Major Events
- Feb 20 UK Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigns, stating Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has appeased Nazi Germany
- Jun 30 Superman 1st appears in DC Comics' Action Comics Series issue #1
- Sep 30 Treaty of Munich signed by Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Édouard Daladier and Neville Chamberlain, forces Czechoslovakia to give territory to Germany. Chamberlain infamously declares "Peace for our time" on his return to London.
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1938 in Film & TV
- Feb 11 World's first science fiction TV program - a broadcast of the play R.U.R. by Karel Čapek
- Feb 16 "Bringing Up Baby" film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, is released
- Feb 17 1st public experimental demonstration of Baird color TV (London)
- Aug 14 BBC's 1st feature film on TV (Student of Prague)
1938 in Music
- Jan 16 First jazz concert held at Carnegie Hall, performed by Benny Goodman and his band
1938 in Sport
- Sep 28 Homer in the Gloamin' - famous walk-off home run hit by Gabby Hartnett of the Chicago Cubs against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Did You Know?
DuPont announces its new synthetic polyamide fiber will be called "nylon"
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Fun Fact About 1938
A radio broadcast of H. G. Wells "The War of the Worlds", narrated by Orson Welles, allegedly causes a mass panic
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Articles About 1938
Italian Air Force Bombs Barcelona
The Italian Air Force conducts a bombing campaign in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil WarMarch 17Oops, Wrong Way!
Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan with his "Sunshine", at Baldonnel Aerodrome, IrelandJuly 18'I Have Heard The Voice of Adolf Hitler . . .'
Hitler's speech threatening Czechoslovakia was broadcast on this day. Among those listening to the ‘mad dog of Europe’ was a journalist in an American hotel.September 26Panic Over War of the Worlds
When Orson Welles decided to present the War of the Worlds story in a radio newscast format, his broadcast on this day apparently caused panic across the US.October 30
Famous Weddings in 1938
- Jan 1 Comedian Stan Laurel (47) marries 3rd wife Vera Ivanova Shuvalova
- Mar 26 Writer Walter Lippmann (48) weds second wife Helen Byrne Armstrong
- Apr 10 NFL quarterback Sammy Baugh (24) weds his college sweetheart Edmonia Smith in Sweetwater, Texas
Famous Divorces in 1938
- Jul 19 Actor Burgess Meredith (30) divorces actress Margaret Perry (25) after 2 years of marriage
- Sep 30 Jazz musician Louis Armstrong (37) divorces pianist Lil Armstrong (40) after more than 14 years of marriage
- Dec 6 Actress Bette Davis (30) divorces musician Harmon Nelson (31) after more than 6 years of marriage
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