Also Within This Year in History:
1939
As the Depression era ended, World War II began. Nazi troops goosestepped into Poland, and in response, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Hitler ally Francisco Franco seized power in Spain, having defeated the democratically elected government in the Spanish Civil War. In the still-neutral U.S., a terrorist bomb exploded at the New York World’s Fair, while in fictional Gotham City, Batman made his comic book debut. College students, meanwhile, battled to see who could gulp the most live goldfish.
Arthur “Doc” Barker is killed while trying to escape from Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay. Barker, of the notorious “Bloody Barkers” gang, was spotted on the rock‑strewn shore of…
An 8.3‑magnitude earthquake centered in south central Chile leaves 50,000 people dead and 60,000 injured on this day in 1939. The disaster came just 33 years after another terrible quake…
During the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona, the Republican capital of Spain, falls to the Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco. In 1931, King Alfonso XIII approved elections to decide the…
Six and a half months before Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, New York City’s Madison Square Garden hosted a rally to celebrate the rise of Nazism in Germany. Inside, more than…
Hitler’s forces invade and occupy Czechoslovakia, proving the futility of the Munich Pact, an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Germany’s imperial aims. On September 30, 1938, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, French…
The University of Oregon defeats The Ohio State University 46–33 on March 27, 1939 to win the first‑ever NCAA men’s basketball tournament. “March Madness,” as the tournament became known, has…
In Spain, the Republican defenders of Madrid raise the white flag over the city, bringing an end to the fighting of the bloody three‑year Spanish Civil War. Three days later,…
On March 30, 1939, Detective Comics No. 27 appears on the nation’s newsstands, introducing the world to a new superhero, the Batman. Dated May 1939, the comic book featured the…
On this day in 1939, in an effort to mimic Hitler’s conquest of Prague, Benito Mussolini’s troops, though badly organized, invade and occupy Albania. Although the invasion of Albania was…
After being denied the opportunity to sing in a famous Washington, D.C.. concert hall due to the color of her skin, opera star Marian Anderson takes an even bigger—and more…
On Easter Sunday in 1939, more than 75,000 people came to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., to hear famed African‑American contralto Marian Anderson give a free open‑air concert. Anderson…
On this day, the USS Astoria arrives in Japan under the command of Richmond Kelly Turner in an attempt to photograph the Japanese battleships Yamato and Musashi. U.S. Navy Rear…
On April 30, 1939, the New York World’s Fair opens in New York City. The opening ceremony, which featured speeches by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and New York Governor Herbert…
On May 2, 1939, New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig benches himself for poor play and ends his streak of consecutive games played at 2,130. “The Iron Horse” was…
On May 22, 1939, Italy and Germany agree to a military and political alliance, giving birth formally to the Axis powers, which will ultimately include Japan. Mussolini coined the nickname…
A boat carrying 937 refugees, almost all of whom are Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, is turned away from Havana, Cuba, on May 27, 1939. Only 28 immigrants are admitted into…
King George VI becomes the first reigning British monarch to visit the United States when he and his wife, Elizabeth, cross the Canadian‑U.S. border to Niagara Falls, New York. The…
On June 10, 1939, one of the most famous scenes in movie history is filmed: Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara parting in Gone with the Wind. Director Victor Fleming also…
On this day in 1939, Wes Craven, the man responsible for terrorizing millions of moviegoers with his Nightmare on Elm Street series and Scream trilogy, is born in Cleveland, Ohio.…
From his home on Long Island, New York, German‑born physicist Albert Einstein writes to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging “watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action” on the part of the…
