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1-50 of 188
- Actress
- Writer
Oliva R. Duffy was born on October 20, 1894, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, the eldest of three children, with two younger brothers. Olive or Ollie, as she was known to family and friends, did not have much of a childhood. Life in industrial Pittsburgh (at the time, spelled "Pittsburg") was depressing and grim with its smoky factories and hard living. She married Bernard Krug Thomas at the age of 16 (which wasn't uncommon at the time), but the marriage wasn't happy, and they divorced two years later.
By that time, Olive had left Pittsburgh for New York, where she found work in a department store. On a lark, she entered a competition for the most beautiful girl in New York City and, unsurprisingly, won. With the ensuing publicity, she caught the eye of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. and immediately joined his famed Follies. An outstanding addition, men went wild over her beauty. She also posed nude for the famed Peruvian artist Alberto Vargas. As a result of her sudden fame, she was signed to a contract with Triangle Pictures. Her first film was Beatrice Fairfax (1916). Later that year, she married Jack Pickford, brother of screen star Mary Pickford.
The relationship was a stormy one. In 1917, she starred in four more films: Madcap Madge (1917), A Girl Like That (1917), Broadway Arizona (1917), and Indiscreet Corinne (1917). With five films on her resume, Olive was the toast of Hollywood. She made three films in 1918 and six in 1919. By 1920, Olive was at the top of the film world. She continued to make good pictures, most notably, Youthful Folly (1920) and also The Flapper (1920), which was an overwhelming success. After finishing Everybody's Sweetheart (1920), Olive and Jack sailed to France for a much-needed vacation.
The couple finally seemed happy, which seems odd in light of what was to follow. Olive accidentally ingested bichloride of mercury from a French-labeled bottle in a darkened bathroom, believing it to be another medication. Found unconscious, she died five days later. The death made worldwide headlines. Olive was only 25 when she died.- Actor
- Art Department
- Cinematographer
Today screen actor Robert (Bobby) Harron is one of Hollywood's forgotten souls, although he was a huge celebrity in his time and graced some of the silent screen's most enduring masterpieces. A talented, charismatic star in his heyday, Bobby had everything going for him but died far too young to make the longstanding impression he certainly deserved.
Bobby was born one of nine children in New York City to an impoverished Irish-American family. In order to put food on the table, Bobby started out quite young looking for work. At age 13 he found a job working for the American Biograph Studio on East 14th Street as a messenger boy and was given a couple of film bits for added measure. Within the next year director D.W. Griffith had joined the company and the sensitive, highly photogenic Bobby caught the legendary director's eye almost immediately.
Bobby subsequently had leading roles in many of Griffith's classic silents, usually playing characters that were much younger and much more naive than in real life. He appeared opposite other legendary female stars who also played "young-ish" roles, notably Mae Marsh and Lillian Gish. Bobby made indelible impressions in The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), An Old Fashioned Young Man (1917), Hearts of the World (1918), A Romance of Happy Valley (1919) and True Heart Susie (1919).
Bobby had become such a sensation that in 1920 he entertained thoughts about leaving the Griffith fold and forming his own company. A fatal, self-inflicted bullet wound to the left lung in September of 1920 ended those dreams before they ever got off the ground. Although it was listed as an "accidental" death, Hollywood rumor has it that a despondent Bobby killed himself in a New York hotel room on the eve of the premiere of Griffith's new film Way Down East (1920). It seems Bobby was devastated after being passed over by Griffith for the lead role in favor of the director's new protégé, Richard Barthelmess. Whatever the truth may be, Bobby's death remains a tragic mystery. Ironically, Bobby had two lesser known sibling actors who also died quite young. Tessie Harron (1896-1918) died at age 22 of Spanish influenza, and John Harron (1904-1939), nicknamed Johnnie, collapsed and died of spinal meningitis at age 35. Both appeared unbilled in Hearts of the World (1918) with Bobby.- James O'Neill was born on 15 November 1847 in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland. He was an actor, known for The Count of Monte Cristo (1913), West Is West (1920) and The Grain of Dust (1918). He was married to Ellen Quinlan. He died on 10 August 1920 in New London, Connecticut, USA.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Harry Solter was born on 19 November 1873 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was a director and actor, known for The Taming of the Shrew (1908), The Romance of a Photograph (1914) and Blind Man's Bluff (1916). He was married to Florence Lawrence. He died on 2 March 1920 in El Paso, Texas, USA.- Ormer Locklear was born on 28 October 1891 in Greenville, Texas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Great Air Robbery (1919), The Skywayman (1920) and Screen Snapshots, Series 1, No. 7 (1920). He was married to Ruby Graves. He died on 2 August 1920 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
- Writer
Hazel Neason was born on 16 August 1891 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for The Garden of Fate (1910), Ida's Christmas (1912) and The Lair of the Wolf (1912). She was married to Albert E. Smith. She died on 24 January 1920 in New York City, New York, USA.- Spanish novelist Benito Perez Galdos was born in Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands, in 1843 to a wealthy family. He was sent to an English school in the Canary Islands, and later he studied law at the University of Madrid. Although he graduated with a law degree, the practice of law never interested him, and upon graduation he became involved in the literary circles of Madrid, and eventually got a job as the literary and drama critic of the magazine "La Nacion". He had always wanted to be a playwright, and although he wrote and published numerous plays--many of which met with great success and some of which were turned into films--he soon realized that his greatest talent was as a novelist.
He continued writing plays and novels while on the staffs of various literary publications, such as "Las Cortes" and "La Revista de Espana" magazines, and eventually he secured a position as editor of "El Debate". After a visit to France, however, he undertook what is generally considered his greatest work--"Episodios Nacionales", a project that became four series of books of ten volumes each and one series of eight books. Each book came out an average of every three months, in addition to his "regular" novels.
A lifelong bachelor, he was a somewhat reclusive man, though he did travel extensively in France, England and Spain, and the general public knew very little about his private life. Towards the end of his life his eyesight began failing him, and by 1912 he was completely blind. That didn't stop him, however; he continued to write, although dictating his work to a secretary, until he died in Madrid in 1920. - Director
- Actor
- Writer
Mario Caserini was born on 26 February 1874 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was a director and actor, known for The Last Days of Pompeii (1913), Capitan Fracassa (1919) and Romeo and Juliet (1908). He was married to Maria Caserini. He died on 17 November 1920 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Félicien Trewey was born on 23 May 1848 in Angoulême, Charente, France. He was an actor, known for La transformation d'un chapeau (1897), Danseuses des rues (1896) and Écriture à l'envers (1896). He died on 2 December 1920 in Asnières-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
- Maren Pedersen was born on 9 March 1842 in Gærum, Sejlstrup, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Häxan (1922) and A Sacrilege of Witches. She was married to Carl Frederik Pedersen. She died on 22 December 1920 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
- Amedeo Modigliani was born on 12 July 1884 in Livorno, Italy. He died on 24 January 1920 in Paris, France.
- Clarine Seymour born to Albert and Florence Seymour in Brooklyn, New York in 1898. Her father ran a ribbon manufacturing business, in 1917 her father became so ill that he had no choice but to close his successful business and so Clarine secured work through the Thanhouser Film Company, which was located in New Rochelle, as a result of her work through that company , she obtained work through Pathe in a Pearl White serial and also in 1917 she appeared opposite Mollie King in 'Mystery of the Double Cross', followed in Toto the Clown comedies for the Robin Film Co and also appeared in many Al Christie comedies, she excepted an offer from D.W. Griffith who directed her in 'The Girl Who Stayed at Home' (1919) and 'True Heart Susie' (1919) opposite Lillian Gish and in Scarlet Days (1919). In 1920 Clarine became famous after starring in 'The Idol Dancer' the public loved her, shortly after that film's release she signed a four year contract, her next role was 'Way Down East' However, half way through production Clarine suddenly died unexpectedly from an intestinal ailment following an operation at Misericordia Hospital in New York at the age of 21. Mary Hay took over her role and the film was a box office success.
- Gilda Langer was born in Oderfurt (now Privoz). Not much is known about her background, but around 1915 she met screenwriter Carl Mayer in Vienna. It seems he fell in love with her and took her to Berlin, where she was engaged at the Residenz-Theater in 1917.
In the same year she played in the movie "Das Rätsel von Bangalor", next to the young Conrad Veidt. In 1919 she was contracted by Decla film, where Fritz Lang was also under contract. She played in his movies "Halbblut" (1919) and "Der Herr der Liebe" (1919).
Decla bought the script of "Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari", written by her friends Carl Mayer and Hans Janowitz, but the female parts in that movie went to Lil Dagover and Carola Toelle. Still Decla had big plans with her and her breakthrough seemed only a matter of time.
In the beginning of 1920 she became engaged with director Paul Czinner, but at the end of January she sadly died of a lung infection. However, not everybody believed it went just like that. Janowitz said that her own sudden engagement had put her under severe mental stress, adding to her unexpected demise and Herbert G. Luft claimed she overdosed on drugs. Certain is that Paul Czinner moved on to marry Elisabeth Bergner in later years.
On 4 Feb 1920 Gilda Langer was buried at the then fashionable cemetery at Stahnsdorf, Berlin. In 1995 her gravestone was rediscovered in an unkempt part of the very large cemetery by movie historian Olaf Brill. The headstone had come down but was still there. Carl Mayer was the one who had erected it there after her death and apart from her name, notes from the theme of lovers from Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" were engraved upon it.
Thanks to Mr. Brill's careful notes the gravestone could be located again in 2004. After rubbing off a lot of mud it turned out to be still readable. - Milton 'Skeets' Elliott was born on 24 April 1894 in Gadsden, Alabama, USA. He is known for The Skywayman (1920). He died on 2 August 1920 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Marcia Moore was born on 12 December 1891 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for The Land of Oz (1910), Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz (1910) and The Second in Command (1915). She was married to John Thomas Davis Jr and Joseph Swerling aka Joe Siverling. She died on 28 June 1920 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Gaby Deslys was born Marie-Elise-Gabrielle Caire on November 4, 1881 in Marseille, France. Gaby was one of five children but sadly three of her siblings died when they were young. Although her mother encouraged her love of dancing her strict father did not. He sent her to a religious school called called the College of the Dames St. Maur. At the age of twenty she began her career dancing in Paris. Her curvy figure and flirtatious manner made her a hit with audiences. She performed at the Moulin Rouge in 1908. The following year she was introduced to the King of Portugal. They began a passionate affair and he gave her a $70,000 necklace. In 1911 she was signed by the Shubert Brothers and came to New York City. Gaby appeared in the hit musical Vera Violetta with Al Jolson. The show introduced the "Gaby Glide" which would become her theme song. Then she toured with the revue The Social Whirl and starred on Broadway The Honeymoon Express. She was known for her extravagant and often revealing costumes. At the peak of her fame she was earning $4000 a week.
Gaby became close friends with her dancing partner Harry Pilcer. The press reported they were married but it wasn't true because Harry was gay. Unfortunately her health began to decline after she had a throat operation in 1914. She was offered a contract by Famous Players and starred in the 1915 film My Triumph. Then she returned to Broadway to appear in Stop! Look! Listen!. Gaby purchased a lavish home in the South of France. It was decorated with paintings by Botticelli and a gilded hand carved bed. She started dating Gordon Selfridge, a wealthy London businessman. There were also rumors she worked as a French spy during World War 1. In 1918 she costarred with Harry Pilcer in the French film Infatuation. She contracted Spanish Influenza in the Fall of 1919. Doctors discovered a tumor in her throat that required several painful surgeries. Gaby refused to let surgeons cut the outside of her neck because she did not want a scar. Tragically on February 11, 1920 she died from a throat infection at the young age of thirty-eight. She was buried at Cimetière Saint-Pierre in Marseille, France.- Mollie McConnell was born on 24 September 1865 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Bare Fists (1919), The Neglected Wife (1917) and Hearts and Masks (1921). She was married to William A. McConnell and Sherwood MacDonald. She died on 9 December 1920 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Max Bruch was born on 6 January 1838 in Cologne, Prussia [now North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]. He was a composer, known for Kinsey (2004), Knight of Cups (2015) and The Jazz Singer (1927). He was married to Clara Tuczek. He died on 2 October 1920 in Berlin-Friedenau, Germany.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Giovanni Capurro was born on 5 February 1859 in Naples, Campania, Italy. Giovanni is known for The Hangover (2009), Grumpier Old Men (1995) and The Addams Family (1991). Giovanni died on 18 January 1920 in Naples, Campania, Italy.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Anthony O'Sullivan was born in 1855 in Ireland, UK. He was an actor and director, known for The Monument (1913), Her Wedding Bell (1913) and When Love Forgives (1913). He was married to Ida Cavanagh. He died on 5 July 1920 in The Bronx, New York, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Will S. Davis was born in 1882. He was a director and writer, known for The Victim (1916), Destruction (1915) and The Family Stain (1915). He died on 19 November 1920.- Eleanor H. Porter was born on 19 December 1868 in Littleton, New Hampshire, USA. She was a writer, known for Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952), Dawn (1919) and Pollyanna (1920). She died on 21 May 1920 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
- Suzanne Grandais was born on 14 June 1893 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for Graziella, the Gypsy (1912), L'essor (1921) and Suzanne (1916). She died on 28 August 1920 in Vaudoy-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, France.
- Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on 22 December 1887 in Erode, Madras Presidency, British India [now Tamil Nadu, India]. He died on 26 April 1920 in Kumbakonam, Madras Presidency, British India [now Tamil Nadu, India].
- Notorious Chicago gangster--and one of the last of the "Mustache Petes", a nickname given to the old-line Italian gangsters by the "Young Turks" trying to take over--Giacomo "Big Jim" Colosimo was born in Colosimi, Italy. His family emigrated to Chicago in 1895, where "Big Jim" got an early start in the criminal underworld. He worked as a precinct captain and bagman for a succession of corrupt Chicago politicians, garnering himself some valuable political connections. that came in very handy later in his career. In 1902 he married a woman who was a madam at a long-established Chicago brothel, and he soon opened a second one. Colosimo had a knack for the prostitution business, and it wasn't long before he had expanded his holdings from two brothels to more than 200. This brought him into close contact with the men who ran Chicago's underworld, many of whom patronized Colosimo's houses, which not only offered women but gambling.
His success attracted the attention of the dreaded Black Hand extortion gang, and he turned to Johnny Torrio, a New York gangland figure he had befriended, and brought him to Chicago to take care of this problem, which Torrio promptly did--the Black Hand hoods who threatened Colosimo were sound found dead. With the threat of the Black Hand no longer hanging over his head, Colosimo indulged his penchant for the good life--which resulted in his being nicknamed "Diamond Jim"--and opened an exclusive restaurant named after himself. Torrio also helped Colosimo open several new brothels, and in one of them he installed a friend and colleague from his Brooklyn days to be a combination bartender/bouncer/enforcer--a tough cookie named Al Capone.
In 1920 the Volstead Act, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol, went into effect. Torrio saw that there would be huge amounts of money to be made supplying a thirsty population with booze and advised Colosimo to get in on the ground floor, but he refused. Shortly afterwards Colosimo, who had abandoned his first wife, left Chicago to marry his second wife. He returned to Chicago a week later and was contacted by Torrio, who asked Colosimo to meet him at his restaurant for an important meeting. Colosimo arrived there, sat down at a table to wait for Torrio and was promptly shot and killed by several unknown gunmen. Torrio, Capone and New York gangster Frankie Yale were suspected of being the triggermen, but nothing was ever proved and they were never charged with the murder.
Colosimo's funeral was, as was the custom among gangsters at the time, an epic. Huge, expensive floral arrangements surrounded an ornate bronze coffin. There were more than 50 pallbearers, many of them judges and Congressmen. More than 1000 marchers followed the coffin to Oak Woods cemetery. Colosimo was scheduled to be buried in a Catholic cemetery, but the Archbishop of New York forbade Colosimo from being buried in any Catholic cemetery in the city. It wasn't because of the innumerable murders, thefts, beatings, corruption, gambling, prostitution and other crimes he was responsible for--he was banned from burial in a Catholic cemetery because he had divorced his first wife. - Gladys Field was born in 1889 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), The Bad Man's Christmas Gift (1910) and The Railroad and the Widow (1912). She was married to John M. O'Brien. She died on 13 August 1920 in Mount Vernon, New York, USA.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Composer ("That Naughty Waltz"), clarinetist and publisher Sol Paul Levy was educated at All Hallows College and studied music with his father and with Anton Petersen. A first-clarinetist with the John Philip Sousa and Arthur Pryor bands, he assumed the directorship of the foreign orchestrating department at Victor Records, and he co-founded Belwin Music. Joining ASCAP at nineteen in 1920, his other popular-song compositions include "Roses That Die Bloom Again", "Because You Say Goodbye", "Why?", "Memories", "Hunka-Tin", and "Cannibal Carnival".- Roland Osborne was born in 1875 in Fulton, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Mortmain (1915), The Confession of Madame Barastoff (1915) and The Mystery of the Empty Room (1915). He died on 19 April 1920 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Born into a wealthy cattle-ranching family, Venustiano Carranza followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Mexican army. He became a supporter of Francisco I. Madero in Madero's efforts to overthrow the corrupt dictatorship of Gen. Porfirio Díaz. When this proved successful, Madero appointed Carranza as Secretary of War and Secretary of the Navy. However, soon after assuming power Madero was assassinated in a coup masterminded by Gen. Victoriano Huerta, forcing Carranza to flee. He organized an army to fight against Huerta, and allied his forces with those of rebels (and former bandits) Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. The combined rebel army encircled Mexico City--Huerta's base--and fought their way to the city's gates. They soon took the city, forcing Huerta to flee, and Carranza, Villa and Zapata took over the government. Soon, however, Carranza and Villa locked horns and in the ensuing power struggle, Villa was driven from Mexico City and retreated back to his headquarters in Durango. In 1915 Carranza assumed the presidency of Mexico and set about to make many needed reforms. He introduced an independent judiciary, instituted land reform, decentralized government power and called for a Constitutional convention, which was convened in 1917. A new constitution was written--which is still used today--and he was elected as the first president under this constitution.
However, many forces were arrayed against him, including his former allies Villa and Zapata, who thought his reforms didn't go far enough, and many wealthy landowners and the Catholic Church, who thought that his reforms were too radical. Carranza placed a bounty on Zapata's head, which eventually resulted in his assassination, and Carranza's army hunted down Villa in northern Mexico. As his presidential term drew to a close, however, he offended several powerful military and political leaders by picking a man they did not approve of to succeed him. In 1920 an alliance of these leaders, headed by Gen. Álvaro Obregón, led a rebellion against Carranza. His forces were defeated and he fled Mexico City. He headed toward Vera Cruz to reorganize, but on 5/21/20, he stopped in a house in the town of Tlaxacalantongo to spend the night. Obregon's spies learned of his whereabouts, and later that night the house was attacked by Obregon's men and Carranza was shot and killed. - Soundtrack
Composer ("Oh, Promise Me") and author, educated at St. John's College in Oxford, England. He also studied with Lebert, Pruckner, Vannucini, von Suppe, Genee, and Delibes. He earned an honorary Mus. D. at Racine College. He first worked in a brokerage firm, and also owned a dry-cleaning business in 1882, becoming a music critic for the Chicago Evening Post in 1889 and Harper's Weekly from 1895-1897, and the New York World between 1898 and 1900 and again between 1907 and 1912. He organized and conducted the Washington, D.C. Symphony Orchestra between 1902 and 1904, and was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and also ASCAP since 1929. He wrote the Broadway stage scores for "The Begum", "Robin Hood", "The Knickerbockers", "The Algerian", "The Fencing Master", "Rob Roy", "The Highwayman", "Papa's Wife", "The Little Duchess", "Maid Marian", "Red Feather", "Happyland", and "The Beauty Spot". His chief musical collaborator was Harry B. Smith, and his other popular-song compositions include "Brown October Ale", "Sweetheart, My Own Sweetheart", "The Spinning Song", "Little Boy Blue", "My Home Is Where the Heather Blooms", "Come, Lads of the Highlands", "Dearest Heart of My Heart", "Do You Remember Love?", "Moonlight Song", Gypsy Song", and "Hammock Love".- Aleksandr Kolchak, a Czarist admiral who led the military resistance to the Bolshevik government in Russia after the 1917 revolution, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1874. His family had a long history of military service (his father was an artillery officer who fought the British in the Battle of Sevastopol in the Crimean War, scene of the famous "Charge of the Light Brigade"), and Kolchak graduated from the Russian Naval Academy in 1894. He was soon posted to the wilds of Vladivostok, spending four years there before returning to Russia and being stationed at the huge Kronstadt naval base. He took part in two expeditions to Russia's Arctic regions, for which he picked up the nickname "Polar Bear". During the 1905 Russo-Japanese War Kolchak was posted to a cruiser at Port Arthur, and his ship was responsible for sinking a Japanese heavy cruiser. He was then transferred to shore duty at an artillery battery during the Japanese siege of the city. He was seriously wounded and captured by the victorious Japanese forces, but the severity of his wounds resulted in his being returned to Russia by the Japanese shortly before the end of the war.
Recuperating from his injuries, he was assigned the task of helping to remake and improve the Russian navy, which had been virtually destroyed by the Japanese during the war. He was posted to the Baltic Fleet upon the outbreak of World War I with the job of planning an attack on the German naval bases at Kiel and Danzig, a task he handled so well that he was promoted to Vice-Admiral and given command of the Black Sea Fleet, which was operating against Turkish forces. Kolchak noticed that there were no railroads between the coal mines in eastern Turkey and the capital, meaning that the country's entire coal supply had to reach the capital by ship. He devised a plan to attack and sink as many Turkish coal ships as possible, and his effectiveness at that task severely damaged the Turkish war effort.
Russia's overall military and political situation was deteriorating rapidly, however. Several staggering military defeats, resulting in enormous casualties (100,000+ dead at the Battle of Tannenberg alone), demoralized the Russian army, spawning mutinies, mass desertions and open revolt. The czar was overthrown in 1917 and a new government, headed by Aleksandr Kerensky, took power. Kolchak was sent to Great Britain and the US as an "observer", although many thought it was to remove him as a potential rival to Kerensky. After a tour of Britain and a short visit to the US, Kolchak returned to Russia via Japan. He was in Manchuria in 1917 when the Bolsheviks overthrew Kerensky and seized power. Kolchak joined the opposition to the Bolsheviks, commonly called the "Whites" (the Bolsheviks were commonly called the "Reds"). After a series of coups and countercoups wracked the White government, Kolchak was eventually offered the position of "Supreme Ruler", which he accepted. He was supported by the Allied powers, which wanted Russia to stay in the war against the Germans. Kolchak consolidated his power through some very repressive means, including mass arrests and executions of opponents.
Kolchak's forces achieved several impressive victories against the Bolshevik armies in the country's Siberian region, partly due to the money, arms and other supplies he received from the British. In addition, the Red Army's brutal treatment of the population under its control--including rapes, looting, tortures and executions--brought about a series of local uprisings against them. All this resulted in the Reds retreating and Kolchak's forces taking control of a territory of almost 300,000 square miles. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't hold it for very long. Running out of supplies by spring, they were attacked by fresh Red Army forces and pushed back. Also, the authoritarian and somewhat arrogant Kolchak had alienated his political and military allies (he had several thousand Czech and Polish troops in addition to his own forces), as did the widespread corruption in his government and the brutal treatment of civilians by some units in his army, and the British and American governments refused to give him any more aid. The Red Army broke through the White lines in the Ural Mountains and took several important cities. By the end of the year the White forces, hammered by bad weather, running out of supplies and suffering many casualties, retreated towards their Siberian bases in disarray. The Reds attacked and captured the important White city of Omsk, a major setback for the White government, which lost a huge amount of much-needed ammunition and 50,000 of its troops taken prisoner. The Whites' situation continued to deteriorate, and there were several coup attempts against Kolchak by opponents who perceived him as weakened. In 1920 new leadership took over the White government and dismissed him. He was promised safe passage to the British embassy in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, but instead he was handed over to the Red army, which quickly tried him and sentenced him to death. He was shot by a firing squad on Feb. 7, 1920. - Mary Alice Scully was born on 26 October 1902 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. She was a writer, known for Whispering Canyon (1926), One Way Street (1925) and The Re-Creation of Brian Kent (1925). She was married to Pierre Gendron. She died on 15 March 1920 in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA.
- Olive Schreiner was born on 24 March 1855 in Wittebergen, Basutoland [now South Africa]. She was a writer, known for The Hunter (1973), The Story of an African Farm (1980) and The Story of an African Farm (2004). She was married to Samuel Cronwright. She died on 11 December 1920 in Wynberg, South Africa.
- Gabrielle Réjane was born on 6 June 1856 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for Madame Sans-Gêne (1911), Madame Sans-Gêne (1900) and Miarka, the Child of the Bear (1920). She was married to Paul Porel. She died on 14 June 1920 in Paris, France.
- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Hal Reid was born on 14 April 1862 in Cedarville, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Deerslayer (1913), Prohibition (1915) and Cardinal Wolsey (1912). He was married to Marcella Frances Russell, Mrs. Hal Reid and Marylee (Mae) Withers. He died on 22 May 1920 in New York City, New York, USA.- Thomas Persse was born on 4 September 1862 in Lembrick, Ireland. He was an actor, known for The Shuttle (1918), Girls (1919) and Luck in Pawn (1919). He was married to Edith. He died on 17 April 1920 in Venice, California, USA.
- Thomas Commerford was born on 1 August 1855 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Ex-Convict (1913), Frauds (1915) and The Hobo's Rest Cure (1912). He died on 17 February 1920 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Director
- Writer
Theodore Marston was born on 10 August 1868 in Minnesota, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Robin Hood (1913), The Secret Kingdom (1917) and Jane Eyre (1910). He died on 2 October 1920 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- William Dean Howells was born on 1 March 1837 in Martins Ferry, Ohio, USA. He was a writer, known for The United States Steel Hour (1953), Studio 57 (1954) and Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999). He was married to Elinore Gertrude Mead. He died on 11 May 1920 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Oliver Doud Byron was born on 14 November 1842 in Frederick, Maryland, USA. Oliver Doud was a writer, known for Across the Continent (1913). Oliver Doud was married to Kate Byron (actress). Oliver Doud died on 22 October 1920 in Long Beach, New York, USA.
- Edwin Holt was born on 12 April 1863 in Fort Fairfield, Maine, USA. He was an actor, known for Heart and Soul (1917), The Pretenders (1916) and The Wheel of the Law (1916). He died on 5 July 1920 in Manhattan, New York, USA.
- Indian nationalist, scholar, and philosopher. He was born in Ratnagiri during British rule of India in 1956. After teaching mathematics, he was owner and editor of 2 weekly newspapers. A militant member of the 'extremist' wing within the Indian National Congress (and a member of the famous 'Lal, Pal and Bal' trio), he was twice imprisoned by the British for his nationalist activities. He helped to found the Home Rule League in 1914.
- Millie Liston was born on 24 April 1859 in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. She was an actress, known for Oliver Twist (1912), Traffic in Souls (1913) and A Daughter of the Gods (1916). She was married to Thomas P. Hudson, Thomas Webb Huffman and Hudson Liston. She died on 20 February 1920 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Aurelio Sidney was born on 17 April 1880 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor and director, known for Mátame (1920), El león (1920) and Ultus, the Man from the Dead (1915). He died on 15 May 1920 in Sitges, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.- Doc Crane was born on 22 April 1846 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was an actor, known for Lord John's Journal (1915), Lord John in New York (1915) and The College Orphan (1915). He died on 17 April 1920 in California, USA.
- Harry McLaughlin was an actor, known for West of the Rio Grande (1921) and Honeymoon Ranch (1920). He died on 21 September 1920 in Syracuse, New York, USA.
- J. Albert Hall was born on 6 October 1874 in Uddeholms works, Varmland, Sweden. He was an actor, known for The Yellow Menace (1916), Gretna Green (1915) and The Eternal City (1915). He was married to Betty ?. He died on 18 April 1920 in Cumberland, Maryland, USA.
- Author and playwright Anna Alice Chapin was born on December 16, 1880, at Newport, New York, to Dr. Frederick Windle Chapin and Anna Jenkins Hoppin. She would go on to be a popular writer of novels, short stories and fairy tales. Chapin collaborated with Glen MacDonough on the libretto "Babes in Toyland" (1904) and was the author of at least two books on music, "Wonder Tales from Wagner" (1898) and "Masters of Music: Their Lives and Works" (1901). She also wrote several plays with her husband, British-born actor/playwright, Robert Peyton Carter.
Anna Alice Chapin died on February 26, 1920 at her residence in New York City. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1918.
Chicago Tribune February 27, 1920, Los Angeles Times, July 8, 1918, Miles Hewitt family Genealogy, The Critic, An Illustrated Monthly Review of Literature, Art and Life, July-December 1904, - Paschoal Segreto was born in 1868 in Salerno, Italy. Paschoal was a producer, known for Vistas Nacionais (1902), Surpresas do Carnaval (1908) and Beijos de Amor (1908). Paschoal died on 22 February 1920 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Walter Edwards was born on 8 January 1870 in Michigan, USA. He was a director and actor, known for The Power of the Street (1915), Who Cares? (1919) and A Girl Named Mary (1919). He died on 12 April 1920 in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, USA.