Major Events
- Mar 7 German dictator Adolf Hitler breaks the Treaty of Versailles by sending troops into the then demilitarized Rhineland
- May 28 Alan Turing submits "On Computable Numbers" for publication, in which he set out the theoretical basis for modern computers.
- Jul 17 Spanish generals Francisco Franco and Emilio Mola lead a right-wing uprising, starting the Spanish Civil War
- Jul 18 Spanish Civil War: General Francisco Franco issues manifesto and leads an uprising in the Spanish army stationed in Morocco
- Sep 14 1st prefrontal lobotomy in America performed by Walter Freeman and James W. Watts at George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C.
- Sep 21 Spanish fascist junta names Francisco Franco to Generalissimo and Supreme Commander
- Dec 10 Edward VIII signs Instrument of Abdication, giving up the British throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson
- Dec 24 1st radioactive isotope medicine administered in Berkeley, California
- More 1936 Events
1936 in Film & TV
- Jan 16 Screen Actors Guild incorporates with King Vidor as president
- Feb 5 "Modern Times", silent film directed by, written by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released
- Jul 7 RCA shows 1st real TV program (dancing, film on locomotives, Bonwit Teller fashion show and monologue from Tobacco Road & comedy)
- Sep 4 RKO Radio Pictures releases "Swing Time", directed by George Stevens, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
- Nov 2 At 3pm the BBC begins the world's first regular high-definition TV broadcast service from specially constructed studios at Alexandra Palace, North London
1936 in Music
- Jan 4 Billboard magazine publishes its 1st music hit parade
- May 2 Sergei Prokofiev's musical "Peter and the Wolf" premieres in Moscow
1936 in Sport
- Jan 29 1st players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson & Walter Johnson
- Feb 8 First-ever NFL Draft: Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago is first pick by Philadelphia Eagles
- Mar 8 The first stock car race is held in Daytona Beach, Florida.
- Aug 1 XI Summer Olympic Games are opened by Adolph Hitler in Berlin
- Aug 3 American sprinter Jesse Owens wins the 100m (10.3 seconds) in front of Adolf Hitler in a famous race at the Berlin Olympics, first of 4 gold medals at the Games
- Aug 5 American athlete Jesse Owens wins 200m in world record time (20.7s), his 3rd gold medal of the Berlin Olympics
Did You Know?
The world's first superhero, The Phantom, a cartoon strip by Lee Falk, makes his first appearance in comics
Carl Icahn
John McCain
Andrew Grove
Winnie Mandela
Václav Havel
Pope Francis
Alan Alda
John Madden
Robert Redford
Jim Henson
Michael Landon
Mary Tyler Moore
Roger Miller
Vaughn Meader
Glen Campbell
Roy Orbison
Buddy Holly
Mary Travers
Darlene Hard
Jim Brown
Henri Richard
Wilt Chamberlain
Roy EmersonMore People Born in 1936
Fun Fact About 1936
The last surviving member of the marsupial thylacine species, Benjamin, dies alone in his/her cage at the Hobart Zoo (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia)
Rudyard Kipling
George V
Charles Curtis
Ivan Pavlov
David Beatty
Maxim GorkyMore 1936 Deaths
Articles About 1936
On Computable Numbers
On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem, by Alan TuringMay 28
The Greatest 45 Minutes in Sports History
He had broken three world records and equalled another, all in 45 minutes. Then, on this day, Jesse Owens made a mockery of Hitler’s belief in black inferiorityAugust 3
America's Last Public Hanging
The last man to be publicly hanged in the United States met his fate on this day in history. It was a squalid affair watched by about 10,000 people.August 14
A Kiss For Adolf Hitler
A woman spectator leaned over and kissed Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympic Games on this day. Hitler pretended to be amused, but his guards were to suffer.August 15
King Abdicates for Love of Wallis Simpson
On this day King Edward VIII gave up his throne so that he could marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson. It was the first time a British king had abdicated.December 10
Famous Weddings in 1936
- Jan 1 Actor Paul Henreid (27) weds Elizabeth Camilla Julia Gluck
- Jan 10 Actor Burgess Meredith (28) weds actress Margaret Perry (22)
- Feb 2 Physicist Emilio G. Segrè (31) weds Elfriede Spiro at the Great Synagogue of Rome in Italy
Famous Divorces in 1936
- Jan 10 Actress Mary Pickford (44) divorces actor Douglas Fairbanks (52) after 15 years of marriage
- Mar 2 Film director D. W. Griffith (61) divorces Linda Arvidson (50) after 30 years of marriage
More 1936 Weddings
Luise Rainer
Paul Muni
Wallis Simpson
Adolf Hitler
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Joseph Stalin
Stanley Baldwin