A century ago, the newly established Irish Free State was descending into civil war, Russia was still enduring a terrible famine, construction of the Lincoln Memorial was completed in Washington, D.C., Benito Mussolini’s Fascist Party seized control of the Italian government, and much more. Please take a moment for a look back at some of the events and sights from around the world 100 years ago.

The original caption, dated April 15, 1922, reads: "Speed demons beware. The Los Angeles Motor Corps with their new fleet of Indian motorcycles all ready and waiting to set out after Californian motorists who like to step on the gas." #

Original caption, dated April 18, 1922: "Thirty foot wall of water raging towards Beardstown, Illinois, as the levee broke under the tremendous pressure. The Illinois River at flood stage, the highest ever known, rapidly poured into the lowlands at right. In foreground are the C.B. & Q. railroad tracks—the last connecting link between Beardstown and the outside world—just washed away." #

Charlie Chaplin (center) agreed to act as referee in an encounter between his colleague Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (left) and Joe Benjamin, a contender for Benny Leonard's lightweight crown on January 24, 1922. #

An interior view of the rigid airship USS Shenandoah, under construction at the Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, circa 1922 #

The Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins addresses a large crowd at College Green in Dublin, Ireland, in 1922, after the ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty that established the Irish Free State. #

Two men hold guns behind a barricade in a Dublin street during factional fighting over the recently established Free State treaty. #

An aerial view of lower New York City and the Battery, photographed in 1922 #

Children roll hoops in London's Hyde Park. #

A boat race takes place in Mandalay, Burma, photographed during a tour by England's Prince of Wales. #

People tour through a snowfield in the Alps in cars fitted with caterpillar tracks and skids. #

Original caption, from India, in August of 1922: "A Gandhi procession reminds one of a carnival celebration. Volunteers in the non-cooperative movement dress in their home-woven costumes and shout 'Swaraj' (home-rule). A huge spinning wheel leads the procession as an emblem of Gandhiism." #

A group of delegates from the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) visits the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in September of 1922, to demand independence for the former German colonies in Southwest Africa, with a view to founding a new republic for Africans around the world. From left, they are Jean J. Adam (Haiti), James O'Meally (Jamaica), George O. Marke (Sierra Leone), and William L. Sherrill (USA). #

The Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini (center, hands on hips) stands with members of the Fascist Party in Rome, Italy, after he seized control of the Italian government in a bloodless coup on October 28, 1922. #

Original caption: "Troops supporting the government of President Sun Yat-Sen train with modern machine guns during civil war in China." #

In March of 1922, refugees sit on a train waiting to leave Tashkent during the Russian famine of 1921–22. #

In the Vinohrady district of Prague, primary-school students knit and crochet for Russian aid, volunteering for the Prague Czecho-Slovak Junior Red Cross on March 8, 1922. #

The expert sharpshooter and performer Annie Oakley came out of retirement to practice for the Fred Stone Circus and Motor Hippodrome at the Mineola Fairgrounds on Long Island on July 27, 1922. Oakley performed in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show from 1885 to 1902. #

U.S. President Warren G. Harding throws out the first ball of the baseball season opener in Washington, D.C., on April 12, 1922. #

Original caption: "The Biggest Little Chicken Ever Seen in America. Here is a living tribute to Luther Burbank made by the children of Petaluma, California. Thousands of school children turned out to do honor to the plant wizard and as a climax to the parade they formed themselves into groups which built up this monster chicken." #

In Washington, D.C., people ice skate in front of the Lincoln Memorial in January of 1922. Construction of the memorial was nearing completion, and it was dedicated on May 30, 1922. #

A group of U.S. senators rides the old monorail that used to operate underneath the Senate Office Building, circa 1922. #

Original caption: "This bird-like glider is a plane belonging to the Berlin Aero Club, which covered a distance of three miles in the astounding motorless plane contests recently held in Germany." #

A view of traffic bustling through London's Piccadilly Circus, circa 1922. #

Original caption: "A demonstration on Palace Roof, 57th Street and 7th Avenue, showing the shellproof steel jacket. Leo Krause wearing the jacket, which weighs 12 pounds. Shots used, 38 and 45 calibre, at close range." #

A military parade takes place on the fifth anniversary of the Russian Revolution, in Moscow, on November 20, 1922. With horses being scarce, the Red Army had to use American tractors to pull their artillery. #

The American baseball player Babe Ruth (center, wearing bow tie) poses with a crowd of young fans in New York City in 1922. #

A man experiments with a large wheeled vehicle driven by a mounted propeller, somewhere in the U.S., circa 1922. #

Original caption: "A scene in a women's silk hosiery factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1922. The women are working on the seaming machines which sew the seam up the back of the stocking." #

A view of a crowded Ocean Beach in San Francisco, California, circa 1922 #

Original caption, dated June 29, 1922: "Little Miss Tarkington, daughter of Mrs. W. Tarkington Jr., snapped on the steps of the White House patiently waiting to snap a picture of Mr. Harding." #

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