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January

*
January 1 January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in the Gregorian Calendar; 364 days remain until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. __TOC__ Events ...
State-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
networks are created by merger, in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
(
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
) and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
(
Nederlandse Spoorwegen (, , NS ) is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The rail infrastructure is maintained by network manager ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003. Freight operato ...
– NS). *
January 20 Events Pre-1600 * 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. *1156 – Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry (bishop of Finland), Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Köyliönjärvi, Lake Köyli� ...
– King
Farouk of Egypt Farouk I (; ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936 and reigning until his ...
marries Safinaz Zulficar, who becomes
Queen Farida Farida (born Safinaz Zulficar 5 September 1921 – 16 October 1988) was the queen of Egypt for nearly eleven years as the first wife of King Farouk. She was the first queen of Egypt since Cleopatra to have left seclusion and played a public r ...
, in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
. *
January 27 Events Pre-1600 * 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor. * 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to become monks by Constantine VII, who becomes sole emperor of the ...
– The Honeymoon Bridge at
Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagar ...
, collapses as a result of an
ice jam Ice jams occur when the ice that is drifting down-current in a river comes to a stop, for instance, at a river bend, when it contacts the river bed in a shallow area, or against bridge piers. Doing so increases the resistance to flow, thereby in ...
.


February

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February 4 Events Pre–1600 * 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrellin ...
**
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
abolishes the War Ministry and creates the
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht The (; abbreviated OKW
ː kaːˈve The colon alphabetic letter is used in a number of languages and phonetic transcription systems, for vowel length in Americanist Phonetic Notation, for the vowels and in a number of languages of Papua New Guinea, and for grammatical tone in s ...
Armed Forces High Command) was the Command (military formation), supreme military command and control Staff (military), staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf ...
(High Command of the Armed Forces), giving him direct control of the German military. In addition, he dismisses political and military leaders considered unsympathetic to his philosophy or policies. General
Werner von Fritsch Thomas Ludwig Werner Freiherr von Fritsch (4 August 1880 – 22 September 1939) was a German ''Generaloberst'' (Full General, full general) who served as Oberkommando des Heeres, Commander-in-Chief of the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army fro ...
is forced to resign as Commander of Chief of the German Army following accusations of homosexuality, and replaced by General
Walther von Brauchitsch Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch (4 October 1881 – 18 October 1948) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) and Commander-in-Chief (''Oberbefehlshaber'') of the German Army during the first two years of World War ...
. Foreign Minister Baron
Konstantin von Neurath Konstantin Hermann Karl Freiherr von Neurath (2 February 1873 – 14 August 1956) was a German politician, diplomat and convicted Nazi war criminal who served as Foreign Minister of Germany between 1932 and 1938. Born to a Swabian noble famil ...
is dismissed, and replaced by
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...
. ** Walt Disney's ''
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...
'', the first
cel A cel, short for '' celluloid'', is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th cent ...
-animated feature in motion picture history, is released in the United States, following a premiere on December 21 of the previous year. *
February 6 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Hormizd IV, king of the Sasanian Empire, is overthrown and blinded by his brothers-in-law Vistahm and Vinduyih. * 1579 – The Diocese of Manila is erected by papal bull, with Domingo de Salazar appointe ...
– Black Sunday at
Bondi Beach Bondi Beach () is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of ...
,
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Australia: 300 swimmers are dragged out to sea in 3 freak waves; 80 lifesavers save all but 5. *
February 10 Events Pre-1600 * 1258 – The Siege of Baghdad ends with the surrender of the last Abbasid caliph to Hulegu Khan, a prince of the Mongol Empire. * 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bru ...
**
Carol II of Romania Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, in 1914. He was the f ...
takes dictatorial powers. **
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
:
Bombing of Chongqing The bombing of Chongqing (, ), from 18 February 1938 to 19 December 1944, was a series of massive terror bombing operations authorized by the Empire of Japan's Imperial General Headquarters and conducted by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Servic ...
begins. *
February 12 Events Pre-1600 * 1096 – Pope Urban II confirms the foundation of the abbey of La Roë under Robert of Arbrissel as a community of canons regular. * 1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sofia performed the first post- ...
– Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg of Austria meets
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
at
Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...
and, under threat of invasion, is forced to yield to German demands for greater
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
participation in the Austrian government. *
February 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. * 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Fer ...
– The
Battle of Teruel The Battle of Teruel was fought in and around the city of Teruel during the Spanish Civil War between December 1937 and February 1938, during the worst Spanish winter in 20 years.Hugh Purcell, p. 95. The battle was one of the bloodiest actions of ...
ends in a
Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
victory with recapture of the city, a turning point in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. *
February 24 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. * 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. ...
– A
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
bristle
toothbrush A toothbrush is a special type of brush used to clean the Human tooth, teeth, gingiva, gums, and tongue. It consists of a head of tightly clustered bristles, atop of which toothpaste can be applied, mounted on a handle (grip), handle which facil ...
becomes the first commercial product to be made with nylon yarn.


March

*
March 1 Events Pre-1600 * 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocleti ...
Lee Byung-chul Lee Byung-chul (; 12 February 1910 – 19 November 1987) was a South Korean businessman who founded the Samsung Group, the country's largest chaebol ( conglomerate). Lee founded Samsung in 1938, at the age of 28. He is recognized as the most ...
establishes a trucking business in
Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...
, Korea, which he names Samsung Trading Co, the forerunner to
Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
. *
March 3 Events Pre-1600 * 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. * 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan. * 1575 ...
** The
Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino and Riversid ...
in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, United States, spills over its banks during a rainy winter, killing 58 people in Orange County, and causing trouble as far inland as Palm Springs. ** Sir
Nevile Henderson Sir Nevile Meyrick Henderson (10 June 1882 – 30 December 1942) was a British diplomat who served as the ambassador of the United Kingdom to Nazi Germany, Germany from 1937 to 1939. Early life and education Henderson was born at Sedgwick, Wes ...
, British Ambassador to Germany, presents a proposal to Hitler for an international consortium to rule much of Africa (in which Germany would be assigned a leading role), in exchange for a German promise never to resort to war to change her frontiers; Hitler rejects the British offer. *
March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. * 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of th ...
– ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
:'' German troops occupy Austria; annexation is declared the following day. *
March 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland. * 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the H ...
– French Premier
Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister of France. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of socialist l ...
reassures the Czechoslovak government that France will honor its treaty obligations to aid
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, in the event of a German invasion. *
March 17 Events Pre-1600 * 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. * 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of ...
– Poland presents an ultimatum to
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
, to establish normal diplomatic relations that were severed over the
Vilnius Region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territory ...
. *
March 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized Ferrara, a papal fiefdom. * 1329 – Pope John XXII ...
– Italian mathematician
Ettore Majorana Ettore Majorana ( ,, uploaded 19 April 2013, retrieved 14 December 2019 ; 5 August 1906 – disappeared 25 March 1938) was an Italian theoretical physicist who worked on neutrino masses. Majorana was a supporter of Italian Fascism and a member of ...
disappears suddenly under mysterious circumstances, while travelling by ship from
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
to
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
. *
March 28 Events Pre-1600 * AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate. * 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Did ...
– At a meeting with Hitler in Berlin, Konrad Henlein is instructed to make increasing demands concerning the status of the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
, but to avoid reaching an agreement with Czechoslovak authorities. *
March 30 Events Pre-1600 * 598 – Avar–Byzantine wars: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro- Slavic army is decimated by the plague. * 1282 ...
– Italy's ''
Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word , 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 192 ...
''
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
is granted equal power over the Italian military to that of King
Victor Emmanuel III Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albani ...
, as First Marshal of the Empire.


April

*
April 10 Events Pre-1600 * 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. * 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). * 140 ...
**
Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical Party (France), Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, who was the Prime Minister of France in 1933, 1934 and again from 1938 to 1940. he signed the Munich Agreeme ...
becomes prime minister of France. He appoints as Foreign Minister a leading advocate of the policy of
appeasement Appeasement, in an International relations, international context, is a diplomacy, diplomatic negotiation policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power (international relations), power with intention t ...
,
Georges Bonnet Georges-Étienne Bonnet (; 23 July 1889 – 18 June 1973) was a French politician who served as foreign minister in 1938 and 1939 and was a leading figure in the Radical Party. Early life and career Bonnet was born in Bassillac, Dordogne, t ...
, effectively negating Blum's reassurances of March 14. ** In a result that astonishes even Hitler, the Austrian electorate in a national referendum approves
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
by an overwhelming 99.73%. *
April 16 Events Pre-1600 * 1457 BC – Battle of Megido – the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail. * 69 – Defeated by Vitellius' troops at Bedriacum, Roman emperor Otho commits suicide. * ...
– The UK and Italy sign an agreement that sees Britain recognise Italian control of Ethiopia (formally on November 16), in return for an Italian pledge to withdraw all its 10,000 troops from Spain, at the conclusion of the civil war there. *
April 18 Events Pre-1600 * 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days. * 1428 – Peace of Ferrara ...
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
first appears in ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover date June). The date is established in court documents released during the legal battle over the rights to Superman (on April 18, 2018, DC Comics released ''Action Comics'' #1000). *
April 24 Events Pre-1600 * 1479 BC – Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty). * 1183 BC – Traditional reckoning of the Fall of Troy ...
Konstantin Päts Konstantin Päts ( – 18 January 1956) was an Estonian statesman and the country's president from 1938 to 1940. Päts was one of the most influential politicians of the independent democratic Republic of Estonia, and during the two decades p ...
becomes the first
President of Estonia The president of the Republic of Estonia () is the head of state of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The current president is Alar Karis, elected by Parliament on 31 August 2021, replacing Kersti Kaljulaid. Estonia is one of the few parliam ...
.


May

*
May 5 Events Pre-1600 * 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins. * 1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. * 1260 – ...
** The
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
recognizes
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
's government in Spain. ** General
Ludwig Beck Ludwig August Theodor Beck (; 29 June 1880 – 20 July 1944) was a German general who served as Chief of the German General Staff from 1933 to 1938. Beck was one of the main conspirators of the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. ...
, Chief of the German Army's General Staff, submits a memorandum to Hitler opposing ''
Fall Grün Operation Green () or Case Green () was the name of three separate cancelled German military operations immediately before and during the Second World War. *Fall Grün (Czechoslovakia), the planned invasion of Czechoslovakia, to be carried out in S ...
'' (Case Green), the plan for a war with Czechoslovakia, under the grounds that Germany is ill-prepared for the world war likely to result from such an attack. *
May 12 Events Pre-1600 * 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism. * 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the ...
– U.S. Secretary of State
Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevel ...
rejects the Soviet Union's offer of a joint defence pact, to counter the rise of Nazi Germany. *
May 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1027 – Robert II of France Robert II ( 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious () or the Wise (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Juni ...
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
withdraws from the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
. *
May 19 Events Pre-1600 * 639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace. * 715 – Pope Gregory II is elected. * 934 – The Byzantine Empire reconquers Melitene under ...
May Crisis 1938 The May Crisis was a brief episode of international tension in 1938 caused by reports of German troop movements against Czechoslovakia that appeared to signal the imminent outbreak of war in Europe. Although the state of high anxiety soon subsided ...
:
Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...
intelligence receives reports of menacing
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
military concentrations (it later appears the reports are false). *
May 20 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. * 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed '' Augusta'' is able to choose h ...
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
orders a partial mobilization of its armed forces along the German border. *
May 21 Events Pre-1600 * 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as '' Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. * 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlab ...
Tsuyama massacre The was a revenge mass murder that occurred on the night of 21 May 1938 in the rural village of Kamo close to Tsuyama in Okayama, Empire of Japan. , a 21-year-old man, killed 30 people, including his grandmother, with a Browning Auto-5, Brownin ...
: Matsuo Toi kills 30 people in a village in
Okayama is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, in the world's worst
spree killing A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders in a short time, often in multiple locations. There are different opinions about what durations of time a killing spree may take place in. The United States ...
by an individual until
1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...
. *
May 23 Events Pre-1600 * 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction. * 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. *1533 – The marriage of King Henry ...
– No evidence of German troop movements against
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
is found, and the May Crisis subsides.
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
is, nevertheless, perceived to have backed down in the face of Czechoslovak mobilization and international diplomatic unity, but the issue of the future of the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
is far from resolved. *
May 25 Events Pre-1600 * 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. * 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes ...
**
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
:
Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...
is bombed by fascist rebels, resulting in 313 deaths. ** The
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
ambassador to the United States, A. A. Troyanovsky, declares Moscow ready to defend
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. *
May 28 Events Pre-1600 * 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from ...
– In a conference at the
Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery () was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared since 1875, was the fo ...
,
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
declares his decision to destroy
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
by military force, and orders the immediate mobilization of 96 Wehrmacht divisions. *
May 30 Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within . * 1381 – ...
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
issues a revised directive for ''
Fall Grün Operation Green () or Case Green () was the name of three separate cancelled German military operations immediately before and during the Second World War. *Fall Grün (Czechoslovakia), the planned invasion of Czechoslovakia, to be carried out in S ...
'' ("Case Green") – the invasion of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
– to be carried out by October 1, 1938.


June

*
June 5 Events Pre-1600 * 830 – Theodora is crowned Byzantine empress and marries then emperor Theophilos in the Hagia Sophia. She is credited with restoring orthodoxy and the icons. * 1086 – Tutush, brother of Seljuk sultan Malik Sh ...
& 7 – The
1938 Yellow River flood The 1938 Yellow River flood () was a man-made flood from June 1938 to January 1947 created by the intentional destruction of levees on the Yellow River in Huayuankou, Henan, by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) during the Second Sino-Japan ...
is created by the
Nationalist government The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...
in central
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, breaching embankments during the early stage of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
, in an attempt to halt the rapid advance of Japanese forces. The flood kills at least 400,000, covers and destroys thousands of square kilometers of farmland, and shifts the mouth of the
Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...
hundreds of kilometers to the south. *
June 11 Events Pre-1600 * 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty ( 171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle ...
– Fire destroys 214 buildings in
Ludza Ludza (; , , , , ''Ludza'') is a town in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia. Ludza is the oldest town in Latvia and this is commemorated by a key in its coat of arms. Ludza is the administrative centre of Ludza Municipality that is located near ...
,
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. *
June 15 Events Pre-1600 * 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. * 844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II. * 923 – Battle of So ...
László Bíró patents the
ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali English and South Asian English), is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) ...
in Britain. *
June 19 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. * 1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle cha ...
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
beats
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
4–2, to win the
1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the 3rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in France from 4 to 19 June 1938. Italy national ...
. *
June 22 Events Pre-1600 *217 BC – Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. *168 BC – Battle of Pydna: Roman Republic, Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, Luciu ...
Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
champion
Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed "the Brown Bomber", Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He r ...
knocks out
Max Schmeling Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxing, boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cul ...
in the first round of their rematch, at
Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...
in New York City. *
June 25 Events Pre-1600 * 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce. * 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of ...
– Dr.
Douglas Hyde Douglas Ross Hyde (; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician, and diplomat who served as the first president of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a l ...
takes office as the first
President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
.


July

*
July July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., being the month of his birth. Before the ...
– The
Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 f ...
is built in Austria. *
July 1 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and ...
– The
South African Press Association The South African Press Association (SAPA) was the national news agency of South Africa from 1938 until its closure on 31 March 2015. History The agency was established on 1 July 1938 by major South African newspapers to facilitate the sharing ...
is established, with offices in
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
,
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
,
Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...
,
Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...
and Pretoria. * July 3 ** The steam locomotive ''LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard, Mallard'' sets the world speed record for steam, by reaching 125.88 mph on the London and North Eastern Railway. ** The last reunion of the Blue and Confederate States of America, Gray commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. * July 5 – The Non-Intervention Committee reaches an agreement to withdraw all foreign volunteers from the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. The agreement is respected by most Republican International Brigades, notably those from England and the United States, but is ignored by the governments of Germany and Italy. * July 6 – The Evian Conference on Refugees is convened in France. No country in Europe is prepared to accept Jews fleeing persecution, and the United States will take only 27,370. * July 14 – Howard Hughes sets a new record, by completing a 91-hour airplane flight around the world. * July 18 – Wrong Way Corrigan takes off from New York, ostensibly heading for California. He lands in Ireland instead. * July 22 – Britain rejects a proposal from its ambassador in Berlin,
Nevile Henderson Sir Nevile Meyrick Henderson (10 June 1882 – 30 December 1942) was a British diplomat who served as the ambassador of the United Kingdom to Nazi Germany, Germany from 1937 to 1939. Early life and education Henderson was born at Sedgwick, Wes ...
, for a four-power summit on Czechoslovakia consisting of Britain, France, Germany and the U.S.S.R., as London will under no circumstances accept the U.S.S.R. as a diplomatic partner. * July 24 – The north face of the Eiger in the Alps is first ascended. * July 28 ** 1938 Greek coup d'état attempt: A revolt against the Ioannis Metaxas dictatorship in Greece is put down in Chania. ** Pan American World Airways, Pan Am flying boat ''Hawaii Clipper'' disappears with 6 passengers and 9 crew members, en route from Guam to Manila.


August

* August – In the face of overwhelming Japanese military pressure, Chiang Kai-shek withdraws his government to Chungking. * August 10 – At a secret summit with his leading generals, Hitler attacks General Beck's arguments against ''Fall Grün'', winning the majority of his senior officers over to his point of view. * August 18 – Colonel General
Ludwig Beck Ludwig August Theodor Beck (; 29 June 1880 – 20 July 1944) was a German general who served as Chief of the German General Staff from 1933 to 1938. Beck was one of the main conspirators of the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. ...
, convinced that Hitler's decision to attack
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
will lead to a general European war, resigns his position as Chief of the Army General Staff in protest. * August 23 – Hitler, hosting a dinner on board the ocean liner ''Patria'' in Kiel Bay, tells the Regent of Hungary, Admiral Horthy, that action against Czechoslovakia is imminent and that "he who wants to sit at the table must at least help in the kitchen", a reference to Horthy's designs on Carpathian Ruthenia.


September

* September – The European crisis over German demands for annexation of the Sudetenland, Sudeten borderland of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
becomes increasingly severe. * September 5 –
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
n President Edvard Beneš invites mid-level representatives of the Sudeten Germans Hradčany Palace, to tell them he will accept whatever demands they care to make, provided the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
remains part of the First Czechoslovak Republic, Republic of Czechoslovakia. * September 6 – What eventually proves to be the last of the "Nuremberg Rallies" begins. It draws worldwide attention because it is widely assumed that
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
, in his closing remarks, will signal whether there will be peace with or war over
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. * September 7 – ''The Times'' publishes a lead article, which calls on
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
to cede the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
to Germany. * September 10 – Hermann Göring, in a speech at Nuremberg, calls the Czechs a "miserable pygmy race" who are "harassing the human race". That same evening, Edvard Beneš, President of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, makes a broadcast in which he appeals for calm. * September 12 –
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
makes his much-anticipated closing address at Nuremberg, in which he vehemently attacks the Czechs, Czech people and President Beneš. American news commentator H. V. Kaltenborn, Hans von Kaltenborn begins his famous marathon of broadcast bulletins over the CBS Radio Network, with a summation of Hitler's address. * September 13 – The followers of Konrad Henlein begin an armed revolt against the Czechoslovak government in
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
. Martial law is declared and after much bloodshed on both sides order is temporarily restored. Neville Chamberlain personally sends a telegram to
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
, urgently requesting that they both meet. * September 15 – Neville Chamberlain arrives in
Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...
, to begin negotiations with
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
over the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
. * September 16 – Lord Runciman is recalled to London from Prague, in order to brief the British government on the situation in the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
. * September 17 – Neville Chamberlain returns temporarily to London, to confer with his cabinet. The U.S.S.R. Red Army masses along the Ukrainian frontier. Rumania agrees to allow Soviet soldiers free passage across her territory to defend Czechoslovakia. * September 18 **During a meeting between Neville Chamberlain, the recently elected Premier of France,
Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical Party (France), Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, who was the Prime Minister of France in 1933, 1934 and again from 1938 to 1940. he signed the Munich Agreeme ...
, and Daladier's Foreign Minister,
Georges Bonnet Georges-Étienne Bonnet (; 23 July 1889 – 18 June 1973) was a French politician who served as foreign minister in 1938 and 1939 and was a leading figure in the Radical Party. Early life and career Bonnet was born in Bassillac, Dordogne, t ...
, it becomes apparent that neither the British nor the French governments are prepared to go to war over the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
. The Soviet Union declares it will come to the defence of Czechoslovakia only if France honours her commitment to defend Czechoslovak independence. **Mussolini makes a speech in Trieste, Italy, where he indicates that Italy is supporting Germany in the Sudeten crisis. * September 21 ** In the early hours of the day, representatives of the French and British governments call on Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš, to tell him France and Britain will not fight
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
if he decides to annex the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
by force. Late in the afternoon, the Czechoslovak government capitulates to the French and British demands. ** Winston Churchill warns of grave consequences to European security, if
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
is partitioned. The same day, Soviet Foreign Commissar Maxim Litvinov makes a similar statement in the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
. ** Following the capitulation of the Czech government to Germany's demands, both Poland and Hungary demand slices of Czech territory where their nationals reside. ** The 1938 New England hurricane in the United States strikes Long Island and southern New England, killing over 300 along the Rhode Island shoreline and 600 altogether. * September 22 ** Unable to survive the previous day's capitulation to the demands of the British and French governments, Czechoslovak premier Milan Hodža resigns. General Jan Syrový takes his place. ** Neville Chamberlain arrives in the city of Bad Godesberg, for another round of talks with
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
over the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
crisis. Hitler raises his demands to include occupation of all German Sudeten territories by October 1. That night after a telephone conference, Chamberlain reverses himself and advises the Czechoslovaks to mobilize. * September 23 ** The
Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...
army mobilizes. ** As the Polish army masses along the Czech border, the Soviet Union warns Poland that if it crosses the Czech frontier, Russia will regard the 1932 non-aggression pact between the two countries as void. * September 24 ** Sir Eric Phipps, British Ambassador to France, reports to London, "all that is best in France is against war, almost at any price", being opposed only by a "small, but noisy and corrupt, war group". Phipps's report creates major doubts about the ability and/or willingness of France to go to war. ** At 1:30 AM,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
and Neville Chamberlain conclude their talks on the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
. Chamberlain agrees to take Hitler's demands, codified in the Godesberg Memorandum, personally to the Czech Government. The Czech Government rejects the demands, as does Chamberlain's own cabinet. The French Government also initially rejects the terms and orders a partial mobilization of the French army. * September 25 – British Royal Navy is ordered to sea. * September 26 – In a vitriolic speech at Berlin's Sportpalast, Hitler defies the world and implies war with
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
will begin at any time. * September 28 – As his self-imposed October 1 deadline for occupation of the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
approaches,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
invites Italian Duce Benito Mussolini, French Premier Edourd Deladier and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to one last conference in Munich. The Czechs themselves are not invited. * September 29 ** Colonel Graham Christie, former British military attaché in Berlin, is told by Carl Friedrich Goerdeler that the mobilization of the Royal Navy has badly damaged the popularity of the Nazi regime, as the German public realizes that ''
Fall Grün Operation Green () or Case Green () was the name of three separate cancelled German military operations immediately before and during the Second World War. *Fall Grün (Czechoslovakia), the planned invasion of Czechoslovakia, to be carried out in S ...
'' is likely to cause a world war. ** Munich Agreement: German, Italian, British and French leaders agree to German demands regarding annexation of the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. The Czechoslovak government is largely excluded from the negotiations, and is not a signatory to the agreement. ** The Republic of Hatay is declared in Syria. * September 30 – Neville Chamberlain returns to Britain from meeting with Adolf Hitler, and declares "Peace for our time".


October

* October – The Imperial Japanese Army largely overruns Guangzhou, Canton. * October 1 – German troops march into the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...
. The Polish government gives the Czech government an ultimatum, stating that Trans-Olza region must be handed over within twenty-four hours. The Czechs have little choice but to comply; Polish forces occupy Trans-Olza. * October 2 ** 1938 Tiberias massacre, Tiberias massacre: Arab raiders murder 19 Jewish immigrants. ** Disgusted with Neville Chamberlain's conduct at Munich, Duff Cooper resigns his post as First Lord of the Admiralty. With his resignation, formal debate begins in the Parliament of the United Kingdom on the Munich Agreement, but with Chamberlain at the peak of his popularity, there can be little doubt His Majesty's Government will receive a vote of confidence. * October 4 – The Republican forces in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
begin withdrawing their foreign volunteers from combat, as agreed on July 5. * October 5 **Edvard Beneš, president of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, resigns. **Nuremberg Laws: In Nazi Germany, Jews' passports are invalidated, and those who need a passport for emigration purposes are given one marked with the letter J ("Jude" – "Jew").Nazi Germany and the Jews: 1938 – "The Fateful Year"
on the Yad Vashem website
* October 16 – Winston Churchill, in a broadcast address to the United States, condemns the Munich Agreement as a defeat, and calls upon America and western Europe to prepare for armed resistance against Hitler. * October 18 – The German government expels 12,000 Polish Jews living in Germany; the Polish government accepts 4,000 and refuses admittance to the remaining 8,000, who are forced to live in the no-man's land on the German-Polish frontier. * October 21 – In direct contravention of the recently signed Munich Agreement,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
circulates among his high command a secret memorandum stating that they should prepare for the "liquidation of the rest of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
" and the occupation of Klaipėda Region, Memel. * October 24 ** French Foreign Minister
Georges Bonnet Georges-Étienne Bonnet (; 23 July 1889 – 18 June 1973) was a French politician who served as foreign minister in 1938 and 1939 and was a leading figure in the Radical Party. Early life and career Bonnet was born in Bassillac, Dordogne, t ...
carries out a major purge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (France), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dismissing or exiling a number of anti-appeasement officials such as Pierre Comert and René Massigli. ** At a "friendly luncheon" in
Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...
, German foreign minister
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...
tells Józef Lipski, the Polish ambassador to Germany, that the Free City of Danzig must return to Germany, that the Germans must be given extraterritorial rights in the Polish Corridor, and that Poland must sign the Anti-Comintern Pact. * October 27 – DuPont announces a name for its new synthetic yarn: "
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
".


November

* November 2 – Arising from The Munich Agreement, Hungary is "First Vienna Award, awarded" the Felvidek region of South Slovakia and Ruthenia. * November 7 – Ernst vom Rath, the Third Secretary at the German Embassy in Paris, is assassinated by Herschel Grynszpan. * November 9 – Holocaust – Kristallnacht: In Germany, the "night of broken glass" begins as Nazism, Nazi activists and sympathizers loot and burn Jewish businesses (the all night affair sees 7,500 Jewish businesses destroyed, 267 synagogues burned, 91 Jews killed and at least 25,000 Jewish men arrested). One of several significant events on 9 November in German history. * November 11 ** İsmet İnönü becomes the second president of Turkey. ** Celâl Bayar forms the new government of Turkey (10th government; Celal Bayar had served twice as a prime minister). * November 12 – French Finance Minister Paul Reynaud brings into effect a series of laws aiming at improving French productivity (thus aiming to undo the economic weaknesses which led to Munich), and undoes most of the economic and social laws of the Popular Front. * November 16 – LSD is first synthesized by Albert Hofmann from ergotamine, at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel. * November 18 – Trade union members elect John L. Lewis, as the first president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations in the United States. * November 25 – French Foreign Minister
Georges Bonnet Georges-Étienne Bonnet (; 23 July 1889 – 18 June 1973) was a French politician who served as foreign minister in 1938 and 1939 and was a leading figure in the Radical Party. Early life and career Bonnet was born in Bassillac, Dordogne, t ...
informs Léon Noël, the French Ambassador to Poland, that France should find an excuse for terminating the 1921 Franco-Polish alliance. * November 30 ** The Czechoslovak parliament elects Emil Hácha as the new president of Czechoslovakia. **
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
and his Foreign Minister, Count Galeazzo Ciano, order "spontaneous" demonstrations in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, demanding that France cede Tunisia, Nice, Corsica and French Somaliland to Italy. This begins an acute crisis in Franco-Italian relations, that lasts until March 1939. ** Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, leader of the Romanian fascist Iron Guard, is murdered on the orders of King
Carol II of Romania Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, in 1914. He was the f ...
. Officially, Codreanu and the 13 other Iron Guard leaders are "shot while trying to escape". ** A general strike is called in France by the French Communist Party, to protest the laws of November 12.


December

* December –
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
is ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine's "Time Person of the Year, Man of the Year", as the most influential person of the year. * December 1 – Slovakia is granted the status of an autonomous state, under Catholic priest Fr. Joseph Tiso. * December 6 – German Foreign Minister
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...
visits Paris, where he is allegedly informed by French Foreign Minister
Georges Bonnet Georges-Étienne Bonnet (; 23 July 1889 – 18 June 1973) was a French politician who served as foreign minister in 1938 and 1939 and was a leading figure in the Radical Party. Early life and career Bonnet was born in Bassillac, Dordogne, t ...
that France now recognizes all of Eastern Europe as being in Germany's exclusive sphere of influence. Bonnet's alleged statement (he subsequently always denies making the remark) to Ribbentrop is a major factor in German policy in 1939. * December 11 – Kingdom of Yugoslavia parliamentary election, 1938, Kingdom of Yugoslavia parliamentary election: The opposition gains votes but not seats. * December 13 – The Neuengamme concentration camp opens near Hamburg. * December 15 – The
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
closes its border to refugees. * December 17 – Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear power, which marks the beginning of the Atomic Age. * December 23 – A coelacanth, a fish thought to have been extinct, is caught off the coast of South Africa, near the Chalumna River. * December 24 – Leading Korean dancer Choi Seung-hee arrives in Le Havre,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
after her tour in the United States. This is to begin her European tour in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. She is the first Korean Wave entertainer. * December 27 – A massive avalanche of snow hits a construction worker dormitory site in Kurobe, Japan, killing 87 people.


Date unknown

* Majlis Khuddam-ul Ahmadiyya is established by Khalifat-ul Masih II, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, the second Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. * The Walther P38 pistol design is agreed to by the German military. * The last Schomburgk's deer in the wild is said to have been killed. * Herbert E. Ives and G. R. Stilwell execute the Ives–Stilwell experiment, showing that ions radiate at Frequency, frequencies affected by their motion.


Births


January–February

*
January 1 January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in the Gregorian Calendar; 364 days remain until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. __TOC__ Events ...
– Frank Langella, American actor * January 2 ** Goh Kun, Korean politician, Mayor of Seoul and 31st Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) ** Bohumil Nemecek, Czechoslovakian Olympic boxer (d. 2010) * January 4 – Mohamed Rahmat ("Tok Mat"), Malaysian politician (d. 2010) * January 5 ** King Juan Carlos I of Spain ** Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenyan writer (d. 2025) * January 6 – Adriano Celentano, Italian singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and filmmaker * January 7 – Roland Topor, French illustrator (d. 1997) * January 10 – Donald Knuth, American mathematician and computer scientist * January 13 – Shivkumar Sharma, Indian musician (d. 2022) * January 14 ** Morihiro Hosokawa, Japanese politician, 50th Prime Minister of Japan ** Jack Jones (singer), Jack Jones, American singer (d. 2024) ** Allen Toussaint, American musician, composer (d. 2015) * January 23 – Georg Baselitz, German painter, sculptor * January 25 ** Etta James, African-American singer (d. 2012) ** Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese manga artist (d. 1998) ** Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, poet and actor (d. 1980) ** Yolanda Ciani, Mexican actress (d. 2023) * January 28 – Tomas Lindahl, Swedish biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry * January 29 – Shuji Tsurumi, Japanese men's artistic gymnast * January 30 – Islam Karimov, President of Uzbekistan (d. 2016) * January 31 – Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands * February 1 – Sherman Hemsley, African-American comedian and actor (d. 2012) * February 2 – Pilar Pellicer, Mexican actress (d. 2020) * February 3 – Emile Griffith, American welterweight boxer (d. 2013) * February 11 – Mohammed Gammoudi, Tunisian Olympic athlete *
February 12 Events Pre-1600 * 1096 – Pope Urban II confirms the foundation of the abbey of La Roë under Robert of Arbrissel as a community of canons regular. * 1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sofia performed the first post- ...
– Judy Blume, American author * February 13 – Oliver Reed, English actor (d. 1999) * February 18 – István Szabó, Hungarian film director *
February 24 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica. * 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence. ...
** James Farentino, American actor (d. 2012) ** Phil Knight, American sportswear entrepreneur * February 25 – Herb Elliott, Australian runner * February 27 – Pascale Petit (actress), Pascale Petit, French actress


March–April

*
March 1 Events Pre-1600 * 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocleti ...
– Tufuga Efi, Samoa political figure, 3rd Prime Minister of Samoa and O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa * March 2 – Ricardo Lagos Escobar, President of Chile * March 4 ** Alpha Condé, 4th President of Guinea ** Paula Prentiss, American actress * March 5 – Fred Williamson, American football player and actor * March 7 – David Baltimore, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine *
March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. * 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of th ...
– Dumitru Fărcaș, Romanian tárogató player (d. 2018) *
March 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland. * 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the H ...
– Árpád Orbán, Hungarian footballer (d. 2008) *
March 17 Events Pre-1600 * 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda. * 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of ...
** Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-born dancer, choreographer (d. 1993) ** Keith O'Brien, Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Edinburgh (d. 2018) * March 18 ** Timo Mäkinen, Finnish racing driver (d. 2017) ** Shashi Kapoor, Indian actor, director, and producer (d. 2017) * March 21 – Luigi Tenco, Italian singer-songwriter (d. 1967) * March 24 – David Irving, English author and Holocaust denier * March 25 – Hoyt Axton, American country music singer, songwriter and actor (d. 1999) * March 26 – Anthony James Leggett, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate *
March 30 Events Pre-1600 * 598 – Avar–Byzantine wars: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro- Slavic army is decimated by the plague. * 1282 ...
– Klaus Schwab, German economist, founder of the World Economic Forum * March 31 – Sheila Dikshit, Indian politician (d. 2019) * April 7 – Freddie Hubbard, American jazz trumpeter (d. 2008) * April 8 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian Secretary-General of the United Nations, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 2018) *
April 10 Events Pre-1600 * 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople. * 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles). * 140 ...
– Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian politician (d. 2010) * April 11 – Kurt Moll, German operatic bass (d. 2017) * April 15 – Claudia Cardinale, Tunisian-born Italian actress *
April 16 Events Pre-1600 * 1457 BC – Battle of Megido – the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail. * 69 – Defeated by Vitellius' troops at Bedriacum, Roman emperor Otho commits suicide. * ...
– Kasdi Merbah, Algerian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Algeria (d. 1993) * April 20 – Betty Cuthbert, Australian track athlete (d. 2017) * April 22 – Issey Miyake, Japanese fashion designer (d. 2022) * April 26 ** Nino Benvenuti, Italian Olympic boxer ** Duane Eddy, American rock guitarist (d. 2024) * April 28 – Madge Sinclair, Jamaican-American actress (d. 1995) * April 29 – Bernard Madoff, American financial fraudster (d. 2021) * April 30 – Larry Niven, American author


May–June

* May 2 – King Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996) * May 9 – Carroll Cole, American serial killer (d. 1985) * May 13 – Giuliano Amato, 48th Prime Minister of Italy * May 16 – Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian literature critic, television host and sexologist (d. 2018) *
May 19 Events Pre-1600 * 639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace. * 715 – Pope Gregory II is elected. * 934 – The Byzantine Empire reconquers Melitene under ...
– Girish Karnad, Indian actor, screenwriter and playwright (d. 2019) * May 22 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (d. 1999) * May 24 – Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter (d. 2016) * May 26 ** William Bolcom, American composer and arranger ** Teresa Stratas, Canadian operatic soprano *
May 28 Events Pre-1600 * 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from ...
** Jerry West, American basketball player and executive (d. 2024) ** Dale Bell (film producer), Dale Bell, American TV producer * June 2 – Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld, Princess of Sweden *
June 5 Events Pre-1600 * 830 – Theodora is crowned Byzantine empress and marries then emperor Theophilos in the Hagia Sophia. She is credited with restoring orthodoxy and the icons. * 1086 – Tutush, brother of Seljuk sultan Malik Sh ...
– Karin Balzer, German athlete (d. 2019) * June 24 – Abulfaz Elchibey, Azerbaijani political figure, 2nd President of Azerbaijan (d. 2000) * June 26 – Maria Velho da Costa, Portuguese writer * June 27 – Kathryn Beaumont, British actress * June 30 – Billy Mills, American Olympic athlete


July–August

*
July 1 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and ...
– Hariprasad Chaurasia, Indian classical flutist * July 3 ** Bolo Yeung, Hong Kong actor ** Sjaak Swart, Dutch footballer * July 4 – Bill Withers, African-American singer-songwriter (d. 2020) * July 9 – Brian Dennehy, American actor (d. 2020) * July 15 – Enrique Figuerola, Cuban sprinter * July 18 – Paul Verhoeven, Dutch film director * July 19 – Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist (d. 2025) * July 20 ** Diana Rigg, English actress (d. 2020) ** Natalie Wood, American actress (d. 1981) * July 21 – Janet Reno, American lawyer, U.S. Attorney General under Bill Clinton (d. 2016) * July 22 – Terence Stamp, English actor * July 27 – Gary Gygax, American author, game designer (d. 2008) * July 28 ** Luis Aragonés, Spanish football player, manager (d. 2014) ** Alberto Fujimori, Peruvian politician and dictator, President of Peru (d. 2024) ** Chuan Leekpai, Thai politician, 20th Prime Minister of Thailand * July 29 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American journalist (d. 2005) * August 1 ** Edward Sokoine, 2nd Prime Minister of Tanzania (d. 1984) ** Yaşar Yakış, Turkish politician (d. 2024) * August 3 – Sir Terry Wogan, Irish radio broadcaster, television presenter/personality (d. 2016) * August 4 – Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond, Zairian politician (d. 2003) * August 8 – Connie Stevens, American actress, singer and businesswoman * August 9 ** Michèle Girardon, French actress (d. 1975) ** Leonid Kuchma, President of Ukraine ** Rod Laver, Australian tennis player * August 11 – Nagat El-Sagheera, Nagat, Egyptian singer and actress * August 12 – Naomi Seymour, Bahamian politician * August 14 – Bennie Muller, Dutch footballer (d. 2024) * August 15 ** Stephen Breyer, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ** Maxine Waters, US Representative * August 16 – Emmanuel Rakotovahiny, 8th Prime Minister of Madagascar (d. 2020) * August 19 – Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian Soviet sailor, Olympic triple champion and silver medalist (d. 2014) * August 20 **Jacqueline Andere, Mexican actress **Alain Vivien, French politician * August 21 – Kenny Rogers, American country singer (d. 2020) * August 24 – Halldór Blöndal, Icelandic politician * August 25 – Frederick Forsyth, English novelist (d. 2025) * August 28 – Paul Martin, 21st Prime Minister of Canada * August 29 – Elliott Gould, American actor


September–October

* September 1 – Alan Dershowitz, American lawyer and academic * September 2 – Giuliano Gemma, Italian actor (d. 2013) * September 3 – Ryōji Noyori, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel laureate * September 6 – Dennis Oppenheim, American artist (d. 2011) * September 10 – Tomasi Puapua, Tuvaluan politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Tuvalu and 6th Governor-General of Tuvalu * September 23 – Romy Schneider, German-French actress (d. 1982) * September 25 ** Celestino Rocha da Costa, 2nd Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (d. 2010) ** Jonathan Motzfeldt, Prime Minister of Greenland (d. 2010) * September 28 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015) * September 29 – Wim Kok, Dutch politician, 48th Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1994 until 2002 (d. 2018) * October 1 – Stella Stevens, American actress and model (d. 2023) * October 3 ** Eddie Cochran, American rock and roll singer (d. 1960) ** Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Peruvian entrepreneur and politician, 66th President of Peru * October 4 – Kurt Wüthrich, Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate * October 8 – Bronislovas Lubys, 5th Prime Minister of Lithuania (d. 2011) * October 14 – Farah Diba, Empress of Iran * October 15 – Fela Kuti, Nigerian musician, activist (d. 1997) * October 16 – Nico, German-American singer (d. 1988) * October 17 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle daredevil (d. 2007) * October 18 – Dawn Wells, American actress (d. 2020) * October 22 **Derek Jacobi, English actor and director **Christopher Lloyd, American actor * October 29 ** Ralph Bakshi, Israeli cartoonist, film director, and video producer ** Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 24th President of Liberia


November–December

* November 2 ** Pat Buchanan, American conservative political operative, journalist, pundit and one-time presidential candidate ** Queen Sofía of Spain * November 5 ** Joe Dassin, French singer (d. 1980) ** Ionatana Ionatana, 5th Prime Minister of Tuvalu (d. 2000) ** César Luis Menotti, Argentine football coach (d. 2024) * November 8 – Satch Sanders, American basketball player * November 12 – Benjamin Mkapa, 3rd President of Tanzania (d. 2020) * November 13 – Jean Seberg, American actress (d. 1979) * November 16 – Robert Nozick, American philosopher (d. 2002) * November 17 – Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk singer-songwriter (d. 2023) * November 18 ** Ahmad Obeidat, Prime Minister of Jordan ** Norbert Ratsirahonana, 9th Prime Minister of Madagascar * November 19 – Ted Turner, American entrepreneur * November 20 – Dick Smothers, American actor and comedian * November 21 – Helen (actress), Helen, Indian actress and dancer * November 24 – Oscar Robertson, African-American basketball player * December 5 – J. J. Cale, American singer-songwriter, guitarist (d. 2013) * December 8 – John Kufuor, John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, President of Ghana * December 13 – Heino, German singer * December 15 – Juan Carlos Wasmosy, 48th President of Paraguay * December 16 – Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress * December 17 – Peter Snell, New Zealand athlete (d. 2019) * December 23 – Bob Kahn, American Internet pioneer * December 28 – Lagumot Harris, Nauruan politician, President (d. 1999) * December 29 – Jon Voight, American actor


Date unknown

* Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, President of Mauritania (d. 2020) * Tafazzul Haque Habiganji, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician (d. 2020)


Deaths


January

* January 2 – Henry Victor Deligny, French general (b. 1855) * January 3 – Arturo Berutti, Argentinian composer (b. 1862) * January 4 – Paola Drigo, Italian novelist (b. 1876) * January 5 – Karel Baxa, Czechoslovakian politician (b. 1863) * January 8 – Christian Rohlfs, German painter (b. 1849) * January 9 – Johnny Gruelle, American cartoonist and children's book author (b. 1880) * January 11 – Isidore Konti, Austrian-born Hungarian sculptor (b. 1862) * January 14 – Jaakko Mäki, Finnish politician (b. 1878) * January 17 – Vladimir Beneshevich, Soviet scholar, martyr (executed) (b. 1874) *
January 20 Events Pre-1600 * 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. *1156 – Finnish peasant Lalli kills English clergyman Henry (bishop of Finland), Henry, the Bishop of Turku, on the ice of Köyliönjärvi, Lake Köyli� ...
**Émile Cohl, French caricaturist, animator (b. 1857) **Liu Xiang (warlord), Liu Xiang, Chinese general (b. 1890) * January 21 – Georges Méliès, French film director (b. 1861) * January 22 – Sergei Buturlin, Soviet ornithologist (b. 1872) * January 23 – J. P. Dahlén, Swedish worker, politician (b. 1881) * January 28 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German racing driver (b. 1909) * January 29 – Armando Palacio Valdés, Spanish writer (b. 1853) * January 31 – Marcella Cosgrave, Irish nationalist leader (b. 1873)


February

*
February 6 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Hormizd IV, king of the Sasanian Empire, is overthrown and blinded by his brothers-in-law Vistahm and Vinduyih. * 1579 – The Diocese of Manila is erected by papal bull, with Domingo de Salazar appointe ...
– George Auriol, French poet (b. 1863) * February 7 – Harvey Firestone, American tire manufacturer (b. 1868) * February 8 – Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (b. 1872) * February 9 – Arturo Caprotti, Italian engineer, architect (b. 1881) * February 11 ** Kalle Korhonen, Finnish politician (executed) (b. 1878) ** Kazimierz Twardowski, Polish philosopher, logician (b. 1866) * February 16 – Hal De Forrest, Portuguese-born American actor (b. 1862) * February 18 – Leopoldo Lugones, Argentine writer, journalist (b. 1874) * February 19 – Edmund Landau, German mathematician (b. 1877) * February 21 – Matvei Petrovich Bronstein, Soviet physicist (executed) (b. 1906)


March

*
March 1 Events Pre-1600 * 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocleti ...
– Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian writer, war hero, and politician (b. 1863) * March 2 – William Blomfield, New Zealand cartoonist (b. 1866) * March 7 – Andreas Michalakopoulos, Greek politician, 47th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876) * March 10 – Ahn Changho, Korean independence activist (b. 1878) *
March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. * 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of th ...
– Lyda Roberti, Polish actress (b. 1906) * March 13 ** Cevat Çobanlı, Ottoman military commander, Turkish army officer (b. 1870) ** Clarence Darrow, American attorney (b. 1857) *
March 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland. * 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the H ...
– Wang Mingzhang, Chinese general of the National Revolutionary Army (b. 1893) * March 15 ** Alexei Rykov, Premier of Russia and Premier of the Soviet Union (executed) (b. 1881) ** Nikolai Bukharin, Soviet politician (executed) (b. 1888) **Genrikh Yagoda, Soviet police and intelligence official (executed) (b. 1891) * March 18 – Lidia Charskaya, Soviet actress, writer (b. 1875) * March 19 – Magzhan Zhumabayev, Soviet writer, pedagogue (b. 1893) * March 20 ** Martin Burrell, Canadian politician (b. 1858) ** Aleksandar Malinov, 17th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1867) * March 26 – Lakshminath Bezbaroa, Indian writer, dramatist, novelist, poet and editor (b. 1864) *
March 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized Ferrara, a papal fiefdom. * 1329 – Pope John XXII ...
** William Stern (psychologist), William Stern, German psychologist, philosopher (b. 1871) ** Helen M. Winslow, American editor, author, and publisher (b. 1851) *
March 28 Events Pre-1600 * AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate. * 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Did ...
– Zheng Xiaoxu, Chinese statesman, diplomat and calligrapher, first Prime Minister of Manchukuo (b. 1860) * March 29 – Marcel Bloch (aviator), Marcel Bloch, Swiss aviator (b. 1890)


April

* April 1 – Louis-Henri Foreau, French painter (b. 1866) * April 2 – Hermanus Johannes Lovink, Dutch agriculturist and politician (b. 1866) * April 6 – Khoren I of Armenia, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church and patriarch (b. 1873) * April 8 – King Oliver, American jazz musician (b. 1885) * April 9 – Manuel Carrasco Formiguera, Spanish lawyer, politician (b. 1890) * April 12 – Feodor Chaliapin, Soviet bass (b. 1873) * April 14 – Gillis Grafström, Swedish figure skater (b. 1893) * April 15 – César Vallejo, Peruvian poet (b. 1892) *
April 16 Events Pre-1600 * 1457 BC – Battle of Megido – the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail. * 69 – Defeated by Vitellius' troops at Bedriacum, Roman emperor Otho commits suicide. * ...
– Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874) * April 17 – Viktor Graf von Scheuchenstuel, Austro-Hungarian general (b. 1857) * April 21 ** Sultan Majid Afandiyev, Soviet revolutionary, statesman (b. 1887) ** Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Indian philosopher, poet (b. 1877) * April 25 – Aleksander Świętochowski, Polish writer (b. 1849) * April 27 – Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (b. 1859)


May

* May 4 – Carl von Ossietzky, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1889) * May 6 – Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire, British politician and Governor General of Canada (b. 1868) * May 7 – Octavian Goga, 37th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1881) * May 9 – Thomas B. Thrige, Danish industrialist (b. 1866) * May 10 **Benjamin Abrahão Botto, Brazilian photographer (b. 1890) **Cary D. Landis, American attorney and politician (b. 1873) * May 13 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, French physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861) *
May 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1027 – Robert II of France Robert II ( 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious () or the Wise (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Juni ...
– Miguel Cabanellas, Spanish army officer (b. 1872) * May 15 – Cao Kun, 6th President of the Republic of China (b. 1862) * May 16 **Lewis Bayly (Royal Navy officer), Lewis Bayly, British admiral (b. 1857) **Ivan Mrkvička, Czechoslovakian-born Bulgarian painter (b. 1856) * May 18 – Mikhail Babushkin, Soviet polar aviator (b. 1893) * May 22 – William Glackens, American painter (b. 1870) * May 24 – A. A. Burleigh, American minister, soldier (b. circa 1845) *
May 25 Events Pre-1600 * 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. * 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes ...
– Rafael Colliander, Finnish journalist, politician (b. 1870) * May 26 – John Jacob Abel, American pharmacologist (b. 1857) *
May 28 Events Pre-1600 * 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from ...
– Dale Bell (film producer), Dale Bell, American TV producer * May 29 – Miguel Fleta, Spanish tenor (b. 1897)


June

* June 3 – Tulio Febres Cordero, Venezuelan writer, journalist (b. 1860) * June 4 – Oscar Bystrom (actor), Oscar Bystrom, Swedish actor (b. 1857) * June 7 – Jenő Dsida, Hungarian poet, translator (b. 1907) *
June 15 Events Pre-1600 * 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. * 844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II. * 923 – Battle of So ...
– Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter (b. 1880) *
June 19 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. * 1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle cha ...
– María Obligado de Soto y Calvo, Argentinian painter (b. 1857) * June 21 – Mathilde Comont, French-born American actress (b. 1886) *
June 25 Events Pre-1600 * 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce. * 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of ...
– Edith Anne Stoney, Irish physicist (b. 1869) * June 26 – James Weldon Johnson, American author, politician, and diplomat (b. 1871) * June 29 – Shlomo Ben-Yosef, Israeli Zionist leader (b. 1913)


July

*
July 1 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and ...
– Carrie Daumery, Dutch-born American actress (b. 1863) * July 2 – John James Burnet, Sir John James Burnet, British architect (b. 1857) * July 4 ** Otto Bauer, Austrian Social Democratic politician (b. 1881) ** Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis champion (b. 1899) * July 9 – Benjamin N. Cardozo, United States Supreme Court Justice (b. 1870) * July 10 – Arthur Barclay, 15th president of Liberia (b. 1854) * July 14 – Abel Adams, Finnish producer (b. 1879) * July 17 – Robert Wiene, German director (b. 1873) * July 18 – Marie of Romania, Queen Marie of Romania (b. 1875) * July 20 – George Martley Davis, Australian politician (b. 1860) * July 24 – Pedro Figari, Uruguayan painter, writer and politician (b. 1861) * July 25 ** Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein (b. 1853) ** Kōsaku Hamada, Japanese academic, archaeologist and author (b. 1881) * July 27 – Tom Crean (explorer), Tom Crean, Irish seaman, Antarctic explorer (b. 1877) * July 28 ** Yakov Davydov, Soviet general (executed) (b. 1888) ** Jukums Vācietis, Soviet military commander (executed) (b. 1873) ** Iosif Vareikis, Soviet politician (executed) (b. 1894) * July 29 ** Yakov Alksnis, Soviet aviator, commander of Red Army Air Forces (executed) (b. 1897) ** Nikolai Antipov, Soviet politician (executed) (b. 1894) ** Jānis Bērziņš (politician), Yan Berzin. Soviet politician and military intelligence officer (executed) (b. 1889) ** Pavel Dybenko, Russian bolshevik and Soviet military commander (executed) (b. 1889) ** Nikolai Krylenko, Russian bolshevik and Soviet politician (executed) (b. 1885) ** Jānis Rudzutaks, Russian bolshevik and Soviet politician (executed) (b. 1887)


August

* August 2 – Edmund Duggan (playwright), Edmund Dunggan, Irish-born Australian actor (b. 1862) * August 4 – Pearl White, American actress (b. 1889) * August 6 – Warner Oland, Swedish-born American actor (b. 1879) * August 7 – Konstantin Stanislavsky, Soviet theatre practitioner (b. 1863) * August 9 – Leo Frobenius, German ethnologist, archaeologist and Africanist (b. 1873) * August 14 – Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer (b. 1867) * August 16 – Robert Johnson, American blues singer (b. 1911) * August 17 – Wage Rudolf Supratman, Indonesian violinist and composer (b. 1903) * August 21 – Tomasz Dąbal, Polish activist (b. 1890) * August 23 ** Carlos Echandi, Costa Rican surgeon (b. 1900) ** Frank Hawks, American aviator (b. 1897) * August 26 – Teodor Axentowicz, Polish-born Soviet painter (b. 1859) * August 29 – Béla Kun, Hungarian Communist leader (b. 1886)


September

* September 1 – Nikolai Bryukhanov, Soviet statesman, political figure and People's Commissar of Finances (b. 1878) * September 3 – Gustav Adolf Closs, German illustrator, painter (b. 1864) * September 5 – Gheorghe Mărdărescu, Romanian general and politician (b. 1866) * September 6 – Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (1907-1938), Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg, Prince of Asturias, former heir apparent to the Kings of Spain, throne of Spain (b. 1907) * September 8 – Cecilio Apostol, Filipino poet, laurate (b. 1877) * September 12 – Prince Arthur of Connaught (b. 1883) * September 15 ** Yannoulis Chalepas, Greek sculptor (b. 1851) ** Thomas Wolfe, American author (b. 1900) * September 16 ** Herman Baltia, Belgian general (b. 1863) ** Valerie Bergere, French-born American actress (b. 1867) * September 17 – Bruno Jasieński, Polish poet (b. 1901) * September 19 – Pauline Frederick, American actress (b. 1883) * September 20 – Maria Teresa of St. Joseph, German Roman Catholic religious professed and blessed (b. 1855) * September 21 – Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, Yugoslav writer (b. 1874) * September 23 ** Philbert Maurice d'Ocagne, French engineer, mathematician (b. 1862) ** Aurelio Giorni, Italian composer, pianist (b. 1895) * September 24 – Silouan the Athonite, Soviet Orthodox priest and saint (b. 1866) * September 25 – Paul Olaf Bodding, Norwegian missionary to India, creator of the Santali Latin alphabet (b. 1865) * September 30 – Tang Shaoyi, First Premier of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China (b. 1862)


October

* October 2 – Alexandru Averescu, Romanian general, politician, and 24th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1859) * October 4 – José Luis Tejada Sorzano, Bolivian lawyer, politician and 34th President of Bolivia (b. 1882) * October 5 ** Faustina Kowalska, Polish nun and saint, the ''Secretary of Divine Mercy (Catholic devotion), Divine Mercy'' (b. 1905) ** Albert Ranft, Swedish theatre director, actor (b. 1858) * October 12 – Kirill Vladimirovich, Grand Duke of Russia (b. 1876) * October 13 – E. C. Segar, American comics artist (''Popeye'') (b. 1894) * October 14 – Charles Dalmas, French architect (b. 1863) * October 17 ** Eshref Frasheri, Albanian politician (b. 1874) ** Karl Kautsky, Austrian Marxist theoretician (b. 1854) * October 19 ** Niño Fidencio, Mexican Roman Catholic priest and saint (b. 1898) ** Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi of Japan (b. 1897) * October 22 ** Chrysostomos I of Athens, Greek priest, metropolitan (b. 1868) ** May Irwin, Canadian actress, singer (b. 1862) * October 24 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and poet (b. 1870) * October 25 ** Raoul Bensaude, French physician (b. 1866) ** Alfonsina Storni, Argentine poet (b. 1892) * October 27 ** Lascelles Abercrombie, English poet and critic (b. 1881) ** Alma Gluck, American soprano (b. 1884) * October 28 – Ramón Franco, Spanish aviation pioneer (b. 1896) * October 31 ** Sakari Ainali, Finnish farmer, businessman and politician (b. 1874) ** Jean Degoutte, French general, leader of World War I (b. 1866)


November

* November 4 – Jiang Baili, Chinese general of the National Revolutionary Army (b. 1882) * November 7 – Prince Georgy Konstantinovich of Russia (b. 1903) * November 9 ** Vasily Blyukher, Soviet military commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union (b. 1889) ** Ernst vom Rath, German diplomat (b. 1909) * November 10 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1st Prime Minister of Turkey, 1st President of Turkey (b. c.1881) * November 11 – Mary Mallon (''Typhoid Mary''), first known (in the United States) asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen associated with typhoid fever (b. 1869) * November 14 – William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, British politician and colonial governor (b. 1872) * November 19 – Kaarlo Castren, Finnish politician, 4th Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1860) * November 20 ** Arthur Elliott (photographer), Arthur Elliott, South African photographer (b. 1870) ** Maud of Wales, Queen of Haakon VII of Norway (b. 1869) * November 22 – Sahachiro Hata, Japanese bacteriologist (b. 1873) * November 25 – Otto von Lossow, Bavarian, German general (b. 1868) * November 30 – Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Romanian fascist politician, leader of the Iron Guard (executed along other Guard activists) (b. 1899)


December

* December 3 – Juho Vennola, 5th Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1872) * December 11 – Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian pacifist, Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1869) * December 14 – Maurice Emmanuel, French composer (b. 1862) * December 15 ** Antonio Rafael Barcelo, Puerto Rican lawyer, businessman and politician (b. 1868) ** Valery Chkalov, Soviet test pilot (b. 1904) * December 24 – Bruno Taut, German architect, urban planner (b. 1880) * December 25 ** Karel Čapek, Czech author (b. 1890) ** Theodor Fischer (architect), Theodor Fischer, German architect (b. 1862) * December 27 ** Calvin Bridges, American scientist (b. 1889) ** Osip Mandelstam, Soviet poet (b. 1891) ** Emile Vandervelde, Belgian Socialist politician (b. 1866) * December 28 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (b. 1886)


Nobel Prizes

* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Enrico Fermi * Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Richard Kuhn * Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine – Corneille Jean François Heymans * Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Pearl S. Buck * Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – Nansen International Office for Refugees, Geneva


References


External links


1938 WWII Timeline


– from American Studies Programs at The University of Virginia
1938 – "The Fateful Year" for the Jews in Nazi Germany
- About the Holocaust- Yad Vashem {{Authority control 1938,