1931-1935

1931
1931 2nd Spanish Republic -(4/14/31) In January 1930, Spanish dictator Primo de Riverra, who had been supported by the Spanish King, resigned. Agitation then increased for the restoration of the Constitution. In April 1931, King Alfonso left Spain without abdicating. In June, elections were held which gave the Republican-Socialist majority a commanding victory. A new constitution was adopted that provided for universal suffrage and complete separation of Church and State.
1931 Empire State Building Opened - (5/1/31)The Empire State building in New York, the largest building in the world, opened for the public. The building is 102 stories and 1,250 feet high.
1931 Wiley Post Sets New Round-The-World Record -(7/1/31)On July 1st, Wiley Post completed a flight around the world. The flight lasted 8 days and 15 hours. Wiley flew a Lockheed Vega Monoplane, the "Winnie Mae." Wiley left Roosevelt Field on June 23rd. His first stop was at Harbor Grace, Newfoundland. He also stopped in Chester, England; Hanover and Berlin, Germany; Moscow, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Blagoveshchensk and Khabarovsk, all in the Soviet Union; Nome, Alaska; and Edmonton, Canada. He then flew to Cleveland, and back to New York.
1931 Japanese Attack Manuchuria -(9/18/31) On September 18th, in violation of all its treaty obligations, Japan occupied Manchuria, in northeast China. It was to be the first step on the path to World War II. American reaction to the aggression came in the form of the Stimson Doctrine. This document stated that the United States would not recognize any treaty that impinged on the sovereignty of China.

1932
1932 Russian Famine -(4/14/31) In January 1930, Spanish dictator Primo de Riverra, who had been supported by the Spanish King, resigned. Agitation then increased for the restoration of the Constitution. In April 1931, King Alfonso left Spain without abdicating. In June, elections were held which gave the Republican-Socialist majority a commanding victory. A new constitution was adopted that provided for universal suffrage and complete separation of Church and State.
1932 Lausanne Conference -Representatives of Germany, Great Britain, France, and Japan met to decide the issue of German reparation debt payment. An agreement was reached whereby the debt would be deferred. The agreement was contingent upon the US agreeing to also defer the debt payment of the Western European governments. When the US Congress forbade any cancellation or reduction in debt repayment, the agreement disintegrated.
1932 Indian Congress Declared Illegal -In January 1932, the British government declared the Congress Party illegal and again arrested Gandhi. The government took extraordinarily repressive measures to crush the demonstrations that followed.
1932 Coup D'Etat Ends Absolute Monarchy in Siam -(6/24/32) The army staged a coup d'état that ended the absolute powers of the monarchy. The coup was staged by young army officers educated abroad. They held the King captive for a short period, until he agreed to a new constitution. Under this new constitution, a national assembly was created, half-appointed and half-elected under universal suffrage.
1932 Japanese Attack Shanghai -The Japanese continued their assault on China by attacking Shanghai. The Western powers protested vigorously and sent reinforcements to defend their interests. Heavy Western pressure forced the Japanese to withdraw.
1932 Reconstrucrtion Finance Corporation -(1/22/32) To fight the Depression, President Hoover supported the creation of the R.F.C. This entity was developed to lend money to corporations. The "Hoover approach" stated that if the companies got support, they would eventually support individuals.
1932 Bonus Army -(5/29/32) Army veterans, who were entitled to special bonus payments in 1945, marched on Washington, requesting an advance on their bonuses. All together, 5,000 marchers camped out in Washington. President Hoover ordered the army to remove them, which it promptly did.
1932 Doolittle Seizes Speed Record-(9/3/32) Major James Doolittle seized a new speed record at the Thomas Trophy Speed Race. Doolittle, flying a Granville Gee-Bee, averaged 294 mph during the race.
1932 War Between Peru and Columbia Break Out -Peruvians seized the Amazon border town of Leticia. This action sparked a two-year war that ended when the League of Nations restored the area to Columbian control in 1933.
1932 Paraguay and Bolivia Fight -In May 1931, a full-fledged war broke out between Paraguay and Bolivia over an area known as the "Gran Chaco." The Bolivians attacked Paraguay, but were repelled, suffering heavy losses. A truce was finally arranged in 1935. In 1938, a settlement was negotiated, giving Paraguay most of the disputed territory.

1933
1933 Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany -Presidential elections were held in March 1932. Hitler's vigorous denunciation of the Versailles Treaty, together with his denunciation of Jews, was hugely popular in a Germany suffering from high unemployment and inflation. This appeal, however, failed to win him the election. General Hindenberg won instead.

In July's Reichstag elections, the Nazis won the largest number of seats, but not a majority. No coalition government could be formed, and once again elections were called. Again the results were inconclusive.

In January, the centrists entered into a coalition with Hitler, making him the new Prime Minister of Germany. In February, the Reichstag burned down, and Hitler charged the fire had been the work of the Communists. He arrested all the Communist members of the parliament. Elections held a week later gave the Nazis only 44 percent of the votes. With the Communists in prison, however, Hitler was able to get the Reichstag to pass the Enabling Act. This made Hitler a dictator, removed Jews and other "undesirables" from all position of power and dissolved the Reichstag. Europe had entered into a dark era.
1933 Dachau Established - The Nazis rounded up all potential adversaries, arresting tens of thousands of opponents and Jews. There was no place to put them in jail, so the first of many concentration camps was opened at Dachau.
1933 Japan Leaves Leagues of Nations -(3/27/33) The League of Nations received a report from its Commission of Inquiry convened under the Earl of Lytton. The Commission found that Japanese action could not be justified as an act of self-defense. Furthermore, the report stated that the creation of Manchukuo did not result from a "genuine and spontaneous independence movement." The League adopted the American policy of non-recognition of any conquest. The result: the Japanese announced that they were withdrawing from the League.
1933 New Deal Begun -(3/4/33) The inauguration of Roosevelt as President brought with it the "New Deal," which saw the creation of a multitude of government agencies and activities to combat the Depression. These measures included large–scale work programs for the unemployed, and full–scale government projects.
1933 Tennessee Valley Authority Created -An independent public corporation was established to develop the Tennessee Valley by providing electricity and fertilizer to the inhabitants of the area. Between 1933 and 1944, nine large dams, as well as numerous power plants, were built.
1933 Prohibition Repealed -One of the first acts of the Roosevelt Administration was the repeal of Prohibition. This was done in a two-step process. The first step was the "Beer Revenue Act," which legalized beer and wine with an alcohol content of up to 3.2%. The second step was the passage of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which legalized liquor once again.
1933 Western Hemisphere Agreement -(10/10/33) The nations of the Western Hemisphere entered into an agreement in which they renounced aggression and use of force in the Western Hemisphere. The agreement marked the beginning of reconciliation between the nations of the Americas and the United States, which had intervened many times in the internal politicy affairs of the South America.
1933 Hoover Dam Completed -The Hoover Dam was completed in Nevada. Its was 276 feet tall and 1,242 feet wide. It spanned the Colorado River.
1933 Boeing 247 Launched -(3/20/33) On March 20th, United Airlines began flying the new Boeing 247. The Boeing was the first all metal mono-plane using a stress skin. The Boeing 247 had a cruising speed of 155 mph, with a range of 485 miles. It could carry 10 passengers.
1933 Twa Takes Delivery of Dc-1 -In order to compete with United Airlines, TWA commissioned an aircraft from Douglas Manufacturing. Douglas had to design a plane that could fly over the Rockies with only one engine. Douglas' chief designer convinced Charles Lindbergh, the technical advisor to TWA, to try the Douglas design. The DC–1 was the first plane to use "monocoque" design, where the weight of the plane and the wings are borne by the entire skin. The plane was also the first to have a two speed propeller.

1934
1934 Night of Long Knives -(6/30/34) On the night of June 30th, Hitler eliminated embarrassing friends and foes alike. Seventy-seven people were executed, including SA leader Ernst Roehm, General Von Schleicher and his wife, former premier Gregor Starsser, a radical Nazi, and Erich Klausenere, a prominent Catholic.
1934 King of Yugoslavia Assassinated -(10/9/34) King Alexander of Yugoslavia arrived in France for a state visit on October 9th. While traveling in a motorcade with French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou, he and the minister were killed by a Croatian assassin.
1934 Unrest in Austria, Dolfoss Assasinated -(7/25/34) The Nazis attempted to stage a coup in Austria. They took over the Chancellery in Vienna and killed Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dolfuss. The Austrian Army rapidly put down the insurrection. Hitler was discouraged from any direct support of the coup attempt by the threats of Italian intervention.
1934 Mao Sets off On Long March-(10/16/34) Continued victories by the Kuomintang Army under Chiang Kai-Shek compelled the forces under Mao Tse-Tung's control to retreat in order to regroup. They undertook what has become known as "The Long March." The march covered 6,000 miles and ended in Yenan. One hundred thousand set off on the march, but only one third survived, arriving at Yenan.
1934 Sergei Kirov Shot - Stalin Begins Purges -(12/1/34) Sergei Kirov, a close associate of Stalin, was assassinated. This prompted Stalin to institute another great purge. In the previous year, Stalin had purged the Communist Party of close to 1,000,000 members. This time, many of the older leaders of the party, such as Zinoviev and Kamenev, were arrested and tried for treason. Before the purges ended, close to 8 million people were killed, imprisoned or sent to Siberia.

1935
1935 Saar Becomes Part of Germany -(1/13/35) A plebiscite was held in the Saar Region according to the terms of the Versailles Treaty. The plebiscite was to determine whether the people wished to join France or Germany. The vote was 90% in favor of unification with Germany and, on March 1st, the German Reich expanded for the first time.
1935 Germany Rejects Versailles Treaty - (3/16/35) Adolf Hitler announced, on March 16th, that he was abrogating those portions of the Versailles Treaty that limited the size and weapons of the German armed forces.
1935 Government of India Act -The British Parliament passed the Government of India Act. Under the terms of the Act, Burma and Aden were separated from India. India was divided into 11 provinces, each under an appointed governor and with an elected legislature. The provincial governments were to have broad powers to operate independently.
1935 Commonwealth of Philippines Declared -In 1935, the approved a new constitution, under which they were granted independence as a Commonwealth. Full independence was to come ten year later.
1935 Social Security Act -(8/14/35) The Social Security Act created a joint federal and state program for both unemployment insurance and old age pension. The Social Security Act, which was considered radical when enacted, is today considered one of the mainstays of American society.
1935 N.I.R.A Act Illegal -(5/27/35) The Supreme Court ruled that the National Industrial Recovery Act was illegal. The decision came in the case of "Schecter Poultry v. the United States." According to the Court, wages and hour provisions exceeded the power of the Congress under the Constitution. This was the first act of the New Deal to be struck down by the Court.
1935 Neutrality Act -(8/31/35) The Neutrality Act of 1935, was passed in response to the highly isolationalist mood of the nation. Once the President declared a state of war, all arms shipments were forbidden, and Americans could only travel on belligerent vessels at their own risk. Roosevelt signed the bill, but stated that it was more likely to "drag us into war, instead of keeping us out." The bill was passed against the backgrond of the Italian invasion of Ethiopia.
1935 W.P.A Created -The largest American employment agency was created with the enactment of the Works Progress Administration, on May 6th. The goal of the W.P.A. was to put one-third of the 11 million unemployed to work on government projects.
1935 Earhart 1st Woman To Cross Pacific -(1/12/35) On January 12th, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to cross the Pacific. The last leg of her flight was 18 hours, from Wheeler Field in Hawaii to Oakland.
1935 Howard Hughes Slashes Speed Record -(9/13/35) On September 13th, millionaire Howard Hughes shattered the land speed record by reaching the speed of 352 mph. He reached that speed in his custom designed Hughes Racer.
1935 Pan Am Begins Service To Manila -(11/29/35) On November 29th, China Clipper NC 14716 touched down in Manilla Bay after a flight that took 59 hours and 48 minutes. The flight flew via Honolulu, Midway, Wake and Guam. Pan Am was flying one of the Martin M-130's.
1935 DC-3 Introduced -(12/21/35)The introduction of service on the DC–3 marked the coming of age of the passenger air industry. Twenty-one passengers could be comfortably seated on the plane. All major commercial airliners descended from the DC–3; and as late as 1990, there were still some in service in the world.