• The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.
• The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.

March

• Mount Rushmore National Memorial is dedicated.
• A powerful earthquake and tsunami hit Honshū, Japan killing some 3,000.

• American President Herbert Hoover is succeeded by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who in reference to the Great Depression, gives his "The only thing we've to fear, is fear itself" inauguration speech. FDR is sworn in by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes. It would also be the last time Inauguration Day in the United States would occur on March 4.
• Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, first female member of the United States Cabinet.
• The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure - Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates authoritarian rule by decree (see Austrofascism).

• Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a "bank holiday", closing all United States banks and freezing all financial transactions (the 'holiday' ended on March 13).
• In German elections, National Socialists gain 43.9% of the votes.

April

• Beer is legalized in the U.S., eight months before the full repeal of Prohibition on December 5, 1933
• Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service passed in Germany

• Gestapo established.
• Editors of Harvard Lampoon steal the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts from the State House. It is returned two days later.

• Jessop & Son department store in Nottingham, England acquired by John Lewis Partnership. The partnership's first shop outside London.
• Stahlhelm organizations joins the Nazi party.

May

• First modern sighting of the Loch Ness Monster.
• Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.

• Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
• Paraguay declares war on Bolivia

• New Deal: The Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
• The Century of Progress World's Fair opens in Chicago.

June

July

• Wiley Post becomes first person to fly solo around the world, traveling 15,596 miles in 7 days, 18 hours, and 45 minutes.
• "Machine-Gun" Kelly and Albert Bates kidnap Charles Urschel, an Oklahoma oilman, and demand $200,000 ransom.

August - September

• Tornado destroys the town of Tampico in Mexico.
• The ice cream cone is invented in Brooklyn, NY.

October

November

• The United States and the Soviet Union establish formal diplomatic relations.
• President of Brazil Getulio Vargas names himself dictator

December

• The Nissan Motor Company was organized in Tokyo, Japan.
• FM radio is patented.

Undated

Births

January - February

• Oleg Makarov, cosmonaut (d. 2003)
• Emil Steinberger, Swiss comedian, director, and writer

• Dalida, French singer (d. 1987)
• Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French UN High Commissioner for Refugees (d. 2003)

March - April

• Michael Caine, English actor
• Quincy Jones, American music producer and composer
• René Felber, Swiss Federal Councilor

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• Roy Clark, American musician

• Larry Felser, American sports columnist
• Frank Gorshin, American actor (d. 2005)

• Montserrat Caballé, Catalan soprano
• Ben Nighthorse Campbell, U.S. Senator

• Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and comedienne
• Ilkka Kuusisto, Finnish composer
• Arno Allan Penzias, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

May - June

• James Brown, American musician (d. 2006)
• Steven Weinberg, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

• Johnny Unitas, American football player (d. 2002)
• Nexhmije Pagarusha, Albanian singer and actress

• Marc Carbonneau, Canadian terrorist
• Helmuth Rilling, German conductor

• Harry Browne, American writer and Presidential candidate (d. 2006)
• Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (d. 1970)

July - August

• Murray Halberg, New Zealand runner
• David McCullough, American historian and author

• Julian Bream, English guitarist and lutenist
• Guido Crepax, Italian comics artist (d. 2003)

• Julie Newmar, American actress
• Stuart Roosa, astronaut (d. 1994)

• Janet Baker, English mezzo-soprano
• Barry Norman, English film critic

September - October

• Conway Twitty, country music artist (d. 1993)
• Ann Richards, Governor of Texas (d. 2006)

• Mathieu Kérékou, President of Benin
• Victor Spinetti, Welsh actor

• Reginald Kray, British gangster
• Ronald Kray, British gangster
• Norman Rush, American writer

November - December

• Michael Dukakis, American politician and Presidential candidate
• Amartya Sen, Indian economist, Nobel Prize laureate

• Ugly Dave Gray, Australian television personality
• Carroll Spinney, American puppeteer

Deaths

January - June

• Wilhelm Cuno, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
• Jack Pickford, Canadian-born actor (b. 1896)

July - December

• Irving Babbitt, American literary critic (b. 1865)
• Freddie Keppard, American jazz musician (b. 1890)

Nobel prizes

Ship events

External results