istoryworld
All Events
Japanese troops occupy Beijing – at the start of eight years of continuous war between China and Japan
Buchenwald, near Weimar, is set up as a concentration camp providing forced labour for local arms manufacturers
C.S. Forester's central character, Horatio Hornblower, features for the first time – in The Happy Return
Alan Turing describes the properties of a logically possible computer that becomes known as the Turing Machine
Rocket engineer Wernher von Braun is appointed director of Germany's weapon research centre at Peenemünde
Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first animated feature film
Pablo Picasso's massive painting Guernica is exhibited in the Spanish pavilion at the World Fair in Paris
Adolf Hitler, entertaining Mussolini in Germany, puts on spectacular demonstrations of German military and industrial might
British biochemist Max Perutz begins the analysis of haemoglobin
William Coldstream and Victor Pasmore open a school of art with a distinctive style, known from its location as the Euston Road School
Stanley Spencer gives a stark depiction of himself and his wife in The Leg of Mutton Nude
The Japanese capture the Chinese capital, Nanjing, and massacre at least 300,000 inhabitants within a few weeks
De Valera introduces a new constitution, changing the name of the Irish Free State to Eire (Gaelic for Ireland)
De Valera's new constitution for Eire lays claim to the six counties of northern Ireland
Cambridge House in Twickenham is demolished.
George Orwell reveals the harsh realities of contemporary British life in The Road to Wigan Pier
US architect Frank Lloyd Wright designs Taliesin West in Arizona as his winter home and studio
William Joyce defects from Mosley's Union of Fascists and founds his own National Socialist League in London
23-year-old Rangoon student Aung San, later the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, becomes general secretary of a freedom party, Dobama Asiayone (Our Burma Union)
Finnish designer Alvar Aalto develops a bent plywood three-legged stool, specifically designed for stacking
Mexico, newly rich from oil, nationalizes the holdings of the foreign oil companies
Leading British artists Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson marry
The House Un-American Activities Committee is formed by US congressmen to investigate politically subversive groups
The Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira wins success with the first exhibition of his watercolours
Gloucestershire batsman Wally Hammond becomes captain of the England Test team
