WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20. CENTURY
Find out what all happened in the first half of the 20. century

Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. (2. January 1949)

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan. (3. January 1911)

At the Paris Peace Conference, Emir Faisal I of Iraq signs an agreement with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann on the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and an Arab nation in a large part of the Middle East. (3. January 1919)

Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy. (3. January 1925)

Martial law is declared in Honduras to stop a revolt by banana workers fired by the United Fruit Company. (3. January 1932)

Minnie D. Craig becomes the first female elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first female to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States. (3. January 1933)

The March of Dimes is established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. (3. January 1938)

World War II: Top Ace Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero. (3. January 1944)

World War II: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan. (3. January 1945)

Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him. (3. January 1946)

Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time. (3. January 1947)

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established. (3. January 1949)

Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by Thomas Edison during the War of Currents campaign. (4. January 1903)

The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal charter. (4. January 1912)

World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins. (4. January 1944)

Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom. (4. January 1948)

Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. (5. January 1909)

Kappa Alpha Psi, the world's second oldest and largest black fraternity, is founded at Indiana University. (5. January 1911)

The Prague Party Conference takes place. (5. January 1912)

First Balkan War: During the Battle of Lemnos, Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war. (5. January 1913)