What Happened in 1936 — Events, Births & Deaths

Kashf-e hijab decree is made and immediately enforced by Reza Shah, Iran's head of state, banning the wearing of Islamic veils in public.

The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.

The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.

Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italian troops launch the Battle of Amba Aradam against Ethiopian defenders.

The Popular Front wins the 1936 Spanish general election.

In the February 26 Incident, young nationalist Japanese military officers assassinate multiple cabinet statesmen and start a rebellion in downtown Tokyo, which is ended 3 days later.

The February 26 Incident in Tokyo ends.

Daytona Beach and Road Course holds its first oval stock car race.

Warmer-than-normal temperatures rapidly melt snow and ice on the upper Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, leading to a major flood in Pittsburgh.

The 1936 German parliamentary election and referendum seeks approval for the recent remilitarization of the Rhineland.

Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., the infant son of pilot Charles Lindbergh.

Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado kills 233 in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.

First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.

The Jaffa riots commence, initiating the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) gains autonomy from the American Federation of Labor.

March of the Iron Will: Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5.

Sada Abe is arrested after wandering the streets of Tokyo for days with her dead lover's severed genitals in her handbag. Her story soon becomes one of Japan's most notorious scandals.

In the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, Tommy Henderson begins speaking on the Appropriation bill. By the time he sits down in the early hours of the following morning, he had spoken for ten hours.

Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.

Inventor Edwin Armstrong demonstrates FM broadcasting to an audience of engineers at the FCC in Washington, DC.

The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens.

Initial flight of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first practical helicopter.

The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.

Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia appeals for aid to the League of Nations against Italy's invasion of his country.

A major breach of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell.

The Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.

Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war.

Spanish Civil War: The CNT and UGT call a general strike in Spain – mobilizing workers' militias against the Nationalist forces. People's Olympiad of Barcelona cancelled.

The Montreux Convention is signed in Switzerland, authorizing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and Bosphorus but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime.

Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia is constituted, establishing an anarcho-syndicalist economy in Catalonia.

Spanish Civil War: The Popular Executive Committee of Valencia takes power in the Valencian Community.

In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of Socialist and Communist parties.

Spanish Civil War: Germany and Italy decide to intervene in the war in support for Francisco Franco and the Nationalist faction.

King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.

The Olympics open in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.

Jesse Owens wins the 100 metre dash, defeating Ralph Metcalfe, at the Berlin Olympics.

A fire wipes out Kursha-2 in the Meshchera Lowlands, Ryazan Oblast, Russia, killing 1,200 and leaving only 20 survivors.

Prime Minister of Greece Ioannis Metaxas suspends parliament and the Constitution and establishes the 4th of August Regime.

Summer Olympics: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games.

Rainey Bethea is hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky in the last known public execution in the United States.

The Great Purge of the Soviet Union begins when the first of the Moscow Trials is convened.

The Australian Antarctic Territory is created.

Spanish Civil War: Santander falls to the Nationalists and the Republican Interprovincial Council is dissolved.

Nazi Germany begins its mass arrests of Jehovah's Witnesses, who are interned in concentration camps.

The RMS Queen Mary wins the Blue Riband by setting the fastest transatlantic crossing.

Radio Prague, now the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic, goes on the air.

Spanish Civil War: Largo Caballero forms a war cabinet to direct the republican war effort.

The last thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial, dies alone in its cage at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.

The crews of Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Afonso de Albuquerque and destroyer Dão mutiny against the Salazar dictatorship's support of General Franco's coup and declare their solidarity with the Spanish Republic.

The first world individual Speedway World Championship was held at London's Wembley Stadium.

Raoul Villain, who assassinated the French Socialist Jean Jaurès, is himself killed by Spanish Republicans in Ibiza.

Spanish Civil War: Lluis Companys reshuffles the Generalitat de Catalunya, with the marxist POUM and anarcho-syndicalist CNT joining the government.

American journalists Herbert R. Ekins, reporter for the New York World-Telegram, Dorothy Kilgallen of the New York Journal and Leo Kieran of The New York Times start the race to travel around the world on commercial airline flights. The race takes 18 ½ days.

The Metropolitan Police and various anti-fascist organizations violently clash in the Battle of Cable Street.

The Jarrow March sets off for London.

Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam) begins to generate electricity and transmit it to Los Angeles.

New York World-Telegram reporter Herbert Ekins won a race against two other New York newspaper journalists to travel around the world on commercial airline flights. He accomplished the feat in 18 ½ days. His opponents were New York Evening Journal reporter Dorothy Kilgallen, who finished in second place, and New York Times reporter Leo Kieran.

Dod Orsborne, captain of the Girl Pat is convicted of its theft and imprisoned, having caused a media sensation when it went missing.

The first electric generator at Hoover Dam goes into full operation.

Abdication Crisis: Mrs. Wallis Simpson obtains her divorce, which would eventually allow her to marry King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, thus forcing his abdication from the throne.

The BBC Television Service, the world's first regular, "high-definition" (then defined as at least 200 lines) service begins. Renamed BBC1 in 1964, the channel still runs to this day.

Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected as President of the United States.

Spanish Civil War: Largo Caballero reshuffles his war cabinet, persuading the anarcho-syndicalist CNT to join the government.

Spanish Civil War: The republican government flees from Madrid to Valencia, leading to the formation of the Madrid Defense Council in its stead.

Spanish Civil War: The Madrid Defense Council is formed to coordinate the Defense of Madrid against nationalist forces.

Spanish Civil War: Francoist troops fail in their effort to capture Madrid, but begin the three-year Siege of Madrid afterwards.

American fashion designer Ruth Harkness seeks and captures a nine-week-old panda cub in Sichuan; named Su Lin, he becomes the first live giant panda to enter the United States.

José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Falange, is killed by a republican execution squad.

In Berlin, Germany and Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, agreeing to consult on measures "to safeguard their common interests" in the case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union against either nation.

In London, the Crystal Palace is destroyed by fire.

The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic is established as a full Union Republic of the USSR.

Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton becomes the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.

Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication.

Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII's abdication as King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India, becomes effective.

The beginning of Xi'an incident. As a result, Chiang Kai Shek is captured.

Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

Spanish Civil War: The Spanish Republic legalizes the Regional Defence Council of Aragon.

The Flint sit-down strike hits General Motors.