What Happened in December 1931

Historical Events

Bradman Scores 219

Dec 7 After scoring 226 in 1st Test in Brisbane, Don Bradman belts 219 for NSW against the visiting South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Dec 8 Coaxial cable patented
Dec 9 Baseball cuts squad from 25 to 23 players & NL continues to prohibit uniform numbers
Dec 9 Benn W Levy's "Springtime for Henry" premieres in NYC
Dec 9 Japanese army attacks Chinese province of Jehol
Dec 9 Spain becomes a republic

Nobel to 1st American Woman Nobel

Dec 10 Jane Addams named co-recipient of Nobel Peace Prize; 1st American woman Nobel laureate [1]

Social Worker and Nobel Laureate Jane Addams

Azaña Spanish PM

Dec 10 Manuel Azaña becomes Prime Minister of Spain with Niceto Zamora as President

President of the Spanish Republic Manuel Azaña

Dec 11 Japan leaves the Gold Standard
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)
Dec 12 Japanese government of Imukai forms
Dec 13 National Football League Championship: Green Bay Packers (12-2-0) win 3rd straight first past the post title
Dec 14 1st assembly of Anton Musserts NSB in Utrecht
Dec 16 German SPD begins Iron Front against fascism

Indian Statistical Institute

Dec 17 First meeting of the Indian Statistical Institute organized by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in Calcutta

Scientist and Statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis

Dec 19 United Australia Party led by Joseph Lyons defeats the incumbent first-term Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister James Scullin in a federal election

Diego Rivera Retrospective

Dec 22 Retrospective show of Mexican artist Diego Rivera opens at The Museum of Modern Art in New York

Dec 25 Albert Lonergan scores 137 SA v Qld at Adelaide before 5,697
Dec 25 Fleetwood-Smith takes 5-69 Victoria v Tas at Hobart
Dec 25 NY's Metropolitan Opera broadcasts an entire opera over radio

"Of Thee I Sing"

Dec 26 George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind's musical political satire "Of Thee I Sing" opens at the Music Box Theatre, NYC; runs for 441 performances, and becomes first musical to win Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Lin-Sen Succeeds Chiang Kai-shek

Dec 28 Lin-Sen succeeds Chiang Kai-shek as President of Nanjing-China

Chinese Military and Political Leader Chiang Kai-shek

Dec 29 Identification of heavy water publicly announced, HC Urey
Dec 29 Victoria score 7 for 435 in second innings to beat NSW
Dec 31 City of Paris accepts donation of the writings gathered by feminist publisher Marguerite Durand and establishes a library (Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand) for the collection

Events in 1931

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Jim Nesbitt, American country music singer, born in Bishopville, South Carolina (d. 2007)
Dec 1 Jimmy Lyons, American jazz saxophonist and composer (Cecil Taylor), born in Jersey City, New Jersey (d. 1986)

Edwin Meese (92 years old)

Dec 2 American author and 75th United States Attorney General (1985-88), born in Oakland, California

Dec 2 Masaaki Hatsumi, Japanese founder and head of the Bujinkan Organization, born in Noda, Chiba, Japan
Dec 2 Wynton Kelly, American jazz pianist (Dizzy Gillespie; Miles Davis), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1971)
Dec 3 Ellen Blazer [Esther Clara Blazer], Dutch TV director (Sonja), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 2013)
Dec 3 Franz Josef Degenhardt, German poet and author, born in Schwelm, Westphalia, Germany (d. 2011)
Dec 3 [Mary] Jaye P. Morgan, American pop singer ("All I Want From You"), game show panelist (Gong Show), born in Mancos, Colorado
Dec 4 Alex Delvecchio, Canadian ice hockey forward, coach, and executive (Stanley Cup 1952, 54-55, Detroit Red Wings 1,549 games, 1,281 points), born in Fort William, Ontario
Dec 4 Roy Kidd, American College Football HOF coach (Eastern Kentucky University 1964-2002, record 314–124–8), born in Corbin, Kentucky (d. 2023)
Dec 4 Wally George, American conservative TV commentator, born in Oakland, California (d. 2003)
Dec 6 Zeki Müren, Turkish actor, singer, and composer (Game of Silence), born in Bursa, Turkey (d. 1996)
Dec 7 Bobby Osborne, American bluegrass mandolin player (The Osborne Brothers - "Rocky Top"), born in Thousandsticks, Kentucky (d. 2023)
Dec 8 Rudolf Komorous, Czech-born Canadian composer, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
Dec 9 Ladislav Smoljak, Czech director, actor and screenwriter (An Uncertain Season), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2010)
Dec 9 William Reynolds, American actor (The Gallant Men, All That Heaven Allows), born in Los Angeles, California
Dec 11 Anne Heywood [Violet Pretty], British actress (The Fox) and "Miss Great Britain (1950), born in Handsworth, Birmingham, England
Dec 11 Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian leader of the Rajneesh movement, born in Kuchwada Village, Raisen district, Bhopal State, British India (d. 1990)

Rita Moreno (92 years old)

Dec 11 Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress (West Side Story), born in Humacao, Puerto Rico

Dec 12 Ali-Akbar Sa'idi Sirjani, Iranian writer and journalist, born in Sirjan, Kerman (d. 1994)
Dec 14 Jaun Elia, Pakistani scholar, poet and philosopher, born in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, British India (d. 2002)
Dec 15 Evald Schorm, Czech film director (Courage for Every Day), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 1988)
Dec 16 Karl Denver [Angus McKenzie], Scottish pop singer ("Never Say Goodbye"; "Wimoweh"), born in Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1998)
Dec 16 Kenneth Gilbert, Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist, and educator, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2020)
Dec 16 Shelby Singleton, American record label owner and producer (Smash Records, Mercury Records), born in Waskom, Texas (d. 2009)

Tom Brookshier (1931-2010)

Dec 16 American football defensive end (Philadelphia Eagles) and broadcaster (CBS), born in Roswell, New Mexico

Dec 17 Dave Madden, Canadian-born American actor (Charlotte's Web, Alice, The Partridge Family), born in Sarnia, Ontario (d. 2014)
Dec 17 Yvonne Keuls [Bamberg], Dutch writer (Jan Rap & Co)
Dec 18 Alison Plowden, English historian (d. 2007)
Dec 18 Allen Klein, American rock and roll business manager - ABKCO (Sam Cooke; Rolling Stones, Beatles), born in Newark, New Jersey (d. 2009)
Dec 18 André S. Labarthe, French actor, film producer and director (Vivre sa vie, Cinéastes de notre temps), born in Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France (d. 2018)
Dec 18 Gene Shue, American NBA basketball guard, 1954-64, 5X All-Star (New York Knicks, Fort Wayne/Detroit Pistons, and 2 other teams), and NBA coach, 1966-89, 2X Coach of the Year (Baltimore/Washington Bullets, Philadelphia 76ers, and 2 other teams), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2022)
Dec 18 Gunnel Lindblom, Swedish actress (Hunger, Virgin Spring), born in Gothenburg, Sweden (d. 2021)
Dec 18 Noel McGregor, New Zealand cricket batsman (25 Tests, 1 x 100; Otago CA), born in Dunedin, New Zealand (d. 2007)
Dec 18 Norm Provan, Australian rugby league second rower (14 Tests; St. George RLFC NSWRL Premiers 1956-66; 13th RL "Immortal") and coach (St. George, Parramatta, Cronulla), born in Urana, Australia (d. 2021)
Dec 20 Mary Ellen "Mala" Powers, American actress (Cyrano de Bergerac, The Wild Wild West), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2007)
Dec 21 Caroline Kaart (neé Raitt), Scottish-Dutch alto singer, TV and radio presenter, born in Blackness, Scotland (d. 2020)
Dec 21 David Baker, American jazz trombonist and cellist, jazz and classical composer (Reflections), and educator (Indiana University), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 2016)
Dec 23 Ronnie Schell, American comedian (Gomer Pyle, Good Morning World), born in Richmond, California
Dec 24 (Erapheael) “Ray” Bryant, American jazz pianist, composer and arranger ("Madison Time"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2011)
Dec 24 Jill Bennett, British actress (Lady Jane, Concrete Jungle), born in Penang, Straits Settlements (d. 1990)
Dec 24 Mauricio Kagel, Argentine-German composer, born in Buenos Aires, Germany (d. 2008)
Dec 25 Lefty Driesell, American Basketball HOF coach (first to win 100+ games at 4 different NCAA Div I schools: Davidson College, Uni of Maryland, James Madison, Georgia State), born in Norfolk, Virginia (d. 2024)
Dec 25 Uzo Egonu, painter/print maker
Dec 26 Thomas Eden Binkley, American lutenist and early music scholar, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1995)
Dec 27 (Winfield) Scotty Moore, American guitarist (Elvis Presley; Roy Orbison), born in Gadsden, Tennessee (d. 2016)
Dec 27 Lê Khả Phiêu, Vietnamese leader, General Secretary (1997-2001), born in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam (d. 2020)
Dec 28 Georg "Org" Marais, South African economist/underminister of Finance
Dec 28 Guy Debord, situationist
Dec 28 John de Mol, Dutch pop vocalist, songwriter, and producer, born in The Hauge, Netherlands (d. 2013)
Dec 28 Martin Milner, American actor (Route 66", "Adam 12"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2015)
Dec 29 Jan Konopásek, Czech-American jazz baritone saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2020)
Dec 29 Prince Gu of Korea, Korean royalty, born in Tokyo Prefecture, Japan (d. 2005)
Dec 30 Charles A Bassett II, American US Air Force Captain, and NASA astronaut, born in Dayton, Ohio (d. 1966)
Dec 30 Ike Skelton, US Congressman (Democrat: 1977-2011), born in Lexington, Missouri (d. 2013)
Dec 30 Richard Christ, writer
Dec 30 Skeeter Davis [Mary Penick], American country-pop singer-songwriter ("(I Can't Help You) I'm Falling Too"; "Set Him Free"; "The End Of The World"), born in Dry Ridge, Kentucky (d. 2004)
Dec 31 Bob Shaw, Northern Irish sci-fi author (Light of Other Days, The Ragged Astronauts), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 1996)
Dec 31 Gil Mellé, American jazz saxophonist and composer, born in New York City (d. 2004)

Born in 1931

Famous Deaths

Vincent d'Indy (1851-1931)

Dec 2 French composer (Symphony on a French Mountain Air), and teacher, dies at 80

Dec 5 Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879)
Dec 10 Max Elskamp, Belgian author and poet (Six Chansons), dies at 69
Dec 13 Gustave le Bon, French psychologist (b. 1840)
Dec 16 Gustave J Waffelaert, Flemish theologist and bishop of Bruges, dies at 82
Dec 18 Jack "Legs" Diamond, American gangster and bootlegger, murdered at 34
Dec 23 (Frederick) Tyrone Power Sr., British-American stage and screen actor (The Big Trial; The Test of Donald Norton), dies of a heart attack at 62
Dec 23 Wilson Bentley, American scientist (b. 1865)
Dec 26 Melvil Dewey, American librarian and educator (created Dewey Decimal System for libraries), dies at 80
Dec 27 Peter C. Lutkin, American organist, composer (The Lord Bless You and Keep You), choral conductor, and educator (Northwestern University, 1891-1931)dies of a heart attack at 73
Dec 27 Walter Courvoisier, Swiss composer, dies at 76

What Happened in 1931

Hawke's Bay Earthquake
February 3, 1931

On This Day