The following events occurred in March 1926:
March 1, 1926 (Monday)
Washington Luís, Governor of São Paulo, won the Brazilian presidential election with 99.70% of the vote in a multi-candidate election (with 688,528 votes out of 690,583 cast. A rival candidate,Joaquim Francisco de Assis Brasil received 1,116 votes. Fernando de Melo Viana, Governor of Minas Gerais was separately elected vice-president, with 99.62%. Presidential election 1 March 1926 (Monday). Eleicoespos1945.com For administrative purposes, the former German African territory of Ruanda-Urundi, a League of Nations mandate assigned to administration by the Kingdom of Belgium, and that is now the nations of Rwanda and Burundi, was united with the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).Ruanda-Urundi, WorldStatesmen.org The first volume of the 24-volume Great Greek Encyclopedia (Megáli Ellinikí Enkyklopaídeia) was published, with two volumes released every year until its completion in 1934 under the oversight of editor-in-chief Iraklis Apostolidis. After a six day trial in Brockton, Massachusetts, Anthony Bimba, the last person in the U.S. to be charged with the crime of blasphemy, was acquitted of charges, though he was convicted on a charge of sedition."Bimba Is Convicted on Sedition Charge— Regrets Acquittal of Blasphemy Under Old Law", by Frank P. Sibley, The Boston Globe, March 3, 1926, p.22 Prosecution had been based on a 1697 law still in force in the U.S. state of Massachusetts after a speech he had made on January 26. Bimba was fined $100 for his sedition conviction, a punishment that was dropped after an appeal. Born: Pete Rozelle, American sports administrator and NFL commissioner from 1960 to 1989; in South Gate, California (d. 1996) Allen Stanley, Canadian ice hockey player and inductee in the Hockey Hall of Fame; in Timmins, Ontario (d. 2013) Robert Clary (stage name for Robert Widerman), French-born American television actor and Holocaust survivor, known for portraying Corporal LeBeau on Hogan's Heroes; in Paris (d. 2022) Died: George W. Hotchkiss, 94, American journalist who founded the Lumberman's Gazette and the Journal of Forest History
March 2, 1926 (Tuesday) German Chancellor Hans Luther gave a nationally broadcast speech in which he stated that Germany's entry into the League of Nations was understood to be contingent on no other changes being made to the League's membership council. Luther also expressed Germany's opposition to granting a temporary council seat to Poland, considered to be hostile by Germany."Locarno Treaties Periled by League Intrigues, Luther Says", by Sigrid Schultz, Chicago Daily Tribune, March 3, 1926, p. 6 U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signed the largest peacetime appropriation bill in American history, allocating almost one billion dollars ($868,281,501, equivalent in 2025 to $15.76 billion dollars) for the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Department of the Post Office."Signs Largest Peace Time Money Bill", The New York Times, March 3, 1926, p.39 In Atlanta, the North Carolina Tar Heels won the only postseason college basketball tournament in the U.S., the championship of the Southern Conference, with 16 of the conference's 22 teams competing. In the final, North Carolina defeated Mississippi A & M University Aggies (now the Mississippi State Bulldogs), 37 to 23."North Carolina Again Wins S. C. Basket Title— Aggies Fight Hard But Succumb Before Superior Offense", by H. C. Hamilton, The Atlanta Constitution, March 3, 1926, p.9 An offer by a New York watchmaker to fund, design and install a wristwatch on the Statue of Liberty was formally rejected by the Assistant U.S. Secretary of War, Hanford MacNider."Wrist Watch for Miss Liberty Declined; MacNider Hints It Would Be Incongruous", The New York Times, March 3, 1926, p.2 On February 24, watchmaker Oscar M. Lazarus had proposed "an illuminated clock to be attached to the wrist of the Statue of Liberty". MacNider responded that "While the spirit which prompted your offer is appreciated, this department feels constrained to decline it. Aside from any question as to the congruity of so modern an ornament as a wrist watch upon the classically robed figure of Liberty, or the propriety of making alterations in the designer's conception of a work of art presented to this country as a memorial of the traditional friendship between it and France, there is a statute which prohibits any officer of the Government accepting voluntary service for the Government, or employing personal service in excess of that authorized by law. It is believed this statute prevents favorable consideration of your very liberal offer." The Nicaraguan daily newspaper La Prensa was founded in Managua and would still be operational 100 years later. Born: Carlos Jaschek, German-born Argentine astrophysicist; in Brieg (now Brzeg in Poland) (d. 1999)Egret, Daniel & Heck, Andre. "Carlos Jaschek (1926–1999)", Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society (1999) p.1602. 1999. Retrieved on July 3, 2017. Murray Rothbard, American Libertarian economist and theoretician of anarcho-capitalism; in The Bronx, New York (d. 1995) Died: Ying Lianzhi, 58, Chinese Roman Catholic publisher who founded the newspaper Ta Kung Pao in 1902, died of cancer
March 3, 1926 (Wednesday) The Moody Bible Institute (MBI) made the first radio broadcast in the U.S. of an evangelical program, as the Institute's president, James Gray, spoke in a two-hour program broadcast over WENR in Chicago, pending the allocation of a frequency to allow the Institute to broadcast from its own station, WMBI. Gray, who had initially opposed radio broadcasts as sinister (based on a Bible verse at Ephesians 2:2 that described Satan as "the prince of power of the air"), had experienced a change of heart and was surprised to find that his broadcast had been heard as far away Florida.James Vincent, The MBI Story: The Vision and Worldwide Impact of the Moody Bible Institute (Moody Publishers, 2011) Germany and Afghanistan concluded a treaty of friendship, but stopped short of a military alliance, allowing Afghanistan to remain neutral in war."Civil-military interaction in Afghanistan: The case of Germany", by William Maley, in Reconstructing Afghanistan: Civil-Military Experiences in Comparative Perspective (Taylor & Francis, 2014) Text in League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 62, pp. 116–125. Born: Dick Randall (pen name for Irving Reuben), 70, American stage and film producer known for his low-budget exploitation movies, including Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers (1967), The French Sex Murders (1972), The Clones of Bruce Lee (1982) and Slaughter High (1986) (d. 1996) Obituaries in the Performing Arts 1996, by Harris M. Lentz III (McFarland & Company, 1996), p. 163 Ravi Shankar Sharma, Indian film score composer; in Delhi, British India (d. 2012) James Merrill, American poet and 1977 Pulitzer Prize winner for Divine Comedies; in New York City (d. 1995) Tom Reid, Irish rugby union player with 13 caps for the Ireland national team; in Limerick (d. 1996)
March 4, 1926 (Thursday)
The cabinet crisis in the Netherlands that had existed for almost four months ended as Queen Wilhelmina accepted the multi-party cabinet of ministers formed by former finance minister Dirk Jan de Geer, replacing the government of Hendrikus Colijn, who had resigned on November 14."Forms New Dutch Cabinet; De Geer Organizes Ministry and Ends Four-Month Crisis", The New York Times, March 5, 1926, p.4 Prime Minister De Geer, who retained the office of Finance Minister, had a Labor and Commerce Minister from his own Christelijk-Historische Unie (CHU), along with three from the Liberal Party, two from the Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (ARP) members, an Education Minister from the Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij (RKSP) and an independent Colonial Affairs Minister. United States Daily, an attempt by conservative journalist David Lawrence to launch a national newspaper, published its first issue."American Business and the Government", advertisement in Printers' Ink, May 13, 1926, p.77 It would continue until ceasing publication on May 13, 1933 Dorothy C. Tompkins, Materials for the Study of Federal Government (Public Administration Service, 1948) p.8 after which Lawrence launching a weekly magazine, The United States News, later combined with another Lawrence magazine, World Report, to create U.S. News & World Report in 1948. Zizi Lambrino filed a lawsuit in Paris against Prince Carol of Romania for 10 million francs, asserting that she was still legally Carol's wife and entitled to money to support herself and their son Carol Lambrino. A strange story, sometimes thought to be an urban legend, was reported in the Hungarian newspaper Az Est, concerning a waiter in Budapest who committed suicide and left behind a note containing a complex crossword puzzle as some kind of clue. It does not appear that the mystery was ever solved.Born: Richard DeVos, U.S. businessman and billionaire, co-founder of the Amway Corporation and later owner of the NBA Orlando Magic team; in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 2018) Daniel Kastler, French theoretical physicist known for the Kadison–Kastler metric and the Haag–Kastler axioms; in Colmar, Haut-Rhin département (d. 2015) Fran Warren (stage name for Frances Wolff), American popular singer and stage musical performer; in The Bronx, New York City (d. 2013) Roy Padilla Sr., Filipino politician and Governor of the Province of Camarines Norte who was assassinated the day before the national elections; in Plaridel, Bulacan province (d. 1988)Died: William S. Hackett, 57, Mayor of Albany, New York since 1922, died two weeks after being fatally injured in an automobile accident while visiting Cuba Marie Burroughs (stage name for Lillie Arrington), 59, American stage actress on Broadway, died a week after being stricken with apoplexy (a cerebral hemorrhage)."Noted Actress Dies", The Miami News, March 5, 1926, p.1
March 5, 1926 (Friday) Ivar Lykke was appointed as the Prime Minister of Norway by King Haakon VII after the resignation of Johan Ludwig Mowinckel,"Oppose New Cabinet— Three Norwegian Factions May Bring Early Downfall", The Evening Star (Washington DC), March 4, 1926, p.26 and would serve until 1928."Ivar Lykke", Norsk Biografisk Leksikon In Beijing, Jia Deyao (referred to in the press at the time as "Chi Teh-yao") formed a coalition government of three parties as the permanent Premier of the Republic of China after having served a caretaker role as the acting premier since February 15, in the wake of the resignation of Xu Shiying. Jia named himself as Minister of War, and former Premier Yan Huiqing ("W. W. Yen") as Foreign Minister. Pope Pius XI published the encyclical Rerum Ecclesiae, written on February 26, calling for an increase in the number of native Catholic clergymen and missionaries, particularly in Africa, and admonishing white missionaries to avoid prejudice against native missionaries." "It would certainly be wrong to consider these natives an inferior race, dull intellect," the Pope wrote, "Indeed, long experience shows that the peoples of the far eastern and southern regions sometimes rival ours and can easily compete with them in mental acuity." He also his opinion that "If in the heart of barbarous lands one finds men extremely slow to learn, this is due to their condition of life, which, with its very limited demands, does not force them to make great use of their intelligence."Text of Rerum Ecclesiae