Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie wins her first world championship. She will win the next nine world amateur championships, as well as gold medals at the Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936; she becomes an American citizen in 1941.
Singer Ethel Waters appears in the all-lack musical revue Africana on Broadway. During her long career, she popularizes a number of hit songs, including “Stormy Weather” and “Dinah.”
Anthropologist Margaret Mead publishes what will become her most famous book: Coming of Age in Samoa. She is also well remembered for her quote “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Ruby Keeler is the first tap-dancing movie star.
Genevieve Cline is the first woman appointed a federal judge; her post is in New York at the U. S. Customs House.
Dog breeder Dorothy Eustis starts the Seeing Eye dog school to train dogs (primarily a special strain of German shepherds) to serve blind individuals.
Actress Bette Davis makes her Broadway debut in Broken Dishes.
Philanthropist and art collector Marjorie Merriweather Post provides funds for a Salvation Army food kitchen in New York and is known as “Lady Bountiful of Hell’s Kitchen.”
Agnes Moorehead (left) begins a long, successful acting career in radio, film, and television.
The onset of the Great Depression brings new support to the idea that a woman’s place is in the home. Working women are said to be taking jobs away from men. Ironically, because of the poor economic situation, many women will find it necessary to work.