Look Back To 1923: What Happened That Year

The White Horse Final at Wembley and the first Radio Times.

Here's 1923 in full - the music, the news, the screen, the sport and the ordinary details. Good for a birthday card, a party quiz round or a reminiscence session.

Popular music in 1923

• The Radio Times was first published in September, listing what the wireless would play.
• Dance bands broadcast live and the tea dance became a fashionable habit.
• Jazz was still treated as shocking by much of the press.

In the news in 1923

• Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister in May.
• The Duke of York, later George VI, married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in April.
• Hyperinflation in Germany dominated foreign news.

On screen in 1923

• Safety Last!, with Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock, was released.
• Cinema audiences were growing every year.
• Films were still silent.

In sport in 1923

• The first FA Cup final at Wembley on 28 April drew a crowd far beyond capacity, cleared by a policeman on a white horse.
• Bolton Wanderers beat West Ham 2-0 in that final.
• Liverpool won the league again.

Everyday life in 1923

• Wireless licences grew quickly through the year.
• Council housing schemes continued under new subsidies.
• The charabanc outing to the coast became a summer institution.

If you were born in 1923

• Anyone born in 1923 is the same age as Wembley Stadium and the Radio Times.
• They were sixteen when the Second World War began.
• Anyone born in 1923 turns 30 in 1953, 40 in 1963, 50 in 1973, 60 in 1983 and 70 in 1993.
• For a milestone card, the strongest line is usually the number one from the week they were born rather than the year's biggest events - it's personal, and it takes two minutes to find.
• For a reminiscence session, read one section at a time and stop on whatever gets a reaction. The point is the conversation, not the facts.

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How to write it so it lands

• The number one from the week they were born beats the year's headlines on a card.
• Read one section at a time in a reminiscence session and stop where the conversation starts.
• Use it as a guess-the-year round by reading three facts and hiding the date.

Where to shop next

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• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
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• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What was the White Horse Final?

The first FA Cup final at Wembley, on 28 April 1923, when the crowd spilled onto the pitch and was pushed back partly by a police horse that looked white on newsreel film.

When did the Radio Times start?

28 September 1923.

How old is someone born in 1923?

Subtract 1923 from the current year. They turn 40 in 1963, 50 in 1973, 60 in 1983 and 70 in 1993.

Do you sell anything to do with this year?

We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK, including milestone birthday cards. This page itself is free to read and free to copy.