1937 Events January January 1 - Anastasio Somoza becomes President of Nicaragua January 11 - The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States. January 19 - Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds. January 23 - In Moscow, 17 leading Communists go on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime and assassinate its leaders. January 31 - Ohio river floods January 31 - 31 people executed in the Soviet Union for "Trotskyism" February February 5 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes a plan to enlarge the Supreme Court of the United States. February 8 - Falangist troops take Malaga February 11 - A sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognises the United Automobile Workers Union February 16 - Wallace H. Carothers receives a patent for nylon. March March 10 - The Encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge of pope Pius XI is published in Nazi Germany March 18 - A natural gas explosion at a school in New London, Texas kills 298 (most are children). March 26 - In Crystal City, Texas spinach growers erect a statue of the cartoon character Popeye. March 26 - William Henry Hastie becomes the first African-American appointed to federal judgeship. April April 1 - Aden becomes a British crown colony. April 17 - Release of the animated short Porky's Duck Hunt, directed by Tex Avery for the Merrie Melodies series, featuring the debut of Daffy Duck. April 26 - Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe. April 27 - Golden Gate bridge opens for traffic. May May 1 - General strike in Paris, France May 6 - In United States, the German airship Hindenburg bursts into flame when mooring to a mast in Lakehurst. May 7 - Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion Fighter Group, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes arrive in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces. May - Dáil Éireann passes the Executive Authority (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937 which retrospectively abolished the office of Governor-General of the Irish Free State. The abolition was retrospectively dated back to December 1936. May 12 - Coronation of King George VI. May 27 - In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushes a button in Washington, DC signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge. June June 8 - First total solar eclipse to exceed 7 minutes of totality in over 800 years; visible in the Pacific and Peru. June 14 - Pennsylvania becomes the first (and only) of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday. June 21 - Coalition government of Leon Blum resigns in France. July July 1 - Gestapo arrests priest Martin Niemöller. July 1 - In a referendum the people of the Irish Free State accept the new Constitution by 685,105 votes to 527,945. July 5 - Highest recorded temperature in Canada, at Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan: 45 °C. July 7 - Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Lugou Bridge - Japanese forces invade China. June/July - Dáil Éireann debates and passes the draft new constitution of Éire, to be called Bunreacht na hÉireann. The new constitution is then submitted for public approval by plebiscite. July 21 - Eamon de Valera elected president of Eire July 22 - New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States. July 24 - Alabama drops rape charges against the so-called "Scottsboro Boys." July 28 - IRA bombing against the king of England in Belfast August August 6 - Falangist artillery bombards Madrid. September September 25 - Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Pingxingguan. October October 1 - Marijuana Tax Act in USA. October 3 - Japanese troops advance toward Nanking. October 21 - The whole Spanish northern seaboard in the Falangists' hands. October 21 - Roberto Ortiz elected president of Argentina. October 27 - Spanish Civil War - Republican forces in Gijon, Spain, set fire to petrol reserves before they retreat before the advancing Falangists. November November 5 Spanish Civil War - Massacre of Republican supporters in Piedrafita de Babia, near Leon. Possibly 35.000 executed. November 5 - World War II: In the Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler holds a secret meeting and states his plans for acquiring "living space" for the German people. November 9 - Japanese troops take Shanghai. December December - The Marijuana Tax Act is signed, killing the US hemp industry just as it was about to benefit from a mechanised brake and compete with cotton and wood pulp. December 3 - The Dandy, the world's longest running comic, was first published. December 12 - Panay incident December 13 - Battle of Nanjing ends and the Nanjing Massacre begins. Japanese troops would slaughter over 250,000 civilians and prisoners over three months. December 29 - New Irish Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann comes into force. The Irish Free State becomes Éire. Eamon de Valera becomes the first Taoiseach (prime minister) of the new state. A Presidential Commission (made up the Irish Chief Justice, the Speaker of Dáil Éireann and the President of the High Court) assumes the powers of the new presidency of Ireland pending the election of the first president in June 1938. Unknown dates Japan invades Manchuria. (Some consider this the start of World War II. Most historians disagree). New Irish constitution bans divorce. First science fiction convention in Leeds, United Kingdom. Italy joins Antikomintern Pact. The National House Builders Registration Council (now the NHBC) was formed in the United Kingdom. Donald Goines (1937 - 1973) Ongoing events Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) Year in topic 1937 in film The Life of Emile Zola A Star Is Born Snow White, first feature-length animated movie, and Disney created it. 1937 in literature Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer U.S.A. (trilogy) by John Dos Passos Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street! by Dr. Seuss 1937 in music 1937 in sports January 1 - The first Cotton Bowl game is played in Dallas, Texas. 1937 in television May - Gilbert Seldes becomes the first television critic, with his Atlantic Monthly article, the "Errors of Television". May 15 - RCA demonstrates projection television, with images enlarged to 8 by 10 feet, at the Institute of Radio Engineers convention. CBS announces their efforts to develop television broadcasts. 1937 in theatre Orson Welles draws loud comment with his 'Fascist' production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar Births January January 4 - Dyan Cannon, actress January 8 - Shirley Bassey, singer January 15 - Margaret O'Brien, actress January 17 - Troy Donahue, actor January 18 - John Hume, politician, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 January 27 - John Ogdon, English pianist (d. 1989) January 30 - Vanessa Redgrave, English actress January 30 - Boris Spassky, Russian chess grand master January 31 - Suzanne Pleshette, actress January 31 - Philip Glass, American composer February February 1 - Garrett Morris, comedian February 1 - Don Everly, musician February 2 - Tom Smothers, musician, comedian, half of the Smothers Brothers February 8 - Manfred Krug, actor February 11 - Lodewijk Boer, Dutch violinist/playwright February 11 - Marilyn Butler, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford University February 11 - Peter Lashley, West Indies cricket player February 11 - Bill Lawry, Australian cricket player February 12 - Charles Dumas, American high jumper February 17 - Rita Süssmuth, politician February 20 - Roger Penske, automobile racer February 20 - Nancy Wilson, singer and actress February 21 - Harald V, King of Norway (1991 - ) February 25 - Tom Courtenay, actor March March 6 - Valentina Tereshkova, cosmonaut March 9 - Mickey Gilly, country music performer March 20 - Jerry Reed, country musician March 22 - Armin Hary, German athlete March 23 - Craig Breedlove, former land speed record holder March 30 - Warren Beatty, actor/director April April 5 - Colin Powell, US Secretary of State April 6 - Merle Haggard, country musician April 6 - Billy Dee Williams, actor April 22 - Jack Nicholson, actor April 28 - Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq May May 8 - Thomas Pynchon, novelist May 6 - Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, boxer May 12 - George Carlin, comedian May 13 - Roch Carrier, Canadian author of fiction May 13 - Roger Zelazny, science fiction author (d. 1995) May 15 - Trini López, musician May 15 - Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State May 17 - Hazel R. O'Leary, United States Secretary of Energy May 18 - Brooks Robinson, Baseball Hall of Famer May 18 - Jacques Santer, politician June June 3 - Solomon P. Ortiz, American politician June 7 - Neemi Järvi, Estonian conductor June 9 - Harald Rosenthal, biologist June 18 - Vitali Zholobov, cosmonaut June 23 - Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland July July 6 - Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian pianist July 6 - Ned Beatty, actor July 7 - Tung Chee-Hwa, first Chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China July 9 - David Hockney, artist July 12 - Lionel Jospin, Prime Minister of France July 12 - Bill Cosby, actor, comedian August August 4 - David Bedford, musician August 8 - Dustin Hoffman, American actor August 18 - Robert Redford, American actor September September 4 - Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer September 15 - Fernando de la Rúa, former president of Argentina September 28 - Rod Roddy, television announcer (d. 2003) October October 5 - Barry Switzer, American football coach October 10 - Bobby Charlton, English footballer November November 8 - Paul Mackintosh Foot, British radical investigative journalist, political campaigner, and long time member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). November 15 - Yaphet Kotto, actor (Homicide: Life on the Street) November 17 - Peter Cook, comedian, satirist and writer November 26 - Boris Yegorov, cosmonaut December December 3 - Bobby Allison, NASCAR driver December 8 - Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountaineer, businessman (d. 2004) December 26 - Katharine Dickson Dukakis, wife of Michael Dukakis (or 1936). December 29 - Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives December 30 - Jim Marshall, American football player Deaths January January 6 - Brother Andre, Canadian religious figure January 23 - Marie Prevost, actress February February 11 - Walter Burley Griffin, architect and town planner March March 12 - Charles-Marie Widor, organist and composer March 15 - H. P. Lovecraft, horror writer March 29 - Karol Szymanowski, composer April April 19 - William Martin Conway, British art critic and mountaineer May May 23 - John Davison Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist. May 28 - Alfred Adler, psychologist June June 19 - J. M. Barrie, novelist and dramatist July July 9 - Oliver Law, first African American commander of American troops, killed in battle during the Spanish Civil War. July 11 - George Gershwin, American composer (b. 1898) July 20 - Guglielmo Marconi, Italian inventor of the telegraph (b. 1874) August August 11 - Edith Wharton, American writer (b. 1862) September September 2 - Pierre de Coubertin, French founder of the modern Olympic Games September 26 - Bessie Smith, blues singer September 29 - Ray Ewry, American athlete Nobel Prizes Physics - Clinton Joseph Davisson, George Paget Thomson Chemistry - Walter Haworth, Paul Karrer Medicine - Albert von Szent-Györgyi Nagyrapolt Literature - Roger Martin du Gard Peace - Robert Cecil ast:1937 Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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