References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

1931 January 3 Joseph J C Joffre French marshal, dies at age 78. [1] January 4 Art Acord western actor (Set Free, Spurs and Saddles), dies at age 40. [1] January 9 Claude Anet [Jean Schopfer] French writer (La fille perdue), dies. [1] January 11 Oscar Fetras composer, dies at age 76. [1] January 14 William Ernst Johnson British mathematician, dies. [1] January 21 Felix Blumenfeld composer, dies at age 67. [1] January 22 French government of Steeg falls. [1] VARA begins experimental TV broadcast in Diamantbeurs Amsterdam. [1] January 23 Anna Pavlova Russian ballerina (Diaghilew, Dying Swan), dies. [1] January 26 Hungary-Austria sign peace treaty. [1] Lynn Riggs' "Green Grow the Lilacs" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] January 30 Charlie Chaplin's "City Lights" premieres at Los Angeles Theater. [1] January 31 Philip Barry's "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] February 2 First siyyum of Talmud celebrated by Daf Yomi students. [1] First use of a rocket to deliver mail (Austria). [1] Theodor Batthynyi Hungarian contra-revolutionary, dies at age 71. [1] February 3 Arkansas legislature passes motion to pray for soul of H L Mencken after he calls the state the "apex of moronia". [1] Hans Schardt Swiss geologist, dies at age 72. [1] February 5 Maxine Dunlap becomes first US women to earn a glider pilot license. [1] February 7 Ion Vidu composer, dies at age 67. [1] US opera, "Peter Ibbetson", by Deems Taylor premieres at Metropolitan Opera New York City. [1] February 8 Gas explosion Fire in Fushun-coal mine, Manchuria kills 3,000. [1] February 10 New Delhi becomes capital of India. [1] Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Harts premieres in New York City, New York. [1] February 11 Charles Algernon Parsons British inventor (steam turbine), dies at age 76. [1] February 14 Spanish government of General Damasco Berenguer falls. [1] February 15 First Dracula movie released. [1] February 16 Dirk Schäfer Dutch pianist/composer (Klavier), dies at age 57. [1] Extreme right wing Svinhufvud becomes President of Finland. [1] February 18 Birth of Johnny Hart cartoonist. [1] February 20 US Congress allows California to build Oakland-Bay Bridge. [1] February 21 Alka Seltzer introduced. [1] February 23 Nellie Melba [Helen Mitchell], Australian soprano, dies. [1] February 26 Otto Wallach German chemist (Nobel Prize 1910), dies at age 83. [1] February 28 Oswald Mosley founds his New Party. [1] March 3 "Star Spangled Banner" officially becomes US national anthem. [1] Cab Calloway records "Minnie the Moocher" (Jazz's first million seller). [1] March 4 West Indies beat Australia for the first time, by 30 runs at SCG. [1] March 5 Gandhi and British viceroy Lord Irwin sign pact. [1] March 7 Akseli V Gallen-Kallela Finnish painter/illustrator, dies at age 65. [1] Theo van Doesburg [Christian Kupper], painter/architect, dies at age 47. [1] March 8 Clara Kathleen Rogers composer, dies at age 87. [1] March 9 Ida B Wells-Barnett famous black, dies in Chicago at age 78. [1] March 10 British Labour party removes fascist sir Oswald Mosley. [1] March 14 First theater built for rear movie projection (New York City, New York). [1] March 16 Genootschap Onze Taal (Our Language) organizes (Netherlands). [1] March 17 Stalin throws Krupskaya Lenin out of Central Committee. [1] March 18 First electric shavers go on sale in US (Schick). [1] Juan Bautista Aznar becomes premier of Spain. [1] March 19 Nevada legalizes casino gaming and most other forms of gambling. [1] [39] [86.6] March 20 Bishop Schreiber warns against national-socialism in Berlin. [1] March 21 KRO-broadcast studio initiated in Hilversum Holland. [1] March 25 Hal Kemp and his Orchestra record Whistles, with Skinnay Ennis. [1] March 26 Iraq and Trans-Jordan sign peace treaty. [1] New Delhi replaces Calcutta as capitol of British-Indies. [1] March 27 Arnold Bennett novelist, dies. [1] Charlie Chaplin receives France's distinguished Legion of Honor. [1] April 1 Earthquake devastates Managua Nicaragua, kills 2,000. [1] April 2 Teenage girl strikes out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game in Chattanooga Tennessee. [1] April 4 Andre Michelin CEO (Michelin Tires), dies. [1] George Whitefield Chadwick composer, dies at age 76. [1] April 6 First Scottsboro (Alabama) trial begins - 9 blacks accused of rape. [1] First broadcast of "Little Orphan Annie" on NBC-radio. [1] Giuseppi Radiciotti composer, dies at age 73. [1] April 8 "White Horse Inn" opens in London. [1] Dmitri Shostakovich's ballet "The Arrow", premieres. [1] Eric Axel Karlfeldt poet, dies. [1] April 9 Chicago's Cy Wentworth beats Montreal Canadiens at 13:50 of the 6th period. [1] Paul Antonin Vidal composer, dies at age 67. [1] April 12 Spanish voters reject the monarchy. [1] April 14 Spain becomes republic with overthrow of King Alfonso XIII. [1] April 15 The first walk across America backwards began. [1] April 20 British House of Commons agrees for sports play on Sunday. [1] April 22 Egypt and Iraq sign peace treaty. [1] April 27 100 degrees F (38 degrees C), Pahala HI (state record). [1] April 29 Cleveland Indian Wes Ferrell no-hits Saint Louis Browns, 9-0. [1] April 30 Disney completes the Mickey Mouse film The Moose Hunt. Pluto also appears, and is first called by name. Pluto speaks for the first and only time in his career. [6] May 1 U.S. President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates New York City's Empire State Building. At 102 stories and 1,250 feet high it is the world's tallest skyscraper (a record held until 1972). [1] [129] Norway claims Peter I Island. [1] Singer Kate Smith begins her long-running radio program on CBS. [1] May 3 Frank Hoyt Losey composer, dies at age 59. [1] Otto Winter-Hjelm composer, dies at age 93. [1] May 4 Mustafa Kemal Pasja becomes Turkish president. [1] May 8 Operette "Land of Smiles" premieres in London. [1] May 9 A[lbert] A[braham] Michelson US physicist (1907 Nobel), dies at age 78. [1] May 10 Golf ball size hail falls in Burlington New Jersey. [1] May 11 Credit-Anstalt, Austria's largest bank, fails beginning financial collapse of Central Europe. [1] May 12 Eugene-Auguste Ysaye composer, dies at age 72. [1] May 13 Josif Marinkovic composer, dies at age 79. [1] Paul Doumer elected President of France. [1] May 15 Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Quadragesimo anno. [1] May 17 Johan [Eliza J] de Master art critic/writer, dies. [1] Timothy Cole wood engraver, dies. [1] May 19 Ironclad cruiser Germany launched in Kiel. [1] May 21 Belgian Government of Jaspar falls. [1] May 22 Canned rattlesnake meat first goes on sale in Florida. [1] May 23 Whipsnade Zoo opens in Whipsnade Beds England. [1] May 24 First air-conditioned train installed-B&O Railroad. [1] May 27 First full scale wind tunnel for testing airplanes, Langley Field Virginia. [1] Piccard and Knipfer make first flight into stratosphere, by balloon; first use of pressurized cabin in a balloon. [1] June 6 G Neujmin discovers asteroid #1210 Morosovia. [1] June 9 First showing of a Donald Duck cartoon. [1] C Jackson discovers asteroid #1197 Rhodesia. [1] Goddard patents rocket-fueled aircraft design. [1] June 14 French "St Philbert" overturned off Saint Nazaire France, drowns 450. [1] June 19 First photoelectric cell installed commercially West Haven Connecticut. [1] June 23 Wiley Post and Harold Catty took off for flight around world. [1] June 29 109 degrees F (43 degrees C), Monticello, Florida (state record). [1] July 1 Ice vending machines introduced in Los Angeles 25 pounds, 15 cents. [1] July 18 First air-conditioned ship (Mariposa) launched. [1] July 21 Reno race track, becomes first in US to use daily double wagering. [1] July 23 Ashmore and Cartier Island in Indian Ocean transferred to Australia. [1] July 28 US Congress makes "The Star-Spangled Banner" our second national anthem. [1] August 15 Ernest Lassy completes longest canoe journey without port (6,102 mi). [1] Roy Wilkins joined NAACP as assistant secretary. [1] September 15 British naval force mutinies at Invergordon over pay. [1] September 21 Britain goes off the gold standard. [1] September 27 Lou Gehrig completes his 6th straight season, playing in every game. [1] October 2 Pope Pius XI encyclical On the economic crisis. [1] October 4 The comic strip Dick Tracy by Chester Gould debuts. [1] October 5 First nonstop transpacific flight, Japan to Washington (Herndon and Pangborn). [1] October 7 First infra-red photograph, Rochester, New York. [1] October 10 AJ Bennett hits H Garbarino for first scoring pass in Canada's Big 4. [1] October 12 First International Conference on Calendar Reform. [1] October 16 Trunk murderess Winnie Ruth Judd chops first. [1] October 17 Al Capone convicted of tax evasion, sentenced to 11 years in prison. [1] October 18 Thomas Alva Edison inventor, dies in West Orange, New Jersey, at age 84. [1] October 24 George Washington Bridge connecting New York to New Jersey opens. [1] November 3 First commercially produced synthetic rubber manufactured. [1] November 11 Cornerstones laid for Opera House and Veterans Building. [1] November 13 Hattie Caraway (Democrat-Alaska) appointed first US woman senator. [1] November 20 Commercial teletype service begins. [1] December 1 In Canada, the Ottawa branch of the British Royal Mint begins operation as the Royal Canadian Mint, under the control of the Canadian Finance Department. [3] December 2 Paul-Marie-Theodore-Vincent D'indy French count/composer, dies at age 80. [1] December 3 Alka Seltzer goes on sale. [1] December 4 "Frankenstein" opens at Mayfair. [1] December 8 Coaxial cable patented. [1] December 9 Benn W Levy's "Springtime for Henry" premieres in New York City, New York. [1] Japanese army attacks Chinese province of Jehol. [1] Spain becomes a republic. [1] December 10 Jane Addams (first US woman) named co-recipient of Nobel Peace Prize. [1] Manuel Azaña becomes premier/Niceto Zamora President of Spain. [1] Max Elskamp Belgian author/poet (Six Chansons), dies at age 69. [1] December 11 British Statute of Westminster gives complete legislative independence to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, Newfoundland. [1] Japan leaves the Golden Standard. [1] December 12 Japanese Government of Imukai forms. [1] December 14 First assembly of Anton Musserts NSB in Utrecht. [1] December 16 German SPD begins Eiserne Front against fascism. [1] Gustave J Waffelaert Flemish theologist/bishop of Bruges, dies at age 82. [1] December 18 John T "Legs" Diamond US gangster, murdered at age 35. [1] December 19 Joseph A Lyons (Conservative) becomes premier of Australia. [1] December 21 John-French Cantré Flemish wood carver/painter/cartoonist, dies at age 45. [1] December 25 New York's Metropolitan Opera broadcasts an entire opera over radio. [1] December 26 George/Ira Gershwin's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical play "Of Thee I Sing" premieres on Broadway. [1] SS-Sturmbannführer Reinhard Heydrich marries Lina von Osten. [1] December 27 Peter Christian Lutkin composer, dies at age 73. [1] Walter Courvoisier composer, dies at age 56. [1] December 28 Lin-Sen succeeds Chiang Kai-shek as President of Nanjing-China. [1] December 29 Identification of heavy water publicly announced, HC Urey. [1] December 30 Tyrone Power Sr actor (Big Trial, Test of Donald Norton), dies at age 62. [1]