The world in
What happened in 1921?
28 events across 7 world regions, each with its sources.
Europe
Polish–Soviet WarFrom February 1919 to March 1921, the Second Polish Republic fought the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Emerging from World War I and the Russian Revolution, both were nascent states confronting each other. The war stemmed from intertwined political and territorial aims, intensified by borders left undefined under the post-Versailles settlement.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Unknown author Unknown author / Public domain ↗
Signing of the Anglo-Irish TreatyOn 6 December 1921, British and Irish representatives signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty in London, ending the Irish War of Independence. It established the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Empire, similar to Canada. Northern Ireland, created in 1920, was given the option to opt out, which it exercised, leading to partition. The treaty was a key step toward Irish independence but also sowed the seeds for the Irish Civil War.
Signing of the Peace of RigaOn 18 March 1921 in Riga, Latvia, Poland, Soviet Russia, and Soviet Ukraine signed a peace treaty, officially ending the Polish–Soviet War. Negotiations had begun in Minsk but were moved to Riga. The Polish chief negotiator was Jan Dąbski, and the Soviet side was represented by Adolph Joffe. The treaty established the eastern border of Poland and shaped Eastern Europe in the interwar period.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: official document of Poland / Public domain ↗
Inauguration of Notre Dame de Lorette National CemeteryAround the 1920s, the Notre Dame de Lorette National Cemetery, the world's largest French military cemetery, was inaugurated on the Lorette ridge at Ablain-Saint-Nazaire near Arras. The site, along with the ridge and basilica, dominates the Douai plain and the town of Arras.
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Ukrainian–Soviet WarThe Ukrainian–Soviet War broke out in 1917 as an armed conflict between the Ukrainian People's Republic and Soviet Russia. It began after the October Revolution when Lenin sent an expeditionary force into Ukraine. The Ukrainian side was led by Symon Petliura. Considered part of the Ukrainian War of Independence, the conflict ultimately ended in the failure of Ukraine's struggle for national independence.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Unknown author Unknown author / Public domain ↗
- U.S. and Germany sign separate peace treaty in Berlin
On August 25, 1921, the United States and Germany signed a peace treaty in Berlin, formally ending the state of war following World War I. The U.S. Senate had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles, leading to this separate peace. Ratifications were exchanged on November 11, 1921, and the treaty took effect the same day.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic experienced hyperinflation primarily between 1921 and 1923, peaking in 1923. The German government financed World War I through borrowing and later faced reparations, leading to massive printing of money. This caused a sharp devaluation of the Papiermark, domestic political turmoil, and foreign occupation of the Ruhr. Stability was restored through new currencies like the Rentenmark, and the episode deeply shaped Germany's subsequent fiscal conservatism.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Rancourt German Military Cemetery inauguratedThe Rancourt German Military Cemetery was inaugurated in Rancourt, Somme, France, to bury German soldiers who fell in the First World War.
Signing of the Treaty of Moscow (1921)On 16 March 1921, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic signed a treaty of friendship (also called the Treaty of Brotherhood) in Moscow. Neither the Republic of Turkey nor the Soviet Union had been established. The treaty was concluded between Mustafa Kemal's Ankara government and Lenin's Soviet Russia, securing eastern border stability and external support for the Turkish National Movement.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Grand National Assembly of Turkey and Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic / Public domain ↗
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Establishment of Yasnaya Polyana as Tolstoy House MuseumIn 1921, the former home of writer Leo Tolstoy, Yasnaya Polyana, was established as a memorial and opened to the public as a museum. The estate is located about 12 kilometres southwest of Tula, Russia, and was Tolstoy's birthplace, long-term residence, and burial place.
West Asia
Armenian GenocideBetween 1915 and 1917, the Ottoman Empire's Committee of Union and Progress systematically destroyed the Armenian people, primarily through death marches and forced Islamization, resulting in approximately one million deaths.
Outbreak of the Turkish War of IndependenceIn 1919, the Turkish War of Independence broke out in Anatolia, primarily pitting the Turkish National Movement against the Entente powers and their allies. The war stemmed from the occupation and partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. After about four years of conflict, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, the sultanate and caliphate were abolished, and the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923.
Greco-Turkish WarThe Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) pitted Greece against the Turkish National Movement amid the partition of the Ottoman Empire and formed part of the Turkish War of Independence. Fought from 15 May 1919 to 14 October 1922, it ended with a Turkish victory that nullified the Treaty of Sèvres. Under the Treaty of Lausanne, Greece abandoned its 1920 territorial gains and retained only the Aegean islands; the compulsory population exchange between the two states was carried out under a separate convention concluded at the Lausanne conference.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Unknown author Unknown author / Public domain ↗
- Signing of the Treaty of Ankara
On 20 October 1921, France and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey signed the Treaty of Ankara, ending the Franco-Turkish War. French diplomat Henry Franklin-Bouillon and Turkish Foreign Minister Yusuf Kemal Bey signed the agreement. France recognized the end of hostilities in exchange for economic concessions and Turkish recognition of the French Mandate for Syria.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- 1921 Persian coup d'état
On the night of February 20–21, 1921, Reza Khan, commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade, and Seyyed Zia'eddin Tabatabai led a military coup in Tehran, deposing Prime Minister Fathollah Akbar Sepahdar. Ahmad Shah Qajar subsequently appointed Tabatabai as prime minister and Reza Khan as commander-in-chief of the army. The coup paved the way for the eventual fall of the Qajar dynasty and the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Franco-Turkish WarThe Franco-Turkish War (December 1918 – October 1921) was a series of armed conflicts between the Turkish Grand National Assembly forces and the French army in Cilicia and elsewhere, during the Turkish War of Independence. French claims in the region stemmed from the Sykes-Picot Agreement, and the crisis of Armenian refugees further fueled tensions. The war ended with Turkish victory and French withdrawal, consolidating the Turkish national movement's control over southern Anatolia.
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Founding of Rustaveli TheatreIn 1921, the theatrical company in Tbilisi was reorganized on the basis of the State Drama Theatre, establishing the theatre named after Georgia's national poet Rustaveli. Housed in a Rococo building on Rustaveli Avenue, it later became the largest theatre in Georgia.
Establishment of the MatenadaranThe Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, commonly known as the Matenadaran, was established in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It is one of the world's richest repositories of medieval manuscripts, functioning as a museum, archive, and research institute, named after the creator of the Armenian alphabet.
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Founding of the Sundukyan State Academic TheatreThe Sundukyan State Academic Theatre was founded on February 25, 1922, in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It is the oldest modern theatre in the country.
North Africa
Rif War beginsIn 1921, armed conflict broke out between Spain and Berber tribes of the Rif region in northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, Rifian forces used guerrilla tactics and captured Western weaponry to repeatedly defeat Spanish troops. France intervened in 1925, escalating the war, which ended with the surrender of the Rifian resistance.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: José Moreno Carbonero / Public domain ↗
Outbreak of the French conquest of MoroccoIn 1907, France began its conquest of the Sultanate of Morocco by occupying Oujda on 29 March. Subsequent military campaigns led to the Treaty of Fes in 1912, establishing the French protectorate, while pacification operations continued until 1934.
Battle of AnnualOn 22 July 1921, Spanish forces suffered a catastrophic defeat at Annual in northeastern Morocco against Riffian Berbers during the Rif War. Known as the Disaster of Annual, it is regarded as the worst defeat in modern Spanish military history. The disaster triggered a major political crisis in Spain, bringing down several governments, leading to Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, the abdication of King Alfonso XIII, and a complete reassessment of Spanish colonial policy in the Rif.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Unknown author Unknown author / Public domain ↗
Construction of St. Peter's Cathedral in RabatSt. Peter's Cathedral was built in downtown Rabat, Morocco, in the early 20th century. Designed in the Art Deco style, it is dedicated to Saint Peter and serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Rabat.
Central Asian steppe
- Outbreak of the Basmachi Movement
In 1916, an uprising by Muslim peoples of Central Asia against tsarist conscription and colonial rule broke out in Turkestan, marking the beginning of the Basmachi movement. This decentralized resistance later turned against Soviet rule and became the most protracted anti-colonial armed struggle in the region, gradually subsiding only by 1934.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Outbreak of the Mongolian Revolution of 1921From March to July 1921, the Mongolian People's Party, with the aid of the Soviet Red Army, defeated the Russian White Guards occupying Outer Mongolia and seized power from the Bogd Khanate. The revolution ended the White Guards' presence in the region and laid the groundwork for the 1924 founding of the Mongolian People's Republic.
Central & South America
Banana WarsBetween 1898 and 1934, the United States carried out a series of military occupations, police actions, and interventions in Central America and the Caribbean. These operations were primarily conducted by the United States Marine Corps, which compiled the Small Wars Manual (1921) based on its experiences.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: A. R. Harrison, United States Marine Corps / Public domain ↗
South Asia
- Founding of Visva-Bharati University
Visva-Bharati University was founded in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India, with its foundation stone laid by poet Rabindranath Tagore, aiming to foster communion between India and the world. It became a central university in 1951 after Indian independence.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North America
Completion of Hollyhock HouseHollyhock House was completed in 1921 in Los Angeles as Frank Lloyd Wright's first residential commission in the city. Located in Barnsdall Art Park, it features a Mayan Revival style. Later it was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Around 1921
These are known only to the century, not to the year. They are listed separately so a rough date is never mistaken for an exact one.
- Completion of the Taipei Grand Mosque
- Establishment of Women's Suffrage Worldwide
- Establishment of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
- Construction of Grimeton Longwave Radio Station
- Construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway begins
- Construction of the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright Begins
- Construction of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in 'The Centre of Heaven and Earth'
- Establishment of the Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains