February 1932

The following events occurred in February 1932:

February 1, 1932 (Monday)

*Japanese warships bombarded the city of Nanjing.
*The Aldous Huxley dystopian science fiction novel ''Brave New World'', with a setting more than 600 years in the future was published.
*Born: Sir John Nott, British Defence Secretary 1981 to 1983; in Bideford, Devon

February 2, 1932 (Tuesday)

*In Geneva, a disarmament conference attended by representatives of 60 nations opened.
*Chicago mobster Terry Druggan was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison and fined $5,000 for tax fraud.
*Duke Ellington and his orchestra first recorded the jazz tune "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)".
*World War flying ace Wop May was hired to assist in the manhunt for the fugitive Albert Johnson in Northern Canada. It was the first time a plane had ever been used in Canadian law enforcement.
*The film '' Shanghai Express'' starring Marlene Dietrich was released.

February 3, 1932 (Wednesday)

*It came to light that Adolf Hitler may be a German citizen after all, which would make him eligible to run for president. It was revealed that in 1930, Thuringian Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick had appointed Hitler as police commissioner of the town of Hildburghausen. According to law, a German official automatically became a citizen. Hitler downplayed the revelation, saying he had refused the appointment and that "these are not the means by which I expect to become a German citizen."
*Born: Peggy Ann Garner, American child actress in film; in Canton, Ohio (died from pancreatic cancer, 1984)

February 4, 1932 (Thursday)

*The III Olympic Winter Games opened in Lake Placid, New York with seventeen nations participating.
*Chancellor of the Exchequer Neville Chamberlain introduced the Import Duties Bill, a 10% tariff on imports, with exceptions for concessions for the Empire.
*Born: Gordon Brown, Scottish footballer; in Dunfermline, Fife (d. 1999)

February 5, 1932 (Friday)

*Latvia and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact.
*Mahatma Gandhi's spinning wheel, along with a few other items, were seized by the government for nonpayment of taxes.
*In Indian River, Florida, Garfield Wood set a new boat speed record of 111.72 mph in the ''Miss America IX''.
*Died: Barney Dreyfuss, 66, German-born American baseball executive and owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates; in 1903, he negotiated the agreement that made peace between the National League and the rival American League, with agreements not to raid each other's teams, and creating a post season World Series; enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame 2008

February 6, 1932 (Saturday)

*American soldiers arrived in Shanghai.
*The comedy film ''The Passionate Plumber'' starring Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante was released.
*Born: François Truffaut, French film director; in Paris (died of brain tumor, 1984)
*Died: Augusto B. Leguía, 68, President of Peru 1908 to 1912 and 1919 to 1930, died while in confinement following his 1930 overthrow.

February 7, 1932 (Sunday)

*Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed the Oslo Convention, an economic cooperation plan.
*Al Smith announced he was running for President of the United States again.
*Born: Gay Talese, American freelance journalist; in Ocean City, New Jersey

February 8, 1932 (Monday)

*The Bulgarian government officially announced that it would not make any more war reparations payments.
*The jury in the Winnie Ruth Judd case found her guilty of first degree murder and voted for the death penalty.

*Born:
**John Williams, American filmscore composer and conductor, winner of 25 Grammy Awards and five Academy Awards; in Queens, New York
** Jean Innes Saunders, English romance novelist who wrote under her own name (as Jean Saunders and as Jean Innes) and under numerous pen names, including "Rowena Summers"; in London (d. 2011);
*Died:
** Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, 23, Irish-born American gangster, was shot to death by a rival gang while in a phone booth in Manhattan.
**Yordan Milanov