This Year in History:
1939
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
Arthur “Doc” Barker is killed while trying to escape from Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay. Barker, of the notorious “Bloody Barkers” gang, was spotted on the rock‑strewn shore of…
During the Spanish Civil War, Barcelona, the Republican capital of Spain, falls to the Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco. In 1931, King Alfonso XIII approved elections to decide the…
Six and a half months before Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, New York City’s Madison Square Garden hosted a rally to celebrate the rise of Nazism in Germany. Inside, more than…
Hitler’s forces invade and occupy Czechoslovakiaa nation sacrificed on the altar of the Munich Pact, which was a vain attempt to prevent Germany’s imperial aims. On September 30, 1938, Adolf…
The University of Oregon defeats The Ohio State University 46–33 on March 27, 1939 to win the first‑ever NCAA men’s basketball tournament. “March Madness,” as the tournament became known, has…
In Spain, the Republican defenders of Madrid raise the white flag over the city, bringing to an end the bloody three‑year Spanish Civil War. In 1931, Spanish King Alfonso XIII…
At the height of the civil rights movement in 1963, these famous words were spoken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.: “I have a dream that…
On April 30, 1939, the New York World’s Fair opens in New York City. The opening ceremony, which featured speeches by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and New York Governor Herbert…
On May 22, 1939, Italy and Germany agree to a military and political alliance, giving birth formally to the Axis powers, which will ultimately include Japan. Mussolini coined the nickname…
A boat carrying 937 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution is turned away from Havana, Cuba, on May 27, 1939. Only 28 immigrants are admitted into the country. After appeals to…
King George VI becomes the first reigning British monarch to visit the United States when he and his wife, Elizabeth, cross the Canadian‑U.S. border to Niagara Falls, New York. The…
On June 27, 1939, one of the most famous scenes in movie history is filmed: Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara parting in Gone with the Wind. Director Victor Fleming also…
The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland and featuring words and music by E.Y. “Yip” Harburg and Harold Arlen, receives its world premiere in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on August 12, 1939.…
On August 23, 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non‑aggression pact, stunning the world, given their diametrically opposed ideologies. But the dictators were, despite appearances, both playing to…
On August 25, 1939, The Wizard of Oz, which will become one of the best‑loved movies in history, opens in theaters around the United States. Based on the 1900 children’s…
On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast on station W2XBS, the station that was to become WNBC‑TV. Announcer Red Barber called the game between…
On September 1, 1939, German forces under the control of Adolf Hitler bombard Poland on land and from the air. World War II had begun. Why did Germany invade Poland? Germany invaded…
On September 3, 1939, in response to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. The first casualty of that declaration…
Audiences at the Fox Theater in Riverside, California, get a surprise showing of Gone with the Wind, which the theater manager shows as a second feature. Producer David O. Selznick…
On September 17, 1939, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov declares that the Polish government has ceased to exist, as the U.S.S.R. exercises the “fine print” of the Hitler‑Stalin Non‑aggression pact—the…
