1932 History Events: What Happened in 1932

Iraq declared independence on October 3, 1932, after 17 years of British domination. The Shanghai Express, starring Marlene Dietrich, was the year’s highest-grossing film. The year’s biggest hit was Fred Astaire and Leo Reisman’s Night and Day. George Dillon won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection of poems titled The Flowering Stone.

On January 12, Ophelia Wyatt Caraway became the first woman elected to the United States Senate from Arkansas, signalling a shift in American politics. After the death of her husband, Thaddeus Horatio Caraway, she was elected to the Senate for the first time in November 1931. She was elected to a second term in 1938. After failing to win the seat in 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her to the Federal Employees Compensation Commission.

Thousands of people turned out to see the opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York City on December 27, despite the raging Great Depression in the United States. The theatre was created by billionaire John D. Rockefeller, who built it in collaboration with the Radio Corporation of America. The state-of-the-art theatre became the centrepiece of the Rockefeller Complex in New York’s downtown district. Over 300 million people have visited the Radio City Music Hall since its inception to enjoy unparalleled entertainment.

Charles Lindbergh was the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Amelia Earhart became the first female aviator to accomplish the same feat five years later. Amelia arrived in Ireland on May 21 following a 2,000-mile journey from Newfoundland, Canada, in under 15 hours. In 1932, the United States Congress awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Finally, James Chadwick discovered the neutron in Science, making Braggite the first mineral discovered with the help of X-rays. Werner Karl Heisenberg won the Nobel Prize in Physics, Irving Langmuir won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and Sir Charles Sherrington and Edgar Adrian won the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Continue reading to discover more about the events of 1932.

Event
(January 12, 1932) The first woman elected to the United States Senate was Hattie Ophelia Caraway. photo source: wikimedia.org
Advertisements (February 27, 1932) Elizabeth Taylor was born in London, and her career, which was characterised by award-winning performances of emotionally volatile characters, was often overshadowed by her highly publicised personal life.
(May 21, 1932) Amelia Earhart, an American aviator, was the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean.
(July 30, 1932) Disney's Silly Symphonies animation Flowers and Trees was released in theatres on July 30, 1932. It was the first commercially released full-color three-strip Technicolor film. As a result, the picture won the inaugural Academy Award for Best Cartoon Short Subject. photo source: wikipedia.org
(September 23, 1932) Saudi Arabia National Day.
Advertisements (October 03, 1932) Iraq Independence Day.