As the Depression era ended, World War II began. Nazi troops goosestepped into Poland, and in response, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Hitler ally Francisco Franco seized power in Spain, having defeated the democratically elected government in the Spanish Civil War. In the still-neutral U.S., a terrorist bomb exploded at the New York World’s Fair, while in fictional Gotham City, Batman made his comic book debut. College students, meanwhile, battled to see who could gulp the most live goldfish.
Jan
13
Arthur “Doc” Barker is killed while trying to escape from Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay. Barker, of the notorious “Bloody Barkers” gang, was spotted on the rock-strewn shore of the island after climbing over the walls. Despite the fact that guards were ordering him to surrender, Barker continued tying pieces of wood together into a makeshift raft. As he waded into the water, the guards shot and killed him.
Jan
26
Feb
20
Six and a half months before Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, New York City’s Madison Square Garden hosted a rally to celebrate the rise of Nazism in Germany. Inside, more than 20,000 attendees raised Nazi salutes toward a 30-foot-tall portrait of George Washington flanked by swastikas. Outside, police and some 100,000 protesters gathered.
Larry Froeber/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images
Mar
15
Hitler’s forces invade and occupy Czechoslovakia, proving the futility of the Munich Pact, an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Germany’s imperial aims.
CZECH REPUBLIC - MAY 14: Invasion Of Prague By The German Nazi Troops In 1939. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
Mar
27
The University of Oregon defeats The Ohio State University 46–33 on March 27, 1939 to win the first-ever NCAA men’s basketball tournament. "March Madness," as the tournament became known, has grown exponentially in size and popularity since 1939. By 2005, college basketball had become the most popular sporting event among gamblers, after the Super Bowl. The majority of that betting takes place at tournament time, when Las Vegas, the internet and office pools around the country see action from sports enthusiasts and once-a-year gamblers alike.
Mar
28
In Spain, the Republican defenders of Madrid raise the white flag over the city, bringing an end to the fighting of the bloody three-year Spanish Civil War. Three days later, General Francisco Franco declares the war officially over.
People knock down a barricade and gun emplacement, as life returns to normal after the end of the Spanish Civil War. | Location: Madrid, Spain. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Corbis via Getty Images
Mar
30
On March 30, 1939, Detective Comics No. 27 appears on the nation’s newsstands, introducing the world to a new superhero, the Batman. Dated May 1939, the comic book featured the caped crusader on its cover, swooping through the air on a rope, while holding a bad guy in a headlock. “Starting this issue,” the cover announced, “the amazing and unique adventures of the Batman!”
Apr
09
After being denied the opportunity to sing in a famous Washington, D.C.. concert hall due to the color of her skin, opera star Marian Anderson takes an even bigger—and more symbolic—stage: the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Marian Anderson performing at the Lincoln Memorial, 1939.
Hulton Archives/Getty Images
Apr
30
May
22
May
27
A boat carrying 937 refugees, almost all of whom are Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, is turned away from Havana, Cuba, on May 27, 1939. Only 28 immigrants are admitted into the country. After appeals to the United States and Canada for entry are denied, the rest are forced to sail back to Europe, where they’re distributed among several countries including Great Britain and France.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Jun
07
King George VI becomes the first reigning British monarch to visit the United States when he and his wife, Elizabeth, cross the Canadian-U.S. border to Niagara Falls, New York. The royal couple subsequently visited New York City and Washington, D.C., where they called for a greater U.S. role in resolving the crisis in Europe. On June 12, they returned to Canada, where they embarked on their voyage home.
Jun
10
On June 10, 1939, one of the most famous scenes in movie history is filmed: Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara parting in Gone with the Wind. Director Victor Fleming also shot the scene using the alternate line, “Frankly, my dear, I just don’t care,” in case the film censors objected to the word “damn.” The censors approved the movie but fined producer David O. Selznick $5,000 for including the curse.
Aug
10
On August 10, 1939, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland and featuring words and music by E.Y. “Yip” Harburg and Harold Arlen, receives its world premiere in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It would open widely in U.S. theaters some two weeks later.
Aug
23
Aug
25
Aug
26
On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast on station W2XBS, the station that was to become WNBC-TV. Announcer Red Barber called the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York.
Sep
01
Sep
03
Sep
09
Audiences at the Fox Theater in Riverside, California, get a surprise showing of Gone with the Wind, which the theater manager shows as a second feature. Producer David O. Selznick sat in the back and observed the audience reaction to his highly anticipated—and highly controversial—film. The movie was released a few months later.
Sep
17
Sep
21
On September 21, 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appears before Congress and asks that the Neutrality Acts, a series of laws passed earlier in the decade, be amended. Roosevelt hoped to lift an embargo against sending military aid to countries in Europe facing the onslaught of Nazi aggression during World War II.
Sep
27
Sep
29
Nov
08
Nov
30
Dec
14
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