April 26, 1937: More than 1,600 people killed by aerial bombardment of GuernicainSpain.April 13, 1937: Brutal lynching of two African-Americans takes place in Mississippi, with photographs later published worldwide (pictured: Robert McDaniels)
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) became an independent branch of New Zealand's military forces, after having existed initially as a command within the New Zealand Army.
Six German bombers of the Condor Legion carried out the bombing of Jaén, a Spanish city with no legitimate military value or anti-aircraft defenses, and killed 159 civilians.[2] In retaliation, the city administrators of the Spanish Republic government executed 128 Nationalist prisoners.[3]
The 36-story tall Time-Life Building, now called "1 Rockefeller Plaza", opened in Manhattan.[4][5]
The Kingdom of Albania, ruled by King Zog I, established a policy of official recognition of its Jewish minority, which at the time consisted of 300 Albanians, living primarily in Vlorë, and of becoming the only European nation to welcome Jewish refugees.[6]
Abd al-Hafid, 62, Sultan of Morocco from 1908 to 1912, known for signing the Treaty of Fez on March 30, 1912, making Morocco a French protectorate.[17] After signing the treaty, al-Hafid abdicated and was granted a pension, living for the rest of his life in France.
The first elections in British India for the new Punjab Provincial Assembly were held for 175 seats, of which 42 were for any candidate, 84 were limited to Muslims, 31 for Sikhs, and 18 others for representatives of different groups (four for women, five for landholders, three for trade union representatives, two for Indian Christians, and one apiece for a European, a British-born Indian, a university representative and representative of industry. Overall, candidates of the Unionist Party won a majority of 98 of 175 seats.[20]
The French liner Normandie crossed the Atlantic Ocean in record time, with an average speed of 30.98 knots (57.37 km/h; 35.65 mph).[21]
Born:
U.S. Army General Colin Powell, the first African-American Secretary of State; in New York City (died of complications from COVID-19, 2021)[22]
General Guido Vildoso, President of Bolivia for four months in 1982 and the last military ruler prior to the restoration of democracy in the South American nation; in La Paz[23]
Maryanne Trump Barry, U.S. federal appellate judge from 1983 to 2019, older sister of former U.S. President Donald Trump; in New York City (d. 2023)[24]
Juan Lezcano, Paraguayan footballer with 26 caps for the Paraguay national team; in Asunción (d. 2012)
The Pennsylvania chocolate workers' sitdown strike ended abruptly when at least 3,000 people— other Hershey employees, workers at neighboring dairies affected by the strike, and local residents—arrived at the factory and gave the strikers until 1:00 to leave the factory or to be forcibly evicted. When the deadline arrived with no exit, the strikebreaking group entered the factory with bats, clubs and hammers and beat several people, with the worst assault on three union organizers.[8] As 800,000 pounds (360,000 kg) of milk daily was destroyed as a result of the strike, farmers armed with sticks and clubs assaulted the strikers, many of whom were taken to hospitals.[30][31]
In British India, the bicameral Assam Legislative Assembly, the first parliament of native Indians in the Assam Province, was opened by the British governor, Sir Robert ReidinShillong with a 108-member House of Representatives and a 21 member Legislative Council. Babu Basanta Kumar Das was sworn in as the first Speaker of the House of the new Assembly on the same day.
Austrian Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg retracted his announcement of February 14 and said that the Habsburg monarchy could not be restored in the foreseeable future due to the tense international situation.[32]
InNazi Germany, the Gestapo carried out a nationwide raid all on all chapters of B'nai B'rith, the international Jewish social service organization. All property of the B'nai B'rith was confiscated by the German government and the German corporation was dissolved.[36]
Mark R. Rein, a Russian-born German journalist, was kidnapped in Barcelona while in Spain, and taken to the Soviet Union by agents of the Soviet secret police, the OGPU. He was never seen in public again, and presumed to have been executed as part of an operation to round up opponents of the regime of Joseph Stalin.[37]
The Kamikaze became the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly from Japan to Europe, as pilot Masaaki Iinuma and navigator Kenji Tsukagoshi arrived in London 51 hours and 17 minutes after departing from Tokyo.
Rollan Kadyev, Soviet Crimean Tatar physicist and activist for the rights of the Crimean Tatar people in the USSR; in Azek, Crimean ASSR, RSFSR (died during surgery for a brain tumor, 1990)[40]
Ralph Ince, 50, American actor, director and screenwriter, was killed in an auto accident when his wife crashed the car in which he was riding into an iron pole in London's Kensington district.[47]
Kenelm Lee Guinness, 49, Irish racing driver and inventor, known for creating the KLG spark plug, and for setting the last land speed records measured on a racetrack rather than a beach or salt flat, committed suicide at his home. Guinness had suffered head trauma on September 27, 1924 at the San Sebastian Grand Prix and became increasingly despondent in the years that followed.[48]
The British cabinet held a rare Sunday meeting in which it decided to afford the fullest protection to British shipping outside the three-mile limit in northern Spanish waters. This was understood to include authorizing the Royal Navy to open fire on any Spanish vessels interfering with British cargo ships.[49]
The Junkers Ju 89 prototype Nazi German bomber had its first flight, piloted by Peter Hesselbach.[50] The project was discontinued 18 days later because the fuel consumption of the Ju 89 and another heavy bomber, the Dornier Do 19, was too high.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided National Labor Relations Board v Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, ruling 5 to 4 that the U.S. Congress had the power under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution to regulate labor relations within a particular U.S. state for industries that impacted interstate commerce, even if only indirectly. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes wrote the majority opinion, stating that "Employees have as clear a right to organize and select their representatives for lawful purposes as the respondent has to organize its business and select its own officers and agents," and added that "Although activities may be intrastate in character when separately considered," the federal government could regulate them "if they have such a close and substantial relation to interstate commerce that their control is essential or appropriate to protect that commerce from burdens and obstructions."
The lynching of Roosevelt Townes and Robert McDaniels, the first to be covered extensively by the United States media, took place in Duck Hill, Mississippi, after the two men were accused of the December 30 murder of a white shopkeeper.[55][56] After the two appeared in court in Winona, Mississippi, and entered a plea of not guilty, a mob of about 100 men overpowered the sheriff and five deputy sheriffs and seized Townes and McDaniels at the Montgomery County Courthouse. The two men were then transported in a school bus by members of the lynch mob, taken to a wooded area near Duck Hill, chained to trees, and tortured with a blowtorch. McDaniels was shot to death, and Townes was burned to death. Days later, Life magazine became the first U.S. publication to print photographs that had been taken at the scene of the crime, bringing the practice of lynching of African-Americans to worldwide attention.[57][58]
Fuad Hamza, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Egypt, welcomed David Ben-Gurion, the Chairman of the Zionist and Jewish Agency Executive and future Prime Minister of Israel, to Hamza's home in BeirutinLebanon, as Ben-Gurion attempted to find out Saudi King Ibn Saud's views on the formation of a Jewish state in the Middle East. Hamza arranged for Ben-Gurion to meet with King Ibn Saud and Crown Prince Saud.[59]
The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal was launched.
The Bruderhof community, a settlement of Anabaptist Christian Hutterites near Fulda in Germany, was raided by the Gestapo, assisted by the German SS and local police.[60] The three members of the Executive Committee (Hans Meier, Hans Boller, and Karl Keiderling) were arrested and the property of the residents was confiscated. Two visitors from the Hutterian Brethren in America, Michael Waldner and David Hofer, happened to be present, and told police that they would report the persecution to their organization upon their return home. The Nazi government relented, released the committee members after three months, and allowed the Bruderhof members to leave Germany.[61]
Lord Somervell, the Attorney-General for England, issued his official opinion to the Home Secretary, Viscount Simon, that although the former King Edward VIII "could not have claimed the right to be described as a Royal Highness" under British law, and that Edward's fiancée, Wallis Simpson, would have no right to claim the title "on any legal basis", it was "within the prerogative of His Majesty", King George VI, to continue to refer to Edward as "His Royal Highness" and to regulate the title by Letters Patent.[62]
Mitchell Hepburn, Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario, forced two of his cabinet ministers to resign after they had opposed his handling of the Oshawa Strike.[33][63]
Died:Ned Hanlon, 79, American baseball player and manager, 1996 inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame, known for his innovations during his managerial career from 1899 to 1907, and for winning the National League pennant three consecutive years managing the NL Baltimore Orioles (1894, 1895, and 1896) and two consecutive years for the Brooklyn Superbas (1899 and 1900)[64]
The Battle of Pozoblanco ended in Spain in a Republican victory after a six-week siege by the rebel Nationalist forces.[66]
The Southern Negro Youth Congress, a left-wing civil rights organization of African-American students, was organized in Richmond, Virginia, to address racial discrimination in the southern United States.[67]
Born:
George "The Animal" Steele, American professional wrestler and film actor known for Ed Wood, and inductee to the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame; in Detroit (d. 2017)[68]
Constance Ahrons, American psychotherapist and author of numerous works on the concept of collaborative divorce, including the 1994 book The Good Divorce: Keeping your family together when your marriage comes apart; In Brooklyn, New York (d.2021)[69]
The U.S. city of Fruitdale, Texas, with a population of 432, was incorporated by act of the Texas legislature after residents voted in favor of its creation to avoid being annexed by neighboring Dallas. After the independent city became completely surrounded by Dallas and local wells dried up, residents voted in 1964 to disincorporate the 27-year old town and the area is now part of the city of Dallas.[72]
Several hundred residents of the town of Schüttorf in Nazi Germany gathered at the town hall to protest the arrest of Friedrich Middendorff, the Lutheran pastor of the town's Evangelical-Reformed Church, after Middendorff had been jailed for publishing the article "Ein Weniges zur Judenfrage" ("About the Jewish Question"), defying Nazi policy. Rather than overtly protesting, the persons gathered reportedly sang hymns for several hours until the Gestapo released their pastor.[74] Mittendorf and his family fled Germany after he was freed.
Ontario's Premier Hepburn threatened to pass legislation to keep the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) out of Ontario, saying of CIO President John L. Lewis that "he and his gang will never get their greedy paws on Ontario as long as I'm prime minister."[75]
Julia Nussenbaum, 25, American violinist who performed professionally under the name "Tania Lubova", was beaten to death with a hammer by her booking agent, Mischa Rosenbaum.[78]
The League of Nations Non-Intervention Committee agreed to establish patrols of Spain's coasts to determine the destination of vessels, but not to carry out search and seizure operations. Germany and Italy were to monitor Republican ships while Britain and France would monitor the Nationalists.[81] This scheme proved to be ineffective since the Germans could use ships flying the PanamanianorLiberian flags and unload their cargo in Portugal with the complicity of authorities there.[82]
Anthony Eden told the British House of Commons that the government would investigate reports that poison gas had been shipped from Germany to Spain.[83]
On Opening Day of the 1937 Major League Baseball season, Earle Brucker, at 35 one of the oldest rookies in the majors as he made his MLB debut at a game for the Philadelphia Athletics in a 4 to 3 win over the Washington Senators. Brucker took the field as the Athletics' catcher after U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt threw out the traditional first pitch, and then hit a double to win the game in the 10th inning.[85]
Billy Higgins, 48, African-American vaudeville entertainer and one of the most popular stage comedians of the 1920s, died of a long illness.[89]
Edward Meeker, 63, American singer and performer, and one of the earliest recording artists, known for his appearances on the phonographic recordings of Thomas Edison performing songs such as "Chicken Reel", "Go Easy Mabel", "Harrigan" and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".[90]
In Berlin, Adolf Hitler reviewed 14,000 troops parading in honour of his 48th birthday.[92]Albert Speer presented Hitler with renderings and a first model of the Volkshalle.[93]
On the occasion of Hitler's birthday, the first of 12 Adolf Hitler Schools (Adolf-Hitler-Schulen), operated by the SS Nazi paramilitary organization, was founded, initially for boys aged 14 to 18 years old to indoctrinate German youth about the Nazi Party ideologies.[94]
The Jewish organization B'nai B'rith was banned in Nazi Germany on the basis of accusations that its individual members were spreading "communist propaganda".[97]
The Key Food chain of supermarkets in the U.S. Atlantic coast was founded as a cooperative among several grocery stores in Brooklyn, New York City.[99]
Died:Gus Hill (stage name for Gustave Metz), 79, American vaudeville entrepreneur and former juggler who founded the Columbia Amusement Company in the 19th century and was president of the American Burlesque Association[105]
Born:David Lucas (pen name for David Helfman), American composer, songwriter and vocalist, known for composing several memorable commercial jingles; in Buffalo, New York
Died:Saima Harmaja, 23, Finnish poet and writer, died of tuberculosis.
Italian premier Benito Mussolini hosted Austrian Chancellor Kurt SchuschnigginVenice. Mussolini explained that since the Rome-Berlin Axis had been formed, Schuschnigg could no longer count on Italian military support if Hitler made a move against Austria.[107]
Roger Slack, British-born Australian and New Zealand plant biologist known for his 1966 discovery, with Marshall Hatch, of C4 photosynthesis, also known as the "Hatch Slack Pathway"; in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire (d. 2016)
Died:
Simon W. Rosendale, 94, the first Jewish person to be elected to a statewide office in a U.S. state, as Attorney General for New York from 1892 to 1893[111]
Arthur Carew (stage name for Hovsep Hovsepian), 52, Armenian-born American stage and film actor, committed suicide after having suffered a stroke the year before.[112]
The Oshawa Strike ended in Canada when General Motors gave in to most of the strikers' demands, though the company still refused to recognize the United Automobile Workers union.[33]
The Madrid Defense Council (Junta de Defensa de Madrid), formed by the Second Spanish Republic to administer Madrid in November after the Spanish government had moved the capital to Valencia during the siege of Madrid by Francisco Franco's Nationalist Forces, was dissolved.
In Hungary, Ferenc Szálasi was sentenced to three months in prison and prohibited from holding office for three years after being convicted for inciting people against the state as well as against Jews.[114]
Britain and France allowed Belgium to withdraw from its security obligation under the Locarno Treaties, excusing Belgium from having to render assistance along with the British and French in the event of German aggression toward Poland. The leaders of both the UK and France publicly declared that Belgium's security was paramount to the Western Allies and that they would defend Belgium's borders against aggression of any sort, whether directed solely at Belgium, or to obtain bases to wage war against "other states".[118]
British cryptographer and codebreaker Dillwyn "Dilly" Knox, who had been part of the Room 40 cryptanalysis group in the British Admiralty that had decoded the Zimmerman Telegram in 1917, was able to break the Enigma code messages between Nazi Germany and Francisco Franco's Spanish Nationalists.[119] News of the breakthrough was not shared with the Spanish Second Republic, which was fighting against the Nationalists.[120]
The Soviet Union announced the completion of all goals of the five-year plan nine months to a year ahead of schedule. The announcement came despite numerous articles in the state-controlled press stating that many branches of the plan were lagging behind.[122]
Clem Sohn, 26, American airshow daredevil known for his stunt of gliding while wearing a wingsuit, and frequently billed as "The Batman",[123] fell to his death while performing at an airshow in Vincennes, France, in front of a large crowd, after neither his parachute nor his emergency parachute opened.[124][125]
Nazi Germany's Condor Legioncarried out the destructive aerial bombing of the small (population 7,000) Spanish town of Guernica,[126] killing at least 170 civilians and perhaps as many as 300. The first wave of bombing occurred at 4:30 in the afternoon as a single German Dornier Do 17 dropped 12 50-kg bombs, with the most destructive wave starting at 6:30 p.m. with three bomber squadrons of three Junkers Ju52 planes carrying out heavy bombing for 15 minutes, followed by other airplanes strafing roads leading out of town. Franco claimed three days later that Guernica had been destroyed on the ground by Communist demolition teams.[81]
The "Roman salute", a gesture in which the right arm is raised upward at an angle, fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching, and revived in the 20th century as a symbol of support of Fascism, was formally approved in a decree by Francisco Franco as a form of salute among his Spanish nationalists. Franco issued his decree from his capital at Burgos.[127] The salute, already used in Italy and Germany, was strictly used in Fascist rallies in insurgent-held Spain. The Spanish Nationalist military hierarchy continued to use the traditional military salutes. After World War II, use of the salute would be discontinued in September 1945.[81]
The U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Herndon v. Lowry, ruling, 5 to 4, that the anti-insurrection law of the U.S. state of Georgia was unconstitutional and a violation of the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, as well as of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution applying the rights to proceedings in all U.S. states.[128]
The long-running but now forgotten NBC Radio program Lorenzo Jones began a run of 18 seasons as a "comedy soap opera" about an inventor (portrayed by Karl Swenson) of strange gadgets, and with Bette Garde as his devoted wife Belle. The 15-minute show would be a late afternoon mainstay on NBC's daytime schedule until the end of the 1954-55 season.[129]
Wallis Simpson's divorce from her second husband, U.S.-born British shipbroker Ernest Simpson, became permanent when the mandatory six months elapsed after the divorce decree was issued. The former Mrs. Simpson was now free to marry again and made plans to marry the former King Edward VIII, who had become the Duke of Windsor.[130]
Antonio Gramsci, 46, Italian Marxist politician and former leader of the Italian Communist Party, died after more than 10 years' imprisonment.[134]
USMC Sergeant Major Daniel Daly, 63, United States Marine who was one of only 19 U.S. servicemen to be awarded the Medal of Honor twice, in 1900 and 1915[135]
Charles T. Tart, American psychologist and parapsychologist known for his work on altered states of consciousness, as one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology, and for his research in parapsychology; in Morrisville, Pennsylvania
Hasil Adkins, American singer and songwriter known for his unusual playing and singing style, including playing guitar and drums at the same time; in Boone County, West Virginia (d. 2005)
Died:
Wallace Carothers, 41, American organic chemist credited with the invention of nylon in 1935, committed suicide by taking potassium cyanide.[141][142]
William Gillette, 83, American actor, playwright, and stage-manager best remembered for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage and in a 1916 silent film[143]
Women won the right to vote in the Philippines when a suffrage plebiscite passed with 90% approval. Under the legislation asking for a yes or no vote on the question "Are you in favor of granting suffrage to women?", the measure had to receive at least 300,000 votes in favor and more than those against. In all, 447,725 out of 492,032 men voted in favor of the measure.[147]
The BBC television programme Sports Review, the first regular TV sports show anywhere in the world, premiered with radio sportscaster Howard Marshall presented film clips and live interviews with athletes and coaches. The monthly series would endure until Britain's entry into World War II on September 3, 1939.[149]
The Wilderness Society, an American non-profit organization to promote land conservation, was founded by eight U.S. conservationists.[150]
The Nationalist battleship España accidentally hit a naval mine laid by another Nationalist ship, and sank off Santander. All of the crew had been evacuated during the 75 minutes after the blast had occurred.[152]
^Julía, Santos; Casanova, Julían; Solé i Sabaté, Josep Maria; Villarroya, Joan; Moreno, Francisco (2006). Víctimas de la guerra civil [Victims of the civil war] (in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial Temas de Hoy. p. 171.
^"Svenska slalomsportens tillblivelse och utveckling" [The origin of Swedish alpine skiing and development]. Östersunds-Posten (in Swedish). April 1, 1937. p. 7. ISSN1104-0386.
^"4 Die as Navy Planes Crash; Fall Into Sea". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 7, 1937. p. 1.
^Witzel, Michael Karl; Young-Witzel, Gyvel (2007). Legendary Route 66: A Journey Through Time Along America's Mother Road. Voyageur Press. p. 130. ISBN9781616731236.
^Cusic, Don (2002). Merle Haggard: Poet of the Common Man. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. xviii. ISBN9780634032950.
^Wood, Amy Louise (1 February 2011). Lynching and Spectacle: Witnessing Racial Violence in America, 1890-1940. University of North Carolina Press. p. 197.
^Attorney General to Home Secretary (14 April 1937) National Archives file HO 144/22945
^O'Neil, William (April 15, 1937). "CIO Divides Ontario Cabinet". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^"Hanlon, Head of Park Board Is Dead at 79: Former Owner Of Orioles Called Father Of Modern Baseball; John J. McGraw One of Proteges; City Official Began Professional Diamond Career In 1875". The Baltimore Sun. April 15, 1937. pp. 24–25.
^Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 55. ISBN0-8050-0894-2.
^ abcCortada, James W., ed. (1982). Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 507. ISBN0-313-22054-9.
^Salvadó, Francsico J. Romero (2005). The Spanish Civil War: Origins, Course and Outcomes. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 152. ISBN9780230203051.
^"Macks Topple Senators, 4-3, in 10 Sessions— President Roosevelt Sees Nats Bow When Brucker Doubls Scoring Johnson in Overtime Battle". Philadelphia Inquirer. April 20, 1937. p. 21.
^"1937". GraumansChinese.org. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
^"About Us". Key Food. On April 20, 1937, a few grocery store owners came together in Brooklyn with the idea to use their combined size and strength to provide their customers the products they wanted at the low prices they needed and the rest was history!
^Warburton, Paul (2010). Signature Seasons. Fifteen Baseball Legends at Their Most Memorable, 1908-1949. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN9780786457731.
^Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2004). "Gus Hill". Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performances in America. Psychology Press. ISBN978-0-415-93853-2 – via Google Books.
^"Strikers Approve Rand Peace Terms," The New York Times, April 22, 1937
^"Suicide Victim Former Actor". Los Angeles Times. April 23, 1937. p. A2.
^Roszkowski, Wojciech; Kofman, Jan, eds. (2016). "Adamovich, Iosif". Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century. Routledge. pp. 8–9.
^"Hungarian Nazi Chief Sentenced to Prison Term". Chicago Daily Tribune. April 24, 1937. p. 9.
^Copeland, Jack (2011). "Chapter 19: Colossus and the Dawning of the Computer Age". In Erskine, Ralph; Smith, Michael (eds.). The Bletchley Park Codebreakers. Biteback Publishing. pp. 305–327. ISBN978-1849540780. (Updated and extended version of Action This Day: From Breaking of the Enigma Code to the Birth of the Modern ComputerBantam Press 2001)
^"'Birdman' Killed Before 30,000 at Aerial Circus— Clem Sohn, American Parachutist, Plunges 6000 Feet in France". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. April 26, 1937. p. 1.
^Hajibeyov.com, Uzeyir Hajibeyov Bibliography p. 4 (translated into English by Farida Sadikhova from the original published in Azeri by Elm, Baku, 1978)
^Moreno de Alborán y de Reyna, Salvador (1998). La guerra silenciosa y silenciada: historia de la campaña naval durante la guerra de 1936–39 [The Silent and Silenced War: History of the Naval Campaign During the War of 1936–39] (in Spanish). Vol. 3. Madrid: Gráficas Lormo. ISBN978-84-923691-0-2.
