FUN FACTS from December 1923

In American history: Tuning into Presidential news
Calvin Coolidge is the first United States President to deliver the State of the Union address to the American people via broadcast radio. It’s heard so clearly across the country that a radio station phoned the Capitol to report strange noises heard during the speech. It was Coolidge rustling paper!

In pageantry: Crowning achievement!

Mary Katherine Campbell becomes the first and only woman to win the Miss America pageant for the second time. The following year, she almost wins again. This streak causes the Miss America Organization to change the rules so that a contestant can only win the title once.

In literature: Poetry, still in motion

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, a work of captivating poems, is first released. Philosophical and mystical, the book sells out within the first month. These days, The Prophet continues to be a “self-help” classic, having been translated into more than 50 languages and selling tens of millions of copies.

In natural events: Shocking news

The Great Kanto Earthquake shakes parts of the world with a magnitude of 8.2 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the quake was south of Tokyo, leaving 90 percent of all homes in Yokohama damaged or destroyed.

In aviation: Flying through history

The USS Shenandoah, the first rigid airship built in the United States and the first in the world to be inflated with helium, revolutionizes American airship aviation. It takes its first flight, and ultimately makes the first airship crossing of North America.