cover image - source: renée perle photographed by jacques-henri lartigue.
hello!
a few days ago, i published my first article in a new series of articles i've started - 'summer through the decades'. i began with the 1920s, talking about some of the significant & interesting events that happened during the summer in that decade, some inspiring & some not so positive.
you can check that article out here if you're interested:
today we're going back in time to summer during the 30's! i hope you like this article.
TW: i will be mentioning numerous true crime events that occurred.
1930
➳ july 4th
the dedication of the sculptured head of president george washington on mount rushmore was held.
➳ july 7th
sir arthur conan doyle, the legendary creator of the famous detective sherlock holmes, died at the age of 71. his last words were allegedly ''you are wonderful'', which he said to his wife.
➳ july 13th
a memorial to sir arthur conan doyle took place at the royal albert hall. thousands of spiritualists attended, as conan doyle was a huge believer in the spirit world.
the first ever FIFA world cup took place in uruguay, who also became the first champions.
➳ august 5th
neil armstrong, the first man to walk the moon, was born.
➳ august 9th
the iconic cartoon lady betty boop, created by max fleischer appeared for the first time in the short film dizzy dishes.
➳ august 16th
the first ever commonwealth games event took place, although at the time, it was originally known as the 'british empire games'. they were held in ontario, canada.
➳ august 19th
work on the arches of the sydney harbour bridge was completed. the day after, the occasion was celebrated by the flags of australia and the united kingdom being flown from the cranes.
➳ august 21st
princess margaret, countess of snowdon & sister of queen elizabeth II was born.
➳ august 24th
following the announcement of the birth of princess margaret, the 'sunday express' newspaper published an astrology article called 'what the stars foretell for the new princess'. the article was hugely popular & from then on, the newspaper started to include horoscopes more regularly. this began the trend of newspapers including horoscopes in their daily/weekly columns! i thought this was such an interesting fact.
➳ august 25th
scottish actor & future james bond sean connery was born in edinburgh.
1931
➳ june 3rd
the surrealist masterpiece the persistence of memory by salvador dali is displayed for the very first time at the galerie pierre colle in paris.
the epsom derby, a well known horse racing event in britain, was shown on television for the very first time. a thoroughbred race horse named cameronian won.
➳ june 5th
the famous american gangster al capone was arrested for tax evasion.
➳ august 29th
the co-founder of abercrombie & fitch, david t. abercrombie was born in maryland, US.
1932
➳ july 2nd
the wedding between american actress jean harlow and MGM producer paul bern took place at harlow's mother's home in beverley hills, LA.
➳ august 1st
the mars chocolate bar was created in slough, england.
➳ august 6th
the first ever venice film festival took place. the first film to be screened was dr. jeckyll and mr. hyde and was shown on the terrace of the excelsior palace hotel.
1933
➳ june 6th
the first ever drive-in cinema opened in pennsauken township in camden, new jersey. the first film to be shown was wife beware, directed by adolph menjou.
➳ june 8th
american comedian & host joan rivers was born in brooklyn, new york.
➳ june 10th
american actor, most famous for his role as willy wonka, gene wilder was born in milwaukee, wisconsin.
➳ july 1st
actress & singer ethel waters became the first african-american woman to have her own radio show, which was on the NBC radio network.
➳ july 24th
the infamous gangsters bonnie parker & clyde barrow escaped a gun battle with the police in iowa. they managed to escape, however, clyde's brother buck & his wife blanche were caught. buck died 5 days later.
➳ july 28th
the first ever singing telegram was sent to american singer rudy vallee for his 32nd birthday.
➳ august 15th
the famous psychologist, stanley milgram, well-known for the controversial 1962 experiment on obedience, was born in new york.
➳ august 18th
infamous bank robber lester gillis, famously known as baby face nelson committed his first robbery. he escaped the 'peoples savings bank' in michigan with $14,000. his nickname came from the fact that he was small and had such a young looking face. on october 22nd, later that year, he became public enemy #1.
morning glory was released, the film that won katherine hepburn her first acadamy award as 'best actress'.
➳ august 21st
mrs giles borrett became the first ever female news presenter, by bringing the six o'clock news on BBC radio. 2 months later, BBC removed her from the air, claiming their action was due to "technical reasons"!!
➳ august 31st
famous american baseball player babe ruth announced his retirement, which would come at the end of the season.
1934
➳ june 9th
donald duck appeared for the very first time in the walt disney silly symphonies short film the wise little hen.
➳ june 10th
italy won the FIFA world cup.
➳ july 4th
the famous physicist & first female nobel prize winner, marie curie passed away at the age of 66.
➳ july 6th
british tennis player fred perry won his first ever wimbledon title, defeating australian jack crawford in the gentleman's singles final.
➳ july 7th
british tennis player dorothy round won her first ever wimbledon title, defeating american helen hull jacobs in the ladies' singles final.
➳ july 11th
famous fashion designer giorgio armani was born in piacenza, italy.
➳ july 13th
the 'motion picture production code', a code that specified what was acceptable or not to be shown in films, was brought into action. the first film to receive and be approved by this new code was the world moves on,
➳ july 14th
american silent comedy legend buster keaton filed for bankruptcy.
➳ july 18th
the queensway tunnel, which was considered the longest underwater tunnel at the time, was unveiled by king george v.
➳ july 22nd
infamous american gangster john dillinger, head of the dillinger gang was caught by US agents & shot dead outside a cinema in chicago.
➳ august 22nd
gangster al capone was imprisoned at alcatraz, which had recently began its operation on the 11th of august.
1935
➳ june 1st
mandatory driving tests were introduced in britain.
➳ june 10th
'alcoholics anonymous', designed to help alcoholics remain sober, was founded by dr. bob smith & bill wilson.
➳ june 28th
a federal gold vault was instructed to be built at fort knox by president roosevelt.
➳ july 5th
british tennis player fred perry won his second wimbledon title in the gentleman's singles final, defeating the german gottfried von cramm.
➳ july 9th
underground dungeons containing a torture chamber were discovered underneath the moscow subway. excavators dated them back to the rule of ivan the terrible.
➳ july 7th
mae, the wife of buster keaton, filed for divorce and then sued his mistress for $200,000.
➳ july 17th
one of the most famous american headlines, STICKS NIX HICK PIX, was published in variety newspaper, well known for publishing entertainment news. the headline was about how people living in rural areas did not like movies about rural life. it has been referenced often within popular culture, such as episodes of futurama and the simpsons.
➳ july 30th
the first ten penguin books went on sale in britain. they were paperback books priced at 6 pence. the first 10 books were :
- ariel: a shelley romance by andre maurois ~ a biography on the famous poet percy bysshe shelley.
- a farewell to arms by ernest hemingway
- poets pub by eric linklater
- madame claire by susan ertz
- the unpleasantness at the bellona club by dorothy l. sayers
- the mysterious affair at styles by agatha christie
- twenty-five by beverley nichols
- william by e.h. young
- gone to earth by mary webb
- carnival by compton mackenzie
➳ august 29th
top hat, the american musical comedy was released, the most successful film starring the famous dance duo fred astaire & ginger rogers.
➳ august 30th
anna karenina, an adaptation of leo tolstoy's novel of the same name, was released. greta garbo played the role of anna & this performance won her the new york film critics circle award for 'best actress'.
1936
throughout the summer of 1936, there was a huge heatwave in north america, which led to thousands of deaths.
➳ june 10th
the famous american civil war romance novel, gone with the wind by margaret mitchell is published.
➳ june 26th
one of the top-grossing films of 1936, san francisco, starring clark gable and jeanette macdonald, was released.
➳ july 1st
surrealist artist salvador dali gave a lecture at the newly opened london international surrealist exhibition. he was accompanied by two russian wolfhound dogs and he was dressed in a diving suit as a symbol of him diving into his subconscious. he had difficulty breathing and he nearly suffocated, much to the amusement of the audience who thought it was all part of the act. he was rescued though.
➳ july 3rd
fred perry won his third wimbledon title, defeating the german player gottfried von cramm in the gentleman's singles final. this was the final time a british player would win wimbledon, until 2013, when andy murray won.
➳ july 14th
there was an announcement by the british government that they would be mass producing gas masks, which would then be given out, free of charge, to the british public.
➳ july 16th
a foiled assassination attempt upon king edward VIII occurred. the man in question claimed that he did not mean any harm towards the king, he was just raising his revolver in protest.
➳ august 1st
the 1936 summer olympics opening ceremony took place in berlin. it was broadcasted live on television for the very first time.
influential fashion designer yves saint laurent was born in oran, algeria.
➳ august 16th
the 1936 summer olympics closing ceremony took place. germany won with 33 gold medals and 89 in total.
➳ august 26th
the BBC broadcast it's first ever television program in britain. it was called here's looking at you, a variety show that had comedy, dance & singing acts.
➳ august 27th
swing time, another musical film starring dance duo fred astaire & ginger rogers, was released.
➳ august 30th
the sculpture of president thomas jefferson's head upon mount rushmore was unveiled.
1937
➳ june 1st
american actor morgan freeman was born in memphis, tennessee.
➳ june 3rd
the former king edward VIII (duke of windsor) married american socialite wallis simpson in france. their relationship caused quite the stir and led to edward abdicating, choosing miss simpson over the crown.
➳ june 4th
the shopping cart was invented by sylvan goodman, which he introduced at his store, humpty dumpty supermarket, in oklahoma city.
➳ june 7th
the famous american hollywood star jean harlow tragically died at the age of 26 due to a kidney disease.
➳ june 11th
the major hit film a day at the races, starring much loved comedy duo, the marx brothers, was released.
➳ june 19th
the creator of peter pan, j.m.barrie, died at the age of 77, due to pneumonia.
➳ june 21st
the wimbledon tennis championship was shown on live television for the very first time on the BBC, which still broadcasts the popular event every year.
➳ june 25th
the film wee willie winkie, based on a story by rudyard kipling, was released, starring shirley temple.
➳ june 30th
the emergency telephone number, 999, was introduced for the first time in the UK.
➳ july 2nd
amelia earhart and fred noogan disappeared over the pacific ocean whilst on a mission for amelia to become the first woman to fly around the world. they were never seen again. the event remains one of the most famous mysteries to ever occur in history.
➳ july 5th
the well known precooked meat product spam was introduced in the US. it remains a favourite in many households and is eaten in many different ways - the most popular in the uk being in sandwiches or deep-fried to create fritters.
➳ july 9th
a fire broke out at the fox film storage facility which contained thousands of silent films from before 1932. sadly, most of them were destroyed.
the artist david hockney, most famous for his works featuring pools & water, was born in bradford, england.
➳ august 18th
broadway melody of 1938 was released. it was the film that many regard as making judy garland a star before her famous role as dorothy in the 1939 film the wizard of oz.
1938
➳ june 7th
national doughnut day began in the US.
➳ july 6th
the tenth moon of jupiter was identified for the first time from earth by american astronomer seth barnes nicholson. it was named lysithia after the greek mythological figure of the same name, who was a lover of zeus.
➳ july 20th
hollywood star natalie wood was born in san francisco, california.
1939
➳ july 2nd
the sculpture of president roosevelt's head on mount rushmore is unveiled.
➳ august 2nd
american film director & "master of horror" wes craven was born in cleveland, ohio. he is best known for the cult horror films scream, nightmare on elm street & the last house on the left.
➳ august 15th
the official premiere of the classic film the wizard of oz took place in hollywood. many regard the film as one of the greatest ever made & it certainly made judy garland a household name!
➳ august 25th
the louvre museum in paris closed in order for the priceless art & treasures to be stored safely away. there were worries that the treasures would be stolen by the nazis.
that is all! thank you for reading if you did, if you managed to get this far, give this article a 💕 reaction!
until next time...♡
sources: mainly wikipedia but also the bbc website (first bbc television program) & abebooks (first penguin books to be published.)
