Category Archives: 1930s

VP Garner tells FDR ‘you’re beat’ on ‘court-packing plan’ 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (July 20 1937)


Video: 'Reshaping the Supreme Court' (July 20, 1937, at 1:37)

(Tuesday, July 20, 1937, 4:30-5:50 p.m. EDT) — U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Vice President John Garner today what his chances were with Congress regarding his plan to increase the number of Supreme Court justices to obtain favorable rulings regarding New Deal legislation. Continue reading VP Garner tells FDR ‘you’re beat’ on ‘court-packing plan’ 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (July 20 1937)

Composer George Gershwin, 38, dies of brain tumor 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 11 1937)


Video: 'George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue'

(Sunday, July 11, 1937, 10:35 a.m. PDT) — American composer and pianist George Gershwin, 38, died today five hours after being operated on for removal of a brain tumor at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles. Continue reading Composer George Gershwin, 38, dies of brain tumor 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 11 1937)

Japanese forces attack Marco Polo Bridge, Second Sino-Japanese War begins 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 7 1937)


Video: 'The Marco Polo Bridge Incident'

(Wednesday, July 7, 1937, 11:00 p.m. local time) — The Second Sino-Japanese War, a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, erupted into full-scale conflict tonight as Imperial Japanese forces attacked the Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing. Continue reading Japanese forces attack Marco Polo Bridge, Second Sino-Japanese War begins 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 7 1937)

Aviator Amelia Earhart disappears over Pacific Ocean 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 2 1937)


Video: 'World of Mysteries - In Search of Amelia Earhart'

(Friday, July 2, 1937, 8:43 a.m. local time/4:43 p.m. EDT) — Aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared today over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight along the equator in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10 Electra. Continue reading Aviator Amelia Earhart disappears over Pacific Ocean 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jul 2 1937)

‘A Day at the Races’ opens in New York City 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 17 1937)


Video: 'A Day at the Races' trailer

(Thursday, June 17, 1937, doors opened at 9:45 a.m. EDT)A Day at the Races, the seventh film starring the three Marx Brothers, about a group of zanies who try to save a pretty girl’s sanitarium, opened today at Capitol theater in New York City. Continue reading ‘A Day at the Races’ opens in New York City 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 17 1937)

Film star Jean Harlow, 26, dies in Hollywood 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 7 1937)


Video: 'TCM Star of the Month: Jean Harlow'

(Monday, June 7, 1937, 11:37 a.m. PDT) — American film actress and sex symbol Jean Harlow, 26, died today at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles of cerebral edema, a complication of kidney failure. Continue reading Film star Jean Harlow, 26, dies in Hollywood 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 7 1937)

Edward, The Duke of Windsor, marries Wallis Simpson in France 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 3 1937)


Video: 'Wedding - Duke And Duchess Of Windsor (1937)'

(Thursday, June 3, 1937, noon CEST) — 42-year-old Edward, The Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the British throne, married twice-divorced, American-born Wallis Simpson, 40, today in a private ceremony at the Château de Candé in Monts, France. Continue reading Edward, The Duke of Windsor, marries Wallis Simpson in France 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 3 1937)

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge opens 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 27 1937)


Video: 'The Golden Gate Bridge Opens - 1937 | Today in History | 27 May 16'

(Thursday, May 27, 1937, 6:00 a.m. PDT) — The Golden Gate Bridge, the longest suspension bridge main span in the world (until 1964) at 4,200 feet, linking San Francisco, California, to Marin County over the Golden Gate strait, was opened to pedestrian traffic today (vehicles began crossing the next day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington signaling that vehicular traffic could begin crossing the bridge). Continue reading San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge opens 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 27 1937)

‘Captains Courageous’ premieres in New York City 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 11 1937)


Video: 'Captains Courageous' trailer

(Thursday, May 11, 1937, 8:45 p.m. EDT)Captains Courageous, an adventure film about a spoiled rich boy who is lost at sea and rescued by a fishing boat, where hard work and responsibility help him become a man, had its world premiere tonight at the Astor theater in New York City. Continue reading ‘Captains Courageous’ premieres in New York City 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 11 1937)

FDR and LBJ meet in Galveston, Texas 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 11 1937)


Video: 'PBS LBJ Part 1' (1937 campaign at 5:38)

(Saturday, May 11, 1937, 9:10 a.m. CDT) — One month after Lyndon B. Johnson, 28, was elected to Congress, his political hero, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, stopped today in Galveston, Texas, on his return from a fishing trip and posed with the new lawmaker and Governor James Allred. Continue reading FDR and LBJ meet in Galveston, Texas 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 11 1937)