• Tour de France - Race director Henri Desgranges had a brilliant idea and had yellow colored jerseys sent down from Paris. Yellow was chosen for the color of the jersey because the color of Desgranges’ newspaper Le Auto was printed on yellow paper. Conveniently, the bright color also made the race leader stand out in the pack. Before the start of stage 11 in Grenoble on July 18, 1919, Eugene Christophe was awarded the first race leader’s “Maillot Jaune” (Yellow Jersey). This act marked the birth of the most recognizable symbol and the most coveted prize in the history of bicycle racing.

• Black Sox Scandal - 1919, the Chicago White Sox lost the World Series to the underdog Cincinnati Red Legs. Rumors of gambling on baseball caused the 1919 White Sox to be dubbed the Black Sox. Chicago’s Shoeless Joe Jackson denied any wrongdoing, but he and his teammates were banned from baseball for life.

• World Health - The Spanish flu epidemic caused over 20 million deaths. It is thought to have been the most deadly epidemic so far in human history, killing more people than the Black Plague.

• WW1 - June 28, 1919 the Peace Treaty of Versailles was signed, officially ending World War 1. The signing of the Peace Treaty also marked the creation of the League of Nations.

• Middle East - The first Palestine National Congress met in Jerusalem and rejected the Balfour Declaration (establishing a Jewish national homeland in Palestine). They demanded independence for Palestine.

Notable Deaths-
Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, 1858-1919, was the 26th President of the USA. A man of great energy and vision, he set the tone for the country at the start of a new century.

1915-18

1920

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