1937 - What happened in 1937 ?

January 1937

Friday 01:

The first Cotton Bowl game is played in Dallas, Texas.

Saturday 09:

The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States.

Tuesday 19:

Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

Wednesday 20:

Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated for a second term as President of the United States. This is the first inauguration scheduled on January 20, following adoption of the 20th Amendment. Previous inaugurations were scheduled on March 4.

Saturday 23:

In Moscow, 17 leading Communists go on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime and assassinate its leaders.

February 1937

Friday 05:

President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes a plan to enlarge the Supreme Court of the United States.

Thursday 11:

A sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers Union.

Tuesday 16:

Wallace H. Carothers receives a patent for nylon.

Sunday 21:

Initial flight of the first successful flying car, Waldo Waterman's Arrowbile; League of Nations bans foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War.

March 1937

Thursday 18:

Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republican forces hand the Italian forces a grave defeat at the Battle of Guadalajara.

Friday 26:

In Crystal City, Texas, spinach growers erect a statue of the cartoon character Popeye.

April 1937

Thursday 01:

Aden becomes a British crown colony.

Monday 12:

Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at the British Thomson-Houston factory in Rugby, England

Saturday 17:

Daffy Duck debuts in Warner Bros' short Porky's Duck Hunt.

Monday 26:

Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.

May 1937

Thursday 06:

Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.

Friday 07:

Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrive in Spain to assist Franco's forces.

Wednesday 12:

Coronation of King George VI of Britain at Westminster Abbey.

Thursday 27:

In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County.

Friday 28:

Neville Chamberlain becomes British Prime Minister.

June 1937

Thursday 03:

The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson.

Friday 11:

Great Purge: The Soviet Union executes eight army leaders under Joseph Stalin.

Monday 14:

Pennsylvania becomes the first (and only) of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday.

Tuesday 22:

Camille Chautemps becomes Prime Minister of France

Tuesday 29:

Joseph-Armand Bombardier of Canada receives patent for sprocket and track traction system used in snow vehicles.

July 1937

Friday 02:

Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappear over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator.

Monday 05:

Highest recorded temperature in Canada, at Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan: 45 °C.

Wednesday 07:

Japanese forces invade Beijing, China.

Thursday 22:

New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Saturday 24:

Alabama drops rape charges against the so-called "Scottsboro Boys."

August 1937

Sunday 01:

Tito reads the resolution "Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH" to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.

Friday 13:

The Japanese attack Shanghai, China.

Friday 27:

The automobile division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works is spun off into the Toyota Motor Corporation.

Saturday 28:

Toyota Motors becomes an independent company

September 1937

Sunday 05:

Spanish Civil War: The fall of Llanes.

Monday 06:

Spanish Civil War: The start of the Battle of El Mazuco.

Tuesday 21:

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published.

Wednesday 22:

Spanish Civil War: Peña Blanca is taken; the end of the Battle of El Mazuco.

October 1937

Sunday 17:

Huey, Dewey and Louie, Donald Duck's three almost identical nephews, first appear in a newspaper comic strip.

November 1937

Friday 05:

World War II: Adolf Hitler holds a secret meeting and states his plans for acquiring "living space" for the German people.

Monday 08:

The Nazi exhibition Der ewige Jude ("the eternal Jew") opens in Munich.

Tuesday 09:

Japanese troops take control of Shanghai, China.

December 1937

Thursday 09:

Battle of Nanjing begins.

Saturday 11:

Italy leaves the League of Nations

Monday 13:

Battle of Nanjing concludes with the Japanese victory and the fall of the city which became the site of the Nanjing Massacre

Wednesday 22:

The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York City.

Wednesday 29:

The Irish Free State was replaced by a new state called Ireland when a new constitution was adopted.