftye, 61; architect Erik Glosimodt, 39; and government executive Nils Johannes Sejersted, 55.
• The 5x5=25 abstract art exhibition is inaugurated at the Institute for Artistic Culture in Moscow, Russia, including works by Aleksandra Ekster, Lyubov Popova, Alexander Rodchenko, Varvara Stepanova and Alexander Vesnin.

  [September 19], 1921 (Wednesday)

• In the final of the 1921 U.S. National Championships – Men's Singles tennis tournament, Bill Tilden defeats fellow American Wallace F. Johnson 6–1, 6–3, 6–1.
• Born: Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher, in Recife

  [September 20], 1921 (Tuesday)

• Republican candidate Thomas S. Crago is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in, to take the seat vacated by the death of Mahlon Morris Garland.
• In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, the KDKA radio station and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette create the first "news room" and "news department" in the history of broadcasting.
• Born: Chico Hamilton, US jazz drummer, in Los Angeles

  [September 21], 1921 (Wednesday)

• Oppau explosion: Somewhere between 500 and 600 people are killed and a further 2,000 injured after a tower silo containing 4500 tonnes of ammonium-based fertilizer explodes at a BASF plant in Oppau, Germany.
• The 15th Attack Squadron of the United States Air Force is organized as the 15th Squadron at Chanute Field, Illinois.
• The Tunisian brig Palestine collides with at Valletta, Malta, and sinks. All on board are rescued.

  [September 22], 1921 (Thursday)

• The Norwegian cargo ship Salina collides with the Belgian ship Jan Breydel in the English Channel, between the East Goodwin and South Goodwin Lightships, and sinks with the loss of fourteen members of its crew. Survivors are rescued by the Jan Breydel.
• In the Louth by-election, brought about by the death of Liberal Member of Parliament Thomas Wintringham, the seat is held for the Liberals by Wintringham's widow, Margaret Wintringham.

  [September 23], 1921 (Friday)

• Danzig-Polish Agreement: At Geneva, Poland comes to an "arrangement" with Germany and the independent port of Danzig.

  [September 24], 1921 (Saturday)

• A robbery at the Glenview State Bank in Glenview, Illinois, United States, which had opened earlier in the year, results in the death of the chief cashier.

  [September 25], 1921 (Sunday)

• The wireless telegraph station in Sofia makes the first public radio broadcast in Bulgaria, transmitting the recording of a concert from the German station at Nauen.
• Born: Robert Muldoon, New Zealand politician, Prime Minister 1975-1984, in Auckland

  [September 26], 1921 (Monday)

• The 1921 Swedish general election ends in victory for the Swedish Social Democratic Party; its leader, Hjalmar Branting, continues as Prime Minister.
• Born: Cyprian Ekwensi, Nigerian novelist, in Minna

  [September 27], 1921 (Tuesday)

• At Evere Airfield in Evere, Belgium, fire breaks out in a hangar, destroying two SNETA Farman F.60 Goliath aircraft.
• Died: Engelbert Humperdinck, 67, German composer

  [September 28], 1921 (Wednesday)

• US pilot Lieutenant John A. Macready, in the same United States Army Air Service Packard-Le Peré LUSAC-11 fighter that set a world altitude record on February 27, 1920, sets a new world altitude record of 10,518 meters.
• The Danish schooner Rigmor runs aground at Akureyri, Iceland, and is wrecked. Her crew survive.
• Died:
• *Princess Pauline von Metternich, 85, Austrian socialite and patron of Richard Wagner
• *Þorvaldur Thoroddsen, 66, Icelandic geologist

  [September 29], 1921 (Thursday)

• The Swedish auxiliary schooner Hedvig catches fire at Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and is scuttled.

  [September 30], 1921 (Friday)

• The peace treaty between the United States and Germany is ratified by the German Reichstag.
• Born: Deborah Kerr, Scottish actress, in Helensburgh