Explore 2180 historical events from 1930–1939.
In the Memorial Day massacre of 1937, the Chicago Police Department shot and killed ten unarmed demonstrators in Chicago, on May 30, 1937. The incident took place during the Little…
Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot and kill ten labor demonstrators
Edward VIII, later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 20 January 1936 until his abdication in Decemb…
The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, Pub. L. 75–238, 50 Stat. 551, enacted August 2, 1937, was a United States Act that placed a tax on the sale of cannabis. It was the first national re…
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Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviator and aviation pioneer who became one of the most celebrated figures of early flight.
Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean and disappear while attempting to…
The Treaty of Saadabad was a non-aggression pact signed by Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan on 8 July 1937, and lasted for five years. The treaty was signed in Tehran's Saadabad …
Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan sign the Treaty of Saadabad.
The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans were loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Se…
Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres of coastline tha…
South African medical researcher Max Theiler develops the yellow fever vaccine at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York
The Commonwealth of the Philippines was an unincorporated territory and commonwealth (dependency) of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following …
The Commonwealth of the Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right t
The Hindenburg disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The LZ 129 Hindenburg was a German commercial passe…
Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to do
The Fox Film Corporation was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1915 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox. It was the corporate s…
The silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation are destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire.
Gerhardus Cornelius Potgieter is a retired South African Track and field athletics competitor, primarily known for the 400-metre and 440-yard hurdles. His innovation was to run 14 …
Gert Potgieter, South African hurdler and coach
William James Myers, better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele, was an American professional wrestler, school teacher, author, and actor. His career lasted from 1967…
George Steele, American wrestler and actor (died 2017)
Ronald Hamowy was a Canadian academic, known primarily for his contributions to political and social academic fields. At the time of his death, he was professor emeritus of intelle…
Ronald Hamowy, Canadian historian and academic (died 2012)
The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans were loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Se…
Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco
The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels. Republicans were loyal to the left-leaning Popular Front government of the Se…
Spanish Civil War: The Largo Caballero government resigns in the wake of the Barcelona May Days, leading Juan Negrín to
A drifting ice station is a temporary or semi-permanent facility built on an ice floe. During the Cold War the Soviet Union and the United States maintained a number of stations in…
A Soviet station, North Pole-1, becomes the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arct
Walter Philip Reuther was an American leader of organized labor and civil rights activist who built the United Automobile Workers (UAW) into one of the most progressive labor union…
Walter Reuther and members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) clash with Ford Motor Company security guards at the River R
Ferdinand Karl Piëch was an Austrian business magnate, engineer, and executive who held the positions of chairman of the executive board (Vorstandsvorsitzender) of the Volkswagen G…
Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German engineer and businessman (died 2019)
Keiko Abe is a Japanese composer and marimba player. She has been a primary figure in the development of the marimba, in terms of expanding both technique and repertoire, and thro…
Keiko Abe, Japanese marimba player and composer
Jan Kaplický was a Neofuturistic Czech architect who spent a significant part of his life in the United Kingdom. He was the leading architect behind the innovative design office, F…
Jan Kaplický, Czech architect, designed the Selfridges Building (died 2009)
California is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, and Nevada and Arizona to the east; it also shares an internation…
In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by the German Labour Front, it was revived after World War II by Briti…
Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer, is founded
The Great Purge or Great Terror, also known as the Year of '37 and the Yezhovshchina, was a political purge in the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1938. After the assassination of Sergei…
Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borde…
Pennsylvania becomes the first (and only) state of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday