1927: A Year in the Collections

May 20–21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh made his famous solo, non-stop transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis. Philo T. Farnsworth transmitted the first electronic TV image, physicist Heisenberg developed the Uncertainty Principle, and the Harlem Globetrotters took to the road for the first time. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the largest river flood in American history. Anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed despite public outcry, Joseph Stalin consolidated power, and the US Food, Drug and Insecticide Administration was formed. There was no doubt that Clara Bow was the “It” Girl, and the film The Jazz Singer wowed with synchronized sound.