Events
January
![Howard Hughes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Howard_Hughes.jpg)
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
–
Anastasio Somoza García
Anastasio Somoza García (1 February 1896 – 29 September 1956) was the leader of Nicaragua from 1937 until his assassination in 1956. He was only officially the 21st President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 19 ...
becomes
President of Nicaragua
The president of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de Nicaragua), officially known as the president of the Republic of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de la República de Nicaragua), is the head of state and head of government of Nicaragua. The office was ...
.
*
January 5
Events Pre-1600
*1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Duchy of Burgundy, Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.
1601–1900
*1675 – Battle of Turckh ...
– Water levels begin to rise in the
Ohio River
The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
in the United States, leading to the
Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, 385 people died, one million people were left homeless and property losses reached $500 million ($10.2 billion ...
, which continues into February, leaving 1 million people homeless and 385 people dead.
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
–
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
:
Second Battle of the Corunna Road
The Second Battle of the Corunna Road ( es, Batalla de la Carretera de Coruña) was a battle of the Spanish Civil War that took place from 13 December 1936 to 15 January 1937, northwest of Madrid. In December 1936, the Nationalists launched an ...
ends inconclusively.
*
January 20
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
* 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
* 1156 &ndas ...
–
Second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt
The second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president of the United States was held on Wednesday, January 20, 1937, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 38th presidential inauguration and marke ...
:
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
is sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. This is the first time that the
United States presidential inauguration
The inauguration of the president of the United States is a ceremony to mark the commencement of a new four-year term of the president of the United States. During this ceremony, between 73 to 79 days after the presidential election, the pre ...
occurs on this date; the change is due to the ratification in 1933 of the
Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twentieth Amendment (Amendment XX) to the United States Constitution moved the beginning and ending of the terms of the President of the United States, president and Vice President of the United States, vice president from March4 to January ...
.
*
January 23
Events Pre-1600
* 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
* 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
*1264 & ...
–
Moscow Trials
The Moscow trials were a series of show trials held by the Soviet Union between 1936 and 1938 at the instigation of Joseph Stalin. They were nominally directed against "Trotskyists" and members of "Right Opposition" of the Communist Party of th ...
: Trial of the Anti-Soviet Trotskyist Center – In the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
17 leading
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
s go on trial, accused of participating in a plot led by
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
to overthrow
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's regime, and assassinate its leaders.
February
*
February 8
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
*1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al ...
–
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
: Falangist troops take
Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
.
*
February 8
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
*1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al ...
–
February 27
Events Pre-1600
* 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity.
* 425 – The University of Constantinople ...
–
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
–
Battle of Jarama
The Battle of Jarama (6–27 February 1937) was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moro ...
: Nationalist and Republican troops fight to a stalemate.
*
February 16
Events Pre-1600
* 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
* 1270 – Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Kar ...
–
Wallace H. Carothers
Wallace Hume Carothers (; April 27, 1896 – April 29, 1937) was an American chemist, inventor and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont, who was credited with the invention of nylon.
Carothers was a group leader at the DuPont Experiment ...
receives a
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
for
nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic.
Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...
in the United States.
*
February 19
Events Pre-1600
* 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
* 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan ...
** Airliner VH-UHH (''Stinson'') goes down over
Lamington National Park
The Lamington National Park is a national park, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border in Australia. From Southport on the Gold Coast the park is to the southwest and Brisbane is north. Th ...
, bound for Sydney, killing 5 people.
**
Yekatit 12
Yekatit 12 () is a date in the Ge'ez calendar which refers to the massacre and imprisonment of Ethiopians by the Italian occupation forces following an attempted assassination of Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, Marquis of Negele, Viceroy of Italian Ea ...
: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
,
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, two
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
n nationalists attempt to kill viceroy
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
with a number of grenades. Italian security guards fire into the crowd of Ethiopian onlookers. Authorities exact further reprisals, which include indiscriminately slaughtering native Ethiopians over the next 3 days, detaining thousands of Ethiopians at
Danan Danan may refer to:
Places
* Danan (volcano), one of the three volcanic cones of the island of Krakatoa
* Danan (Amran), sub-district located in Al Ashah District, 'Amran Governorate, Yemen
* Danan (woreda), a district in eastern Ethiopia
* Danan, ...
and slaughtering almost 300 monks at the
Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos (Amharic: ደብረ ሊባኖስ, om, Dabra libanose) is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. It was founded in 1284 by Saint Tekle Haymanot as D ...
Monastery.
** The flag of the Netherlands is officially adopted.
*
February 20
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
*1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland ...
–
Roberto Ortiz
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
is elected president of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
*
February 21
Events Pre-1600
* 452 or 453 – Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine.
* 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
* 1440 – The Prus ...
– The
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
Non-Intervention Committee
During the Spanish Civil War, several countries followed a principle of non-intervention to avoid any potential escalation or possible expansion of the war to other states. That would result in the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in Au ...
prohibits foreign nationals from fighting in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
.
*
February 25
Events Pre-1600
* 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
* 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
...
–
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...
's
Tintin
Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to:
''The Adventures of Tintin''
* ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé
** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series
** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...
adventure ''
The Broken Ear
''The Broken Ear'' (french: link=no, L'Oreille cassée, originally published in English as ''Tintin and the Broken Ear'') is the sixth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by ...
'' (''L'Oreille cassée'') concludes serialization in the Belgian weekly newspaper supplement ''
Le Petit Vingtième
''Le Petit Vingtième'' (, ''The Little Twentieth'') was the weekly youth supplement to the Belgium, Belgian newspaper ''Le Vingtième Siècle'' ("The Twentieth Century") from 1928 to 1940. The comics series ''The Adventures of Tintin'' first app ...
'', and soon afterwards is published as a book in black and white.
March
*
March 10
Events Pre-1600
* 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.
* 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a t ...
(dated
March 14
Events Pre-1600
* 1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland.
* 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguen ...
(
Passion Sunday
Passion Sunday is the fifth Sunday of Lent, marking the beginning of Passiontide. In 1969, the Roman Catholic Church removed Passiontide from the liturgical year of the Novus Ordo, but it is still observed in the Extraordinary Form, the Persona ...
)) – The
encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...
''
Mit brennender Sorge
''Mit brennender Sorge'' ( , in English "With deep anxiety") ''On the Church and the German Reich'' is an encyclical of Pope Pius XI, issued during the Nazi Germany, Nazi era on 10 March 1937 (but bearing a date of Passion Sunday, 14 March)." ...
'' ("With burning concern") of
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
is published in Germany in the German language. Largely the work of Cardinals
von Faulhaber and
Pacelli, it condemns breaches of the
1933
Events
January
* January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand.
* January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
Reichskonkordat
The ''Reichskonkordat'' ("Concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich") is a treaty negotiated between the Vatican and the emergent Nazi Germany. It was signed on 20 July 1933 by Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli, who later be ...
agreement signed between the Nazi government and the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, and criticises
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
's views on race and other matters incompatible with Catholicism.
*
March 18
Events Pre-1600
* 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10.
* 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
–
New London School explosion
The New London School explosion occurred on March 18, 1937, when a natural gas leak caused an explosion and destroyed the London School in New London, Texas, United States. The disaster killed more than 300 students and teachers. , the event is ...
: In the worst school disaster in American history in terms of lives lost, the New London School in
New London, Texas
New London is a city in Rusk County, Texas, United States. The population was 958 at the 2020 census.
New London was originally known as just "London". Because Kimble County Texas had already established a US Post Office station named London, ...
, suffers a catastrophic
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
explosion, killing in excess of 295 students and teachers.
Mother Frances Hospital
CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System is a non-profit regional health care provider based in Tyler, Texas that operates eight hospitals and 82 clinic locations in East Texas.
History
In the early 1930s, the Sisters of The Holy Family of ...
opens in
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...
, a day ahead of schedule, in response to the explosion.
*
March 19
Events Pre-1600
* 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
*1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen ends ...
– The encyclical ''
Divini Redemptoris
''Divini Redemptoris'' (Latin for the promise of a Divine Redeemer) is an anti-communist encyclical issued by Pope Pius XI. It was published on 19 March 1937. In this encyclical, the pope sets out to "expose once more in a brief synthesis the ...
'' of
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
, critical of
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
, is published.
*
March 21
Events Pre-1600
* 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the ''Vivarium'', by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas an ...
–
Ponce massacre
The Ponce massacre was an event that took place on Palm Sunday, March 21, 1937, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, when a peaceful civilian march turned into a police shooting in which 19 civilians and two policemen were killed, and more than 200 civilians ...
: A police squad, acting under orders from
Governor of Puerto Rico
The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard.
The governor has a duty ...
Blanton Winship
Blanton C. Winship (November 23, 1869 – October 9, 1947) was an American military lawyer and veteran of both the Spanish–American War and World War I. During his career, he served both as Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Army, Judge Advoc ...
, opens fire on peaceful demonstrators protesting at the arrest of
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, PNPR) is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The P ...
leader
Pedro Albizu Campos
Pedro Albizu Campos (September 12, 1891Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and the leading fi ...
, killing 17 people and injuring over 200.
April
*
April 1
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held.
* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
*1081 – Alexios I Kom ...
**
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
becomes a British
crown colony
A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...
.
** The
Bombing of Jaén
The Bombing of Jaén was an aerial attack on the city of Jaén on 1 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, by the Condor Legion of Nazi Germany, who fought for the rebels. The bombing was ordered by the General Queipo de Llano, as retaliation ...
is carried out in Spain, by the
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legio ...
of the
Nazi German
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
.
*
April 9
Events Pre-1600
* 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
* 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, s ...
– The ''
Kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
'' arrives at
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...
in London; it is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
*
April 12
Events Pre-1600
* 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.
* 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted ...
–
Frank Whittle
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 for ...
ground-tests the world's first
jet engine
A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...
designed to power an aircraft, at
Rugby, England
Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...
.
*
April 20
Events Pre-1600
* 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.
1601–1900
* 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament.
* 1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroy ...
– A fire in an elementary school in
Kilingi-Nõmme
Kilingi-Nõmme is a town in Pärnu County, southwestern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saarde Parish. It's located on the intersection of Valga– Uulu (Valga–Pärnu, nr 6) and Tartu–Viljandi–Kilingi-Nõmme (nr 92) roads, abou ...
,
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, kills 17 students and injures 50.
*
April 26
Events Pre-1600
*1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
* 1348 – Czech king Karel IV founds the Charles University in Prague, which was later named after him and was the first university in Central Europe.
* 14 ...
–
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
: The
Bombing of Guernica
On 26 April 1937, the Basque town of Guernica (''Gernika'' in Basque) was aerial bombed during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe's ...
is carried out in Spain, by the
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legio ...
of the
Nazi German
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
, in support of the
Francoist
Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spani ...
s. Three-quarters of the town is destroyed and hundreds killed.
May
![Golden Gate Bridge 0002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Golden_Gate_Bridge_0002.jpg)
*
May 6
Events Pre-1600
* 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance.
*1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanis ...
–
''Hindenburg'' disaster: In the United States, the German
airship ''Hindenburg'' bursts into flame when mooring to a mast in
Lakehurst, New Jersey
Lakehurst is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,654,[May 7
Events Pre-1600
* 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
* 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I imm ...]
–
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
: The German
Condor Legion Fighter Group, equipped with
Heinkel He 51
The Heinkel He 51 was a Nazi Germany, German single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. It was initially developed as a Fighter aircraft, fighter; a seaplane variant and a Ground-attack aircraft, ground-attack ...
biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
's forces.
*
May 8
Events Pre-1600
* 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
* 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...
–
Wydad Athletic Club
Wydad Athletic Club ( ar, نادي الوداد الرياضي, ) commonly referred to as Wydad AC and known as Wydad, or simply as WAC, is a Moroccan sports club based in Casablanca. Wydad AC is best known for its professional Association footba ...
(WAC)(Arabic: نادي الوداد الرياضي; Berber: ''Wydad Dar al-Beida''; commonly: ''Wydad al ouma'') is established in
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, Morocco; it will be best known for its Casablanca
Association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team.
*
May 12
Events Pre-1600
* 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism.
* 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang d ...
– The
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor and Empress of India at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
, London.
*
May 21
Events Pre-1600
* 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
* 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is Siege of Syracuse ...
** A
Soviet station becomes the first scientific research settlement to operate on the
drift ice
Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...
of the Arctic Ocean.
** As one of the reprisals for the attempted assassination of Italian viceroy
Rodolfo Graziani
Rodolfo Graziani, 1st Marquis of Neghelli (; 11 August 1882 – 11 January 1955), was a prominent Italian military officer in the Kingdom of Italy's '' Regio Esercito'' ("Royal Army"), primarily noted for his campaigns in Africa before and durin ...
, a detachment of Italian troops massacres the entire community of
Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos (Amharic: ደብረ ሊባኖስ, om, Dabra libanose) is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. It was founded in 1284 by Saint Tekle Haymanot as D ...
, killing 297 monks and 23 laymen.
*
May 28
Events Pre-1600
* 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from w ...
**
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...
becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following the retirement of Stanley Baldwin.
* May 30
**
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
: Spanish ship ''Ciudad de Barcelona'' is torpedoed.
** Memorial Day massacre of 1937: The Chicago Police Department shoot and kill 10 unarmed demonstrators in Chicago.
June
* June – Pablo Picasso, Picasso completes his painting ''Guernica (painting), Guernica''.
* June – July – The Dáil Éireann debates and passes the new draft Constitution of Ireland, which is then submitted for public approval by plebiscite.
* June 3 – Wallis Simpson marries the Duke of Windsor, the former Edward VIII, in France.
* June 8
** The Dáil Éireann passes the Executive Authority (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937, which abolishes the office of Governor-General of the Irish Free State, retrospectively dated to December 1936.
** The first total solar eclipse to exceed 7 minutes of totality, in over 800 years, is visible in the Pacific and Peru.
* June 21 – The coalition government of Léon Blum resigns in France.
July
![Diagram of the 1937 Fox vault fire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Diagram_of_the_1937_Fox_vault_fire.jpg)
* July 1
** The Gestapo arrests pastor Martin Niemöller in Germany.
** In a referendum the people of the Irish Free State accept the new Constitution by 685,105 votes to 527,945.
* July 2 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappear after taking off from New Guinea, during Earhart's attempt to become the first woman to fly around the world.
* July 7
** In the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Japanese and Chinese forces exchange fire near Beijing, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War.
** The Peel Commission proposes partition of the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate of Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states.
* July 9 – 1937 Fox vault fire: The silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation are destroyed
* July 20 – The Geibeltbad Pirna is opened in Dresden, Germany.
* July 21 – Éamon de Valera is elected President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, President of the Executive Council (prime minister) of the Irish Free State, by the Dáil (parliament).
* July 22 – New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
* July 25–July 31, 31 – Second Sino-Japanese War, Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Beiping–Tianjin, a series of actions fought around Beijing, Beiping and Tianjin, result in Japanese victory.
* July 29 – Tungchow Mutiny: Units of the East Hopei Army mutiny and kill Japanese troops and civilians in Tongzhou District, Beijing, Tongzhou.
* July 31 – NKVD Operative Order 00447 "Об операции по репрессированию бывших кулаков, уголовников и других антисоветских элементов" ("The operation for repression of former kulaks, criminals and other anti-Soviet elements") is approved by the Politburo of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, initially as a 4-month plan for 75,950 people to be executed and an additional 193,000 to be sent to the Gulag.
August
* August 2 – The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, Marijuana Tax Act in the United States is a significant bill on the path that will lead to the criminalization of cannabis. It was introduced to the U.S. Congress by Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Harry Anslinger.
* August 5 – The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
commences one of the largest campaigns of the Great Purge, to "eliminate anti-Soviet elements". Within the following year, at least 724,000 people are killed on order of the NKVD troika, troikas, directed by
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
. This is an offensive that targets social classes (such as the kulaks), ethnic or racial backgrounds which are seen as non-Russian, and Stalin's personal opponents from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Communist Party and their sympathizers.
* August 6 –
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
: Falangist artillery bombards Madrid.
* August 8 – Japan occupies Beijing.
* August 9 – The Polish Operation of the NKVD (1937–38) is signed by Nikolai Yezhov, as a continuation of the Great Purge.
* August 13 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Shanghai opens.
* August 26 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese aircraft attack the car carrying the ambassador of Great Britain, during a raid on Shanghai.
September
![Dean Franklin - 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Dean_Franklin_-_06.04.03_Mount_Rushmore_Monument_%28by-sa%29-3_new.jpg)
* September 2 – The 1937 Great Hong Kong typhoon, Great Hong Kong Typhoon kills an estimated 11,000 persons.
* September 5 –
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
: The city of Llanes falls to the Falangists.
* September 7 – CBS broadcasts a two-and-a-half hour memorial concert nationwide on radio in memory of George Gershwin, live from the Hollywood Bowl. Many celebrities appear, including Oscar Levant, Fred Astaire, Otto Klemperer, Lily Pons and members of the original cast of ''Porgy and Bess''. The concert is recorded and released complete years later in what is excellent sound for its time, on CD. The Los Angeles Philharmonic is the featured orchestra.
* September 10 – Nine nations meet in the Nyon Conference, led by the United Kingdom and France, to address international piracy in the Mediterranean.
* September 17 – Abraham Lincoln's head is dedicated at Mount Rushmore.
* September 19 – Swiss professional ice hockey club HC Ambrì-Piotta is founded.
* September 21 – George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London publishes the first edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Hobbit''.
* September 25 – Second Sino-Japanese War - Battle of Pingxingguan: The Communist Chinese Eighth Route Army defeats the Japanese.
* September 27 – The last Bali tiger dies.
* September 30 – Austrian born actress of Jewish descent, Hedy Lamarr arrives in New York City to flee from her possessive husband Friedrich Mandl who made arms agreements with the Nazis, and to begin her Hollywood career.
October
* October 1
** The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, Marihuana Tax Act becomes law in the United States.
* October 2–October 8, 8 – Parsley Massacre: Under the orders of President Rafael Trujillo, Dominican troops kill thousands of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic.
* October 3 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese troops advance toward Nanking, capital of the Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China.
* October 5 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, Roosevelt gives his famous ''Quarantine Speech'' in Chicago.
* October 9 – Jimmie Angel lands his plane on top of Devil's Mountain; however, the plane gets damaged, and he has to trek through the rainforest for help.
* October 11 – Duke and Duchess of Windsor's 1937 tour of Germany: The Edward VIII, Duke and Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor arrive in Berlin to begin a 12-day tour of Nazi Germany, meeting Adolf Hitler on the 22nd.
* October 13 – Germany, in a note to Brussels, guarantees the inviolability and integrity of Belgium, so long as the latter abstains from military action against Germany.
* October 15 – Ernest Hemingway's novel ''To Have and Have Not'' is first published, in the United States.
* October 18–October 21 –
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
: The whole Spanish northern seaboard falls into the Falangists' hands; Second Spanish Republic, Republican forces in Gijón, Spain, set fire to petrol reserves, prior to retreating before the advancing Falangists.
* October 23 – 1937 Australian federal election: Joseph Lyons' United Australia Party, UAP/National Party of Australia, Country Coalition (Australia), Coalition Lyons Government, Government is re-elected with a slightly increased majority, defeating the Australian Labor Party, Labor Party led by John Curtin.
* October 25 – Celâl Bayar forms the new (ninth) government of Turkey.
November
* November 5 – World War II: In the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler holds a secret meeting and states his plans for acquiring "living space" for the German people (recorded in the Hossbach Memorandum).
* November 6 – Italy joins the Anti-Comintern Pact.
* November 9 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese troops take Shanghai.
* November 10 – Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas announces the Estado Novo (Brazil), Estado Novo ("New State"), thence becoming dictator of Brazil until 1945.
* November 11 – The Kogushi Sulfur Mine collapse, in western Gunma, Japan, kills at least 245 people.
December
* December 1 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Nanking begins.
* December 4 – ''The Dandy'' Comic book, comic is first published in Scotland; it continued until 2012 as a physical publication, then online until 2013.
* December 11 – Italy withdraws from the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
.
* December 12
** USS Panay incident, USS ''Panay'' incident: Japanese bombers sink the American gunboat .
** Mae West makes a risqué guest appearance on NBC's ''Chase and Sanborn Hour'', which eventually results in her being banned from radio.
* December 13 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Nanking ends with the Japanese occupying the city. In the Nanking Massacre which follows, Japanese soldiers kill over 300,000 Chinese in 3 months. A few days previously, the Nationalist government of China had moved its capital to the southwestern city Chongqing, Chungking (Chongqing).
* December 16 – The original production of the musical ''Me and My Girl'' opens at the Victoria Palace Theatre, in London's West End theatre, West End. A later revival will win an award.
* December 21 – Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', the world's first feature-length animation, animated film, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles.
* December 25 – At the age of 70, conductor Arturo Toscanini conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra on radio for the first time, beginning his successful 17-year tenure with that orchestra. This first concert consists of music by Vivaldi (at a time when he is seldom played), Mozart, and Brahms. Millions tune in to listen, including U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
* December 29 – The new Constitution of Ireland (''Bunreacht na hÉireann'') comes into force. The Irish Free State becomes "Republic of Ireland, Ireland", and Éamon de Valera becomes the first Taoiseach (prime minister) of the new state. A Presidential Commission (Ireland), Presidential Commission (made up the Chief Justice, the Speaker of Dáil Éireann, and the President of the High Court) assumes the powers of the new presidency, pending the popular election of the first President of Ireland in June 1938. The new constitution prohibits divorce.
Date unknown
* Switzerland begins construction of its Border Line (Switzerland), Border Line defences.
* The Vibora Luviminda sugar plantation trade unions strike on Maui island, Hawaii.
* Italian psychiatrist Amarro Fiamberti is the first to document a transorbital approach to the brain, which becomes the basis for the controversial medical procedure of transorbital lobotomy.
* Soviet Union, Soviet industry produces about four times as much as it had in 1928.
* The Allen Organ Company, builder of church, home and theatre organs, is founded in Macungie, Pennsylvania.
Births
January
![Vanessa Redgrave Cannes 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Vanessa_Redgrave_Cannes_2016.jpg)
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
– Philip Akot Akok Kiir, South Sudanese pastor, former educator and politician
* January 4
** Grace Bumbry, American opera singer
** Dyan Cannon, American actress, film director and screenwriter
* January 6
** Paolo Conte, Italian singer, pianist and composer
** Harri Holkeri, 36th Prime Minister of Finland (d. 2011)
* January 8 – Dame Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer
* January 13 – Ati George Sokomanu, President of Vanuatu
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
– Margaret O'Brien, American child actress
* January 16 – Francis George, American cardinal (d. 2015)
* January 18
** Yukio Endō, Japanese gymnast (d. 2009)
** John Hume, Northern Irish politician, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 2020)
* January 19 – Princess Birgitta of Sweden
* January 21 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, heir to the Bavarian Royal House
* January 22 – Joseph Wambaugh, American author
* January 25 – Ange-Félix Patassé, 5th President of Central African Republic (d. 2011)
* January 30
** Vanessa Redgrave, British actress
** Boris Spassky, Russian chess grandmaster
* January 31
** Philip Glass, American composer
** Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008)
February
![King Harald V 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/King_Harald_V_2021.jpg)
* February 1 – Don Everly, American rock and roll singer and musician (d. 2021)
* February 2
** Tom Smothers, American musician, comedian (The Smothers Brothers)
** Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer (d. 2015)
* February 4 – Magnar Solberg, Norwegian biathlete
* February 5 – Gaston Roelants, Belgian Olympic athlete
*
February 8
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
*1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al ...
– Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (d. 2016)
* February 10 – Roberta Flack, African-American singer
* February 11 – Bill Lawry, Australian cricketer
* February 12 – Charles Dumas, American athlete (d. 2004)
* February 13 – Rupiah Banda, 4th President of Zambia (d. 2022)
*
February 20
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
*1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland ...
** Robert Huber, German chemist and Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel laureate
** Nancy Wilson (jazz singer), Nancy Wilson, African-American singer and actress (d. 2018)
*
February 21
Events Pre-1600
* 452 or 453 – Severianus, Bishop of Scythopolis, is martyred in Palestine.
* 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
* 1440 – The Prus ...
** Ron Clarke, Australian runner (d. 2015)
** King Harald V of Norway
** Jilly Cooper, English writer
*
February 25
Events Pre-1600
* 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
* 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
...
– Sir Tom Courtenay, English actor
March
![Warren Beatty](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Warren_Beatty.jpg)
* March 2 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria (d. 2021)
* March 3 – Bobby Driscoll, American child actor and voice actor (d. 1968)
* March 4
** Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
** Yuri Senkevich, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2003)
* March 5 – Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria
* March 6 – Valentina Tereshkova, Russian cosmonaut, first woman in space
* March 8 – Juvénal Habyarimana, 3rd President of Rwanda (d. 1994)
*
March 14
Events Pre-1600
* 1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland.
* 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguen ...
– Benny Paret, Cuban welterweight boxer (d. 1962)
* March 15 – Valentin Rasputin, Russian writer (d. 2015)
*
March 18
Events Pre-1600
* 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10.
* 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
** Aleksei Zasukhin, Soviet boxer (d. 1996)
** Rudi Altig, German road racing cyclist (d. 2016)
* March 22
** Armin Hary, German athlete
** Foo Foo Lammar, British drag queen (d. 2003)
** Peter Vogel (actor), Peter Vogel, German film actor (d. 1978)
* March 23 – Tony Burton, American actor (d. 2016)
* March 24 – Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, 4th Prime Minister of Barbados
* March 29
** Billy Carter, American farmer, businessman, brewer, and politician (d. 1988)
** Smarck Michel, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2012)
* March 30 – Warren Beatty, American actor and director
April
![Saddam Hussein in 1998](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Saddam_Hussein_in_1998.png)
*
April 1
Events Pre-1600
* 33 – According to one historian's account, Jesus Christ's Last Supper is held.
* 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
*1081 – Alexios I Kom ...
– Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Indian politician, 12th Vice President of India
* April 4 – Obed Dlamini, 6th Prime Minister of Swaziland (d. 2017)
* April 5
** Colin Powell, American politician (d. 2021)
** Guido Vildoso, 59th President of Bolivia
* April 6
** Merle Haggard, American country musician (d. 2016)
** Billy Dee Williams, African-American actor
* April 10 – Bella Akhmadulina, Russian poet (d. 2010)
* April 17 – Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian engineer, business magnate (d. 2019)
* April 19
** Antonio Carluccio, Italian-born restaurateur (d. 2017)
** Joseph Estrada, Filipino actor and politician, 13th President of the Philippines
*
April 20
Events Pre-1600
* 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.
1601–1900
* 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament.
* 1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroy ...
– George Takei, Japanese-American actor, director and author (''Star Trek'')
* April 22 – Jack Nicholson, American film actor and director
* April 24
** Viktor Zubkov, Russian basketball player (d. 2016)
** Joe Henderson, American jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 2001)
*
April 26
Events Pre-1600
*1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
* 1348 – Czech king Karel IV founds the Charles University in Prague, which was later named after him and was the first university in Central Europe.
* 14 ...
– Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French racing driver (d. 2015)
* April 27 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (d. 1992)
* April 28 – Saddam Hussein, 5th President of Iraq (d. 2006)
May
![Mengistu Haile Mariam 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam_3.jpg)
* May 2 – Lorenzo Music, American actor, voice actor, writer, producer and musician (d. 2001)
* May 4 – Dick Dale, American guitarist (d. 2019)
*
May 6
Events Pre-1600
* 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance.
*1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanis ...
– Rubin Carter, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, African-American boxer (d. 2014)
*
May 8
Events Pre-1600
* 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
* 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...
** Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian justice, politician
** Thomas Pynchon, American writer
* May 9 – Rafael Moneo, Spanish architect
* May 11 – Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, Hungarian Olympic and world champion foil fencer
*
May 12
Events Pre-1600
* 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism.
* 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang d ...
– George Carlin, American stand-up comedian (d. 2008)
* May 13 – Roger Zelazny, American writer (d. 1995)
* May 15
** Madeleine Albright, Czechoslovakian-born American politician and diplomat (d. 2022)
** Trini Lopez, American singer, guitarist, and actor (d. 2020)
* May 16
** Yvonne Craig, American actress (''Batman (TV series), Batman'') (d. 2015)
** Robert B. Wilson, American economist, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Nobel Prize laureate
* May 18 – Jacques Santer, Luxembourg politician, 20th Prime Minister of Luxembourg
*
May 21
Events Pre-1600
* 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
* 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is Siege of Syracuse ...
** Ricardo Alarcón, Cuban politician (d. 2022)
** Sofiko Chiaureli, Georgian actress (d. 2008)
** Mengistu Haile Mariam, President of Ethiopia
* May 22 – Facundo Cabral, Argentine singer (d. 2011)
June
![Simeon II of Bulgaria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Simeon_II_of_Bulgaria.jpg)
* June 1
** Morgan Freeman, African-American actor
** Colleen McCullough, Australian author (d. 2015)
** Ezio Pascutti, Italian footballer (d. 2017)
* June 7 – Neeme Järvi, Estonian conductor
* June 8 – Bruce McCandless II, American astronaut (d. 2017)
* June 11 – Robin Warren, Australian pathologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* June 12 – Vladimir Arnold, Soviet-Russian mathematician (d. 2010)
* June 13 – Raj Reddy, Indian computer scientist
* June 15 – Waylon Jennings, American country singer (d. 2002)
* June 16
** Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Tsar of Bulgaria (1943-1946), 48th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (2001-2005)
** Erich Segal, American author, screenwriter, and educator (d. 2010)
* June 18
** Ronald Venetiaan, 6th and 8th President of Suriname
** Vitaly Zholobov, Soviet cosmonaut
* June 19 – André Glucksmann, French philosopher, author (d. 2015)
* June 23 – Martti Ahtisaari, 10th President of Finland
* June 25
** Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait
** Keizō Obuchi, 54th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2000)
* June 26 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
July
![Ryutaro Hashimoto cropped 1 Ryutaro Hashimoto 19960111](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Ryutaro_Hashimoto_19960111.jpg)
* July 2 – Richard Petty, American stock car racer, 7-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion
* July 3 – Tom Stoppard, Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter
* July 4 – Queen Sonja of Norway
* July 5 – Jo de Roo, Dutch road racing cyclist
* July 6
** Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian pianist
** Ned Beatty, American actor (d. 2021)
** Michael Sata, 5th President of Zambia (d. 2014)
* July 7
** Lars-Erik Larsson (rower), Lars-Erik Larsson, Swedish rowing coxswain
** Nanami Shiono, Japanese author, novelist
** Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong businessman and politician
** Giovanni Arrighi, Italian economist, sociologist and world-systems analyst (d. 2009)
* July 9 – David Hockney, English-born artist
* July 12
** Bill Cosby, African-American actor, comedian, educator and convicted sex offender
** Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister of France
* July 14 – Yoshirō Mori, 55th Prime Minister of Japan
* July 17 – Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, Ugandan politician, businessman
* July 18
** Roald Hoffmann, Polish-born chemist and Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel laureate
** Hunter S. Thompson, American author and journalist (d. 2005)
* July 24 – Manoj Kumar, Indian actor and director
* July 27 – Mirko Marjanović, 63rd Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2006)
* July 29
** Ryutaro Hashimoto, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2006)
** Daniel McFadden, American economist and Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Nobel laureate
August
![Dustin Hoffman Cannes 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Dustin_Hoffman_Cannes_2017.jpg)
* August 2 – María Duval, Mexican actress and singer
* August 3 – Andrés Gimeno, Spanish tennis player (d. 2019)
* August 5 – Manuel Pinto da Costa, Santoméan politician, 1st List of Presidents of São Tomé and Príncipe, President of São Tomé and Príncipe
* August 6 – Charlie Haden, American jazz bassist (d. 2014)
* August 8 – Dustin Hoffman, American actor, director (''The Graduate'')
* August 11 – Dieter Kemper, German cyclist (d. 2018)
* August 15 – Bounnhang Vorachith, 14th Prime Minister, 6th President of Laos
* August 18 – Jean Alingué Bawoyeu, Chadian politician, former Prime Minister
* August 21
** Donald Dewar, First Minister of Scotland (d. 2000)
** Gustavo Noboa, President of Ecuador (d. 2021)
* August 22
** Rima Melati, Indonesian actress and singer (d. 2022)
** Francesco Musso, Italian Olympic boxer
* August 26 – Gennady Yanayev, former Soviet leader (d. 2010)
* August 27 – Alice Coltrane, African-American jazz harpist, organist, pianist and composer (d. 2007)
* August 30 – Bruce McLaren, New Zealand founder of McLaren Racing (d. 1970)
September
![Fernando de la Rúa con bastón y banda de presidente](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Fernando_de_la_R%C3%BAa_con_bast%C3%B3n_y_banda_de_presidente.jpg)
* September 1 – Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Portuguese politician, 111th Prime Minister of Portugal
* September 4 – Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer
* September 5 – Antonio Angelillo, Italian-Argentine footballer (d. 2018)
* September 6 - Jo Anne Worley, American Actress, Comedienne and singer
* September 7 – John Phillip Law, American actor (d. 2008)
* September 9 – Alí Rodríguez Araque, Venezuelan politician, lawyer and diplomat (d. 2018)
* September 10 – Jared Diamond, American geographer, anthropologist, and author
* September 11 – Paola Ruffo di Calabria, Italian-born Queen of the Belgians
* September 15
** Robert Lucas Jr., American economist and Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Nobel laureate
** Fernando de la Rúa, Argentine politician, 43rd President of Argentina (d. 2019)
* September 20 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish singer and actress (d. 2005)
* September 26 – Jerry Weintraub, American film producer and talent agent (d. 2015)
* September 28 – Bob Schul, American Olympic athlete
* September 30 – Daniel Filho, Brazilian film producer, director, actor, and screenwriter
October
![Bobby Charlton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Bobby_Charlton.jpg)
* October 2 – Johnnie Cochran, African-American attorney (d. 2005)
* October 4
** Jackie Collins, English author (d. 2015)
** Franz Vranitzky, 19th Chancellor of Austria
* October 11 – Bobby Charlton, English footballer
* October 19 – Teresa Ciepły, Polish Olympic athlete (d. 2006)
* October 20 – Wanda Jackson, American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist
* October 21 – Édith Scob, French film and theatre actress (d. 2019)
* October 22 – Kader Khan, Afghan-born Indian-Canadian film actor, screenwriter, comedian, and director (d. 2018)
* October 28 – Lenny Wilkens, American basketball player and coach
* October 30 – Ashaari Mohammad, Malaysian spiritual leader (d. 2010)
* October 31 – Tom Paxton, American folk singer, songwriter
November
* November 4 – Loretta Swit, American actress (''M*A*S*H'')
* November 5 – Chan Sek Keong, third Chief Justice of Singapore
* November 8 – Dragoslav Šekularac, Serbian footballer and manager (d. 2019)
* November 15 – Little Willie John, African-American R&B singer (d. 1968)
* November 17 – Peter Cook, English comedian, writer and actor (d. 1995)
* November 20 – Eero Mäntyranta, Finnish Olympic cross-country skier (d. 2013)
* November 21
** Ingrid Pitt, Polish-born British actress (d. 2010)
** Marlo Thomas, American actress, producer and social activist (''That Girl'')
**Ferenc Kósa, Hungarian film director (d. 2018)
* November 25 – Serikbolsyn Abdildin, Kazakh economist and politician (d. 2019)
* November 26 – Boris Yegorov, Russian cosmonaut (d. 1994)
* November 30 – Ridley Scott, British film director, producer
December
![AnthonyHopkins10TIFF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/AnthonyHopkins10TIFF.jpg)
* December 1 – Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of Latvia
* December 3 – Francisco Xavier do Amaral, 1st President of East Timor (d. 2012)
* December 6 – Ramon Torrents, Spanish artist
* December 8
** James MacArthur, American actor (d. 2010)
** Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountaineer, businessman (d. 2004)
* December 12
** Connie Francis, American singer
** Michael Jeffery, 24th Governor-General of Australia (d. 2020)
* December 17 – Sergio Jiménez, Mexican actor (d. 2007)
* December 18 – Sami-ul-Haq, Pakistani cleric, politician (d. 2018)
* December 21 – Jane Fonda, American actress and activist
* December 26 – John Horton Conway, English-born mathematician (d. 2020)
* December 28 – Ratan Tata, Indian industrialist
* December 29 – Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives (1978–2008)
* December 30 – Gordon Banks, English footballer (d. 2019)
* December 31
** Avram Hershko, Israeli biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
** Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor
** Milutin Šoškić, Serbian footballer (d. 2022)
Deaths
January
![Pedro de Jes%C3%BAs Maldonado](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Pedro_de_Jes%C3%BAs_Maldonado.jpg)
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
** Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Indian spiritual teacher (b. 1874)
** John Gresham Machen, American Presbyterian theologian (b. 1881)
* January 2 – Ross Alexander, American actor (b. 1907)
*
January 5
Events Pre-1600
*1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Duchy of Burgundy, Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.
1601–1900
*1675 – Battle of Turckh ...
** Alberto de Oliveira, Brazilian poet (b. 1857)
** Ernst Löfström, Finnish general of World War I (b. 1865)
* January 6
** André Bessette, Canadian religious leader, saint (b. 1845)
** Albert Gleaves, American admiral (b. 1858)
* January 13 – Martin and Osa Johnson, Martin Johnson, American adventurer, documentary filmmaker (plane crash) (b. 1884)
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
** Pietro Biginelli, Italian chemist (b. 1860)
** Georges Hilaire Bousquet, French scholar (b. 1845)
* January 16 – Pyotr Bark, Soviet statesman (b. 1869)
* January 17 – Richard Boleslawski, Polish film director (b. 1889)
* January 18 – Jaime Hilario Barbal, Spanish Roman Catholic religious professed and saint (executed) (b. 1889)
* January 21
** Yasin al-Hashimi, Iraqi politician and 4th Prime Minister of Iraq (b. 1884)
** Marie Prevost, Canadian actress (b. 1896)
*
January 23
Events Pre-1600
* 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
* 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
*1264 & ...
– Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist, politician (b. 1876)
February
![George Hassell in Becky Sharp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/George_Hassell_in_Becky_Sharp.jpg)
* February 1 – Asano Nagakoto, Japanese diplomat, politician (b. 1842)
* February 2 – Reinhold Hanisch, Austrian politician, worker (b. 1884)
* February 5
** Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-born writer (b. 1861)
** José Nicoletti Filho, Italian revolutionary hero (b. 1871)
* February 7 – Elihu Root, American statesman, diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1845)
* February 11
** Walter Burley Griffin, American architect, town planner (b. 1876)
** Vasily Gurko, Russian general (b. 1864)
** Maria Luisa Josefa, Mexican Roman Catholic nun and venerable (b. 1866)
** Peter of Jesus Maldonado, Mexican priest, martyr and saint (b. 1892)
* February 14
** Vicente Vilar David, Spanish Roman Catholic priest, saint and martyr (killed in battle) (b. 1889)
** Erkki Melartin, Finnish composer (b. 1875)
* February 17 – George Hassell (actor), George Hassell, English actor (b. 1881)
*
February 19
Events Pre-1600
* 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
* 356 – The anti-paganism policy of Constantius II forbids the worship of pagan ...
– Horacio Quiroga, Uruguayan writer (b. 1878)
*
February 20
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
*1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland ...
– Percy Cox, Sir Percy Cox, British army general and colonial administrator (b.1864)
* February 24
** Vladimir Lipsky, Soviet scientist, botanist (b. 1863)
** Beyene Merid, Ethiopian military commander (b. 1897)
** Guy Standing (actor), Sir Guy Standing, British actor (b. 1873)
*
February 27
Events Pre-1600
* 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity.
* 425 – The University of Constantinople ...
** Douglas Carnegie, British politician (b. 1870)
** Charles Donnelly (poet), Charles Donnelly, Irish poet (killed in battle) (b. 1915)
March
![Lucy Beaumont](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Lucy_Beaumont.jpg)
* March 6 – John Ellis Martineau, American politician (b. 1873)
* March 7 – Concepción Cabrera de Armida, Mexican Roman Catholic mystic and blessed (b. 1862)
* March 8
** Yuriy Kotsiubynsky, Soviet politician, activist (b. 1896)
** Howie Morenz, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
* March 9 – Paul Elmer More, American critic, essayist (b. 1864)
* March 11 – Joseph S. Cullinan, American oil industrialist, founder of ''Texaco'' (b. 1860)
* March 12
** Jenő Hubay, Hungarian composer, violinist (b. 1858)
** Charles-Marie Widor, French organist, composer (b. 1844)
* March 13 – Elihu Thomson, English-American engineer and inventor, co-founder of General Electric (b. 1853)
* March 15 – H. P. Lovecraft, American writer (b. 1890)
* March 16 – Austen Chamberlain, Sir Austen Chamberlain, British statesman, Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1863)
*
March 18
Events Pre-1600
* 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10.
* 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
** Mélanie Bonis, French composer (b. 1858)
** Felix Graf von Bothmer, German general (b. 1852)
** Julio Sanchez Gardel, Argentine dramatist (b. 1870)
* March 20
** Arthur Bernède, French writer, poet and playwright (b. 1870)
** Harry Vardon, English golf professional (b. 1870)
* March 22
** Thorvald Aagaard, Danish composer (b. 1877)
** Alfred Dyke Acland, British military officer (b. 1858)
** Vladimir Maksimov (actor), Vladimir Maksimov, Soviet actor (b. 1880)
** Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, British aviator, ornithologist (plane crash) (b. 1865)
* March 25 – John Drinkwater (playwright), John Drinkwater, British poet, dramatist (b. 1882)
* March 27 – Victor Gustav Bloede (chemist), Victor Gustav Bloede, Swedish chemist (b. 1849)
* March 28 – Josef Klička, Czechoslovak organist, violinist and composer (b. 1855)
* March 29
** Fyodor Keneman, Soviet pianist, composer (b. 1873)
** Karol Szymanowski, Polish composer (b. 1882)
** Kim You-jeong, Korean novelist (b. 1908)
* March 31 – Ahmed Izzet Pasha, Turkish general (b. 1864)
April
![Afonso Costa - Março, 1921](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Afonso_Costa_-_Mar%C3%A7o%2C_1921.png)
* April 2 – Nathan Birnbaum, Austrian writer, journalist (b. 1864)
* April 4
** Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco (b. 1875)
** Maria Teresa Casini, Italian Roman Catholic nun and blessed (b. 1864)
* April 5 – Jose Benlliure y Gil, Spanish painter (b. 1858)
* April 6 – Gyula Juhász (poet), Gyula Juhász, Hungarian poet (b. 1883)
* April 7 – Helen Burgess, American actress (b. 1916)
* April 8 – Billy Bassett, English association footballer (b. 1869)
* April 10
** Ralph Ince, American film director (b. 1887)
** Shridhar Venkatesh Ketkar, Indian sociologist, historian (b. 1884)
* April 14 – Ned Hanlon (baseball), Ned Hanlon, American baseball manager, MLB Hall of Famer (b. 1857)
* April 16 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American military engineer, politician and 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (b. 1870)
* April 19
** Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, British art critic, mountaineer (b. 1856)
** William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist (b. 1865)
*
April 20
Events Pre-1600
* 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.
1601–1900
* 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament.
* 1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroy ...
** Gaston Chérau, French journalist (b. 1872)
** Josef Mařatka, Czech sculptor (b. 1874)
* April 21 – Saima Harmaja, Finnish poet (b. 1913)
* April 22 – Arthur Edmund Carewe, Armenian-American actor (b. 1884)
* April 23 – Caroline Harris, American actress (b. 1867)
* April 24 – Lucy Beaumont (actress), Lucy Beaumont, British actress (b. 1869)
* April 25 – Michał Drzymała, Polish rebel (b. 1857)
* April 27 – Antonio Gramsci, Italian Communist writer, politician (b. 1891)
* April 29
** Wallace Carothers, American chemist, inventor of nylon (b. 1896)
** William Gillette, American actor (b. 1853)
May
![Jean Harlow 1937](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Jean_Harlow_1937.jpg)
* May 1
** Snitz Edwards, Hungarian actor (b. 1868)
** Herbert Hughes (composer), Herbert Hughes, Irish composer (b. 1882)
* May 2 – Takuji Iwasaki, Japanese meteorologist (b. 1869)
* May 4 – Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter (b. 1910)
* May 5
** Camillo Berneri, Italian philosopher, anarchist (b. 1897)
** C.K.G. Billings, American horseman (b. 1861)
*
May 7
Events Pre-1600
* 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
* 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I imm ...
– Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain of the ''LZ 129 Hindenburg, Hindenburg'' (b. 1886)
* May 9
** Harry Barton (architect), Harry Barton, American architect (b. 1876)
** Maurice Conner, Canadian politician (b. 1868)
* May 10 – James Blindell, Sir James Blindell, British politician (b. 1884)
* May 11
** Afonso Costa, Portuguese lawyer, professor, politician and 3-time Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1871)
** Ellen Hansell, American tennis champion (b. 1869)
* May 15 – Percy Lee Gassaway, American politician (b. 1885)
* May 23 – John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist, philanthropist (b. 1839)
* May 24
** Luis F. Álvarez, Spanish physician (b. 1853)
** Francis Bird (architect), Francis Bird, Australian architect (b. 1845)
* May 25 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, American artist (b. 1859)
* May 26 – Bertha May Crawford, Canadian opera singer (b. 1886)
*
May 28
Events Pre-1600
* 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from w ...
– Alfred Adler, Austrian psychologist (b. 1870)
* May 29 – Lizardo García, 17th President of Ecuador (b. 1844)
June
![James Matthew Barrie00](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/James_Matthew_Barrie00.jpg)
* June 2 – Louis Vierne, French composer (b. 1870)
* June 3
** Hugo Hammarskjöld, Swedish public servant, politician (b. 1845)
** Emilio Mola, Spanish Nationalist commander (plane crash) (b. 1887)
* June 4
** Fernand Cabrol, French theologian (b. 1855)
** Keke Geladze, mother of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
, Leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1858)
* June 7 – Jean Harlow, American actress (b. 1911)
* June 10
** Jane Foss Barff, American activist (b. 1863)
** Robert Borden, Sir Robert Borden, Canadian lawyer, politician and 8th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1854)
** Malcolm Williams (actor), Malcolm Williams, American actor (b. 1870)
* June 12 – Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Soviet Army officer, Red Army commander-in-chief (executed) (b. 1893)
* June 16 – Alexander Chervyakov, Leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1892)
* June 18
** Pierre Bodard, French painter (b. 1881)
** Gaston Doumergue, 60th Prime Minister of France, 13th President of France (b. 1863)
* June 19 – J. M. Barrie, British novelist, dramatist (b. 1860)
* June 20 – Andreu Nin Pérez, Spanish politician (b. 1892)
* June 25
** Colin Clive, British actor (b. 1900)
** Marta Cunningham, American opera singer (b. 1869)
* June 26 – Minoru Murata, Japanese actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1894)
* June 27 – Sandro Akhmeteli, Soviet director (b. 1866)
* June 28 – Max Adler (Marxist), Max Adler, Austrian Marxist theorist (b. 1873)
July
![Guglielmo Marconi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Guglielmo_Marconi.jpg)
* July 1
** Ilya Garkavyi, Soviet general (b. 1888)
** Matvei Vasilenko, Soviet komkor (b. 1888)
* July 2 – Amelia Earhart, American aviator (missing on this date) (b. 1897)
* July 3 – Boris Gorbachyov, Soviet general (b. 1892)
* July 6
** Bohdan Ihor Antonych, Soviet poet (b. 1909)
** Ernesto Badini, Italian opera singer (b. 1876)
* July 7 – Åke Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat, lawyer (b. 1893)
* July 8 – Diana Abgar, Armenian diplomat (b. 1859)
* July 9 – Oliver Law, American labor organizer, Army officer (killed in Spanish Civil War) (b. 1899)
* July 10 – Arthur Edmund Seaman, American professor and museum curator (b. 1858)
* July 11
** George Gershwin, American composer (b. 1898)
** Rodrigues Ottolengui, American writer (b. 1861)
* July 12 – Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss, British politician, public servant (b. 1857)
* July 13
** Mykhailo Boychuk, Soviet painter (b. 1882)
** Victor Laloux, French architect (b. 1850)
* July 14
** Julius Meier, American businessman, politician (b. 1874)
** Joseph Taylor Robinson, American politician (b. 1872)
* July 15 – Walter Gay, American painter (b. 1856)
* July 16 – Vladimir Kirillov, Soviet poet (b. 1889)
* July 17
** Annie Furuhjelm, Finnish feminist activist, politician (b. 1859)
** Percy Gardner, British archaeologist (b. 1846)
* July 18
** Julian Bell, British poet (killed in Spanish Civil War) (b. 1908)
** Grigol Giorgadze, Soviet historian, jurist and politician (b. 1879)
* July 20 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian-born American inventor (b. 1874)
* July 22
** Nazzareno Formosa, American Roman Catholic priest and reverend (b. 1901)
** Paolo Iashvili, Soviet poet (b. 1894)
* July 23 – Varnava, Serbian Patriarch (b. 1880)
* July 31 – Noë Bloch, Soviet producer (b. 1875)
August
![Pierre de Coubertin Anefo2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Pierre_de_Coubertin_Anefo2.jpg)
* August 5 – Jean Louis Conneau, French aviator (b. 1880)
* August 6
** Adeodato Barreto, Portuguese poet (b. 1905)
** F. C. S. Schiller, German-British philosopher (b. 1864)
* August 8 – Martin Rázus, Czechoslovakian poet, writer and politician (b. 1888)
* August 9 – Na Woon-gyu, Korean actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
* August 11 – Edith Wharton, American writer (b. 1862)
* August 13 – Sigizmund Levanevsky, Soviet aircraft pilot (b. 1902)
* August 19
** Alexander Hotovitzky, Russian Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox priest, missionary and saint (b. 1872)
** Asaichi Isobe, Japanese army officer (b. 1905)
** Ivan Kataev, Russian novelist, writer (b. 1902)
* August 22
** Owen Burns (developer), Owen Burns, American entrepreneur (b. 1869)
** Gelegdorjiin Demid, Russian political military figure (b. 1900)
* August 24 – Gervase Beckett, British politician (b. 1866)
* August 26
** Christos Christovasilis, Greek journalist, author (b. 1861)
** Andrew Mellon, American banker, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1855)
* August 30
** Gaetano Bisleti, Italian cardinal (b. 1856)
** Tomás António Garcia Rosado, Portuguese general (b. 1854)
*August 31 – Ruth Baldwin (died 1937), Ruth Baldwin, British socialite (b. 1905)
September
![Ray Ewry 1908b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Ray_Ewry_1908b.jpg)
* September 2
** Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Indian revolutionary hero (b. 1880)
** Pierre de Coubertin, 2nd President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1863)
* September 3 – François Guiguet, French painter (b. 1860)
* September 4
** Daniel Alexander Cameron, Canadian politician (b. 1870)
** Juan Campisteguy, Uruguayan lawyer, soldier and 25th President of Uruguay (b. 1859)
* September 5 – David Hendricks Bergey, American bacteriologist (b. 1860)
* September 6 – Harry Charles Purvis Bell, British civil servant, commissioner (b. 1851)
* September 8 – Frank Alexander (actor), Frank Alexander, American actor (b. 1879)
* September 9
** Mikhail Diterikhs, Russian general (b. 1874)
** Géza Horváth, Hungarian doctor, entomologist (b. 1847)
* September 11 – Nazmi Ziya Güran, Turkish painter (b. 1881)
* September 13 – Ellis Parker Butler, American humorist (b. 1869)
* September 14 – Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Czechoslovakian politician, sociologist, philosopher and 1st President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1850)
* September 15
** Anders Bundgaard, Danish sculptor (b. 1864)
** Clifford Heatherley, British actor (b. 1888)
* September 20
** Maksymilian Horwitz, Polish socialist, communist activist (b. 1877)
** Lev Karakhan, Soviet revolutionary hero, diplomat (b. 1889)
* September 21 – Osgood Perkins, American actor (b. 1892)
* September 23 – Cleto González Víquez, 18th and 26th President of Costa Rica (b. 1858)
* September 22 – Ruth Roland, American actress (b. 1892)
* September 26
** Bessie Smith, African-American blues singer (b. 1894)
** Edward Filene, United States, American businessman, philanthropist (b. 1860)
* September 27 – Alikhan Bukeikhanov, Kazakh statesman, politician, publicist, teacher, writer and Prime Minister of Alash Autonomy (b. 1866)
* September 29 – Ray Ewry, American Olympic athlete (b. 1873)
October
![Kuni Taka](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Kuni_Taka.jpg)
* October 1 – Prince Kuni Taka of Japan (b. 1875)
* October 3
** Baden Baden-Powell, American aviator pioneer (b. 1860)
** Richard Hertwig, German zoologist (b. 1850)
* October 6 – Angelo Musco (actor), Angelo Musco, Italian actor (b. 1872)
* October 9
** August de Boeck, Flemish composer (b. 1865)
** Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, German prince (b. 1868)
* October 10 – Peter of Krutitsy, Soviet Orthodox priest, martyr and metropolitan (b. 1862)
* October 11 – Emma E. Bower, American physician, club-woman, and newspaperwoman (b. 1852)
* October 13 – Kazimierz Nowak, Polish traveller (b. 1897)
* October 14 – Salvatore Micalizzi, Italian Roman Catholic priest and venerable (b. 1856)
* October 15 – James Marcus (American actor), James Marcus, American actor (b. 1867)
* October 16
** Jean de Brunhoff, French writer (b. 1899)
** William Sealy Gosset, English chemist and statistician (b. 1876)
* October 17
** J. Bruce Ismay, English businessman (b. 1862)
** Antônio Parreiras, Brazilian painter, illustrator (b. 1860)
* October 19
** Pedro Chutró, Argentine physician (b. 1880)
** Ernest Rutherford, New Zealand physicist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient (b. 1871)
* October 23 – Nikolai Klyuev, Russian poet (b. 1884)
* October 26 – Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki, Polish general (b. 1867)
* October 27
** Joseph-Félix Bouchor, French painter (b. 1853)
** Abdul Karim Khan, Indian classical singer (b. 1872)
* October 29 – Kazimierz Cichowski, Polish-born Soviet politician (b. 1887)
* October 30
** Mendel Khatayevich, Soviet politician (b. 1893)
** Ivan Zhukov, Soviet politician (b. 1889)
November
![Genden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Genden.jpg)
* November 1 – Ivar Bauck, Norwegian general (b. 1863)
* November 2 – Félix Gaffiot, French philologist (b. 1870)
* November 4
** William Bennett (English politician), William Bennett, British politician (b. 1873)
** Alfred Walter Campbell, Australian neurologist (b. 1868)
** Gustav Gärtner, Austrian pathologist (b. 1855)
** Emil Hassler, Swiss physician, botanist (b. 1864)
* November 5 – Naoe Kinoshita, Japanese Christian socialist (b. 1869)
* November 6 – Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, British stage actor (b. 1853)
* November 8
**Francis de Croisset, Belgian-born French playwright (b. 1877)
**Giovanni De Briganti, Italian aviator (b. 1892)
* November 9 – Ramsay MacDonald, British statesman, 2-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1866)
* November 10 – Nikolai Batalov, Soviet actor (b. 1899)
* November 11 – Uryū Sotokichi, Japanese admiral (b. 1857)
* November 13 – Mrs. Leslie Carter (Caroline Louise Dudley), American actress (b. 1857)
* November 15 – Eero Järnefelt, Finnish realist painter (b. 1863)
* November 16
** Némèse Garneau, Canadian politician (b. 1847)
** Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, wife of Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse, Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus of Hesse, and sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (b. 1911)
* November 17 – Jack Worrall, Australian cricketer, coach (b. 1860)
* November 20 – Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh) of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
(b. 1872)
* November 23
** Miklós Kovács (poet), Miklós Kovács, Hungarian-born Yugoslav poet (b. 1857)
** Jagadish Chandra Bose, Indian physicist (b. 1858)
** George Albert Boulenger, Belgian naturalist (b. 1858)
* November 25
** Aleksandr Glagolev, Russian Orthodox priest, religious philosopher and saint (b. 1872)
** Alessandro Padoa, Italian mathematician (b. 1868)
** Raymond Stanton Patton, American admiral, engineer and second Director of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (b. 1882)
* November 26 – Peljidiin Genden, Mongolian political figure, 9th Prime Minister of Mongolia and 2nd President of Mongolia (b. 1892)
* November 27
** Vsevolod Balitsky, Leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1892)
** Eero Haapalainen, Finnish Communist leader, activist (b. 1880)
** Felix Hamrin, 22nd Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1875)
** Vasyl Lypkivsky, Soviet Orthodox priest, metropolitan (b. 1864)
** Wilhelm Weinberg, German physician (b. 1862)
* November 28 – Magnús Guðmundsson, Icelandic politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1879)
December
![Maurice Ravel 1925](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Maurice_Ravel_1925.jpg)
* December 1 – Rao Guohua, Chinese general of the National Revolutionary Army (b. 1894)
* December 2 – Josep Comas i Solà, Andorran astronomer (b. 1868)
* December 3
** Attila József, Hungarian poet (b. 1905)
** Prosper Poullet, Belgian politician, 26th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1868)
** Yue Yiqin, Chinese flying ace (b. 1914)
* December 4
** Ralph Lewis (actor), Ralph Lewis, American actor (b. 1872)
** Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum, Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum, Indian politician and educationist (b. 1863)
* December 8
** Hans Molisch, Czech-Austrian botanist (b. 1856)
** Akhmet Baitursynov, Kazakh poet, politician, turkologist (b. 1872)
* December 9
** Lilias Armstrong, British phonetician (b. 1882)
** Gustaf Dalén, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
* December 10 – Robert Bolder, British actor (b. 1859)
* December 12 – Alfred Abel, German actor (b. 1879)
* December 14 – Fabián de la Rosa, Filipino painter (b. 1869)
* December 16 – Giorgi Mazniashvili, Soviet general (b. 1870)
* December 17 – Dimitrie Călugăreanu, Romanian physician, naturalist and physiologist (b. 1868)
* December 18 – Robert Worth Bingham, American politician (b. 1871)
* December 20 – Erich Ludendorff, German general (b. 1865)
* December 21
** Meliton Balanchivadze, Soviet composer (b. 1862)
** Ted Healy, American actor (b. 1896)
** Frank B. Kellogg, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1856)
* December 22 – Joseph Darby (jumper), Joseph Darby, British jumper (b. 1861)
* December 23 – Osman Nuri Hadžić, Bosnian writer (b. 1869)
* December 25 – Newton D. Baker, 37th Mayor of Cleveland, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, United States Secretary of War (b. 1871)
* December 27 – Coote Hedley, Sir Coote Hedley, British army officer and sportsman (b. 1865)
* December 28
** Herbert Bullmore, Scottish Rugby Union international player, grandfather of Kerry Packer (b. 1874)
** Maurice Ravel, French composer (''Boléro'') (b. 1875)
** Algernon Thomas, Sir Algernon Thomas, New Zealand scientist (b. 1857)
* December 29
** Frederik Beichmann, Norwegian jurist (b. 1859)
** Don Marquis, American poet (b. 1878)
* December 30 – Hans Niels Andersen, Danish businessman, founder of the East Asiatic Company (b. 1852)
* December 31 – Dezső Czigány, Hungarian painter (b. 1883)
Nobel Prizes
* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Clinton Joseph Davisson, George Paget Thomson
* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Walter Haworth, Paul Karrer
* Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine – Albert Szent-Györgyi, Albert von Szent-Györgyi Nagyrapolt
* Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Roger Martin du Gard
* Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, Robert Cecil
References
Links
1937 WWII Timeline– from American Studies Programs at The University of Virginia
{{DEFAULTSORT:1937
1937,