A century ago, the newly established Irish Free State was descending into civil war, Russia was still enduring a terrible famine, construction of the Lincoln Memorial was completed in Washington, D.C., Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Party seized control of the Italian government, and much more. Please take a moment for a look back at some of the events and sights from around the world 100 years ago.
100 Years Ago in Photos: A Look Back at 1922
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![A black-and-white photo from 1922 shows a row of men seated on motorcycles parked on a sidewalk.]()
Read moreThe original caption, dated April 15, 1922, reads: "Speed demons beware. The Los Angeles Motor Corps with their new fleet of Indian motorcycles all ready and waiting to set out after Californian motorists who like to step on the gas." #
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![A camera operator stands at the edge of a broken levee, along torn-up railroad tracks, as a huge volume of floodwater flows through the break.]()
Read moreOriginal caption, dated April 18, 1922: "Thirty foot wall of water raging towards Beardstown, Illinois, as the levee broke under the tremendous pressure. The Illinois River at flood stage, the highest ever known, rapidly poured into the lowlands at right. In foreground are the C.B. & Q. railroad tracks—the last connecting link between Beardstown and the outside world—just washed away." #
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![Two men wearing boxing gloves stand on either side of another man.]()
Read moreCharlie Chaplin (center) agreed to act as referee in an encounter between his colleague Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (left) and Joe Benjamin, a contender for Benny Leonard's lightweight crown on January 24, 1922. #
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![A web of metal struts and girders forming the shell of a blimp sits inside a large hangar.]()
Read moreAn interior view of the rigid airship USS Shenandoah, under construction at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, circa 1922 #
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![Several people stand on a platform addressing a throng of thousands of onlookers, almost all wearing hats.]()
Read moreThe Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins addresses a large crowd at College Green in Dublin, Ireland, in 1922, after the ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty that established the Irish Free State. #
Hulton-Deutsch Collection / Corbis / Getty -
![A barricade of crates and barrels sits in a city street, with two armed men taking cover behind it, as many other people peacefully go about their business.]()
Read moreTwo men hold guns behind a barricade in a Dublin street during factional fighting over the recently established Free State treaty. #
Hulton-Deutsch Collection / Corbis / Getty -
![An aerial view of lower New York City, seen in 1922.]()
Read moreAn aerial view of lower New York City and the Battery, photographed in 1922 #
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![About five children use sticks to roll hoops on a park path.]()
Read moreChildren roll hoops in London's Hyde Park. #
Topical Press Agency / Getty -
![More than a dozen men stand in a long canoe as it moves quickly during a race.]()
Read moreA boat race takes place in Mandalay, Burma, photographed during a tour by England's Prince of Wales. #
Spencer Arnold Collection / Hulton Archive / Getty -
![People tour through a snowfield in the mountains in cars fitted with caterpillar tracks and skids.]()
Read morePeople tour through a snowfield in the Alps in cars fitted with caterpillar tracks and skids. #
Topical Press Agency / Getty -
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![A large crowd in India marches, most wearing white linen clothing.]()
Read moreOriginal caption, from India, in August of 1922: "A Gandhi procession reminds one of a carnival celebration. Volunteers in the non-cooperative movement dress in their home-woven costumes and shout 'Swaraj' (home-rule). A huge spinning wheel leads the procession as an emblem of Gandhiism." #
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![Four formally dressed man sit at a table.]()
Read moreA group of delegates from the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) visits the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in September of 1922, to demand independence for the former German colonies in Southwest Africa, with a view to founding a new republic for Africans around the world. From left, they are Jean J. Adam (Haiti), James O'Meally (Jamaica), George O. Marke (Sierra Leone), and William L. Sherrill (USA). #
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![Dozens of men, some in uniform, stand in a city street.]()
Read moreThe Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini (center, hands on hips) stands with members of the Fascist Party in Rome, Italy, after he seized control of the Italian government in a bloodless coup on October 28, 1922. #
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![About a dozen soldiers train with machine guns in a field.]()
Read moreOriginal caption: "Troops supporting the government of President Sun Yat-Sen train with modern machine guns during civil war in China." #
Topical Press Agency / Getty -
![Dozens of refugees sit on a flatbed rail car.]()
Read moreIn March of 1922, refugees sit on a train waiting to leave Tashkent during the Russian famine of 1921–22. #
Hulton-Deutsch / Corbis / Getty -
![Young students sit in a classroom, knitting and crocheting.]()
Read moreIn the Vinohrady district of Prague, primary-school students knit and crochet for Russian aid, volunteering for the Prague Czecho-Slovak Junior Red Cross on March 8, 1922. #
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![A woman aims a rifle in front of a watching crowd.]()
Read moreThe expert sharpshooter and performer Annie Oakley came out of retirement to practice for the Fred Stone Circus and Motor Hippodrome at the Mineola Fairgrounds on Long Island on July 27, 1922. Oakley performed in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show from 1885 to 1902. #
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![President Warren G. Harding throws a baseball from the stands in a packed stadium.]()
Read moreU.S. President Warren G. Harding throws out the first ball of the baseball season opener in Washington, D.C., on April 12, 1922. #
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![Hundreds of schoolchildren gather into a tight crowd in a field, forming the shape of a large chicken.]()
Read moreOriginal caption: "The Biggest Little Chicken Ever Seen in America. Here is a living tribute to Luther Burbank made by the children of Petaluma, California. Thousands of school children turned out to do honor to the plant wizard and as a climax to the parade they formed themselves into groups which built up this monster chicken." #
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![People ice skate in front of the Lincoln Memorial]()
Read moreIn Washington, D.C., people ice skate in front of the Lincoln Memorial in January of 1922. Construction of the memorial was nearing completion, and it was dedicated on May 30, 1922. #
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![A group of men ride in a small monorail inside a tunnel.]()
Read moreA group of U.S. senators rides the old monorail that used to operate underneath the Senate Office Building, circa 1922. #
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![A pilot sits atop a glider shaped very much like a bird in flight.]()
Read moreOriginal caption: "This bird-like glider is a plane belonging to the Berlin Aero Club, which covered a distance of three miles in the astounding motorless plane contests recently held in Germany." #
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![Cars, buses, trucks, and pedestrians fill a city intersection.]()
Read moreA view of traffic bustling through London's Piccadilly Circus, circa 1922. #
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![A man fires a pistol at another man, at close range, aiming for his bulletproof vest.]()
Read moreOriginal caption: "A demonstration on Palace Roof, 57th Street and 7th Avenue, showing the shellproof steel jacket. Leo Krause wearing the jacket, which weighs 12 pounds. Shots used, 38 and 45 calibre, at close range." #
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![Tracked vehicles tow artillery pieces in a parade in Moscow.]()
Read moreA military parade takes place on the fifth anniversary of the Russian Revolution, in Moscow, on November 20, 1922. With horses being scarce, the Red Army had to use American tractors to pull their artillery. #
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![A crowd of boys and young men jostle around Babe Ruth.]()
Read moreThe American baseball player Babe Ruth (center, wearing bow tie) poses with a crowd of young fans in New York City in 1922. #
Robert Riger / Getty -
![A man experiments with a large wheeled vehicle driven by a mounted propeller.]()
Read moreA man experiments with a large wheeled vehicle driven by a mounted propeller, somewhere in the U.S., circa 1922. #
Buyenlarge / Getty -
![Rows of women work on sewing machines in a factory.]()
Read moreOriginal caption: "A scene in a women's silk hosiery factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1922. The women are working on the seaming machines which sew the seam up the back of the stocking." #
Underwood Archives / Getty -
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![A view from above of hundreds of parked cars and people on a long stretch of beach.]()
Read moreA view of a crowded Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, circa 1922 #
Archive Photos / Getty -
![A girl sits on steps outdoors, with an umbrella and a handheld camera.]()
Read moreOriginal caption, dated June 29, 1922: "Little Miss Tarkington, daughter of Mrs. W. Tarkington Jr., snapped on the steps of the White House patiently waiting to snap a picture of Mr. Harding." #
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