During 1926,a general strike occured in England due to an economic slump.
Major News Stories From the year include Great Miami Hurricane, Henry Ford announces the 40-hour week, U.S. Route 66 created, European High Unemployment, John Logie Baird public demonstration of a television, General strike in England, National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) is launched, Gangsters fighting increase as each try to control Illegal Alcohol Sales
UK -- General strike
General strike in England begins in support of the coal miners strike on May 3rd and ends May 12th.
More Information and Timeline for UK General Strike
1. Mine owners in the United Kingdom announce their intention to reduce miners' wages and increase hours for workers.
2. The Samuel Commission publishes a report on March 10th, that recommended the nationalization of the mining industry and a decrease of miners wages of 13.5 percent.
3. Mine owners announce on May 1st, that if workers do not accept new terms, including a longer work day and less wages then there would be a lock-out.
4. Last minute negotiations fail between miners and mine owners and over one million mine workers are locked out on May 1st,
5. The Trades Unions Congress announces a general strike to begin at around midnight on May 3rd in support of mine workers. On May 4th, up to 1.75 million workers went on strike, bringing transportation in the UK to a halt.
6. Workers strike until May 12th, when they call off the strike after failing to negotiate with mine owners to change the terms.
7. In 1927 the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act is put in place to prevent another general strike as it banned mass picketing and sympathetic strikes.
United States -- Great Miami Hurricane
1. Miami went through a huge boom in the early 1920s and at the time of the storm the population of the city was over 100,000 people. Many people in the rapidly expanding population were new to the region and did not know much about hurricanes so there was a lot of uncertainty on how to prepare for and react to large storms.
2. The hurricane formed on September 11, .
3. Ships observed it in the ocean and reported it to the US Weather Bureau when it was about 1000 miles east of the Leeward Islands.
4. The storm passed by Puerto Rico September 15th, .
5. The US Weather Bureau issued the storm warning about 12 hours before the storm started to hit Miami.
6. The Category 4 Storm hit Miami on September 18, early in the morning, it had winds recorded at 128 MPH and 12 to 15 foot high storm surges.
7. It was reported that many people went outside in the eye of the hurricane as they thought the storm was over and were caught off guard when the winds picked back up.
8. The storm also stuck Alabama and Mississippi on September 20th and September 21st, although it was not as intense as it had been in Miami.
9. The hurricane dissipated on September 22, .
10. 372 people died in the storm and about 6,000 people were injured.
11. Approximately 43,000 people were homeless afterwards.
12. This was one of the most destructive storms in US history in terms of the cost of the property damage. The devastation of the hurricane caused Miami to start experiencing the effects of the Great Depression a few years earlier than the rest of the country.
Note - A particularly useful source on this information is the National Weather Service which provides a brief summary of the event and links to original documentation and reports of the storm with much more detail.