Major Events
- Feb 3 New Zealand's worst natural disaster, the Hawke's Bay earthquake, kills 256 and injures thousands, devastating Napier and the Hawke's Bay region
- May 1 Empire State Building opens in New York City
- Jun 12 Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition and perjury
- Sep 18 To create a pretext for the invasion of Manchuria, China, a railway explosion is faked by the Japanese
- Nov 7 Chinese People's Republic proclaimed by Mao Zedong
- Dec 11 Statute of Westminster gives complete legislative independence to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland (Free State), and Newfoundland (not then part of Canada)
- More 1931 Events
1931 in Film & TV
- Jan 30 "City Lights", American silent romantic comedy film directed by Charlie Chaplin, starring himself and Virginia Cherrill, premieres at Los Angeles Theater
- Feb 14 The original "Dracula" film starring Bela Lugosi as the titular vampire, is released
- Mar 14 1st theater built for rear movie projection (NYC)
- Sep 2 American crooner Bing Crosby makes his solo radio debut on his "15 Minutes with Bing Crosby" program broadcast on the CBS network
1931 in Sport
- Feb 21 Chicago White Sox & NY Giants play 1st exhibition night game
Did You Know?
Boris Yeltsin
Toni Morrison
Mikhail Gorbachev
Jim Jones
Raúl Castro
Desmond Tutu
James Dean
William Shatner
Barbara Eden
Anne Bancroft
Anita Ekberg
Rita Moreno
Sam Cooke
Ernie Banks
Willie Mays
Bill Shoemaker
Raymond Kopa
Mickey Mantle
Bill WalshMore People Born in 1931
Fun Fact About 1931
Arkansas legislature passes motion to pray for soul of journalist H. L. Mencken, after he calls the state the "apex of moronia"
Bhagat Singh
Ida B. Wells
André Michelin
Alice Mary Robertson
Lili Elbe
Thomas Edison
Nellie Melba
Vincent d'Indy
Ban Johnson
Jack ChesbroMore 1931 Deaths
Famous Weddings in 1931
- Feb 7 American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (33) weds publisher George Palmer Putnam (43) in Noank, Connecticut
- Jun 8 Songwriter Johnny Mercer (21) weds chorus girl Ginger Meehan (21) in New York City [1]
- Jun 13 American actress Margaret Hamilton (28) weds landscape architect Paul Meserve
Famous Divorces in 1931
- Nov 9 Actress Gloria Swanson (32) divorces aristocrat Henri de la Falaise (33) after 6 years of marriage
More 1931 Weddings
Lionel Barrymore
Marie Dressler
Pierre Laval
Herbert Hoover
Joseph Stalin
Ramsay MacDonald