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From top to bottom, left to right: The catastrophic 1931 China floods submerge vast regions along the Yangtze, Huai, and Yellow Rivers, killing 1–4 million and becoming one of history’s deadliest natural disasters; the European banking crisis of 1931 begins with the collapse of Creditanstalt, spreading financial turmoil across Austria and Germany and deepening the Great Depression; the Mukden Incident in Manchuria sees a staged explosion by Japanese forces used to justify invasion, setting the stage for the Second Sino-Japanese War; the Hawke's Bay earthquake strikes New Zealand’s North Island, killing 256 and prompting a massive Art Deco rebuilding of Napier; the Ahmed Barzani revolt erupts in northern Iraq as Kurdish forces challenge the government, highlighting ethnic tensions; and the Empire State Building opens in New York City, becoming the world’s tallest skyscraper and a symbol of modern ambition.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1931.
1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1931st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 931st year of the 2nd millennium, the 31st year of the 20th century, and the 2nd year of the 1930s decade.
Events
[edit]January
[edit]- January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
- January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
- January 22 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.[1]
- January 25 – Mohandas Gandhi is again released from imprisonment in India.[2]
- January 27 – Pierre Laval forms a government in France.
- January 30 – Charlie Chaplin comedy drama film City Lights receives its public premiere at the Los Angeles Theater with Albert Einstein as guest of honor. Contrary to the current trend in cinema, it is a silent film, but with a score by Chaplin. Critically and commercially successful from the start, it will place consistently in lists of films considered the best of all time.[3]
February
[edit]
- February 4 – Soviet leader Joseph Stalin gives a speech calling for rapid industrialization, arguing that only strong industrialized countries will win wars, while "weak" nations are "beaten". Stalin states: "We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or they will crush us." The first five-year plan in the Soviet Union is intensified, for the industrialization and collectivization of agriculture.
- February 10 – Official inauguration ceremonies for New Delhi as the capital of India begin.[4]
- February 16 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud is elected president of Finland.
- February 21 – Peruvian revolutionaries hijack a Ford Trimotor aeroplane, and demand that the pilot drop propaganda leaflets over Lima.
March
[edit]- March 5 – The British viceroy of India and Mohandas Gandhi sign the Gandhi–Irwin Pact.
- March 7 – The Finnish Parliament House opens in Helsinki, Finland.
- March 11 – The Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR programme, abbreviated as GTO, is introduced in the Soviet Union.
- March 23 – Indian revolutionary leaders Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged for conspiracy to murder in the British Raj.
- March 31 – An earthquake destroys Managua, Nicaragua, killing 2,000 people.
April
[edit]- April 1 – The Second Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet in China is launched by the Kuomintang government, to destroy the Communist forces in Jiangxi Province.
- April 6 – The Portuguese government declares martial law in Madeira and in the Azores, because of the Madeira uprising in Funchal.
- April 12 – Municipal elections in Spain, which are treated as a virtual referendum on the monarchy, result in the triumph for the republican parties.
- April 14 – The Second Spanish Republic is proclaimed in Madrid. Meanwhile, as a result of the victory of the Republican Left of Catalonia, Francesc Macià proclaims in Barcelona the Catalan Republic, as a state of the Iberian Federation.
- April 15 – Assassination of Giuseppe (Joe the Boss) Masseria, New York City Mafia boss.
- April 17 – After the negotiations between the republican ministers of Spain and Catalonia, the Catalan Republic becomes the Generalitat of Catalonia, a Catalan autonomous government inside the Spanish Republic.
- April 22 – Austria, the UK, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United States recognize the Spanish Republic.
- April 25 – The automobile manufacturer Porsche is founded by Ferdinand Porsche in Stuttgart.
May
[edit]
- May 1 – Construction of the Empire State Building is completed in New York City.[5]
- May 4 – Kemal Atatürk is re-elected president of Turkey.
- May 5 – İsmet İnönü forms a new government in Turkey (7th government).
- May 11 – The Creditanstalt, Austria's largest bank, goes bankrupt, beginning the banking collapse in Central Europe that causes a worldwide financial meltdown.
- May 13 – Paul Doumer is elected president of France.
- May 14 – Ådalen shootings: Five people are killed in Ådalen, Sweden, when soldiers open fire on an unarmed trade union demonstration.
- May 15
- The Chinese Communists inflict a sharp defeat on the Kuomintang forces.
- Pope Pius XI issues the encyclical Quadragesimo anno, on the "reconstruction of the social order".
- May 31 – The Second Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet ends in the defeat of the Kuomintang.
June
[edit]- June–November – 1931 China flood: the Yangtze and Huai Rivers flood in a populous region, leaving an estimated 422,000 dead (150,000 drowned) with many more dying of consequential starvation and disease in the aftermath.[6]
- June 5
- German Chancellor Heinrich Brüning visits London, where he warns British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald that the collapse of the Austrian banking system, caused by the bankruptcy of the Creditanstalt, has left the entire German banking system on the verge of collapse.
- Anti-Chinese rioting occurs in Pyongyang. Approximately 127 Chinese people are killed, 393 wounded, and a considerable number of properties are destroyed by Korean residents.[7]
- June 14 – Saint-Philibert disaster: The overloaded pleasure craft Saint-Philibert, carrying trippers home to Nantes from the Île de Noirmoutier, sinks at the mouth of the River Loire in France; over 450 drown.
- June 19
- In an attempt to stop the banking crisis in Central Europe from causing a worldwide financial meltdown, U.S. President Herbert Hoover issues the Hoover Moratorium.
- The Geneva Convention (1929) relative to the treatment of prisoners of war enters into force.
- June 23–July 1 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty accomplish the first round-the-world flight in a single-engine plane, flying eastabout from Roosevelt Field, New York, in 8 days, 15 hours, 51 minutes.[8]
July
[edit]- July 1 – The rebuilt Milano Centrale railway station officially opens in Italy.
- July 9 – Irish racing driver Kaye Don breaks the world water speed record at Lake Garda, Italy.[9]
- July 10 – Norway issues a royal proclamation claiming the uninhabited part of eastern Greenland as Erik the Red's Land.
- July 13 – Royal soldiers shoot and kill 22 people demonstrating against the Maharaja Hari Singh, of the Indian princely state of Kashmir and Jammu.[10]
- July 16 – Emperor Haile Selassie signs the first Constitution of Ethiopia.
- July 20 – A violent tornado strikes the city of Lublin, Poland.
August
[edit]- August 2 – Murder of Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck: Two Berlin police officers are killed by Communists.
- August 9 – A referendum in Prussia for dissolving the Landtag ends with the "yes" side winning 37% of the vote, which is insufficient for calling the early elections. The elections are intended to remove the Social Democratic Party (SPD) government of Otto Braun. Supporting the "yes" side were the NSDAP, the DNVP and the Communist Party (KPD), while supporting the "no" side were the SPD and Zentrum.
- August 24 – The Labour Government of Ramsay MacDonald resigns in Britain, replaced by a National Government of people drawn from all parties, also under MacDonald.
September
[edit]
- September 7 – The Second Round Table Conference on the constitutional future of India opens in London; Mahatma Gandhi represents the Indian National Congress.
- September 10 – The worst hurricane in British Honduras history kills an estimated 1,500.
- September 18 – The Japanese military stages the Mukden Incident, an explosion blamed on Chinese dissidents and used as a pretext for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.[11]
- September 19 – The United Kingdom abandons the gold standard.[12]
- September 20 – With a gun literally pointed to his head, the Chinese commander of Kirin province announces the annexation of that territory to Japan.
October
[edit]- October 5 – American aviators Clyde Edward Pangborn and Hugh Herndon Jr., complete the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean, flying their plane, Miss Veedol, from Misawa, Japan, to East Wenatchee, Washington, in 41½ hours.[13]
- October 11 – A rally in Bad Harzburg, Germany leads to the Harzburg Front being founded, uniting the NSDAP, the DNVP, the Stahlhelm and various other right-wing factions.
- October 24 – The George Washington Bridge across the Hudson River in the United States is dedicated; it opens to traffic the following day. At 3,500 feet (1,100 m), it nearly doubles the previous record for the longest main span in the world.
- October 27 – The United Kingdom general election results in the victory of the National Government, and the defeat of Labour Party, in the country's greatest ever electoral landslide.
November
[edit]- November 7
- The Chinese Soviet Republic is proclaimed by Mao Zedong.
- Red China News Agency (a predecessor of the Xinhua News Agency) is officially founded, and news wire service start in Ruijin, Jiangxi Province, China.[14]
- November 8
- French police launch a large-scale raid against Corsican bandits.
- The Panama Canal is closed for a couple of weeks, due to damage caused by earthquakes.
- November 26 – Heavy hydrogen, later named deuterium, is discovered by American chemist Harold Urey.[15]
December
[edit]- December 5 – The original Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow (1883) is demolished, by order of Joseph Stalin.
- December 8 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler is appointed Reich Price Commissioner, in Germany to enforce the deflationary policies of the Brüning government.
- December 9 – The Spanish Constituent Cortes approves the Spanish Constitution of 1931, effectively establishing the Second Spanish Republic.
- December 10 – Niceto Alcalá-Zamora is elected president of the Spanish Republic.
- December 11 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom enacts the Statute of Westminster, which establishes a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth of Australia, Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland, the Dominion of New Zealand and the Union of South Africa.
- December 13 – Wakatsuki Reijirō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan.
- December 19 – The UAP/Country Coalition, led by Joseph Lyons, defeats the Australian Labor Government, led by Prime Minister James Scullin. Coming in the aftermath of two splits in the Labor Party, the election comes about due to the defeat of the Scullin government on the floor of the House of Representatives – to date, it is the last federal election where a one-term government was defeated. Lyons will be sworn in January 6th the following year, but not before disbanding the Coalition, after the UAP wins enough seats to form a government in its own right.
Births
[edit]| Births |
|---|
| January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December |
January
[edit]
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- January 1
- Mona Hammond, Jamaican-born British actress (d. 2022)[16]
- Mohammad Ali Samatar, 5th Prime Minister of Somalia (d. 2016)
- January 2 – Toshiki Kaifu, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2022)[17]
- January 4
- Guido Messina, Italian road and track cyclist (d. 2020)
- William Deane, 22nd Governor-General of Australia[18]
- Cleopa Msuya, 3rd Prime Minister of Tanzania (d. 2025)[19]
- January 5
- Alvin Ailey, American choreographer (d. 1989)[20]
- Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist (d. 2025)[21]
- Robert Duvall, American actor and director[22]
- Dave Peterson, American ice hockey coach (d. 1997)[23]
- January 6 – E. L. Doctorow, American author (d. 2015)[24]
- January 8 – Bill Graham, German concert promoter (d. 1991)
- January 10 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian politician, Muslim cleric (d. 2015)
- January 12 – Roland Alphonso, Jamaican musician (d. 1998)
- January 14 – Caterina Valente, French singer and actress (d. 2024)[25]
- January 16
- Shuhrat Abbosov, Uzbek actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer (d. 2018)
- Johannes Rau, President of Germany (d. 2006)
- January 17 – James Earl Jones, African-American actor (d. 2024)
- January 20 – David Lee, American physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics[26]
- January 22 – Sam Cooke, African-American singer (d. 1964)[27]
- January 24 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician (d. 2012)
- January 25 – Dean Jones, American actor (d. 2015)[28]
- January 27 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author (d. 2001)[29]
- January 28 – Lucia Bosè, Italian actress (d. 2020)
- January 29 – Ferenc Mádl, President of Hungary (d. 2011)
February
[edit]
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- February 1
- Boris Yeltsin, 1st President of Russia (d. 2007)[30]
- Oswald Oberhuber, Austrian painter, sculptor, and graphic artist (d. 2020)
- February 2
- Dries van Agt, Dutch politician, 46th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2024)
- Walter Burkert, German writer (d. 2015)[31]
- February 4 – Isabel Perón, 41st President of Argentina
- February 6
- Rip Torn, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
- Mamie Van Doren, American actress and writer[32]
- Ricardo Vidal, Filipino Roman Catholic prelate, cardinal (d. 2017)
- February 8
- James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)[33]
- Shadia, Egyptian actress, singer (d. 2017)
- February 9
- Thomas Bernhard, Austrian author (d. 1989)
- Josef Masopust, Czech football player and coach (d. 2015)
- February 12 – Agustín García-Gasco Vicente, Spanish cardinal (d. 2011)
- February 14 – Gerrit Jan Heijn, Dutch businessman (d. 1987)
- February 15 – Claire Bloom, English actress
- February 18 – Toni Morrison, African-American writer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (d. 2019)[34]
- February 19 – Camillo Ruini, Italian cardinal
- February 20 – John Milnor, American mathematician
- February 23 – Linda Cristal, Argentine actress (d. 2020)
- February 26 – Josephine Tewson, British actress (d. 2022)
March
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- March 1 – Lamberto Dini, Italian politician, economist and 51st Prime Minister of Italy
- March 2 – Mikhail Gorbachev, the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 2022)
- March 4
- William H. Keeler, American Roman Catholic prelate (d. 2017)
- Alice Rivlin, American economist (d. 2019)
- March 5 – Barry Tuckwell, Australian horn player (d. 2020)
- March 6 – Chun Doo-hwan, 5th President of South Korea (d. 2021)[35]
- March 8 – Neil Postman, American media theorist and cultural critic (d. 2003)[36]
- March 9 – León Febres Cordero, President of Ecuador (d. 2008)
- March 10 – Kovambo Nujoma, First Lady of Namibia
- March 11
- Janosch, German children's author and illustrator[37]
- Rupert Murdoch, Australian-born publisher
- March 14 – Lisbet Palme, Swedish child psychologist (d. 2018)
- March 15 – D. J. Fontana, American drummer (d. 2018)
- March 16 – Elliott Belgrave, 7th Governor-General of Barbados
- March 18 – Vlastimil Bubník, Czech ice hockey and football player (d. 2015)
- March 22
- Burton Richter, American physicist and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 2018)
- William Shatner, Canadian actor and science fiction novelist (Star Trek)[38]
- March 26 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor, film director (Star Trek), and singer (d. 2015)[39]
- March 27 – David Janssen, American actor (The Fugitive) (d. 1980)
- March 28 – Anatoly Lein, Russian-born American chess Grandmaster (d. 2018)
- March 29 – Aleksei Gubarev, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2015)
April
[edit]- April 1
- Ita Ever, Estonian actress (d. 2023)
- Rolf Hochhuth, German dramatist (d. 2020)[40]
- Jean-Jacques Honorat, 3rd Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2023)
- April 2 – Joseph Joffo, French author (d. 2018)
- April 4 – Catherine Tizard, 16th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 2021)
- April 5 – Héctor Olivera, Argentine film director, producer and screenwriter
- April 6
- Suchitra Sen, Bengali actress (d. 2014)
- Radomil Eliška, Czech conductor (d. 2019)
- April 7 – Daniel Ellsberg, American whistleblower (d. 2023)
- April 8 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat (d. 2018)
- April 11
- Luis Cabral, 1st President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2009)
- Mustafa Dağıstanlı, Turkish free-style wrestler (d. 2022)
- Nelly Kaplan, Argentine-born French movie director and screenwriter (d. 2020)
- April 13 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver (d. 2018)
- April 15
- Helen Maksagak, Canadian, first Inuk and woman to be Commissioner of both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (d. 2009)
- Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (d. 2015)[41]
- April 18 – Klas Lestander, Swedish biathlete and Olympic champion (d. 2023)
- April 19 – Kobie Coetsee, South African politician (d. 2000)
- April 26 – John Cain, Australian politician (d. 2019)
- April 27 – Igor Oistrakh, Soviet and Russian violinist (d. 2021)[42]
- April 29
- Frank Auerbach, German-born painter (d. 2024)
- Lonnie Donegan, Scottish musician (d. 2002)
May
[edit]
- May 1 – Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool, Pakistani educationist (d. 1991)
- May 3
- Aldo Rossi, Italian architect and designer (d. 1997)
- Hirokazu Kanazawa, Japanese karate practitioner and teacher (d. 2019)
- May 6
- Magda el-Sabahi, Egyptian actress (d. 2020)
- Willie Mays, African-American baseball player (d. 2024)
- May 7
- Teresa Brewer, American pop, jazz singer (d. 2007)
- Marta Terry González, Cuban librarian (d. 2018)
- Gene Wolfe, American science fiction and fantasy writer (d. 2019)[43]
- May 10 – M. Chidananda Murthy, Indian historian (d. 2020)
- May 13
- May 15 – James Fitz-Allen Mitchell, 2nd Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (d. 2021)
- May 16 – Magda Guzmán, Mexican actress (d. 2015)
- May 18 – Victoria Quirino-Gonzalez, First Lady of the Philippines (d. 2006)
- May 20 – George Vassiliou, 3rd President of Cyprus
- May 21 – Bombolo, Italian character actor and comedian (d. 1987)
- May 25 – Georgy Grechko, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2017)
- May 27 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress (d. 2015)
- May 28 – Carroll Baker, American actress
- May 31
- John Schrieffer, American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
- Shirley Verrett, American mezzo-soprano (d. 2010)
June
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- June 2 – Viktor Tsaryov, Russian footballer (d. 2017)
- June 3
- Raúl Castro, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba[44]
- Lindy Remigino, American Olympic athlete (d. 2018)[45]
- June 4 – D. M. Jayaratne, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2019)[46]
- June 8 – Dana Wynter, German-born American actress (d. 2011)
- June 10 – João Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist, pioneer of bossa nova (d. 2019)
- June 14
- Marla Gibbs, African-American actress, comedian and singer
- Junior Walker, American saxophonist, singer (d. 1995)
- June 16 – Ivo Petrić, Slovenian composer (d. 2018)
- June 17 – John Baldessari, American conceptual artist (d. 2020)
- June 18 – Fernando Henrique Cardoso, 34th President of Brazil
- June 20
- Olympia Dukakis, American actress (d. 2021)
- Arne Nordheim, Norwegian composer (d. 2010)
- June 22 – Ian Browne, Australian track cyclist (d. 2023)
- June 23 – Ola Ullsten, Swedish politician and diplomat (d. 2018)
- June 24
- Billy Casper, American golfer (d. 2015)[47]
- Gaston Flosse, French Polynesian politician
- June 25 – V. P. Singh, Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
- June 26 – Colin Wilson, British novelist and philosopher (d. 2013)[48]
- June 27
- Graziella Galvani, Italian stage, television and film actress (d. 2022)
- Martinus J. G. Veltman, Dutch physicist and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 2021)
- June 28
- Hans Alfredson, Swedish actor, film director, writer and comedian (d. 2017)[49]
- Jenny Glusker, British biochemist and crystallographer
- June 29 – Alina Obidniak, Polish actress and theatre director (d. 2021)
- June 30 – Gerda Herrmann, German composer and poet (d. 2021)
July
[edit]
- July 1
- Leslie Caron, French actress
- Stanislav Grof, Czech psychiatrist
- Seyni Kountché, former President of Niger (d. 1987)
- July 4 – Stephen Boyd, Irish actor (Ben-Hur) (d. 1977)[50]
- July 5 – Ismail Mahomed, South African, Namibian Chief Justice (d. 2000)
- July 6
- Antonella Lualdi, Italian actress and singer (d. 2023)
- Della Reese, African-American actress, singer and evangelist (d. 2017)
- July 10
- Morris Chang, Chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSMC) in 1987
- Jerry Herman, American composer, lyricist (d. 2019)
- Alice Munro, Canadian writer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (d. 2024)[51]
- July 14 – Robert Stephens, English actor (d. 1995)
- July 15
- Clive Cussler, American thriller writer and underwater explorer (d. 2020)[52]
- Gene Louw, South African politician (d. 2015)
- July 22 – Guido de Marco, Maltese politician, 6th President of Malta (d. 2010)
- July 23
- Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, Māori queen (d. 2006)
- Arata Isozaki, Japanese architecter (d. 2022)[53]
- July 25 – Paul Danblon, Belgian composer, opera director, administrator and journalist (d. 2018)
- July 28 – Darryl Hickman, American actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach (d. 2024)
August
[edit]
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- August 1
- Dino da Costa, Italian footballer (d. 2020)
- Hal Connolly, American athlete (d. 2010)
- August 2 – Ruth Maria Kubitschek, German actress (d. 2024)
- August 3 – Vladimir Trusenyov, Russian discus thrower (d. 2001)
- August 6 – Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, Iranian cleric, writer and politician (d. 2014)
- August 8 – Roger Penrose, English mathematical physicist, Nobel Prize laureate[54]
- August 9 – Mário Zagallo, Brazilian football player, manager (d. 2024)
- August 12 – William Goldman, American author (d. 2018)
- August 15
- Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi prince and politician (d. 2018)
- Richard F. Heck, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (d. 2015)
- August 16 – Harold Bernard St. John, 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 2004)
- August 18 – Hans van Mierlo, Dutch politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister (d. 2010)
- August 19 – Willie Shoemaker, American jockey (d. 2003)
- August 20 – Don King, American boxing promoter
- August 23
- Barbara Eden, American actress
- Hamilton O. Smith, American microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 2025)[55]
- August 27
- Sri Chinmoy, Bengali spiritual teacher, poet, artist and athlete who immigrated to the U.S. in 1964 (d. 2007)
- Clarence James, Bermudian surgeon, politician (d. 2016)
- August 28 – Shunichiro Okano, Japanese football player and manager (d. 2017)[56]
- August 30
- Jacques Braunstein, Romanian-born Venezuelan economist, publicist and disc jockey (d. 2009)
- Jack Swigert, American astronaut (d. 1982)
- August 31 – Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2014)
September
[edit]
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- September 2 – Zoltán Latinovits, Hungarian actor (d. 1976)
- September 3 – Paulo Maluf, Brazilian politician
- September 4
- Javier Solís, Mexican singer and actor (d. 1966)[57]
- Mitzi Gaynor, American actress, singer and dancer (d. 2024)
- September 5 – Moshé Mizrahi, Israeli film director (d. 2018)
- September 10 – Idelisa Bonnelly, Dominican marine biologist (d. 2022)
- September 12
- Ian Holm, British actor (d. 2020)
- George Jones, American country music singer, songwriter (d. 2013)
- Silvia Pinal, Mexican actress and politician (d. 2024)[58]
- September 13 – Barbara Bain, American actress
- September 16 – E. C. George Sudarshan, Indian theoretical physicist (d. 2018)
- September 17
- Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco (d. 2011)
- Anne Bancroft, American actress (d. 2005)
- September 19 – Brook Benton, American singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
- September 21
- Larry Hagman, American actor and director (d. 2012)
- Syukuro Manabe, Japanese meteorologist, climatologist and Nobel Prize laureate[59]
- Paulias Matane, 8th Governor-General of Papua New Guinea (d. 2021)
- September 22 – Fay Weldon, British author (d. 2023)
- September 24
- Tom Adams, 2nd Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 1985)
- Elizabeth Blackadder, Scottish painter (d. 2021)[60]
- September 27 – Freddy Quinn, Austrian singer, actor
- September 29
- James Cronin, American nuclear physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 2016)
- Anita Ekberg, Swedish actress (d. 2015)
- September 30 – Angie Dickinson, American actress
October
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- October 3 – Denise Scott Brown, American architect
- October 4 – Richard Rorty, American philosopher (d. 2007)
- October 6 – Riccardo Giacconi, Italian-born astrophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 2018)[61]
- October 7
- Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican archbishop, activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 2021)
- Jack Berry, American sports journalist
- October 13 – Raymond Kopa, French footballer (d. 2017)
- October 15 – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, President of India (d. 2015)
- October 16 – Charles Colson, American politician, Watergate conspirator, later evangelist (d. 2012)
- October 17 – José Alencar, Brazilian politician (d. 2011)
- October 19
- Rubens de Falco, Brazilian actor (d. 2008)
- John le Carré, English novelist (d. 2020)[62]
- Manolo Escobar, Spanish singer and actor (d. 2013)
- October 20 – Mickey Mantle, American baseball player (d. 1995)
- October 21 – Shammi Kapoor, Indian film actor, director (d. 2011)
- October 23 – Diana Dors, English actress (d. 1984)
- October 25
- Klaus Hasselmann, German oceanographer, climate modeller and Nobel Prize laureate
- Jimmy McIlroy, Northern Irish football player and manager (d. 2018)
- October 27 – Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian feminist (d. 2021)[63]
- October 28 – Analía Gadé, Argentine actress (d. 2019)
- October 31
- Sergio Obeso Rivera, Mexican Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 2019)[64]
- Dan Rather, American television news reporter (CBS Evening News)
November
[edit]
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- November 1 – Shunsuke Kikuchi, Japanese composer (d. 2021)
- November 2 – Phil Woods, American saxophonist (d. 2015)
- November 3
- Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association bishop (d. 2007)
- Monica Vitti, Italian actress (d. 2022)
- November 5 – Ike Turner, American singer, songwriter (d. 2007)
- November 6
- Peter Collins, British racing driver (d. 1958)
- Mike Nichols, German-American television actor, writer and director (d. 2014)[65]
- November 12 – Majida Boulila, Tunisian militant (d. 1952)
- November 15
- November 21 – Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer (d. 2003)[66]
- November 26 – Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Argentine activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- November 28 – Tomi Ungerer, French artist, illustrator and writer (d. 2019)[67]
- November 29 – Shintaro Katsu, Japanese actor (d. 1997)
December
[edit]
- December 1
- Rajko Kuzmanović, 7th President of Republika Srpska
- George Maxwell Richards, President of Trinidad and Tobago (d. 2018)
- Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar, Bangladeshi barrister and politician
- December 2 – Wynton Kelly, Jamaican-American jazz pianist, composer (d. 1971)
- December 3 – Elizabeth Ramsey, Filipina singer and actress (d. 2015)
- December 5 – Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni, Indian Navy admiral (d. 2018)
- December 6 – Aurora Cornu, Romanian writer and actress (d. 2021)
- December 7 – Carmela Rey, Mexican singer, actress (d. 2018)
- December 9 – Ladislav Smoljak, Czech film, theater director, actor and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- December 11 – Rita Moreno, Puerto-Rican actress (West Side Story)
- December 13 – Ida Vos, Dutch Jewish author of books for children and adults (d. 2006)[citation needed]
- December 15 – Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish writer (d. 2015)[68]
- December 20 – Abdullah H. Abdur-Razzaq, African-American activist and Muslim (d. 2014)
- December 21
- Redha Malek, 8th Prime Minister of Algeria (d. 2017)
- Georgi Naydenov, Bulgarian footballer and manager (d. 1970)
- December 22 – Carlos Graça, 6th Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (d. 2013)
- December 24
- Walter Abish, Austrian-born American writer (d. 2022)[69]
- Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer (d. 2008)
- December 26 – Roger Piantoni, French footballer (d. 2018)
- December 27
- John Charles, Welsh international footballer (d. 2004)
- Scotty Moore, American guitarist (d. 2016)
- Lê Khả Phiêu, Vietnamese politician (d. 2020)
- December 30
- Charles Bassett, American electrical engineer, astronaut (d. 1966)
- Skeeter Davis, American singer (d. 2004)
Deaths
[edit]January
[edit]
- January 3 – Joseph Joffre, French World War I general (b. 1852)
- January 4
- Art Acord, American actor (b. 1890)
- Roger Connor, American baseball player, MLB Hall of Famer (b. 1857)
- Louise, Princess Royal, British royal, eldest daughter of Edward VII of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
- January 10 – James Milton Carroll, American Baptist pastor, historian, and author (b. 1852)
- January 14 – Hardy Richardson, American baseball player (b. 1855)
- January 17 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (b. 1864)
- January 22 – Alma Rubens, American actress (b. 1897)
- January 23
- Anna Pavlova, Soviet ballerina (b. 1881)[70]
- Ernst Seidler von Feuchtenegg, former Minister-President of Austria (b. 1862)
- January 24 – Sir Percy FitzPatrick, South African author, politician and mining financier (b. 1862)
- January 28 – Bernardo Soto Alfaro, 14th President of Costa Rica (b. 1854)
- January 29 – Henri Mathias Berthelot, French general (b. 1861)
February
[edit]- February 1 – Prince Emmanuel, Duke of Vendome (b. 1872)
- February 9 – Mammad Hasan Hajinski, last Prime Minister of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (b.1875)
- February 11 – Sir Charles Parsons, British inventor (b. 1854)
- February 13 – Martin von Feuerstein, German painter (b. 1865)
- February 16 – Wilhelm von Gloeden, German photographer (b. 1856)
- February 18 – Louis Wolheim, American actor (b. 1880)
- February 19 – Tovmas Nazarbekian, Armenian general (b. 1855)
- February 23
- Eduard von Capelle, German admiral (b. 1855)
- Dame Nellie Melba, Australian soprano (b. 1861)[71]
- February 24 – Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg (b. 1852)
- February 26 – Otto Wallach, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1847)
- February 27 – Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (b. 1906)
- February 28 – Thomas S. Rodgers, American admiral (b. 1858)
March
[edit]- March 5 – Arthur Tooth, Anglican clergyman (b. 1839)
- March 7
- Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Finnish painter (b. 1865)
- Theo van Doesburg, Dutch painter (b. 1883)
- March 11 – F. W. Murnau, German director (b. 1888)
- March 16 – Sir Charles Eliot, British diplomat (b. 1862)
- March 20
- Alfred Giles, Australian explorer (b. 1846)
- Hermann Müller, German journalist, politician and 12th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- Joseph B. Murdock, United States Navy admiral, New Hampshire politician (b. 1851)
- March 22 – James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, Irish lawyer, politician (b. 1851)
- March 23 – Bhagat Singh, Indian revolutionary hero (b. 1907)
- March 24 – Robert Edeson, American actor (b. 1868)
- March 25 – Ida B. Wells, African-American anti-lynching crusader (b. 1862)
- March 27 – Arnold Bennett, British novelist (b. 1867)[72]
April
[edit]- April 4 – André Michelin, French industrialist and originator of Michelin Guides (born 1854)[73]
- April 8 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
- April 9 – Nicholas Longworth, American politician, Speaker of the House (b. 1869)
- April 10 – Khalil Gibran, Lebanese poet, painter (b. 1883)[74]
- April 15
- Joe Masseria, Italian-born American gangster (b. 1886)[75]
- Prince Thomas, Duke of Genoa (b. 1854)
- Jacob Hägg, Swedish admiral and painter (b. 1839)
- April 16 – Rachel Bluwstein, Israeli poet (b. 1890)[76]
- April 20 – Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, Scottish landowner, Titanic survivor (b. 1862)[77]
- April 26 – George Herbert Mead, American philosopher, sociologist and psychologist (b. 1863)[78]
- April 27 – Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (b. 1869)[79]
- April 30 – Sammy Woods, English cricketer (b. 1867)
May
[edit]
- May 2 – George Fisher Baker, American financier, philanthropist (b. 1840)
- May 9 – Albert A. Michelson, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- May 14 – David Belasco, American Broadway impresario, theater owner and playwright (b. 1853)
- May 19 – Ralph Barton, American artist (b. 1891)[80]
- May 26 – Anna Sandström, Swedish social reformer (b. 1854)
June
[edit]- June 2 – Joseph W. Farnham, American screenwriter (b. 1884)
- June 4 – Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, Arab nationalist
- June 8 – Virginia Frances Sterrett, American artist, illustrator (b. 1900)
- June 13
- Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent, British businessman (b. 1850)
- Kitasato Shibasaburō, Japanese physician and bacteriologist (b. 1853)
- June 21 – Pio del Pilar, Filipino activist (b. 1860)
- June 22 – Armand Fallières, 9th President of France (b. 1841)
July
[edit]- July 4
- Buddie Petit, American jazz musician
- Prince Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta, Italian general, Marshal of Italy (b. 1869)
- July 9 – T. Adelaide Goodno, American social reformer (b. 1858)
- July 11 – William Jasper Spillman, American economist (b. 1863)
- July 12 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1866)
August
[edit]- August 6 – Bix Beiderbecke, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1903)
- August 11 – Linda Loredo, Mexican-American actress and dancer (b. 1907)
- August 14 – Patriarch Damian I of Jerusalem (b. 1848)
- August 15 – Nigar Shikhlinskaya, Azerbaijani World War I nurse (b. 1878)
- August 22 – Joseph Tabrar, British songwriter (b. 1857)
- August 26
- Frank Harris, Irish author and editor (b. 1856)[81]
- Hamaguchi Osachi, Japanese politician, 27th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1870)
- August 27 – Francis Marion Smith, American businessman (b. 1846)
September
[edit].jpg)
- September 4 – Archduke Leopold Salvator of Austria (b. 1863)
- September 5 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (b. 1909)
- September 7 – Federico Tinoco Granados, 21st President of Costa Rica (b. 1868)
- September 9 – Lujo Brentano, German economist (b. 1844)
- September 10 – Salvatore Maranzano, Italian mobster (b. 1886)
- September 12
- Francis J. Higginson, United States Navy admiral (b. 1843)
- Joseph Le Brix, French aviator, naval officer (b. 1899)
- September 13 – Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia (b. 1866)
- September 14 – Tom Roberts, English-born Australian artist (b. 1856)
- September 16 – Omar al-Mukhtar, Libyan resistance leader (b. 1858)
- September 17
- Marcello Amero D'Aste, Italian admiral, politician (b. 1853)
- Marvin Hart, American world heavyweight boxing champion (b. 1876)
- September 18 – Geli Raubal, German niece of Adolf Hitler (suicide; b. 1908)
- September 19 – David Starr Jordan, American ichthyologist, educator, eugenicist, and peace activist (b. 1851)[82]
- September 29 – Sir William Orpen, Irish artist (b. 1878)
October
[edit]
- October 2 – Sir Thomas Lipton, Scottish retailer and yachtsman (b. 1848)
- October 3 – Carl Nielsen, Danish composer (b. 1865)
- October 7 – Daniel Chester French, American sculptor (b. 1850)
- October 13 – Ernst Didring, Swedish writer (b. 1868)
- October 18 – Thomas Edison, American inventor (b. 1847)[83]
- October 21 – Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian dramatist and author (b. 1862)[84]
- October 24 – Sir Murray Bisset, South African cricketer, Governor of Southern Rhodesia (b. 1876)
November
[edit]- November 4 – Buddy Bolden, American musician (b. 1877)
- November 6 – Jack Chesbro, American baseball player, MLB Hall of Famer (b. 1874)
- November 10 – Charlotte Scott, English mathematician (b. 1858)[85]
- November 11 – Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese industrialist (b. 1840)
- November 13 – Ivan Fichev, Bulgarian general, minister of defense, military historian, and academician (b. 1860)
- November 17 – Hara Prasad Shastri, Indian academic and Sanskrit scholar (b. 1853)
- November 21 – Bruno von Mudra, German general (b. 1851)
- November 27 – Robert Ames, American actor (b. 1889)
December
[edit]- December 2 – Vincent d'Indy, French composer (b. 1851)
- December 5 – Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879)[86]
- December 9 – Antonio Salandra, Italian statesman, 21st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1853)
- December 18 – Jack Diamond, American gangster (b. 1897)
- December 23 – Tyrone Power Sr., English-born American actor (b. 1869)
- December 24 – Carlo Fornasini, micropalaeontologist (b. 1854)
- December 26 – Melvil Dewey, American librarian, inventor of the Dewey Decimal Classification (b. 1851)[87]
- December 27 – José Figueroa Alcorta, Argentine politician, 16th President of Argentina (b. 1860)
Nobel Prizes
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ corporateName=National Museum of Australia; address=Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula. "National Museum of Australia - First Australian-born governor-general". www.nma.gov.au. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
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- ^ Vance, Jeffrey. "City Lights" (PDF). Library of Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ "New Delhi: The Inaugural Ceremony". The Times. No. 45744. London. February 11, 1931. p. 12.
- ^ "History of the New York City Landmark | Empire State Building". www.esbnyc.com. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ^ Courtney, Chris (2018). The Nature of Disaster in China The 1931 Yangzi River Flood. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108278362. ISBN 9781108278362.
- ^ Em, Henry (2013). The Great Enterprise: Sovereignty and Historiography in Modern Korea, Part 2. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0822353720. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "Wiley Post". centennialofflight.gov. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012.
- ^ BBC History, July 2011, p12.
- ^ "J&K observes Martyrs' day: CM Omar pays tributes". Zee News. July 13, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
- ^ Sara Rector Smith (1970). The Manchurian Crisis, 1931-1932: A Tragedy in International Relations. Greenwood Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-8371-3344-7.
- ^ Kanti Singh (January 1, 1987). The Great Depression and Agrarian Economy: A Study of an Underdeveloped Region of India. Mittal Publications. p. 63.
- ^ "Pangborn-Herndon Memorial Site". Aviation: From Sand Dunes To Sonic Booms. National Park Service. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
- ^ Jing, Xu; Dengfeng, Wang (2018). "Dual Identity and Multiple Tasks: Contemporary Chinese Party Media's Involvement in Political Communication". LCM Journal. 5 (2).
- ^ Briton Hadden (1935). Time. Time Incorporated. p. 54.
- ^ "Mona Hammond obituary". the Guardian. July 5, 2022.
- ^ Japan Report. Japan Information Center, Consulate General of Japan. 1989. p. 71.
- ^ Roger East (1998). Whitaker's Almanack World Heads of State, 1998. Stationery Office. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-11-702204-1.
- ^ Raph Uwechue (1991). Africa Who's who. Africa Journal Limited. p. 1177. ISBN 978-0-903274-17-3.
- ^ Chase's Calendar of Events 2019 : the ultimate go -to guide for special days, weeks and months. Bernan Press. 2018. p. 73. ISBN 9781641432641.
- ^ Current Biography Yearbook. H. W. Wilson Company. 1978. p. 80.
- ^ Jerome, Jim (April 14, 2003). "Dance Fever". People. Vol. 59, no. 14. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
- ^ Verdi, Bob (January 5, 1988). "A no-frills coach for Team USA". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. D1.; Verdi, Bob (January 5, 1988). "Verdi (Continued from Page 1)". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. D5.
- ^ Joel Shatzky; Michael Taub; Emmanuel Sampath Nelson (1997). Contemporary Jewish-American Novelists: A Bio-critical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-313-29462-4.
- ^ Jancik, Wayne (1998). The Billboard book of one-hit wonders. New York: Billboard Books. p. 6. ISBN 9780823076222.
- ^ "David Lee". Nobel Prize. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ Bobby Womack; Robert Ashton (2006). Midnight Mover: My Autobiography: the True Story of the Greatest Soul Singer in the World. John Blake. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-84454-148-5.
- ^ Flaherty, Mike (September 2, 2015). "Dean Jones, Affable Star in 'Love Bug' and a Disney Fixture, Dies at 84". The New York Times. p. B19.
- ^ Reinhold Kramer (March 20, 2008). Mordecai Richler: Leaving St Urbain. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7735-7477-9.
- ^ John Morrison (1991). Boris Yeltsin: From Bolshevik to Democrat. Dutton. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-452-26906-4.
- ^ Robert Parker (May 31, 2015). "Walter Burkert: Classical scholar whose fascinating books on Greek mythology and religion were packed with fresh insight". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 1940 United States Census, United States census, 1940; Sioux City, Iowa; page 480, line 13, enumeration district 97-61B. Retrieved on February 13, 2014.
- ^ Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History: A Publication of the Indiana Historical Society. The Society. 1989. p. 7.
- ^ "Obituary: Toni Morrison". BBC News. August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
- ^ "Former Pres. Chun Doo-hwan Dies at 90". world.kbs.co.kr.
- ^ Wolfgang Saxon (October 9, 2003). "Neil Postman, 72, Mass Media Critic, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
- ^ Contemporary authors. New Revision series. Detroit, Mich: Gale Research. 1981. p. 123. ISBN 9780810319929.
- ^ Allan T. Duffin; Paul Matheis (2005). The 12 O'Clock High Logbook: The Unofficial History of the Novel, Motion Picture, and TV Series. BearManor Media. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-59393-033-2.
- ^ CHASE'S CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2019 : the ultimate go -to guide for special days, weeks and months. Place of publication not identified: BERNAN Press. 2018. p. 191. ISBN 9781641432641.
- ^ Michael Coveney (May 25, 2020). "Rolf Hochhuth Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
- ^ Brown, Andrew (March 26, 2015). "Swedish Nobel laureate Tomas Tranströmer dies aged 83". The Guardian. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
- ^ "Igor Oistrakh, celebrated Soviet violinist who with his father David walked a political tightrope during the Cold War – obituary". The Telegraph. September 1, 2021. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ John Clute (April 29, 2019). "Gene Wolfe Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
- ^ Rafael Fermoselle (1992). Cuban Leadership After Castro: Biographies of Cuba's Top Commanders. North-South Center, University of Miami, Research Institute for Cuban Studies. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-935501-35-3.
- ^ "Lindy Remigino, Olympic Champion Runner, Is Dead at 87". The New York Times. July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "MP profile". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
- ^ "Billy Casper: Golfer who won prolifically but who became unfairly". The Independent. February 11, 2015. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ Williamson, Marcus (December 8, 2013). "Colin Wilson: Author (Obituary)". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- ^ Ek, Torbjörn (September 10, 2017). "Hans Alfredson är död". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved September 10, 2017.
- ^ "Local actor's 'Fantastic Voyage'". Antrim Guardian. April 18, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ Hallvard Dahlie (1984). Alice Munro and Her Works. ECW Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780920802694.
- ^ Cain, Sian (February 26, 2020). "Clive Cussler, bestselling adventure novelist, dies aged 88". The Guardian. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ "Arata Isozaki | Biography, Architecture, Projects, Pritzker, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. December 24, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ Abbott, Derek (2008). Quantum aspects of life. London: Imperial College Press. p. x. ISBN 9781848162532.
- ^ "Hamilton O. Smith". Nobel Prize. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- ^ 1931 at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "Gabriel "Javier Solis" Siria Levario". familysearch (in Spanish). Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "Acta de registro oficial". familysearch (in Spanish). Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "Syukuro Manabe". Nobel Prize. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ "Dame Elizabeth Blackadder obituary". The Guardian. August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ G. Ramamurthy (2005). Biographical Dictionary of Great Astronomers. Sura Books. p. 81. ISBN 978-81-7478-697-5.
- ^ Homberger, Eric (December 14, 2020). "John le Carré obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "Nawal El Saadawi obituary". The Guardian. March 22, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
- ^ "Falleció el Arzobispo Emérito, Sergio Obeso Rivera" [Archbishop Emeritus, Sergio Obeso Rivera passes away], El Diario de Morelos (in Spanish), Cuernavaca, August 11, 2019, retrieved August 11, 2019
- ^ "Mike Nichols – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
- ^ James Murdoch (1972). Australia's Contemporary Composers. Macmillan. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-333-13913-4.
- ^ Joanna Carey (February 28, 2019). "Tomi Ungerer obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ Gray, Charlotte (1986). Klaus Rifbjerg. New York: Greenwood Press. p. 3. ISBN 9780313250989.
- ^ Cowell, Alan (May 31, 2022). "Walter Abish, Daring Writer Who Pondered Germany, Dies at 90". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Serge Lifar (1959). The Three Graces: Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Olga Spessivtzeva: The Legends and the Truth. Cassell. p. 111.
- ^ Lady Gregory (1978). Lady Gregory's Journals. Oxford University Press. p. 704. ISBN 978-0-19-520067-6.
- ^ Arnold Bennett (1966). Letters of Arnold Bennett. Oxford University Press. p. 618. ISBN 978-0-19-212207-0.
- ^ Chase's Editors; Contemporary Books (September 2002). Chase's Calendar of Events 2003. McGraw-Hill. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-07-139098-9.
- ^ Kahlil Gibran (June 1, 2017). Delphi Collected Poetical Works of Kahlil Gibran (Illustrated). Delphi Classics. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-78656-214-2.
- ^ Critchley, David (2008). The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931. New York City: Routledge. pp. 156, 155–57. ISBN 978-0-415-99030-1.
- ^ Rahel Bluwstein October 29, 1890–April 16, 1931
- ^ Geller, Judith (1998). Titanic: women and children first. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens. p. 22. ISBN 9781852605940.
- ^ "George Herbert Mead | Symbolic Interactionism, Social Behaviorism, Pragmatism | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ The New International Year Book. Dodd, Mead and Company. 1932. p. 533.
- ^ A Case of Melancholia
- ^ John Stokes (March 14, 1996). Oscar Wilde: Myths, Miracles and Imitations. Cambridge University Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-521-47537-2.
- ^ "Dr. David Starr Jordan Dies; Family With Educator As Passes Away: Fifth Attack Ends an Illness of Two Years". Healdsburg Tribune. No. 269. September 19, 1931. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
- ^ National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) (1937). Biographical Memoirs. National Academy of Sciences. p. 258.
- ^ Reinhard Urbach (1973). Arthur Schnitzler. Frederick Ungar A Book. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-8044-2936-8.
- ^ Clark Kenschaft, Patricia (1987). "Charlotte Angas Scott". In Grinstein, Louise S.; Campbell, Paul J. (eds.). Women of Mathematics: a Biobibliographic Sourcebook. New York: Greenwood Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-3132-4849-8.
- ^ Masters, Edgar Lee (1935). Vachel Lindsay : A Poet in America. Biblo & Tannen Publishers. p. 361. ISBN 978-0819602398.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ Miriam Drake (2003). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, Second Edition - Volume II. Taylor & Francis. p. 848.
External links
[edit]- The 1930s Timeline: 1931 – from American Studies Programs at The University of Virginia
- 1931: A Glance at the Twentieth Century by Henry Hartshorne
from Grokipedia
1931 marked a severe escalation in the global economic crisis of the Great Depression, with bank failures spreading from Europe to intensify unemployment and financial instability worldwide, including food riots in American cities and the collapse of major institutions like Austria's Creditanstalt.[1][2]
The year also witnessed aggressive imperial expansion, as the Mukden Incident—a staged explosion on a Japanese railway line near Shenyang on September 18—served as pretext for the Imperial Japanese Army's rapid occupation of Manchuria, defying international norms and foreshadowing broader conflicts.[3][4]
Amid these turmoil, engineering triumphs endured, highlighted by the completion and opening of the Empire State Building in New York City on May 1, standing at 1,250 feet as the tallest structure in the world at the time, constructed in just over a year despite the downturn.[5][6]
Catastrophic natural events compounded human suffering, such as the magnitude 7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake in New Zealand on February 3, which demolished cities like Napier and Hastings, claiming 256 lives and injuring hundreds more.[7][8]
Politically, the Statute of Westminster, enacted on December 11, granted full legislative independence to the British dominions of Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Irish Free State, placing them on equal constitutional footing with the United Kingdom and requiring their assent for changes to the royal succession, thereby restructuring the British Empire toward greater dominion autonomy.[9]
On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially dedicated in New York City after 410 days of construction, standing at 1,454 feet (443 meters) tall and surpassing the Chrysler Building as the world's tallest structure.[51] The project, led by architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and financed by John J. Raskob and Pierre S. du Pont, employed thousands during the early Great Depression but resulted in high vacancy rates due to economic stagnation, with the building earning the nickname "Empty State Building" in its initial years.[51] On May 11, Austria's largest bank, Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe, revealed losses exceeding half its capital from bad loans tied to Central European economic weaknesses, prompting government intervention and the first major banking collapse of the European phase of the Great Depression.[52] This event triggered deposit runs across Austria, Germany, and beyond, exacerbating liquidity shortages and contributing to widespread bank failures that deepened global deflationary pressures.[53] On May 27, Belgian physicist Auguste Piccard and assistant Paul Kipfer ascended in a pressurized aluminum gondola attached to a hydrogen balloon from Augsburg, Germany, reaching an altitude of 15,781 meters (51,775 feet) and becoming the first humans to enter the stratosphere, where they conducted measurements of cosmic radiation.[54] The flight, lasting about eight hours before a safe landing in Austria, demonstrated the feasibility of high-altitude manned exploration and advanced understanding of atmospheric layers.[55]
On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially dedicated in New York City after 410 days of construction, standing at 1,454 feet (443 meters) tall and surpassing the Chrysler Building as the world's tallest structure.[51] The project, led by architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and financed by John J. Raskob and Pierre S. du Pont, employed thousands during the early Great Depression but resulted in high vacancy rates due to economic stagnation, with the building earning the nickname "Empty State Building" in its initial years.[51] On May 11, Austria's largest bank, Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe, revealed losses exceeding half its capital from bad loans tied to Central European economic weaknesses, prompting government intervention and the first major banking collapse of the European phase of the Great Depression.[52] This event triggered deposit runs across Austria, Germany, and beyond, exacerbating liquidity shortages and contributing to widespread bank failures that deepened global deflationary pressures.[53] On May 27, Belgian physicist Auguste Piccard and assistant Paul Kipfer ascended in a pressurized aluminum gondola attached to a hydrogen balloon from Augsburg, Germany, reaching an altitude of 15,781 meters (51,775 feet) and becoming the first humans to enter the stratosphere, where they conducted measurements of cosmic radiation.[54] The flight, lasting about eight hours before a safe landing in Austria, demonstrated the feasibility of high-altitude manned exploration and advanced understanding of atmospheric layers.[55]
On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially dedicated in New York City after 410 days of construction, standing at 1,454 feet (443 meters) tall and surpassing the Chrysler Building as the world's tallest structure.[51] The project, led by architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and financed by John J. Raskob and Pierre S. du Pont, employed thousands during the early Great Depression but resulted in high vacancy rates due to economic stagnation, with the building earning the nickname "Empty State Building" in its initial years.[51] On May 11, Austria's largest bank, Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe, revealed losses exceeding half its capital from bad loans tied to Central European economic weaknesses, prompting government intervention and the first major banking collapse of the European phase of the Great Depression.[52] This event triggered deposit runs across Austria, Germany, and beyond, exacerbating liquidity shortages and contributing to widespread bank failures that deepened global deflationary pressures.[53] On May 27, Belgian physicist Auguste Piccard and assistant Paul Kipfer ascended in a pressurized aluminum gondola attached to a hydrogen balloon from Augsburg, Germany, reaching an altitude of 15,781 meters (51,775 feet) and becoming the first humans to enter the stratosphere, where they conducted measurements of cosmic radiation.[54] The flight, lasting about eight hours before a safe landing in Austria, demonstrated the feasibility of high-altitude manned exploration and advanced understanding of atmospheric layers.[55]
Historical Context
Economic Conditions and the Great Depression
In 1931, the Great Depression intensified globally, marked by widespread banking failures, contracting trade, and rising unemployment as economies grappled with deflationary pressures under the gold standard regime. The year saw a sharp escalation in financial instability, beginning with the collapse of Creditanstalt, Austria's largest bank, on May 11, which exposed vulnerabilities in Central European financial systems heavily intertwined through short-term credits and trade dependencies.[10] This failure triggered a cascade of bank runs and insolvencies across Germany and other nations, exacerbating liquidity shortages and credit contraction that deepened the downturn.[11] Industrial production continued to plummet, with world trade volumes having already fallen by over 60% from 1929 peaks, as protectionist measures like the U.S. Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930 further stifled international commerce.[10] In the United States, economic contraction persisted with gross domestic product declining by approximately 6% from 1930 levels, while unemployment surged to 15.9% of the labor force, affecting nearly 8 million workers amid factory shutdowns and farm foreclosures.[12] Bank failures accelerated, with over 2,000 institutions collapsing in 1931 alone, eroding public confidence and reducing the money supply by nearly 30% cumulatively since 1930, which fueled deflation and discouraged investment.[11] President Hoover's administration pursued balanced budgets and adherence to gold convertibility, policies that critics later argued prolonged the slump by limiting monetary expansion, though proponents viewed them as necessary to maintain fiscal credibility.[11] Europe faced acute strains, culminating in Britain's abandonment of the gold standard on September 21, 1931, after speculative attacks depleted reserves and forced the Bank of England to suspend convertibility to avert a sterling crisis.[13] This decision, prompted by budget deficits, labor unrest, and war debt burdens, allowed for devaluation of the pound by about 30%, which facilitated export competitiveness but signaled the unraveling of the interwar gold system and contributed to fragmented currency blocs.[14] In Germany, the banking crisis peaked with the failure of major institutions like Danatbank in July, leading to capital controls and economic isolation that heightened political extremism.[11] These events underscored how rigid monetary frameworks amplified shocks, with empirical analyses indicating that countries exiting gold earlier experienced milder contractions compared to those clinging to it longer.[10]Geopolitical Tensions and Global Instability
The primary geopolitical tension in 1931 centered on East Asia, where Japan staged the Mukden Incident on September 18 as a pretext for invading Manchuria. An explosion damaged a short section of the Japanese-owned South Manchuria Railway near Mukden (present-day Shenyang), which Japanese military officers, including those from the Kwantung Army, fabricated and attributed to Chinese forces.[15] This false flag operation enabled the rapid deployment of Japanese troops, who seized key cities and initiated the occupation of the resource-rich region.[3] The invasion, conducted by approximately 10,000 Japanese soldiers initially, expanded quickly, overwhelming Chinese defenses under Marshal Zhang Xueliang, who ordered a non-resistance policy to avoid broader war. By late September, Japanese forces controlled major Manchurian centers, prompting China to appeal to the League of Nations on September 21. The Kwantung Army's unauthorized actions reflected internal Japanese military autonomy, bypassing civilian government oversight and escalating imperial ambitions amid economic pressures from the Great Depression.[3] The League of Nations responded by establishing the Lytton Commission in December 1931 to investigate, but its deliberations extended into 1932, revealing institutional paralysis. Japan rejected preliminary condemnations and continued consolidation, establishing the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932. The United States issued the Stimson Doctrine on January 7, 1932, refusing to recognize territorial changes achieved by force, yet stopped short of military or economic intervention. This episode underscored the League's inability to enforce collective security, as major powers prioritized isolationism and economic woes over confrontation.[3] Elsewhere, minor border clashes occurred, such as the Saudi-Yemeni skirmishes in 1931 over disputed territories, but these paled in scale compared to Manchuria. Colonial unrest, including the Cyprus revolt against British rule, highlighted imperial strains but did not precipitate major international crises. The Manchurian aggression thus epitomized 1931's global instability, eroding faith in post-World War I order and foreshadowing unchecked expansionism.Events
January
On January 1, the University of Alabama defeated Washington State University 24–0 in the 17th Rose Bowl Game, held at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, before a crowd of approximately 60,000 spectators. Alabama's offense overwhelmed Washington State's defense, which had allowed only 20 points to major opponents during the 1930 regular season.[16][17] The New York Stock Exchange reflected ongoing Depression-era volatility, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 169 on January 2, en route to a year-end low of 77.9.[18] In Congress, Texas Representative Wright Patman introduced legislation authorizing immediate cash payments of World War I veterans' bonuses, amid rising unemployment and veteran hardship; this measure foreshadowed larger debates and the 1932 Bonus Army march, though it did not pass at the time.[19] On January 3, Montreal Maroons center Nels Stewart scored twice against the Boston Bruins in 4 seconds—the fastest pair of goals in NHL history—assisted by Hooley Smith in a 2–0 victory. Stewart's tally came at 8:28 and 8:32 of the second period, a record matched only in 1995.[20] Inventor Thomas Edison filed his final patent application on January 13 for a "holder for article to be electroplated," an apparatus to improve electroplating efficiency by securing objects during the process; Edison, aged 83, held over 1,000 U.S. patents lifetime.[21] In Australia, Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs was sworn in as Governor-General on January 22, becoming the first native-born Australian to hold the office despite initial opposition from King George V, who preferred British appointees; Isaacs, a former High Court Chief Justice, served until 1936.[22][23] Charlie Chaplin's silent romantic comedy City Lights premiered on January 30 at the Los Angeles Theatre, featuring Chaplin as the Tramp pursuing a blind flower girl amid economic disparity themes resonant with the era; the film, with synchronized music but no dialogue, drew acclaim for its blend of pathos and physical comedy.[24]February
On February 3, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand at 10:47 a.m., with its epicenter 15 kilometers north of Napier.[7] The quake, the deadliest in New Zealand's history, killed 256 people—161 in Napier, 93 in Hastings, and 2 in Wairoa—while injuring hundreds and rendering thousands homeless.[7] [8] It devastated central Napier and Hastings, leveling unreinforced masonry buildings, igniting fires from ruptured gas lines, and causing landslides that blocked roads; the ensuing reconstruction transformed Napier into an Art Deco architectural hub.[7] [8] On February 5, British racing driver Sir Malcolm Campbell set a new world land speed record of 245.733 mph (395.37 km/h) at Daytona Beach, Florida, using his Blue Bird vehicle equipped with a Napier Lion aero engine.[25] This marked his second record-breaking run at the site, surpassing the previous mark by over 14 mph and earning him a knighthood for his achievements in speed.[26] In the United States, amid deepening Great Depression hardships, food riots erupted in cities including Minneapolis and St. Paul, where crowds stormed grocery stores to seize provisions amid widespread unemployment and scarcity.[27] On February 13, Viceroy Lord Irwin inaugurated New Delhi as India's capital, fulfilling plans announced in 1911 to shift from Calcutta; the ceremony highlighted the completion of Edwin Lutyens' and Herbert Baker's neoclassical designs after two decades of construction.[28] [29] The horror film Dracula, directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the vampire count, premiered in New York City on February 12 before wider U.S. release on February 14, adapting Bram Stoker's novel and launching Universal's monster movie era.[30] [31]March
On March 3, 1931, the United States Congress passed a joint resolution designating "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem, with President Herbert Hoover signing it into law the same day.[32] The resolution formalized the song, originally written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, amid growing popularity during World War I and subsequent naval traditions.[32] On March 5, 1931, Mahatma Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin signed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in Delhi, temporarily suspending the Indian National Congress's civil disobedience campaign in exchange for the release of political prisoners and concessions on salt production.[33] The agreement aimed to facilitate Gandhi's participation in the upcoming Second Round Table Conference in London, though it drew criticism from more radical nationalists for compromising on full independence demands.[33] Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru—Indian revolutionaries convicted for the 1928 Lahore Conspiracy Case bombing and the killing of a British police officer—were executed by hanging on March 23, 1931, in Lahore Central Jail, two days before their original sentence date, amid protests over procedural haste.[34] Their deaths galvanized anti-colonial sentiment, with widespread mourning and strikes across India, including hartals that escalated tensions.[34] Communal riots erupted in Kanpur on March 25, 1931, triggered by Hindu-Muslim clashes during mourning processions for Bhagat Singh, resulting in over 300 deaths and widespread property damage in one of the most severe outbreaks of intercommunal violence in British India up to that point.[35] British authorities deployed troops to restore order, while the riots highlighted deepening sectarian divides amid the independence movement.[35] On March 19, 1931, Nevada's state legislature legalized most forms of casino gambling through Assembly Bill 98, signed by Governor Fred B. Balzar, as a revenue measure to combat economic decline during the Great Depression.[36] The law permitted licensed operations, leading to immediate casino openings in Reno and laying the foundation for Las Vegas's later growth as a gambling hub.[36] On March 31, 1931, Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, along with seven others, died in a Fokker F-10 plane crash near Bazaar, Kansas, operated by Transcontinental & Western Air, due to structural failure in the wooden wings exacerbated by moisture and design flaws.[37] Rockne, renowned for innovating forward passes and achieving a 105-12-5 record, was en route to Hollywood for a film role; the tragedy prompted U.S. aviation safety reforms, including scrutiny of wood-framed aircraft.[37]April
On April 1, 1931, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, devastating the city and triggering fires that destroyed much of its infrastructure.[38] The disaster killed approximately 2,500 people and left tens of thousands homeless, exacerbating Nicaragua's political instability amid U.S. occupation forces' presence.[39] U.S. President Herbert Hoover promptly sent a message of sympathy to Nicaraguan President José María Moncada, highlighting international concern over the event's humanitarian toll.[40] On April 2, 1931, during an exhibition baseball game in Chattanooga, Tennessee, between the local Lookouts minor league team and the New York Yankees, 17-year-old pitcher Jackie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession.[41] Mitchell, signed by the Lookouts as a publicity stunt amid the Great Depression's economic pressures on sports, faced the Yankees' "Murderers' Row" after the starting pitcher faltered, walking Tony Lazzeri before being removed.[42] The feat, witnessed by about 4,000 spectators, challenged gender norms in professional baseball, though Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis later voided her contract, citing the sport's unsuitability for women.[43] From April 6 to 9, 1931, in Scottsboro, Alabama, the first trials of the "Scottsboro Boys"—nine Black teenagers aged 13 to 19 accused of raping two white women on a freight train—resulted in swift convictions for eight defendants, all sentenced to death by an all-white jury.[44] The arrests had occurred on March 25 following a fight on the train, but the trials, conducted amid mob threats and inadequate defense (one lawyer for all, with no time for preparation), exemplified Southern racial biases and due process failures during the Jim Crow era.[45] The case drew national scrutiny, with the ACLU and International Labor Defense intervening on appeal, highlighting coerced testimonies from accusers Victoria Price and Ruby Bates.[46] Subsequent U.S. Supreme Court rulings in 1932 and 1935 overturned convictions on grounds of mob influence and jury exclusion of Blacks, marking precedents for fair trials.[47] On April 14, 1931, following municipal elections that favored republican candidates, the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in Madrid, ending the Bourbon monarchy after King Alfonso XIII's regime faltered amid economic woes and Primo de Rivera's dictatorship.[48] The king, facing pressure from military and civilian unrest, departed for exile the next day without formal abdication, allowing a provisional government under Niceto Alcalá-Zamora to enact reforms like land redistribution and secular education.[49] This shift toward democracy initially garnered support across ideological lines but sowed divisions that contributed to the Spanish Civil War by 1936.[50]May
On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially dedicated in New York City after 410 days of construction, standing at 1,454 feet (443 meters) tall and surpassing the Chrysler Building as the world's tallest structure.[51] The project, led by architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and financed by John J. Raskob and Pierre S. du Pont, employed thousands during the early Great Depression but resulted in high vacancy rates due to economic stagnation, with the building earning the nickname "Empty State Building" in its initial years.[51] On May 11, Austria's largest bank, Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe, revealed losses exceeding half its capital from bad loans tied to Central European economic weaknesses, prompting government intervention and the first major banking collapse of the European phase of the Great Depression.[52] This event triggered deposit runs across Austria, Germany, and beyond, exacerbating liquidity shortages and contributing to widespread bank failures that deepened global deflationary pressures.[53] On May 27, Belgian physicist Auguste Piccard and assistant Paul Kipfer ascended in a pressurized aluminum gondola attached to a hydrogen balloon from Augsburg, Germany, reaching an altitude of 15,781 meters (51,775 feet) and becoming the first humans to enter the stratosphere, where they conducted measurements of cosmic radiation.[54] The flight, lasting about eight hours before a safe landing in Austria, demonstrated the feasibility of high-altitude manned exploration and advanced understanding of atmospheric layers.[55]
June
On June 5, federal authorities indicted Chicago mobster Alphonse "Al" Capone on 22 counts of income tax evasion covering the years 1925 through 1929, marking a pivotal legal action against organized crime during Prohibition.[56] Capone, previously untouchable for bootlegging and violence, faced charges for failing to report over $1 million in income, leading to his release on $50,000 bail pending trial.[57] This prosecution, driven by the U.S. Bureau of Internal Revenue under pressure from federal prosecutors, exemplified the government's strategy of using tax laws to dismantle criminal enterprises lacking direct evidence of underlying felonies.[56] On June 9, American physicist Robert H. Goddard received U.S. Patent 1,809,271 for a system of "propulsion of aircraft" utilizing rocket engines to generate thrust via high-velocity gas blasts, advancing early concepts in jet and rocket aviation.[58] The design incorporated liquid or solid propellants to power aircraft independently of atmospheric air, addressing limitations of propeller-driven flight at high altitudes or speeds, though practical implementation remained decades away due to technological constraints.[58] Goddard's work, funded partly by the Guggenheim Foundation, laid foundational principles for later aerospace developments, prioritizing verifiable engineering over speculative claims.[59] Amid escalating global economic distress from the Great Depression, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposed on June 20 a one-year moratorium on intergovernmental war debt and reparations payments, aiming to alleviate financial strains on debtor nations like Germany and Britain.[60] The initiative suspended approximately $3.25 billion in Allied repayments to the U.S. while conditioning German reparations relief on equivalent concessions, reflecting Hoover's causal view that liquidity shortages, not structural flaws, drove the crisis.[61] Endorsed by 15 nations by July, the moratorium provided temporary relief but failed to halt deepening deflationary spirals, as evidenced by subsequent banking collapses in Central Europe.[62] On June 23, American aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty departed Roosevelt Field, New York, in a Lockheed Vega aircraft, initiating the first successful circumnavigation of the globe by a fixed-wing plane in under eight days, covering 15,474 miles eastward via Moscow, Siberia, and Alaska. This feat demonstrated advancements in long-range navigation and fuel efficiency amid Depression-era innovation, though it relied on established autogiro and radio aids rather than novel propulsion.[63]July
In July 1931, Europe grappled with intensifying financial instability amid the Great Depression, highlighted by the collapse of Danatbank on July 13, which triggered widespread bank runs across Germany. The Darmstädter und Nationalbank (Danatbank), one of Germany's largest universal banks, suspended payments after revelations of substantial losses tied to failed investments and loans, leading to panic withdrawals and the temporary closure of stock exchanges and banking operations.[64][65] This crisis exacerbated unemployment and economic contraction, contributing to political radicalization as support for extremist parties surged in subsequent elections.[64] The Hoover Moratorium, proposed by U.S. President Herbert Hoover in June and taking effect around mid-year, offered a one-year suspension of intergovernmental war debt and reparations payments to alleviate global financial strain, though its implementation faced delays and opposition, particularly from France.[66][67] In the United States, Cleveland Municipal Stadium opened on July 1, providing a new venue for Major League Baseball's Indians and the NFL's Browns with a capacity of 78,189.[68] Sports achievements marked the month, with German boxer Max Schmeling retaining the heavyweight title on July 3 by technical knockout against American Young Stribling in a bout drawing over 75,000 spectators at the Yankee Stadium.[69] At Wimbledon, Cilly Aussem of Germany won the women's singles on July 3, defeating Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, while American Sidney Wood claimed the men's title on July 4 via walkover due to his opponent's injury.[69] The U.S. Open golf tournament concluded on July 6 with Billy Burke victorious after a 36-hole playoff against George Von Elm.[70] Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi set a world record in the two-mile event on July 24, clocking 8:59.6 in Helsinki.[71] French cyclist Antonin Magne secured the Tour de France on July 26, marking his second victory in the grueling race.[69] France also captured the Davis Cup, defeating Great Britain 3-2 in the International Lawn Tennis Challenge final on the same day.[72] On July 26, at a convention in Columbus, Ohio, the International Bible Students Association, led by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses to distinguish itself from other Bible Student groups and emphasize its identity based on Isaiah 43:10.[73] Other notable occurrences included the launch of the SS Mariposa on July 18, the first ship equipped with air conditioning, and a tragic fire in Pittsburgh on July 24 that killed 48 people.[69]August
The escalation of the 1931 China floods reached catastrophic levels in August, as heavy rains caused dikes along the Yangtze River to collapse on August 12, submerging vast regions and contributing to an estimated 150,000 immediate drownings by early in the month.[74] On August 25, levees around Gaoyou burst, leading to the Yangtze's overflow and the deaths of between 10,000 and 15,000 people in a single surge, exacerbating famine, disease, and displacement across central China that ultimately claimed 1 to 4 million lives overall.[75] These events, driven by extreme weather and inadequate infrastructure, overwhelmed relief efforts and highlighted vulnerabilities in densely populated riverine areas.[76] In Europe, the German banking crisis intensified amid the Great Depression, with runs on institutions continuing into August following the July collapse of Danatbank, prompting government-imposed bank holidays and capital controls to stem withdrawals and liquidity shortages.[64] This turmoil, rooted in overleveraged loans and international gold standard strains, deepened unemployment—reaching 30% in urban areas—and fueled political extremism, as evidenced by rising Nazi support in subsequent elections.[77] Concurrently, on August 29, France and the Soviet Union initialed a draft non-aggression and neutrality pact, committing each to abstain from alliances or actions aiding an aggressor against the other, amid mutual concerns over regional instability.[78] Elsewhere, on August 2, a referendum in Catalonia approved a draft statute granting regional autonomy within the newly established Spanish Second Republic, with 99.5% approval from 75% of eligible voters, reflecting strong separatist sentiments post-monarchy.[79] This vote, held amid Spain's republican transition, paved the way for limited self-governance, though implementation faced centralist opposition. In the Soviet Union, collectivization advanced aggressively, with 58% of peasant holdings consolidated by August 1, enforcing grain requisitions that sparked rural resistance and contributed to widespread famine precursors.[18]September
On September 18, 1931, the Mukden Incident occurred when Japanese Kwantung Army officers detonated a small amount of dynamite on a section of the Japanese-owned South Manchuria Railway near Mukden (modern Shenyang) in Chinese Manchuria, creating minimal damage to the tracks.[3] Japanese forces immediately blamed local Chinese dissidents and used the event as a pretext to seize Mukden that night, initiating a broader invasion of Manchuria despite orders from Tokyo to limit actions to the railway zone.[4] The staged explosion, later confirmed as a false-flag operation by Japanese military personnel including Lieutenant Kawamoto and Captain Nakamura under Colonel Itagaki's direction, bypassed civilian government oversight and escalated into the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo by 1932.[3] Amid the deepening Great Depression, Britain abandoned the gold standard on September 21, 1931, when the Bank of England suspended convertibility of the pound sterling into gold following severe speculative attacks on the currency and rapid depletion of gold reserves.[80] This decision, prompted by financial strains including the collapse of the Creditanstalt bank in Austria earlier that year and subsequent European banking crises, devalued the pound by approximately 30% and triggered a wave of currency depreciations worldwide, exacerbating global economic instability.[11] The move marked a significant policy shift, allowing monetary expansion but contributing to protectionist measures and trade barriers as nations sought to protect domestic economies.[81]October
On 1 October, the Spanish Cortes approved women's suffrage, granting voting rights to women aged 23 and older, making Spain the first Spanish-speaking nation to extend unrestricted suffrage to women.[82] That same day in Glasgow, Scotland, riots erupted as approximately 50,000 unemployed workers protested cuts to unemployment benefits; clashes with police led to widespread looting of stores and the arrest of a Labour member of Parliament for inciting the crowd.[83] On 10 October, Adolf Hitler met German President Paul von Hindenburg for the first time at the presidential palace in Berlin; Hindenburg, unimpressed by Hitler's demeanor and perceived lack of statesmanship, dismissed him abruptly, later describing the Nazi leader as unfit for high office.[84] The Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—a 30-meter-tall Art Deco reinforced concrete figure symbolizing Christianity—was inaugurated on 12 October following nearly a decade of construction funded by public donations.[85] Chicago gangster Alphonse "Al" Capone was convicted on 17 October in federal court of five counts of income tax evasion and two counts of failing to file tax returns, for which he had underreported income from illegal activities including bootlegging and gambling; the verdict marked the culmination of a U.S. government strategy to prosecute him on financial charges after failed attempts on murder and Prohibition violations.[86] American inventor Thomas Alva Edison, holder of over 1,000 patents including the practical incandescent light bulb and phonograph, died on 18 October at his West Orange, New Jersey, home at age 84 from complications of diabetes.[87] On 24 October, Capone was sentenced by Judge James Herbert Wilkerson to 11 years in federal prison, a $50,000 fine, and court costs of $7,692, effectively dismantling his criminal empire; he served time at Atlanta Penitentiary before transfer to Alcatraz.[88] Earlier that day, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the George Washington Bridge spanning the Hudson River between Manhattan and Fort Lee, New Jersey—completed eight months ahead of schedule at a cost of $17 million—praising its engineering as a symbol of American progress amid the Great Depression.[88]November
On November 3, the DuPont Company announced the successful development of neoprene (initially called Duprene), the first synthetic rubber with properties comparable to natural rubber, marking a breakthrough in polymer chemistry derived from chloroprene polymerization.[89] This innovation, led by chemist Wallace Carothers and team, addressed vulnerabilities in natural rubber supply chains amid global economic pressures.[90] On November 7, Mao Zedong and communist forces proclaimed the Chinese Soviet Republic in Ruijin, Jiangxi Province, establishing a provisional government with Mao as chairman, modeled on Soviet structures and claiming authority over communist-held territories.[91] The declaration, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Russian October Revolution, adopted a constitution emphasizing land redistribution and anti-imperialism, though its control remained limited to rural bases amid Nationalist encirclement.[92] In the Hessian state election on November 15, the Nazi Party (NSDAP) secured a significant victory, increasing its seats in the Landtag from 7 to 26 and capturing approximately 38% of the vote, reflecting growing discontent with the Weimar government's austerity measures during the Great Depression.[93] This outcome alarmed observers, as it demonstrated the party's appeal in rural and Protestant areas, foreshadowing further electoral gains.[94] An explosion at Bentley Colliery in Doncaster, Yorkshire, on November 20 killed 45 miners due to firedamp ignition in the Barnsley Seam, one of the deadliest mining disasters in British history at the time.[95] Rescue efforts recovered 40 bodies, with five remaining entombed; official inquiries attributed the blast to inadequate ventilation and safety lamp failures in a gob fire-prone area.[96] On November 26 (Thanksgiving Day), chemist Harold Urey at Columbia University identified definitive spectroscopic evidence for a heavy isotope of hydrogen (mass-2), later named deuterium, through distillation and analysis of liquid hydrogen samples. This discovery, confirmed via band spectrum shifts, laid groundwork for isotope separation techniques and earned Urey the 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[97]December
On December 1, the Ottawa branch of the British Royal Mint commenced operations independently as the Royal Canadian Mint, marking Canada's assumption of full control over its coinage production amid growing dominion autonomy.[98] Earlier that day, the Soviet Union implemented a policy shifting to a six-day work week with one rest day every six days, aiming to boost industrial productivity during the first Five-Year Plan by staggering worker days off to maintain continuous factory operations. On December 3, Alka-Seltzer, an effervescent antacid tablet combining aspirin, sodium bicarbonate, and citric acid, was introduced to the U.S. market by Miles Laboratories as a remedy for indigestion and headaches.[99] In sports, the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup final occurred on December 5 at Molson Stadium in Montreal, where the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers defeated the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers 22–0 before 6,000 spectators, securing the Winged Wheelers' first championship in the event's 19th edition.[99] On December 9, Spain's Constituent Cortes ratified the Constitution of 1931, which enshrined secularism, women's suffrage, land reform, and a parliamentary republic, solidifying the Second Spanish Republic established after King Alfonso XIII's abdication earlier that year; the document's leftist provisions, including Catalan autonomy and military subordination to civilian rule, fueled ongoing polarization between republicans and monarchists.[100] The Nobel Prizes were awarded on December 10: Erik Axel Karlfeldt received the Literature prize posthumously for his lyrical poetry rooted in Swedish rural life, while Jane Addams and Nicholas Murray Butler shared the Peace Prize—Addams for her internationalist pacifism and social reform work, Butler for promoting arbitration and the League of Nations—amid global economic turmoil that tested such ideals.[99] December 11 saw the Statute of Westminster receive royal assent from King George V, granting legislative independence to the British dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State by removing the British Parliament's override authority, effectively recognizing their equal sovereign status within the Commonwealth.[101] Facing severe deflation and banking crises during the Great Depression, Japan abandoned the gold standard on December 13, allowing the yen to depreciate sharply, which facilitated export recovery but intensified militarist pressures for expansionist policies in Asia.[18] In Australia, cricketer Don Bradman scored 219 runs for New South Wales against South Australia on December 18–19 in Sydney, extending his dominant form in a Sheffield Shield match and underscoring his statistical superiority in Test cricket averages exceeding 100.[99] On December 28, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini's government enacted a law mandating oaths of allegiance to the fascist regime from all university professors and schoolteachers, with over 90% compliance but notable refusals leading to dismissals, consolidating ideological control over education.[18] That same day, Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Bombay after attending the second Round Table Conference in London, where his advocacy for dominion status and opposition to separate electorates for untouchables yielded limited concessions, prompting renewed non-cooperation campaigns against British rule upon his return.[102]Science and Technology
Inventions and Engineering Feats
The Empire State Building, an iconic Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, was completed on May 1, 1931, after construction began on March 17, 1930, representing a remarkable engineering achievement amid the Great Depression. Standing at 1,250 feet (381 meters) with 102 stories, it was the tallest building in the world at the time, constructed in just 410 days using innovative steel-frame techniques and prefabricated components, employing up to 3,400 workers who erected an average of 4.5 floors per week.[6][5] In particle physics, American physicist Ernest O. Lawrence developed the first practical cyclotron in 1931 at the University of California, Berkeley, a device that accelerates charged particles in a spiral path using a magnetic field and alternating electric voltage, enabling higher-energy collisions than previous linear accelerators. This invention laid the groundwork for nuclear research and earned Lawrence the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939.[103][104] The electric razor was patented by Jacob Schick in 1931, introducing a dry-shaving device with oscillating blades protected by a comb-like guard, eliminating the need for water or soap and revolutionizing personal grooming by offering convenience and safety over traditional straight razors or early safety razors. Schick's design, first produced commercially in 1931, featured a handheld unit powered by electricity, marking a shift toward motorized personal care appliances.[105] German physicists Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll constructed the first electron microscope in 1931, utilizing electron beams instead of light to achieve resolutions up to 1,000 times greater than optical microscopes, allowing visualization of structures at the nanoscale for the first time. This breakthrough, refined by Ruska in subsequent years, earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 and transformed fields like biology and materials science.[106] The George Washington Bridge, spanning the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, opened to traffic on October 25, 1931, engineered by Othmar Ammann with a main span of 3,500 feet (1,067 meters), making it the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time and a testament to advanced cable suspension and aerodynamic design principles. Constructed with 14,000 miles of wire in its cables, it facilitated increased vehicular traffic and symbolized inter-state connectivity during economic hardship.[107]Key Scientific Discoveries
In physics, Ernest O. Lawrence invented the cyclotron on January 2, a particle accelerator that uses a magnetic field to bend charged particles into a spiral path, enabling higher energies for nuclear studies than previous linear accelerators.[108] This device laid the groundwork for subsequent atomic research, including fission experiments.[109] Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll constructed the first prototype electron microscope in 1931 at the Technical University of Berlin, demonstrating that magnetic coils could focus electron beams to achieve resolutions beyond optical limits, magnifying up to 400 times initially.[110] Ruska's design proved electrons could form images with greater detail than light, marking the start of electron microscopy despite early technical challenges like vacuum requirements.[110] In chemistry, Harold Urey detected evidence of deuterium, the heavy isotope of hydrogen (mass-2), on Thanksgiving Day 1931 through spectroscopic analysis of liquid hydrogen samples enriched via fractional distillation and electrolysis.[97] This isotope's existence, predicted theoretically but unconfirmed until Urey's experiment, enabled studies of nuclear reactions and earned Urey the 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[97] Separately, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Carl Bosch and Friedrich Bergius for developing high-pressure chemical synthesis methods, including scalable ammonia production from nitrogen and hydrogen under extreme conditions (200-300 atmospheres, 400-500°C).[111] In astronomy, Karl Jansky identified extraterrestrial radio emissions in 1931 while investigating static interference for Bell Laboratories; using a directional antenna array, he pinpointed signals correlating with the Milky Way's position, establishing radio astronomy as a field.[112] These faint, steady noises, distinct from thunderstorms, originated from galactic synchrotron radiation, later confirmed by maps of cosmic sources.[113] In physiology, Otto Warburg's research on cellular respiration culminated in the 1931 Nobel Prize for discovering the respiratory enzyme's (cytochrome oxidase) role in oxygen-dependent oxidation, elucidated through manometric measurements of tissue slices showing iron-containing catalysts facilitate electron transfer in mitochondria.[114] Warburg's findings quantified how enzymes link atmospheric oxygen to organic substrates, advancing understanding of aerobic metabolism over anaerobic alternatives.[114]Culture and Society
Arts, Literature, and Media
In literature, Pearl S. Buck's novel The Good Earth, depicting the life of a Chinese peasant farmer amid cycles of prosperity and famine, became the bestselling book of 1931 and 1932, later earning the Pulitzer Prize in 1932.[115] Virginia Woolf published The Waves in October, an experimental work structured as six interwoven soliloquies exploring consciousness and time through the lives of six friends.[116] The Swedish Academy awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature posthumously to poet Erik Axel Karlfeldt on October 8 for his lyrical depictions of rural Swedish life, recognizing works like Fridolin's Songs (1901) and later collections emphasizing nature and folklore.[117] In film, Charlie Chaplin's silent comedy City Lights premiered on January 30, featuring Chaplin as the Tramp aiding a blind flower girl, blending pathos and slapstick without dialogue to reach global audiences during the early Depression era.[118] Horror classics emerged with Universal Pictures' Dracula, directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi, released February 14, and James Whale's Frankenstein, with Boris Karloff as the monster, on November 21; both adapted literary works and established the studio's monster genre, grossing significantly amid economic hardship.[118] Fritz Lang's German thriller M, starring Peter Lorre as a child murderer pursued by police and criminals, debuted May 11, pioneering sound techniques for tension and critiquing urban vigilantism.[118] RKO's Cimarron, a Western epic about Oklahoma land rushes, won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1932 for its 1931 release.[118] Music saw the debut of George Gershwin's Broadway musical Girl Crazy on October 14, featuring hits like "I Got Rhythm" performed by Ethel Merman, which ran for 272 performances and advanced jazz integration in theater.[119] Popular songs included "All of Me" by Seymour Simons and Gerald Marks, recorded by artists like Billie Holiday in early versions, and Herman Hupfeld's "As Time Goes By," introduced in the revue Everybody's Welcome.[120] RCA Victor introduced the long-playing record on October 28, enabling full performances of classical pieces on 12-inch, 33⅓ rpm discs coated in lacquer, a technological shift from 78 rpm shellsac for longer playback without interruptions.[121] Visual arts included Salvador Dalí's oil painting The Persistence of Memory, completed in August and featuring melting watches on a surreal landscape, symbolizing the fluidity of time influenced by Einstein's relativity; it exemplified Dalí's paranoiac-critical method and was later acquired by the Museum of Modern Art.[122] The Museum of Modern Art opened a major Henri Matisse retrospective in New York, showcasing over 140 works from his Fauvist and later periods, highlighting his color innovations amid the shift toward abstraction.[123] Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney founded the Whitney Museum of American Art on November 18, focusing on contemporary U.S. artists excluded from European-dominated institutions, with initial collections emphasizing realism and regionalism.[124] Media developments centered on radio expansion, with Father Charles Coughlin's broadcasts reaching millions via CBS until network restrictions led to his independent operation from Detroit, where his anti-banking sermons drew controversy for blending populism and isolationism. Experimental television advanced with NBC installing a transmitter atop the Empire State Building on October 30 for shortwave tests, and John Logie Baird demonstrating transatlantic transmissions from London to New York using ultra-shortwaves.[125][126] These efforts marked early steps toward practical TV, though limited to mechanical scanning and low-resolution images.Social Movements and Milestones
The Great Depression intensified social unrest worldwide in 1931, spurring mass protests by the unemployed demanding government relief, jobs, and insurance against economic hardship. In the United States, the Communist Party-led Unemployed Councils organized over 100 demonstrations across 47 cities, including repeated actions in New York, Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia, where participants rallied for immediate aid and work programs amid unemployment rates exceeding 15 percent nationally.[127] These efforts highlighted causal links between stock market collapse, bank failures, and widespread destitution, with protesters often facing police violence but achieving localized concessions like eviction moratoriums in some municipalities. Similarly, in Britain, the National Unemployed Workers' Movement culminated in the National Hunger March, where approximately 1,600 marchers from regional centers converged on London in October and November, petitioning Parliament for full-wage unemployment benefits irrespective of age, sex, or prior employment status; the march exposed failures in means-tested relief systems that exacerbated poverty for over 2.5 million jobless workers.[128] A landmark civil rights case unfolded in the U.S. with the Scottsboro Boys incident on March 25, when nine African American teenagers, aged 13 to 20, were arrested in Jackson County, Alabama, after a fight on a freight train involving white hobos; two white women, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, accused them of rape, prompting rapid trials in April that resulted in death sentences for eight defendants based on scant evidence, coerced testimonies, and an all-white jury excluding African Americans despite constitutional precedents.[129] The International Labor Defense, affiliated with the Communist International, and the NAACP intervened with appeals, framing the trials as emblematic of Southern lynch-mob justice and racial disenfranchisement under Jim Crow laws that systematically barred Black jurors and witnesses; international protests ensued, pressuring Alabama Governor Benjamin Meek Miller for clemency, though initial retrials in November upheld convictions for most, underscoring entrenched biases in legal institutions where empirical data on false accusations and mob influence were routinely disregarded.[129] Labor organizing advanced amid these crises, including the formation of the Alabama Sharecroppers' Union in Tallapoosa County, which united Black and white tenant farmers against exploitative landlords enforcing debt peonage and crop-lien systems that perpetuated poverty cycles independent of market fluctuations.[130] Strikes punctuated the year, such as the August action by Hoover Dam construction workers protesting pay reductions from 50 cents to 30 cents per hour, hazardous conditions, and reassignments to lower-wage tasks; involving around 200 participants, it secured minor wage restorations after federal arbitration but revealed tensions between private contractors and laborers reliant on New Deal precursors for leverage.[131] Internationally, Sweden's Ådalen general strike in May saw timber workers and supporters halt operations against wage cuts and strikebreaking, drawing 5,000 demonstrators; on May 14, military troops fired on the crowd, killing five and injuring several, an event that catalyzed public outrage and electoral shifts toward social democratic reforms by evidencing state overreach in suppressing economic grievances.[132] These milestones reflected broader causal dynamics of industrial capitalism's vulnerabilities, with movements prioritizing material demands over ideological purity despite influences from communist organizers whose tactics, while amplifying visibility, sometimes prioritized propaganda over pragmatic gains.Births
January
On January 1, the University of Alabama defeated Washington State University 24–0 in the 17th Rose Bowl Game, held at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, before a crowd of approximately 60,000 spectators. Alabama's offense overwhelmed Washington State's defense, which had allowed only 20 points to major opponents during the 1930 regular season.[16][17] The New York Stock Exchange reflected ongoing Depression-era volatility, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 169 on January 2, en route to a year-end low of 77.9.[18] In Congress, Texas Representative Wright Patman introduced legislation authorizing immediate cash payments of World War I veterans' bonuses, amid rising unemployment and veteran hardship; this measure foreshadowed larger debates and the 1932 Bonus Army march, though it did not pass at the time.[19] On January 3, Montreal Maroons center Nels Stewart scored twice against the Boston Bruins in 4 seconds—the fastest pair of goals in NHL history—assisted by Hooley Smith in a 2–0 victory. Stewart's tally came at 8:28 and 8:32 of the second period, a record matched only in 1995.[20] Inventor Thomas Edison filed his final patent application on January 13 for a "holder for article to be electroplated," an apparatus to improve electroplating efficiency by securing objects during the process; Edison, aged 83, held over 1,000 U.S. patents lifetime.[21] In Australia, Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs was sworn in as Governor-General on January 22, becoming the first native-born Australian to hold the office despite initial opposition from King George V, who preferred British appointees; Isaacs, a former High Court Chief Justice, served until 1936.[22][23] Charlie Chaplin's silent romantic comedy City Lights premiered on January 30 at the Los Angeles Theatre, featuring Chaplin as the Tramp pursuing a blind flower girl amid economic disparity themes resonant with the era; the film, with synchronized music but no dialogue, drew acclaim for its blend of pathos and physical comedy.[24]February
On February 3, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand at 10:47 a.m., with its epicenter 15 kilometers north of Napier.[7] The quake, the deadliest in New Zealand's history, killed 256 people—161 in Napier, 93 in Hastings, and 2 in Wairoa—while injuring hundreds and rendering thousands homeless.[7] [8] It devastated central Napier and Hastings, leveling unreinforced masonry buildings, igniting fires from ruptured gas lines, and causing landslides that blocked roads; the ensuing reconstruction transformed Napier into an Art Deco architectural hub.[7] [8] On February 5, British racing driver Sir Malcolm Campbell set a new world land speed record of 245.733 mph (395.37 km/h) at Daytona Beach, Florida, using his Blue Bird vehicle equipped with a Napier Lion aero engine.[25] This marked his second record-breaking run at the site, surpassing the previous mark by over 14 mph and earning him a knighthood for his achievements in speed.[26] In the United States, amid deepening Great Depression hardships, food riots erupted in cities including Minneapolis and St. Paul, where crowds stormed grocery stores to seize provisions amid widespread unemployment and scarcity.[27] On February 13, Viceroy Lord Irwin inaugurated New Delhi as India's capital, fulfilling plans announced in 1911 to shift from Calcutta; the ceremony highlighted the completion of Edwin Lutyens' and Herbert Baker's neoclassical designs after two decades of construction.[28] [29] The horror film Dracula, directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the vampire count, premiered in New York City on February 12 before wider U.S. release on February 14, adapting Bram Stoker's novel and launching Universal's monster movie era.[30] [31]March
On March 3, 1931, the United States Congress passed a joint resolution designating "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem, with President Herbert Hoover signing it into law the same day.[32] The resolution formalized the song, originally written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, amid growing popularity during World War I and subsequent naval traditions.[32] On March 5, 1931, Mahatma Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin signed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in Delhi, temporarily suspending the Indian National Congress's civil disobedience campaign in exchange for the release of political prisoners and concessions on salt production.[33] The agreement aimed to facilitate Gandhi's participation in the upcoming Second Round Table Conference in London, though it drew criticism from more radical nationalists for compromising on full independence demands.[33] Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru—Indian revolutionaries convicted for the 1928 Lahore Conspiracy Case bombing and the killing of a British police officer—were executed by hanging on March 23, 1931, in Lahore Central Jail, two days before their original sentence date, amid protests over procedural haste.[34] Their deaths galvanized anti-colonial sentiment, with widespread mourning and strikes across India, including hartals that escalated tensions.[34] Communal riots erupted in Kanpur on March 25, 1931, triggered by Hindu-Muslim clashes during mourning processions for Bhagat Singh, resulting in over 300 deaths and widespread property damage in one of the most severe outbreaks of intercommunal violence in British India up to that point.[35] British authorities deployed troops to restore order, while the riots highlighted deepening sectarian divides amid the independence movement.[35] On March 19, 1931, Nevada's state legislature legalized most forms of casino gambling through Assembly Bill 98, signed by Governor Fred B. Balzar, as a revenue measure to combat economic decline during the Great Depression.[36] The law permitted licensed operations, leading to immediate casino openings in Reno and laying the foundation for Las Vegas's later growth as a gambling hub.[36] On March 31, 1931, Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, along with seven others, died in a Fokker F-10 plane crash near Bazaar, Kansas, operated by Transcontinental & Western Air, due to structural failure in the wooden wings exacerbated by moisture and design flaws.[37] Rockne, renowned for innovating forward passes and achieving a 105-12-5 record, was en route to Hollywood for a film role; the tragedy prompted U.S. aviation safety reforms, including scrutiny of wood-framed aircraft.[37]April
On April 1, 1931, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, devastating the city and triggering fires that destroyed much of its infrastructure.[38] The disaster killed approximately 2,500 people and left tens of thousands homeless, exacerbating Nicaragua's political instability amid U.S. occupation forces' presence.[39] U.S. President Herbert Hoover promptly sent a message of sympathy to Nicaraguan President José María Moncada, highlighting international concern over the event's humanitarian toll.[40] On April 2, 1931, during an exhibition baseball game in Chattanooga, Tennessee, between the local Lookouts minor league team and the New York Yankees, 17-year-old pitcher Jackie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession.[41] Mitchell, signed by the Lookouts as a publicity stunt amid the Great Depression's economic pressures on sports, faced the Yankees' "Murderers' Row" after the starting pitcher faltered, walking Tony Lazzeri before being removed.[42] The feat, witnessed by about 4,000 spectators, challenged gender norms in professional baseball, though Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis later voided her contract, citing the sport's unsuitability for women.[43] From April 6 to 9, 1931, in Scottsboro, Alabama, the first trials of the "Scottsboro Boys"—nine Black teenagers aged 13 to 19 accused of raping two white women on a freight train—resulted in swift convictions for eight defendants, all sentenced to death by an all-white jury.[44] The arrests had occurred on March 25 following a fight on the train, but the trials, conducted amid mob threats and inadequate defense (one lawyer for all, with no time for preparation), exemplified Southern racial biases and due process failures during the Jim Crow era.[45] The case drew national scrutiny, with the ACLU and International Labor Defense intervening on appeal, highlighting coerced testimonies from accusers Victoria Price and Ruby Bates.[46] Subsequent U.S. Supreme Court rulings in 1932 and 1935 overturned convictions on grounds of mob influence and jury exclusion of Blacks, marking precedents for fair trials.[47] On April 14, 1931, following municipal elections that favored republican candidates, the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in Madrid, ending the Bourbon monarchy after King Alfonso XIII's regime faltered amid economic woes and Primo de Rivera's dictatorship.[48] The king, facing pressure from military and civilian unrest, departed for exile the next day without formal abdication, allowing a provisional government under Niceto Alcalá-Zamora to enact reforms like land redistribution and secular education.[49] This shift toward democracy initially garnered support across ideological lines but sowed divisions that contributed to the Spanish Civil War by 1936.[50]May
On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially dedicated in New York City after 410 days of construction, standing at 1,454 feet (443 meters) tall and surpassing the Chrysler Building as the world's tallest structure.[51] The project, led by architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and financed by John J. Raskob and Pierre S. du Pont, employed thousands during the early Great Depression but resulted in high vacancy rates due to economic stagnation, with the building earning the nickname "Empty State Building" in its initial years.[51] On May 11, Austria's largest bank, Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe, revealed losses exceeding half its capital from bad loans tied to Central European economic weaknesses, prompting government intervention and the first major banking collapse of the European phase of the Great Depression.[52] This event triggered deposit runs across Austria, Germany, and beyond, exacerbating liquidity shortages and contributing to widespread bank failures that deepened global deflationary pressures.[53] On May 27, Belgian physicist Auguste Piccard and assistant Paul Kipfer ascended in a pressurized aluminum gondola attached to a hydrogen balloon from Augsburg, Germany, reaching an altitude of 15,781 meters (51,775 feet) and becoming the first humans to enter the stratosphere, where they conducted measurements of cosmic radiation.[54] The flight, lasting about eight hours before a safe landing in Austria, demonstrated the feasibility of high-altitude manned exploration and advanced understanding of atmospheric layers.[55]
June
On June 5, federal authorities indicted Chicago mobster Alphonse "Al" Capone on 22 counts of income tax evasion covering the years 1925 through 1929, marking a pivotal legal action against organized crime during Prohibition.[56] Capone, previously untouchable for bootlegging and violence, faced charges for failing to report over $1 million in income, leading to his release on $50,000 bail pending trial.[57] This prosecution, driven by the U.S. Bureau of Internal Revenue under pressure from federal prosecutors, exemplified the government's strategy of using tax laws to dismantle criminal enterprises lacking direct evidence of underlying felonies.[56] On June 9, American physicist Robert H. Goddard received U.S. Patent 1,809,271 for a system of "propulsion of aircraft" utilizing rocket engines to generate thrust via high-velocity gas blasts, advancing early concepts in jet and rocket aviation.[58] The design incorporated liquid or solid propellants to power aircraft independently of atmospheric air, addressing limitations of propeller-driven flight at high altitudes or speeds, though practical implementation remained decades away due to technological constraints.[58] Goddard's work, funded partly by the Guggenheim Foundation, laid foundational principles for later aerospace developments, prioritizing verifiable engineering over speculative claims.[59] Amid escalating global economic distress from the Great Depression, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposed on June 20 a one-year moratorium on intergovernmental war debt and reparations payments, aiming to alleviate financial strains on debtor nations like Germany and Britain.[60] The initiative suspended approximately $3.25 billion in Allied repayments to the U.S. while conditioning German reparations relief on equivalent concessions, reflecting Hoover's causal view that liquidity shortages, not structural flaws, drove the crisis.[61] Endorsed by 15 nations by July, the moratorium provided temporary relief but failed to halt deepening deflationary spirals, as evidenced by subsequent banking collapses in Central Europe.[62] On June 23, American aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty departed Roosevelt Field, New York, in a Lockheed Vega aircraft, initiating the first successful circumnavigation of the globe by a fixed-wing plane in under eight days, covering 15,474 miles eastward via Moscow, Siberia, and Alaska. This feat demonstrated advancements in long-range navigation and fuel efficiency amid Depression-era innovation, though it relied on established autogiro and radio aids rather than novel propulsion.[63]July
In July 1931, Europe grappled with intensifying financial instability amid the Great Depression, highlighted by the collapse of Danatbank on July 13, which triggered widespread bank runs across Germany. The Darmstädter und Nationalbank (Danatbank), one of Germany's largest universal banks, suspended payments after revelations of substantial losses tied to failed investments and loans, leading to panic withdrawals and the temporary closure of stock exchanges and banking operations.[64][65] This crisis exacerbated unemployment and economic contraction, contributing to political radicalization as support for extremist parties surged in subsequent elections.[64] The Hoover Moratorium, proposed by U.S. President Herbert Hoover in June and taking effect around mid-year, offered a one-year suspension of intergovernmental war debt and reparations payments to alleviate global financial strain, though its implementation faced delays and opposition, particularly from France.[66][67] In the United States, Cleveland Municipal Stadium opened on July 1, providing a new venue for Major League Baseball's Indians and the NFL's Browns with a capacity of 78,189.[68] Sports achievements marked the month, with German boxer Max Schmeling retaining the heavyweight title on July 3 by technical knockout against American Young Stribling in a bout drawing over 75,000 spectators at the Yankee Stadium.[69] At Wimbledon, Cilly Aussem of Germany won the women's singles on July 3, defeating Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, while American Sidney Wood claimed the men's title on July 4 via walkover due to his opponent's injury.[69] The U.S. Open golf tournament concluded on July 6 with Billy Burke victorious after a 36-hole playoff against George Von Elm.[70] Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi set a world record in the two-mile event on July 24, clocking 8:59.6 in Helsinki.[71] French cyclist Antonin Magne secured the Tour de France on July 26, marking his second victory in the grueling race.[69] France also captured the Davis Cup, defeating Great Britain 3-2 in the International Lawn Tennis Challenge final on the same day.[72] On July 26, at a convention in Columbus, Ohio, the International Bible Students Association, led by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, adopted the name Jehovah's Witnesses to distinguish itself from other Bible Student groups and emphasize its identity based on Isaiah 43:10.[73] Other notable occurrences included the launch of the SS Mariposa on July 18, the first ship equipped with air conditioning, and a tragic fire in Pittsburgh on July 24 that killed 48 people.[69]August
The escalation of the 1931 China floods reached catastrophic levels in August, as heavy rains caused dikes along the Yangtze River to collapse on August 12, submerging vast regions and contributing to an estimated 150,000 immediate drownings by early in the month.[74] On August 25, levees around Gaoyou burst, leading to the Yangtze's overflow and the deaths of between 10,000 and 15,000 people in a single surge, exacerbating famine, disease, and displacement across central China that ultimately claimed 1 to 4 million lives overall.[75] These events, driven by extreme weather and inadequate infrastructure, overwhelmed relief efforts and highlighted vulnerabilities in densely populated riverine areas.[76] In Europe, the German banking crisis intensified amid the Great Depression, with runs on institutions continuing into August following the July collapse of Danatbank, prompting government-imposed bank holidays and capital controls to stem withdrawals and liquidity shortages.[64] This turmoil, rooted in overleveraged loans and international gold standard strains, deepened unemployment—reaching 30% in urban areas—and fueled political extremism, as evidenced by rising Nazi support in subsequent elections.[77] Concurrently, on August 29, France and the Soviet Union initialed a draft non-aggression and neutrality pact, committing each to abstain from alliances or actions aiding an aggressor against the other, amid mutual concerns over regional instability.[78] Elsewhere, on August 2, a referendum in Catalonia approved a draft statute granting regional autonomy within the newly established Spanish Second Republic, with 99.5% approval from 75% of eligible voters, reflecting strong separatist sentiments post-monarchy.[79] This vote, held amid Spain's republican transition, paved the way for limited self-governance, though implementation faced centralist opposition. In the Soviet Union, collectivization advanced aggressively, with 58% of peasant holdings consolidated by August 1, enforcing grain requisitions that sparked rural resistance and contributed to widespread famine precursors.[18]September
On September 18, 1931, the Mukden Incident occurred when Japanese Kwantung Army officers detonated a small amount of dynamite on a section of the Japanese-owned South Manchuria Railway near Mukden (modern Shenyang) in Chinese Manchuria, creating minimal damage to the tracks.[3] Japanese forces immediately blamed local Chinese dissidents and used the event as a pretext to seize Mukden that night, initiating a broader invasion of Manchuria despite orders from Tokyo to limit actions to the railway zone.[4] The staged explosion, later confirmed as a false-flag operation by Japanese military personnel including Lieutenant Kawamoto and Captain Nakamura under Colonel Itagaki's direction, bypassed civilian government oversight and escalated into the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo by 1932.[3] Amid the deepening Great Depression, Britain abandoned the gold standard on September 21, 1931, when the Bank of England suspended convertibility of the pound sterling into gold following severe speculative attacks on the currency and rapid depletion of gold reserves.[80] This decision, prompted by financial strains including the collapse of the Creditanstalt bank in Austria earlier that year and subsequent European banking crises, devalued the pound by approximately 30% and triggered a wave of currency depreciations worldwide, exacerbating global economic instability.[11] The move marked a significant policy shift, allowing monetary expansion but contributing to protectionist measures and trade barriers as nations sought to protect domestic economies.[81]October
On 1 October, the Spanish Cortes approved women's suffrage, granting voting rights to women aged 23 and older, making Spain the first Spanish-speaking nation to extend unrestricted suffrage to women.[82] That same day in Glasgow, Scotland, riots erupted as approximately 50,000 unemployed workers protested cuts to unemployment benefits; clashes with police led to widespread looting of stores and the arrest of a Labour member of Parliament for inciting the crowd.[83] On 10 October, Adolf Hitler met German President Paul von Hindenburg for the first time at the presidential palace in Berlin; Hindenburg, unimpressed by Hitler's demeanor and perceived lack of statesmanship, dismissed him abruptly, later describing the Nazi leader as unfit for high office.[84] The Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—a 30-meter-tall Art Deco reinforced concrete figure symbolizing Christianity—was inaugurated on 12 October following nearly a decade of construction funded by public donations.[85] Chicago gangster Alphonse "Al" Capone was convicted on 17 October in federal court of five counts of income tax evasion and two counts of failing to file tax returns, for which he had underreported income from illegal activities including bootlegging and gambling; the verdict marked the culmination of a U.S. government strategy to prosecute him on financial charges after failed attempts on murder and Prohibition violations.[86] American inventor Thomas Alva Edison, holder of over 1,000 patents including the practical incandescent light bulb and phonograph, died on 18 October at his West Orange, New Jersey, home at age 84 from complications of diabetes.[87] On 24 October, Capone was sentenced by Judge James Herbert Wilkerson to 11 years in federal prison, a $50,000 fine, and court costs of $7,692, effectively dismantling his criminal empire; he served time at Atlanta Penitentiary before transfer to Alcatraz.[88] Earlier that day, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the George Washington Bridge spanning the Hudson River between Manhattan and Fort Lee, New Jersey—completed eight months ahead of schedule at a cost of $17 million—praising its engineering as a symbol of American progress amid the Great Depression.[88]November
On November 3, the DuPont Company announced the successful development of neoprene (initially called Duprene), the first synthetic rubber with properties comparable to natural rubber, marking a breakthrough in polymer chemistry derived from chloroprene polymerization.[89] This innovation, led by chemist Wallace Carothers and team, addressed vulnerabilities in natural rubber supply chains amid global economic pressures.[90] On November 7, Mao Zedong and communist forces proclaimed the Chinese Soviet Republic in Ruijin, Jiangxi Province, establishing a provisional government with Mao as chairman, modeled on Soviet structures and claiming authority over communist-held territories.[91] The declaration, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Russian October Revolution, adopted a constitution emphasizing land redistribution and anti-imperialism, though its control remained limited to rural bases amid Nationalist encirclement.[92] In the Hessian state election on November 15, the Nazi Party (NSDAP) secured a significant victory, increasing its seats in the Landtag from 7 to 26 and capturing approximately 38% of the vote, reflecting growing discontent with the Weimar government's austerity measures during the Great Depression.[93] This outcome alarmed observers, as it demonstrated the party's appeal in rural and Protestant areas, foreshadowing further electoral gains.[94] An explosion at Bentley Colliery in Doncaster, Yorkshire, on November 20 killed 45 miners due to firedamp ignition in the Barnsley Seam, one of the deadliest mining disasters in British history at the time.[95] Rescue efforts recovered 40 bodies, with five remaining entombed; official inquiries attributed the blast to inadequate ventilation and safety lamp failures in a gob fire-prone area.[96] On November 26 (Thanksgiving Day), chemist Harold Urey at Columbia University identified definitive spectroscopic evidence for a heavy isotope of hydrogen (mass-2), later named deuterium, through distillation and analysis of liquid hydrogen samples. This discovery, confirmed via band spectrum shifts, laid groundwork for isotope separation techniques and earned Urey the 1934 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[97]December
On December 1, the Ottawa branch of the British Royal Mint commenced operations independently as the Royal Canadian Mint, marking Canada's assumption of full control over its coinage production amid growing dominion autonomy.[98] Earlier that day, the Soviet Union implemented a policy shifting to a six-day work week with one rest day every six days, aiming to boost industrial productivity during the first Five-Year Plan by staggering worker days off to maintain continuous factory operations. On December 3, Alka-Seltzer, an effervescent antacid tablet combining aspirin, sodium bicarbonate, and citric acid, was introduced to the U.S. market by Miles Laboratories as a remedy for indigestion and headaches.[99] In sports, the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup final occurred on December 5 at Molson Stadium in Montreal, where the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers defeated the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers 22–0 before 6,000 spectators, securing the Winged Wheelers' first championship in the event's 19th edition.[99] On December 9, Spain's Constituent Cortes ratified the Constitution of 1931, which enshrined secularism, women's suffrage, land reform, and a parliamentary republic, solidifying the Second Spanish Republic established after King Alfonso XIII's abdication earlier that year; the document's leftist provisions, including Catalan autonomy and military subordination to civilian rule, fueled ongoing polarization between republicans and monarchists.[100] The Nobel Prizes were awarded on December 10: Erik Axel Karlfeldt received the Literature prize posthumously for his lyrical poetry rooted in Swedish rural life, while Jane Addams and Nicholas Murray Butler shared the Peace Prize—Addams for her internationalist pacifism and social reform work, Butler for promoting arbitration and the League of Nations—amid global economic turmoil that tested such ideals.[99] December 11 saw the Statute of Westminster receive royal assent from King George V, granting legislative independence to the British dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State by removing the British Parliament's override authority, effectively recognizing their equal sovereign status within the Commonwealth.[101] Facing severe deflation and banking crises during the Great Depression, Japan abandoned the gold standard on December 13, allowing the yen to depreciate sharply, which facilitated export recovery but intensified militarist pressures for expansionist policies in Asia.[18] In Australia, cricketer Don Bradman scored 219 runs for New South Wales against South Australia on December 18–19 in Sydney, extending his dominant form in a Sheffield Shield match and underscoring his statistical superiority in Test cricket averages exceeding 100.[99] On December 28, Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini's government enacted a law mandating oaths of allegiance to the fascist regime from all university professors and schoolteachers, with over 90% compliance but notable refusals leading to dismissals, consolidating ideological control over education.[18] That same day, Mahatma Gandhi arrived in Bombay after attending the second Round Table Conference in London, where his advocacy for dominion status and opposition to separate electorates for untouchables yielded limited concessions, prompting renewed non-cooperation campaigns against British rule upon his return.[102]Deaths
January
On January 1, the University of Alabama defeated Washington State University 24–0 in the 17th Rose Bowl Game, held at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, before a crowd of approximately 60,000 spectators. Alabama's offense overwhelmed Washington State's defense, which had allowed only 20 points to major opponents during the 1930 regular season.[16][17] The New York Stock Exchange reflected ongoing Depression-era volatility, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at 169 on January 2, en route to a year-end low of 77.9.[18] In Congress, Texas Representative Wright Patman introduced legislation authorizing immediate cash payments of World War I veterans' bonuses, amid rising unemployment and veteran hardship; this measure foreshadowed larger debates and the 1932 Bonus Army march, though it did not pass at the time.[19] On January 3, Montreal Maroons center Nels Stewart scored twice against the Boston Bruins in 4 seconds—the fastest pair of goals in NHL history—assisted by Hooley Smith in a 2–0 victory. Stewart's tally came at 8:28 and 8:32 of the second period, a record matched only in 1995.[20] Inventor Thomas Edison filed his final patent application on January 13 for a "holder for article to be electroplated," an apparatus to improve electroplating efficiency by securing objects during the process; Edison, aged 83, held over 1,000 U.S. patents lifetime.[21] In Australia, Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs was sworn in as Governor-General on January 22, becoming the first native-born Australian to hold the office despite initial opposition from King George V, who preferred British appointees; Isaacs, a former High Court Chief Justice, served until 1936.[22][23] Charlie Chaplin's silent romantic comedy City Lights premiered on January 30 at the Los Angeles Theatre, featuring Chaplin as the Tramp pursuing a blind flower girl amid economic disparity themes resonant with the era; the film, with synchronized music but no dialogue, drew acclaim for its blend of pathos and physical comedy.[24]February
On February 3, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand at 10:47 a.m., with its epicenter 15 kilometers north of Napier.[7] The quake, the deadliest in New Zealand's history, killed 256 people—161 in Napier, 93 in Hastings, and 2 in Wairoa—while injuring hundreds and rendering thousands homeless.[7] [8] It devastated central Napier and Hastings, leveling unreinforced masonry buildings, igniting fires from ruptured gas lines, and causing landslides that blocked roads; the ensuing reconstruction transformed Napier into an Art Deco architectural hub.[7] [8] On February 5, British racing driver Sir Malcolm Campbell set a new world land speed record of 245.733 mph (395.37 km/h) at Daytona Beach, Florida, using his Blue Bird vehicle equipped with a Napier Lion aero engine.[25] This marked his second record-breaking run at the site, surpassing the previous mark by over 14 mph and earning him a knighthood for his achievements in speed.[26] In the United States, amid deepening Great Depression hardships, food riots erupted in cities including Minneapolis and St. Paul, where crowds stormed grocery stores to seize provisions amid widespread unemployment and scarcity.[27] On February 13, Viceroy Lord Irwin inaugurated New Delhi as India's capital, fulfilling plans announced in 1911 to shift from Calcutta; the ceremony highlighted the completion of Edwin Lutyens' and Herbert Baker's neoclassical designs after two decades of construction.[28] [29] The horror film Dracula, directed by Tod Browning and starring Bela Lugosi as the vampire count, premiered in New York City on February 12 before wider U.S. release on February 14, adapting Bram Stoker's novel and launching Universal's monster movie era.[30] [31]March
On March 3, 1931, the United States Congress passed a joint resolution designating "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem, with President Herbert Hoover signing it into law the same day.[32] The resolution formalized the song, originally written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, amid growing popularity during World War I and subsequent naval traditions.[32] On March 5, 1931, Mahatma Gandhi and Viceroy Lord Irwin signed the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in Delhi, temporarily suspending the Indian National Congress's civil disobedience campaign in exchange for the release of political prisoners and concessions on salt production.[33] The agreement aimed to facilitate Gandhi's participation in the upcoming Second Round Table Conference in London, though it drew criticism from more radical nationalists for compromising on full independence demands.[33] Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru—Indian revolutionaries convicted for the 1928 Lahore Conspiracy Case bombing and the killing of a British police officer—were executed by hanging on March 23, 1931, in Lahore Central Jail, two days before their original sentence date, amid protests over procedural haste.[34] Their deaths galvanized anti-colonial sentiment, with widespread mourning and strikes across India, including hartals that escalated tensions.[34] Communal riots erupted in Kanpur on March 25, 1931, triggered by Hindu-Muslim clashes during mourning processions for Bhagat Singh, resulting in over 300 deaths and widespread property damage in one of the most severe outbreaks of intercommunal violence in British India up to that point.[35] British authorities deployed troops to restore order, while the riots highlighted deepening sectarian divides amid the independence movement.[35] On March 19, 1931, Nevada's state legislature legalized most forms of casino gambling through Assembly Bill 98, signed by Governor Fred B. Balzar, as a revenue measure to combat economic decline during the Great Depression.[36] The law permitted licensed operations, leading to immediate casino openings in Reno and laying the foundation for Las Vegas's later growth as a gambling hub.[36] On March 31, 1931, Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, along with seven others, died in a Fokker F-10 plane crash near Bazaar, Kansas, operated by Transcontinental & Western Air, due to structural failure in the wooden wings exacerbated by moisture and design flaws.[37] Rockne, renowned for innovating forward passes and achieving a 105-12-5 record, was en route to Hollywood for a film role; the tragedy prompted U.S. aviation safety reforms, including scrutiny of wood-framed aircraft.[37]April
On April 1, 1931, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, devastating the city and triggering fires that destroyed much of its infrastructure.[38] The disaster killed approximately 2,500 people and left tens of thousands homeless, exacerbating Nicaragua's political instability amid U.S. occupation forces' presence.[39] U.S. President Herbert Hoover promptly sent a message of sympathy to Nicaraguan President José María Moncada, highlighting international concern over the event's humanitarian toll.[40] On April 2, 1931, during an exhibition baseball game in Chattanooga, Tennessee, between the local Lookouts minor league team and the New York Yankees, 17-year-old pitcher Jackie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession.[41] Mitchell, signed by the Lookouts as a publicity stunt amid the Great Depression's economic pressures on sports, faced the Yankees' "Murderers' Row" after the starting pitcher faltered, walking Tony Lazzeri before being removed.[42] The feat, witnessed by about 4,000 spectators, challenged gender norms in professional baseball, though Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis later voided her contract, citing the sport's unsuitability for women.[43] From April 6 to 9, 1931, in Scottsboro, Alabama, the first trials of the "Scottsboro Boys"—nine Black teenagers aged 13 to 19 accused of raping two white women on a freight train—resulted in swift convictions for eight defendants, all sentenced to death by an all-white jury.[44] The arrests had occurred on March 25 following a fight on the train, but the trials, conducted amid mob threats and inadequate defense (one lawyer for all, with no time for preparation), exemplified Southern racial biases and due process failures during the Jim Crow era.[45] The case drew national scrutiny, with the ACLU and International Labor Defense intervening on appeal, highlighting coerced testimonies from accusers Victoria Price and Ruby Bates.[46] Subsequent U.S. Supreme Court rulings in 1932 and 1935 overturned convictions on grounds of mob influence and jury exclusion of Blacks, marking precedents for fair trials.[47] On April 14, 1931, following municipal elections that favored republican candidates, the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in Madrid, ending the Bourbon monarchy after King Alfonso XIII's regime faltered amid economic woes and Primo de Rivera's dictatorship.[48] The king, facing pressure from military and civilian unrest, departed for exile the next day without formal abdication, allowing a provisional government under Niceto Alcalá-Zamora to enact reforms like land redistribution and secular education.[49] This shift toward democracy initially garnered support across ideological lines but sowed divisions that contributed to the Spanish Civil War by 1936.[50]May
On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially dedicated in New York City after 410 days of construction, standing at 1,454 feet (443 meters) tall and surpassing the Chrysler Building as the world's tallest structure.[51] The project, led by architects Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and financed by John J. Raskob and Pierre S. du Pont, employed thousands during the early Great Depression but resulted in high vacancy rates due to economic stagnation, with the building earning the nickname "Empty State Building" in its initial years.[51] On May 11, Austria's largest bank, Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe, revealed losses exceeding half its capital from bad loans tied to Central European economic weaknesses, prompting government intervention and the first major banking collapse of the European phase of the Great Depression.[52] This event triggered deposit runs across Austria, Germany, and beyond, exacerbating liquidity shortages and contributing to widespread bank failures that deepened global deflationary pressures.[53] On May 27, Belgian physicist Auguste Piccard and assistant Paul Kipfer ascended in a pressurized aluminum gondola attached to a hydrogen balloon from Augsburg, Germany, reaching an altitude of 15,781 meters (51,775 feet) and becoming the first humans to enter the stratosphere, where they conducted measurements of cosmic radiation.[54] The flight, lasting about eight hours before a safe landing in Austria, demonstrated the feasibility of high-altitude manned exploration and advanced understanding of atmospheric layers.[55]