October 1923

October 1, 1923 (Monday)

• Southern Rhodesia was granted responsible government status as a colony within the British Empire, after a 1922 referendum in which white voters favored self-government rather than being united with South Africa.
• The 1923 Imperial Conference opened in London.
• Switzerland issued a new decree banning the display of fascist emblems or the wearing of black shirts. The decree was a response to agitation in Lugano by fascists who wanted the region to join Italy.
• Georges Carpentier knocked out former British heavyweight champion Joe Beckett a mere twenty seconds into the first round of their boxing match at Olympia in London. Beckett would never box again.
• Born: Bui Diem, South Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. during the Vietnam War, founder of the Saigon Post, later a professor at George Mason University in the U.S.; in Hà Nam province, Tonkin

  October 2, 1923 (Tuesday)

• The foreign occupation of the Turkish city of Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, ended with the departure of the remaining troops from the UK, France and Italy.
• The Küstrin Putsch, an attempt by Bruno Ernst Buchrucker of the right-wing Black Reichswehr paramilitary group to overthrow the Weimar Republic government of Germany and Chancellor Gustav Stresemann, was put down by government troops.
• A referendum was held in Oklahoma in which voters approved an amendment permitting the state legislature to convene itself.
• Died: John Wilson Bengough, 72, Canadian political cartoonist and editor of the satire magazine ''Grip''

  October 3, 1923 (Wednesday)

• The entire cabinet of German chancellor Gustav Stresemann resigned after several members of the Social Democrats joined with the Communists in their call for the lifting of martial law. President Friedrich Ebert accepted the resignations but asked Stresemann to form another government.
• Three convicted murderers in Kentucky State Penitentiary who had obtained guns killed three guards as they attempted to shoot their way out of the prison. They failed to escape, but barricaded themselves in the mess hall and a standoff began.
• Born: Edward Oliver LeBlanc, Dominican politician, served as Chief Minister of Dominica from 1961 to 1967, and Premier of Dominica from 1967 to 1974; in Vieille Case, Dominica
• Died:
• *Dr. Kadambini Ganguly, 62, the first female Indian doctor to practice western medicine
• *M. Kantharaj Urs, 53, Indian statesman and prime minister to the Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore under British rule from 1918 to 1922

  October 4, 1923 (Thursday)

• The French evening newspaper Paris-soir, which would become the best-selling newspaper in Europe prior to World War II and was founded by Jean Prouvost, published its first issue.
• Five men were rescued from a flooded mine at Redding, Falkirk, Scotland, after being trapped for ten days.
• In Columbus, Georgia, boxer Young Stribling thought he was the new light-heavyweight boxing champion of the world after defeating Mike McTigue, but referee Harry Ertle released a written statement after leaving the arena saying the match was actually a draw. Ertle claimed that he felt threatened by promoters and the crowd of 8,000 fans, and feared that he would not leave the arena alive if he did not award the bout to the local fighter Stribling.
• Nathan M. Ohrbach and Max Wiesen launched Ohrbach's Department Store, starting with its store in New York City, and building a chain that would exist until 1987.
• The drama film Slave of Desire starring George Walsh and Bessie Love was released.
• Born:
• *Charlton Heston, American actor, Academy Award winner for his role in Ben-Hur; as John Charles Carter, in Evanston, Illinois, United States
• *Charles Lazarus, American toy industry executive who founded the Toys "R" Us chain of toy stores in 1957; in Washington, D.C., United States
• Died:
• *Enrico Massi, 25, Italian-born aviator who pioneered aviation in El Salvador; killed in a plane crash
• *Estanislao Zeballos, 69, Argentine lawyer and politician, served as Foreign Minister of Argentina three times between 1889 and 1908, and as Speaker of the House of Representatives

  October 5, 1923 (Friday)

• Cao Kun was elected president of the Republic of China by China's parliament, receiving 480 of the 590 votes cast, ahead of five other candidates. Former president Sun Yat-sen was second with 33 votes. Cao, a warlord of the Zhili clique, was later revealed to have paid bribes of 5,000 yuan apiece to members of parliament who had served him during the Zhili–Anhui War.
• Manuel Teixeira Gomes took office as the seventh president of Portugal.
• Former British prime minister David Lloyd George arrived in New York City on the ship RMS Mauretania to begin an unofficial visit to the United States and Canada. Crowds greeted him enthusiastically except for a few groups of Irish protesters, some of whom threw eggs at him.
• The National Guard targeted the barricaded convicts at the Kentucky State Penitentiary with gas-filled grenades fired through the windows.
• Born:
• *Glynis Johns, South African-born British actress, Tony Award winner for 1973's A Little Night Music; in Pretoria, Union of South Africa
• *Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic professional football player, later a presidential candidate and Minister of Industry of Iceland; in Reykjavík, Iceland
• *Ricardo Lavié, Argentine actor; as Ricardo Eloy Machado, in Buenos Aires, Argentina

  October 6, 1923 (Saturday)

• The Third Corps of the Turkish Land Forces, led by General Şükrü Naili Gökberk, entered Istanbul on behalf of the Turkish government in Ankara and reclaimed the former Constantinople after the end of almost five years of foreign occupation. The anniversary of Gökberk's entry is now celebrated annually in Turkey as "Istanbul Liberation Day".
• Chancellor Gustav Stresemann presented his new cabinet, which was exactly the same as the previous one except for Hans Luther as the new Minister of Finance.
• Authorities stormed the barricade in the Kentucky State Penitentiary and found the three convicts had been dead for about two days, at least two of which due to suicide by gunshot.
• The Australian state of Queensland held a referendum on prohibition; 59.3% of the voters favored maintaining the current system regarding alcohol sales and rejected any additional prohibition.
• Czech Airlines was founded by the government of Czechoslovakia as Československé státní aerolinie. It would operate its first flight on October 29.
• Harlakenden in Cornish, New Hampshire, used as the "Summer White House" for three years by U.S. president Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915, was destroyed by a fire.
• Shortstop Ernie Padgett of the Boston Braves turned an unassisted triple play against the Philadelphia Phillies, only the fourth in Major League Baseball history.
• The Niagara College football team played one of the more unusual games in the history of American college sports when it protested the refusal of Colgate University to allow quarters of 8 minutes in length rather than the standard 15 minutes. Niagara Coach Pete Dwyer told his players not to tackle the Colgate players, and Colgate scored three touchdowns and took a 21-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game, before agreeing to Niagara's conditions. In the remaining 30 minutes of game time, Colgate scored 34 more points in a 55-0 win.
• Iowa State College star Jack Trice, one of the few African-American players on a white college football team, was fatally injured in the Cyclones' 20-17 loss at the University of Minnesota.
• The University of Southern California Trojans played their first game in the new Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Less than 13,000 people came to the 75,000-seat venue for USC's 23 to 7 win over Pomona College.
• Born:
• *Robert Kuok, Malaysian business magnate and investor, the wealthiest Malaysian citizen with a net worth of $12.6 billion as of 2023; as Kuok Hok Nien, in Johor Bahru, Johor Sultanate, British Malaya
• *Yaşar Kemal, Turkish author and human rights activist; as Kemal Sadık Gökçeli, in Hemite, Turkey
• Died:
• *Damat Ferid Pasha, 69-70, Ottoman statesman, served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire; died of duodenal cancer while in exile in France on the same day as the Liberation of Istanbul
• *Kurt Rackow, 30, German Army officer who led the capture of Fort Vaux in the Battle of Verdun in World War I

  October 7, 1923 (Sunday)

• The first section of the Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States, was opened with a path from Bear Mountain in the state of New York, to the Delaware Water Gap on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. With an objective of having a hiking path from Maine to Georgia, the Trail would be long by 2023.
• Police in Tokyo broke up a mob marching on insurance offices to demand a promise to pay insurance for damages from the earthquake.
• Former UK prime minister David Lloyd George visited Westmount, Quebec for the groundbreaking ceremony of a new Baptist church. In a speech, he warned against a "wave of materialism sweeping over the world. Europe is in the grip of a grim struggle between hope and despair, and in that struggle it is becoming material."
• Born: Irma Grese, German concentration camp guard; in Wrechen, Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany

  October 8, 1923 (Monday)

• William Shakespeare's least popular play, Titus Andronicus, was given its first performance in more than 300 years on a British stage, as part of a project by the Royal Victoria Hall theater to stage all of the Bard's works. Robert A. Atkins was the director, Wilfred Walter played the title role, and the "new" Shakespearean play was a box office success.
• Ion Moța, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, and several other Fascists in Romania were arrested for conspiracy to assassinate prominent Romanian Jews and Romanian politicians, after being turned in by another member of the group, Aurelian Vernichescu. Mota shot and killed Vernischescu at the trial, but he and Codreanu would be acquitted of the conspiracy charges on March 29. The two men would go on to form Romania's Iron Guard paramilitary group.
• The musical comedy play Battling Buttler, starring Charlie Ruggles, opened on Broadway. In 1926 it was adapted into a film of the same name starring Buster Keaton.
• The Western comedy-drama film The Bad Man starring Holbrook Blinn was released.
• Born:
• *Avraham Shifrin, Soviet dissident and human rights activist who spent 10 years in prison on false charges of espionage from 1953 to 1963; in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
• *Vella Pillay, South African-born British economist and anti-apartheid crusader; in Johannesburg, Union of South Africa
• Died:
• *Jack Trice, 21, American college football player at Iowa State College; died of injuries sustained two days earlier when he was trampled by opposing players in a game against the University of Minnesota. Trice may have been targeted by his opponents during the game due to being African American.
• *Florence Montgomery, 80, English novelist and children's writer; died of breast cancer
• *Beatrice deMille, 70, English-born American playwright and entrepreneur, co-founder of Paramount Pictures