Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
Events of 1937
January
February
March
April
May
- May - Dáil Éireann passes the Executive Authority (Consequential Provisions) Act, 1937, which retrospectively abolishes the office of Governor-General of the Irish Free State. The abolition is retrospectively dated to December 1936.
- 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, New Jersey.
- May 7 - Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion Fighter Group, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces.
- May 12 - Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth takes place at Westminster Abbey, London.
- May 13 - Canadian writer Roch Carrier is born in Sainte-Justine, Quebec.
- May 21 - a Soviet station becomes the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean.
- May 21 - As one of the reprisals for the attempted assassination of Italian viceroy Rodolfo Graziani, a detachment of Italian troops massacre the entire community of Debre Libanos. 297 monks and 23 laymen are killed.
- 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 Golden Gate Bridge.
- May 28 - Neville Chamberlain becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
June
July
August
September
- September 2 - The Great Hong Kong Typhoon of 1937 killed an estimated 11,000 persons.
- September 5 - Spanish Civil War: The fall of Llanes.
- September 7 - CBS broadcasts a two-and-a-half hour memorial concert nationwide on radio in memory of George Gershwin, live from the Hollywood Bowl. Many celebrities appear, including Oscar Levant, Fred Astaire, Otto Klemperer, Lily Pons, and members of the original cast of Porgy and Bess. The concert is recorded and released complete years later in what is excellent sound for its time, on CD. The Los Angeles Philharmonic is the featured orchestra.
- September 21 - George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London publishes the first edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
- September 25 - Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Pingxingguan.
- September 26 - Street and Smith Publications launches a half-hour radio program , The Shadow, with Orson Welles in the title role.
- September 27 - The last Bali tiger dies.
October
November
December
- December 4 - The Dandy, the world's longest running comic strip, is first published.
- December 11 - Italy withdraws from the League of Nations.
- December 12
- Panay incident.
- Mae West makes a risque guest appearance on the NBC Chase and Sanborn Hour that eventually results in her being banned from radio.
- December 13 - Battle of Nanjing ends and the Nanjing Massacre begins. Japanese troops would slaughter over 300,000 civilians and prisoners over three months.
- December 21 - Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length animated cartoon with sound, opens and becomes a smash hit.
- December 25 - At the age of seventy, legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini conducts the NBC Symphony Orchestra on radio for the first time, beginning his successful 17-year tenure with that orchestra. This first concert consists of music by Vivaldi, Mozart, and Brahms. Millions tune in to listen, including U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
- 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.
Undated
Ongoing
Births
January-February
- January 1 - Anne Aubrey, British actress
- January 4 - Dyan Cannon, American actress
- January 6 - Underwood Dudley, American mathematician
- January 8 - Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer
- January 13 - George Reisman, American economist
- January 14 - Ken Higgs, English cricketer
- January 15 - Margaret O'Brien, American actress
- January 18 - John Hume, Northern Irish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998
- January 21 - Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, heir to Bavarian Royal House
- January 22 - Joseph Wambaugh, American author
- January 27 - John Ogdon, English pianist (d. 1989)
- January 30
- January 31
- February 1
- February 2
- February 8 - Manfred Krug, German actor and singer
- February 9 - Robert "Bilbo" Walker Jr., American blues guitarist
- February 10 - Roberta Flack, American soul singer
- February 11 - Bill Lawry, Australian cricketer
- February 12 - Charles Dumas, American athlete
- February 20
- February 21 - King Harald V of Norway
- February 25 - Tom Courtenay, English actor
March-April
- March 2 - Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria
- March 4
- March 6 - Valentina Tereshkova, cosmonaut
- March 8 - Juvénal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda (d. 1994)
- March 17 - Rudy Ray Moore, American comedian
- March 20 - Jerry Reed, American musician
- March 22 - Armin Hary, German athlete
- March 23 - Craig Breedlove, American race car driver
- March 27 - Thomas Aquinas Daly, American painter
- March 30 - Warren Beatty, American actor and director
- April 5 - Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State
- April 6
- April 7 - Louise Faulkner, Missing Australian woman
- April 10 - Bella Akhmadulina, Russian poet
- April 16 - Joseph Whipp, American actor
- April 18 - Jan Kaplický, British architect of Czech origin
- April 22 - Jack Nicholson, American actor
- April 24 - Rafi' Daham Al-Tikriti, Directror of the Iraqi Intelligence Service
- April 27
- April 28 - Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq (d. 2006)
- April 29 - Jill Paton Walsh, English novelist
May-June
- May 1 - Una Stubbs, British actress
- May 3
- May 4 - Ron Carter, jazz musician
- May 6 - Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, American boxer
- May 8
- May 12 - George Carlin, American comedian (d. 2008)
- May 13
- May 15
- May 17 - Hazel R. O'Leary, U.S. Secretary of Energy
- May 18
- May 21 - Sofiko Chiaureli - Georgian actress (d. 2008)
- June 1 - Morgan Freeman, American actor
- June 3 - Solomon P. Ortiz, U.S. Congressman from Texas
- June 4 - Gorilla Monsoon, American professional wrestler and announcer (d. 1999)
- June 7 - Neemi Järvi, Estonian conductor
- June 9 - Harald Rosenthal, German biologist
- June 10 - Luciana Paluzzi, Italian actress
- June 11 - Robin Warren, Australian pathologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- June 15
- June 18
- June 23 - Martti Ahtisaari, President of Finland
- June 25 - Keizo Obuchi, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2000)
- June 26 - Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- June 28 - Ron Luciano, baseball umpire and writer (d. 1995)
July-August
- July 4 - Sonja Haraldsen, Queen of Norway and wife to King Harald V of Norway.
- July 6
- July 7 - Tung Chee-Hwa, Hong Kong administrator
- July 9 - David Hockney, English-born artist
- July 12
- July 14 - Yoshiro Mori, Japanese politician
- July 18 - Roald Hoffmann, Polish-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 18 - Hunter S. Thompson, American author and journalist (d. 2005)
- July 20 - Ken Ogata, Japanese actor
- July 27 - Don Galloway, American actor
- July 29 - Daniel McFadden, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- August 4 - David Bedford, American musician
- August 5 - Herb Brooks, American hockey coach (d. 2003)
- August 6 - Barbara Windsor, English actress
- August 8 - Dustin Hoffman, American actor
- August 16 - David Anderson, Canadian politician
- August 18
- August 20 - Jim Bowen, English stand-up comedian and TV personality
- August 21
- August 29 - James Florio, Governor of New Jersey
- August 31 - Bobby Parker, American blues musician/guitarist
September-October
- September 4
- September 6 - Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada (Keith Gordon Ham), Hare Krishna guru
- September 7 - Cüneyt Arkın, Turkish film actor
- September 11 - Paola Ruffo di Calabria, Queen of the Belgians
- September 15 - Robert Lucas, Jr., American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- September 15 - Fernando de la Rúa, President of Argentina
- September 16 - Keith Bosley, broadcaster (retired), poet and translator.
- September 17 - Ilarion Ionescu-Galati Romanian conductor
- September 19 - Abner Haynes, American football player
- September 28 - Rod Roddy, American television announcer (d. 2003)
- October 2 - Johnnie Cochran, American attorney (d. 2005)
- October 5 - Barry Switzer, American football coach
- October 7 - John C. Davis, Oil tycoon and Kris Frey's true biological father
- October 10 - Bobby Charlton, English footballer
- October 17 - Paxton Whitehead, English actor
- October 28 - Lenny Wilkens, American basketball player and coach
November-December
- November 1 - "Whisperin" Bill Anderson American country music singer-songwriter
- November 2 - Earl Carroll, lead vocalist for The Cadillacs
- November 4 - Michael Wilson, Canadian politician and diplomat
- November 6 - Joe Warfield, American actor
- November 8 - Paul Mackintosh Foot, British journalist
- November 11 - Stephen Lewis, Canadian politician and diplomat
- November 17 - Peter Cook, English comedian and writer (d. 1995)
- November 26 - Boris Yegorov, cosmonaut
- December 1 - Chuck Low, American actor
- December 3 - Bobby Allison, American race car driver
- December 8 - Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountaineer and businessman (d. 2004)
- December 9 - Darwin Joston, American actor (d. 1998)
- December 11 - Jim Harrison, American writer
- December 15 - Donald Goines, original African American novelist (d. 1973)
- December 17 - Kerry Packer, Australian businessman (d. 2005)
- December 21 - Jane Fonda, American actress and social activist
- December 26 - Gnassingbe Eyadema, President of Togo (d. 2005)
- December 28 - Ratan Tata, Indian industrialist
- December 29 - Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives
- December 30
- December 31
Deaths
January - June
- January 2 - Ross Alexander, American actor (b. 1907)
- January 6 - André Besette, Canadian religious leader (b. 1845)
- January 23 - Marie Prevost, Canadian actress (b. 1898)
- February 5 - Lou Andreas-Salome, Russian-born writer (b. 1861)
- February 7 - Elihu Root, American statesman and diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1845)
- February 11 - Walter Burley Griffin, American architect and town planner (b. 1876)
- February 27 - Charles Donnelly, Irish poet (b.1915)
- March 9 - Paul Elmer More, American critic and essayist (b. 1864)
- March 11 - Joseph S. Cullinan, American oil industrialist, founder of Texaco (b. 1860)
- March 12 - Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (b. 1840)
- March 15 - H. P. Lovecraft, American writer (b. 1890)
- March 17 - Austen Chamberlain, English statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1863)
- March 20 - Harry Vardon, English Golf Professional (b. 1870)
- March 22 - Alfred Dyke Acland, British military officer (b. 1858)
- March 29 - Karol Szymanowski, Polish composer (b. 1882)
- April 19 - William Martin Conway, British art critic and mountaineer (b. 1856)
- April 21 - Saima Harmaja, Finnish poet (b. 1913)
- April 25 - Michał Drzymała, Polish rebel (b. 1857)
- April 27 - Antonio Gramsci, Italian Communist writer and politician (b. 1891)
- May 4 - Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter (b. 1910)
- May 23 - John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1839)
- May 28 - Alfred Adler, Austrian psychologist (b. 1870)
- June 7 - Jean Harlow, American film actress (b. 1911)
- June 10 - Robert Laird Borden, eighth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1854)
- June 19 - J. M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and dramatist (b. 1860)
July - December
- July 9 - Oliver Law, American labor organizer and Army officer (killed in battle) (b. 1899)
- July 11 - George Gershwin, American composer (b. 1898)
- July 20 - Guglielmo Marconi, Italian-born inventor (b. 1874)
- July 21 - Louis Vierne, French composer (b. 1870)
- August 11 - Edith Wharton, American writer (b. 1862)
- September 2 - Pierre de Coubertin, French founder of the modern Olympic Games (b. 1863)
- September 26 - Bessie Smith, American singer (b. 1894)
- September 29 - Ray Ewry, American athlete (b. 1873)
- October 16 - Jean de Brunhoff, French writer (b. 1899)
- October 19 - Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, New Zealand physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1871)
- October 26 - Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki, Polish general (b. 1867)
- November 9 - Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1866)
- November 17 - Jack Worrall, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1860)
- November 23 - Jagdish Chandra Bose, Indian physicist (b. 1858)
- November 23 - George Albert Boulenger, Belgian naturalist (b. 1858)
- December 9 - Gustaf Dalén, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
- December 20 - Erich Ludendorff, German general (b. 1865)
- December 21 - Frank B. Kellogg, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1856)
- December 25 - Newton D. Baker, United States Secretary of War (b. 1871)
- December 28 - Maurice Ravel, French composer (b. 1875)
Nobel prizes
Ship events
Other events
See also
Notes
External links
Table of contents
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