Year by year · 20th century

1920

1920 in world history: 45 events, 18 births, 24 deaths, 3 works, 25 states founded and 25 that came to an end. 756 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 2 January

    Palmer Raids sweep up thousands of suspected radicals

    Federal agents directed by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer arrested thousands of suspected communists and anarchists in cities across the United States. The raids marked the height of the first Red Scare.

    United States

  2. 10 January

    League of Nations comes into existence

    The Treaty of Versailles came into force, and with it the Covenant of the League of Nations, the first permanent organisation for keeping world peace. The United States never joined.

    Treaty of VersaillesLeague of NationsUnited States

  3. 16 January

    League of Nations Council holds its first meeting

    The League's Council met for the first time in Paris, at the French Foreign Ministry. The League settled some minor disputes but failed to stop aggression in the 1930s.

    League of NationsParis

  4. 23 January

    Netherlands refuses to hand over Kaiser Wilhelm II

    The Dutch government rejected Allied demands to extradite the former German Emperor for trial under the Treaty of Versailles. Wilhelm lived in exile at Doorn until his death in 1941.

    Treaty of VersaillesWilhelm IIKaiser

  5. 1 February

    Royal Canadian Mounted Police is formed

    The Royal North-West Mounted Police merged with the Dominion Police to form the RCMP, Canada's national police force. Its scarlet tunics became one of the country's best-known symbols.

    British EmpireDominionCanada

  6. 24 February

    Hitler presents the Nazi Party's 25-point programme

    At the Hofbräuhaus in Munich, Hitler read out the programme of the German Workers' Party, which renamed itself the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) around this time.

  7. 18 August

    Tennessee ratifies the 19th Amendment, giving US women the vote

    Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify, by one vote cast by a young legislator heeding his mother's letter. The amendment barred denial of the vote on account of sex.

  8. 26 August

    The 19th Amendment is certified, giving US women the vote

    Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the 19th Amendment, barring denial of the vote on account of sex. It crowned a campaign launched at Seneca Falls in 1848.

  9. 15 November

    The League of Nations holds its first Assembly

    Delegates of 41 nations met in Geneva for the first Assembly of the League of Nations. Weakened by the absence of the United States, the League failed to prevent the aggression of the 1930s.

    League of NationsUnited States

  10. 21 November

    Bloody Sunday in Dublin

    Michael Collins's IRA squad killed 14 men, mostly British intelligence officers, in Dublin that morning. In the afternoon, Crown forces fired on the crowd at a Gaelic football match in Croke Park, killing 14 civilians.

  11. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Sèvres

    The Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty of 1920 between the Allied powers and the Ottoman Empire after the First World War.

  12. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Trianon

    The Treaty of Trianon was the peace treaty signed on 4 June 1920 at the Grand Trianon palace in Versailles between the Allied powers and Hungary after the First World War.

  13. Peace

    San Remo conference

    The San Remo conference was a meeting of the Allied Supreme Council held at Sanremo in Italy in April 1920.

  14. Battle

    Battle of Maysalun

    The Battle of Maysalun was fought on 24 July 1920 at the Maysalun pass west of Damascus between French forces under General Mariano Goybet and a small Syrian army led by the war minister Yusuf al-Azma.

  15. Treaty

    Treaty of Rapallo (1920)

    The Treaty of Rapallo was signed on 12 November 1920 by Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to settle their border after the First World War.

  16. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Seeb

    The Treaty of Seeb was an agreement concluded in 1920, through British mediation, between the Sultan of Muscat and the tribal leaders of the Ibadi Imamate of Oman in the interior.

  17. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Estonian)

    The Treaty of Tartu was signed on 2 February 1920 between the Republic of Estonia and Soviet Russia, ending the Estonian War of Independence.

  18. Event

    Congress of Lushnjë

    The Congress of Lushnjë was a national assembly of Albanian delegates held at Lushnjë from 28 to 31 January 1920.

  19. Revolt

    Kapp Putsch

    The Kapp Putsch was an attempted coup against the Weimar Republic in March 1920, led by Wolfgang Kapp and General Walther von Lüttwitz with Freikorps troops due to be disbanded under the Treaty of Versailles.

  20. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Tartu (Finland–Russia)

    The Treaty of Tartu between Finland and Soviet Russia, signed on 14 October 1920 in the Estonian town of Tartu, fixed the border between the two states after the Finnish Civil War and the volunteer expeditions into Russian territory.

  21. War

    Turkish–Armenian War

    The Turkish–Armenian War was fought from September to December 1920 between the Turkish nationalist forces of the Grand National Assembly and the First Republic of Armenia.

  22. Battle

    Battle of Giedraičiai

    The Battle of Giedraičiai was fought on 19–21 November 1920 around Giedraičiai, north of Vilnius, where Lithuanian forces defeated troops of Lucjan Żeligowski, who had seized Vilnius for Poland the month before.

  23. Battle

    Battle of Warsaw (1920)

    The Battle of Warsaw was fought in August 1920 during the Polish–Soviet War, when Polish forces under Józef Piłsudski counter-attacked the Red Army advancing on the Polish capital.

  24. War

    Franco-Syrian War

    The Franco-Syrian War was a short conflict in 1920 between France and the Arab Kingdom of Syria proclaimed under Faisal I.

  25. Revolt

    Plan of Agua Prieta

    The Plan of Agua Prieta was the revolt proclaimed in April 1920 at Agua Prieta, Sonora, by supporters of Álvaro Obregón against President Venustiano Carranza.

  26. War

    Polish–Lithuanian War

    The Polish–Lithuanian War was an undeclared conflict of 1920 between Poland and Lithuania over the Vilnius region.

  27. Treaty · Peace

    Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty

    The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty was signed in Moscow on 12 July 1920, ending the war between Soviet Russia and Lithuania.

  28. Battle

    Bloody Christmas (1920)

    Bloody Christmas was the Italian army and navy attack on Fiume, now Rijeka, from 24 to 29 December 1920, ending Gabriele D'Annunzio's occupation of the city.

  29. Treaty · Peace

    Treaty of Tartu (Finnish–Russian)

    The Treaty of Tartu was signed on 14 October 1920 between Finland and Soviet Russia, confirming the border between the two states after Finnish independence.

  30. Battle

    Battle of Širvintos

    The Battle of Širvintos was fought on 17–21 November 1920 near the town of Širvintos, north-west of Vilnius, between Lithuanian forces and the Polish troops of Lucjan Żeligowski, who had seized Vilnius in October.

ProfileState693 states with a known seat in 1920Open the atlas at 1920 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1920 18

Died in 1920 24

Works 3

States founded 25

States that came to an end 25

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1920. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1920
MLA
“1920.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1920. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1920.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1920.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1920’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1920 (Accessed: ).