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J.Edgar Hoover Becomes Head of the FBI
J. Edgar Hoover is named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (now the FBI) on May 10, 1924. By the end of the year he was officially promoted to director. This began his 48-year tenure in power, during which time he personally shaped American criminal justice in the 20th century. -
Mein Kampf is Published
On July 18, 1925, Volume One of Adolf Hitler’s philosophical autobiography, Mein Kampf, is published. It was a blueprint of his agenda for a Third Reich and a clear exposition of the nightmare that will envelope Europe from 1939 to 1945. The book sold a total of 9,473 copies in its first year. -
Stock Market Crash Begins Great Depression
The crash began on Oct. 24, 1929, known as "Black Thursday," when the market opened 11% lower than the previous day's close. Institutions and financiers stepped in with bids above the market price to stem the panic, and the losses on that day were modest, with stocks bouncing back over the next two days. -
The Dust Bowl Begins
The Dust Bowl, also known as “the Dirty Thirties,” started in 1930 and lasted for about a decade, but its long-term economic impacts on the region lingered much longer. Severe drought hit the Midwest and southern Great Plains in 1930. Massive dust storms began in 1931. -
Franklin Roosevelt is Elected President (1st Time)
Franklin D. Roosevelt spent the first week of his presidency dealing with a month-long series of bank closures that were ruining families nationwide. He closed the entire American banking system on March 6, 1933. -
Adolf Hitler Become Chancellor of Germany
Hitler’s emergence as chancellor on January 30, 1933, marked a crucial turning point for Germany and, ultimately, for the world. His plan, embraced by much of the German population, was to do away with politics and make Germany a powerful, unified one-party state. -
CCC is Created
Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. The CCC or C's as it was sometimes known, allowed single men between the ages of 18 and 25 to enlist in work programs to improve America's public lands, forests, and parks. -
WPA is Created
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the WPA with an executive order on May 6, 1935. It was part of his New Deal plan to lift the country out of the Great Depression by reforming the financial system and restoring the economy to pre-Depression levels. -
J.J. Braddock Wins Heavyweight Boxing Title
Braddock (1905-1974), real name James Walter Braddock was an American professional boxer and one-time Heavyweight champion, a title which he won by defeating Max Baer, Braddock was an underdog, and was unlikely to win. -
Olympic Games in Berlin
The Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936. The 1936 Berlin Olympic Games were more than just a worldwide sporting event, they were a show of Nazi propaganda, stirring significant conflict. Despite the exclusionary principles of the 1936 Games, countries around the world still agreed to participate. -
Kristallnacht
From November 9 to 10, 1938, in an incident known as “Kristallnacht”, Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses, and murdered close to 100 Jews. -
Grapes of Wrath is Published
The Grapes of Wrath, the best-known novel by John Steinbeck, published in 1939. It evokes the harshness of the Great Depression and arouses sympathy for the struggles of migrant farmworkers. The book came to be regarded as an American classic. -
Wizard of Oz Premiers in Movie Theaters
The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland and featuring words and music by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen, receives its world premiere in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on August 12, 1939. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. German forces broke through Polish defenses along the border and quickly advanced on Warsaw, the Polish capital. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, both Jewish and non-Jewish, fled the German advance hoping the Polish army could halt the German advance. -
The Four Freedoms Speech
Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address, commonly known as the “Four Freedoms” speech. In it he articulated a powerful vision for a world in which all people had freedom of speech and of religion, and freedom from want and fear. It was delivered on January 6, 1941 and it helped change the world.
