What Happened in 1937

Major Events

  • Jul 7 Japanese and Chinese troops clash at the Marco Polo Bridge, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War
  • Jul 30 Russian Politburo issues NKVD Order no. 00447, to repress former kulak and anti-soviets, 269,100 to be arrested, 76,000 to be shot. Part of the Great Purge.
  • Aug 13 Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces begin the Battle of Shanghai, a conflict that will last 3 months and involve 1 million troops
  • Aug 26 General Franco's Nationalist troops conquer Santander during the Spanish Civil War
  • Nov 5 Adolf Hitler informs his military leaders in a secret meeting of his intentions of going to war
  • More 1937 Events

1937 in Film & TV

  • Aug 11 "The Life of Emile Zola" directed by William Dieterle and starring Paul Muni premieres in New York (Best Picture 1938)
  • Sep 21 J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" is published by George Allen and Unwin in London
  • Dec 21 "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", the first full-length animated feature film and the earliest in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre, Los Angeles

1937 in Music

1937 in Sport

  • Feb 27 Australian cricketer Don Bradman scores 169 in 5th Test match v England in 223 minutes, ensuring Australia wins the Ashes 3-2
  • Jun 22 Challenger Joe Louis KOs James J. Braddock in the 8th round at Chicago's Comiskey Park for the world heavyweight boxing title

Did You Know?

The world's first emergency call telephone service is launched in London using the number 999

June 30, 1937


More People Born in 1937

Fun Fact About 1937

Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from American federal prison Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay; neither is ever seen again.

December 16, 1937


More 1937 Deaths

Famous Weddings in 1937

Famous Divorces in 1937

  • Sep 28 Martha Raye (21) divorces Hamilton "Bud" Westmore (19) on the basis of extreme cruelty
  • Dec 9 Writer Walter Lippmann (48) divorces first wife Faye Albertson after 20 years of marriage

More 1937 Weddings