January 5
January 5
Construction begins on Golden Gate Bridge
On this day in 1933, construction starts on what will become one of America’s most famous landmarks: the Golden Gate Bridge. When completed in 1937, the Golden Gate has a…
A Year In History: 1933
Also Within This Year in History:
1933
As the Great Depression continued worldwide, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. Nazis declared a national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses and opened their first concentration camp, Dachau. In the U.S., after President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt narrowly escaped assassination, he inaugurated his New Deal programs, ended Prohibition and began speaking directly to Americans with radio fireside chats. A “monster” appeared in Scotland’s Loch Ness, King Kong loomed large on movie screens and the first drive-in theater opened in New Jersey.
January 5
January 5
Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge
On January 5, 1933, construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the structure’s huge anchorages. Following the Gold Rush…
January 15
January 15
The utopian Amana colony embraces capitalism
After nearly a century of cooperative living, the utopian Amana colonists of Iowa begin using U.S. currency for the first time. The wide‑open spaces of the West have always appealed…
January 30
January 30
Adolf Hitler is named chancellor of Germany
On January 30, 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader or führer of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party), as chancellor of Germany. The year…
January 31
January 31
“The Lone Ranger” debuts on Detroit radio
With the stirring notes of the William Tell Overture and a shout of “Hi‑yo, Silver! Away!” “The Lone Ranger” debuts on Detroit’s WXYZ radio station on January 31, 1933. The…
February 15
February 15
FDR escapes assassination attempt in Miami
On February 15, 1933, a deranged, unemployed brick layer named Giuseppe Zangara shouts “Too many people are starving!” and fires a gun at America’s president‑elect, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt had…
February 15
February 15
The death penalty–then and now
Giuseppe Zangara shoots Anton Cermak, the mayor of Chicago, in Miami, Florida. Zangara’s shots missed President‑elect Franklin Roosevelt, who was with Cermak at the time. Cermak was seriously wounded and…
February 16
February 16
David O. Selznick returns to MGM
On this day in 1933, David O. Selznick becomes vice president and producer at MGM. Selznick became one of the most influential independent producers of his time. Selznick got his…
March 4
March 4
FDR inaugurated
On March 4, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United States. In his famous inaugural address, delivered…
March 12
March 12
FDR broadcasts first ‘fireside chat’ during the Great Depression
On March 12, 1933, eight days after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives his first national radio address—or “fireside chat”—broadcast directly from the White House. Roosevelt began that first…
March 12
March 12
FDR broadcasts first fireside chat
On this day in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt holds the first of his radio‑broadcast fireside chats. FDR used the informal radio addresses to explain his policies to the American…
March 18
March 18
Studebaker goes bankrupt
On this day in 1933, American automaker Studebaker, then heavily in debt, goes into receivership. The company’s president, Albert Erskine, resigned and later that year died by suicide. Studebaker eventually…
March 22
March 22
FDR legalizes sale of beer and wine
On March 22, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Beer and Wine Revenue Act. This law levies a federal tax on all alcoholic beverages to raise revenue for the…
March 25
March 25
USS Sequoia becomes presidential yacht
On this day in 1933, President Herbert Hoover accepts the newly commissioned USS Sequoia as the official presidential yacht. For 44 years, the Sequoia served as an occasional venue for…
April 4
April 4
Dirigible crash kills 73 in New Jersey
On April 4, 1933, a dirigible crashes in New Jersey, killing 73 people in one of the first air disasters in history. The Akron was the largest airship built in…
April 4
April 4
Man who took NASCAR mainstream is born
Bill France Jr., the leading force behind the transformation of the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) from a regional sport into a multibillion‑dollar industry with fans worldwide,…
April 5
April 5
FDR creates precursor to Civilian Conservation Corps
On April 5, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order creating an agency called “Emergency Conservation Work.” This would later be subsumed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC),…
April 10
April 10
Civilian Conservation Corps created
The Civilian Conservation Corps, a tool for employing young men and improving the government’s vast holdings of western land, is created in Washington, D.C. One of the dozens of New…
April 20
April 20
FDR suspends the gold standard for U.S. currency
On April 20, 1933, the United States went off the gold standard, a monetary system in which currency is backed by gold, when Congress enacted a joint resolution nullifying the…
April 22
April 22
Rolls‑Royce co‑founder dies
Frederick Henry Royce, who with Charles Stewart Rolls founded the luxury British automaker Rolls‑Royce, dies on this day in 1933 at the age of 70 in England. Royce was born…
