On This Day

Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures & Louis B Mayer Co merged to form Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM)

Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio,...

Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1916, by Samuel Goldfish (who later changed his name to Goldwyn), an executive at Lasky's Feature Play Company, and Broadway producer brothers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn, using an amalgamation of both last names to name the company.

The studio proved moderately successful, but became most famous due to its iconic Leo the Lion trademark. Although Metro was the nominal survivor, the merged studio inherited Goldwyn's old facility in Culver City, California, where it would remain until 1986.

Historical Significance

Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Events Before

  1. Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS

    The "Big Four" was a name used to describe the four largest railway companies in the United Kingdom in the period 1923–1947.

  2. President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (41) weds Latife Hanim; divorce in 1925

    President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (41) weds Latife Hanim; divorce in 1925

  3. Howard Carter opens the inner burial chamber of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb and finds the sarcophagus

    Howard Carter (9 May 1874 – 2 March 1939) was a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who became known for discovering the intact tomb of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun in November 1922, the...

  4. Italian actor Rudolph Valentino (24) divorces actress Jean Acker (26)

    Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino or mononymously as Valentino was an Italian-born...

  5. Writer Anaïs Nin (Delta of Venus) marries banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in Havana, Cuba

    Writer Anaïs Nin (Delta of Venus) marries banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in Havana, Cuba

Events After

  1. Norway's capital, Kristiania, changes its name to Oslo

    Oslo is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality.

  2. Benito Mussolini dissolves the Italian Parliament and proclaims himself dictator of Italy, taking the title Il Duce (the

    Benito Mussolini dissolves the Italian Parliament and proclaims himself dictator of Italy, taking the title Il Duce (the Leader)

  3. Actress Gloria Swanson (25) weds aristocrat Henri de la Falaise (26) in Paris, France

    Actress Gloria Swanson (25) weds aristocrat Henri de la Falaise (26) in Paris, France

  4. Heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey (29) weds actress Estelle Taylor (30)

    Heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey (29) weds actress Estelle Taylor (30)

  5. German lawyer and future Nazi war criminal Hans Frank (24) weds German secretary Brigitte Herbst (29) in Munich, Germany

    German lawyer and future Nazi war criminal Hans Frank (24) weds German secretary Brigitte Herbst (29) in Munich, Germany, until his execution in 1946

More from the 1920s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on April 17, 1924?
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1916, by Samuel Goldfish (who later changed his name to Goldwyn), an executive at Lasky's Feature Play Company, and Broadway producer brothers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn, using an amalgamation of both last names to name the company. The studio proved moderately successful, but became most famous due to its iconic Leo the Lion trademark.
Why is Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures & Louis B Mayer Co merged to form Metro Gold... significant?
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

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