November 1931

November 1, 1931 (Sunday)

30 were injured during rioting between fascists and anti-fascists at the French towns of Nice, Chambéry and Dijon when Italians came to the towns to pay their respects to Italian war dead.

November 2, 1931 (Monday)

Six more nations, including Great Britain and France, joined the one-year moratorium on building armaments. Since the agreement was an informal one, however, the League of Nations was uncertain whether the holiday had really gone into effect on November 1 or not.

The DuPont company announced the invention of a new synthetic rubber called DuPrene, known today as neoprene.

The United States Supreme Court decided United States v. Kirby Lumber Co..

November 3, 1931 (Tuesday)

Interior Minister of Prussia Carl Severing banned all parades and outdoor assemblies until further notice. Exceptions were made for gatherings of apolitical character such as weddings and funerals.

Born: Michael Fu Tieshan, Catholic bishop, in Qingyuan County, Hebei, China (d. 2007); Monica Vitti, actress, in Rome, Italy

November 4, 1931 (Wednesday)

The Jiangqiao Campaign opened in Manchuria with the Resistance at Nenjiang Bridge.

David Lloyd George officially stepped down as Leader of the Liberal Party and was succeeded by Sir Herbert Samuel. "As you are aware", Lloyd George wrote to Samuel, "I am completely at variance with the disastrous course into which the party recently has been guided. It may therefore ease matters, and at any rate save embarrassment to my friends, if I write to tell you that I am not a candidate for election to any office in the group." Several MPs joined Lloyd George's break from the Liberals to sit in Parliament as a small voting bloc known as the Independent Liberals.

The British drama film Michael and Mary was released in the United Kingdom.

Born: Marie Mansfield, baseball player, in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

Died: Buddy Bolden, 54, African-American cornetist

November 5, 1931 (Thursday)

Mahatma Gandhi attended a formal reception at Buckingham Palace and met with King George V for five minutes. Gandhi wore only his usual attire of loin cloth and shawl, which made for an extraordinary scene of contrast with the silken finery of other guests.

An anti-aircraft gun exploded on the USS Colorado, killing 4.

Neville Chamberlain became Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The blasphemy trial of German artist George Grosz finally ended after three years. The court ordered the confiscation and destruction of the Grosz illustration Maul Halten und Weiter Deinen (Shut Up and Soldier On), which depicted a crucified Christ wearing army boots and a gas mask.

Born: Ike Turner, musician, in Clarksdale, Mississippi (d. 2007)

November 6, 1931 (Friday)

The Italian government awarded prizes to the country's biggest families.

The Sergei Yutkevich-directed film Golden Mountains, with music by composer Dmitri Shostakovich, premiered in Leningrad.

Mahatma Gandhi met George Bernard Shaw and his wife in London.

Born: Mike Nichols, German born-American director, producer, actor and comedian, in Berlin (d. 2014)

Died: Thaddeus H. Caraway, 60, American politician; Jack Chesbro, 57, American baseball player

November 7, 1931 (Saturday)

Mao Zedong announced the formation of the Chinese Soviet Republic in Jiangxi Province.

Ralph Capone went to federal prison for income tax fraud.

November 8, 1931 (Sunday)

Tientsin Incident: hundreds of Chinese rioters reportedly instigated by the Japanese attacked police stations and the governor's headquarters.

Parliamentary elections were held in Yugoslavia. Voters only had one choice, a list of candidates representing the Petar Živković government.

Born: Darla Hood, child actress, in Leedey, Oklahoma (d. 1979); Morley Safer, reporter and correspondent, in Toronto, Canada (d. 2016)

November 9, 1931 (Monday)

Mahatma Gandhi said that the Round Table Conference was a failure and that he would return to India to resume the campaign against British rule.

The King Vidor-directed film The Champ starring Wallace Beery premiered at the Astor Theatre in New York City.

Born: Whitey Herzog, baseball player and manager, in New Athens, Illinois

November 10, 1931 (Tuesday)

Puyi, the last Chinese emperor, left his exile in Tientsin and went over to Japanese authorities, who were offering to restore him to the throne in Manchuria.

Cimarron won Best Picture at the 4th Academy Awards.

November 11, 1931 (Wednesday)

The District of Columbia War Memorial was dedicated by President Hoover.

Died: Shibusawa Eiichi, 91, Japanese industrialist

November 12, 1931 (Thursday)

A Spanish commission announced its findings that former king Alfonso XIII was guilty of lèse-majesté under the Constitution of 1876 which the commission argued placed the people as co-sovereign with the king. The commission recommended that Alfonso be condemned to disgrace, his property confiscated and that he be executed if he ever set foot in the country again.

Maple Leaf Gardens opened in Toronto, Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team lost to the Chicago Black Hawks 2-1. Mush March scored the first goal in the arena's history.

Born: Mary Louise Wilson, actress and singer, in New Haven, Connecticut

November 13, 1931 (Friday)

President Hoover announced that he would recommend to congress the creation of a federal system of home loan banks to assist the credit facilities of building and loan associations, banks, and other institutions making loans on home property.

Died: Ivan Fichev, 71, Bulgarian general

November 14, 1931 (Saturday)

The Japanese army handed Chinese General Ma Zhanshan an ultimatum demanding that he withdraw his troops from Qiqihar and Anganchi by November 25 or else Japan would "take effective measures."

November 15, 1931 (Sunday)

The Bayonne Bridge connecting Bayonne, New Jersey with Staten Island, New York opened. It was the longest steel arch bridge in the world at the time of its construction.

The Nazi Party won state elections in Hesse with 37% of the vote.

Born: Mwai Kibaki, 3rd President of Kenya, in Gatuyaini, British Kenya

November 16, 1931 (Monday)

The British government introduced the Abnormal Importations Bill which would put a 100% duty on all imports.

Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Dino Grandi arrived in Washington for talks with President Hoover. Anti-fascist protests were feared, but the crowd that stood at the train station to witness Grandi's arrival was friendly.

The sale of the British airship R100 to a London firm of metal merchants was announced.

Born: Hubert Sumlin, blues guitarist and singer, in Greenwood, Mississippi (d. 2011)

November 17, 1931 (Tuesday)

The Svirlag forced labour camp was established in the Soviet Union near Leningrad.

November 18, 1931 (Wednesday)

Japanese forces captured Qiqihar.

In Berlin, Adolf Hitler had a four-hour meeting with Hermine Reuss of Greiz, second wife of exiled kaiser Wilhelm II. The Nazi Party sought to win favour in monarchist circles.

November 19, 1931 (Thursday)

American Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson informed Britain that the U.S. would not participate in League of Nations economic sanctions against Japan.

The Arnold Bax composition Overture to a Picaresque Comedy was performed for the first time in Manchester.

The Jean Renoir-directed film La Chienne was released.

November 20, 1931 (Friday)

Alfonso XIII was declared an outlaw and a criminal by the Spanish assembly.

The Abnormal Importations Act received royal assent after a rushed passage through Parliament.

42 died in an explosion at Bentley Colliery in Yorkshire.

Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley Motors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 100 points.

Died: Julius Drewe, 75, English businessman, retailer and entrepreneur

November 21, 1931 (Saturday)

Japan told the League of Nations that it would allow an investigative committee into Manchuria, but that it could not interfere with Japanese military operations there.

The horror film Frankenstein starring Colin Clive, Mae Clark, John Boles and Boris Karloff was released.

Born: Revaz Dogonadze, scientist, in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union (d. 1985); Jim Ringo, American football player and coach, in Orange, New Jersey (d. 2007); Malcolm Williamson, composer, in Sydney, Australia (d. 2003)

Died: Bruno von Mudra, 80, Prussian military officer

November 22, 1931 (Sunday)

The Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofé was performed in public for the first time at the Studebaker Theatre in Chicago.

Born: Al Tomko, professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (d. 2009)

November 23, 1931 (Monday)

In Germany, journalists Walter Kreiser and Carl von Ossietzky were each sentenced to 18 months in prison for "betraying military secrets". They had exposed details of Germany's construction of a secret air force in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

November 24, 1931 (Tuesday)

Al Capone was sentenced by Judge James Herbert Wilkerson to eleven years in Federal prison for tax evasion and ordered to pay $295,000 in fines, court costs and back taxes. Apparently, this date is incorrect and he was sentenced on October 17th, 1931 according to the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1017.html.

The Belgian Rugby Federation was founded.

Died: John Henry Clarke, 77 or 78, English classical homeopath

November 25, 1931 (Wednesday)

The so-called "Boxheim Documents" were revealed in Germany by Prussian Interior Minister Carl Severing, who said they had been passed on to police by a former Nazi. The papers, prepared by Werner Best over the sumer, detailed the Nazi Party's contingency plans in the event of a communist coup in Germany. After crushing the communists, the documents read, the SA would take over the country and execute anyone who resisted without trial. A national labour service would also be enacted which would be mandatory in order to be guaranteed food stamps, but "non-Aryans" would be excluded and left to starve.

Died: Alfred A. Taylor, 83, 34th Governor of Tennessee

November 26, 1931 (Thursday)

Hermann Göring made a statement about the Boxheim Documents, insisting that the Nazi leadership had no knowledge of them because they were written by the Hessian Nazis alone.

Born: Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, human rights activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Died: Edmond H. Barmore, 71, American football player and businessman

November 27, 1931 (Friday)

Alexander Pantages was acquitted of rape charges in his second trial.

Died: Robert Ames, 42, American stage and film actor (delirium tremens)

November 28, 1931 (Saturday)

A Hungarian army general committed suicide in police custody after being arrested with 31 others for plotting to overthrow the government.

Born: Dervla Murphy, touring cyclist, in Ireland; Tomi Ungerer, illustrator and writer, in Strasbourg, France; Gloria Winters, actress, in Los Angeles (d. 2010)

Died: Saya San, 55, Burmese monk and revolutionary leader (hanged)

November 29, 1931 (Sunday)

The Internal Revenue Bureau issued its income statistics for 1930, showing that the United States had 19,688 millionaires – half the number from before the Wall Street Crash.

30 people attacked the Japanese embassy in London by smashing windows and trying to force an entry, but they fled as police arrived.

Died: Kenneth G. Matheson, 67, American professor and university chancellor

November 30, 1931 (Monday)

The Chinese government accepted a League of Nations proposal to establish a neutral zone in Manchuria between Chinese and Japanese forces.

The British pound fell to 3.41 against the American dollar, its lowest level since 1918.