June 1937
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The following events occurred in June 1937:


June 1, 1937 (Tuesday)

*In newspapers across the U.S.,
Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...
announced the first
automatic transmission An automatic transmission (AT) or automatic gearbox is a multi-speed transmission (mechanics), transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions. The 1904 ...
available to the public, to be a feature in the 1938 model Oldsmobile Eight. The advertisement offered demonstrations the Automatic-Safety-Transmission at local dealers and boasted "First News of the Most Sensational Transmission Development in 20 years... An Astonishing New Automatic Gear-Shift That Sets a New World Standard of Driving Ease, Performance and Economy... New! Nothing Else Like It in the World!" *Aviator
Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...
and her navigator,
Fred Noonan Frederick Joseph Noonan (born April 4, 1893 – disappeared July 2, 1937, declared dead June 20, 1938) was an American flight navigator, sea captain and aviation pioneer, who first charted many commercial airline routes across the Pacific Ocean ...
, departed the United States in her
Lockheed Model 10 Electra The Lockheed Model 10 Electra is an American twin-engined, all-metal monoplane airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, which was produced primarily in the 1930s to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2. The type gained ...
twin-engine airplane to begin her mission to become the first woman to circumnavigate the Earth. Earhart and Noonan took off from
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
at 5:55 in the morning local time toward
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...
, leaving the United States for the last time, and landed at 12:30 in the afternoon. By the end of the month, they were in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
at
Lae Lae (, , later ) is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River on the northern coast of Huon Gulf. It is at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is ...
. *
Bill Dietrich William John "Bullfrog" Dietrich (March 29, 1910 – June 20, 1978) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1933 to 1948 for the Philadelphia Athletics, Washington Senators, and Chicago White ...
of the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
pitched an 8-0
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...
against the
St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...
. The feat was the only no-hitter of the 1937 MLB season and the first in the Major Leagues since August 31, 1935. *In Italy, the
Ministry of Popular Culture The Ministry of Popular Culture (, commonly abbreviated to MinCulPop) was a ministry of the Italian government from 1937 to 1944. History It was established by the Fascist government in 1922 as the ''Press Office of the Presidency of the Counci ...
ordered all foreign words and names to be Italianized.
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
, for example, was to be known as Luigi Fortebraccio. *Born: **
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...
, American actor, director and narrator, 2004 Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor; in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
**
Rosaleen Linehan Rosaleen Philomena Linehan (; born 1 June 1937) is an Irish stage, screen, and television actress. Career Linehan was born in Dublin. She attended University College Dublin and graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and ...
, Irish actress; in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...


June 2, 1937 (Wednesday)

*Rioting broke out around
İskenderun İskenderun (), historically known as Alexandretta (, ) and Scanderoon, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 247 km2, and its population is 251,682 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coas ...
and
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...
after the Syrian parliament refused to ratify 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 ...
' decision to make the İskenderun district autonomous. *
Willis Van Devanter Willis Van Devanter (April 17, 1859 – February 8, 1941) was an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1911 to 1937. He was a staunch conservative and was regarded as a part of the Four ...
, who had served on the U.S. Supreme Court since 1911, retired at the age of 78 after a new law had passed providing for full pay in retirement for any justice who retired after reaching 70. *German War Minister
Werner von Blomberg Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg (2 September 1878 – 13 March 1946) was a German general and politician who served as the first Minister of War in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1938. Blomberg had served as Chief of the ''Truppenamt'', equivalent ...
began a three-day visit to Italy to discuss military ties between the two nations. *The first Printer's Devilry puzzle, a form of crossword invented by "Afrit" ( Alistair Ferguson Ritchie) was published, making its initial appearance in '' The Listener'', a British weekly magazine. *
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
pitcher
Dizzy Dean Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and the 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) ca ...
was suspended by
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
President Ford C. Frick for referring to Frick and umpire George Barr as "the two biggest crooks in baseball today." Dizzy Dean refused to sign a letter of apology and threatened to sue Ford Frick for $250,000, but did issue a "letter of explanation" and was reinstated on June 5. He lost $500 during the course of his suspension. *Born: ** Jimmy Jones, U.S. singer-songwriter; in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
(d. 2012) **
Sally Kellerman Sally Clare Kellerman (June 2, 1937 – February 24, 2022) was an American actress whose acting career spanned 60 years. Her role as List of M*A*S*H characters#Margaret Houlihan, Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's film ''M*A*S ...
, American actress and singer; in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
(d. 2022) ** Don Turnbull, English journalist, editor and game designer; in
Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...
(d. 2003) *Died:
Louis Vierne Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. He was the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death. As a composer, much of his output was Organ (music), organ music, including six ...
, 66, French organist and composer collapsed from a stroke while performing a concert at the
Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...
cathedral. As he was playing the closing section of "Stèle pour un enfant défunt" from his ''Triptyque'' Opus 58, Vierne suddenly fell forward, then off of the bench.


June 3, 1937 (Thursday)

*The
Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his Abdication of Edward VIII, abdication on 11 December 1936. The Duchy, dukedom takes its name from ...
, formerly King Edward VIII, and Wallis Warfield Simpson were married at the
Château de Candé The Château de Candé is a château located in the commune of Monts, Indre-et-Loire, France. It is situated 10 km (6 mi) to the south of Tours on the north bank of the river Indre. History The first known Lord of Candé was Macé de La ...
in
Monts, Indre-et-Loire Monts () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department in central France. It was here at the Château de Candé on 3 June 1937 that The Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, married the twice-divo ...
in France. Reportedly, the religious ceremony by an Anglican priest came "after the wedding party had come in from
highball A highball is a mixed alcoholic drink composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer, often a carbonated beverage. Examples include the Seven and Seven, Scotch and soda, gin and tonic, screwdriver ...
s and
cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...
s on the terrace," and no member of the British royal family was present at the ceremonies. *American Communist
Juliet Stuart Poyntz Juliet Stuart Poyntz (originally 'Points') (25 November 1886 – c. 1937) was an American suffragist, trade unionist and communist spy. As a student and university teacher, Poyntz espoused many radical causes and went on to become a co-founder ...
, who had worked secretly for the Soviet Union as a spy against the U.S., vanished shortly after she severed relations with the Soviets. She was last seen in public as she was leaving her apartment at the American Woman's Association clubhouse at 353 West 57th Street in New York City and was apparently kidnapped while outside her apartment building. Her disappearance was not reported in the press until December 18. *Born:
Solomon P. Ortiz Solomon Porfirio Ortiz (born June 3, 1937) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for , based in Corpus Christi, serving from 1983 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2010, Ortiz was narrowly d ...
, U.S. Representative for Texas for 28 years from 1983 to 2011 politician, in
Robstown, Texas Robstown is a city in Nueces County, Texas, of the United States of America, and is a western suburb of Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi. It was founded in 1907 by a land speculator from Keota, Iowa by the name of George H. Paul. Paul purcha ...
*Died:
Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of José Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...
, 49, Spanish Nationalist commander and one of the four leaders of the military uprising that began the Spanish Civil War, was killed along with five other people when their airplane crashed. Flying in a fog, the Airspeed Envoy struck the side of a mountain near the town of
Briviesca Briviesca is a municipality and a Spanish city located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, head of the judicial district of Briviesca, capital of the comarca of La Bureba and province of Burgos, autonomous community of Castile and León. Acc ...
. The other three uprising leaders had been
José Sanjurjo José Sanjurjo y Sacanell (; 28 March 1872 – 20 July 1936) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the military leaders who plotted the July 1936 ''coup d'état'' that started the Spanish Civil War. He was endowed the nobiliary title ...
(who died in a crash in 1936);
Manuel Goded Manuel Goded Llopis (15 October 1882 – 12 August 1936) was a Spanish Army general who was one of the key figures in the July 1936 revolt against the democratic government of Manuel Azaña. Having unsuccessfully led an attempted insurrection ...
(who was captured and executed by the Nationalist government in 1936) and
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 ...
, who would control Spain for the next 38 years.


June 4, 1937 (Friday)

*The first modern
shopping cart A shopping cart (American English), trolley (British English, Australian English), or buggy (Southern American English, Appalachian English), also known by a variety of #Name, other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a Retail#Types of ret ...
, invented by supermarket owner
Sylvan Goldman Sylvan Nathan Goldman (November 15, 1898 – November 25, 1984) was an American businessman and inventor of the shopping cart. His design had a pair of large wire baskets connected by tubular metal arms with four wheels.Terry P. Wilson, ''Th ...
, was introduced at the Humpty Dumpty he owned in
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
. While vertical metal baskets on a frame with wheels had been introduced in some stores in 1933, Goldman's cart was the first of the shape and size that would become the standard that would still be used almost 90 years later. *The
Battle of Pochonbo The was an event which occurred in northern Korea, Empire of Japan on 4 June 1937 ( Juche 26), when Korean and Chinese guerrillas commanded by Kim Il Sung (or possibly Choe Hyon) attacked and defeated a Japanese detachment during the anti-Jap ...
took place in the northern section of Japanese-occupied Korea as a unit of 150 members of the
Northeast Counter-Japanese United Army The Northeast Counter-Japanese United Army, also known as the NAJUA or Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, was the main Counter-Japanese guerrilla army in Northeast China (Manchuria) after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Its prede ...
guerrilla group crossed the border from China and attacked a detachment of the Japanese Imperial Army at Pochon-up and briefly occupied the town before being forced to retreat. According to
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
, the 25-year-old commander of the Sixth Division of the Counter-Japanese guerrillas,
Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...
, led the group into battle and destroyed different Japanese-operated municipal services. Kim would later become the Great Leader of North Korea upon its founding in 1945. *Prince
Fumimaro Konoe was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1937 to 1939 and from 1940 to 1941. He presided over the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and breakdown in relations with the United States, which shortly after his t ...
became the new
Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...
, replacing General
Senjūrō Hayashi was a Japanese politician and general. He served as Imperial Japanese Army Commander of the Japanese Korean Army during the Mukden Incident and the invasion of Manchuria. He briefly served as prime minister of Japan in 1937. Early life and e ...
and serving until 1939. *
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's Navy, the ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
'', held its first maneuvers off
Heligoland Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...
since the island was refortified in defiance of the
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
. Only a skeleton fleet participated because so many ships were deployed in Spain. *Born: **
Mortimer Zuckerman Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman (born June 4, 1937) is a Canadian-American billionaire media proprietor, magazine editor, and investor. He is the co-founder, executive chairman and former CEO of Boston Properties, one of the largest real estate inve ...
, Canadian-born U.S. media mogul, journalist, and billionaire; in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
**
Gorilla Monsoon Robert James "Gino" Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Sports commentator, play-by-play commentator, and Glossary of profess ...
(ring name for Robert James Marella), American professional wrestler and commentator; in
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
(d. 1999) *Died:
Helmut Hirsch Helmut Hirsch (; January 27, 1916 – June 4, 1937) was a German Jewish artist and activist who was executed for his part in a bombing plot intended to destabilize the German Reich. While a full and accurate account of the plot is unknown, his ...
, 21, German Jew convicted of conspiring in a bombing plot against the government, was executed by guillotine.


June 5, 1937 (Saturday)

*
War Admiral War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse and the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the "Match Ra ...
, who had captured the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in May, won the
Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...
by three lengths to become only the fourth thoroughbred horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown. *French troops were rushed to the
İskenderun İskenderun (), historically known as Alexandretta (, ) and Scanderoon, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 247 km2, and its population is 251,682 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coas ...
region to control the rioting between Arabs and Turks. *Died: John Challen, 72, Welsh
cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
and footballer for the Wales national teams from 1887 to 1890


June 6, 1937 (Sunday)

*The city of
Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...
, capital of the
Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered League of Nations and then United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an adm ...
, was destroyed by an eruption of the Tavurvur volcano and 507 people were killed. Most of the island's residents had been evacuated by ships from several nations prior to the blast. *The Soviet Union inaugurated
North Pole-1 North Pole-1 () was the world's first crewed drifting ice station in the Arctic Ocean, primarily used for research. North Pole-1 was established on 21 May 1937 and officially opened on 6 June, some from the North Pole by the expedition into the ...
(''Severnia Polyos-1''), the world's first "
drifting ice station A drifting ice station is a temporary or semi-permanent facility built on an ice floe. During the Cold War the Soviet Union and the United States maintained a number of stations in the Arctic Ocean on floes such as Fletcher's Ice Island for res ...
", beginning operations (including an airstrip) on a floating ice floe located only from the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
. *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 ...
the
Segovia Offensive The Segovia Offensive was a Republican diversionary offensive which took place between 31 May and 6 June 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The main goal of the offensive was to occupy Segovia and divert Nationalist forces from their advance on ...
, started on May 31 by the Spanish Republic's Army to divert the Nationalist rebels, was abandoned after the loss of 3,000 troops, 1,000 of whom were in the
XIV International Brigade 300px, A memorial commemorating the International Brigades The XIV International Brigade was one of several international brigades that fought for the Spanish Second Republic during the Spanish Civil War. History and structure It was raised on 2 ...
. *The
Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
, the premier tournament of Italian soccer football, was won by
Genova 1893 Genoa Cricket and Football Club () is an Italian professional Association football, football club based in Genoa, Liguria. The team competes in the Serie A, the top division of the Italian football league system. Established in 1893, Genoa is ...
(now Genoa CFC) over A. S. Roma, 1 to 0, at the Stadio Comunale Giovanni Berta (now the Stadio Artemio Franchi) in
Firenze Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
. finished sixth in the 1936-37 Serie A league and A. S. Roma 10th, while Serie A champion
Bologna FC 1909 Bologna Football Club 1909, commonly referred to as Bologna (), is an Italian professional football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. The club have won seven top-flight titles, thr ...
had been eliminated in the first round. *Born:
Yan Shunkai Yan Shunkai (; 6 June 1937 – 16 October 2017) was a Chinese comedian, actor and film director. Yan rose to fame after portraying Ah Q in '' The True Story of Ah Q'', which was based on an episodic novella by Lu Xun, one of the pioneers of mo ...
, Chinese comedian, actor and film director; in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
(d.2017)


June 7, 1937 (Monday)

*
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
Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari ( , ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944), was an Italian diplomat and politician who served as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister in the government of his father-in-law ...
became the first recipients of the
Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle () was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded following the collapse of Nazi Germany at the e ...
. *Born: **
Roberto Blanco Roberto Zerquera Blanco (born 7 June 1937 in Tunis) is a German schlager singer, actor, and entertainer of Afro-Cuban origin. He is one of the most successful entertainers of all time in German-speaking countries. Early life Blanco is the so ...
, Tunisian singer and actor; in
Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
**
Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian Americans, Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevge ...
, Estonian conductor; in
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
*Died:
Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
(stage name for Harlean Harlow Carpenter), 26, American actress, died from kidney failure, nine days after having become ill during the filming of a scene in her final movie, ''Saratoga''.


June 8, 1937 (Tuesday)

*In London, representatives of
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, Australia,
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, Norway,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, Germany and the United States reached an agreement to stop the dangerous reduction of the world's whale stocks through
whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...
. *In
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...
, an assassination attempt on the life of U.S. District Judge
Robert A. Cooper Robert Archer Cooper (June 12, 1874August 7, 1953) was the List of Governors of South Carolina, 93rd Governor of South Carolina from January 21, 1919 to May 20, 1922. Biography Born in Waterloo, South Carolina, Waterloo Township, Laurens County, ...
, the day after he had sentenced
Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (June 29, 1893Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and a leading figure in ...
and eight other Puerto Rican nationalists to long terms at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta. The assailants fired at least 12 bullets at Cooper's car as he was driving past them, though neither Cooper nor his bodyguard Francisco Davila were injured. *The German Postal Ministry decreed that all non-Aryans must retire. *A
total solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...
that had the longest (at more than seven minutes) totality since the year
1098 Year 1098 ( MXCVIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place First Crusade * February 9 – Battle of the Lake of Antioch: The Crusaders under Bohemond I defeat a Seljuk relief force (some 1 ...
, was visible over the Pacific Ocean. Occurring between 18:04 to 23:17 UTC, it had the distinction of beginning at sunrise on Wednesday, June 9, local time over the
Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean was part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. It was a British protectorate, protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a crown colony, colony until 1 January 1 ...
, and ending at sunset on Tuesday, June 8, local time in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
. *The
Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...
composition ''
Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...
'' premiered in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. *The French war film ''
La Grande Illusion ''La Grande Illusion'' (French for "The Grand Illusion") is a 1937 French war drama film directed by Jean Renoir, who co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Spaak. The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who ...
'' ''(The Grand Illusion)'' directed by
Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...
was released. *Born:
Toni Harper Toni Harper (June 8, 1937 – February 10, 2023), also known as Toni Dunlap, was an American former child singer who retired from performing at the age of 29. After learning dance under Maceo Anderson, Harper was cast by the choreographer Nick ...
, American child singer; in Los Angeles (d. 2023) *Died:
Monroe Owsley Monroe Righter Owsley (August 11, 1900 – June 7, 1937) was an American stage and film actor. Early life The son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Owsley, he was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a manufacturing executive, and his mother was a co ...
, 36, American stage and film actor known for ''
Honor Among Lovers ''Honor Among Lovers'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film made by Paramount Pictures, directed by Dorothy Arzner. The film stars Claudette Colbert, Fredric March, Monroe Owsley, Charles Ruggles and Ginger Rogers. The film was originall ...
'' with Claudette Colbert, died of a heart attack.


June 9, 1937 (Wednesday)

*The
Amateur Rowing Association British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representi ...
(ARA) of Great Britain, under criticism for excluding the Australian National Team from the
Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing (sport), rowing competition for men's eight (rowing), eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male cr ...
a year earlier because the crew, all policemen, were excluded from the ARA definition of amateurism because they had been employed for wages, permanently repealed its exclusionary policy. In 1886, the ARA had barred any person "who is or has been by trade or employment for wages a mechanic, artisan or labourer." The
Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...
followed suit the next day, as both organizations changed their rules to bar only people who had accepted financial compensation for competing in sport. *The funeral of
Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...
was held at a chapel in the
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Forest Lawn may refer to: Cemeteries California * Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of cemeteries in southern California * Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), California * Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), California * Fore ...
in
Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
.
William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor, known primarily for his film career. Under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin M ...
,
Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blyth; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
,
Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...
,
Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...
and
Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, ...
were among the mourners in attendance. *The Citizens' War Memorial was unveiled in
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
, New Zealand. *The
Girl Guides Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of Girlguiding, The ...
temporarily formed a new chapter, the "1st Buckingham Palace Company", with 20 girls who were children of people who worked at the Royal Household and Palace, including 11-year-old Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King George VI. At the same time, the 14-member Brownie Pack chapter for younger girls, including 6-year-old
Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...
. *Born:
Harald Rosenthal Harald Rosenthal (born 9 June 1937) is a German hydrobiologist and fisheries scientist known for his work in fish farming, ecology, and international cooperation. Life Rosenthal was born and raised in Berlin. From 1957 to 1962, he studied zoology ...
; German hydriobiologist; in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
*Died: **
Carlo Rosselli Carlo Alberto Rosselli (16 November 18999 June 1937) was an Italian political leader, journalist, historian, philosopher and anti-fascist activist, first in Italy and then abroad. He developed a theory of reformist, non-Marxist socialism inspir ...
, 37, the former leader of Italy's Unitary Socialist Party and a critic of Italy's Fascist leader
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 ...
, was shot to death along with his brother
Nello Rosselli Sabatino Enrico 'Nello' Rosselli (29 November 1900 – 9 June 1937) was an Italian Socialist leader and historian. Biography Rosselli was born on 29 June 1900, in Rome, to a prominent Jewish family. His parents were Giuseppe Emanuele "Joe" Rossel ...
, 36. The gunmen were members of the French fascist group ''
La Cagoule (, "The Cowl"; founded in 1936) was a French fascist-leaning and anti-communist militant group. It opposed the left-wing Popular Front (in office, June 1936 to 1938) and used violence to promote its activities in the final years of the Thi ...
'', apparently after being hired by the Mussolini government./ref> The two were visiting the French resort town of
Bagnoles-de-l'Orne Bagnoles-de-l'Orne is a former commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2000, Tessé-la-Madeleine and Bagnoles-de-l'Orne merged becoming one town called Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, however, it adopted the former Insee code of ...
when they were killed. **
Francisco Olazábal Francisco Olazábal (October 12, 1886 – June 1, 1937) was a Mexican Pentecostalism, Pentecostal Evangelism, evangelist, who conducted an Faith healing, evangelistic healing ministry and founded the Interdenominational Mexican Council of Christia ...
, 50, Mexican-American Christian evangelist and faith healer, died eight days after being fatally injured in a car accident.


June 10, 1937 (Thursday)

*German-born biochemist Hans Krebs and his colleague
William Arthur Johnson Rev. William Arthur Johnson (1816–1880) was an amateur biologist, naturalist, microscopist, botanist, and ordained clergyman who lived in Canada. Biography Known as Arthur, Johnson was born in Bombay, India. His father, John Johnson, served u ...
first described the
citric acid cycle The citric acid cycle—also known as the Krebs cycle, Szent–Györgyi–Krebs cycle, or TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle)—is a series of chemical reaction, biochemical reactions that release the energy stored in nutrients through acetyl-Co ...
— commonly called the "Krebs cycle" — in a short manuscript sent to ''
Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
'', the British weekly
scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...
. The editor of ''Nature'' rejected the submission and suggested that he "submit it for early publication to another periodical." Krebs wrote a longer version of his paper which was published two months later by the Dutch journal ''Enzymologia''. *Nazi Germany announced an ambitious 15-year development plan for the city of
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
that envisioned the construction of a 60-story skyscraper and a suspension bridge across the
Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
. *Born: **
Luciana Paluzzi Luciana Paluzzi (born 10 June 1937) is an Italian actress. She is perhaps best known for playing SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe in the fourth James Bond film, '' Thunderball'', but she had important roles in notable films of the 1960s and 1970s ...
, Italian film actress; in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
**
Richard Foreman Richard Foreman (born Edward L. Friedman; June 10, 1937 – January 4, 2025) was an American avant-garde experimental playwright and the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater. Though highly original and singular, his work was influenced by ...
, American
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
playwright; as Edward L. Friedman in New York City (d.2025) *Died: **Sir
Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942), Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known ...
, 82,
Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
from 1911 to 1920 ** Dennis Kincaid, 31, British novelist and civil servant, known for ''The Grand Rebel: An Impression of Shivaji, Founder of the Maratha Empire'' (1936), drowned while swimming in the ocean during a rough sea. ** Jane Foss Barff, 73, Australian women's rights advocate.


June 11, 1937 (Friday)

*The secret Moscow trial known as the
Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization The Case of the Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization, also known as the Military Case or the Tukhachevsky Case, was a 1937 secret trial of the high command of the Red Army, a part of the Great Purge. Defendants The Case was a secret ...
began. *The comedy film '' A Day at the Races'', starring the
Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act known for their anarchic humor, rapid-fire wordplay, and visual gags. They achieved success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in 14 motion pictures. The core group consisted of brothers Chi ...
, was released. *Born: **
Robin Warren John Robin Warren (11 June 1937 – 23 July 2024) was an Australian pathologist, Nobel laureate, and researcher who is credited with the 1979 re-discovery of the bacterium '' Helicobacter pylori'', together with Barry Marshall. The duo pr ...
, Australian pathologist and Nobel laureate; in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
(d. 2024) ** Don Fleming, American college and professional football player; in
Bellaire, Ohio Bellaire is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,870 at the 2020 census, having peaked in 1920. It is part of the Wheeling metropolitan area. The Bellaire Brid ...
(killed in construction accident,. 1963) *Died: ** R. J. Mitchell, 42, British aircraft designer known for the
Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer. It is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II. The company built a range of seaplanes and flying boats, winning the Schneider Trophy for seaplanes with three cons ...
flying boats, died from
colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...
. Mitchell would later be the subject of the 1942 British film ''
The First of the Few ''The First of the Few'' (US title ''Spitfire'') is a 1942 British black-and-white biographical film produced and directed by Leslie Howard (actor), Leslie Howard, who stars as R. J. Mitchell, the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter air ...
''. **
Máté Zalka Béla Frankl (23 April 1896 – 11 June 1937), known by the name Máté Zalka, was a Hungarian writer, soldier, and revolutionary. He fought in the Royal Hungarian Army during the First World War and was captured by the Imperial Russian Army. ...
, 41, Hungarian writer and revolutionary, was killed 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 ...
while fighting for the
International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...
in aid of the Spanish Second Republic.


June 12, 1937 (Saturday)

*The Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Trial ended swiftly with eight Soviet generals shot for treason the day after being found guilty of accusations of espionage. Those executed were Marshal of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj; – 12 June 1937), nicknamed the Red Napoleon, was a Soviet general who was prominen ...
; General
Boris Feldman Boris Mironovich Feldman () (1890 – June 12, 1937) was a Soviet military commander and politician. He was executed during the Great Purge and rehabilitated during the Khrushchev Thaw. Early years Feldman was born in Pinsk, Minsk Governorat ...
; Colonel General
Vitaly Primakov Vitaliy Markovich Primakov (; ) (3 December 1897 – 12 June 1937) was a Soviet revolutionary, military leader of the Red Army, and commander of the Red Cossacks. He was a close friend of the Kotsiubynsky family and a son-in-law of Mykhailo Kot ...
; General
Vitovt Putna Vitovt Kazimirovich Putna (, ; 31 March 1893 – 12 June 1937) was a Soviet Red Army officer of Lithuanian origin. A World War I veteran of the Imperial Russian Army and Bolshevik since 1917, Putna was a ''komdiv'' during the Polish–Sovie ...
; General
Ieronim Uborevich Ieronim Petrovich Uborevich (; ; – 12 June 1937) was a Soviet military commander of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, reaching the rank of komandarm in 1935. He was executed during the Great Purge in June 1937 and was posthumously ...
; General
Iona Yakir Iona Emmanuilovich Yakir (; 3 August 1896 – 12 June 1937) was a Red Army commander and one of the world's major military reformers between World War I and World War II. He was an early and major military victim of the Great Purge, alongsid ...
; General
Roberts Eidemanis Roberts Eidemanis (, ''Robert Petrovich Eideman''; May 9, 1895 – June 12, 1937) was a Latvian Soviet Komkor, writer and poet. Executed during the Latvian Operation of the Great Purge, he was rehabilitated during the Khrushchev Thaw. Early ...
; and General
August Kork August Ivanovich Kork (, also Аугуст Яанович Корк; 12 June 1937) was an Estonian Red Army commander ( Komandarm 2nd rank) who was tried and executed during the Great Purge in 1937. Kork became an officer of the Imperial Rus ...
. *The
Battle of Bilbao The Battle of Bilbao, part of the War in the North in the Spanish Civil War, saw the Nationalist Army capture Bilbao and the rest of the Basque Country that was still being held by the Spanish Republic. Background Bilbao was the capital of ...
started 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 ...
as the
Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...
launched an assault on the city. The attack prompted the evacuation of 1,500 children on the oceean liner ''Habana'', with an escort by the Royal Navy warship HMS ''Hood'' to transport "los niños de la guerra" to the United Kingdom. Within seven days, Bilbao would be under Nationalist control. *The Spanish Republicans launched the
Huesca Offensive The Huesca Offensive was an operation carried out during the Spanish Civil War by the Republican Army in June 1937 in order to take the Aragonese city of Huesca, which since the start of the war in July 1936 had been under the control of the N ...
in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to divert the Spanish Nationalists attack on Bilbao. *
Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (October 22, 1906 – March 20, 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied a ...
's popular
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
play '' Dead End'', which introduced the "
Dead End Kids The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York City who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play '' Dead End'' in 1935. In 1937, producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film. They ...
" franchise of 89 films, closed after 687 performances. *Golfer
Ralph Guldahl Ralph J. Guldahl (November 22, 1911 – June 11, 1987) was an American professional golfer, one of the top five players in the sport from 1936 to 1940. He won sixteen PGA Tour-sanctioned tournaments, including three majors (two U.S. Opens and one ...
won the U.S. Open, defeating
Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (; May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four decades (having won PGA of America and Senior PGA Tour events over six decades) an ...
by two strokes. *The
Greater Texas & Pan-American Exposition The Greater Texas & Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas ( USA). The exhibition promoted the city of Dallas as the cultural and economic capital of an emerging Pan-American civilization stretching from Tierr ...
opened in
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. *The body of Henry Clay Torrence of
Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.
, was recovered on Angel Island in
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
. Torrence was the first person to die by falling from the
Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...
after its opening, but whether his death was an accident, suicide or murder is unknown. *Born: **
Mujaddid Ahmed Ijaz Mujaddid Ahmed Ijaz, Ph.D. (Urdu: ; June 12, 1937 – July 9, 1992), was a Pakistani-American experimental physicist noted for his role in discovering new isotopes that expanded the neutron-deficient side of the atomic chart. Some of the isoto ...
, Pakistani-born American experimental physicist known for the discovery of new
isotope Isotopes are distinct nuclear species (or ''nuclides'') of the same chemical element. They have the same atomic number (number of protons in their Atomic nucleus, nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemica ...
s; in
Baddomalhi Baddomalhi is a town located 35 miles northeast of Lahore, Pakistan in Narowal District. It is located at 31°58'60 North 74°40'0 East with an altitude of 217 metres (715 feet). Demographics According to the 2023 census, It has populatio ...
, Punjab Province,
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
(d. 1992 of cancer) **
Vladimir Arnold Vladimir Igorevich Arnold (or Arnol'd; , ; 12 June 1937 – 3 June 2010) was a Soviet and Russian mathematician. He is best known for the Kolmogorov–Arnold–Moser theorem regarding the stability of integrable systems, and contributed to s ...
, Ukrainian mathematician known for the
Kolmogorov–Arnold representation theorem In real analysis and approximation theory, the Kolmogorov–Arnold representation theorem (or superposition theorem) states that every multivariate continuous function f\colon ,1n\to \R can be represented as a superposition of continuous single-va ...
, the
Arnold conjecture The Arnold conjecture, named after mathematician Vladimir Arnold, is a mathematical conjecture in the field of symplectic geometry, a branch of differential geometry. Strong Arnold conjecture Let (M, \omega) be a closed (compact without boundary) ...
and for
Arnold invariants In mathematics, particularly in topology and knot theory, Arnold invariants are Knot invariant, invariants introduced by Vladimir Arnold in 1994Arnold, V. I. (1994). ''Topological Invariants of Plane Curves and Caustics''. University Lecture Serie ...
; in
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
,
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
,
Soviet Union 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 ...
(d. 2010 of pancreatitis) **Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, American physician and consumer advocate against unsafe pharmaceuticals; in
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
(d.2024) *Died: **Royal Navy Captain Cecil Ryther Acklom, 65, Romanian-born British Navy officer knowwn for the development of the
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
** Maria Ulyanova, 59, Soviet Russian revolutionary and younger sister of
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
, died of heart disease.


June 13, 1937 (Sunday)

*The Spanish Nationalists under the command of Generalissimo
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 ...
came within of
Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
, capturing a range of hills east of the city. The Nationalists captured
Las Arenas Areeta (''Las Arenas'' in Spanish) is a neighbourhood of Getxo (Biscay, Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain). It is an affluent residential area that was built over the sands of a beach where the Gobela Creek died into a di ...
the next day, cutting Bilbao off from the sea. *
Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...
defeated Kobe University of Commerce, 3 to 0, to win Japan's
Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...
soccer football championship. *Died: William F. Lloyd, 72,
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
of the
Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...
from 1918 to 1919


June 14, 1937 (Monday)

*
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
set aside land for the first of 76
national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
, as a decree of President
Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...
created the
Itatiaia National Park Itatiaia National Park () was established in 1937 as the first national park in Brazil, and after more than 85 years, the oldest. It is located on the border between the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. Location The Itatiaia National P ...
from parts of the states of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
and
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
. *The Irish Parliament was dissolved and new elections called for July 1. *The Social Credit backbenchers' revolt in
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
came to an end when Premier
William Aberhart William Aberhart (December 30, 1878 – May 23, 1943), also known as "Bible Bill" for his radio sermons about the Bible, was a Canadian politician and the seventh premier of Alberta from 1935 to his death in 1943. He was the founder and first le ...
finally got a budget passed in the legislature by a vote of 40–7. *'' The Happy Gang'', a popular radio show that would run for 22 years on the CBC Radio Network premiered on the radio station CRCT, before moving in October to the other CBC affiliates. The first cast had host Bert Pearl ("that slap-happy chappy, the Happy Gang's Own Pappy"), trumpeter
Bob Farnon Robert Joseph Farnon CM (24 July 191723 April 2005) was a Canadian-born composer, conductor, musical arranger and trumpet player. As well as being a composer of original works (often in the light music genre), he was commissioned by film and t ...
, violinist Blain Mathé and organist Kay Stokes, the only cast member who would remain with the show during its entire run. *Born:
Jørgen Leth Jørgen Leth (; born 14 June 1937) is a Danish poet and film director who is considered a leading figure in experimental documentary film making. Most notable are his documentary '' A Sunday in Hell'' (1977) and his surrealistic short film '' T ...
, Danish documentary filmmaker and sports commentator; in
Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...


June 15, 1937 (Tuesday)

*An avalanche killed 16 people on a German expedition making an ascent of the Himalayan mountain of Siniolchu in
Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
, now part of India. The Deutsche Himalaja-Stiftung team, led by Karl Wien, was camping for the night when, at 12:10 in the morning local time, a
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
broke above Wien's camp, burying tents in snow high. Seven German climbers and nine Sherpa guides were crushed to death. *A total reward of $1,500 was ordered by U.S. Attorney General
Homer Cummings Homer Stille Cummings (April 30, 1870 – September 10, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician who was the United States attorney general from 1933 to 1939. He also was elected mayor of Stamford, Connecticut, three times before founding th ...
for members of the Brady Gang of armed robbers, led by Al Brady. The Justice Department offered $500 apiece for any information furnished to the FBI resulting in the apprehension of Brady, James Dalhover or Clarence Lee Shaffer Jr. The Brady gang was traced four months later to
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...
, where Everett Hurd, owner of Dakin's Sporting Goods Store, had been approached by the gang for the purchase of several
Thompson submachine gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy gun", "Chicago typewriter", or "trench broom") is a blowback-operated, selective-fire submachine gun, invented and developed by Brigadier General John T. Thompson, a United States Arm ...
s and 500 rounds of .30-caliber ammunition. On October 12, 1937, because of Hurd's tip, FBI agents were ready when Brady, Dalhover and Shaffer returned to the store to collect their purchase. Dalhover was captured alive while Brady and Shaffer were killed in a shootout. *Switzerland recognized the Italian conquest of Ethiopia. *Born: **
Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...
, American
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
singer and actor, known for the theme from ''The Dukes of Hazzard''; near
Littlefield, Texas Littlefield is a city in and the county seat of Lamb County, Texas, United States. Its population was 5,943 at the 2020 census. It is located in a significant cotton-growing region, northwest of Lubbock on the Llano Estacado just south o ...
(d. 2002) ** Herbert Feuerstein, Austrian-born German comedian, magazine editor and television actor; in
Zell am See Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its Ski resort, ski resorts and shorel ...
(d. 2020) ** K. A. Siddiqui, Pakistani botanist and genetic engineer; in
Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...
,
Central Provinces and Berar The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the Central Provinces with the province of Berar, which was territory leased by the ...
,
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
(d.2009) **
Alan Thornett Alan Thornett (born 15 June 1937) is a British Trotskyist. Alan Thornett began his career as a car worker in Plant Oxford, Cowley, Oxford in 1959. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain there in 1960 before being recruited with other ...
, British Trotskyist activist; in
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
, England *Died: William P. Connery Jr., 48, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts since 1923, and chairman of the House Labor Committee, died from
food poisoning Foodborne illness (also known as foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease), and toxins such ...
.


June 16, 1937 (Wednesday)

*Spanish Prime Minister
Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish physician and politician who served as prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (, PSOE) and of the le ...
banned the Communist political party
POUM The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (, POUM; , POUM) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War. It was formed by the fusion of the Trotskyism, Tro ...
(Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista or Workers' Party for Marxist Unification). Party Chairman
Andreu Nin Andreu Nin i Pérez (; 4 February 1892 – 20 June 1937) was a Spanish politician, trade unionist and translator. He is mainly known for his role in various Spanish left-wing movements of the early 20th century and, later, for his role in the S ...
, who had served as the Justice Minister for
Revolutionary Catalonia Revolutionary Catalonia (21 July 1936 – 8 May 1937) was the period in which the autonomous region of Catalonia in northeast Spain was controlled or largely influenced by various anarchist, syndicalist, communist, and socialist trade unions, p ...
during its brief existence as an autonomous state within Spain, was arrested along with other leaders. After his arrest, Nin was turned over to Soviet agents within Spain and was not seen in public again. *Germany and Italy rejoined neutral ship patrols around Spain. *Born: **
Simeon Sakskoburggotski Simeon Borisov Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last Tsar of the Tsardom of Bulgaria as Simeon II from 1943 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished by a referendum, forcing Simeon ...
, who ruled Bulgaria as King Simeon II from 1943 to 1946, and later was elected as Prime Minister to serve from 2001 to 2005; in
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
**
August Busch III August Anheuser Busch III (born June 16, 1937) is a great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch founder Adolphus Busch and was the company's chairman until November 30, 2006. August Busch III is informally known as "Auggie" and as "The Third" or "Three Stic ...
, American businessman and chairman of the board of the
Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC ( ) is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...
beer brewing company from 1977 to 2006, as well as being the great-grandson of the company's founder
Adolphus Busch Adolphus Busch (10 July 1839 – 10 October 1913) was the German-born co-founder of Anheuser-Busch with his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser. He introduced numerous innovations, building the success of the company in the late 19th and early 2 ...
; in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
**
Charmian May Charmian Rosemary May (16 June 1937 – 24 October 2002) was an English character actress best known for her television and film roles. She appeared in the sitcoms '' The Good Life'', '' The Upper Hand'' and ''Keeping Up Appearances'', and ...
, English actress; in
Purbrook Purbrook is a village and local government sub-division located in Hampshire, England. Purbrook is on the outskirts of Waterlooville just north of the Portsmouth city Boundary. Purbrook village is part of Purbrook Ward which also includes Widle ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
(d. 2002) **
Marilyn Van Derbur Marilyn Elaine Van Derbur (born June 16, 1937) is an American author, motivational speaker, and beauty pageant titleholder. In July 1957, she was crowned Miss Colorado 1957. On September 7, 1957, she was crowned Miss America 1958 in Atlantic Ci ...
, American TV hostess and motivational speaker who was crowned as Miss America 1958; in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
*Died:
Alexander Chervyakov Alexander Grigoryevich Chervyakov (Aliaksandr Charviakou, , ''Aliaksandr Ryhoravič Čarviakoŭ'' , ''Aleksandr Grigor'evič Červjakov''; 25 February 1892 — 16 June 1937) was a Soviet Union, Soviet Politician and revolutionary and one of the f ...
, 45, Soviet Belarusian Communist leader, committed suicide before being arrested as part of the
Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...
.


June 17, 1937 (Thursday)

*An explosion on the Spanish Navy battleship '' Jaime I'' killed at least 200 crew while the ship was in harbor at Cartagena. *A state funeral was held in Germany for 31 victims of the May 29 Deutschland incident. *The adventure film ''
King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' is an 1885 popular fiction, popular novel by the English Victorian literature, Victorian adventure writer and fable, fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. Published by Cassell and Company, it tells of an expedition through an ...
'' premiered in the United Kingdom. *The drama film '' The Road Back'' starring John King and
Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1658 to 1659. He was the son of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Following his father ...
premiered at the Globe Theatre in New York City. *The Cuban band
Orquesta Casino de la Playa Orquesta Casino de la Playa, founded in 1937 in Havana, Cuba, was a band that bridged Cuban popular music and the sound of American Jazz Big Bands. It was led by tres player Arsenio Rodríguez, and launched the career of many important musicians in ...
recorded " Bruca maniguá",
Arsenio Rodríguez Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; August 31, 1911 – December 30, 1970)Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana, v. 4, p. 45 et seq. was a Cuban musician, composer and bandl ...
's first hit. *Born: **
Clodovil Hernandes Clodovil Hernandes (; 17 June 1937 – 17 March 2009) was a Brazilian fashion stylist, fashion designer, television presenter, and politician. Hernandes made his debut of fame as a fashion stylist during the 60s and 70s, after which he was invit ...
, Brazilian fashion designer, television host and politician who was the first openly gay member of the Brazilian Congress; in
Catanduva Catanduva is a municipality in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 122,497 (2020 est.) in an area of 290.59 km2. Is the second largest city in the Northern part of the state, after São José do Rio Preto. ...
,
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
(d.2009) ** Arthur Schmidt, American film editor and winner of two Academy Awards for editing of ''
Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis. An adaptation of the Forrest Gump (novel), 1986 novel by Winston Groom, the screenplay of the film is written by Eric Roth. It stars Tom Hanks in the title rol ...
'' and ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...
''; in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
(d.2023) *Died: Marvel Rea, 35, American silent film actress, committed suicide 10 months after having been kidnapped and raped by a gang of three men.


June 18, 1937 (Friday)

*In Spain, the Nationalists captured the Santo Domingo hills northeast of
Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
after a week-long assault and surrounded the city completely. *
Achille Starace Achille Starace (; 18 August 1889 – 29 April 1945) was a prominent leader of Fascist Italy before and during World War II. Early life and career Starace was born in Sannicola, province of Lecce, in southern Apulia. His father was a wine and oi ...
, Secretary of the
National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party (, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian fascism and as a reorganisation of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The party ruled the Kingdom of It ...
, decreed that all party members were required to subscribe to Benito Mussolini's newspaper, ''
Il Popolo d'Italia ''Il Popolo d'Italia'' (; ) was an Italian newspaper published from 15 November 1914 until 24 July 1943. It was founded by Benito Mussolini as a pro-war newspaper during World War I, and it later became the main newspaper of the Fascist movemen ...
''. *Born: ** Vitaly Zholobov, Soviet Ukrainian cosmonaut on the 1976
Soyuz 21 Soyuz 21 (, ''Union 21'') was a 1976 Soviet crewed mission to the Salyut 5 space station, the first of three flights to the station. The mission's objectives were mainly military in scope, but included other scientific work. The mission ended ...
mission to the
Salyut 5 Salyut 5 ( meaning ''Salute 5''), also known as OPS-3, was a Soviet space station. Launched in 1976 as part of the Salyut programme, it was the third and last Almaz space station to be launched for the Soviet military. Two Soyuz missions visited ...
space station, later the
Governor of Kherson Oblast The governor of Kherson Oblast is the Chief of Local State Administration (Ukraine), head of executive branch for the Kherson Oblast in Ukraine. The office of governor is an appointed position, with officeholders being appointed by the president ...
from 1985 to 1996; in Zburjevka,
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
**
Gail Godwin Gail Godwin (born June 18, 1937) is an American novelist and short story writer. Godwin has written 14 novels, two short story collections, three non-fiction books, and ten libretti. Her primary literary accomplishments are her novels, which hav ...
, American novelist; in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
**
Wray Carlton Linwood Wray Carlton (born June 18, 1937) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in both Canada and the United States. He played college football for the Duke Blue Devils. Unable to come to terms with the Ph ...
, American football player, AFL and CFL running back; in
Wallace, North Carolina Wallace is a town in Duplin County, North Carolina, Duplin and Pender County, North Carolina, Pender counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 3,883 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Pender County portion o ...
*Died:
Gaston Doumergue Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue (; 1 August 1863 in Aigues-Vives, Gard18 June 1937 in Aigues-Vives) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1924 to 1931. Tasked with important ministerial portfolios, he was first appo ...
, 73,
President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...
from 1924 to 1931


June 19, 1937 (Saturday)

*In the Spanish Civil War, the
Battle of Bilbao The Battle of Bilbao, part of the War in the North in the Spanish Civil War, saw the Nationalist Army capture Bilbao and the rest of the Basque Country that was still being held by the Spanish Republic. Background Bilbao was the capital of ...
ended with the Nationalists capturing the city. At the same time, the Republicans'
Huesca Offensive The Huesca Offensive was an operation carried out during the Spanish Civil War by the Republican Army in June 1937 in order to take the Aragonese city of Huesca, which since the start of the war in July 1936 had been under the control of the N ...
failed to turn back the Nationalists. *In
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
, oil workers led by union organizar Tubal "Buzz" Butler walked out on strike. When police attempted to arrest Butler as he was addressing a crowd in
Fyzabad Fyzabad is a town in southwestern Trinidad, south of San Fernando, west of Siparia and northeast of Point Fortin. It is named after the town of Faizabad in India. Colloquially it is known as "Fyzo" by many people. History Fyzabad was founde ...
, rioting began on the island of Trinidad. *What would later be dubbed the "Women's Day Massacre" occurred in
Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
in fighting between Youngstown police and strikers during the " Little Steel strike". Two people died and 23 were injured over two days of rioting. *The
Australian Academy of Art The Australian Academy of Art was a conservative Australian government-authorised art organisation which operated for ten years between 1937 and 1946 and staged annual exhibitions. Its demise resulted from opposition by Modernist artists, especial ...
, an attempt by the conservative Australian government to give official endorsement of specific genres of art, was founded at a hotel in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
by delegates from Australia's states, led by future prime minister Robert Menzies. The Academy would be dissolved in 1946. *Pennsylvania Governor George Howard Earle III, George H. Earle declared martial law in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Johnstown in order to prevent violence at the Bethlehem Steel Corporation's mill at Cambria during an ongoing strike. Earle sent 500 Pennsylvania State Troopers and Highway Patrol to close the mill and evacuate the people inside, then enforce the law within the city. The United Mine Workers voluntarily called off a planned Sunday march of 40,000 miners. *Born: Chow Yam-nam, Bak Lung-won, the White Dragon King (Bak Lung-wong), Thailand-born Hong Kong Taoism, Taoist said to have the power to bless the careers of his clients toward success, including Jackie Chan, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung and Shu Qi; as Chow Yam-nam, in Pattaya (d.2013) *Died: **J. M. Barrie, 77, Scottish author and dramatistl known for creating ''Peter Pan'' **Yakov Doletsky, 48, Polish-born Soviet journalist who served s the executive director of the Soviet news agency TASS from 1925 to 1937, committed suicide after learning that he was to be arrested as part of Stalin's
Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...
.


June 20, 1937 (Sunday)

*The :ru:Беспосадочный перелёт Москва — Северный полюс — Ванкувер, longest transpolar flight up to that time, from Moscow to the United States over the North Pole, was completed as Valery Chkalov, Georgy Baydukov and Alexander Vasilyevich Belyakov, Alexander Belyakov landed their Tupolev ANT-25 airplane at an airfield at the Vancouver Barracks at Vancouver, Washington. Though their original destination was Oakland, California, the Soviets' landing demonstrated that a north-south flight over the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
between two northern nations was shorter than a flight on an east-west route. The flight was made to test the prospects of trans-polar air travel. *All Catholic schools in the Nazi German state of Bavaria were declared abolished by order of the Gauleiter (state premier) Adolf Wagner. *The Geibeltbad Pirna, at the time the largest (2,000 square meters or 21,500 square feet) outdoor swimming pool in the world, opened near Dresden, Germany. The Geibeltbad had a capacity for as many as 2,500 people. *A crowd of 101,000 fans attended the 1937 German football championship to watch FC Schalke 04 defeat 1. FC Nürnberg, 2 to 0, to win the Viktoria (trophy), Viktoria Trophy of German soccer football (fußball). *Born: Rosa Luna, Uruguayan dancer (d. 1993) *Died: Henny Magnussen, 58, the first woman barrister in Denmark, died from heart disease.


June 21, 1937 (Monday)

*Léon Blum resigned as Prime Minister of France when the Senate refused to give him special powers to deal with the country's financial crisis. *The 1937 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon tennis tournament was televised for the first time, as BBC Television commentator Freddie Grisewood gave commentary on the opening matches for the few people in London who had a television set. Using three television vans to supply the equipment, the BBC was able to show a live event outside of its studios for the first time. For 25 minutes, Grisewood spoke as viewers saw parts of two opening matches, starting with Bunny Austin of England against George Lyttleton Rogers of Ireland, followed by Jack Crawford (tennis), Jack Crawford of Australia against Roderich Menzel of Czechoslovakia. Crawford and Austin won their matches and advanced to the second round. *Ohio Governor Martin L. Davey ordered 4,500 National Guardsmen to Youngstown to stop rioting during the Little Steel strike against Republic Steel. *Born: Sizakele Sigxashe, South African anti-apartheid activist and first director of the nation's National Intelligence Agency (South Africa), National Intelligence Agency; in South Africa (d. 2011) *Died: Janis Pauluks, 71, Prime Minister of Latvia for six months in 1923


June 22, 1937 (Tuesday)

*Joe Louis won boxing's List of heavyweight boxing champions, World Heavyweight Championship with an eighth-round knockout of title holder James J. Braddock at Comiskey Park in Chicago. *Camille Chautemps became Prime Minister of France for the third time. *An espionage tribunal was established in the Spanish Republic with the primary task of putting members of
POUM The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (, POUM; , POUM) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active around the Spanish Civil War. It was formed by the fusion of the Trotskyism, Tro ...
on trial. *Two Soviet gun boats were reported to have attacked Manchukuo troops near Heiho, on the Amur River. *Born: Chris Blackwell, British record producer, 2001 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who founded Island Records and popularized reggae music; in Westminster, London *Died: Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, 36, Malagasy author and Africa's first modern poet, committed suicide by swallowing pottasium cyanide.


June 23, 1937 (Wednesday)

*Hitler sent the strongest units of the ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
'' toward Valencia for a "demonstration" after dropping out of the international neutral ship patrol for the second time, since Britain and France refused to allow Germany to secure satisfaction for an alleged Spanish submarine attack on the cruiser . The government of the Second Spanish Republic warned that it would fight back if any power shelled a city within the Republic. *The All India Football Federation (AIFF), governing body of soccer football in India, was founded in Shimla (at the time the summer capital of British India, located in the Punjab Province, by representatives of nine regional associations the Indian Football Association (IFA, serving the Bengal Presidency, Bengal Province), Services Sports Control Board, Army Sports Control Board, Punjab Football Association, North-West India Football Association, Bihar Olympic Association, Western India Football Association (WIFA, serving the Bombay Presidency, Bombay Province, Tamil Nadu Football Association, Madras Football Association, United Provinces Sports Control Board, Karnataka State Football Association, Mysore Football Association, and Rajasthan Football Association, Ajmer and Mewar Football Association. *Born: Martti Ahtisaari, President of Finland from 1994 to 2000, and 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate; in Vyborg, Viipuri (d. 2023)


June 24, 1937 (Thursday)

*Paul Robeson made an important speech on 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 ...
at the Royal Albert Hall in London during a benefit to raise funds for Basque refugee children. "There is no standing above the conflict on Olympian heights. There are no impartial observers", Robeson said. "The liberation of Spain from the oppression of fascist reactionaries is not a private matter of the Spaniards, but the common cause of all advanced and progressive humanity." *The 1937 Imperial Conference, 8th Imperial Conference, which had opened on May 14 with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom hosting the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, the Secretary of State for India and the Chief Minister of Burma. *The Principality of Liechtenstein added a crown to its Flag of Liechtenstein, national flag so that it would no longer be identical to the flag of Haiti, remedying a problem that had gone unnoticed until both nations had participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics.


June 25, 1937 (Friday)

*An innovation by promoters of professional wrestling, the "Cage#Entertainment, steel cage match" made its debut *Neville Chamberlain made his first major foreign policy speech as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the British House of Commons, advising against overly criticizing Germany's involvement 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 ...
because of the danger of a larger European war. "There are sometimes conditions to be found when an incautious move or even a sudden loud exclamation may start an avalanche," he said, adding "That is just the condition in which we are finding ourselves to-day. I believe, although the snow may be perilously poised it has not yet begun to move, and if we can all exercise caution, patience and self-restraint we may yet be able to save the peace of Europe." *The historical adventure film ''Wee Willie Winkie (film), Wee Willie Winkie'', based on a novel by Rudyard Kipling and starring Shirley Temple and Victor McLaglen, premiered in Los Angeles. *Born: **Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait from 2020 to 2023; in Kuwait City (d.2023) **Keizō Obuchi, Prime Minister of Japan from 1998 to 2000; in Nakanojō, Gunma Prefecture (d. 2000) *Died: Colin Clive, 37, English film actor known for starring in ''Frankenstein (1931 film), Frankenstein'' and its 1935 sequel, ''Bride of Frankenstein'', died of tuberculosis.


June 26, 1937 (Saturday)

*The eleventh annual 1937 English Greyhound Derby, English Greyhound Derby was held at a track at the track at London's White City Stadium. It was won by Wattle Bark, who set a new record for fastest speed by running the in 29.26 seconds. *Mary Pickford and Buddy Rogers (actor), Charles "Buddy" Rogers were married in a simple ceremony in Los Angeles. *Born: Robert Coleman Richardson, American experimental physicist; in Washington, D.C. (d. 2013)


June 27, 1937 (Sunday)

*Martin Niemöller gave what would be his last sermon in Nazi Germany, stating, "No more are we ready to keep silent at man's behest when God commands us to speak. For it is, and must remain, the case that we must obey God rather than man." *Born: **Mehdi Hasan (Pakistani journalist), Mehdi Hasan, Pakistani journalist and news agency chief; in Panipat, Punjab Province,
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
(d.2022) *Died: **Bertha Worms, 69, French-born Brazilian painter **Harold Heygate, 52, English cricketer best known for the 1919 "Heygate Incident" where he was a spectator recruited to play for Sussex in a first-cricket game


June 28, 1937 (Monday)

*The Soviet Communist Party's Politburo issue a decree directing the creation of a three-member panel to determine which political prisoners in West Siberia should be executed as part of the
Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...
. The NKVD Order No. 00447 decree, titled "Regarding operations to repress former kulaks, criminals, and other anti-Soviet elements" was issued by NKVD Director Nikolai Yezhov on July 30, 1937. Robert Eikhe, a candidate member of the Communist Party's ruling Politburo, was appointed as the Party's representative with :ru:Миронов, Сергей Наумович, Sergei Mironov to make final approval over which of 26,000 defendants would be marked for execution. *The new French Finance Minister Georges Bonnet addressed the country's financial crisis by closing the stock market and suspending all commercial payments in gold and foreign currencies until further notice. *Béla Kun, who had founded the Communist Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919 and served as its first leader, was arrested by the NKVD after being denounced as Trotskyism, Trotskyite with anti-Soviet objectives. He would be executed in prison on August 29, 1938. *The Soviet Union executed and additional 36 people who were convicted of espionage during the Great Purge. *Born: **Ron Luciano, American baseball umpire; in Endicott, New York (d. 1995) **Charlie Flowers, American college football star and inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame; in Marianna, Arkansas (d.2014) *Died: George Warren Russell, 83, New Zealand politician


June 29, 1937 (Tuesday)

*The Spanish Nationalists occupied Balmaseda. *Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King had separate meetings with Hermann Göring and Adolf Hitler in Berlin. Mackenzie King's diary entry that day described Hitler as "a man of deep sincerity and a genuine patriot." *The Lewiston–Auburn shoe strike, which had started on March 25, ended after three months without concessions to the strikers. *Bronko Nagurski, an NFL star in professional football (and later inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame), won the world heavyweight pro wrestling championship at a bout in Minneapolis by defeating champion Dean Detton.


June 30, 1937 (Wednesday)

*The first emergency telephone number in the world, 999 (emergency telephone number), 999 was inaugurated by the United Kingdom. While dialing the operator was a means of reaching help for an emergency, the 999 signal activated a buzzer and a red light at the switchboard to get immediate attention. The U.S. 911 (emergency telephone number), 911 system would not be inaugurated until more than 30 years later in 1968. *Germany's Reichsminister of Church Affairs, Hanns Kerrl, decreed that the government would control all funds of Protestant churches. Thereafter, ministry officials oversaw all aspects of the churches' financial activities, from revenues collected during church services, and their expenditures including ministers' salaries. *The record for highest altitude by a human being was broken as RAF Flight Lieutenant M.J. Adam reached flying a Bristol Type 138 over the United Kingdom. *Portugal ceased cooperation with the Non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War, Non-Intervention Committee patrol agreement, and ordered British observers off its soil. *To celebrate the anniversary of the 1910 founding of the Boy Scouts of America, the BSA's first First National Jamboree, National Jamboree opened in Washington D.C., with 25,000 scouts camping out on the grounds of the National Mall. The event closed on July 9. *Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Jr., son of the President of the United States, and Ethel du Pont, heiress to the du Pont family fortune, were married in Wilmington, Delaware in the American society wedding of the decade. *Born: **Noel Black, American film and television director, screenwriter and producer; in Chicago (d. 2014) **Dinkar Joshi, Indian novelist; in Bhavnagar district, Bhadi Bhandaria, Bombay Presidency, Bombay Province,
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
(now Gujarat state) **Larry Henley, American songwriter best known for penning the lyrics of "Wind Beneath My Wings"; in Odessa, Texas (d.2014) *Died: Frank A. Vanderlip, 72, American banker known for the founding of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, for serving as the president of the National City Bank of New York (now Citibank from 1909 to 1919, and for introducing the Montessori school to the United States.


References

{{Events by month links June 1937, June by year, 1937 Months in the 1930s, *1937-06