What Happened in June 1931

Historical Events

British Golf Open

Jun 5 British Open Men's Golf, Carnoustie: American based Scotsman Tommy Armour outlasts José Jurado of Argentina by 1 stroke to win his only Open title and his 3rd and final major championship

Jun 5 Jules Renkin becomes premier of Belgium
Jun 6 "There Ought To Be A Moonlight Saving Time" by Guy Lombardo hits #1
Jun 6 Belgian government of Henri Jaspar falls

Girl Crazy

Jun 6 George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin's musical "Girl Crazy" starring Ginger Rogers and featuring debut of Ethel Merman, closes at the Alvin Theater, NYC, after 272 performances, and making stars of Rogers and Merman

Jun 6 NY Yankees turn triple-play but lose 7-5 to Cleveland Indians
Jun 8 Suriname Work Committee under Louis Doedel forms in Paramaribo

1st Rocket-Powered Aircraft Patent

Jun 9 First rocket-powered aircraft design patented by Robert Goddard

Jun 10 Norway occupies East Greenland

Al Capone Indicted

Jun 12 Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition and perjury

Jun 13 63rd Belmont: Charley Kurtsinger aboard Twenty Grand wins in 2:29.6
Jun 14 French steamer "St Philbert" overturns off St Nazaire, France, drowning 450 people

Heydrich Meets Himmler

Jun 14 Future Head of the Nazi Gestapo, Reinhard Heydrich first meets with Heinrich Himmler, architect of the Holocaust

Leading Nazi and Reichsführer of the SS Heinrich Himmler

Collins and Heilmann Retire

Jun 15 Eddie Collins & Harry Heilmann retire from baseball

Jun 15 Poland and USSR sign friendship and trade treaty
Jun 16 Austrian government of Ender falls
Jun 19 1st photoelectric cell installed commercially West Haven, Connecticut
Jun 20 Karl Buresch becomes Chancellor of Austria
Jun 22 RVU, Radio-Volks-University, forms

Post and Catty Take Off

Jun 23 Pilot Wiley Post and navigator Harold Catty take off from Roosevelt Field, NY, to attempt to set a new record circumnavigating the Earth - successfully complete in 8 days, 15 hrs, 51 mins

Jun 24 USSR & Afghanistan sign neutrality treaty

3rd Ryder Cup

Jun 27 Ryder Cup Golf, Scioto CC: Walter Hagen captains his 2nd victorious American team; US wins, 9-3

Jun 29 109°F (43°C), Monticello, Florida (state record, until broken in 2015)

Catholic Encyclical

Jun 29 Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical on Nun abbiamo bisogno (We do not need fascism and Mussolini)

Events in 1931

Famous Birthdays

Jun 1 Hal Smith, American baseball catcher (MLB All-Star 1957, 59, 59²; St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Barling, Arkansas (d. 2014)
Jun 1 Walter Horak, Austrian soccer striker (13 caps; Wiener Sport Club, Sochaux), born in Marchegg, Austria (d. 2019)
Jun 2 Larry Jackson, American baseball pitcher (5x MLB All-Star; MLB wins leader 1964; St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies), born in Nampa, Idaho (d. 1990)
Jun 3 Françoise Arnoul, French actress and composer (French Cancan; Jacko & Lise), born in Constantine, France (d. 2021)
Jun 3 Lindy Remigino, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1952), born in Elmhurst, Queens, New York (d. 2018)

Raúl Castro (92 years old)

Jun 3 Cuban revolutionary, politician (First Secretary 2011-21) and brother of Fidel Castro, born in Biran, Holguin, Cuba

Jun 4 César Bolaños, Peruvian electro-acoustic and experimental musician and composer, born in Lima, Peru (d. 2012)
Jun 5 Jacques Demy, French director (Lola, Magic Donkey), born in Pontchâteau, France (d. 1990)
Jun 5 Jerzy Prokopiuk, Polish philosopher and anthroposopist, born in Warsaw (d. 2021)
Jun 5 John Dellow, British law enforcement officer (Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner, 1982-87; Deputy Commissioner, 1987-91), born in London, England
Jun 6 Lloyd Lindroth, American harpist known as 'The Liberace of the Harp', born in Seattle, Washington (d. 1994)
Jun 7 (Nii Moi) "Speedy" Acquaye, Ghanaian drummer, percussionist and fire-eater (Tubby Hayes; Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames; Ginger Baker's Airforce), born in Accra, Gold Coast (now Ghana) (d. 1993)
Jun 7 David Driskell, American artist and champion of African American art, born in Eatonton, Georgia (d. 2020)
Jun 7 Lang Jeffries, Canadian actor (Skip-Rescue 8), born in Ontario, Canada (d. 1987)
Jun 7 Malcolm Morley, English-American painter, born in London (d. 2018)
Jun 7 Michel Le Milinaire, French soccer coach (Laval 1968-92, Rennes 1993-96), born in Kergrist-Moëlou, France (d. 2023)
Jun 7 Virginia McKenna, British actress (Born Free, Chosen, Lions are Free, Simba), born in Marylebone, London
Jun 8 Ivan V. Lalić, Serbian poet, born in Belgrade (d. 1996)
Jun 8 June Thorburn, British actress (Touch & Go; Children Galore), born in Karachi, British India (now Pakistan) (d. 1967)
Jun 8 Leo Nichols, businessman, honorary consul and longtime friend of Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, born in Rangoon, Burma (d. 1996)
Jun 9 Bill Virdon, American baseball outfielder, manager, coach (NL Rookie of the Year 1955; World Series 1960; Gold Glove 1962), born in Hazel Park, Michigan (d. 2021)
Jun 9 Joe Santos, American actor (Rockford Files), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2016)
Jun 10 Jim Ferree, American golfer (1 x PGA Tour win; 2 x Senior PGA Tour wins), born in Pinebluff, North Carolina (d. 2023)
Jun 10 João Gilberto, Brazilian singer, guitarist and 'father of bossa nova' (Getz/Gilberto - Grammy Award for Album of the Year, 1965), born in Juazeiro, Bahia (d. 2019)
Jun 10 M S Gopalakrishnan, Indian Carnatic violinist, born in Mylapore, Chennai, British India (d. 2013)
Jun 10 Romualds Jermaks, Latvian composer and teacher, born in Šķaune Parish, Latvia
Jun 11 Audrey Schuh, American operatic soprano, born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Jun 11 Kenneth Cameron, Baron Cameron of Lochbroom, Scottish judge, born in Edinburgh, Scotland
Jun 11 Margarita Pracatan [Figueroa], Cuban-American novelty singer (BBC's Saturday Night Clive), born in Santiago, Cuba (d. 2020)
Jun 12 Barbara Hillary, American adventurer, 1st black woman to reach the North Pole, born in New York City (d. 2019)
Jun 13 Georges Arvanitas, French jazz pianist and organist, born in Marseilles, France (d. 2005)
Jun 13 Irvin D. Yalom, American psychotherapist and Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University, born in Washington, D.C.
Jun 13 Lachlan Macleay, USAF colonel and astronaut, born in Saint Louis, Missouri
Jun 14 Junior Walker [Autry Mixon, Jr], American tenor saxophonist ("Shotgun"; "(I'm a) Road Runner"), born in Blytheville, Arkansas (d. 1995)
Jun 14 Marla Gibbs [Margaret Theresa Bradley], American comedian and actress (Florence-Jeffersons, Mary-227), born in Chicago, Illinois
Jun 15 Bernice Gera, first woman umpire in US pro baseball, born in Ernest, Pennsylvania (d. 1992)
Jun 16 Courtney Alexandre Henriques Laws, British community activist, born in Jamaica (d. 1996)
Jun 16 Ivo Petric, Slovenian composer, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia (d. 2018)
Jun 16 Robert Freeman Smith, American politician (Rep-R-Oregon), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 2020)
Jun 17 John Baldessari, American artist, born in National City, California
Jun 18 Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazilian politician and sociologist, President of Brazil (1995 - 2002), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Jun 20 Arne Nordheim, Norwegian conductor and composer (Aftonland; Canzona per orchestra; Poly-poly), born in Larvik, Norway (d. 2010)
Jun 20 James Tolkan, American actor (Weekend War, Leap of Faith), born in Calumet, Michigan
Jun 20 Olympia Dukakis, Greek-American stage and screen, Obie, Oscar, and Golden Globe award-winning actress (Man Equals Man; Moonstruck; Steel Magnolias)), born in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 2021) [1]
Jun 20 Richard Southwood, zoologist/chancellor (Oxford University)
Jun 21 Enzo Maiorca, Italian free diver who set 17 world records, born in Syracuse, Sicily (d. 2016)
Jun 21 Lawrence K Grossman, American news president (PBS, NBC-TV), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2018)
Jun 21 Margaret Heckler, American politician and 15th U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services (1983-85), born in New York City (d. 2018)
Jun 22 Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian politician and diplomat (UN General Assembly President, 1997-98), born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine (d. 2013)
Jun 22 Ian Browne, Australian track cyclist (Olympic gold 2000m tandem 1956 [with Tony Marchant], born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2023)
Jun 22 Teruyuki Okazaki, Japanese karate master (10th degree black belt Shotokan Karate; founder International Shotokan Karate Federation), born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan (d. 2020)
Jun 23 Urs Jaeggi, Swiss sociologist and writer, born in Solothurn, Switzerland

Billy Casper (1931-2015)

Jun 24 American golfer (US Open 1959, 66; US Masters 1970), born in San Diego, California

Jun 24 Leslie Cochran, American peace activist and police critic, born in Miami, Florida (d. 2012)
Jun 25 V.P. [Vishwanath Pratap] Singh, Indian politician, 7th Prime Minister of India (1989-90), born in Allahabad, British India (d. 2008)
Jun 26 Colin Wilson, English author (Afterlife, Book of Great Mysteries), born in Leicester, Leicestershire, England (d. 2013)
Jun 26 Lucien Goethals, Belgian composer, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 2006)
Jun 27 Alojz Srebotnjak, Slovenian composer, born in Postojna, Slovenia (d. 2010)
Jun 27 Charles Bronfman, Canadian-American CEO (Seagrams, Montreal Expos) and philanthropist, born in Montreal, Quebec
Jun 27 Eddie Kasko, American baseball infielder (MLB All Star 1961, 1961²; Cincinnati Reds) and manager (Boston Red Sox), born in Linden, New Jersey (d. 2020)
Jun 27 Grant Weatherstone, Scotland rugby union winger (16 caps; Edinburgh District), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 2020)
Jun 27 Ryszard Kwiatkowski, Polish composer (Polyphonic Music), born in Jaranów, Włocławek, Poland (d. 1993)
Jun 28 Junior Johnson, American auto racer and team owner (Daytona 500 1960; NASCAR Hall of Fame), born in Wilkes County, North Carolina (d. 2019)
Jun 28 Lucien Victor, Belgian road racing cyclist, born in Oekene, Belgium (d. 1995)
Jun 29 Ed Gilbert, American actor (The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1999)
Jun 30 Bert Eriksson, Flemish neo-Nazi, born in Antwerp (d. 2005)
Jun 30 Hans Gruijters, Dutch journalist and politician (Mayor of Lelystad, 1980-96; co-founder of D66 party), born in Helmond, Netherlands (d. 2005)
Jun 30 James Loughran, Scottish conductor (BBC Scottish Symphony, 1965-71; The Hallé, 1971–83), born in Glasgow, Scotland

Born in 1931

Famous Deaths

Jun 4 Ibn Ali Hussein, King of Hejaz, dies
Jun 5 John Lawson Stoddard, American lecturer, photographer, and author, considered the father of travelogue, dies at 81
Jun 9 Henrique Oswald, Brazilian composer, dies at 79
Jun 13 Shibasaburo Kitasato, Japanese physician (b. 1851)
Jun 22 Armand Fallières, French president (1906-13), dies at 89
Jun 29 Nérée Beauchemin, Quebec poet (b. 1850)

What Happened in 1931

Hawke's Bay Earthquake
February 3, 1931

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