Events

January

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 ...

–

: 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 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 ...

–

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 '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

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

. *

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'', ...

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

, 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 ...

–

: 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

of the

, 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

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 ...

–

: 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

, a detachment of Italian troops massacres the entire community of

, 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 The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

, following the retirement of

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...

. *

May 30 Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres ...

: Spanish ship ''Ciudad de Barcelona'' is torpedoed. **

Memorial Day massacre of 1937 In the Memorial Day massacre of 1937, the Chicago Police Department shot and killed ten unarmed demonstrators in Chicago, on May 30, 1937. The incident took place during the Little Steel strike in the United States. Background The incident aros ...

: The

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

shoot and kill 10 unarmed demonstrators in Chicago.

June

June June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...

–

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

completes his painting ''

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

''. *

–

July July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., it being the mont ...

– The

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

debates and passes the new draft

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democra ...

, which is then submitted for public approval by

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. *

June 3 Events Pre-1600 * 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators. * 713 – The Byzantine Empire, Byzantine emperor Philippikos Ba ...

–

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

marries the Duke of Windsor, the former

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

, in France. *

June 8 Events Pre-1600 * 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. * 452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces ...

** The

passes the Executive Authority (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937, which abolishes the office of Governor-General of the Irish Free State, retrospectively dated to

December December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the last of seven months to have a length of 31 days. December got its name from the Latin word ''decem'' (meaning ten) because it was or ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

. ** The first total

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

to exceed 7 minutes of totality, in over 800 years, is visible in the Pacific and Peru. *

June 21 Events Pre-1600 * 533 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily (approximate date). * 1307 – Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khagan of the Mo ...

– The

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

resigns in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

July

July 1 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...

** The

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

arrests pastor

Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 18926 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s and for his widely quoted 1946 poem " First they ca ...

in Germany. ** In a referendum the people of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

accept the new Constitution by 685,105 votes to 527,945. *

July 2 Events Pre-1600 * 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome. * 626 – Li Shimin, th ...

–

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

and navigator

Fred Noonan Frederick Joseph "Fred" Noonan (born April 4, 1893 – disappeared July 2, 1937, declared dead June 20, 1938) was an American flight navigator, sea captain and aviation pioneer, who first charted many commercial airline routes across the Pacif ...

disappear after taking off from

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, during Earhart's attempt to become the first woman to fly around the world. *

July 7 Events Pre-1600 * 1124 – The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks. * 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her execution. * 1520 – Spanish ''conquistado ...

** In the

Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria ...

, Japanese and Chinese forces exchange fire near Beijing, beginning the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. ** The

Peel Commission The Peel Commission, formally known as the Palestine Royal Commission, was a British Royal Commission of Inquiry, headed by Lord Peel, appointed in 1936 to investigate the causes of unrest in Mandatory Palestine, which was administered by Gre ...

proposes partition of the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

into separate Arab and Jewish states. *

July 9 Events Pre-1600 *118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome. * 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodos ...

–

1937 Fox vault fire The 1937 Fox vault fire was a major fire that broke out in a 20th Century-Fox film-storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey, United States, on July 9, 1937. Flammable nitrate film had previously contributed to several fires in film-industr ...

: The silent film archives of

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...

are destroyed *

July 20 Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots. * 792 – Kardam of Bulgaria defea ...

– The

Geibeltbad Pirna The Geibeltbad Pirna is a public bath and water sport facility in Pirna near Dresden, Saxony in Germany. Finished under the Nazis on June 20, 1937, it is one of the largest baths in the world. Completely paid by the Anna Marie Geibelt Foundation ...

is opened in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, Germany. *

July 21 Events Pre-1600 * 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson. * 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became the ...

–

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...

is elected President of the Executive Council (prime minister) of the

, by the Dáil (parliament). *

July 22 Events Pre-1600 * 838 – Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids. *1099 – First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of J ...

–

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

: The

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

votes down President

's proposal to add more justices to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. *

July 25 Events Pre-1600 * 306 – Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops. * 315 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum in Rome to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. ...

– 31 – Sino-Japanese War:

Battle of Beiping–Tianjin The Battle of Beiping–Tianjin (), also known as the Battle of Beiping, Battle of Peiping, Battle of Beijing, Battle of Peiking, the Peiking-Tientsin Operation, and by the Japanese as the (25–31 July 1937) was a series of battles of the Sec ...

, a series of actions fought around

Beiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

and

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

, result in Japanese victory. *

July 29 Events Pre-1600 * 587 BC – The Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem and destroys the First Temple. * 615 – Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya language, Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the ...

– Tungchow Mutiny: Units of the

East Hopei Army {{no footnotes, date=July 2015 The East Hopei Army was raised from the former soldiers of the Peace Preservation Corps that had been created by the Tangku Truce of 31 May 1933. The Demilitarized Zone Peace Preservation Corps had been the "neutr ...

mutiny and kill Japanese troops and civilians in Tongzhou. *

July 31 Events Pre-1600 *30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide. * 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Tr ...

–

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

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

, initially as a 4-month plan for 75,950 people to be executed and an additional 193,000 to be sent to the

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

August

August 2 Events Pre-1600 *338 BC – A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean. *216 BC – The Carthaginian arm ...

– The

Marijuana Tax Act The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, , was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The H.R. 6385 act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The Seventy-fift ...

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 Events Pre-1600 *AD 25 – Guangwu claims the throne as Emperor of China, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty. * 70 – Fires resulting from the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem are ...

– The

commences one of the largest campaigns of the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...

, to "eliminate anti-Soviet elements". Within the following year, at least 724,000 people are killed on order of the

troika Troika or troyka (from Russian тройка, meaning 'a set of three') may refer to: Cultural tradition * Troika (driving), a traditional Russian harness driving combination, a cultural icon of Russia * Troika (dance), a Russian folk dance Polit ...

s, directed by

. This is an offensive that targets social classes (such as the

kulak Kulak (; russian: кула́к, r=kulák, p=kʊˈlak, a=Ru-кулак.ogg; plural: кулаки́, ''kulakí'', 'fist' or 'tight-fisted'), also kurkul () or golchomag (, plural: ), was the term which was used to describe peasants who owned ove ...

s), ethnic or racial backgrounds which are seen as non-Russian, and Stalin's personal opponents from the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

and their sympathizers. *

August 6 Events Pre-1600 *1284 – The Republic of Pisa is defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean. * 1538 – Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada ...

–

: Falangist artillery bombards

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. *

August 8 Events Pre-1600 * 685 BC – Spring and Autumn period: Battle of Qianshi: Upon the death of the previous Duke of Qi, Gongsun Wuzhi, Duke Zhuang of Lu sends an army into the Duchy of Qi to install the exiled Qi prince Gongzi Jiu as th ...

– Japan occupies Beijing. *

August 9 Events Pre-1600 *48 BC – Caesar's Civil War: Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt. * 378 – Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople: A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens ...

– The

Polish Operation of the NKVD (1937–38) The ''Polish Operation'' of the NKVD (Soviet security service) in 1937–1938 was an anti-Polish mass-ethnic cleansing operation of the NKVD carried out in the Soviet Union against Poles (labeled by the Soviets as "agents") during the period of ...

is signed by

Nikolai Yezhov Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov ( rus, Никола́й Ива́нович Ежо́в, p=nʲɪkɐˈɫaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ (j)ɪˈʐof; 1 May 1895 – 4 February 1940) was a Soviet secret police official under Joseph Stalin who was head of the N ...

, as a continuation of the

. *

August 13 Events Pre-1600 * 29 BC – Octavian holds the first of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes. * 523 – John I becomes the new Pope after the death of Pope Hormisdas. * 554 – Em ...

–

: The

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan at the beginning of th ...

opens. *

August 26 Events Pre-1600 * 683 – Yazid I's army kills 11,000 people of Medina including notable Sahabas in Battle of al-Harrah. *1071 – The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert, and soon gain control of most of ...

–

: Japanese aircraft attack the car carrying the ambassador of Great Britain, during a raid on Shanghai.

September

September 2 Events Pre-1600 *44 BC – Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. * 44 BC – Cicero launches the first of his ''Philippicae'' (oratorical attacks) on Mark Antony. He will make 14 of them ...

– The Great Hong Kong Typhoon kills an estimated 11,000 persons. *

September 5 Events Pre-1600 * 917 – Liu Yan declares himself emperor, establishing the Southern Han state in southern China, at his capital of Panyu. * 1367 – Swa Saw Ke becomes king of Ava * 1590 – Alexander Farnese's army forces Hen ...

–

: The city of

Llanes Llanes (the ''Concejo de Llanes'', ''Conceyu de Llanes'' in Asturian language) is a municipality of the province of Asturias, in northern Spain. Stretching for about 30 km along the coast at the extreme east of the province, Llanes is bound ...

falls to the Falangists. *

September 7 Events Pre-1600 * 70 – A Roman army under Titus occupies and plunders Jerusalem. * 878 – Louis the Stammerer is crowned as king of West Francia by Pope John VIII. *1159 – Pope Alexander III is chosen. *1191 – Third Cru ...

–

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

broadcasts a two-and-a-half hour memorial concert nationwide on radio in memory of George Gershwin, live from the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

. Many celebrities appear, including

Oscar Levant Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906August 14, 1972) was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian and actor. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for reco ...

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 18856 July 1973) was a 20th-century conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the US, Hungary and finally Britain. His early career was in opera houses, but he was later better known as a concer ...

Lily Pons Alice Joséphine Pons (April 12, 1898 – February 13, 1976), known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she s ...

and members of the original cast of ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

''. The concert is recorded and released complete years later in what is excellent sound for its time, on CD. The

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

is the featured orchestra. *

September 10 Events Pre-1600 * 506 – The bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. *1419 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy is assassinated by adherents of the Dauphin, the future Charles VII of France. * 1509 – An eart ...

– Nine nations meet in the

Nyon Conference The Nyon Conference was a diplomatic conference held in Nyon, Switzerland, in September 1937 to address attacks on international shipping in the Mediterranean Sea during the Spanish Civil War. The conference was convened in part because Kingdom ...

, led by the United Kingdom and France, to address international

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

in the Mediterranean. *

September 17 Events Pre-1600 * 1111 – Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia". * 1176 – The Battle of Myriokephalon is the last attempt by the Byzantine Empi ...

–

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's head is dedicated at

Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...

. *

September 19 Events Pre-1600 * 85 – Nerva, suspected of complicity of the death of Domitian, is declared emperor by Senate. The Senate then annuls laws passed by Domitian and orders his statues to be destroyed. * 634 – Siege of Damascus: Th ...

– Swiss professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

club

HC Ambrì-Piotta Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta is a Switzerland, Swiss professional ice hockey club and a member of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). The club was founded September 19, 1937, and is also known as "Bianco-Blu" (English: white and b ...

is founded. *

September 21 Events Pre-1600 * 455 – Emperor Avitus enters Rome with a Gallic army and consolidates his power. * 1170 – The Kingdom of Dublin falls to Norman invaders. * 1217 – Livonian Crusade: The Estonian leader Lembitu and Livonian ...

– George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London publishes the first edition of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

's ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...

''. *

September 25 Events Pre-1600 * 275 – For the last time, the Roman Senate chooses an emperor; they elect 75-year-old Marcus Claudius Tacitus. * 762 – Led by Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, the Hasanid branch of the Alids begins the Alid Revolt a ...

–

Battle of Pingxingguan The Battle of Pingxingguan (), commonly called the Great Victory of Pingxingguan in Mainland China, was an engagement fought on 25 September 1937, at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, between the Eighth Route Army of the Chinese Com ...

: The Communist Chinese

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chinese ...

defeats the Japanese. *

September 27 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman conquest of England. * 1331 – The Battle of Płowce is fought, between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teuto ...

– The last

Bali tiger The Bali tiger was a '' Panthera tigris sondaica'' population on the Indonesian island of Bali which has been extinct since the 1950s. It was formerly regarded as a distinct tiger subspecies with the scientific name ''Panthera tigris balica' ...

dies. *

September 30 Events Pre-1600 * 489 – The Ostrogoths under Theoderic the Great defeat the forces of Odoacer for the second time. * 737 – The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, follow them south of the Oxus, and capture their b ...

– Austrian born actress of Jewish descent,

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actresse ...

arrives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to flee from her possessive husband

Friedrich Mandl Friedrich Alexander Maria "Fritz" Mandl (9 February 1900 – 8 September 1977) was chairman of Hirtenberger Patronen-Fabrik, a leading Austrian armaments firm founded by his father, Alexander Mandl. A prominent fascist, Mandl was attached to ...

who made arms agreements with the Nazis, and to begin her Hollywood career.

October

October 1 Events Pre-1600 * 331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. * 366 – Pope Damasus I is consecrated. * 959 – Edgar the Peaceful becomes king of all England, in succession to Eadwig. ...

** The

Marihuana Tax Act The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, , was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. The H.R. 6385 act was drafted by Harry Anslinger and introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937. The Seventy-fift ...

becomes law in the United States. *

October 2 Events Pre-1600 * 829 – Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor. * 939 – Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia and ot ...

– 8 –

Parsley Massacre The Parsley massacre (Spanish: ''el corte'' "the cutting"; Creole: ''kout kouto-a'' "the stabbing") (french: Massacre du Persil; es, Masacre del Perejil; ht, Masak nan Pèsil) was a mass killing of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic's nor ...

: Under the orders of President

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...

, Dominican troops kill thousands of

Haitians Haitians ( French: , ht, Ayisyen) are the citizens of Haiti and the descendants in the diaspora through direct parentage. An ethnonational group, Haitians generally comprise the modern descendants of self-liberated Africans in the Caribbean te ...

living in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. *

October 3 Events Pre-1600 * 2457 BC – Gaecheonjeol, Hwanung (환웅) purportedly descended from heaven. South Korea's National Foundation Day. * 52 BC – Gallic Wars: Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Juliu ...

–

: Japanese troops advance toward

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, capital of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

. *

October 5 Events Pre-1600 * 610 – Heraclius arrives at Constantinople, kills Byzantine Emperor Phocas, and becomes emperor. * 816 – King Louis the Pious is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the Pope. * 869 – The Fourth Co ...

–

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president *Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Roosevel ...

gives his famous ''

Quarantine Speech __NOTOC__ The ''Quarantine Speech'' was given by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on October 5, 1937, in Chicago (on the occasion of the dedication of the Outer Drive Bridge between north and south outer Lake Shore Drive), calling for an inter ...

'' in Chicago. *

October 9 Events Pre-1600 * 768 – Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned kings of the Franks. * 1238 – James I of Aragon founds the Kingdom of Valencia. * 1410 – The first known mention of the Prague astronomical clock. * 1446 &ndash ...

–

Jimmie Angel James "Jimmie" Crawford Angel (August 1, 1899December 8, 1956) was an American aviator after whom Angel Falls in Venezuela, the tallest waterfall in the world, is named. Early life James Crawford Angel was born August 1, 1899, near Cedar Valley, ...

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 Events Pre-1600 * 1138 – A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo; it is one of the most destructive earthquakes ever. *1142 – A peace treaty ends the Jin–Song wars. * 1311 – The peerage and clergy restrict the authority of Eng ...

–

Duke and Duchess of Windsor's 1937 tour of Germany Edward, Duke of Windsor, and Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, visited Nazi Germany in October 1937. Edward had Abdication of Edward VIII, abdicated the British throne in December 1936, and his brother George VI had become king. Edward had been g ...

: The

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

of Windsor arrive in Berlin to begin a 12-day tour of Nazi Germany, meeting Adolf Hitler on the 22nd. *

October 13 Events Pre-1600 * 54 – Roman emperor Claudius dies from poisoning under mysterious circumstances. He is succeeded by his adoptive son Nero, rather than by Britannicus, his son with Messalina. * 409 – Vandals and Alans cross the Py ...

– Germany, in a note to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, guarantees the inviolability and integrity of Belgium, so long as the latter abstains from military action against Germany. *

October 15 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later. * 1211 ...

–

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

's novel ''

To Have and Have Not ''To Have and Have Not'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1937 by Charles Scribner's Sons. The book follows Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida. ''To Have and Have Not'' was Hemingway's second novel set in th ...

'' is first published, in the United States. *

October 18 Events Pre-1600 * 33 – Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation. * 320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek philos ...

–

October 21 Events Pre-1600 *1096 – A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fights off the People's Crusade. *1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of A ...

–

: The whole Spanish northern seaboard falls into the Falangists' hands;

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

an forces in

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...

, Spain, set fire to petrol reserves, prior to retreating before the advancing Falangists. *

October 23 Events Pre-1600 *4004 BC – James Ussher's proposed creation date of the world according to the Bible. *42 BC – Liberators' civil war: Mark Antony and Octavian decisively defeat an army under Brutus in the second part of the Battle ...

–

1937 Australian federal election The 1937 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 23 October 1937. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent UAP–Country coalition government, led by Prim ...

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...

' UAP/

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

is re-elected with a slightly increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by

John Curtin John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...

. *

October 25 Events Pre-1600 * 285 (or 286) – Execution of Saints Crispin and Crispinian during the reign of Diocletian, now the patron saints of leather workers, curriers, and shoemakers. * 473 – Emperor Leo I acclaims his grandson Leo II a ...

–

Celâl Bayar Mahmud Celâleddin "Celâl" Bayar (16 May 1883 – 22 August 1986) was a Turkish economist and politician who was the third President of Turkey from 1950 to 1960; previously he was Prime Minister of Turkey from 1937 to 1939. Bayar began his c ...

forms the new (ninth) government of Turkey.

November

November 5 Events Pre-1600 * 1138 – Lý Anh Tông is enthroned as emperor of Vietnam at the age of two, beginning a 37-year reign. * 1499 – The '' Catholicon'', written in 1464 by Jehan Lagadeuc in Tréguier, is published; this is the first Br ...

–

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

: In the

Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared s ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

holds a secret meeting and states his plans for acquiring "living space" for the German people (recorded in the

Hossbach Memorandum The Hossbach Memorandum is a summary of a meeting in Berlin on 5 November 1937 attended by German dictator Adolf Hitler and his military and foreign policy leadership in which Hitler outlined his expansionist policies. The meeting marked the beginni ...

). *

November 6 Events Pre-1600 * 447 – A powerful earthquake destroys large portions of the Walls of Constantinople, including 57 towers. * 963 – Synod of Rome: Emperor Otto I calls a council at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Pope John XII is d ...

– Italy joins the

Anti-Comintern Pact The Anti-Comintern Pact, officially the Agreement against the Communist International was an anti-Communist pact concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan on 25 November 1936 and was directed against the Communist International (Com ...

. *

November 9 Events Pre-1600 * 694 – At the Seventeenth Council of Toledo, Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery. * 1277 – The Treaty of Aberconwy, a humiliating settlement f ...

–

: Japanese troops take Shanghai. *

November 10 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Emperor Leo II dies after a reign of ten months. He is succeeded by his father Zeno, who becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. * 937 – Ten Kingdoms: Li Bian usurps the throne and deposes Emperor Yang ...

– Brazilian president

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

announces the Estado Novo ("New State"), thence becoming

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

until

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

. *

November 11 Events Pre-1600 * 308 – At Carnuntum, Emperor ''emeritus'' Diocletian confers with Galerius, ''Augustus'' of the East, and Maximianus, the recently returned former ''Augustus'' of the West, in an attempt to end the civil wars of the T ...

– The Kogushi Sulfur Mine collapse, in western

Gunma is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima P ...

, Japan, kills at least 245 people.

December

December 1 Events Pre-1600 * 800 – A council is convened in the Vatican, at which Charlemagne is to judge the accusations against Pope Leo III. *1420 – Henry V of England enters Paris alongside his father-in-law King Charles VI of France. * ...

–

: The

Battle of Nanking The Battle of Nanking (or Nanjing) was fought in early December 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army for control of Nanking (Nanjing), the capital of the Repub ...

begins. *

December 4 Events Pre-1600 * 771 – Austrasian king Carloman I dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne as sole king of the Frankish Kingdom. * 963 – The lay papal protonotary is elected pope and takes the name Leo VIII, being consecrated on 6 D ...

– ''

The Dandy ''The Dandy'' was a British children's comic magazine published by the Dundee based publisher DC Thomson. The first issue was printed in December 1937, making it the world's third-longest running comic, after ''Il Giornalino'' (cover dated 1 Oct ...

comic a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

is first published in Scotland; it continued until 2012 as a physical publication, then online until 2013. *

December 11 Events Pre-1600 * 220 – Emperor Xian of Han is forced to abdicate the throne by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, ending the Han dynasty. * 361 – Julian enters Constantinople as sole Roman Emperor. * 861 – Assassination of the Abbas ...

– Italy withdraws from the

. *

December 12 Events Pre-1600 * 627 – Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh. *1388 – Maria of Enghien sells the lordship of Argos and Nauplia to ...

** USS ''Panay'' incident: Japanese bombers sink the American gunboat . **

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

makes a risqué guest appearance on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Chase and Sanborn Hour ''The Chase and Sanborn Hour'' is the umbrella title for a series of American comedy and variety radio shows sponsored by Standard Brands' Chase and Sanborn Coffee, usually airing Sundays on NBC from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the years 1929 to ...

'', which eventually results in her being banned from radio. *

December 13 Events Pre-1600 *1294 – Saint Celestine V resigns the papacy after only five months to return to his previous life as an ascetic hermit. *1545 – The Council of Trent begins as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. *1577 &nd ...

–

: The

ends with the Japanese occupying the city. In the

Nanking Massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...

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 Chungking (Chongqing). *

December 16 Events Pre-1600 * 714 – Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). He is succeeded by his infant grandson Theudoald, while his widow Plectrude holds actual power in the Frankish Kingdom. * 755 ...

– The original production of the musical '' Me and My Girl'' opens at the

Victoria Palace Theatre The Victoria Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, opposite Victoria Station. The structure is categorised as a Grade II* listed building. History Origins The theatre began life as a small conc ...

, in London's West End. A later revival will win an award. *

December 21 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69 – The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors. * 1124 – Pope Honorius II is consecrated, having been elected after the controversial dethroning of Pope Cele ...

–

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...

'', the world's first feature-length

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

film, premieres at the

Carthay Circle Theatre The Carthay Circle Theatre was one of the most famous movie palaces of Hollywood's Golden Age. Located on San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, it opened in 1926 and was demolished in 1969. The auditorium itself was shaped in the f ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. *

December 25 Events Pre-1600 * 36 – Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China. * 274 – A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aureli ...

– At the age of 70, conductor

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

conducts the

NBC Symphony Orchestra The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Tosca ...

on radio for the first time, beginning his successful 17-year tenure with that orchestra. This first concert consists of music by

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

(at a time when he is seldom played),

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

. Millions tune in to listen, including U.S. President

Franklin Delano 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 ...

. *

December 29 Events Pre-1600 *1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church. ...

– The new

(''Bunreacht na hÉireann'') comes into force. The

becomes "

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

", and

becomes the first

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

(prime minister) of the new state. A 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 The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

in June 1938. The new constitution prohibits

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

Date unknown

* Switzerland begins construction of its Border Line defences. * The

Vibora Luviminda The Vibora Luviminda, a secretive organization focused largely on Filipino labor issues, was founded in 1924 on the island of Maui by Manuel Fagel.Beechert 1985, p. 226-227. The Vibora Luviminda conducted the last labor strike of an ethnic natu ...

sugar plantation trade unions strike on

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

island, Hawaii. * Italian psychiatrist

Amarro Fiamberti Adamo Mario (Amarro) Fiamberti was the first to perform a transorbital lobotomy (by accessing the frontal lobe of the brain through the orbits) in 1937. Fiamberti was later named Director of the Psychiatric Hospital of Varese, when it was open ...

is the first to document a transorbital approach to the brain, which becomes the basis for the controversial medical procedure of

transorbital lobotomy A lobotomy, or leucotomy, is a form of neurosurgical treatment for psychiatric disorder or neurological disorder (e.g. epilepsy) that involves severing connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex. The surgery causes most of the connections t ...

. *

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

industry produces about four times as much as it had in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

. * The Allen Organ Company, builder of church, home and theatre organs, is founded in Macungie, Pennsylvania.

Births

January

–

Philip Akot Akok Kiir Philip Akot Akok Kiir (born January 1, 1937) is a South Sudanese pastor, former educator and politician. Life and career Kiir is an educator and a politician in South Sudan. A graduate of University of Khartoum, Bachelor of Arts in History & Arts ...

, South Sudanese pastor, former educator and politician *

January 4 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. 1601–1900 *1649 – Engli ...

Grace Bumbry Grace Melzia Bumbry (born January 4, 1937), an American opera singer, is considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano earlier in her career. She is a member of a pioneering generation of African-Ameri ...

, American opera singer **

Dyan Cannon Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Friesen; January 4, 1937) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations, and a star on the Ho ...

, American actress, film director and screenwriter *

January 6 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eve ...

Paolo Conte Paolo Conte (; born 6 January 1937) is an Italian singer, pianist, songwriter and lawyer known for his distinctly grainy, resonant voice. His compositions fuse Italian and Mediterranean sounds with jazz, boogie and elements of the French and L ...

, 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 *

– 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

* 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 *

– 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) *

** Robert Huber, German chemist and Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel laureate ** Nancy Wilson (jazz singer), Nancy Wilson, African-American singer and actress (d. 2018) *

** Ron Clarke, Australian runner (d. 2015) ** King Harald V of Norway ** Jilly Cooper, English writer *

– Sir Tom Courtenay, English actor

March

* 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) *

– Benny Paret, Cuban welterweight boxer (d. 1962) * March 15 – Valentin Rasputin, Russian writer (d. 2015) *

** 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

– 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 *

– 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) *

– 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

George Carlin 1975 (Little David Records) Publicity

* May 2 – Lorenzo Music, American actor, voice actor, writer, producer and musician (d. 2001) * May 4 – Dick Dale, American guitarist (d. 2019) *

– Rubin Carter, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, African-American boxer (d. 2014) *

** 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 *

– 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 *

** 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

* 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 *

– 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

Lionel Jospin, mai 2014, Rennes, France (cropped)

Ryutaro Hashimoto cropped 1 Ryutaro Hashimoto 19960111

– 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) *

** 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) *

– 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) *

** Ryutaro Hashimoto, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2006) ** Daniel McFadden, American economist and Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Nobel laureate

August

– María Duval, Mexican actress and singer * August 3 – Andrés Gimeno, Spanish tennis player (d. 2019) *

– Manuel Pinto da Costa, Santoméan politician, 1st List of Presidents of São Tomé and Príncipe, President of São Tomé and Príncipe *

– Charlie Haden, American jazz bassist (d. 2014) *

– 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 *

– 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

* September 1 – Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Portuguese politician, 111th Prime Minister of Portugal * September 4 – Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer *

– Antonio Angelillo, Italian-Argentine footballer (d. 2018) * September 6 - Jo Anne Worley, American Actress, Comedienne and singer *

– John Phillip Law, American actor (d. 2008) * September 9 – Alí Rodríguez Araque, Venezuelan politician, lawyer and diplomat (d. 2018) *

– 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 *

– Daniel Filho, Brazilian film producer, director, actor, and screenwriter

October

– Johnnie Cochran, African-American attorney (d. 2005) * October 4 ** Jackie Collins, English author (d. 2015) ** Franz Vranitzky, 19th Chancellor of Austria *

– Bobby Charlton, English footballer * October 19 – Teresa Ciepły, Polish Olympic athlete (d. 2006) * October 20 – Wanda Jackson, American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist *

– 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'') *

– 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

– 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) *

** 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) *

– Jane Fonda, American actress and activist * December 26 – John Horton Conway, English-born mathematician (d. 2020) * December 28 – Ratan Tata, Indian industrialist *

– 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

** Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Indian spiritual teacher (b. 1874) ** John Gresham Machen, American Presbyterian theologian (b. 1881) * January 2 – Ross Alexander, American actor (b. 1907) *

** Alberto de Oliveira, Brazilian poet (b. 1857) ** Ernst Löfström, Finnish general of World War I (b. 1865) *

** 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) *

** 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) *

– Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist, politician (b. 1876)

February

* 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) *

– Horacio Quiroga, Uruguayan writer (b. 1878) *

– 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) *

** Douglas Carnegie, British politician (b. 1870) ** Charles Donnelly (poet), Charles Donnelly, Irish poet (killed in battle) (b. 1915)

March

* 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) *

** 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

* 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) *

** 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

* 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) *

– Alfred Adler, Austrian psychologist (b. 1870) * May 29 – Lizardo García, 17th President of Ecuador (b. 1844)

June

* June 2 – Louis Vierne, French composer (b. 1870) *

** 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

, 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

** Ilya Garkavyi, Soviet general (b. 1888) ** Matvei Vasilenko, Soviet komkor (b. 1888) *

–

, 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) *

– Åke Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat, lawyer (b. 1893) * July 8 – Diana Abgar, Armenian diplomat (b. 1859) *

– 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) *

– Guglielmo Marconi, Italian-born American inventor (b. 1874) *

** Nazzareno Formosa, American Roman Catholic priest and reverend (b. 1901) ** Paolo Iashvili, Soviet poet (b. 1894) * July 23 – Varnava, Serbian Patriarch (b. 1880) *

– Noë Bloch, Soviet producer (b. 1875)

August

– Jean Louis Conneau, French aviator (b. 1880) *

** Adeodato Barreto, Portuguese poet (b. 1905) ** F. C. S. Schiller, German-British philosopher (b. 1864) *

– Martin Rázus, Czechoslovakian poet, writer and politician (b. 1888) *

– Na Woon-gyu, Korean actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1902) * August 11 – Edith Wharton, American writer (b. 1862) *

– 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) *

** 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

** 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) *

– 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) *

– 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) *

– 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

– Prince Kuni Taka of Japan (b. 1875) *

** 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) *

** 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) *

– Emma E. Bower, American physician, club-woman, and newspaperwoman (b. 1852) *

– Kazimierz Nowak, Polish traveller (b. 1897) * October 14 – Salvatore Micalizzi, Italian Roman Catholic priest and venerable (b. 1856) *

– 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) *

– 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

* 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) *

– Naoe Kinoshita, Japanese Christian socialist (b. 1869) *

– 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) *

– Ramsay MacDonald, British statesman, 2-time

(b. 1866) *

– Nikolai Batalov, Soviet actor (b. 1899) *

– 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

(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

– 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) *

** 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) *

– Alfred Abel, German actor (b. 1879) * December 14 – Fabián de la Rosa, Filipino painter (b. 1869) *

– 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) *

** 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) *

– 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) *

** 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,