Explore the major historical events, famous births, and notable deaths that occurred in the year 1931. This year saw 148 significant events. 31 notable figures were born. 3 notable figures passed away.
"City Lights", American silent romantic comedy film directed by Charlie Chaplin, starring himself and Virginia Cherrill, premieres at Los Angeles Theater
New Zealand's worst natural disaster, the Hawke's Bay earthquake, kills 256 and injures thousands, devastating Napier and the Hawke's Bay region
Renfield is a 2023 American action comedy horror film inspired by characters from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula and its 1931 feature film adaptation.
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" officially becomes the US national anthem by congressional resolution; lyrics by Francis Scott Key in 1814 are set to John Stafford Smith's 18th-century tune "The Anacreontic Song"
The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No.
Empire State Building opens in New York City as the world's tallest building until the World Trade Center surpasses it in 1970
Songwriter Johnny Mercer (21) weds chorus girl Ginger Meehan (21) in New York City [1]
Alphonse Gabriel Capone, sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the...
Actress Mary Astor (25) weds Dr. Franklyn Thorpe
Irish "Ulysses" writer James Joyce (49) and Nora Barnacle (47) finally marry in London registry office after meeting in 1904; remain wed until his death in 1941.
American crooner Bing Crosby makes his solo radio debut on his "15 Minutes with Bing Crosby" program broadcast on the CBS Network
Mukden Incident: To create a pretext for the invasion of Chinese Manchuria, Japanese forces detonate a small quantity of dynamite near a railway line owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway
Claus von Stauffenberg marries Freiin Nina von Lerchenfeld
Gangster Al Capone is convicted on five of the 23 counts of tax evasion against him, later fined $50,000 and sentenced to 11 years in prison
Chinese Soviet Republic, covering parts of 18 provinces and 4 counties under Communist Party control, is proclaimed by leaders Mao Zedong and Zhu De
Actress Gloria Swanson (32) divorces aristocrat Henri de la Falaise (33) after 6 years of marriage
Silent film actress Clara Bow (26) weds actor and politician Rex Bell (28) in Las Vegas
Statute of Westminster gives complete legislative independence to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State, and Newfoundland (not then part of Canada)
Montreal Maroons centre Nels Stewart scores fastest 2 goals in NHL history with a pair 4 seconds apart in a 5-3 win over Boston Bruins at Montreal Arena
First woman to purchase a baseball team, Lucille Thomas buys Topeka Senators franchise in the Western League
Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast
Australian cricket batting prodigy Don Bradman scores 223 v West Indies in 3rd Test in Brisbane; most runs scored by a player in a Test match in Australia in one day
French government of Steeg falls
Philip Barry's play "Tomorrow & Tomorrow" premieres in NYC
1st siyyum of Talmud celebrated by Daf Yomi students
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding.
American opera "Peter Ibbetson" by Deems Taylor premieres at Metropolitan Opera, New York City
Gas explosion Fire in Fushun-coal mine, Manchuria kills 3,000
New Delhi is the capital city of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT).
Vatican Radio (Italian: Radio Vaticana; Latin: Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are...
Spanish government of General Damasco Berenguer falls
Spring training site of NY Yankees in St Petersburg is renamed Miller Huggins Field in honor of the team's late manager
Extreme right wing politician Pehr Evind Svinhufvud becomes President of Finland
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Congress allows California to build Oakland-Bay Bridge
Alka Seltzer introduced
West Indies beat Australia for the 1st time, by 30 runs at SCG
Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO was the All-Union physical culture training programme, introduced in the USSR on March 11, 1931 on the initiative of the Komsomol.
Genootschap Onze Taal (Our Language) organizes (Netherlands)
1st electric shavers go on sale in US (Schick)
Nevada legalizes gambling
Bishop Schreiber warns against national-socialism in Berlin
KRO-broadcast studio initiated in Hilversum Holland
Hal Kemp & his Orchestra record "Whistles", with Skinnay Ennis as vocalist, in NYC
Iraq & Trans-Jordan sign peace treaty
Brilliant Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne (43) is killed with 7 others when light plane crashes on trip from Kansas City to Los Angeles; record 105-12-5 @ .881 remains best ever
Earthquake devastate Managua Nicaragua, kills 2,000
Seals Stadium was a Minor League Baseball stadium in San Francisco, California, United States; it later became the first home of the major-league San Francisco Giants.
White Horse Inn is the title of the Broadway version of the operetta Im weißen Rößl.
1st backwards walk across American begins
British House of Commons agrees for sports play on Sunday
Egypt & Iraq sign peace treaty
Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S.
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: Olympische Sommerspiele 1936), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: Spiele der XI.
Mustafa Kemal Pasja becomes Turkish president
Operette "Land of Smiles" premieres in London
Golf ball size hail falls in Burlington, New Jersey
M is a 1931 German mystery thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre as Hans Beckert, a serial killer who targets children, in his third screen role.
Joseph Athanase Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer, was a French politician who served as the President of France from June 1931 until his assassination in May 1932.
Ådalen shootings: five people are killed in Ådalen, Sweden, as soldiers open fire on an unarmed trade union demonstration
Deutschland was the lead ship of her class of heavy cruisers (often termed pocket battleships) which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II.
George End introduces “Genuine Diamondback Rattlesnake with Supreme Sauce” in a can, by his Florida Products Corporation; the popular item ceases production in 1944 after when the owner dies, a victim of one snake's revenge [1]
Whipsnade Zoo, formerly known as ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, is a zoo located in Whipsnade, near Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.
1st air-conditioned train installed-B&O Railroad
A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments".
Phillies Chuck Klein homers off Ben Cantwell (Braves) in both ends DH
Jules Renkin (68) becomes Prime Minister of Belgium
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian and American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer whose unique sweet jazz style remained popular with audiences...
Suriname Work Committee under Louis Doedel forms in Paramaribo
Norway occupies East Greenland
French steamer "St Philbert" overturns off St Nazaire, France, drowning 450 people
Austrian government of Ender falls
First photoelectric cell installed commercially, in West Haven, Connecticut
Karl Buresch becomes Chancellor of Austria
RVU, Radio-Volks-University, forms
USSR and Afghanistan sign a neutrality treaty
°F (43°C), Monticello, Florida (state record, until broken in 2015)
Cleveland Municipal Stadium (MLB: Indians, NFL: Browns, 78,189 capacity) opens; demolished 1996
1st fireworks are held at Cleveland Stadium
NY Giants beat Phillies 23-8
45,715 fans in the 35,000-seat Sportsman's Park in St. Louis help cause many ground-rule doubles, 11 in the first game and 21 in the second game for a total of 32
First air-conditioned ship (Mariposa) launches
Reno racetrack becomes the first in the US to use daily double wagering
France announces it can't afford to send a team to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics due to the Great Depression but eventually manages to send a team
A fire at a home for the elderly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, kills 48 people
Chilean president Carlos Ibáñez is forced out
MLB Chicago White Sox score 11 in the 8th to beat the Yankees 14-12 in New York
Referendum in favor of autonomous status for Spanish Catalonia garners 99.5% of the vote; about 75% of eligible voters participate
Washington Senators pitcher Bobby Burke no-hits Boston Red Sox, 5-0 at Griffith Stadium, Washington D. C.
Yangtze River floods after heavy rain crumbles dikes in China
Cincinnati Reds second baseman Tony Cuccinello goes 6 for 6 in 17-3 rout of Boston at Braves Field
Dutch Spakenburg football team forms
Lefty Grove wins an AL record-tying 16th consecutive game
Count Gyula Károlyi de Nagykároly in English: Julius Károlyi (7 May 1871 – 23 April 1947) was a conservative Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1931 to 1932.
France and the USSR sign a neutrality and non-aggression treaty
Lord Cecil of the British government says war is never so improbable
The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s.
British RAF pilot George Stainforth flies world speed record (655 kph)
The Invergordon Mutiny (Scottish Gaelic: Aramac Inbhir Ghòrdain) was a mutiny by around 1,000 sailors in the British Atlantic Fleet that took place on 15–16 September 1931.
The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Earl Webb sets a record with 65 doubles en route to 67 MLB doubles
The Mukden incident was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. On September 18, 1931, Lieutenant Suemori Kawamoto of the...
MLB's Lou Gehrig's 4 RBIs break his old RBI record of 175 en route to 184
A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold.
A coalition government forms in New Zealand to combat the Depression; their lack of success leads to the election of the First Labour Government in 1935
Round-robin playoff among NYC's three major league teams to raise money for the unemployed concludes with Brooklyn losing to both the Giants and the Yankees
Closest NL batting race ends; St. Louis Cardinals' Chick Hafey's .34889 beats NY Giants' Bill Terry's .34861 [1]
,000 demonstrators demand a declaration of war on Japan in Peking
Start of "Die Voortrekkers" youth movement for Afrikaners in Bloemfontein, South Africa
Women's suffrage in the Spanish Second Republic period was the result of efforts dating back to the mid-1800s.
Dick Tracy is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould.
A transpacific flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Pacific Ocean from Australasia, East and Southeast Asia to North America, South America, or vice versa.
Verdinaso (Verbond van Dietsche Nationaal-Solidaristen, lit. 'Union of Dutch National Solidarists'), sometimes rendered as Dinaso, was a small fascist political movement active in Belgium and, to a...
First infrared photograph in Rochester, New York
A.J. Bennett hits H. Garbarino for the first scoring pass in Canada's Big Four
,000 extreme right-wing Germans form the "Harzburg Front"
1st International Conference on Calendar Reform
Musical "Everybody's Welcome" with Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey premieres in NYC
First broadcast of Dutch Radio Peoples University
Winnie Ruth Judd (January 29, 1905 – October 23, 1998), born Winnie Ruth McKinnell, also known as Marian Lane, was a medical secretary in Phoenix, Arizona, who was accused of murdering her friends,...
Frank Francis Frisch (September 9, 1897—March 12, 1973), nicknamed "the Fordham Flash" or "the Old Flash", was an American professional baseball second baseman and manager.
Eugene O'Neill's play cycle "Mourning Becomes Electra" premieres in NYC
Chuhei Numbu of Japan, sets then long jump record at 26' 2½"
Lefty Grove is named the American League's MVP after winning 31 games for the Philadelphia Athletics
Dupont introduces synthetic rubber
Warren, Dixon and Young's musical "Laugh Parade" premieres in NYC
Alka-Seltzer is first sold after Dr. Miles Medical Company patented the trademark for the effervescent tablet
Jean Genet's play "Judith" premieres in Paris
Cornerstones laid for Opera House & Veteran's Building in San Francisco, California
Hattie Caraway (D-AK) appointed first US woman senator
Ottawa Mint Act is proclaimed in Britain
Commercial teletype service begins (AT&T)
1st performance of Ferde Grofé's "Grand Canyon Suite" given by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra at Studebaker Theater, Chicago
Nationally Crisis Committee forms in The Hague
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational...
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River.
Coaxial cable patented
Baseball cuts squad from 25 to 23 players and NL continues to prohibit uniform numbers
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora is elected the first President of the Second Spanish Republic by a vote in the Cortes Generales and confirms Manuel Azaña as Prime Minister five days later
Japan leaves the Gold Standard
Japanese government of Imukai forms
1st assembly of Anton Musserts NSB in Utrecht
The Iron Front (German: Eiserne Front) was a German underground paramilitary organization in the Weimar Republic which consisted of social democrats, trade unionists, and democratic socialists.
United Australia Party led by Joseph Lyons defeats the incumbent first-term Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister James Scullin in a federal election
Albert Lonergan scores 137 SA v Qld at Adelaide before 5,697
Identification of heavy water publicly announced, HC Urey
City of Paris accepts donation of the writings gathered by feminist publisher Marguerite Durand and establishes a library (Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand) for the collection
Robert Duvall, American actor and filmmaker, known for american actor and filmmaker, was born on 1931-01-05.
Sam Cooke, American musician, known for american singer and songwriter, was born on 1931-01-22.
Ernie Banks athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1931-01-31. Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr.
Boris Yeltsin is born
James Dean, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1931-02-08. James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American actor.
Robert Wagner actor, known for american actor, was born on 1931-02-10. Robert John Wagner Jr. is an American actor.
Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, known for american novelist and editor, was born on 1931-02-18. Chloe Anthony Wofford "Toni" Morrison was an American novelist and editor.
Joanne Woodward, American actress, known for american actress, was born on 1931-02-27. Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American retired actress.
Mikhail Gorbachev is born
John Astin, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1931-03-30. John Allen Astin is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles,…
Willie Mays athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1931-05-06. Willie Howard Mays Jr.
Jim Jones, American cult leader and mass murderer, known for american cult leader and mass murderer, was born on 1931-05-13.
Clint Eastwood actor and filmmaker, known for american actor and filmmaker, was born on 1931-05-31. Clinton Eastwood Jr. is an American actor, musician, and filmmaker.
Enzo Maiorca, Italian athlete, known for italian free diver, was born on 1931-06-21.
Roone Arledge sports and news broadcasting executive, known for american sports and news broadcasting executive, was born on 1931-07-08. Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr.
Marina Popovich is born
George Soros, American hungarian-american investor and philanthropist, known for hungarian-american investor and philanthropist, was born on 1931-08-12.
Bill Shoemaker, American athlete, known for american champion jockey, was born on 1931-08-19.
Warren Buffett, American investor and philanthropist, known for american investor and philanthropist, was born on 1931-08-30.
Jean Béliveau, Canadian athlete, known for canadian ice hockey player, was born on 1931-08-31.
Anne Bancroft, American actress, known for american actress, was born on 1931-09-17. Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress.
Larry Hagman, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1931-09-21. Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American actor, best known for playing ruthless oil…
Anita Ekberg, American actress, known for swedish actress, was born on 1931-09-29.
Desmond Tutu, South African african bishop and anti-apartheid activist, known for south african bishop and anti-apartheid activist, was born on 1931-10-07.
Raymond Kopa, French athlete, known for french footballer, was born on 1931-10-13.
Bernie Ecclestone, British athlete, known for british business magnate, was born on 1931-10-28.
Mike Nichols, American film and theatre director, known for american film and theatre director, was born on 1931-11-06.
Bill Walsh, American athlete, known for american football coach, was born on 1931-11-30.
Yao Wenyuan, Chinese politician, known for chinese politician, was born on 1931-01-12.
Rip Taylor actor and comedian, known for american actor and comedian, was born on 1931-01-13. Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor Jr.
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is born
Bhagat Singh, British revolutionary, known for indian revolutionary, died on 1931-03-23.
Ida B. Wells, American journalist and civil rights activist, known for american journalist and civil rights activist, died on 1931-03-25.
Lili Elbe, Danish painter and transgender woman, known for danish painter and transgender woman, died on 1931-09-13.
"City Lights", American silent romantic comedy film directed by Charlie Chaplin, starring himself and Virginia Cherrill, premieres at Los Angeles Theater
New Zealand's worst natural disaster, the Hawke's Bay earthquake, kills 256 and injures thousands, devastating Napier and the Hawke's Bay region
Renfield is a 2023 American action comedy horror film inspired by characters from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula and its 1931 feature film adaptation.
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" officially becomes the US national anthem by congressional resolution; lyrics by Francis Scott Key in 1814 are set to John Stafford Smith's 18th-century tune "The Anacreontic Song"
The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No.
Empire State Building opens in New York City as the world's tallest building until the World Trade Center surpasses it in 1970
Songwriter Johnny Mercer (21) weds chorus girl Ginger Meehan (21) in New York City [1]
Alphonse Gabriel Capone, sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the...
Actress Mary Astor (25) weds Dr. Franklyn Thorpe
Irish "Ulysses" writer James Joyce (49) and Nora Barnacle (47) finally marry in London registry office after meeting in 1904; remain wed until his death in 1941.
American crooner Bing Crosby makes his solo radio debut on his "15 Minutes with Bing Crosby" program broadcast on the CBS Network
Mukden Incident: To create a pretext for the invasion of Chinese Manchuria, Japanese forces detonate a small quantity of dynamite near a railway line owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway
Claus von Stauffenberg marries Freiin Nina von Lerchenfeld
Gangster Al Capone is convicted on five of the 23 counts of tax evasion against him, later fined $50,000 and sentenced to 11 years in prison
Chinese Soviet Republic, covering parts of 18 provinces and 4 counties under Communist Party control, is proclaimed by leaders Mao Zedong and Zhu De
Actress Gloria Swanson (32) divorces aristocrat Henri de la Falaise (33) after 6 years of marriage
Silent film actress Clara Bow (26) weds actor and politician Rex Bell (28) in Las Vegas
Statute of Westminster gives complete legislative independence to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State, and Newfoundland (not then part of Canada)
Montreal Maroons centre Nels Stewart scores fastest 2 goals in NHL history with a pair 4 seconds apart in a 5-3 win over Boston Bruins at Montreal Arena
First woman to purchase a baseball team, Lucille Thomas buys Topeka Senators franchise in the Western League
Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast
Australian cricket batting prodigy Don Bradman scores 223 v West Indies in 3rd Test in Brisbane; most runs scored by a player in a Test match in Australia in one day
French government of Steeg falls
Philip Barry's play "Tomorrow & Tomorrow" premieres in NYC
1st siyyum of Talmud celebrated by Daf Yomi students
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding.
American opera "Peter Ibbetson" by Deems Taylor premieres at Metropolitan Opera, New York City
Gas explosion Fire in Fushun-coal mine, Manchuria kills 3,000
New Delhi is the capital city of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT).
Vatican Radio (Italian: Radio Vaticana; Latin: Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are...
Spanish government of General Damasco Berenguer falls
Spring training site of NY Yankees in St Petersburg is renamed Miller Huggins Field in honor of the team's late manager
Extreme right wing politician Pehr Evind Svinhufvud becomes President of Finland
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Congress allows California to build Oakland-Bay Bridge
Alka Seltzer introduced
West Indies beat Australia for the 1st time, by 30 runs at SCG
Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO was the All-Union physical culture training programme, introduced in the USSR on March 11, 1931 on the initiative of the Komsomol.
Genootschap Onze Taal (Our Language) organizes (Netherlands)
1st electric shavers go on sale in US (Schick)
Nevada legalizes gambling
Bishop Schreiber warns against national-socialism in Berlin
KRO-broadcast studio initiated in Hilversum Holland
Hal Kemp & his Orchestra record "Whistles", with Skinnay Ennis as vocalist, in NYC
Iraq & Trans-Jordan sign peace treaty
Brilliant Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne (43) is killed with 7 others when light plane crashes on trip from Kansas City to Los Angeles; record 105-12-5 @ .881 remains best ever
Earthquake devastate Managua Nicaragua, kills 2,000
Seals Stadium was a Minor League Baseball stadium in San Francisco, California, United States; it later became the first home of the major-league San Francisco Giants.
White Horse Inn is the title of the Broadway version of the operetta Im weißen Rößl.
1st backwards walk across American begins
British House of Commons agrees for sports play on Sunday
Egypt & Iraq sign peace treaty
Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S.
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: Olympische Sommerspiele 1936), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: Spiele der XI.
Mustafa Kemal Pasja becomes Turkish president
Operette "Land of Smiles" premieres in London
Golf ball size hail falls in Burlington, New Jersey
M is a 1931 German mystery thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre as Hans Beckert, a serial killer who targets children, in his third screen role.
Joseph Athanase Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer, was a French politician who served as the President of France from June 1931 until his assassination in May 1932.
Ådalen shootings: five people are killed in Ådalen, Sweden, as soldiers open fire on an unarmed trade union demonstration
Deutschland was the lead ship of her class of heavy cruisers (often termed pocket battleships) which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II.
George End introduces “Genuine Diamondback Rattlesnake with Supreme Sauce” in a can, by his Florida Products Corporation; the popular item ceases production in 1944 after when the owner dies, a victim of one snake's revenge [1]
Whipsnade Zoo, formerly known as ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, is a zoo located in Whipsnade, near Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England.
1st air-conditioned train installed-B&O Railroad
A wind tunnel is "an apparatus for producing a controlled stream of air for conducting aerodynamic experiments".
Phillies Chuck Klein homers off Ben Cantwell (Braves) in both ends DH
Jules Renkin (68) becomes Prime Minister of Belgium
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian and American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer whose unique sweet jazz style remained popular with audiences...
Suriname Work Committee under Louis Doedel forms in Paramaribo
Norway occupies East Greenland
French steamer "St Philbert" overturns off St Nazaire, France, drowning 450 people
Austrian government of Ender falls
First photoelectric cell installed commercially, in West Haven, Connecticut
Karl Buresch becomes Chancellor of Austria
RVU, Radio-Volks-University, forms
USSR and Afghanistan sign a neutrality treaty
°F (43°C), Monticello, Florida (state record, until broken in 2015)
Cleveland Municipal Stadium (MLB: Indians, NFL: Browns, 78,189 capacity) opens; demolished 1996
1st fireworks are held at Cleveland Stadium
NY Giants beat Phillies 23-8
45,715 fans in the 35,000-seat Sportsman's Park in St. Louis help cause many ground-rule doubles, 11 in the first game and 21 in the second game for a total of 32
First air-conditioned ship (Mariposa) launches
Reno racetrack becomes the first in the US to use daily double wagering
France announces it can't afford to send a team to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics due to the Great Depression but eventually manages to send a team
A fire at a home for the elderly in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, kills 48 people
Chilean president Carlos Ibáñez is forced out
MLB Chicago White Sox score 11 in the 8th to beat the Yankees 14-12 in New York
Referendum in favor of autonomous status for Spanish Catalonia garners 99.5% of the vote; about 75% of eligible voters participate
Washington Senators pitcher Bobby Burke no-hits Boston Red Sox, 5-0 at Griffith Stadium, Washington D. C.
Yangtze River floods after heavy rain crumbles dikes in China
Cincinnati Reds second baseman Tony Cuccinello goes 6 for 6 in 17-3 rout of Boston at Braves Field
Dutch Spakenburg football team forms
Lefty Grove wins an AL record-tying 16th consecutive game
Count Gyula Károlyi de Nagykároly in English: Julius Károlyi (7 May 1871 – 23 April 1947) was a conservative Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1931 to 1932.
France and the USSR sign a neutrality and non-aggression treaty
Lord Cecil of the British government says war is never so improbable
The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s.
British RAF pilot George Stainforth flies world speed record (655 kph)
The Invergordon Mutiny (Scottish Gaelic: Aramac Inbhir Ghòrdain) was a mutiny by around 1,000 sailors in the British Atlantic Fleet that took place on 15–16 September 1931.
The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Earl Webb sets a record with 65 doubles en route to 67 MLB doubles
The Mukden incident was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. On September 18, 1931, Lieutenant Suemori Kawamoto of the...
MLB's Lou Gehrig's 4 RBIs break his old RBI record of 175 en route to 184
A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold.
A coalition government forms in New Zealand to combat the Depression; their lack of success leads to the election of the First Labour Government in 1935
Round-robin playoff among NYC's three major league teams to raise money for the unemployed concludes with Brooklyn losing to both the Giants and the Yankees
Closest NL batting race ends; St. Louis Cardinals' Chick Hafey's .34889 beats NY Giants' Bill Terry's .34861 [1]
,000 demonstrators demand a declaration of war on Japan in Peking
Start of "Die Voortrekkers" youth movement for Afrikaners in Bloemfontein, South Africa
Women's suffrage in the Spanish Second Republic period was the result of efforts dating back to the mid-1800s.
Dick Tracy is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould.
A transpacific flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Pacific Ocean from Australasia, East and Southeast Asia to North America, South America, or vice versa.
Verdinaso (Verbond van Dietsche Nationaal-Solidaristen, lit. 'Union of Dutch National Solidarists'), sometimes rendered as Dinaso, was a small fascist political movement active in Belgium and, to a...
First infrared photograph in Rochester, New York
A.J. Bennett hits H. Garbarino for the first scoring pass in Canada's Big Four
,000 extreme right-wing Germans form the "Harzburg Front"
1st International Conference on Calendar Reform
Musical "Everybody's Welcome" with Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey premieres in NYC
First broadcast of Dutch Radio Peoples University
Winnie Ruth Judd (January 29, 1905 – October 23, 1998), born Winnie Ruth McKinnell, also known as Marian Lane, was a medical secretary in Phoenix, Arizona, who was accused of murdering her friends,...
Frank Francis Frisch (September 9, 1897—March 12, 1973), nicknamed "the Fordham Flash" or "the Old Flash", was an American professional baseball second baseman and manager.
Eugene O'Neill's play cycle "Mourning Becomes Electra" premieres in NYC
Chuhei Numbu of Japan, sets then long jump record at 26' 2½"
Lefty Grove is named the American League's MVP after winning 31 games for the Philadelphia Athletics
Dupont introduces synthetic rubber
Warren, Dixon and Young's musical "Laugh Parade" premieres in NYC
Alka-Seltzer is first sold after Dr. Miles Medical Company patented the trademark for the effervescent tablet
Jean Genet's play "Judith" premieres in Paris
Cornerstones laid for Opera House & Veteran's Building in San Francisco, California
Hattie Caraway (D-AK) appointed first US woman senator
Ottawa Mint Act is proclaimed in Britain
Commercial teletype service begins (AT&T)
1st performance of Ferde Grofé's "Grand Canyon Suite" given by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra at Studebaker Theater, Chicago
Nationally Crisis Committee forms in The Hague
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational...
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River.
Coaxial cable patented
Baseball cuts squad from 25 to 23 players and NL continues to prohibit uniform numbers
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora is elected the first President of the Second Spanish Republic by a vote in the Cortes Generales and confirms Manuel Azaña as Prime Minister five days later
Japan leaves the Gold Standard
Japanese government of Imukai forms
1st assembly of Anton Musserts NSB in Utrecht
The Iron Front (German: Eiserne Front) was a German underground paramilitary organization in the Weimar Republic which consisted of social democrats, trade unionists, and democratic socialists.
United Australia Party led by Joseph Lyons defeats the incumbent first-term Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister James Scullin in a federal election
Albert Lonergan scores 137 SA v Qld at Adelaide before 5,697
Identification of heavy water publicly announced, HC Urey
City of Paris accepts donation of the writings gathered by feminist publisher Marguerite Durand and establishes a library (Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand) for the collection
Robert Duvall, American actor and filmmaker, known for american actor and filmmaker, was born on 1931-01-05.
Sam Cooke, American musician, known for american singer and songwriter, was born on 1931-01-22.
Ernie Banks athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1931-01-31. Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr.
Boris Yeltsin is born
James Dean, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1931-02-08. James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American actor.
Robert Wagner actor, known for american actor, was born on 1931-02-10. Robert John Wagner Jr. is an American actor.
Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, known for american novelist and editor, was born on 1931-02-18. Chloe Anthony Wofford "Toni" Morrison was an American novelist and editor.
Joanne Woodward, American actress, known for american actress, was born on 1931-02-27. Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American retired actress.
Mikhail Gorbachev is born
John Astin, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1931-03-30. John Allen Astin is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles,…
Willie Mays athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1931-05-06. Willie Howard Mays Jr.
Jim Jones, American cult leader and mass murderer, known for american cult leader and mass murderer, was born on 1931-05-13.
Clint Eastwood actor and filmmaker, known for american actor and filmmaker, was born on 1931-05-31. Clinton Eastwood Jr. is an American actor, musician, and filmmaker.
Enzo Maiorca, Italian athlete, known for italian free diver, was born on 1931-06-21.
Roone Arledge sports and news broadcasting executive, known for american sports and news broadcasting executive, was born on 1931-07-08. Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr.
Marina Popovich is born
George Soros, American hungarian-american investor and philanthropist, known for hungarian-american investor and philanthropist, was born on 1931-08-12.
Bill Shoemaker, American athlete, known for american champion jockey, was born on 1931-08-19.
Warren Buffett, American investor and philanthropist, known for american investor and philanthropist, was born on 1931-08-30.
Jean Béliveau, Canadian athlete, known for canadian ice hockey player, was born on 1931-08-31.
Anne Bancroft, American actress, known for american actress, was born on 1931-09-17. Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress.
Larry Hagman, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1931-09-21. Larry Martin Hagman (September 21, 1931 – November 23, 2012) was an American actor, best known for playing ruthless oil…
Anita Ekberg, American actress, known for swedish actress, was born on 1931-09-29.
Desmond Tutu, South African african bishop and anti-apartheid activist, known for south african bishop and anti-apartheid activist, was born on 1931-10-07.
Raymond Kopa, French athlete, known for french footballer, was born on 1931-10-13.
Bernie Ecclestone, British athlete, known for british business magnate, was born on 1931-10-28.
Mike Nichols, American film and theatre director, known for american film and theatre director, was born on 1931-11-06.
Bill Walsh, American athlete, known for american football coach, was born on 1931-11-30.
Yao Wenyuan, Chinese politician, known for chinese politician, was born on 1931-01-12.
Rip Taylor actor and comedian, known for american actor and comedian, was born on 1931-01-13. Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor Jr.
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is born
Bhagat Singh, British revolutionary, known for indian revolutionary, died on 1931-03-23.
Ida B. Wells, American journalist and civil rights activist, known for american journalist and civil rights activist, died on 1931-03-25.
Lili Elbe, Danish painter and transgender woman, known for danish painter and transgender woman, died on 1931-09-13.