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Financial Industry
During the first week of the year, President Coolidge says he is not worried about a recent rise in the use of borrowed money. Coolidge has been pursuing a hands-off policy regarding regulation of the financial industry. Link of all of the information for this timeline: http://www.fsmitha.com/time/1939.htm -
Women and Men Suffrage
In Britain, the voting age for women is lowered from 30 to 21, effective from today, giving them equal suffrage with men. -
Carl Panzram
Carl Panzram is arrested for burglary. He is to confess to killing 22 people and to having sodomized over 1,000 males. He is to be hanged in 1930. -
Walt Disney: Mickey Mouse
Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie," starring Mickey Mouse, premiers in New York City. It is the first successful sound-synchronized animated cartoon. -
Invading The Jews
Jews are accused of having seized Muslim holy places in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, enraged mobs attack Jews and loot their homes. The attacks spread to other cities. With massacres on the 23rd and 24th, a Jewish settlement in Hebron comes to an end -
Genera Luis M. Sanchez Cerro
The Great Depression has increased unrest in Peru, a military junta takes power, led by Genera Luis M. Sanchez Cerro. The junta overthrows another military man and dictator, Augusto Bernadino Leguia. -
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas
Brazil is hurting from the Great Depression. The military installs Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, a wealthy politician, as president. -
The Gold Standard
The Bank of England quits the gold standard. Britain's currency, the pound, will no longer be backed by gold. Britain's gold supply had been dwindling and Britain had been suffering from a trade imbalance, and, on the gold standard, countries with little gold had difficulty buying British goods. -
President Hoover's Announcement
President Hoover delivers his State of the Union message. He says "...we find fundamental national gains even amid depression. In meeting the problems of this difficult period, we have witnessed a remarkable development of the sense of cooperation in the community. -
Germany Election and Hitler's Party
In Germany, elections for parliament are held. Hitler's party wins 43.9 percent rather than the more than 50 percent that Hitler was expecting. He is forced to maintain a coalition with the German National People's Party. The Nazis begin a boycott of Jewish businesses throughout Germany. -
Sweden's Depression Recovered
Sweden has recovered from the Depression. Its industrial production has risen 50 percent above what it had been in 1929, and unemployment has returned to 5 percent. -
Declaring War On Germany
Britain and France declare war on Germany, and they are joined by India and New Zealand. The British are not yet ready to make war on Germany, and the French sit on their border rather than invade Germany.
