1. Who was the President of the United States in 1936?
2. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1936?
3. In 1936, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
4. Who was NOT inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1936: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson or Billy Hamilton?
5. Who wrote the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind?
6. Who won the 1936 World Series?
7. Disney’s Mickey Mouse Cartoon series ran from 1928 through 1953 in 130 installments. Only three episodes did NOT feature Mickey; what other Disney Character took his place?
8. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1936?
9. How many people lived in the United States in 1936?
10. Premiering January 31, 1936, what radio show featured Britt Reid as a masked adventurer/crimefighter?
11. According to the radio show, what masked man was the Green Hornet (Britt Reid) related to?
12. Name the British luxury liner that left Southampton on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean?
13. What American magazine published the first-ranked popular music “Hit Parade?”
14. Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer starred in what film version of a William Shakespeare play of the same name?
15. He made his major league debut with the New York Yankees in 1936, and his career may be best remembered for his 56-game hitting streak. Name him.
16. What household tool was invented and patented by Henry F. Phillips?
17. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1936?
18. What was the highest-grossing film of 1936?
19. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1936?
20. Completed in 1936, some say it will last 10,000 years. What is it?
21. First appearing in a newspaper comic strip on February 17, 1936, who was the first hero to wear a unitard skin-tight costume with his mask?
22. What Charlie Chaplin film featured the last appearance of his “little tramp” character?
23. Who was the British king who abdicated his throne on December 11, 1936?
24. Who was the Time Magazine Woman of the Year in 1936?
25. Paul McCartney, Larry Graham, John Entwistle, and Charles Mingus all took advantage of this musical invention…
26. These were first introduced to ski resorts in 1936 and 1937…
27. This man set a (at the time) record for a non-stop transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, in 9 hours 27 minutes 10 seconds.
28. Although established in 1882, this once-popular magazine changed its focus to large pictures and photography.
29. What American politician and presidential candidate was born in the Panama Canal Zone?
30. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1936?
31. What novel by Margaret Mitchell later won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction?
32. It was the longest NHL game at 176 minutes and 30 seconds. It was between the Montreal Maroons and what American hockey team
33. Born in Lansing, Michigan, who was the top American box office star from the late 1970s and early 1980s?
34. It held the first World’s Fair (Great Exhibition of 1851) in Hyde Park, London, and had nearly a million feet of exhibition space but was destroyed by a fire in 1936. What was the name of this building?
35. Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in what inaugural event?
36. Who was the noted writer and economist who released The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1936?
2. George Washington’s head was finished first on Mount Rushmore in 1934. Whose head was second and dedicated in 1936?
3. Hans Selye publicized a body’s reaction to this as a biological condition. What did he describe?
4. Who was the Pope in 1936?
5. The 1936 Summer Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany. How many medals did the US win?
6. He was the most successful Olympian, winning four gold medals in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Who was he?
7. Who were the 1936 NFL Champions?
8. Who was the American Vice-President in 1936?
9. Held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, how many medals did the US win in the 1936 Winter Olympics?
10. At the opening of the 1936 Olympics, what was the only country NOT to dip its flag as it passed Adolph Hitler?
The Answers:
36 Trivia Answers for 1936 History
1. Who was the President of the United States in 1936? Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945)
2. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1936? Pennies From Heaven – Bing Crosby
3. In 1936, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 56.6 years, Women – 60.6 years.
4. Who was NOT inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1936: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson or Billy Hamilton? Billy Hamilton (elected to the Hall in 1961)
5. Who wrote the 1936 novel Gone with the Wind? Margaret Mitchell
6. Who won the 1936 World Series? In 1936, The New York Yankees won, beating the New York Giants (4 games to 2)
7. Disney’s Mickey Mouse Cartoon series ran from 1928 through 1953 in 130 installments. Only three episodes did NOT feature Mickey; what other Disney Character took his place? Donald Duck. (The cartoons were Donald and Pluto, Don Donald and Modern Inventions)
8. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1936? In 1936, The Detroit Red Wings won over the Toronto Maple Leafs (3 games to 1)
9. How many people lived in the United States in 1936? The population was an estimated 128,053,180 people.
10. Premiering January 31, 1936, what radio show featured Britt Reid as a masked adventurer/crimefighter? The Green Hornet
11. According to the radio show, what masked man was the Green Hornet (Britt Reid) related to? The Lone Ranger
12. Name the British luxury liner that left Southampton on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean? RMS Queen Mary
13. What American magazine published the first-ranked popular music “Hit Parade?” Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936.
14. Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer starred in what film version of a William Shakespeare play of the same name? Romeo and Juliet
15. He made his major league debut with the New York Yankees in 1936, and his career may be best remembered for his 56-game hitting streak. Name him. Joe DiMaggio
16. What household tool was invented and patented by Henry F. Phillips? The Philips-head screwdriver
17. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1936? Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
18. What was the highest-grossing film of 1936? The Great Ziegfeld
19. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1936? 8 cents
20. Completed in 1936, some say it will last 10,000 years. What is it? The Hoover Dam. (aka The Boulder Dam)
21. First appearing in a newspaper comic strip on February 17, 1936, who was the first hero to wear a unitard skin-tight costume with his mask? The Phantom, by Lee Falk.
22. What Charlie Chaplin film featured the last appearance of his “little tramp” character? Modern Times
23. Who was the British king who abdicated his throne on December 11, 1936? Edward VIII (he wanted to marry a divorced woman, Wallis Simpson)
24. Who was the Time Magazine Woman of the Year in 1936? Wallis Simpson
25. Paul McCartney, Larry Graham, John Entwistle, and Charles Mingus all took advantage of this musical invention… The electric bass guitar
26. These were first introduced to ski resorts in 1936 and 1937… Ski Chairlifts
27. This man set a (at the time) record for a non-stop transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, in 9 hours 27 minutes 10 seconds. Howard Hughes
28. Although established in 1882, this once-popular magazine changed its focus to large pictures and photography. Life
29. What American politician and presidential candidate was born in the Panama Canal Zone? John McCain (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018)
30. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1936? $0.19 per gallon
31. What novel by Margaret Mitchell later won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction? Gone With The Wind.
32. It was the longest NHL game at 176 minutes and 30 seconds. It was between the Montreal Maroons and what American hockey team? Detroit Redwings
33. Born in Lansing, Michigan, who was the top American box office star from the late 1970s and early 1980s? Burt Reynolds (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018)
34. It held the first World’s Fair (Great Exhibition of 1851) in Hyde Park, London, and had nearly a million feet of exhibition space but was destroyed by a fire in 1936. What was the name of this building? The Crystal Palace
35. Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in what inaugural event? The NFL Draft began in 1936
36. Who was the noted writer and economist who released The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money? John Maynard Keyes
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1936? Bold Venture
2. George Washington’s head was finished first on Mount Rushmore in 1934. Whose head was second and dedicated in 1936? Thomas Jefferson
3. Hans Selye publicized a body’s reaction to this as a biological condition. What did he describe? Stress
4. Who was the Pope in 1936? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939
5. The 1936 Summer Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany. How many medals did the US win? 56. 24 Gold, 20 Silver, 12 Bronze.
6. He was the most successful Olympian, winning four gold medals in the 1936 Summer Olympics. Who was he? Jesse Owens
7. Who were the 1936 NFL Champions? Green Bay Packers
8. Who was the American Vice-President in 1936? John Garner (March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941)
9. Held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, how many medals did the US win in the 1936 Winter Olympics? 4. 1 Gold, 0 Silver, 3 Bronze.
10. At the opening of the 1936 Olympics, what was the only country NOT to dip its flag as it passed Adolph Hitler? The United States
1. Opened in 1932, what is Germany’s “no speed limit” highway (in some areas)?
2. In 1932, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
3. Who was the Olympic gold-winning champion who starred in the 1932 film Tarzan the Ape Man?
4. What was the highest-grossing film of 1932?
5. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1932?
6. How much did a Gallon of Milk cost in 1932?
7. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1932?
8. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1932?
9. What was the average household income in 1932?
10. What performance enhancement did the Ford Motor Company affordably offer in some new vehicles?
11. What famous animated talking dog first appeared in 1932?
12. Forrest Mars created what candy bar in 1932?
13. Starring Paul Muni as Antonio “Tony” Camonte, what gangster film was remade in 1983?
14. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1932?
15. Starring Greta Garbo, Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford, and others, it was the first “All-Star” film. What was it?
16. What cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and personal care company opened on March 1, 1932?
17. How many people lived in the United States in 1932?
18. Released in 1932, this Marx Brothers movie featured Grouch as “Quincy Adams Wagstaff”. What is the name of the film?
19. What was Hattie W. Caraway, the first woman to become?
20. Who was the President of the United States in 1932?
21. They called it “The Crime of the Century,” which happened on March 1, 1932. What was it?
22. Who did NOT debut their radio show in 1932: Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, or Al Jolson?
23. Who won the March 8, 1932, Democrat New Hampshire presidential primary?
24. What reusable metal lighter (cigarettes, cigars) company opened in 1932?
25. What company used the slogan: “Snap! Crackle! Pop!”?Rice Krispies
26. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1932?
27. How much did a Ford Roadster cost in 1932?
28. How much did a dozen eggs cost in 1932?
29. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1932?
30. What dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley was first published?
31. Who won the 1932 World Series?
32. What did Babe Ruth do in the fifth inning of game 3 of the 1932 World Series, just before a home run?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. Held in Lake Placid, NY, United States, how many medals did the US win in the 1932 Winter Olympics?
2. Held in Los Angeles, CA, United States, how many medals did the US win in the 1932 Summer Olympics?
3. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1932?
4. Debuting on November 7, 1932, what was the first science fiction program on the radio?
5. Although the child was not returned alive, how much ransom was paid in the Lindbergh kidnapping case?
6. Who was the Pope in 1932?
7. What is the longest ongoing annual film festival?
8. Walt Disney’s Flowers and Trees was the first animated cartoon to be presented in what color process?
9. Who was the American Vice-President in 1932?
10. What product did The Revenue Act of 1932 tax?
The Answers:
32 Trivia Answers for 1932 History
1. Opened in 1932, what is Germany’s “no speed limit” highway (in some areas)? The Autobahn
2. In 1932, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 61.0 years, Women – 63.5 years.
3. Who was the Olympic gold-winning champion who starred in the 1932 film Tarzan the Ape Man? Johnny Weissmuller
4. What was the highest-grossing film of 1932? Shanghai Express
5. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1932? 7 cents
6. How much did a Gallon of Milk cost in 1932? 42 cents
7. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1932? The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
8. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1932? (tie) Night and Day by Fred Astaire and Leo Reisman OR In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town by Ted Lewis
9. What was the average household income in 1932? $3,006.05
10. What performance enhancement did the Ford Motor Company affordably offer in some new vehicles? Ford Motor Company announced its V8 engine.
11. What famous animated talking dog first appeared in 1932? Goofy (Disney)
12. Forrest Mars created what candy bar in 1932? The Mars Bar
13. Starring Paul Muni as Antonio “Tony” Camonte, what gangster film was remade in 1983? Scarface
14. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1932? In 1932, The Toronto Maple Leafs won over the New York Rangers (3 games to none)
15. Starring Greta Garbo, Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford, and others, it was the first “All-Star” film. What was it? Grand Hotel
16. What cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and personal care company opened on March 1, 1932? Revlon
17. How many people lived in the United States in 1932? The population was an estimated 124,840,471 people.
18. Released in 1932, this Marx Brothers movie featured Grouch as “Quincy Adams Wagstaff”. What is the name of the film? Horse Feathers
19. What was Hattie W. Caraway, the first woman to become? She was first elected to the United States Senate (Arkansas).
20. Who was the President of the United States in 1932? Herbert Hoover (March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933)
21. They called it “The Crime of the Century,” which happened on March 1, 1932. What was it? The Lindbergh Kidnapping
22. Who did NOT debut their radio show in 1932: Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, or Al Jolson? Burns and Allen
23. Who won the March 8, 1932, Democrat New Hampshire presidential primary? Franklin D. Roosevelt (Herbert Hoover won the Republican primary)
24. What reusable metal lighter (cigarettes, cigars) company opened in 1932? Zippo
25. What company used the slogan: “Snap! Crackle! Pop!”? Kellogg’s Rice Krispies
26. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1932? 18 cents per gallon
27. How much did a Ford Roadster cost in 1932? base $460, coupe at $490, convertible sedan for $650.
28. How much did a dozen eggs cost in 1932? 30 cents
29. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1932? Franklin D. Roosevelt
30. What dystopian novel by Aldous Huxley was first published? Brave New World
31. Who won the 1932 World Series? In 1932, The New York Yankees won, beating the Chicago Cubs (4 games to 0)
32. What did Babe Ruth do in the fifth inning of game 3 of the 1932 World Series, just before a home run? His famous “Called Shot” – he pointed where the ball would go (over centerfield) when he hit it.
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. Held in Lake Placid, NY, United States, how many medals did the US win in the 1932 Winter Olympics? 12. 6 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Bronze.
2. Held in Los Angeles, CA, United States, how many medals did the US win in the 1932 Summer Olympics? 103. 41 Gold, 32 Silver, 30 Bronze.
3. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1932? Burgoo King
4. Debuting on November 7, 1932, what was the first science fiction program on the radio? Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
5. Although the child was not returned alive, how much ransom was paid in the Lindbergh kidnapping case? $50,000. The body of Charles Lindbergh, Jr was found 10 weeks after the kidnapping.
6. Who was the Pope in 1932? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939
7. What is the longest ongoing annual film festival? The Venice Film Festival (Venice International Film Festival)
8. Walt Disney’s Flowers and Trees was the first animated cartoon to be presented in what color process? Technicolor
9. Who was the American Vice-President in 1932? Charles Curtis (March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933)
10. What product did The Revenue Act of 1932 tax? Fuel (gasoline)
3. When it opened on May 27, 1937, it was the world’s longest and tallest suspension bridge. Name that bridge.
4. In 1937, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
5. In 1937, her divorce was finalized so she could marry the former British king Edward, Duke of Windsor. Who was she?
6. This cartoon character first appeared in the Looney Tunes animated short Porky’s Duck Hunt. Who was he?
7. This 1936 Marx Brothers film featured Groucho Marx as Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush.
8. How many people lived in the United States in 1937?
9. Who was the high-profile American who visited Nazi Germany with his wife and did some spying while he was there?
10. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1937?
11. Which celebrity was NOT born in 1937: Vanessa Redgrave, Roberta Flack, Yoko Ono, Jack Nicholson or Saddam Hussein?
12. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1937?
13. The basic ingredients include ham and pork, and the Hormel Corporation introduced this canned product in 1937. What is it?
14. This 1937 book started an empire that included books, adaptations, and Oscar-winning movies. Name the book and author.
15. Who was the President of the United States in 1937?
16. Which president’s head was dedicated at Mount Rushmore on September 17, 1937? HINT: He was the third head to be completed.
17. What was the name of Ernest Hemingway’s novel about Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida?
18. Nicknamed the “Blonde Bombshell” and the “Platinum Blonde,” this sex symbol died too soon at the age of 26…
19. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1937?
20. What soap opera began on NBC radio in 1937, switched to television in 1952, and was finally canceled in 2009?
21. In this air disaster, 13 passengers and 22 crew died, along with someone on the ground. What was this terrible event?
22. Over 20,000,000 Americans began participating in this government program. Name that government entitlement.
23. What was the title of John Steinbeck’s novella of the Great Depression?
24. This man set a new record for a nonstop transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to New York: 7 hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds. He beat his 1936 record by nearly 2 hours.
25. This 1937 film starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March has been remade thrice – in 1954, 1976, and 2018.
26. This magazine debuted to compete with Life Magazine. It focuses on pictures and is also in a large format.
27. At 11 feet tall and over 25 feet wide, this gray, black-and-white painting by Pablo Picasso is his largest and probably most well-known painting. What did he call it?
28. Debuting with its first issue in March 1937, it became the longest-running comic book title in history. Name that comic book.
29. What is the name of Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book?
30. Who was the Time Magazine Man & Wife of the Year in 1937?
31. Guarded 24 hours per day by soldiers of the US Army, what is the monument’s name in Arlington, Virginia?
32. On June 14, 1937, what was the first state to make Flag Day an official state holiday?
33. Who won the 1937 World Series?
34. What is the name of the roadway between Weehawken, New Jersey, and Midtown Manhattan, New York City?
35. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1937?
36. What was the musical stage comedy that gave us several hit songs, including My Funny Valentine and The Lady is a Tramp?
37. Nicknamed the “Brown Bomber,” who became the heavyweight boxing champion?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. Who did Joe Louis defeat to become the world heavyweight boxing champion on June 22, 1937?
2. Who was the Pope in 1937?
3. Who were the 1937 NFL Champions?
4. On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared after taking off from New Guinea. Amelia was married. What was her full married name?
5. Who was the American Vice-President in 1937?
6. Where did the NFL Washington Redskins play before they moved to Washington?
7. What was the name of the 1937 National Football League team in Cleveland?
8. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1937?
9. Who was the highest-paid adult star in Hollywood in 1937?
10. Who won the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1937?
The Answers:
37 Trivia Answers for 1937 History
1. What was the highest-grossing film of 1937? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1937? Sweet Leilani by Bing Crosby
3. When it opened on May 27, 1937, it was the world’s longest and tallest suspension bridge. Name that bridge. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge
4. In 1937, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 58 years, Women – 62.4 years.
5. In 1937, her divorce was finalized so she could marry the former British king Edward, Duke of Windsor. Who was she? Wallis Simpson. They were married in June at the Château de Candé in Monts, France.
6. This cartoon character first appeared in the Looney Tunes animated short Porky’s Duck Hunt. Who was he? Daffy Duck
7. This 1936 Marx Brothers film featured Groucho Marx as Dr. Hugo Z. Hackenbush. A Day At The Races
8. How many people lived in the United States in 1937? The population was an estimated 128,824,829 people.
9. Who was the high-profile American who visited Nazi Germany with his wife and did some spying while he was there? Charles Lindbergh (with his wife, Anne)
10. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1937? Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
11. Which celebrity was NOT born in 1937: Vanessa Redgrave, Roberta Flack, Yoko Ono, Jack Nicholson or Saddam Hussein? Yoko Ono (born February 18, 1933)
12. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1937? 9 cents
13. The basic ingredients include ham and pork, and the Hormel Corporation introduced this canned product in 1937. What is it? Spam
14. This 1937 book started an empire that included books, adaptations, and Oscar-winning movies. Name the book and author. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
15. Who was the President of the United States in 1937? Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945)
16. Which president’s head was dedicated at Mount Rushmore on September 17, 1937? HINT: He was the third head to be completed. Abraham Lincoln
17. What was the name of Ernest Hemingway’s novel about Harry Morgan, a fishing boat captain out of Key West, Florida? To Have and Have Not.
18. Nicknamed the “Blonde Bombshell” and the “Platinum Blonde,” this sex symbol died too soon at the age of 26… Jean Harlow
19. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1937? In 1937, The Detroit Red Wings won over the New York Rangers (3 games to 2)
20. What soap opera began on NBC radio in 1937, switched to television in 1952, and was finally canceled in 2009? Guiding Light
21. In this air disaster, 13 passengers and 22 crew died, along with someone on the ground. What was this terrible event? The Hindenburg Disaster
22. Over 20,000,000 Americans began participating in this government program. Name that government entitlement. Social Security
23. What was the title of John Steinbeck’s novella of the Great Depression? Of Mice and Men
24. This man set a new record for a nonstop transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to New York: 7 hours, 28 minutes, and 25 seconds. He beat his 1936 record by nearly 2 hours. Howard Hughes
25. This 1937 film starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March has been remade thrice – in 1954, 1976, and 2018. A Star is Born
26. This magazine debuted to compete with Life Magazine. It focuses on pictures and is also in a large format. Look Magazine. The final issue was on October 19, 1971.
27. At 11 feet tall and over 25 feet wide, this gray, black-and-white painting by Pablo Picasso is his largest and probably most well-known painting. What did he call it? Guernica. It can be seen in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain.
28. Debuting with its first issue in March 1937, it became the longest-running comic book title in history. Name that comic book. Detective Comics. Batman debuted in the 27th issue.
29. What is the name of Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book? And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
30. Who was the Time Magazine Man & Wife of the Year in 1937? Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling
31. Guarded 24 hours per day by soldiers of the US Army, what is the monument’s name in Arlington, Virginia? The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
32. On June 14, 1937, what was the first state to make Flag Day an official state holiday? Pennsylvania
33. Who won the 1937 World Series? In 1937, The New York Yankees won, beating the New York Giants (4 games to 1)
34. What is the name of the roadway between Weehawken, New Jersey, and Midtown Manhattan, New York City? The Lincoln Tunnel
35. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1937? $0.20 per gallon
36. What was the musical stage comedy that gave us several hit songs, including My Funny Valentine and The Lady is a Tramp? Babes in Arms by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
37. Nicknamed the “Brown Bomber,” who became the heavyweight boxing champion? Joe Louis was champion from June 22, 1937, to March 1, 1949.
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. Who did Joe Louis defeat to become the world heavyweight boxing champion on June 22, 1937? James J. Braddock
2. Who was the Pope in 1937? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939
3. Who were the 1937 NFL Champions? Washington Redskins
4. On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared after taking off from New Guinea. Amelia was married. What was her full married name? Amelia Earhart Putnam
5. Who was the American Vice-President in 1937? John Garner (March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941)
6. Where did the NFL Washington Redskins play before they moved to Washington? Boston (Boston Redskins)
7. What was the name of the 1937 National Football League team in Cleveland? Cleveland Rams.
8. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1937? War Admiral
9. Who was the highest-paid adult star in Hollywood in 1937? Gary Cooper -$370,214. #2 was Mae West -$323.333.
10. Who won the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1937? War Admiral
1. Created by Alex Raymond, what space adventure comic strip debuted on January 7, 1934?
2. How many people lived in the United States in 1934?
3. On December 27, 1934, Persia changed its name to what?
4. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1934?
5. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1934?
6. Who was the President of the United States in 1934?
7. They made 190 short films together, and the first was called Woman Haters. Who were “they?”
8. What was the average household income in 1934?
9. Disney’s Silly Symphonies animated short, The Wise Little Hen, introduced Peter Pig and another famous Disney Character. Who was that character?
10. Who was the Disney Legend who voiced Donald Duck from the beginning and for over 50 years?
11. What was the highest-grossing film of 1934?
12. In Fort Worth, Texas, a business named “Wash-a-Teria” was the first of its kind. What was the business?
13. Adapted from an Edgar Allen Poe story, what horror film starred horror film icons Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi
14. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1934?
15. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1934?
16. How much did a Gallon of Milk cost in 1934?
17. At what Major League Baseball event did Carl Hubbel strike out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin, all in succession?
18. What music hall in Harlem, Manhattan, opened on January 16, 1934?
19. In late 1934, a film called Bright Eyes was released starring one of the biggest stars of the 1930s. Who was the young star of the film?
20. In 1934, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
21. Tarzan and His Mate was released on April 16, 1934. What actress played Jane in the film?
22. Who was arrested and later convicted for the 1932 Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping?
23. A 1934 American romantic comedy starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Cable won 5 Academy Awards – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Name that film…
24. Who won the 1934 World Series?
25. What was the film industry code of standards that became enforced in 1934?
26. Now a National Historic Landmark, what was an island prison between 1934 and 1963?
27. A period of severe dust storms and droughts damaged the American and Canadian plains. What do historians call that period of history?
28. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1934?
29. London gynecologist Robert Kenneth Wilson took a famous picture that was probably a hoax. What was the subject of the photograph?
30. What bank-robbing gangster was shot and killed by police on July 22, 1934?
31. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1934?
32. What company used the slogan: When you care enough to send the very best”?
33. How much did a dozen eggs cost in 1934?
34. What was the big story out of Bienville Parish, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What kind of (stolen) car were Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow driving when they were ambushed and killed?
2. Who was the Mayor of New York from 1934 through 1945?
3. Who were the 1934 NFL Champions?
4. Who was the American Vice-President in 1934?
5. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1934?
6. The famous gilded bronze human-figured sculpture, created by Paul Manship, was dedicated at Rockefeller Center in New York City. What is it called?
7. Another well-known gangster was killed in The Battle of Barrington outside of Chicago a few months later. Name that gangster.
8. What team won the FIFA World Cup in 1934?
9. What business group used the slogan: “If You Want to Get Ahead, Get a …”?
10. Who was the Pope in 1934?
The Answers:
34 Trivia Answers for 1934 History
1. Created by Alex Raymond, what space adventure comic strip debuted on January 7, 1934? Flash Gordon
2. How many people lived in the United States in 1934? The population was an estimated 126,373,773 people.
3. On December 27, 1934, Persia changed its name to what? Iran
4. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1934? In 1934, The Chicago Black Hawks won over the Detroit Red Wings (3 games to 1)
5. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1934? (tie) Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Paul Whiteman OR June in January by Bing Crosby
6. Who was the President of the United States in 1934? Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945)
7. They made 190 short films together, and the first was called Woman Haters. Who were “they?” The Three Stooges
8. What was the average household income in 1934? $3,125.42
9. Disney’s Silly Symphonies animated short, The Wise Little Hen, introduced Peter Pig and another famous Disney Character. Who was that character? Donald Duck
10. Who was the Disney Legend who voiced Donald Duck from the beginning and for over 50 years?Clarence (Charles) Nash
11. What was the highest-grossing film of 1934? The Merry Widow
12. In Fort Worth, Texas, a business named “Wash-a-Teria” was the first of its kind. What was the business? Laundromat (Self-service laundry)
13. Adapted from an Edgar Allen Poe story, what horror film starred horror film icons Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi? The Black Cat
14. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1934? Anthony Adverse by Hervey Allen
15. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1934? 8 cents
16. How much did a Gallon of Milk cost in 1934? 44 cents
17. At what Major League Baseball event did Carl Hubbel strike out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin, all in succession? The 1934 All-Star Game in New York City
18. What music hall in Harlem, Manhattan, opened on January 16, 1934? The Apollo Theater
19. In late 1934, a film called Bright Eyes was released starring one of the biggest stars of the 1930s. Who was the young star of the film? Shirley Temple
20. In 1934, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 59.3 years, Women – 63.3 years.
21. Tarzan and His Mate was released on April 16, 1934. What actress played Jane in the film? Maureen O’Sullivan
22. Who was arrested and later convicted for the 1932 Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping? Bruno Richard Hauptmann
23. A 1934 American romantic comedy starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Cable won 5 Academy Awards – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Name that film. It Happened One Night
24. Who won the 1934 World Series? In 1934, The St. Louis Cardinals won, beating the Detroit Tigers (4 games to 3)
25. What was the film industry code of standards that became enforced in 1934? Motion Picture Production Code (aka The Hays Code)
26. Now a National Historic Landmark, what was an island prison between 1934 and 1963? Alcatraz (Federal Penitentiary), off the coast of San Francisco, California.
27. A period of severe dust storms and droughts damaged the American and Canadian plains. What do historians call that period of history? The Dust Bowl
28. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1934? $0.19 per gallon
29. London gynecologist Robert Kenneth Wilson took a famous picture that was probably a hoax. What was the subject of the photograph? The Loch Ness Monster
30. What bank-robbing gangster was shot and killed by police on July 22, 1934? John Dillinger
31. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1934? Franklin D. Roosevelt
32. What company used the slogan: When you care enough to send the very best”? Hallmark
33. How much did a dozen eggs cost in 1934? 33 cents
34. What was the big story out of Bienville Parish, Louisiana on May 23, 1934? Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (Bonnie & Clyde) were ambushed and killed by police.
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What kind of (stolen) car were Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow driving when they were ambushed and killed? 1934 Ford V-8
2. Who was the Mayor of New York from 1934 through 1945? Fiorello La Guardia
3. Who were the 1934 NFL Champions? New York Giants
4. Who was the American Vice-President in 1934? John Garner (March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941)
5. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1934? Cavalcade
6. The famous gilded bronze human-figured sculpture, created by Paul Manship, was dedicated at Rockefeller Center in New York City. What is it called? Prometheus
7. Another well-known gangster was killed in The Battle of Barrington outside of Chicago a few months later. Name that gangster. Baby Face Nelson (Lester Joseph Gillis)
8. What team won the FIFA World Cup in 1934? Italy
9. What business group used the slogan: “If You Want to Get Ahead, Get a …”? Hat Council
10. Who was the Pope in 1934? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939
1. Who was the President of the United States in 1933?
2. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1933?
3. Monopoly is one of the most popular board games ever, but it was loosely based on an earlier game. What was the earlier game?
4. This masked radio hero worked in the American Wild West, and his theme was based on the William Tell Overture. Who was that masked man?
5. President Roosevelt gave the American public the first of 28 live radio broadcasts. What were they collectively called?
6. What was the highest-grossing film of 1933
7. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1933?
8. How much did a Gallon of Milk cost in 1933?
9. What was the average household income in 1933?
10. How many people lived in the United States in 1933?
11. What Major League Baseball annual event began in Chicago on July 6, 1933?
12. The Century of Progress, the unofficial name for the 1933 World’s Fair, was held in what American city?
13. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1933?
14. In 1933, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
15. Disney’s Three Little Pigs won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It also gave us a famous phrase and song. What is the name of the song?
16. What New York model boarded a train to Hollywood after an agent signed her to appear as part of the chorus (uncredited) for the Eddie Cantor film Roman Scandals?
17. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1933?
18. On March 15, 1933, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15.34%. What is significant about that number?
19. President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 2039, declaring what between March 6 and March 13, 1933?
20. What form of cinematic entertainment first opened in Pennsauken Township, near Camden, New Jersey?
21. Found on Skull Island, what creature was called the “Eighth Wonder of the World?”
22. What Marx Brothers’ film was released in 1933, featuring Margaret Dumont as “Mrs. Gloria Teasdale?
23. Who said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself?”
24. Who won the 1933 World Series?
25. Perry Mason was an American fictional criminal defense lawyer and the title character in Erle Stanley Gardner’s books about him. Who was Perry’s secretary?
26. How much did a dozen eggs cost in 1933?
27. What weekly news magazine began publication in 1933?
28. What was the purpose of Franklin D. Roosevelt signing Executive Order 6102?
29. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1933?
30. What did telegram company Western Union offer as a new service in 1933?
31. How much did a base Ford two-door sedan cost in 1933?
32. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1933?
33. What did Mr. and Mrs. John Mackay, George Spicer, his wife, and Hugh Gray all claim to see in 1933?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What was the first to be chemically synthesized?
2. Fay Wray played the female lead in King Kong. What was her character’s name?
3. Who was the Pope in 1933?
4. Which token was NOT available when Monopoly was released? – Shoe, Iron, Wheelbarrow, Battleship, Thimble or Rocking Horse?
5. This comic strip, created by Chic Young, featured the wedding of Blondie Boopadoop and Dagwood Bumstead. What was the name of the comic strip?
6. Who were the 1933 NFL Champions?
7. Who was the American Vice-President in 1933?
8. What did the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution do?
9. What did Mr. Wiley Post complete on July 22, 1933? HINT: It took him seven days, 18 hours 45 minutes.
10. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1933?
The Answers:
33 Trivia Answers for 1933 History
1. Who was the President of the United States in 1933? Herbert Hoover (March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945)
2. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1933? (tie) Stormy Weather by Leo Reisman OR The Last Round-Up by George Olson
3. Monopoly is one of the most popular board games ever, but it was loosely based on an earlier game. What was the earlier game? The Landlord’s Game
4. This masked radio hero worked in the American Wild West, and his theme was based on the William Tell Overture. Who was that masked man? The Lone Ranger
5. President Roosevelt gave the American public the first of 28 live radio broadcasts. What were they collectively called? “Fireside chats”
6. What was the highest-grossing film of 1933? Cavalcade
7. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1933? 7 cents
8. How much did a Gallon of Milk cost in 1933? 42 cents
9. What was the average household income in 1933? $2,956.48
10. How many people lived in the United States in 1933? The population was an estimated 125,578,763 people.
11. What Major League Baseball annual event began in Chicago on July 6, 1933? The All-Star Game
12. The Century of Progress, the unofficial name for the 1933 World’s Fair, was held in what American city? Chicago
13. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1933? In 1933, The New York Rangers won over the Toronto Maple Leafs (3 games to 1)
14. In 1933, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 61.7 years, Women – 65.1 years.
15. Disney’s Three Little Pigs won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It also gave us a famous phrase and song. What is the name of the song? Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf
16. What New York model boarded a train to Hollywood after an agent signed her to appear as part of the chorus (uncredited) for the Eddie Cantor film Roman Scandals? Lucille Ball
17. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1933? Anthony Adverse by Harvey Allen
18. On March 15, 1933, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15.34%. What is significant about that number? It was the biggest (percentage) one-day gain ever for the market.
19. President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 2039, declaring what between March 6 and March 13, 1933? A nationwide “bank holiday.”
20. What form of cinematic entertainment first opened in Pennsauken Township, near Camden, New Jersey? Drive-In movie theater
21. Found on Skull Island, what creature was called the “Eighth Wonder of the World?” King King
22. What Marx Brothers’ film was released in 1933, featuring Margaret Dumont as “Mrs. Gloria Teasdale?” Duck Soup
23. Who said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself?” Franklin D. Roosevelt
24. Who won the 1933 World Series? In 1933, The New York Giants won, beating the Washington Senators (4 games to 1)
25. Perry Mason was an American fictional criminal defense lawyer and the title character in Erle Stanley Gardner’s books about him. Who was Perry’s secretary? Della Street. On television, she was played by Barbara Hale.
26. How much did a dozen eggs cost in 1933? 29 cents
27. What weekly news magazine began publication in 1933? Newsweek (initially called News-Week)
28. What was the purpose of Franklin D. Roosevelt signing Executive Order 6102? It limited the amount of gold Americans could own.
29. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1933? Hugh S. Johnson
30. What did telegram company Western Union offer as a new service in 1933? The Singing Telegram.
31. How much did a base Ford two-door sedan cost in 1933? $450
32. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1933? $0.18 per gallon
33. What did Mr. and Mrs. John Mackay, George Spicer, his wife, and Hugh Gray all claim to see in 1933? The Loch Ness Monster
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What was the first to be chemically synthesized? Vitamin C
2. Fay Wray played the female lead in King Kong. What was her character’s name? Ann Darrow
3. Who was the Pope in 1933? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939
4. Which token was NOT available when Monopoly was released? – Shoe, Iron, Wheelbarrow, Battleship, Thimble or Rocking Horse? The Wheelbarrow entered the game board in 1946.
5. This comic strip, created by Chic Young, featured the wedding of Blondie Boopadoop and Dagwood Bumstead. What was the name of the comic strip? Blondie
6. Who were the 1933 NFL Champions? The Chicago Bears beat the New York Giants 23 to 21.
7. Who was the American Vice-President in 1933? Charles Curtis (March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933) and John Garner (March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941)
8. What did the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution do? It moved the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president from March 4 to January 20 and of members of Congress from March 4 to January 3. (It also has provisions determining what to do when no president-elect is absent.)
9. What did Mr. Wiley Post complete on July 22, 1933? HINT: It took him seven days, 18 hours 45 minutes. He was the first person to fly solo around the world.
10. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1933? Brokers Tip
3. In 1939, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
4. Created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, what costumed adventurer made his first appearance in the spring of 1939?
5. Where did Batman make his first appearance?
6. Starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi, what was the third Frankenstein film
7. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1939?
8. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1939?
9. 1939 Catchphrase: Who said, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”?
10. Directed by Frank Capra, this political comedy/drama featured Jimmy Stwart as Jefferson Smith and everyman selected to serve as a United States senator…
11. Based on a book written in 1900, this 1939 film has become the most-watched film in movie history…
12. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1939?
13. How many people lived in the United States in 1939?
14. Anticipating possible war with Germany, what famous museum packed and transported its art treasures to secret locations for safekeeping?
15. This 1939 John Ford film gave John Wayne his breakout role…
16. This film series went on two 14 films, all starring Basil Rathbone as the title character..
17. This comic book featured the first appearances of the characters Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch. What was it?
18. Who was the President of the United States in 1939?
19. What celebrity was NOT born in April 1939: Ali McGraw, Marvin Gaye, Tammy Wynette, Francis Ford Coppola, or Paul Sorvino?
20. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1939?
21. On June 6, 1939, Williamsport, Pennsylvania featured the debut of what activity for children?
22. On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers was broadcast on station W2XBS. What city was it broadcast from?
23. Who won the 1939 World Series?
24. What popular woman’s elastic apparel went on sale, becoming an instant affordable hit?
25. Who were the MGM cartoon studio’s most successful (with 163 cartoon shorts) animated characters?
26. What American event featured the motto “The World of Tomorrow”?
27. What first-time event was held in conjunction with New York’s World’s Fair, featuring attendees like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Jack Williamson, and Forrest J. Ackerman?
28. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1939?
29. On July 2, 1939, the fourth presidential head was dedicated at Mount Rushmore. Which president was it?
30. What was the Glen Miller Band’s biggest number-one hit?
31. What was the title of Billie Holiday’s song protesting the lynchings of Black Americans?
32. Adjusting for inflation, what is the biggest-grossing film ever?
33. In March of 1939, Students at Harvard University introduced what ingestion fad?
34. After missing for 18 months, what famous aviator was officially declared dead? Amelia Earhart
35. With millions of readers, This popular Hollywood gossip columnist also had a radio show that ran alternatively on CBS, NBC, and ABC through 1951.
36. Who were the teams that competed during the first NFL televised game?
37. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1939?
38. Focusing on the Joad family, what John Steinbeck Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl was released?
39. On May 2, 1939, what baseball great retired with a (then) record 2,130 games-played streak?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What was New York Yankee player Lou Gehrig’s nickname?
2. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1939?
3. Who was the MGM cartoon studio’s first successful (with 26 cartoon shorts) animated character?
4. Al Capone was transferred from San Fransico’s Alcatraz Federal Prison to what Los Angeles Federal Prison?
5. Who was the Pope in 1939?
6. Featured in the film Love Affair, what was Glen Miller’s first number-one hit?
7. Who were the 1939 NFL Champions?
8. What was Adolf Hitler’s ‘Plan Z’?
9. Who was the American Vice-President in 1939?
10. What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as?
The Answers:
39 Trivia Answers for 1939 History
1. What was the highest-grossing film of 1939? Gone With The Wind
2. What museum and Hall of Fame opened in 1939? The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
3. In 1939, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 62.1 years, Women – 65.4 years.
4. Created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, what costumed adventurer made his first appearance in the spring of 1939? Batman
5. Where did Batman make his first appearance? Detective Comics #27 (comic book)
6. Starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi, what was the third Frankenstein film? Son of Frankenstein
7. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1939? Deep Purple by Larry Clinton
8. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1939? 8 cents
9. 1939 Catchphrase: Who said, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”? Rhett Butler on Gone with the Wind
10. Directed by Frank Capra, this political comedy/drama featured Jimmy Stwart as Jefferson Smith, and everyman selected to serve as a United States senator… Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
11. Based on a book written in 1900, this 1939 film has become the most-watched film in movie history… The Wizard of Oz
12. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1939? In 1939, The Boston Bruins won over the Toronto Maple Leafs (4 games to 1)
13. How many people lived in the United States in 1939? The population was an estimated 130,879,718 people.
14. Anticipating possible war with Germany, what famous museum packed and transported its art treasures to secret locations for safekeeping? The Louvre, in Paris, France
15. This 1939 John Ford film gave John Wayne his breakout role… Stagecoach
16. This film series went on two 14 films, all starring Basil Rathbone as the title character… (The Adventures of) Sherlock Holmes
17. This comic book featured the first appearances of the characters Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch. What was it? Marvel Comics #1. (cover date October 1939)
18. Who was the President of the United States in 1939? Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945)
19. What celebrity was NOT born in April 1939: Ali McGraw, Marvin Gaye, Tammy Wynette, Francis Ford Coppola or Paul Sorvino? Tammy Wynette (born May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998)
20. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1939? The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
21. On June 6, 1939, Williamsport, Pennsylvania featured the debut of what activity for children? Little League Baseball
22. On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers was broadcast on station W2XBS. What city was it broadcast from? New York (Ebbets Field). W2XBS later became WNBC-TV.
23. Who won the 1939 World Series? In 1939, The New York Yankees won, beating the Cincinnati Reds (4 games to 0)
24. What popular woman’s elastic apparel went on sale, becoming an instant affordable hit? Nylon stockings
25. Who were the MGM cartoon studio’s most successful (with 163 cartoon shorts) animated characters? Tom and Jerry
26. What American event featured the motto “The World of Tomorrow”? The 1939-40 New York World’s Fair
27. What first-time event was held in conjunction with New York’s World’s Fair, featuring attendees like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Jack Williamson, and Forrest J. Ackerman? The First World Science Fiction Convention
28. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1939? $0.19 per gallon
29. On July 2, 1939, the fourth presidential head was dedicated at Mount Rushmore. Which president was it? Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt
30. What was the Glen Miller Band’s biggest number-one hit? In The Mood (12 weeks at number one)
31. What was the title of Billie Holiday’s song protesting the lynchings of Black Americans? Strange Fruit
32. Adjusting for inflation, what is the biggest-grossing film ever? Gone With the Wind
33. In March of 1939, Students at Harvard University introduced what ingestion fad? Swallowing goldfish
34. After missing for 18 months, what famous aviator was officially declared dead? Amelia Earhart
35. This popular Hollywood gossip columnist, with millions of readers, also had a radio show that ran alternatively on CBS, NBC, and ABC through 1951. Hedda Hopper
36. Who were the teams that competed during the first NFL televised game? The Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 23-14 at Ebbets Field.
37. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1939? Joseph Stalin
38. Focusing on the Joad family, what John Steinbeck Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl was released? The Grapes of Wrath
39. On May 2, 1939, what baseball great retired with a (then) record 2,130 games-played streak? Lou Gehrig
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What was New York Yankee player Lou Gehrig’s nickname? The Iron Horse
2. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1939? Johnstown
3. Who was the MGM cartoon studio’s first successful (with 26 cartoon shorts) animated character? Barney Bear
4. Al Capone was transferred from San Fransico’s Alcatraz Federal Prison to what Los Angeles Federal Prison? Terminal Island Federal Prison
5. Who was the Pope in 1939? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939, and Pope Pius XII, March 2, 1939 – October 9, 1958
6. Featured in the film Love Affair, what was Glen Miller’s first number-one hit? Wishing (Will Make It So)
7. Who were the 1939 NFL Champions? Green Bay Packers
8. What was Adolf Hitler’s ‘Plan Z’? He planned to build a German Navy that could overpower the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy within a few years.
9. Who was the American Vice-President in 1939? John Garner (March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941)
10. What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as? ALS, or motor neuron disease (MND), or Lou Gehrig’s disease
3. Who won the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1930?
4. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1930?
5. In 1930, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
6. What famous food did Ruth Wakefield of Whitman, Massachusetts, create in 1930?
7. What was the highest-grossing film of 1930?
8. What cartoon caricature of a Jazz Age flapper debuted in 1930?
9. Who was the President of the United States in 1930?
10. What became the tallest building in the world on May 27, 1930?
11. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1930?
12. Lamont Cranston, a “wealthy young man-about-town,” is also known as what masked pulp magazine character?
13. What is The Shadow’s catchphrase?
14. What famous cartoon dog was introduced in 1930?
15. How many people lived in the United States in 1930?
16. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1930?
17. How many people lived in the World in 1930?
18. Selling for ~ $120.00, what did the Galvin Corporation introduce for car buyers?
19. Who did the Chicago Crime Commission declare as “Public Enemy Number 1”?
20. What did Clyde Tombaugh discover in 1930?
21. What Marx Brothers movie debuted on August 23, 1930, starring Groucho as Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding?
22. Who won the 1930 World Series?
23. This snack started with banana creme in 1930 and is still popular today…
24. Considered the messiah by many Rastafarians, who became emperor of Ethiopia on November 2, 1930?
25. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1930?
26. What was the 3M company introduced in 1930?
27. What comic strip debuted on January 13, 1930, and ran until July 29, 1995.
28. How much did an average Ford Model A cost in 1930?
29. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1930?
30. What classic sandwich was invented in South Philadelphia in 1930?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. Who is generally credited with making the first steak sandwich?
2. Who was the Pope in 1930?
3. R.H. Naylor provided what for the United Kingdom’s Sunday Express, on August 24, that became a staple in newspapers worldwide.
4. What real-life human was the cartoon character Betty Boop based on?
5. Who was the American Vice-President in 1930?
6. On April 18, 1930, what broadcast company said “Good evening. Today is Good Friday. There is no news.”
7. What team won the FIFA World Cup in 1930?
8. What did Warner Brothers collectively call their cartoon shorts in 1930?
9. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1930?
10. What set of strict guidelines on treating sex, crime, religion, and violence in films for the next 40 years began in 1930?
The Answers:
30 Trivia Answers for 1930 History
1. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1930? Stein Song (University of Maine) by Rudy Vallee
2. What was the average household income in 1930? $4,887.01
3. Who won the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1930? Gallant Fox
4. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1930? Cimarron by Edna Ferber
5. In 1930, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 58.1 years, Women – 61.6 years.
6. What famous food did Ruth Wakefield of Whitman, Massachusetts, create in 1930? The Chocolate Chip Cookie (aka “Toll House Cookie”)
7. What was the highest-grossing film of 1930? Tom Sawyer
8. What cartoon caricature of a Jazz Age flapper debuted in 1930? Betty Boop
9. Who was the President of the United States in 1930? Herbert Hoover (March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933)
10. What became the tallest building in the world on May 27, 1930? The Chrysler Building in New York City. The Empire State Building became the tallest building on April 11, 1931.
11. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1930? In 1930, The Montreal Canadiens won over the Boston Bruins (2 games to none)
12. Lamont Cranston, a “wealthy young man-about-town,” is also known as what masked pulp magazine character? The Shadow
13. What is The Shadow’s catchphrase? (Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?) The Shadow knows.
14. What famous cartoon dog was introduced in 1930? Pluto (Disney)
15. How many people lived in the United States in 1930? The population was an estimated 123,076,741 people.
16. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1930? 9 cents
17. How many people lived in the World in 1930? The estimated world population in 1930 was 2,070,000,000 people.
18. Selling for ~ $120.00, what did the Galvin Corporation introduce for car buyers? The first commercial car radio (Motorola model 5T71).
19. Who did the Chicago Crime Commission declare as “Public Enemy Number 1”? Al Capone
20. What did Clyde Tombaugh discover in 1930? Pluto (the dwarf planet)
21. What Marx Brothers movie debuted on August 23, 1930, starring Groucho as Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding? Animal Crackers
22. Who won the 1930 World Series? In 1930, The Philadelphia Athletics won, beating the St. Louis Cardinals (4 games to 2)
23. This snack started with banana creme in 1930 and is still popular today… Twinkies
24. Considered the messiah by many Rastafarians, who became emperor of Ethiopia on November 2, 1930? Haile Selassie
25. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1930? Mahatma Gandhi
26. What was the 3M company introduced in 1930? Scotch Tape
27. What comic strip debuted on January 13, 1930, and ran until July 29, 1995. Mickey Mouse
28. How much did an average Ford Model A cost in 1930? $495 (Town Car $1400)
29. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1930? $0.20 per gallon
30. What classic sandwich was invented in South Philadelphia in 1930? The steak sandwich. Cheesesteaks came into being shortly after.
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. Who is generally credited with making the first steak sandwich? Philadelphia hot dog vendor Pat Olivieri.
2. Who was the Pope in 1930? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939
3. R.H. Naylor provided what for the United Kingdom’s Sunday Express, on August 24, that became a staple in newspapers worldwide. The Horoscope was for newly born Princess Margaret. It became daily later in 1930.
4. What real-life human was the cartoon character Betty Boop based on? Helen Kane, who took a similar routine from Baby Esther, a child entertainer.
5. Who was the American Vice-President in 1930? Charles Curtis (March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933)
6. On April 18, 1930, what broadcast company said “Good evening. Today is Good Friday. There is no news.” BBC Radio. Then they played piano music for 15 minutes.
7. What team won the FIFA World Cup in 1930? Uruguay
8. What did Warner Brothers collectively call their cartoon shorts in 1930? Looney Tunes. Merrie Melodies came out in 1931.
9. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1930? Gallant Fox
10. What set of strict guidelines on treating sex, crime, religion, and violence in films for the next 40 years began in 1930? The Hays Code (Motion Picture Production Code), although it wasn’t strictly enforced until 1934.
1. Based on a 1927 play by Peggy Webling based on an 1818 novel, what classic horror film was released on November 21, 1931
2. This 1931 silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring the same guy is considered by many people as one the greatest films of all time…
3. In 1931, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
4. What 98-foot tall statue, 92 feet wide, overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro, was dedicated in 1931?
5. What was the highest-grossing film of 1931
6. The earliest confirmed use of THIS word in Disney’s Mary Poppins appeared in the Syracuse Daily Orange. What word?
7. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1931
8. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1931?
9. What was the first state in the United States to have legalized casino gambling as of March 19, 1931?
10. Signed in 1929, what document entered into force relative to the treatment of prisoners of war?
11. What major power in World War II did NOT ratify The Geneva Convention?
12. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1931?
13. How many people lived in the United States in 1931?
14. First shown in Paris at the Galerie Pierre Colle, The Persistence of Memory is the work of what surrealist artist?
15. Early proponents of this musical invention included Les Paul and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. What invention?
16. What New York Skyscraper opened on May 1, 1931?
17. What is the name of the effervescent antacid and pain reliever first sold in 1931
18. Who was the President of the United States in 1931?
19. What was the average household income in 1931?
20. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1931?
21. What was the Biggest Hit for Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
22. Who won the 1931 World Series?
23. On October 17, 1931, what well-known criminal was convicted on three counts of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison?
24. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1931?
25. What 1931 gangster film made James Cagney a bonafide movie star?
26. How much did an average Ford Model A cost in 1931?
27. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1931?
28. What river flooded in Chain, killing about 3.7 million people in total, the worst natural disaster of the 20th century.
29. What did The Star-Spangled Banner become in 1931?
30. Who was the star of 1931’s Dracula?
31. Which celebrity was NOT born in 1931: James Dean, Alfred Hitchcock, James Earl Jones, or Mikhail Gorbachev?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What comic strip detective character made his debut appearance in the Detroit Mirror newspaper?
2. Who was the American Vice-President in 1931?
3. What high-performance sports car company was founded in Stuttgart, Germany?
4. What tire and rubber brand was founded in Kurume, Kyushu Island, Japan?
5. On October 21, 1931, the United States went dark for one minute to honor what American?
6. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1931?
7. What did Seventeen-year-old female baseball pitcher Jackie Mitchell do in succession during an exhibition baseball game
8. Formerly known as The Watchtower Society, what religious group changed its name in 1931?
9. Who was the Pope in 1931?
10. What was the full title of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein novel?
The Answers:
31 Trivia Answers for 1931 History
1. Based on a 1927 play by Peggy Webling based on an 1818 novel, what classic horror film was released on November 21, 1931? Frankenstein
2. This 1931 silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring the same guy is considered by many people as one the greatest films of all time… City Lights by Charlie Chaplin
3. In 1931, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 59.4 years, Women – 63.1 years.
4. What 98-foot tall statue, 92 feet wide, overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro, was dedicated in 1931? Christ the Redeemer
5. What was the highest-grossing film of 1931? Frankenstein
6. The earliest confirmed use of THIS word in Disney’s Mary Poppins appeared in the Syracuse Daily Orange. What word? “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”
7. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1931? Good Night, Sweetheart by Wayne King OR The Peanut Vendor by Don Azpiazu
8. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1931? 8 cents
9. What was the first state in the United States to have legalized casino gambling as of March 19, 1931? Nevada
10. Signed in 1929, what document entered into force relative to the treatment of prisoners of war? The Geneva Convention
11. What major power in World War II did NOT ratify The Geneva Convention? Japan
12. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1931? In 1931, The Montreal Canadiens won over the Chicago Black Hawks (3 games to 2)
13. How many people lived in the United States in 1931? The population was an estimated 124,039,648 people.
14. First shown in Paris at the Galerie Pierre Colle, The Persistence of Memory is the work of what surrealist artist? Salvador Dali
15. Early proponents of this musical invention included Les Paul and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. What invention? The Electric Guitar
16. What New York Skyscraper opened on May 1, 1931? The Empire State Building
17. What is the name of the effervescent antacid and pain reliever first sold in 1931 Alka-Seltzer
18. Who was the President of the United States in 1931? Herbert Hoover (March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933)
19. What was the average household income in 1931? $4,217.40
20. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1931? The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
21. What was the Biggest Hit for Cab Calloway and His Orchestra? Minnie the Moocher
22. Who won the 1931 World Series? In 1931, The St. Louis Cardinals won, beating the Philadelphia Athletics (4 games to 3)
23. On October 17, 1931, what well-known criminal was convicted on three counts of income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in federal prison? Al Capone
24. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1931? Pierre Laval
25. What 1931 gangster film made James Cagney a bonafide movie star? The Public Enemy
26. How much did an average Ford Model A cost in 1931? $495 (Town Car $1400)
27. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1931? $0.17 per gallon
28. What river flooded in Chain, killing about 3.7 million people in total, the worst natural disaster of the 20th century. The Yangtze River
29. What did The Star-Spangled Banner become in 1931? The official National anthem of the United States.
30. Who was the star of 1931’s Dracula? Bela Lugosi
31. Which celebrity was NOT born in 1931: James Dean, Alfred Hitchcock, James Earl Jones, or Mikhail Gorbachev? Alfred Hitchcock
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What comic strip detective character made his debut appearance in the Detroit Mirror newspaper? Dick Tracy, created by cartoonist Chester Gould
2. Who was the American Vice-President in 1931? Charles Curtis (March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933)
3. What high-performance sports car company was founded in Stuttgart, Germany? Porsche
4. What tire and rubber brand was founded in Kurume, Kyushu Island, Japan? Bridgestone
5. On October 21, 1931, the United States went dark for one minute to honor what American? For Thomas Alva Edison’s funeral (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931)
6. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1931? Twenty Grand
7. What did Seventeen-year-old female baseball pitcher Jackie Mitchell do in succession during an exhibition baseball game? She struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
8. Formerly known as The Watchtower Society, what religious group changed its name in 1931? Jehovah’s Witnesses
9. Who was the Pope in 1931? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939
10. What was the full title of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein novel? Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus.
1. Who was the greatest woman’s figure skater and film star in the 1920s and 1930s?
2. What was the name of the horror movie sequel, starring Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester, that came to theaters on April 22, 1935
3. The CIO industrial labor union was founded in 1935. What do the initials CIO stand for?
4. In 1935, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
5. Who was the President of the United States in 1935?
6. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1935?
7. 1935 Catchphrase: Who said, “We have ways to make men talk”?
8. Featuring Grouch Marx as Otis B. Driftwood, what Marx Brother film was the first without Zeppo Marx?
9. What support organization did William G. Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith use in Akron, Ohio?
10. True or False? The Oscar-winning animated short film The Tortoise and the Hare featured Bugs Bunny’s first appearance.
11. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1935?
12. Which Bowl Game did NOT debut in 1935: The Orange Bowl, The Rose Bowl, or the Sugar Bowl?
13. Kodak introduced the first commercially available color film. What was it called?
14. Who defeated Max Baer at Madison Square Garden Bowl to win the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship?
15. What paperback book company debuted to bring inexpensive, high-quality fiction and nonfiction literature to the mass market?
16. What did the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company introduce in 1935?
17. Wallace Carothers created the first sample of what at DuPont’s research facility in Wilmington, Delaware.
18. Who hit a new home run record that stood for almost 30 years?
20. Who was the Pope in 1935?
21. Executed for Treason by King Henry VIII, this man was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935. Who was he?
22. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1935?
23. What cartoon character debuted in Looney Tunes’ I Haven’t Got a Hat?
24. Born in 1935, who was the only member of Congress to have scored a number-one pop single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart?
25. What was the number-one hit song by Sonny and Cher?
26. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1935?
27. What famous singer and actor was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935?
28. Who won the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1935?
29. Who won the 1935 World Series?
30. What company used the slogan: “Breakfast of champions”?
31. What was the highest-grossing film of 1935
32. How much did a dozen eggs cost in 1935?
33. What company used the slogan: “Mmm Mmm Good”? Campbell’s Soup
34. Who was the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California?
35. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1935?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What automobile feat did Sir Malcolm Campbell accomplish on September 3, 1935?
2. Who were the 1935 NFL Champions?
3. Who was the American Vice-President in 1935?
4. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1935?
5. What 1935 comedy-drama film featured the first interracial dance?
6. His speech, which lasted 15 1/2 hours and contained 150,000 words, is the longest on the US Senate record. Who was he?
7. How many people lived in the United States in 1935?
8. What street device was introduced in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma?
9. Who played his last game with Major League Baseball on May 30, 1934?
10. What Major League Baseball “first” happened on May 24, 1935?
The Answers:
35 Trivia Answers for 1935 History
1. Who was the greatest woman’s figure skater and film star in the 1920s and 1930s? Sonja Henie
2. What was the name of the horror movie sequel, starring Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester, that came to theaters on April 22, 1935? Bride of Frankenstein
3. The CIO industrial labor union was founded in 1935. What do the initials CIO stand for? Congress of Industrial Organizations
4. In 1935, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 59.9 years, Women – 63.9 years.
5. Who was the President of the United States in 1935? Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945)
6. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1935? Cheek To Cheek by Fred Astaire
7. 1935 Catchphrase: Who said, “We have ways to make men talk”? Mohammed Khan on The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
8. Featuring Grouch Marx as Otis B. Driftwood, what Marx Brother film was the first without Zeppo Marx? A Night at the Opera
9. What support organization did William G. Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith use in Akron, Ohio? Alcoholics Anonymous
10. True or False? The Oscar-winning animated short film The Tortoise and the Hare featured Bugs Bunny’s first appearance. False. Bugs Bunny first appeared in 1940 in A Wild Hare.
11. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1935? Green Light by Lloyd C. Douglas
12. Which Bowl Game did NOT debut in 1935: The Orange Bowl, The Rose Bowl, or the Sugar Bowl? The Rose Bowl
13. Kodak introduced the first commercially available color film. What was it called? Kodachrome
14. Who defeated Max Baer at Madison Square Garden Bowl to win the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship? James J. Braddock
15. What paperback book company debuted to bring inexpensive, high-quality fiction and nonfiction literature to the mass market? Penguin Books
16. What did the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company introduce in 1935? Beer in a can.
17. Wallace Carothers created the first sample of what at DuPont’s research facility in Wilmington, Delaware. Nylon. It was first sold in toothbrushes in 1938.
18. Who hit a new home run record that stood for almost 30 years? On May 25, 1935, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Babe Ruth hit his 714th home run.
20. Who was the Pope in 1935? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939
21. Executed for Treason by King Henry VIII, this man was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935. Who was he? Sir Thomas More
22. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1935? In 1935, The Montreal Maroons won over the Toronto Maple Leafs (3 games to none)
23. What cartoon character debuted in Looney Tunes’ I Haven’t Got a Hat? Porky Pig
24. Born in 1935, who was the only member of Congress to have scored a number-one pop single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart? “Sonny” Bono (February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998)
25. What was the number one hit song by Sonny and Cher? I Got You, Babe
26. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1935? $0.19 per gallon
27. What famous singer and actor was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935? Elvis Presley
28. Who won the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1935? Omaha
29. Who won the 1935 World Series? In 1935, The Detroit Tigers won, beating the Chicago Cubs (4 games to 2)
30. What company used the slogan: “Breakfast of champions”? Wheaties (General Mills)
31. What was the highest-grossing film of 1935? Mutiny on the Bounty
32. How much did a dozen eggs cost in 1935? 38 cents
33. What company used the slogan: “Mmm Mmm Good”? Campbell’s Soup
34. Who was the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California? Amelia Earhart
35. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1935? Haile Selassie
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What automobile feat did Sir Malcolm Campbell accomplish on September 3, 1935? He was the first person to drive an automobile at 300 miles per hour (301.337 mph). The record didn’t last long. On September 13, Howard Hughes set a new record, reaching 352.39 mph in his new Hughes H-1 Racer.
2. Who were the 1935 NFL Champions? Detroit Lions
3. Who was the American Vice-President in 1935? John Garner (March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941)
4. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1935? Omaha
5. What 1935 comedy-drama film featured the first interracial dance? The Little Colonel. The dancers were Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson.
6. His speech, which lasted 15 1/2 hours and contained 150,000 words, is the longest on the US Senate record. Who was he? Senator Huey Long of Louisiana
7. How many people lived in the United States in 1935? The population was an estimated 127,250,232 people.
8. What street device was introduced in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma? The parking meter
9. Who played his last game with Major League Baseball on May 30, 1934? Babe Ruth. On May 25, he hit his last three home runs (Numbers 712, 713, and 714) in his major league career.
10. What Major League Baseball “first” happened on May 24, 1935? First night game, the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1.
2. Who directed and narrated a radio drama performance of The War of the Worlds on the CBS radio network on October 30, 1938?
3. What comedy duo made their radio debut on The Kate Smith Hour?
4. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1938?
5. In 1938, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
6. What was the highest-grossing film of 1938?
7. Which celebrity was NOT born in 1938: Dawn Wells, Evel Knievel, Christoper Lloyd, or Betty White?
8. Californian Jonathon DeLonge is credited with inventing this surfside toy in 1938…
9. Who was the President of the United States in 1938?
10. American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter Robert Johnson died from poisoning at the age of 27, which makes him an early member of what cultural phenomenon group?
11. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1938?
12. This means “dry writing” in Greek, which means making copies without ink. What is the name of the company that offered this device?
13. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1938?
14. How many people lived in the United States in 1938?
15. John McCullough and his son Alex invented a summer treat. What tasty treat did they create?
16. John and Alex McCullough and Sherb Noble created what snack food chain?
17. On November 1, 1938, the horse race “Match of the Century” occurred at Pimlico Race Course between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. Who won?
18. What was the first commercial product to be made with nylon?
19. Who did Jack Haley replace as the Tin Man while filming The Wizard of Oz due to a makeup allergy?
20. What did child star (23-year-old) Jackie Coogan sue his mother and stepfather?
21. Called the “largest act of environmental warfare in history, “this river’s flood killed 400,000 people in China. What is the name of the river?
22. Franklin D. Roosevelt founded this non-profit organization to combat childhood polio.
23. On September 15, 1938, brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates did what while playing against the New York Giants?
24. They first appeared in the 1938 cartoon Donald’s Nephews. Name them.
25. This world-famous psychoanalyst fled Nazi Germany and lived in exile in the United Kingdom until he died in 1939.
26. Who won the 1938 World Series?
27. Completing a round-the-world trip in a record 91 hours (three days, 19 hours, 17 minutes) to and from New York City. It was one of several records this millionaire set in the 1930s. Name that millionaire.
28. This pilot took off from New York, planning to land in California. He landed in Ireland instead. Name that aviator.
29. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1938?
30. Debuting on NBC radio, what was special about Information Please?
31. While working for E.I. du Pont de Nemours in New Jersey, Roy J. Plunkett discovered what household and industrial coating?
32. Her role in this film, the story of a headstrong young Southern woman, earned Bette Davis an Acadamy Award for Best Actress…
33. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1938?
34. What was first synthesized by Albert Hofmann in Basel, Switzerland?
35. What was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938?
36. What was the federal minimum wage in 1938?
37. This Pulitzer-winning play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover’s Corners. Please name the title and author.
38. Where did Superman make his first appearance?
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. Who created Superman?
2. Who was the American Vice-President in 1938?
3. Who starred as Ebeneezer Scrooge in the 1938 adaptation of A Christmas Carol?
4. Called “the father of nuclear chemistry,” who discovered the nuclear fission of uranium?
5. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1938?
6. Calling itself “the world’s first oceanarium” – it opened in Florida on June 23, 1938. Name that park.
7. Who were the 1938 NFL Champions? New York Giants
8. Who was the Pope in 1938?
9. What team won the FIFA World Cup in 1938?
10. Can you name the passenger ship that crossed the Atlantic eastbound between Southampton, Cherbourg, UK, and New York in the (then) record time of 3 days 20 hours 42 minutes? HINT: She retired in 1967.
The Answers:
38 Trivia Answers for 1938 History
1. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1938? A-Tisket, A Tasket by Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb
2. Who directed and narrated a radio drama performance of The War of the Worlds on the CBS radio network on October 30, 1938? Orson Wells
3. What comedy duo made their radio debut on The Kate Smith Hour? Abbott and Costello
4. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1938? The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
5. In 1938, what was the average life expectancy in the United States? Men – 61.9 years, Women – 65.3 years.
6. What was the highest-grossing film of 1938? Boys Town
7. Which celebrity was NOT born in 1938: Dawn Wells, Evel Knievel, Christoper Lloyd, or Betty White? Betty White (born January 17, 1922)
8. Californian Jonathon DeLonge is credited with inventing this surfside toy in 1938… The Beach Ball
9. Who was the President of the United States in 1938? Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945)
10. American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter Robert Johnson died from poisoning at the age of 27, which makes him an early member of what cultural phenomenon group? The ’27 Club’
11. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1938? In 1938, The Chicago Black Hawks won over the Toronto Maple Leafs (3 games to 1)
12. This means “dry writing” in Greek, which is making copies without ink. What is the name of the company that offered this device? Xerox (the process is called Xerography)
13. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1938? 9 cents
14. How many people lived in the United States in 1938? The population was an estimated 129,824,939 people.
15. John McCullough and his son Alex invented a summer treat. What tasty treat did they create? Soft-serve ice cream
16. John and Alex McCullough and Sherb Noble created what snack food chain? Dairy Queen
17. On November 1, 1938, the horse race “Match of the Century” occurred at Pimlico Race Course between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. Who won? Seabiscuit
18. What was the first commercial product to be made with nylon? The nylon-bristle toothbrush
19. Who did Jack Haley replace as the Tin Man while filming The Wizard of Oz due to a makeup allergy? Buddy Ebsen
20. What did child star (23-year-old) Jackie Coogan sue his mother and stepfather? They stole and spent his childhood earnings. (over $3,000,000)
21. Called the “largest act of environmental warfare in history, “this river’s flood killed 400,000 people in China. What is the name of the river? The Yellow River
22. Franklin D. Roosevelt founded this non-profit organization to combat childhood polio. The March of Dimes (aka National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis)
23. On September 15, 1938, brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates did what while playing against the New York Giants? They hit back-to-back home runs. ( B.J. and Justin Upton did it again in 2013, playing for the Atlanta Braves)
24. They first appeared in the 1938 cartoon Donald’s Nephews. Name them. Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
25. This world-famous psychoanalyst fled Nazi Germany and lived in exile in the United Kingdom until he died in 1939. Sigmund Freud
26. Who won the 1938 World Series? In 1938, The New York Yankees won, beating the Chicago Cubs (4 games to 0)
27. Completing a round-the-world trip in a record 91 hours (three days, 19 hours, 17 minutes), to and from New York City. It was one of several records this millionaire set in the 1930s. Name that millionaire. Howard Hughes
28. This pilot took off from New York, planning to land in California. He landed in Ireland instead. Name that aviator. Douglas ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan.
29. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1938? Adolf Hitler
30. Debuting on NBC radio, what was special about Information Please? Information Please was the first radio quiz show. (running May 17, 1938 – April 22, 1951)
31. While working for E.I. du Pont de Nemours in New Jersey, Roy J. Plunkett discovered what household and industrial coating? Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene)
32. Her role in this film, the story of a headstrong young Southern woman, earned Bette Davis an Acadamy Award for Best Actress… Jezebel
33. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1938? $0.20 per gallon
34. What was first synthesized by Albert Hofmann in Basel, Switzerland? LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide)
35. What was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938? Oil (petroleum)
36. What was the federal minimum wage in 1938? 25 cents per hour
37. This Pulitzer-winning play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover’s Corners. Please name the title and author. Our Town by Thornton Wilder
38. Where did Superman make his first appearance? Action Comics #1 (cover date April 18, 1938)
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. Who created Superman? Writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster created him.
2. Who was the American Vice-President in 1938? John Garner (March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941)
3. Who starred as Ebeneezer Scrooge in the 1938 adaptation of A Christmas Carol? Reginald Owen
4. Called “the father of nuclear chemistry,” who discovered the nuclear fission of uranium? Otto Hahn
5. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1938? Lawrin
6. Calling itself “the world’s first oceanarium” – it opened in Florida on June 23, 1938. Name that park. Marine Studios (aka Marineland of Florida)
7. Who were the 1938 NFL Champions? New York Giants
8. Who was the Pope in 1938? Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939
9. What team won the FIFA World Cup in 1938? Italy
10. Can you name the passenger ship that crossed the Atlantic eastbound between Southampton, Cherbourg, UK, and New York in the (then) record time of 3 days 20 hours 42 minutes? RMS Queen Mary.
It went through four name changes but it also started as The Hotel Pennsylvania when it opened at 401 Seventh Avenue (15 Penn Plaza) in Manhattan, across the street from Pennsylvania Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City, right across the street from the Pennsylvania Station and was designed to be the main hotel for visitors who took the train to New York. When it opened on January 25, 1919, and for a long time it was the largest hotel in the world. It was bought and renamed the Hotel Statler on January 1, 1949, and the hotel became The Statler Hilton in 1958. In 1991, it was renamed the Hotel Pennsylvania
Animated films Hotel Transylvania I, II, III, IV – AND a Bugs Bunny Cartoon spoofed the Transylvania Hotel idea.
Ellsworth Statler first owned the hotel, he is the basis for one of the two cranky old Muppets who sit in a theatre balcony – Statler and Waldorf.
The TV Show Mad Men made several references to the hotel, which was still called the Hilton-Statler in the 60s.
There was Scandal Too- it was the location of the famous– foul/play murder in 1953 of Frank Olson, he was a CIA agent, who was deliberately given LSD without his knowledge. The CIA confessed to that in 1975.
On January 21, 1972, the first Star Trek Convention occurred in New York, at the Statler-Hilton Hotel. Because the Star Trek Future idea outlasted the show, it created a real community. Star Wars and the MCU are beggir now, but today there are dozens of conventions centered around TV Shows, Horror Conventions, with hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of visitors among them. I don’t think any of that would have happened if a few thousand fans didn’t show up in New York that first weekend in January 1972.
Pennsylvania Hotel’s Musical Connection
Starting with the Phone Number- Before Tommy Tutone came out with 867-5309 in (#4 in 1982), the Hotel’s Number- Pennsylvania 6- 5000 (212-736-5000,) came out as a song by Glenn Miller. Tommy made up 867-5309, but Pennsylvania 6, 5000 was and is the real number for the Hotel. They claim that it is the longest continually used number in New York City, which would make it one of the longest-used 7 digit phone numbers anywhere. We’re talking 100 years old at this point.
Glenn Miller was the Top Artist of the day. He had 20 Top Ten Hits between 1939 and 1943- he had 120 Top 30 Hits, all in under 5 years. Nobody has matched that success in such a short time, including chart-toppers like The Beatles, Drake, or Taylor Swift. Pennsylvania Six 5000 was one of his Signature Songs, he performed at the hotel more than any other artist.
In the Early Days of Radio, the 30s, and 40s, live entertainment was based in New York, and Live Broadcasts on NBC had a lot of bands and orchestras that were broadcast from a restaurant/showroom that was part of the Hotel called The Cafe Rouge. Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Doris Day, and of course Glenn Miller played there. In the forties, it was the hottest nightclub in New York.
The Annual Westminster Dog Show is across the street at Madison Square Garden, so a lot of the contestants and their owners stayed there, The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission denied several requests to get it listed as a Historic Landmark. It’s just a walk from the train station, and it was last renovated in 2008- they planned on renovation again, but the building was just too old to renovate. They closed it on April 1, 2020, and it was demolished in 2022.
Music has been the source of sexual discovery for a very long time. In different eras, the style of the music that was considered erotic or sexy changed. A few decades can make the difference between an amorous connection or a silly novelty song. Here is a mix from many from the half-century before this one.
Old Time Double Entendre, Sexy &Seduction Songs, Film Scores, with a little hot Rock and Roll.
1.
The Stripper – David Rose
2.
Let’s Spend The Night Together – The Rolling
Stones
3.
Fever – Peggy Lee
4.
Ebb Tide – The Righteous Brothers
5.
Sixty Minute Man – The Dominoes
6.
Lay Lady Lay – Bob Dylan
7.
Makin’ Whoopee! – Eddie Cantor, 1928
8.
Please Please Me – The Beatles
9.
Let’s Misbehave – Ben Bernie
10.
I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl – Nina Simone
11.
Je T’Aime… Moi Non Plus – Jane Birkin and
Serge Gainsbourg
12.
Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin
13.
I Just Want to Make Love to You – Etta James
14.
Nights in White Satin – Moody Blues
15.
Yes Sir, That’s My Baby – various, 1925
16.
Just A Gigolo – Louis Prima & Keely Smith
17.
The Look of Love – Dusty Springfield
18.
I Get Ideas – Tony Martin, 1950
19.
The House of the Rising Sun – The Animals
20.
Handy Man – Jimmy Jones
21.
One Night – Elvis Presley
22.
Boléro – Maurice Ravel, 1928
23.
In The Midnight Hour – Wilson Pickett
24.
Why Don’t We Do It In The Road – The Beatles
25.
Love Is Strange – Mickey & Sylvia
26.
Boom Boom – John Lee Hooker
27.
You Got To Give Me Some – Bessie Smith
28.
A Guy What Takes His Time – Mae West
29.
Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon – Gary Puckett
& The Union Gap
30.
Carolina in the Morning – various, 1923
31.
I Love Ya Then I Need Ya – Eartha Kitt
32.
Fever – Elvis Presley
33.
The Orgy (From The Conan The Barbarian Soundtrack)
– Basil Poledouris’, 1980
34.
Walkin’ the Dog – Rufus Thomas
35.
I Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl – Bessie Smith
36.
I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) – Aretha
Franklin
37.
I Want To Be Bad – Helen Kane
38.
Harlen Nocturn – The Viscounts
39.
Too Hot Too Handle – Jayne Mansfield
40.
Hard To Handle – Otis Redding
41.
Night Train – The Viscounts
42.
Lover Man – Billie Holiday
43.
Bacchanale from Daphnis et Chloé (Daphnis
and Chloe) – Maurice Ravel
44.
What’s New Pussycat? – Tom Jones
45.
Good Golly Miss Molly – Little Richard
46.
Shave ‘Em Dry – Lucille Bogan
47.
I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man – Muddy Waters
48.
Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila (Samson and Delilah)
– Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns, 1877
49.
Squeeze Box – The Who
50.
Buffalo Gals – various
51.
If It Don’t Fit (Don’t Force It) – Los Enemigos
52.
Sonata Erotica – Erwin Schulhoff
53.
Foxey Lady – Jimi Hendrix
54.
Dance of the Seven Veils (Salomé) – Richard
Strauss, various, based on the biblical era story of Salome
and John the Baptist
55.
Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got – Julia Lee
56.
Comin’ Thro’ the Rye – Robert Burns
57.
Tom Cat – Muddy Waters
58.
Keep On Churnin’ – Wynonie Harris
59.
These Arms of Mine – Otis Redding
60.
Strip Polka – The Andrews Sisters
61.
A Man For Every Day Of The Week – Sippie Wallace
62.
Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite – John
Dowland, late 1500s
63.
Love Man – Otis Redding
64.
Whatever Lola Wants – Carmen McRae
65.
Sam The Hot Dog Man – Lil Johnson
66.
Opening of Der Rosenkavalier – Richard Strauss,
1911
Outstanding Production: Gone With the Wind – David O. Selznick for Selznick International and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (WINNER) Dark Victory – David Lewis for Warner Bros. Goodbye, Mr. Chips – Victor Saville for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Love Affair – Leo McCarey for RKO Radio Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – Frank Capra for Columbia Ninotchka – Sidney Franklin for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Of Mice and Men – Lewis Milestone for Hal Roach Prod. and United Artists Stagecoach – Walter Wanger for United Artists The Wizard of Oz – Mervyn LeRoy for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Wuthering Heights – Samuel Goldwyn for Samuel Goldwyn Productions and United Artists
Best Director: Victor Fleming – Gone With the Wind (WINNER) Sam Wood – Goodbye, Mr. Chips Frank Capra – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington John Ford – Stagecoach William Wyler – Wuthering Heights
Best Actor: Robert Donat – Goodbye, Mr. Chips as Mr Chips (WINNER) Clark Gable – Gone With the Wind as Rhett Butler Laurence Olivier – Wuthering Heights as Heathcliff Mickey Rooney – Babes in Arms as Mickey Moran James Stewart – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as Jefferson “Jeff” Smith
Best Actress: Vivien Leigh – Gone With the Wind as Scarlett O’Hara (WINNER) Bette Davis – Dark Victory as Judith Traherne Irene Dunne – Love Affair as Terry McKay Greta Garbo – Ninotchka as Nina Ivanovna ‘Ninotchka’ Yakushova Greer Garson – Goodbye, Mr. Chips as Katherine
Best Supporting Actor: Thomas Mitchell – Stagecoach as Doc Boone (WINNER) Brian Aherne – Juarez as Maximilian I of Mexico Harry Carey – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as President of the Senate Brian Donlevy – Beau Geste as Sergeant Markoff Claude Rains – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as Senator Joseph Harrison “Joe” Paine
Best Supporting Actress: Hattie McDaniel – Gone With the Wind as Mammy (WINNER) Olivia de Havilland – Gone with the Wind as Melanie Hamilton Geraldine Fitzgerald – Wuthering Heights as Isabella Linton Edna May Oliver – Drums Along the Mohawk as Mrs McKlennar Maria Ouspenskaya – Love Affair as Grandmother Janou
Best Story: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – Lewis R. Foster (WINNER) Bachelor Mother – Felix Jackson Love Affair – Mildred Cram and Leo McCarey Ninotchka – Melchior Lengyel Young Mr. Lincoln – Lamar Trotti
Best Screenplay: Gone With the Wind – Sidney Howard (posthumous award), based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell (WINNER) Goodbye, Mr. Chips – Eric Maschwitz, R. C. Sherriff and Claudine West, based on the novel by James Hilton Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – Sidney Buchman, based on a story by Lewis R. Foster Ninotchka – Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch, and Billy Wilder, based on a story by Melchior Lengyel Wuthering Heights – Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, based on the novel by Emily Brontë
Best Live Action Short Film, One-Reel: Busy Little Bears – Paramount Pictures (WINNER) Information Please – RKO Radio Prophet Without Honor – MGM Sword Fishing – Warner Bros.
Best Live Action Short Film, Two-Reel: Sons of Liberty – Warner Bros. (WINNER) Drunk Driving – MGM Five Times Five – RKO Radio
Best Animated Short Film: The Ugly Duckling – Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio (WINNER) Detouring America – Warner Bros. Peace on Earth – MGM The Pointer – Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio
Best Score: Stagecoach – Richard Hageman, W. Franke Harling, John Leipold and Leo Shuken (WINNER) Babes in Arms – Roger Edens and Georgie Stoll First Love – Charles Previn The Great Victor Herbert – Phil Boutelje and Arthur Lange The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Alfred Newman Intermezzo – Lou Forbes Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – Dimitri Tiomkin Of Mice and Men – Aaron Copland The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex – Erich Wolfgang Korngold She Married a Cop – Cy Feuer Swanee River – Louis Silvers They Shall Have Music – Alfred Newman Way Down South – Victor Young
Best Original Score: The Wizard of Oz – Herbert Stothart (WINNER) Dark Victory – Max Steiner Eternally Yours – Werner Janssen Golden Boy – Victor Young Gone With the Wind – Max Steiner Gulliver’s Travels – Victor Young The Man in the Iron Mask – Lud Gluskin and Lucien Moraweck Man of Conquest – Victor Young Nurse Edith Cavell – Anthony Collins Of Mice and Men – Aaron Copland The Rains Came – Alfred Newman Wuthering Heights – Alfred Newman
Best Song: “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz – Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Yip Harburg (WINNER) “Faithful Forever” from Gulliver’s Travels – Music by Ralph Rainger; Lyrics by Leo Robin “I Poured My Heart Into a Song” from Second Fiddle – Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin “Wishing” from Love Affair – Music and Lyrics by Buddy DeSylva
Best Sound Recording: When Tomorrow Comes – Bernard B. Brown (WINNER) Balalaika – Douglas Shearer Gone With the Wind – Thomas T. Moulton Goodbye, Mr. Chips – A. W. Watkins The Great Victor Herbert – Loren L. Ryder The Hunchback of Notre Dame – John O. Aalberg Man of Conquest – Charles L. Lootens Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – John P. Livadary Of Mice and Men – Elmer Raguse The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex – Nathan Levinson The Rains Came – Edmund H. Hansen
Best Art Direction: Gone With the Wind – Lyle R. Wheeler (WINNER) Beau Geste – Hans Dreier and Robert Odell Captain Fury – Charles D. Hall First Love – Jack Otterson and Martin Obzina Love Affair – Van Nest Polglase and Alfred Herman Man of Conquest – John Victor Mackay Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – Lionel Banks The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex – Anton Grot The Rains Came – William S. Darling and George Dudley Stagecoach – Alexander Toluboff The Wizard of Oz – Cedric Gibbons and William A. Horning Wuthering Heights – James Basevi
Best Cinematography, Black and White: Wuthering Heights – Gregg Toland (WINNER) First Love – Joseph Valentine The Great Victor Herbert – Victor Milner Gunga Din – Joseph H. August Juarez – Tony Gaudio Intermezzo – Gregg Toland Lady of the Tropics – Norbert Brodine Of Mice and Men – George J. Folsey Only Angels Have Wings – Joseph Walker The Rains Came – Arthur Charles Miller Stagecoach – Bert Glennon
Best Cinematography, Color: Gone With the Wind – Ernest Haller and Ray Rennahan (WINNER) Drums Along the Mohawk – Ray Rennahan and Bert Glennon The Four Feathers – Georges Périnal and Osmond Borradaile The Mikado – William V. Skall and Bernard Knowles The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex – Sol Polito and W. Howard Greene The Wizard of Oz – Hal Rosson
Best Film Editing: Gone With the Wind – Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom (WINNER) Goodbye, Mr. Chips – Charles Frend Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – Gene Havlick and Al Clark The Rains Came – Barbara McLean Stagecoach – Otho Lovering and Dorothy Spencer
Best Special Effects: The Rains Came – E. H. Hansen and Fred Sersen (WINNER) Gone With the Wind – John R. Cosgrove, Fred Albin and Arthur Johns Only Angels Have Wings – Roy Davidson and Edwin C. Hahn The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex – Byron Haskin and Nathan Levinson Topper Takes a Trip – Roy Seawright Union Pacific – Farciot Edouart, Gordon Jennings and Loren L. Ryder The Wizard of Oz – A. Arnold Gillespie and Douglas Shearer
Academy Honorary Awards
Douglas Fairbanks “recognizing the unique and outstanding contribution of Douglas Fairbanks, first President of the Academy, to the international development of the motion picture.”
Motion Picture Relief Fund “acknowledging the outstanding services to the industry during the past year of the Motion Picture Relief Fund and its progressive leadership.” Presented to Jean Hersholt, President; Ralph Morgan, Chairman of the Executive Committee; Ralph Block, First Vice-President; and Conrad Nagel.
William Cameron Menzies “for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood in the production of Gone with the Wind.”
The Technicolor Company “for its contributions in successfully bringing three-color feature production to the screen.”
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award was presented to David O. Selznick.
Academy Juvenile Award: The Academy Juvenile Award was presented to Judy Garland for The Wizard of Oz.
A World-Changing Event: General Motors introduced the Hydra-Matic drive, the first mass-produced, fully automatic transmission, as an option in 1940 model year Oldsmobile automobiles.
Another World-Changing Event: Batman, created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, made his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 (May cover date)
Influential Songs include Over The Rainbow by Judy Garland and God Bless America by Kate Smith.
The Movies to Watch include The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Son of Frankenstein, Gunga Din, Mister Smith Goes to Washington, Destry Rides Again, and Stagecoach.
The Most Famous Person in America was probably Lou Gehrig.
Notable books include And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
Minimum Wage in 1939: 30 cents/hour
Amelia Earhart was officially declared dead after her 1937 disappearance.
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood debuted on the radio with gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as host.
The 1939 New York World’s Fair opened on April 30th.
The Conversion: In 1939, Thanksgiving was moved to give merchants a more extended period to sell goods before Christmas to increase profits and spending.
Top Ten Baby Names of 1939
Mary, Barbara, Patricia, Betty, Shirley, Robert, James, John, William, Richard
US Life Expectancy
(1939) Males: 62.1 years, Females: 65.4 years
The Stars
Ingrid Bergman, Claudette Colbert, Olivia de Havilland, Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Katharine Hepburn, Hedy Lamarr, Vivien Leigh, Myrna Loy, Brenda Marshall, Ginger Rogers, Barbara Stanwyck, Lana Turner
Entertainment History The Oscars
The 11th Academy Awards unfolded on February 23, 1939, at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. For this ceremony, the host was none other than Frank Capra. The evening’s big winner was You Can’t Take It with You, directed by Capra, which bagged the Best Picture award. Spencer Tracy took home the Best Actor statuette for his role in Boys Town, making it his second win. Meanwhile, Bette Davis claimed Best Actress for her performance in Jezebel. This was the first time the Best Picture nominee pool was limited to 10 films, a rule that lasted until 1943. The film eligibility year was from January 1, 1938, to December 31, 1938. To spice it up with a trivia fact: Walt Disney received an Honorary Award this year for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, recognized as a “significant screen innovation” that “pioneered a new form of entertainment.”
Miss America
Patricia Donnelly (Detroit, Michigan)
Time Magazine’s Man of the Year
Joseph Stalin
Firsts, Inventions, and Wonders
The first Thin Mint cookies were baked by the Girl Scouts in 1939.
Founded by Carl Stotz, the first Little League Baseball game was played in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
In the 1939 film The Women, no men or even male animals or portraits appear on-screen. The only visibly male creatures are a drawing of a bull and an advertisement.
The Westinghouse Time Capsules are two time capsules prepared by the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company: “Time Capsule I” was created for the 1939 New York World’s Fair, and “Time Capsule II” was created for the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Both are buried 50 feet below Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, the site of both world’s fairs; the 1965 capsule was placed ten feet north of the 1939 capsule. The capsules will be opened simultaneously in 6939, five thousand years after the first capsule was sealed.
Winston Churchill coined “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” during his The Russian Enigma broadcast.
The Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum’s novel, starring Judy Garland as Dorothy, premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. In the original story, Dorothy wore silver slippers to protect her from the Wicked Witch of the West, but this was changed to Ruby Slippers in the film to take advantage of the new Technicolor process.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was officially dedicated in Cooperstown, New York.
Ernest Vincent wrote the book Gadsby, which contains over 50,000 words, all without the letter ‘e.’
The Quote
David Sarnoff, the president of RCA, declared television would allow “Americans (to) attain the highest general cultural level of any people in the history of the world.”
Pop Culture Facts & History
Playing Card Game Canasta was created by Segundo Santos and Alberto Serrato in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1939. It spread to the US by the late 1940s.
In 1939, the New York Times predicted that television would fail because the average American family would not have enough time to sit around watching it.
The Magna Carta was on display at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, but WWII had broken out, and the Magna Carta was moved to Fort Knox for safekeeping until the end of the war.
The Cowardly Lion costume from The Wizard of Oz was made from the skin and fur of a real lion.
Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving from the last week in November to the 4th week in November to boost retail sales during the Great Depression.
Penicillin, discovered in 1925, was tested on humans, curing many diseases, including tuberculosis and gonorrhea. It was the first proper antibiotic.
The First World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) was held in the Caravan Hall in New York from July 2 to July 4, 1939.
The American Humane Association is in charge of stating that “no animals were harmed during the making of this film.” They became involved in films because of the 1939’s Jesse James, which included a blindfolded horse forced to jump off a 70-foot cliff.
NBC broadcast its first black-and-white television images. Only approximately 1,000 homes had television sets in the New York area.
The current world record holder for the world’s oldest dog was Bluey, who lived from 1910 to 1939 and died at the age of 29 years and five months.
Bob Feller pitched a game against the White Sox on Mother’s Day, 1939, with his family in attendance. One of his pitches was fouled off into the seats, into his mother’s face right above the right eye, resulting in her needing seven stitches. Feller went on to win the game.
Futurama is named after a 1939 World’s Fair exhibit that showed what they thought the world would be like in 1959.
The Los Angeles Times got the Oscar winner’s names before the official presentations. That’s why Price Waterhouse gained control of holding the winner’s names, although they had been tabulating the votes since 1935.
On March 3, 1939, Harvard freshman Lothrop Withington, Jr, became the first goldfish swallower, winning a $10.00 bet. Other, less adventurous people, were reading John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath or watching Gone With The Wind in movie theaters.
The release of Gone With the Wind on December 15th was so big that the mayor of Atlanta declared a 3-day festival that concluded with a state holiday on the day of release.
AT&T made a working answering machine in 1939 but suppressed it, thinking public fear of being recorded would lead to widespread abandonment of the telephone.
Lina Medina, a 5-year-old Peruvian girl, gave birth to a baby boy, becoming the youngest confirmed mother in medical history.
In 1939, 20,000 people (Americans) attended a Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden.
Nobel Prize Winners
Physics – Ernest Lawrence Chemistry – Adolf Friedrich Johann Butenandt, Leopold Ružicka Physiology or Medicine – Gerhard Domagk Literature – Frans Eemil Sillanpää Peace – not awarded
Broadway Show
Life With Father (Play) Opened on November 8, 1939, and closed on July 12, 1947
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1939
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie All This, and Heaven Too by Rachel Field Disputed Passage by Lloyd C. Douglas Escape by Ethel Vance Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo Kitty Foyle by Christopher Morley The Nazarene by Sholem Asch Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Tree of Liberty by Elizabeth Page Wickford Point by John P. Marquand The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Sports
World Series Champions: New York Yankees NFL Champs: Green Bay Packers Stanley Cup Champs: Boston Bruins U.S. Open Golf: Byron Nelson U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): Bobby Riggs/Alice Marble Wimbledon (Men/Women): Bobby Riggs NCAA Football Champions: Texas A&M NCAA Basketball Champions: Oregon Kentucky Derby Winner: Johnstown Boston Marathon Winner: Ellison Brown Time: 2:28:51
Angel Pavement by J. B. Priestley Chances by A. Hamilton Gibbs Cimarron by Edna Ferber The Door by Mary Roberts Rinehart Exile by Warwick Deeping The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew #2) by Carolyn Keene The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper Rogue Herries by Hugh Walpole The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew #1) by Carolyn Keene Twenty-Four Hours by Louis Bromfield The Woman of Andros by Thornton Wilder Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes Young Man of Manhattan by Katharine Brush
Take our 1930 Quiz!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1931:
A White Bird Flying by Bess Streeter Aldrich Back Street by Fannie Hurst The Bridge of Desire by Warwick Deeping Finch’s Fortune by Mazo de la Roche The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum Maid in Waiting by John Galsworthy The Road Back by Erich Maria Remarque Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes
Take our 1931 Quiz!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1932:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley The Fountain by Charles Langbridge Morgan The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck Inheritance by Phyllis Bentley Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas Magnolia Street by Louis Golding Mary’s Neck by Booth Tarkington Old Wine and New by Warwick Deeping The Sheltered Life by Ellen Glasgow Sons by Pearl S. Buck Three Loves by A. J. Cronin
Take our 1932 Quiz!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1933:
Ann Vickers by Sinclair Lewis Anthony Adverse by Hervey Allen As the Earth Turns by Gladys Hasty Carroll The Farm by Louis Bromfield Forgive Us Our Trespassers by Lloyd C. Douglas God’s Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell Little Man, What Now? by Hans Fallada Magnificent Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas The Master of Jalna by Mazo de la Roche Miss Bishop by Bess Streeter Aldrich One More River by John Galsworthy
Take our 1933 Quiz!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1934:
Anthony Adverse by Hervey Allen Good- bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer Lamb in His Bosom by Caroline Miller Mary Peters by Mary Ellen Chase Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Oil for the Lamps of China by Alice Tisdale Hobart Private Worlds by Phyllis Bottome Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen So Red the Rose by Stark Young Within This Present by Margaret Ayer Barnes Work of Art by Sinclair Lewis
Take our 1934 Quiz!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1935:
Come and Get It by Edna Ferber Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie Europa by Robert Briffault The Forty Days of Musa Dagh by Franz Werfel Good- bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton Green Light by Lloyd C. Douglas Heaven’s My Destination by Thornton Wilder Lost Horizon by James Hilton Of Time and the River by Thomas Wolfe Time Out of Mind by Rachel Field Vein of Iron by Ellen Glasgow
Take our 1935 Quiz!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1936:
The Doctor by Mary Roberts Rinehart Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmonds Eyeless in Gaza by Aldous Huxley Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie The Hurricane by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis The Last Puritan by George Santayana Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie Sparkenbroke by Charles Langbridge Morgan The Thinking Reed by Rebecca West We The Living – Ayn Rand White Banners by Lloyd C. Douglas
Take our 1936 Quiz!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1937:
And So-Victoria by Vaughan Wilkins The Citadel by A. J. Cronin Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmonds Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck The Story of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff The Rains Came by Louis Bromfield Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill We Are Not Alone by James Hilton The Years by Virginia Woolf
Take our 1937 Quiz!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1938:
Action at Aquila by Hervey Allen All This, and Heaven Too by Rachel Field And Tell of Time by Laura Krey The Citadel by A. J. Cronin The Mortal Storm by Phyllis Bottome My Son, My Son! by Howard Spring Northwest Passage (novel) by Kenneth Roberts Our Town: A Play by Thornton Wilder The Rains Came by Louis Bromfield Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Take our 1938 Quiz!
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1939:
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie All This, and Heaven Too by Rachel Field Disputed Passage by Lloyd C. Douglas Escape by Ethel Vance Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo Kitty Foyle by Christopher Morley The Nazarene by Sholem Asch Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Tree of Liberty by Elizabeth Page Wickford Point by John P. Marquand The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Take our 1939 Quiz!
Glenn Miller Little Brown Jug 1869 would mark the public publishing of this song that would remain part of American culture. The song is a drinking song and though it waned popularity for a while it regained its stature during the era of the 1920s and prohibition. Glenn Miller and his orchestra would produce a swing version of the tune and it would become a standard of the Big Band Era.
Andrews Sisters Beer Barrel Polka This song, also known as Roll Out The Barrel, was written in 1927 by a Czech musician named Jaromir Vejvoda. As originally written it was played without lyrics. The song became popular with soldiers during World War II, but it’s origins as well as lyrics and translations came much earlier. Many artists and bands would record the song. The Wiggles made a recording of it for their album and video Sailing Around The World. If you grew up in Philadelphia you would be exposed to song fairly early as it was a staple for yearly Mummers Parade.
Judy Garland Over The Rainbow What can be said about Over The Rainbow that has not already been written? The song was created by Harold Arlen with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg for one of the most famous movies of the 20th Century, The Wizard of OZ. The song is sung by the character of Dorothy Gale played by Judy Garland as she yearns for someplace there would not be any trouble. Before the film’s release, the song was threatened to be cut, but wiser heads prevailed. The song would have had quite a different history and impact if it had starred Shirley Temple as MGM would have preferred. Temple’s little girl sweetness and attitudes would probably not have the same impact as Garlands’ more mature voice.
The song would have very few recordings made by other artists before Barbra Streisand would use the song in her 1986 One Voice Concert that was performed on September the 6th at her Malibu home for 5000.00 dollars a ticket. Miss Streisand would pay homage to Garland before singing the song. Mr. Shue played by Mathew Morrison would sing the song in the first season finale of Glee.
Kate Smith God Bless America Written by Irving Berlin, legend has it that Kate Smith called Berlin and asked him to give her something new for her radio program. Mr. Berlin searched through his back files and pulled out God Bless America. Kate Smith would perform the song to almost immediate popularity. The song would long be associated with Miss Smith and at the end of her life while she lived in Philadelphia she sang the song regularly at The Philadelphia Flyers home games. Philadelphia honored Miss Smith by erecting a statue of her outside The Flyers Home Stadium. Many people feel that this song would make a better national anthem that Star-Spangled Banner.
Kay Kyser Three Little Fishies Three little Fishies is best described as a novelty song, like Shaving Cream or They’re Coming To Take Me Away. Only Three Little Fishies was is on the verge of cute and sweet and fun. Sung by Kay Kyser, with words and music by Saxie Dowell. The song would become a number one hit in 1939. But it would live on as children in the 1930s would sing this song to their children into the 1960s.
Mary Martin My Heart Belongs to Daddy
Written by Cole Porter for the musical Leave It To Me, this song would introduce the world to Miss Mary Martin. In the musical Miss Martin played the mistress of a newspaper publisher and the ‘Daddy” she is referring to is her lover. The song is also done a striptease, though, risqué, still tame by today’s standards. Gene Kelly would also make one of his early appearances in the show. Miss Martin would go on to become one of the queens of Broadway, sharing the crown with the great Ethel Merman.
Miss Martin originated the role of Nellie Forbush in Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s South Pacific in which she starred alongside Enzio Pinza. This would be the first time a Broadway star and an Opera Star would share the spotlight together. She went on to again work with the musical team when she originated the role of Maria in The Sound Of Music. She also starred in a musical version of Peter Pan which still appears on Broadway from time to time. Miss Martin is the mother of Larry Hagman the Co-star of I Dream of Jeannie and Dallas. Mary Martin would title her autobiography My Heart Belongs.
Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds The Lion Sleeps Tonight This song actually has two other titles Wimoweh and Mbube. The song was written in the 1920s by Solomon Linda of the Zulu tribe in Africa and first recorded there. The song would make its way across the Atlantic to become a hit in 1939. In 1961, the song would become a number one hit when recorded by The Tokens and is still played on radio stations today. Walt Disney Studios would use the Lion Sleeps Tonight in it’s animated classic The Lion King.
Louis Armstrong When The Saints Go Marching In If Jazz and New Orleans had a theme song When The Saints Go Marching In would be it. The origin of the song is unknown, but it began as a hymn and usually used as part of the funeral profession. While the casket was being taken to the cemetery the song would be played as a dirge or as a slow march. On the return from the cemetery the song would go upbeat and would signify Jesus Christ’s Triumph over death. The New Orleans Football Team The Saints is named after this song.
Top Artists and Songs of 1939
Andrews Sisters Beer Barrel Polka Hold Tight Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood Mama) We’ll All Right (Tonight’s the Night)
Art Tatum Tea For Two
Artie Shaw I Poured My Heart Into A Song Thanks For Everything They Say
Billie Holiday Strange Fruit
Bing Crosby and Connee Boswell An Apple For Teacher
Bing Crosby What’s New?
Bob Hope & Shirley Ross Two Sleep People
Bob Crosby and his Orchestra Day-In Day-Out
Carmen Miranda and Dorival Caymmi O Que & Que a Baiana Tem?
Charlie Barnet Cherokee
Chick Henderson Begin the Beguine
Count Basie Lester Leaps In
Cripple Clarence Lofton I Don’t Know
Dick Jurgens and his Orchestra Careless
Fats Waller Your Feets Too Big
Frankie Masters and his Orchestra Scatter-Brain
Gene Autry Back in the Saddle Again South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)
Glen Gray Heaven Can Wait
Glenn Miller Blue Orchid Forever Faithful Little Brown Jug Man With the Mandolin Moon Love Moonlight Serenade Over the Rainbow Stairway to the Stars Sunrise Serenade Wishing (Will Make It So)
Guy Lombardo Penny Serenade South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)
Judy Garland Over The Rainbow The Jitterbug
Kate Smith God Bless America
Kay Kyser Three Little Fishes
Larry Clinton Deep Purple
Louis Armstrong When the Saints Go Marching In
Martha Tilton And the Angels Sing
Mary Martin My Heart Belongs To Daddy
Red Norvo and his Orchestra Says My Heart
Sammy Kaye Penny Serenade
Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)
Solomon Linda and the Evening Birds The Lion Sleeps Tonight
The Ink Spots Address Unknown If I Didn’t Care My Prayer
The 11th Academy Awards unfolded on February 23, 1939, hosted at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
A distinctive feature of this year’s ceremony was the lack of a formal host.
Movies released in 1938 were eligible for these honors.
Noteworthy Moments:
You Can’t Take It With You clinched the Best Picture award. Directed by Frank Capra, the film is a comedy about a wealthy man’s son who falls in love with a woman from a quirky family.
Spencer Tracy received his second Best Actor Oscar for his role in Boys Town.
You Can’t Take It With You earned 7 nominations.
This was the first ceremony in which a foreign language film (Grand Illusion) was nominated for Best Picture.
Bette Davis won the Best Actress award for her role in Jezebel, a drama about a wilful southern belle.
This ceremony reflected a growing maturity in the film industry, with increasingly complex narratives and character-driven stories taking center stage. The awards also signaled a move toward greater inclusivity, with a wider range of genres and themes gaining recognition.
Trivia:
Frank Capra, winning for Best Director, also served as the President of the Academy at the time.
Jezebel was conceived as a consolation for Bette Davis after she lost the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind.
Walt Disney’s Ferdinand the Bull won for Best Animated Short, adding to Disney’s growing collection of Oscars.
This year saw the introduction of the category for Best Special Effects, with the first winner being Spawn of the North.
1939 Oscar Nominees and Winners
Outstanding Production: You Can’t Take It with You – Frank Capra for Columbia (WINNER) The Adventures of Robin Hood – Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke for Warner Bros. Alexander’s Ragtime Band – Darryl F. Zanuck and Harry Joe Brown for 20th Century Fox Boys Town – John W. Considine, Jr. for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The Citadel – Victor Saville for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Four Daughters – Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke for Warner Bros. and First National Grand Illusion – Frank Rollmer and Albert Pinkovitch for R. A. C. and World Pictures Jezebel – Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke for Warner Bros. Pygmalion – Gabriel Pascal for Pascal Film Productions Test Pilot – Louis D. Lighton for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Best Director: Frank Capra – You Can’t Take It with You (WINNER) Michael Curtiz – Angels with Dirty Faces Norman Taurog – Boys Town King Vidor – The Citadel Michael Curtiz – Four Daughters
Best Actor: Spencer Tracy – Boys Town as Father Flanagan (WINNER) Charles Boyer – Algiers as Pepe le Moko James Cagney – Angels with Dirty Faces as William “Rocky” Sullivan Robert Donat – The Citadel as Dr. Andrew Manson Leslie Howard – Pygmalion as Professor Henry Higgins
Best Actress: Bette Davis – Jezebel as Julie Marsden (WINNER) Fay Bainter – White Banners as Hannah Parmalee Wendy Hiller – Pygmalion as Eliza Doolittle Norma Shearer – Marie Antoinette as Marie Antoinette Margaret Sullavan – Three Comrades as Patricia Hollmann
Best Supporting Actor: Walter Brennan – Kentucky as Peter Goodwin (WINNER) John Garfield – Four Daughters as Mickey Borden Gene Lockhart – Algiers as Regis Robert Morley – Marie Antoinette as King Louis XVI Basil Rathbone – If I Were King as King Louis XI
Best Supporting Actress: Fay Bainter – Jezebel as Aunt Belle Massey (WINNER) Beulah Bondi – Of Human Hearts as Mary Wilkins Billie Burke – Merrily We Live as Emily Kilbourne Spring Byington – You Can’t Take It with You as Penelope “Penny” Sycamore Miliza Korjus – The Great Waltz as Carla Donner
Best Original Story: Boys Town – Eleanore Griffin and Dore Schary (WINNER) Alexander’s Ragtime Band – Irving Berlin Angels with Dirty Faces – Rowland Brown Blockade – John Howard Lawson Mad About Music – Marcella Burke and Frederick Kohner Test Pilot – Frank Wead
Best Screenplay: Pygmalion – George Bernard Shaw, Ian Dalrymple, Cecil Lewis, and W. P. Lipscomb, based on the play by Shaw (WINNER) Boys Town – John Meehan and Dore Schary, based on a story by Schary and Eleanore Griffin The Citadel – Ian Dalrymple, Elizabeth Hill and Frank Wead, based on the novel by A. J. Cronin Four Daughters – Lenore Coffee and Julius J. Epstein, based on the short story “Sister Act” by Fannie Hurst You Can’t Take It with You – Robert Riskin, based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
Best Live Action Short Subject, One-Reel: That Mothers Might Live – MGM (WINNER) The Great Heart – MGM Timber Toppers – 20th Century Fox
Best Live Action Short Subject, Two-Reel: Declaration of Independence – Warner Bros. (WINNER) Swingtime in the Movies – Warner Bros. They’re Always Caught – MGM
Best Short Subject, Cartoon: Ferdinand the Bull – Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio (WINNER) Brave Little Tailor – Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio Good Scouts – Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio Hunky and Spunky – Paramount Mother Goose Goes Hollywood – Walt Disney Productions and RKO Radio
Best Original Score: The Adventures of Robin Hood – Erich Wolfgang Korngold (WINNER) Army Girl – Victor Young Block-Heads – Marvin Hatley Blockade – Werner Janssen Breaking the Ice – Victor Young The Cowboy and the Lady – Alfred Newman If I Were King – Richard Hageman Marie Antoinette – Herbert Stothart Pacific Liner – Russell Bennett Suez – Louis Silvers The Young in Heart – Franz Waxman
Best Scoring: Alexander’s Ragtime Band – Alfred Newman (WINNER) Carefree – Victor Baravalle Girls’ School – Morris Stoloff and Gregory Stone The Goldwyn Follies – Alfred Newman Jezebel – Max Steiner Mad About Music – Charles Previn and Frank Skinner Storm Over Bengal – Cy Feuer Sweethearts – Herbert Stothart There Goes My Heart – Marvin Hatley Tropic Holiday – Boris Morros The Young in Heart – Franz Waxman
Best Song: “Thanks for the Memory” from The Big Broadcast of 1938 – Music by Ralph Rainger; Lyrics by Leo Robin (WINNER) “Always and Always” from Mannequin – Music by Edward Ward; Lyrics by Chet Forrest and Bob Wright “Change Partners” from Carefree – Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin “The Cowboy and the Lady” from The Cowboy and the Lady – Music by Lionel Newman; Lyrics by Arthur Quenzer “Dust” from Under Western Stars – Music and Lyrics by Johnny Marvin “Jeepers Creepers” from Going Places – Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer “Merrily We Live” from Merrily We Live – Music by Phil Charig; Lyrics by Arthur Quenzer “A Mist Over the Moon” from The Lady Objects – Music by Ben Oakland; Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II “My Own” from That Certain Age – Music by Jimmy McHugh; Lyrics by Harold Adamson “Now It Can Be Told” from Alexander’s Ragtime Band – Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Best Sound Recording: The Cowboy and the Lady – Thomas T. Moulton (WINNER) Army Girl – Charles L. Lootens Four Daughters – Nathan Levinson If I Were King – Loren L. Ryder Merrily We Live – Elmer Raguse Suez – Edmund H. Hansen Sweethearts – Douglas Shearer That Certain Age – Bernard B. Brown Vivacious Lady – John O. Aalberg You Can’t Take It with You – John P. Livadary
Best Art Direction: The Adventures of Robin Hood – Carl Jules Weyl (WINNER) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Lyle R. Wheeler Alexander’s Ragtime Band – Bernard Herzbrun and Boris Leven Algiers – Alexander Toluboff Carefree – Van Nest Polglase The Goldwyn Follies – Richard Day Holiday – Stephen Goosson and Lionel Banks If I Were King – Hans Dreier and John B. Goodman Mad About Music – Jack Otterson Marie Antoinette – Cedric Gibbons Merrily We Live – Charles D. Hall
Best Cinematography: The Great Waltz – Joseph Ruttenberg (WINNER) Algiers – James Wong Howe Army Girl – Ernest Miller and Harry J. Wild The Buccaneer – Victor Milner Jezebel – Ernest Haller Mad About Music – Joseph Valentine Merrily We Live – Norbert Brodine Suez – Peverell Marley Vivacious Lady – Robert De Grasse You Can’t Take It with You – Joseph Walker The Young in Heart – Leon Shamroy
Best Film Editing: The Adventures of Robin Hood – Ralph Dawson (WINNER) Alexander’s Ragtime Band – Barbara McLean The Great Waltz – Tom Held Test Pilot – Tom Held You Can’t Take It with You – Gene Havlick
Academy Honorary Awards: J. Arthur Ball “for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of color in Motion Picture Photography.” (Scroll)
Walt Disney “for creating Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , recognized as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field for the motion picture cartoon.” (The prize was one full sized statuette and seven miniature statuettes, representing the Seven Dwarfs.)
Gordon Jennings, Jan Domela, Dev Jennings, Irmin Roberts, Art Smith, Farciot Edouart, Loyal Griggs, Loren L. Ryder, Harry D. Mills, Louis H. Mesenkop, and Walter Oberst “for outstanding achievement in creating Special Photographic and Sound Effects in the Paramount production, Spawn of the North.” (Plaque)
Oliver Marsh and Allen Davey “for the color cinematography of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, Sweethearts.” (Plaque)
Harry M. Warner “in recognition of patriotic service in the production of historical short subjects presenting significant episodes in the early struggle of the American people for liberty.” (Scroll)
World Changing Event: First appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1 (cover-dated June).
Influential Song was Sing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing) by Benny Goodman.
The Movies to Watch include The Adventures of Robin Hood, You Can’t Take It With You, Test Pilot, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, Angels with Dirty Faces, Boys Town, Room Service and The Terror of Tiny Town.
The Most Famous Person in America was probably Clark Gable
Notable books include Our Town: A Play by Thornton Wilder
Price of 24 oz of salt in 1938: 3 cents
The March of Dimes was established as a foundation to combat infant polio.
The Funny Duo was Abbot & Costello
The Conversation: Orson Welles’s radio broadcast War of the Worlds caused national hysteria.
Top Ten Baby Names of 1938
Mary, Barbara, Patricia, Betty, Shirley, Robert, James, John, William, Richard
US Life Expectancy
(1938) Males: 61.9 years, Females: 65.3 years
The Stars
Claudette Colbert, Olivia de Havilland, Betty Grable, Hedy Lamarr, Myrna Loy, Ginger Rogers, Barbara Stanwyck, Lana Turner
Entertainment History The Oscars
The 10th Academy Awards occurred on March 10, 1938, at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. This year, Bob Burns was the host, and The Life of Emile Zola took home the Best Picture trophy. Spencer Tracy won Best Actor for his performance in Captains Courageous, while Luise Rainer captured Best Actress for The Good Earth. This was the first ceremony where an animated short film was honored; Disney’s The Old Mill won in the Best Animated Short Subject category. An interesting nugget of trivia is that this event marked the debut of the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories. The Oscars for this year focused on films released between January 1, 1937, and December 31, 1937.
Miss America
Marilyn Meseka (Marion, OH)
Time Magazine’s Man of the Year
Adolf Hitler
The Quote
“Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god.” – Jean Rostand.
Firsts, Inventions, and Wonders
The Addams Family started as single-panel comics in The New Yorker, in 1938.
Samsung was formed in 1938 as a company that sold noodles.
The chocolate chip cookie was ‘invented’ by Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1938 as a treat for those who stayed at her tourist lodge, the Toll House Inn.
John Deering agreed to have himself monitored on an electrocardiogram as he was executed to see the effects on his heart.
1938’s Bringing Up Baby was the first film to use the word ‘gay’ to mean homosexual. In one scene, Cary Grant was wearing a lady’s nightgown. When asked about it, he responds, “Because I just went gay.” At the time, most audiences thought it meant he was “being carefree”.
The Coelacanth, a prehistoric fish more related to reptiles and mammals than modern fish, was thought to have gone extinct 65 million years ago until fishermen caught one in 1938.
The term “Gaslighting” comes from a 1938 stage play (and 1944 film) called Gas Light, in which a husband tries to make his wife think she’s going insane through mental manipulation.
The fastest speed achieved on the German Autobahn was 268mph (432 kph) in a Mercedes-Benz W125 1938.
Sandy Point Island in Rhode Island did not exist before the Hurricane of 1938.
Boardgame Scrabble was created in 1938 but did not become popular until 1952 when the president of Macy’s played it while on vacation. Surprised that Macy’s did not carry it, he placed a large order, and within two years, four million games were sold.
Pop Culture Facts & History
Helen Hulick, a Kindergarten teacher who witnessed a burglary, was jailed for five days because she wore a pair of slacks for the second time after being warned and rescheduled by the court. “I’ll come back in slacks, and if he puts me in jail, I hope it will help to free women forever of anti-slackism.”
American auto-maker Henry Ford, received Germany’s highest honor for a non-German, The Order of the German Eagle, along with a personal note from Adolf Hitler.
The concept of a Diamond engagement ring started in 1938 as an advertising campaign to shore up sagging sales for the De Beers Diamond Group.
US Assistant Secretary of the Interior ended the Cherry Tree Rebellion Protest in Washington DC in 1938 by serving the 150 women protesters free “never-ending cups of coffee”. A big bathroom break ended the protest.
The screenplay for John Carpenter’s The Thing was based on a 1938 science-fiction novella entitled Who Goes There? by Don A. Stuart (John W. Campbell, Jr.). The character names and main plot points are almost identical, and the creature is called “the Thing” within the story.
National Donut Day (June 1) was created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the “Doughnut Dollies”, women volunteers who served donuts to soldiers in France during WWI.
George Bernard Shaw is the only person to win a Nobel Prize AND an Oscar. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 and an Oscar for Pygmalion in 1938.
Walt Disney won a special Oscar in 1938 for Snow White that had one regular-sized statuette and seven miniature Oscars.
In The Adventures of Robin Hood, the producers wanted a realistic look when arrows killed people. Instead of SFX or editing tricks, they hired an expert archer to shoot extras wearing padding. Extras were paid $150 each time they were shot.
British Hero John Logie Bard invented color television in London’s West End.
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits confectionery products containing a “non-nutritive object” unless the object has functional value. Essentially, the Act bans “the sale of any candy that has embedded in it a toy or trinket.”
Tokyo was scheduled to host the 1940 Olympics. In 1938, the Japanese rejected hosting the games because they saw the Olympics and its pacifist values as “an effete form of European culture.”
Assassin’s Creed is based on a 1938 Slovenian novel, Alamut, by Vladimir Bartol.
After the real von Trapp family left Austria in 1938, the Nazis used their abandoned home as Heinrich Himmler’s headquarters.
The BBC broadcast its first multi-episode television show, a crime drama called Telecrime, in 1938. After five episodes, the show went on a seven-year hiatus due to WWII and resumed in 1946, when the remaining 12 episodes were broadcast.
Politics
The city of Milton, Washington, elected a Republican named Boston Curtis to a local office—only to find out later that the candidate was a mule put on the ballot by the town’s Democratic mayor.
The Rumor
Some people say that Orson Welles’ radio adaptation of War of the Worlds never actually caused a mass panic, and newspaper journalists created the rumor to discredit radio as a medium because they felt threatened by it.
The Mystery
In 1938, an impostor accepted the Academy Award for Best Supporting Role for Alice Brady (In Old Chicago), absent from the ceremony. To this day, Oscar has never been recovered, and the thief’s identity is unknown.
Physics – Enrico Fermi Chemistry – Richard Kuhn Physiology or Medicine – Corneille Jean François Heymans Literature – Pearl S. Buck Peace – Nansen International Office for Refugees, Geneva
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1938
Action at Aquila by Hervey Allen All This, and Heaven Too by Rachel Field And Tell of Time by Laura Krey The Citadel by A. J. Cronin The Mortal Storm by Phyllis Bottome My Son, My Son! by Howard Spring Northwest Passage (novel) by Kenneth Roberts Our Town: A Play by Thornton Wilder The Rains Came by Louis Bromfield Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Sports
World Series Champions: New York Yankees NFL Champs: New York Giants Stanley Cup Champs: Chicago Black Hawks U.S. Open Golf: Ralph Guldahl U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies): J. Donald Budge/Alice Marble Wimbledon (Men/Women): Don Budge/Helen Moody NCAA Football Champions: TCU Kentucky Derby Winner: Lawrin FIFA World Cup (Soccer): Italy Boston Marathon Winner: Leslie S. Pawson Time: 2:35:34
Only 5 NFL Games have ended with a 2-0 score:
November 29, 1923: Akron Pros 2, Buffalo All-Americans 0
November 21, 1926: Kansas City Cowboys 2, Buffalo Rangers 0
November 29, 1928: Frankford Yellow Jackets 2, Green Bay Packers 0
October 16, 1932: Green Bay Packers 2, Chicago Bears 0
September 18, 1938: Chicago Bears 2, Green Bay Packers 0
Al Donahue Jeepers Creepers
The song made its first appearance in the 1938 film Going Places which starred Dick Powell Anita Louise and a future President of the United States Ronald Reagan. The song was actually sung to a horse by his trainer. The trainer was played by Louis Armstrong. The term Jeepers Creepers was actually a slang term for Jesus Christ and the term predated the movie and the song. In 2001 a film entitled Jeepers Creeper would appear in a horror movie. Jeepers Creepers would be heard right before the monster would appear.
Andrews Sisters Shortnin Bread
The origins of this song are vague. Although considered a traditional plantation song the first published record of the lyrics was 1900 by a white poet named James Whitcomb Riley. The song would then be revised and republished again in 1915 by E. C. Perrow. This is more the song that we know of today
Here a recipe for Shortening Bread retrieved from the website Suite 101:
2 cups all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, ½ cup buttermilk, A quarter cup plus two tables spoons butter 1 cup molasses and 1 egg slightly beaten. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a cast-iron skillet. In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and set it aside. In another small dish dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk. Set that aside also. In a heavy saucepan, stir the butter and molasses and bring it to a boil. Stir it constantly. Add the molasses mixture to the flour, Stir in and then add the buttermilk and soda and then the beaten egg. Pour the whole mixture into the skillet and place it in the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes
Bing Crosby You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby
With music by Harry Warren and Lyrics by Johnny Mercer, You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby would be featured in Hard To Get and sung by Dick Powell. But it had been popular before the film’s release as it was recorded by Bing Crosby and became a mega-hit for the already famous crooner.
Bob Hope and Shirley Ross Thanks For The Memories Bob Hope wasn’t exactly known for his singing voice, though he could carry a tune. This song is a bittersweet comedy romp through a couple’s breaking up. However, the song would become Hope’s theme song which he closed almost all of his shows. Mr. Hope would become famous for his patriotism especially during war years as he would travel the world to perform for American troops bringing along many celebrities of the day, usually beautiful women like Raquel Welch and Ann Margaret. The song would be done as a spoof on an Episode of The Golden Girls which guest-starred Hope. Sophia, played by Estelle Getty, would change the words to “Thanks for the Medicare.”
Ella Fitzgerald A Tisket A Tasket
The song is a reworked nursery rhyme that was originally published in the late 1800s. It was considered a rhyming game in the same way as Ring a Round the Rosie was done as children held hands and moved in a circular fashion. In 1938 Ella Fitzgerald updated the words of A Tisket A Tasket and turned in to one of the great Jazz Standards.
Fats Waller Two Sleepy People
This song was originally published in 1938 with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Frank Loesser. Carmichael himself would record the song along with such artists as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Seth McFarlane would also record the song. The song is the story of two people who are so much in love they do not want to go to sleep. On a humorous note, the song would be recorded by Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton as their characters of Archie and Edith Bunker.
Fred Astaire Nice Work If You Can Get It
The song was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the movie musical A Damsel in Distress. In the movie, the song was sung by Fred Astaire, who would turn it into a hit. The song became a part of the Gershwin musical Crazy For You and eventually would have a Broadway show of its own named after it.
Adriana Caselotti Whistle While You Work Whistle While You Work was written for Walt Disney’s first full-length cartoon Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Frank Churchill, music and Larry Morey, lyrics. The movie was a huge risk for Disney as a full length animated film had never been attempted before. The song is an upbeat encouragement sung by Snow White as she cleans up the Dwarfs Cottage with the help of the good forest animals. The movie would go on to win Disney a special Academy Award made with one large oscar statue and seven smaller ones. The award was presented to Mr. Disney by child actress Shirley Temple.
Walter Huston September Song
This 1938 popular song was written by Kurt Weill, music and Maxwell Anderson, lyrics for the show Knickerbocker Holiday. The show would have a successful run but the song would outlive the show. September Song would be recorded by such artists as Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. Opera and Broadway star Enzio Pinza would also make a recording of this song shortly before his death. The song would go on to be used in the 1950 film September Affair.
Top Artists and Songs of 1938
Al Donahue
Jeepers Creepers
Allan Jones
Donkey Serenade
Andrews Sisters
Bei Mir Bist Do Schoen
Shortnin’ Bread
Andy Kirk
I Won’t Tell A Soul (That I Love You)
Artie Shaw
Any Old Time
Begin The Beguine
They Say
Benny Goodman
Don’t Be That Way
Billie Holiday
I’m Gonna Lock My Heart
Bing Crosby and Connee Boswell
Alexander’s Ragtime Band
Bing Crosby
I’ve Got A Pocketful of Dreams
Mexicali Rose
You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby
Bob Hope and Shirley Ross
Thanks For The Memory
Boswell Sisters
Alexander’s Ragtime Band
Bunny Berigan
I Can’t Get Started
Carmen Miranda
Camisa Listada
Count Basie
Jumpin’ At The Woodside
Panassie Stomp
Duke Ellington
I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
Ella Fitzgerald
A-Tisket A-Tasket
Fats Waller
Two Sleepy People
Fred Astaire
Change Partners
Nice Work If You Can Get It
The Yam
Guy Lombardo
Ti-Pi-Tin
Horace Heidt
Ti-Pi-Tin
Jimmy Dorsey
Change Partners
Deep Purple
Kay Kyser
The Umbrella Man
Kokomo
Goin’ Down In Galilee
Larry Clinton
Always and Always
Cry, Baby, Cry
Heart and Soul
Martha
My Reverie
You Go To My Head
Martha Tilton
I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
Mildred Bailey
So Help Me
Ray Noble
Alexander’s Ragtime Band
Red Norvo and his Orchestra
Please Be Kind
Robert Johnson
Honeymoon Blues
Stop Breakin’ Down Blues
Russ Morgan
I’ve Got A Pocketful of Dreams
Sammy Kaye
Love Walked In
Seven Dwarfs
Whistle While You Work
Shep Fields and his Ripplin’ Rythm Orchestra
Cathedral In The Pines
Whistle While You Work
Sidney Bechet
Summertime
Slim and Slam
The Flat Foot Floogie
Tampa Red
Lua Mae
Tommy Dorsey
Boogie Woogie
Music, Maestro, Please
My Own
Now It Can Be Told
