Our records for 1931 hold 499 events from 10 regions; the best-ranked is “Mukden incident: Japanese officers stage a railway blast as a pretext to invade”.
This page lists all 499 events in our records for 1931: 335 dated to the day, 115 from outside Europe and North America. The biggest come first, then every event month by month, grouped by region.
Explore 1931 as cardsA full-screen feed of cards, starting here. Needs JavaScript.
How sure we are: events with no label are high confidence. A grey label such as Exact day uncertain says why one detail is less certain; a yellow label such as Sources differ on the date marks a low-confidence event where the sources disagree or are thin. The notes say where. Dates are in the Gregorian calendar; where a country still used another calendar, the notes give the original. How events are checked
Ranked by how widely known each event is today, one card per happening, at least a third from outside Europe and North America.
· near Mukden, Manchuria, Republic of China (now Shenyang, China) · Asia
On 18 September 1931 Lieutenant Suemori Kawamoto set off a small amount of dynamite near a Japanese-owned railway at Mukden. The Imperial Japanese Army blamed Chinese dissidents and answered with a full invasion of Manchuria.
Why it is interesting. The blast was so weak that a train crossed the track only minutes later.
· Yangtze and Huai river basins, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
Some details uncertain.
From June to August 1931 devastating floods hit the Yangtze and Huai basins, including Wuhan and Nanjing, culminating on 25 August in a dike breach along Lake Gaoyou. Estimates of how many died vary widely.
Why it is interesting. A drought from 1928 to 1931 came first, then meltwater from a harsh winter met heavy spring rain, so early 1931 brought one continuous deluge.
The introduction gives June to August 1931, while English Wikipedia's data box gives July to November 1931 and French Wikipedia gives July to October 1931, so the dates are approximate. Wikidata gives only the year.
· United Kingdom · Europe
On 11 December 1931 the United Kingdom Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster, which gave the self-governing Dominions much more independence and turned the principles of the 1926 Balfour Declaration into law.
Why it is interesting. It took away nearly all of the British parliament's power to make laws for the Dominions.
· Manchuria, Republic of China (now northeastern China) · Asia
Some details uncertain.
Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, right after the staged Mukden incident, and by February 1932 had set up the puppet state of Manchukuo. Official Chinese resistance ended on 27 February 1932.
Why it is interesting. The League of Nations' Lytton Commission advised against recognizing Manchukuo, and Japan answered by withdrawing from the League entirely.
Dates run from the start of the invasion on 18 September 1931 to 27 February 1932, when Ding offered to stop fighting and official Chinese resistance ended. French Wikipedia dates the start to 19 September 1931, the day after the Mukden incident.
· West Orange, New Jersey, United States · North America
The American inventor and businessman Thomas Edison died in West Orange, New Jersey, on 18 October 1931. His name is tied to the incandescent bulb, the phonograph, power distribution and early film.
Why it is interesting. He held 1,093 US patents, though deafness from childhood meant he learned largely from books and by tinkering.
· New York City, United States · North America
The Castellammarese War, a violent struggle for control of the Mafia in New York City, ran from February 1930 to 15 April 1931. It ended when Joe Masseria was killed at a restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Why it is interesting. Winner Salvatore Maranzano divided the city's crime families into the Five Families, then was murdered himself in September 1931 on Luciano's orders.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931 as the end date. The infobox and the text both give 15 April 1931.
· Worldwide
In 1931 Georges Lemaître reasoned that an expanding universe must once have been much smaller, and proposed that all its mass had sat at a single point he called the 'primeval atom'.
Why it is interesting. Most major cosmologists then preferred an eternal universe, and some objected that a moment of beginning brought religious ideas into physics.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; the article's history section also dates Lemaître's proposal to 1931.
· Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States · North America
The 102-story Art Deco Empire State Building, designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, opened on 1 May 1931 on Fifth Avenue, about thirteen and a half months after building began.
Why it is interesting. Its plans were changed fifteen times to make sure the tower would be the world's tallest building.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the completion date as 11 April 1931 and the opening as 1 May 1931. Wikidata's creation-date field gives 8 May 1931.
· Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, United States · North America
On 10 November 1931 the 4th Academy Awards honored films from August 1930 to July 1931, and Cimarron won Best Picture. Vice President Charles Curtis addressed the 1,800 guests.
Why it is interesting. Nine-year-old Jackie Cooper, the first child actor nominated for an Oscar, slept on Marie Dressler's shoulder and was moved to his mother's lap when she was named winner.
Nominees were announced on 5 October 1931.
· Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · South America
The Art Deco statue of Jesus on the peak of Corcovado opened on 12 October 1931. Paul Landowski designed it and Heitor da Silva Costa built it, in reinforced concrete and soapstone weighing 635 metric tons.
Why it is interesting. The first plan showed Christ holding a cross in one hand and a globe in the other.
· Lahore Central Jail, Lahore, British India (now Pakistan) · Asia
The Indian anti-colonial revolutionary Bhagat Singh was executed at Lahore Central Jail on 23 March 1931, aged 23. He had helped kill a junior British police officer in Lahore in 1928 and later joined a mostly symbolic bomb attack on the legislative assembly in Delhi.
Why it is interesting. Press coverage of his jail hunger strike made him a household name in Punjab, and after his execution he was seen as a martyr and folk hero across northern India.
· Honduras · North America
Honduras brought in the lempira as its currency in 1931, exchanging it for the peso one for one. Coins were issued that year, and paper money followed in 1932.
Why it is interesting. Honduras swapped the peso for the lempira at par and issued its first coins in the new currency the same year.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box both give the year 1931.
· Gorssel, Netherlands · Europe
Lives
The Dutch microbiologist and botanist Martinus Beijerinck died in Gorssel on 1 January 1931. He is counted among the founders of virology and environmental microbiology.
The introduction gives the dates, and English Wikipedia's data box gives Gorssel as the place of death; the text says he moved there after retiring in 1921.
· Europe
Sport
England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales played the ten matches of the 1931 Five Nations Championship between 1 January and 6 April.
· Paris, France · Europe
Lives
The French general Joseph Joffre, France's Commander-in-Chief in the west from the start of World War I through 1916, died on 3 January 1931. He is remembered for rallying the retreating allied armies in September 1914, which brought victory at the Marne.
· Vizmberk, Czechoslovakia (now Loučná nad Desnou, Czech Republic) · Europe
Lives
Alfred Brendel was born in Vizmberk, Czechoslovakia, on 5 January 1931 to a family with no musicians. He became an Austrian pianist, based in London, who also worked as a poet, author, composer and lecturer.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and biography section all give 5 January 1931. The data box names the birthplace as Vizmberk, Czechoslovakia, and the biography section adds that it is now Loučná nad Desnou in the Czech Republic.
· Finland · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
Finland held a two-stage presidential election in 1931: the public voted for presidential electors on 15 and 16 January, and the electors then chose the president. Pehr Evind Svinhufvud won on a third ballot.
The popular vote took place on 15 and 16 January 1931, while the electors chose the president in a later vote. Wikidata gives 16 January 1931.
· The Hague, Netherlands · Europe
Lives
The Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova died in The Hague on 23 January 1931, shortly after midnight, with her manager Victor Dandré and her maid at her bedside. Her most recognized contribution was originating The Dying Swan.
Sources give a time just after midnight on 23 January 1931.
· Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
A Romani theatre studio named Indo-Romen opened in Moscow on 24 January 1931, and on 16 December 1931 it staged its first full musical drama, Life on Wheels.
The history section gives 24 January 1931 for the studio's opening and 16 December 1931 for its first full performance; the introduction says that the theatre was founded in 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Howard Hawks directed The Criminal Code, a 1931 American crime drama with Walter Huston and Phillips Holmes in the leads, adapted from Martin Flavin's 1929 play of the same title.
English Wikipedia's data box gives a New York release on 4 January 1931 for Hawks's film, while German Wikipedia gives 3 January 1931. Wikidata gives 3 January (with 31 December 1930 as an alternative), so only the month is stated. The Mexico City, Puerto Rico and New York dates in the article belong to the separate Spanish-language version.
· San Diego, California, United States · North America
Lives
The American actor Robert Duvall was born in San Diego, California, on 5 January 1931. He began acting professionally on stage in 1952, and his first feature film role was the brief part of Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962.
· Rogers, Texas, United States · North America
Lives
Alvin Ailey Jr. was born in his maternal grandfather's home in Rogers, Texas, on 5 January 1931. He became a dancer, director and choreographer, and started the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and early-life section all give 5 January 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States · North America
Lives
The writer Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born in the Bronx on 6 January 1931. He worked as a novelist, editor and professor and became known for historical fiction.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and early-life section all give 6 January 1931; Wikidata agrees. The data box names New York City as the birthplace and the early-life section names the Bronx.
· Piarco, Trinidad, British West Indies (now Trinidad and Tobago) · North America
Architecture
Piarco Airport in Trinidad opened on 8 January 1931 for the airline Compagnie Générale Aéropostale. It is the main hub of Caribbean Airlines, the Caribbean's largest airline.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Mervyn LeRoy directed Little Caesar, a gangster film distributed by Warner Bros., in which Edward G. Robinson plays Caesar 'Rico' Bandello, a hoodlum who climbs to the top of organized crime. It came out on 9 January 1931.
Wikidata gives 3 January 1931 and also lists 25 January and 21 March 1931; English Wikipedia's data box gives 9 January 1931.
· Arkabutla, Mississippi, United States · North America
Lives
James Earl Jones was born on 17 January 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi. He overcame a childhood stutter and made his Broadway debut in Sunrise at Campobello in 1957.
· Rye, New York, United States · North America
Lives
The physicist David Morris Lee was born in Rye, New York, on 20 January 1931 and is professor emeritus at Cornell University.
· Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States · North America
Lives
The soul singer and songwriter Samuel Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on 22 January 1931. He added the "e" to his surname in 1958 as a fresh start.
English Wikipedia's data box gives Clarksdale, Mississippi as the birthplace; Wikidata names Chicago, which the data box lists as his place of origin.
· Columbus, Ohio, United States · North America
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
The Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, founded in 1878 and now the Columbus Museum of Art, opened its current building in Columbus, Ohio, on 22 January 1931, after construction from 1929 to 1931.
The history section gives the opening as 22 January 1931 and English Wikipedia's data box gives the museum's founding as 1878. Wikidata also gives 22 January 1931 for the opening, and the year 1931 as a founding date, which fits the new building and not the museum itself.
· Los Angeles, United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
City Lights, which Charlie Chaplin wrote, produced, directed and starred in, had its gala premiere at the Los Angeles Theater on 30 January 1931. It has no spoken dialogue but carries a synchronized score and sound effects.
English Wikipedia's data box and the history section give a Los Angeles premiere on 30 January 1931 and a wider US release on 7 March 1931; the introduction calls the film immediately successful on release on 7 March. Wikidata also lists 3 April 1931. The Los Angeles premiere date is used.
· Salvador, Bahia, Brazil · South America
Sport
Esporte Clube Bahia was founded on 1 January 1931 in Salvador, Bahia, when players from different clubs chose to merge.
· Tainan, Japanese Taiwan (now Taiwan) · Asia
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
Tainan Technical College was set up in January 1931 under the Government-General of Taiwan, then under Japanese rule, as the forerunner of National Cheng Kung University.
English Wikipedia and Wikidata (15 January 1931) put the founding in January 1931, and Chinese Wikipedia's history table also says the school was set up in the first month of 1931, with its first head serving from January 1931. Chinese Wikipedia's data box instead gives 11 November 1931, so the month is kept with medium confidence.
· Japan · Asia
Stage, music & film
In January 1931 the Japanese publisher Kodansha launched King Records as a division. The name comes from Kingu, a magazine Kodansha published from 1924 to 1957.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia gives January 1931. Japanese Wikipedia says the record arm began at Kodansha in 1931 and became the separate company King Record Co., Ltd. in 1951, while English Wikipedia speaks of independence in the 1950s.
· Hapcheon County, Korea under Japanese rule (now South Korea) · Asia
Lives
Chun Doo-hwan was born on 18 January 1931 and became an army general and South Korea's fifth president, serving from 1980 to 1988.
The introduction names Hapcheon County as his birthplace; English Wikipedia's data box names Gosen in Keishōnan Province.
· Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
In February 1931 the House of Congresses, a planned Moscow convention centre to replace the demolished Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, was announced. By the summer of 1931 it had taken the name Palace of the Soviets.
The history section places the decision between late 1930 and early 1931 and the announcement in February 1931; the date given here is the announcement. Wikidata gives February 1931. Work on the site began only in 1933, according to English Wikipedia's data box.
· Heerlen, Netherlands · Europe
Lives
The writer Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands, on 9 February 1931 to an unmarried Austrian mother. He grew up mostly with his grandparents in Austria.
· Vatican City · Europe
Technology
Vatican Radio first went on air on 12 February 1931 with the callsign HVJ, carrying Pope Pius XI's message 'Omni creaturae'. Guglielmo Marconi established the station.
· Finchley, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Lives
The English actress Patricia Claire Bloom was born in Finchley, Middlesex, on 15 February 1931. She debuted on the London stage at sixteen and played Ophelia in Hamlet alongside Richard Burton.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 15 February 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Berlin, Germany · Europe
Stage, music & film
G. W. Pabst directed The Threepenny Opera, a German musical film loosely based on the 1928 stage musical by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, released on 19 February 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 19 February 1931, and German Wikipedia says the first showing was that day at the Atrium cinema in Berlin. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Göttingen, Germany · Europe
Lives
The German chemist Otto Wallach died on 26 February 1931 and is buried in Göttingen. He had received the 1910 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Alfred Hitchcock directed The Skin Game, a British drama produced by British International Pictures and based on John Galsworthy's 1920 play, released on 26 February 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the day, 26 February 1931. Wikidata matches it but also lists 20 June 1931 as an alternative date.
· Berlin, Germany · Europe
Sport
The 1931 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Berlin from 28 February to 1 March 1931, with skaters competing for the world title under the International Skating Union.
The introduction gives the dates 28 February to 1 March; the title and categories place them in 1931.
· Juneau, Territory of Alaska, United States · North America
Architecture
Construction of Juneau's Federal and Territorial Building ran from 18 September 1929 to 2 February 1931, and it was dedicated on 14 February 1931. It opened as a federal building.
The article gives two days in February 1931: completion on 2 February and dedication on 14 February, so the date is given at month level. Wikidata gives 2 February 1931.
· New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
W. S. Van Dyke's adventure film Trader Horn, starring Harry Carey and Edwina Booth and based on Alfred Aloysius Horn's book, premiered in New York on 3 February 1931. It was the earliest fiction film shot on location in Africa.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 3 February 1931 as the New York City premiere; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Guatemala · North America
Politics & diplomacy
Guatemala held general elections from 6 to 8 February 1931, and Jorge Ubico was elected president without any opponent. His Progressive Liberal Party likewise took the parliamentary vote with no opposition.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give 6 to 8 February 1931.
· Marion, Indiana, United States · North America
Lives
James Dean was born in Marion, Indiana, on 8 February 1931, the only child of Mildred and Winton Dean. He appeared in three major films: East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
RKO Radio Pictures released Cimarron, an epic Western directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Richard Dix and Irene Dunne, in the United States on 9 February 1931. It became the first Western to take home the Best Picture Oscar.
English Wikipedia's data box gives a New York release on 26 January 1931 and a US release on 9 February 1931; the US release date is used, matching Wikidata.
· United States · North America
Art & literature
William Faulkner's Southern Gothic novel Sanctuary, about the rape and abduction of a Mississippi college girl, Temple Drake, was published on 9 February 1931 by Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Tod Browning directed Dracula, the first sound film adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, with Bela Lugosi in the title role. It reached cinemas across the United States on 14 February 1931.
New York saw it first on 12 February 1931 at the Roxy, and the rest of the US two days later; the nationwide date matches Wikidata. Wikidata also lists 6 March and 13 November 1931.
· Lorain, Ohio, United States · North America
Lives
The American novelist and editor Toni Morrison was born on 18 February 1931 in Lorain, Ohio, where she was raised. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for Beloved.
· Orange, New Jersey, United States · North America
Lives
The American mathematician John Willard Milnor was born in Orange, New Jersey, on 20 February 1931. His work spans differential topology, algebraic K-theory and holomorphic dynamics in low dimensions.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and early-life section all give 20 February 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & film
Harry Beaumont directed the pre-Code drama Dance, Fools, Dance, in which a reporter investigates a colleague's murder. Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Lester Vail star; it was released on 21 February 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 21 February 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States · North America
Architecture
The City Bank-Farmers Trust Building, now 20 Exchange Place, opened to its bank staff on 24 February 1931. Cross & Cross designed the skyscraper.
English Wikipedia's data box gives an opening date of 24 February 1931 and the history section says staff were moving in by 20 February; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· New York City, United States · North America
Art & literature
The New York World, published in New York City since 1860 and a national voice of the Democratic Party, printed its final issue on 27 February 1931. After its sale it was folded into the New York World-Telegram.
Wikidata and the history section both give 27 February 1931.
· La Rioja, Argentina · South America
Lives
Known as Isabel Perón, she entered the world as María Estela Martínez Cartas in La Rioja, Argentina, on 4 February 1931. She became Argentina's president, serving from 1974 to 1976.
· Nueva Pompeya, Buenos Aires, Argentina · South America
Sport
Young men from Nueva Pompeya, who had formed a team for local tournaments in 1929, formally founded Deportivo Riestra on 22 February 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section both give 22 February 1931. Wikidata agrees.
· New Delhi, British India (now India) · Asia
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
The Viceroy, Lord Irwin, inaugurated the memorial in New Delhi in February 1931, years after its foundation stone was laid on 10 February 1921. The arch honors British Indian Army soldiers who died in the war years 1914-1921.
The history section gives 12 February 1931 in one sentence covering both the foundation stone and the inauguration ten years later, so the event that day belongs to is ambiguous. Wikidata gives 12 February 1931 for the inauguration. English Wikipedia's data box gives 10 February 1921 as the establishment date.
· Butka, Ural Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Asia
Lives
Boris Yeltsin, born in Butka on 1 February 1931, grew up in Kazan and Berezniki and later held the presidency of Russia from 1991 to 1999.
· Lucknow, British India (now India) · Asia
Lives
The Indian lawyer and politician Motilal Nehru, twice president of the Indian National Congress, died in Lucknow on 6 February 1931. Age and failing health had kept him from the events of 1929-1931, including Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha.
· Republic of China (mainland China) · Asia
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
The Republic of China's Control Yuan, its supervisory and auditing branch, was established on 16 February 1931, the last of the Yuans to be created. It can impeach and censure officials.
The history section gives 16 February 1931. English Wikipedia's data box gives a foundation date of 4 June 1948, which differs. Wikidata agrees with 16 February 1931.
· Xinjiang Province, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
War & conflictSome details uncertain
On 20 February 1931 Kumulik Uyghurs rebelled against Jin Shuren, governor of Xinjiang Province, after he annexed the Kumul Khanate in 1930. The uprising lasted until 1934.
Wikidata gives 4 April 1931 as the start; English Wikipedia's data box and the history section give 20 February 1931. The data box gives the end as July 1934.
· Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now Prayagraj, India) · Asia
Lives
The Indian revolutionary Chandra Shekhar Azad died in Allahabad, in the United Provinces, on 27 February 1931. He had reorganized the Hindustan Republican Association as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.
· Sydney, Australia · Oceania
Lives
The Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba died of septicaemia in St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney on 23 February 1931, after facial surgery in Europe. She took her stage name from Melbourne, her home town.
· Sydney, Australia · Oceania
Sport
The 24th Australian Championships were played on grass at the White City Tennis Club in Sydney from 27 February to 9 March 1931. Jack Crawford and Coral McInnes Buttsworth, both Australians, won the singles titles.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Oom Bay, Mawson Coast, Antarctica · The poles
ExplorationSome details uncertain
The BANZARE expedition, led by Douglas Mawson, found Campbell Head, a prominent headland on the west side of Oom Bay along the Mawson Coast of Antarctica, in February 1931. Mawson named it for Flight Lieutenant Stuart Campbell, the expedition's pilot.
Wikidata gives 18 February 1931, but the article says February 1931, so the date is given at month level.
· On board the ship Duchess of Richmond · At sea
LivesSome details uncertain
The English engineer and inventor Sir Charles Parsons died of neuritis on 11 February 1931 aboard the ship Duchess of Richmond. He designed the modern steam turbine in 1884, and his firm built Turbinia in 1894, the first steamship driven by a steam turbine.
Wikidata gives Kingston Harbour, Jamaica as the place; English Wikipedia's data box gives the ship Duchess of Richmond, and the introduction says he died on board. The day, 11 February 1931, comes from the introduction and the data box.
· Madrid, Spain · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
The basketball side began in 1931 as a section of the Real Madrid football club. Ángel Cabrera, an early promoter of basketball in Spain, advertised in the newspaper ABC for players in March 1931, and the squad was officially formed that month and lost its first official game.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 8 March 1931 as the founding date, while the history section says the squad was officially formed and played its first game on 22 March 1931, so only the month is given. Wikidata gives 8 March 1931.
· Soviet Union · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The Menshevik Trial, one of Stalin's early purges, was heard in the House of Unions from 1 to 8 March 1931, with Nikolay Shvernik presiding. Economists, all ex-Mensheviks, were convicted of seeking to revive their party under the name Union Bureau of the Mensheviks.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; the introduction gives the trial dates and the history section gives the verdict date.
· Privolnoye, North Caucasus Krai, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
Lives
Mikhail Gorbachev, born in Privolnoye on 2 March 1931 into a peasant family of both Russian and Ukrainian descent, went on to rule the USSR from 1985, and was its final head when it dissolved in 1991.
· Germany and the United Kingdom · Europe
Stage, music & film
Mary, a British-German thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is the German-language version of an English film he made in 1930. It was shot alongside the English version on the same sets with a German-speaking cast.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the day, 2 March 1931; Wikidata agrees. The film is also known by the German title Sir John greift ein.
· Davos, Switzerland · Europe
Lives
The Dutch painter, writer, poet and architect Theo van Doesburg died of a heart attack in Davos on 7 March 1931. He is remembered chiefly for founding and leading De Stijl.
· Stockholm, Sweden · Europe
Lives
The Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela died suddenly of pneumonia in Stockholm on 7 March 1931, on his way back from a lecture in Copenhagen. He is best known for his paintings and illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic.
· Sants, Barcelona, Spain · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The party was created on 19 March 1931 at a Catalan left conference in Barcelona's Sants district, uniting Francesc Macià's Estat Català, Lluís Companys's Catalan Republican Party and the L'Opinió group.
Wikidata gives 19 March 1931, matching English Wikipedia's data box and the history section.
· Berlin, Germany · Europe
Lives
The Social Democratic politician Hermann Müller, twice chancellor of Germany, died in Berlin on 20 March 1931, about a year after leaving office and already in poor health.
· Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) · Europe
Lives
The chess grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi was born in Leningrad on 23 March 1931. He played as a Soviet and later a Swiss grandmaster, and defected to the Netherlands in 1976.
· Switzerland · Europe
Economy & trade
Swissair was founded on 26 March 1931 by merging the airlines Ad Astra Aero and Balair, and served as Switzerland's flag carrier until its bankruptcy in 2002.
· Tripoli, Arcadia, Greece · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
The football club Asteras Tripolis was set up on 26 March 1931 near Tripoli's railway station and won recognition at once. In 1932 all of Tripoli's football clubs were temporarily dissolved.
German Wikipedia says the club began informally in 1930 and was formally founded in 1931. English Wikipedia gives 26 March 1931 as the founding date.
· London, United Kingdom · Europe
Lives
The English writer Arnold Bennett died in London on 27 March 1931 of typhoid fever. He wrote 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories and 13 plays.
· London, United Kingdom · Europe
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
The British conglomerate EMI was founded in London in March 1931 by merging the Columbia Graphophone Company with the Gramophone Company, owner of the His Master's Voice label.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 31 March 1931; the text says March 1931. Wikidata also lists other dates (29 March 1928 and 1 January 1973), which relate to other things.
· Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On 31 March 1931 Germany and Austria publicly presented a customs union plan, designed in 1930 and 1931, that would have abolished tariffs between the two countries.
Wikidata and the introduction both give 31 March 1931 as the date of the public presentation.
· Havana, Cuba · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
George Melford's Spanish-language Dracula was filmed on the sets used for Tod Browning's English-language version. It opened in Havana in March 1931, then in New York on 24 April and in Los Angeles on 8 May.
English Wikipedia's data box gives a Havana release on 1 March 1931 while the release section gives 11 March, so only the month is given. Wikidata lists 20 March as its main date and several other dates, including 24 April for New York.
· United States · North America
Art & literature
Pearl S. Buck's historical novel The Good Earth, about family life in a Chinese village in Anhwei, appeared on 2 March 1931. Buck was raised in China by American missionary parents and wrote the book while living there.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box both give 2 March 1931 as the release date.
· New York City, United States · North America
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
500 Fifth Avenue, an Art Deco office tower at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, opened on 3 March 1931 after being built from 1929 to 1931. Businessman Walter J. Salmon Sr. had it built.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give 3 March 1931 as the official opening, and German Wikipedia agrees. English Wikipedia calls it a 60-story tower while German Wikipedia counts 59 floors, so the summary gives no storey count. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Washington, D.C., United States · North America
Politics & diplomacy
The 72nd Congress met in Washington from 4 March 1931 to 4 March 1933, covering the final two years of Herbert Hoover's presidency, with a Republican majority in the Senate and a very slim Republican majority in the House at the start.
The 71st Congress ended on the same day, 4 March 1931. Wikidata also gives 4 March 1931. The Twentieth Amendment was ratified on 23 January 1933, according to the history section.
· New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Paramount Pictures' romantic spy film Dishonored, directed and edited by Josef von Sternberg, with Marlene Dietrich and Victor McLaglen heading the cast, opened in New York on 5 March 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 5 March 1931 for the New York release; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· New York City, New York, United States · North America
Lives
The author, teacher and media theorist Neil Postman was born in New York City on 8 March 1931. He questioned putting personal computers in schools.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 8 March 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Santa Barbara, California, United States · North America
Lives
The German film director F. W. Murnau died in a California hospital on 11 March 1931 after injuries from a car crash. His 1922 film Nosferatu is seen as a masterpiece of German Expressionism.
· Central Park Theater, New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & film
Tabu, an American docufiction directed by F. W. Murnau, with synchronized music and sound effects but no spoken dialogue, premiered at New York's Central Park Theater on 18 March 1931. Robert J. Flaherty and Murnau wrote the story.
Wikidata also lists 1 August and 3 September 1931 as other dates; English Wikipedia's data box and release section both give 18 March 1931 for the premiere.
· Montreal, Quebec, Canada · North America
Lives
The actor William Shatner was born in Montreal, Quebec, on 22 March 1931. He played Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek from 1966 to 1994.
Wikidata gives the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce area for the birthplace; English Wikipedia's data box gives Montreal, Quebec.
· Brooklyn, New York, United States · North America
Lives
The physicist Burton Richter was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 22 March 1931. He directed SLAC from 1984 to 1999.
English Wikipedia's data box names Brooklyn as the birthplace; Wikidata names New York City.
· Chicago, Illinois, United States · North America
Lives
The journalist, sociologist and educator Ida B. Wells, also known as Wells-Barnett, died in Chicago on 25 March 1931. Born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi, she became an early civil rights leader and helped found the NAACP.
· Boston, Massachusetts, United States · North America
Lives
The actor Leonard Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on 26 March 1931. He became best known as Spock, a role introduced in the original 1966 Star Trek series.
English Wikipedia's data box gives Boston as the birthplace; Wikidata gives the West End.
· Reno, Nevada, United States · North America
Religion & philosophySome details uncertain
Pope Pius XI set up the Diocese of Reno in northern Nevada on 27 March 1931, with Thomas Kiely Gorman as its bishop from 1931 to 1952.
The history section gives 27 March 1931 for the establishment. English Wikipedia's data box gives 21 March 1995 as the establishment date, which conflicts with it; the name list shows the diocese was called Reno-Las Vegas from 1976 to 1995. Wikidata dates the founding to the year 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Hobart Henley's pre-Code drama Bad Sister, from a Booth Tarkington novel, reached American audiences on 29 March 1931. Humphrey Bogart and ZaSu Pitts have supporting roles.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the day, 29 March 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Bazaar, Chase County, Kansas, United States · North America
Disasters
A Transcontinental and Western Air Fokker F-10 flying from Kansas City toward Los Angeles came down near Bazaar, Kansas, on 31 March 1931, killing all eight people aboard, including Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne.
· Managua, Nicaragua · North America
Disasters
An earthquake devastated Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, on 31 March 1931; estimates of its magnitude range from 5.6 to 6.1. The death toll was put at between 1,000 and 2,450, and a major fire destroyed thousands of structures.
NOAA UTC date 1931-03-31 16:02; local time was about 10:02 on 31 March 1931, so the local date is the same. English Wikipedia gives a moment magnitude of 6.1 while NOAA lists 5.6. The death toll is given as a range from 1,000 up to NOAA's figure of 2,450.
SourcesWikipediangdc.noaa.gov
· Venezuela · South America
Politics & diplomacy
The Communist Party of Venezuela, a Marxist-Leninist party, was founded in 1931 as a secret organization under the military dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 5 March 1931, the same day as Wikidata's founding date and French Wikipedia; the article text says only 1931.
· Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil · South America
Architecture
Estádio dos Eucaliptos, officially Estádio Ildo Meneghetti, opened in Porto Alegre on 15 March 1931 as the football ground of Sport Club Internacional.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 15 March 1931 and its history section dates the opening match to 15 March; French Wikipedia also gives 15 March 1931, and Wikidata agrees. The stated capacity differs (20,000 in the English introduction, 10,000 in its history section and in French Wikipedia), so the summary gives no capacity.
· Empire of Japan (now Japan) · Asia
Politics & diplomacy
In March 1931 the Sakurakai, a radical secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army, launched a coup attempt in Japan with civilian ultranationalist support, and it failed. Civilian ultra-rightists had provoked a disturbance outside the Diet Building in Tokyo in late February.
· Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan · Asia
Economy & trade
Shōjirō Ishibashi founded the Bridgestone Tire Company in Kurume, Japan, on 1 March 1931. In 1988 the company took over the Firestone tire firm.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and the history section give 1 March 1931.
· Almaty, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan) · Asia
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
A decree of 12 March 1931 gave an existing Almaty library, established in 1910, a new status as a republic-wide public library. Today it serves as Kazakhstan's national book depository.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 1910 as the year of establishment; the 1931 date is that of the decree that remade the library as the State Public Library. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Bombay, British India (now Mumbai, India) · Asia
Stage, music & film
Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara, a historical fantasy considered India's first sound film, premiered at the Majestic Cinema in Bombay on 14 March 1931. No print survives, which makes it a lost film.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box, the introduction and the release section give 14 March 1931.
· Lahore Central Jail, Lahore, British India (now Pakistan) · Asia
Lives
The Indian anti-colonial revolutionary Bhagat Singh was executed at Lahore Central Jail on 23 March 1931, aged 23. He had helped kill a junior British police officer in Lahore in 1928 and later joined a mostly symbolic bomb attack on the legislative assembly in Delhi.
· British Cyprus (now Cyprus) · Middle East
Exploration
The Swedish Cyprus Expedition, led by Einar Gjerstad, Erik Sjöqvist and Alfred Westholm, ran from September 1927 to March 1931, when the archaeologists and their families went back to Sweden with their share of the finds.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give the end as March 1931; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Douala, French Cameroons (now Cameroon) · Africa
Religion & philosophy
The Apostolic Prefecture of Douala was created on 31 March 1931 out of the Apostolic Vicariate of Cameroun. It became a vicariate in 1932, a diocese in 1955 and an archdiocese in 1982.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section both give 31 March 1931. The 1931 body was a prefecture and only later became an archdiocese. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Germany · Europe
Art & literature
Erich Maria Remarque's novel The Road Back, which most readers treat as a follow-up to All Quiet on the Western Front, appeared as a book in April 1931. The English edition from Little, Brown followed in May 1931.
The introduction and data box both give April 1931 for the German book; English Wikipedia's data box gives May 1931 for the English edition. Wikidata also gives April 1931.
· Helsinki, Finland · Europe
Economy & trade
On 1 April 1931 the vehicle maker Oy Suomen Autoteollisuus Ab, shortened to SAT, was set up from two neighbouring Helsinki coach builders, Autokoritehdas and Autoteollisuus-Bilindustri, both in financial trouble by the early 1930s.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931. English Wikipedia's history section and French Wikipedia's data box both give 1 April 1931.
· Paris, France · Europe
Lives
The French industrialist André Michelin died in Paris on 4 April 1931. With his brother Édouard he had founded the Michelin tyre company in Clermont-Ferrand in the late 1880s.
English Wikipedia says the Michelin tyre company was founded in 1888, while French Wikipedia says 1889, so only the late 1880s is given.
· Paris to Roubaix, France · Europe
Sport
The 32nd Paris-Roubaix, a one-day classic, was run on 5 April 1931 from Paris to a velodrome in Roubaix. Gaston Rebry of Belgium won.
· Granada, Spain · Europe
Sport
The football club now known as Granada CF was founded on 6 April 1931 as Recreativo de Granada, with Julio López Fernández as its first president. Its first match, a win over Deportivo Jaén, came on 6 December 1931.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and history section give 6 April 1931.
· Stockholm, Sweden · Europe
Lives
The Swedish poet Erik Axel Karlfeldt died in Stockholm on 8 April 1931. His symbolist poetry, presented as regional writing, was popular, and he received the 1931 Nobel Prize in Literature after his death.
· Spain · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Spain held local elections on 12 April 1931 in every municipality, choosing 80,472 councillors, and many saw them as a plebiscite on King Alfonso XIII's monarchy. Republican parties and their allies won convincingly.
The introduction gives 12 April. Wikidata agrees. The proclamation of the Republic that followed is a related event.
· Spain · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The Restoration period in Spain, which began on 29 December 1874, ended on 14 April 1931 when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. King Alfonso XIII left Spain and went into exile that year.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's introduction and data box give 14 April 1931 as the end date. This is the same event as the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic.
· Stockholm, Sweden · Europe
Lives
The Swedish poet, psychologist and translator Tomas Tranströmer was born in Stockholm on 15 April 1931. His poems often evoke Sweden's long winters and the changing seasons.
· France · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
René Clair directed the French musical comedy Le Million, which came out in France on 15 April 1931.
English, French and German Wikipedia all give 15 April 1931 for the French release, while Wikidata gives 3 April 1931.
· London, United Kingdom · Europe
Architecture
The Dorchester, a luxury hotel beside Hyde Park, opened on 18 April 1931. Its first architect, Sir Owen Williams, left in February 1930 and William Curtis Green took over.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 18 April 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Monte Carlo, Monaco · Europe
Sport
Louis Chiron, born in Monaco, won the 1931 Monaco Grand Prix on 19 April 1931, about 5 minutes ahead of Luigi Fagioli, setting a new lap record on his way to the front. Bugatti dominated the field with 16 of the 23 cars.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 19 April with the year 1931 in a separate field; the introduction gives 19 April 1931. Wikidata agrees.
· Madrid, Spain · Europe
Architecture
Madrid's Barajas airport, built in 1927, opened to air traffic on 22 April 1931. Flights to some European and African destinations, its first international routes, began in the 1930s.
English Wikipedia's data box and its history section both give 22 April 1931 as the opening date. Wikidata agrees.
· Wembley Stadium, London, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Sport
On 25 April 1931 West Bromwich Albion beat Birmingham 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley, with both goals scored by W. G. Richardson.
· Lounge Hall, Nottingham, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Sport
Joe Davis won his fifth world title by beating Tom Dennis 25-21 at the Lounge Hall in Nottingham, in a championship held from 27 April to 1 May 1931.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Apache County, Arizona, United States · North America
Everyday life
Canyon de Chelly National Monument was created on 1 April 1931 as part of the National Park Service, in northeastern Arizona inside the Navajo Nation. It protects ruins left by the Ancestral Puebloans and the Navajo.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & film
Lewis Milestone directed The Front Page, a black comedy starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O'Brien, adapted from the 1928 Broadway play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Howard Hughes produced it, and it came out on 4 April 1931.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & film
Paramount Pictures released Skippy, a comedy based on Percy Crosby's comic strip and novel, on 5 April 1931, with Jackie Cooper in the title role. Director Norman Taurog won the Best Director Oscar at the age of 32.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· New York City, United States · North America
Lives
The Lebanese-American poet, writer and painter Kahlil Gibran died in New York City on 10 April 1931. Born in Bsharri in Ottoman-ruled Mount Lebanon, he is best known for The Prophet, which reached American readers in 1923.
· New York City, United States · North America
War & conflict
The Castellammarese War, a violent struggle for control of the Mafia in New York City, ran from February 1930 to 15 April 1931. It ended when Joe Masseria was killed at a restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931 as the end date. The infobox and the text both give 15 April 1931.
· Coney Island, New York City, United States · North America
Lives
Giuseppe 'Joe the Boss' Masseria, boss from 1922 to 1931 of the family now known as the Genovese crime family, was murdered on 15 April 1931 at the Nuova Villa Tammaro, a Coney Island restaurant, where Luciano had lured him to a meeting.
· United States · North America
Economy & trade
Allstate Insurance Company went into business on 17 April 1931, at first offering car insurance by post and through the Sears catalog. It began as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co.
· Durham, North Carolina, United States · North America
Lives
The computer scientist Frederick Phillips Brooks Jr. was born in Durham, North Carolina, on 19 April 1931. He managed IBM's development of the System/360 mainframes and OS/360 software.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and education section all give 19 April 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & film
Warner Bros. released The Public Enemy, a gangster film directed by William A. Wellman and led by James Cagney and Jean Harlow, on 23 April 1931. It follows a young man's climb through the criminal underworld during Prohibition.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box gives 23 April 1931, and the text mentions an April 1931 release.
· United States · North America
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
The Young Republican National Federation, for Republican Party members aged 18 to 40, was officially founded in 1931. It has a national organisation and state chapters.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 23 April 1931 and the history section gives the year 1931. Wikidata gives 23 April 1931.
· Chicago, Illinois, United States · North America
Lives
The American philosopher, sociologist and psychologist George Herbert Mead, mostly linked with the University of Chicago, died of heart failure on 26 April 1931. He was a key figure in the development of pragmatism.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Tod Browning directed Iron Man, a 1931 American sports drama with Lew Ayres and Jean Harlow, released on 30 April 1931. It follows a prizefighter whose wife leaves him when his career fades.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 30 April 1931 as the release date; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Buenos Aires, Argentina · South America
SportSome details uncertain
Buenos Aires hosted the 1931 South American athletics championships, which began in April and ended on 5 May 1931.
The introduction says the championships ran from 5 April to 5 May, but English Wikipedia's data box says 30 April to 5 May. Both starts fall in April, so the start is given at month level. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Asia
Science
A partial solar eclipse of magnitude 0.5107 took place on 17 to 18 April 1931, visible from parts of East Asia and North Asia. It belonged to solar Saros series 147.
The eclipse began late on 17 April in UTC and peaked early on 18 April; the 18 April date follows the moment of greatest eclipse.
· Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) · Asia
Politics & diplomacy
On 25 April 1931 the first Indonesian National Party, founded by Sukarno in 1927, dissolved itself at an extraordinary congress, after its leaders had been put on trial and Sukarno had received the longest sentence in September 1930.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; the history section gives 25 April 1931 for the dissolution.
· Zangezur Mountains, Armenia and Nakhichevan, Soviet Union (now Armenia and Azerbaijan) · Asia
Disasters
An earthquake struck the Zangezur Mountains on 27 April 1931, near the border between southwestern Armenia and Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan exclave, both then part of the Soviet Union. Estimates of its magnitude range from 6.3 to 6.5.
NOAA UTC date 1931-04-27 16:50; local time was about 20:50 on 27 April 1931, so the local date is the same. English Wikipedia gives a moment magnitude of 6.5, while NOAA lists 6.3.
SourcesWikipediangdc.noaa.gov
· Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq (now Iraq) · Middle East
War & conflict
The Iraqi Air Force counts 22 April 1931 as its founding day, set up while Britain controlled Iraq. Before that, the RAF's Iraq Command had handled all British armed forces in Iraq.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give 22 April 1931. Baghdad is named as the air force's headquarters in the introduction, not as the place of founding.
· Morphou, British Cyprus (now Cyprus) · Middle East
Sport
The sports club Digenis Akritas, from Morphou in Cyprus, was founded on 23 April 1931 and takes its name and emblem from a hero of medieval Greece. It fields football and basketball teams.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and history section all give 23 April 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Turkey · Middle East
Politics & diplomacy
Turkey held general elections on 25 April 1931, when the Republican People's Party was the country's only party.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box give 25 April 1931.
· Paris, France · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
The 1931 French Championships, now called the French Open, were played on clay at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris from late May. Jean Borotra won the men's singles and Cilly Aussem the women's.
English Wikipedia gives 22 to 31 May 1931, while French Wikipedia gives 25 May to 7 June 1931, so only the month is stored.
· Madrid, Spain · Europe
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
The Casa de Campo, Madrid's largest public park, began in the early 16th century as a royal hunting estate west of the Royal Palace. It was opened to the public in May 1931.
Spanish Wikipedia gives several early-May dates after a decree of 20 April 1931 ceded the estate to the city: the finance minister Indalecio Prieto handing it over to the people of Madrid on 1 May, an introduction that says 5 May, and a formal handover before a notary on 6 May. English Wikipedia's data box and Wikidata give 1 May 1931, so only the month is kept. The opening followed the proclamation of the Second Republic.
· Scotland, United Kingdom · Europe
Everyday life
The National Trust for Scotland was incorporated on 1 May 1931 after talks in the smoking room of Pollok House. Its first president was John Stewart-Murray, the 8th Duke of Atholl.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section both give 1 May 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Germany (Weimar Republic) · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The NSDAP/AO, the Nazi Party's branch for members living outside the German Reich, was founded on 1 May 1931. Only German Reich citizens holding a German passport could join.
The introduction gives 1 May 1931 for the founding. English Wikipedia's data box gives the end date, 8 May 1945. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Milan, Kingdom of Italy (now Italy) · Europe
Lives
Aldo Rossi was born in Milan on 3 May 1931 and became an Italian architect and designer, a leading figure in postmodernism.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 3 May 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Bois de Vincennes, Paris, France · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The Paris Colonial Exposition welcomed its first visitors on 6 May 1931 at Vincennes, on the city's eastern edge, and ran for six months, presenting the cultures and resources of France's colonies. Its grounds included a replica of the Cambodian temple of Angkor Wat.
The history section gives 6 May 1931; Wikidata agrees. The Paris Métro Line 8 extension to Porte de Charenton, and the Porte Dorée station, opened on 5 May 1931 for this exposition.
· Milan, Italy · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
The 19th Giro d'Italia began in Milan on 10 May 1931 with a stage to Mantua, and Francesco Camusso won the race. Luigi Giacobbe came second and Luigi Marchisio third.
The start date of 10 May agrees across sources. The text gives the finish in Milan as 31 May, while English Wikipedia's data box gives 30 May.
· Berlin, Germany · Europe
Stage, music & film
Fritz Lang's German thriller M, with Peter Lorre as a killer of children, had its first screening in Berlin on 11 May 1931, at the cinema Ufa-Palast am Zoo. Sound was new to Lang, and the film is an early example of a procedural drama.
Wikidata also lists 31 August 1931 and 31 March 1933 as other dates; English Wikipedia's data box and the text give 11 May 1931.
· Forest, Belgium · Europe
LivesSome details uncertain
The Belgian violinist, composer and conductor Eugène Ysaÿe died at his home in Forest, Belgium, on 12 May 1931, weakened by diabetes that had cost him his left foot. People called him 'The King of the Violin'.
Wikidata proposes Brussels as the place of death; the biography text says he died at his house in Forest, Belgium.
· Ådalen, Kramfors Municipality, Sweden · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On 14 May 1931, during a protest in the sawmill district of Ådalen, Swedish Army troops killed five people. Police had called in the troops as reinforcements.
· Vatican City · Europe
Religion & philosophy
Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno on 15 May 1931, forty years after Leo XIII's Rerum novarum. It developed Catholic social teaching further, looking at the ethics of the social and economic order.
· Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Everyday life
Whipsnade Zoo, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, opened to visitors on Sunday, 23 May 1931. The Zoological Society of London runs it, along with London Zoo.
· Eelde, Drenthe, Netherlands · Europe
Architecture
Mayor Jan Gerard Legro formally opened the airport at Eelde on 23 May 1931, and an air show celebrated the occasion. The airport had started in 1928 under the name Hakenkampsveld.
· Monza, Italy · Europe
Sport
The 1931 Italian Grand Prix took place at Monza on 24 May 1931, and Giuseppe Campari and Tazio Nuvolari won for the Alfa Romeo works team. Their teammates Ferdinando Minoia and Baconin Borzacchini took second.
· Athens, Greece · Europe
Art & literature
The Athens daily Ta Nea first appeared on 28 May 1931 under the name Athinaika Nea, meaning Athens News. It took the shorter name after the Axis occupation of Greece.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 28 May 1931. The introduction gives 1931 and 28 May for the first issue. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States · North America
Architecture
The 102-story Art Deco Empire State Building, designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, opened on 1 May 1931 on Fifth Avenue, about thirteen and a half months after building began.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the completion date as 11 April 1931 and the opening as 1 May 1931. Wikidata's creation-date field gives 8 May 1931.
· Warners Hollywood Theatre, New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & film
Svengali, a drama directed by Archie Mayo with John Barrymore and Marian Marsh, opened at Warners Hollywood Theatre in New York City on 1 May 1931 and reached Los Angeles on 22 May. It is based on George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby.
English Wikipedia gives 1 May 1931 for the New York opening and 22 May for Los Angeles, and German Wikipedia names 22 May 1931 as the premiere. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Westfield, Alabama, United States · North America
Lives
Willie Howard Mays Jr., known as the Say Hey Kid, was born in Westfield, Alabama, on 6 May 1931. He began in the Negro leagues with the Birmingham Black Barons and spent 23 seasons in the major leagues as a center fielder.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 6 May 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Pasadena, California, United States · North America
Lives
The American experimental physicist Albert Michelson, who worked on measuring the speed of light and is remembered for the Michelson-Morley experiment, died in Pasadena, California, on 9 May 1931. He was born in Strelno, Prussia, in 1852.
· Crete, Indiana, United States · North America
Lives
Jim Jones was born in Crete, Indiana, on 13 May 1931. He founded the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis in 1955 and led it until 1978.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 13 May 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· New York City, United States · North America
LivesSome details uncertain
The American theatre producer and playwright David Belasco died in Manhattan on 14 May 1931. From 1884 to 1930 he had a hand in many Broadway plays as author, director or producer.
Wikidata's main date is 15 May 1931 and lists 14 May as an alternative; English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and death section all give 14 May 1931.
· Washington, D.C., United States · North America
Architecture
The granite Titanic Memorial, honouring the men who died so women and children could be saved, was dedicated on 26 May 1931 in Washington's Southwest Waterfront area, with President Herbert Hoover and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover attending.
The history section gives 26 May 1931 for the dedication; English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 as the built year and says the statue was installed in 1930. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indiana, United States · North America
Sport
Louis Schneider won the 19th Indianapolis 500 on 30 May 1931, in front for only the closing 34 laps. Defending champion Billy Arnold led most of the race until his rear axle failed on lap 162 and his car crashed over the wall.
· Oak Park, Illinois, United States · North America
Lives
The American theoretical physicist John Robert Schrieffer was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on 31 May 1931.
· Japan · Asia
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
Asahi Kasei, now a multinational Japanese chemical company with headquarters in Tokyo, was set up on 21 May 1931 and started by producing chemicals including ammonia and nitric acid.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the day, 21 May 1931; the introduction says May 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Serdang, Selangor, British Malaya (now Malaysia) · Asia
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
Universiti Putra Malaysia began on 21 May 1931 as the School of Agriculture in Serdang. It later became Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, and the university itself was established on 29 October 1971.
The history section gives 21 May 1931 for the School of Agriculture, but English Wikipedia's data box dates the university itself to 29 October 1971; the 1931 date is for the school that became the university. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Asia
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
The All-Russian Fascist Party, a minor Russian émigré movement that operated in Manchukuo in the 1930s and 1940s, was founded on 26 May 1931, when Konstantin Rodzaevsky became secretary general of its central committee.
English Wikipedia's data box, French Wikipedia and Russian Wikipedia give 26 May 1931, while German Wikipedia gives 26 March 1931. Manchukuo was set up only in 1932, so the party's later base there is described with hindsight.
· Turkey · Middle East
Politics & diplomacy
Turkey's Grand National Assembly held a presidential election on 4 May 1931 and re-elected President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 4 May 1931; Wikidata agrees. The data box calls it his second re-election.
· Moscow, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
Stage, music & film
Nikolai Ekk wrote and directed Road to Life, a Soviet crime drama that premiered in Moscow on 1 June 1931. It was the first sound film made in the Soviet Union.
Russian Wikipedia and German Wikipedia both give the Soviet premiere as 1 June 1931, and Wikidata agrees; Russian Wikipedia places it in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The 30 September 1931 date in English Wikipedia's data box is the German first showing in Berlin.
· Varaždin, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Croatia) · Europe
Sport
NK Slavija was founded in Varaždin on 3 June 1931 and carried that name until 1941. It later became known as NK Varteks, after its main sponsor, a local textile factory.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and history section give 3 June 1931.
· Peretola, Florence, Italy · Europe
Architecture
Peretola Airport, formally Amerigo Vespucci Airport, the international airport of Florence in Tuscany, opened on 4 June 1931.
· Pontchâteau, France · Europe
Lives
The French director, screenwriter and lyricist Jacques Demy was born in Pontchâteau on 5 June 1931. He belonged to the French New Wave generation of Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 5 June 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Luxembourg · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Luxembourg held partial general elections on 7 June 1931, with voters choosing 25 of the Chamber of Deputies' 54 seats in the centre and north, plus two in the south.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 7 June 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Upton-by-Chester, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Everyday life
George Mottershead and his family opened Chester Zoo to visitors on 10 June 1931, after he bought Oakfield Manor in 1930 and despite objections from local people.
The history section gives the opening day, 10 June 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give the year. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Kingdom of Iceland (now Iceland) · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Iceland held parliamentary elections on 12 June 1931, with every one of the 28 Lower House seats and eight of the 14 Upper House seats at stake in the Althing.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 12 June 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France · Europe
Sport
Britons Earl Howe and Tim Birkin won the ninth Le Mans 24-hour race, run on 13 and 14 June 1931, in an Alfa Romeo by seven laps. It was the first Le Mans victory for an Italian car.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Madrid, Spain · Europe
Architecture
The Las Ventas bullring in Madrid, designed by José Espeliú in the Neo-Mudéjar style with ceramic decoration, was inaugurated on 17 June 1931 with a charity bullfight before a full house. The building had been finished in 1929.
· Reims, France · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
The French football club Stade de Reims counts 18 June 1931, the day it took its present name, as its founding date; it grew out of Société Sportive du Parc Pommery, a club set up in 1910. It stayed amateur until 1935.
English Wikipedia's data box gives a founding date of 18 June 1931, while its history section says the club adopted its current name that day and traces an earlier origin to 1910 as Société Sportive du Parc Pommery. French Wikipedia gives 18 June 1931 as the founding date. Wikidata gives only the year. The 1910 origin as Société Sportive du Parc Pommery is stated in the opening of English Wikipedia's history section.
· Kingdom of Bulgaria (now Bulgaria) · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Bulgaria held parliamentary elections on 21 June 1931 for its XXIII Ordinary National Assembly. The Popular Bloc, an alliance of parties, won on a turnout of 85%.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 21 June 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, Montlhéry, France · Europe
Sport
The 1931 French Grand Prix, one of three European Championship races that year, was run at Montlhéry on 21 June 1931. Louis Chiron and Achille Varzi won in a factory Bugatti T51.
· Chamartín Stadium, Madrid, Spain · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
In the 31st final of Spain's Copa del Rey, Athletic Bilbao beat Betis 3-1, with Fred Pentland managing Athletic and Emilio Sampere managing Betis.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 21 June 1931 for the final, played at Chamartín in Madrid. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Lannes, France · Europe
Lives
Armand Fallières, President of France from 1906 to 1913, died in Lannes on 22 June 1931. He won the presidency by defeating Paul Doumer and had been briefly prime minister in 1883.
· Geneva, Switzerland · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
The International Save the Children Union held a conference on African children in Geneva from 22 to 25 June 1931, looking at infant mortality, child labour and education. Only five Africans took part, among them Jomo Kenyatta.
Wikidata gives June 1931; the introduction gives 22 to 25 June 1931, while the printed proceedings are titled 22-23 June 1931.
· Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom · Europe
Sport
The 51st Wimbledon Championships ran from 22 June to 4 July 1931 on the grass courts of the All England Club. Sidney Wood won the men's singles and Cilly Aussem the women's.
· Waalwijk, Netherlands · Europe
Lives
The Dutch theoretical physicist Martinus Veltman was born in Waalwijk, in the Netherlands, on 27 June 1931.
· Spain · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On 28 June 1931 Spain voted to choose the Constituent Cortes, the first general election of the Second Republic, held in several rounds. A May 1931 electoral law had swapped small one-seat districts for far larger ones electing several members.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box both give 28 June 1931; the introduction says the election took place in several rounds.
· Thessaloniki, Greece · Europe
War & conflict
On 29 and 30 June 1931 an antisemitic mob attacked the Jewish Campbell neighbourhood of Kalamaria, Thessaloniki, after false claims of Jewish collusion with Bulgarians and communists had fed a campaign of intimidation through June.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give 29 and 30 June 1931; Wikidata gives the same two days.
· France · Europe
Sport
The 25th Tour de France ran from 30 June to 26 July 1931 over 24 stages and was won by the Frenchman Antonin Magne. Charles Pélissier and Rafaele di Paco each won five stages.
The race ran from 30 June to 26 July 1931 according to both the article and Wikidata.
· United States · North America
Art & literatureSome details uncertain
The American women's rights weekly Woman's Journal stopped publishing in June 1931, after appearing since 1870. It was started in Boston by Lucy Stone together with her husband, Henry Browne Blackwell.
The history section gives June 1931 for the end of publication. The introduction also describes a 1917 merger into The Woman Citizen. Wikidata gives June 1931.
· New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Clarence Brown directed A Free Soul, a drama starring Norma Shearer, released in New York on 2 June 1931. It became well known for Lionel Barrymore's climactic courtroom speech, which earned him the Best Actor Oscar.
English Wikipedia's data box gives a New York release on 2 June 1931 and a US release on 20 June 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Birán, Oriente, Cuba · North America
Lives
Raúl Castro was born on 3 June 1931 in Birán, Oriente. He succeeded his brother Fidel Castro as President of Cuba, serving from 2008 to 2018, and led the Communist Party of Cuba as its first secretary from 2011 to 2021.
· Montreal, Quebec, Canada · North America
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
The Montreal Botanical Garden opened on 9 June 1931, during the Great Depression. Mayor Camillien Houde founded it after years of campaigning.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 9 June 1931 as the opening date, while the history section says that the garden was founded in 1931; Wikidata gives the date 9 June 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Roy Del Ruth directed the 1931 American pre-Code crime film The Maltese Falcon, based on Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel, with Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade and Bebe Daniels as Ruth Wonderly. It was released on 13 June 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 13 June 1931 as the release date; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Washington, D.C., United States · North America
Lives
The existential psychiatrist Irvin David Yalom was born in Washington, D.C., on 13 June 1931 and is professor emeritus of psychiatry at Stanford University.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 13 June 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Little Rock, Arkansas, United States · North America
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
American Airlines, the first airline to serve Little Rock, first landed at Adams Field on 19 June 1931, the day the airport opened.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 19 June 1931 as the opening date, while the history section describes that day as the first landing by American Airlines. Wikidata gives the same date.
· Lowell, Massachusetts, United States · North America
Lives
Olympia Dukakis, the actress, entered the world in Lowell, Massachusetts, on 20 June 1931. She worked in more than 130 stage productions, some 60 films and about 50 television series.
· Yangtze and Huai river basins, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
DisastersSome details uncertain
From June to August 1931 devastating floods hit the Yangtze and Huai basins, including Wuhan and Nanjing, culminating on 25 August in a dike breach along Lake Gaoyou. Estimates of how many died vary widely.
The introduction gives June to August 1931, while English Wikipedia's data box gives July to November 1931 and French Wikipedia gives July to October 1931, so the dates are approximate. Wikidata gives only the year.
· Tokyo, Japan · Asia
Lives
The Japanese physician and bacteriologist Kitasato Shibasaburō died at his home in Azabu, Tokyo, on 13 June 1931. He co-discovered the plague's infectious agent in Hong Kong in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin.
· Plymouth, Devon, England, United Kingdom · Europe
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
In July 1931 the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, performed the official opening of Plymouth City Airport, near Roborough north-northeast of the city centre. The airport itself had opened on the site in 1925.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give July 1931 for the official opening; the introduction says the airport itself opened on the site in 1925. Wikidata dates the opening to the year 1931.
· Milan, Italy · Europe
Architecture
The new central station in Milan was officially opened on 1 July 1931, replacing an older station from 1864 that lacked the tracks to handle the extra traffic from the Simplon Tunnel.
Wikidata also lists a creation date of 1931 with no month or day; English Wikipedia's data box and history section both give 1 July 1931.
· Boulogne-Billancourt, France · Europe
Lives
Leslie Claire Margaret Caron was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, on 1 July 1931. She began as a ballerina and made her film debut in An American in Paris (1951).
English Wikipedia's body text names the birthplace as Boulogne-sur-Seine, now Boulogne-Billancourt, and its data box says Boulogne-sur-Seine; French Wikipedia and Wikidata name Boulogne-Billancourt. English Wikipedia's article on the commune says it was renamed in 1924 and French Wikipedia says 1926, either way before 1931, so the current name is used.
· Cologne, Germany · Europe
Lives
Peter Kürten, called the Vampire of Düsseldorf, was executed by guillotine in Klingelpütz prison in Cologne on 2 July 1931, aged 48. He was found guilty of nine murders and seven attempted murders.
· Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) · Europe
Sport
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) organized the 4th Chess Olympiad, a team tournament, in Prague, Czechoslovakia, from 11 to 26 July 1931.
Wikidata gives the year 1931 as its main date and 11 and 26 July 1931 as start and end.
· Vienna, Austria · Europe
Architecture
The Praterstadion in Vienna's Leopoldstadt district, designed by the German architect Otto Ernst Schweizer, opened on 11 July 1931, built to host the second Workers' Olympiad. It was renamed after the footballer Ernst Happel in 1992.
Wikidata gives the year 1931 as its main date (and 1 January 1931 as an inception date, which is only a year); English Wikipedia's data box gives 11 July 1931.
· Uppsala, Sweden · Europe
Lives
The Swedish bishop Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala in the Church of Sweden from 1914, died on 12 July 1931. The Lutheran Church commemorates him in its Calendar of Saints on 12 July.
· Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) · Europe
Sport
The 3rd Women's World Chess Championship was played in Prague from 12 to 26 July 1931, during the 4th Chess Olympiad, in a double round-robin format. Vera Menchik successfully defended her title.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium · Europe
Sport
William Grover-Williams and Caberto Conelli won the 1931 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on 12 July 1931, driving a Bugatti. The race counted towards the European Championship.
· Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany · Europe
Sport
The 1931 German Grand Prix was run at the Nürburgring on 19 July 1931 as two races held together, one for Grand Prix cars over 1100cc, which ran 22 laps, and one for smaller cars, which ran 18.
· Yvorne, Switzerland · Europe
Lives
The Swiss scientist Auguste Forel died in Yvorne on 27 July 1931 and was cremated in Lausanne. He studied ants as well as the structure of the human brain and psychiatry, and counts as a co-founder of the neuron theory.
· Wingham, Ontario, Canada · North America
Lives
The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro arrived on 10 July 1931 in rural Wingham, Ontario, as Alice Ann Laidlaw. Her stories are usually set in Huron County, Ontario, where she grew up.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Smart Money, a Warner Bros. drama directed by Alfred E. Green, with Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney as its leads, was released on 11 July 1931. Boris Karloff has an unbilled but prominent part.
English Wikipedia's data box, German Wikipedia and French Wikipedia all give 11 July 1931, while Wikidata's main date is 11 June 1931 and it lists 11 July as an alternative.
· Asia
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
On 1 July 1931 Chinese and Korean farmers quarreled in a minor dispute known as the Wanpaoshan Incident. False reports made it seem far bigger in the Japanese and Korean press.
Wikidata gives 2 July 1931; the article's introduction gives 1 July 1931.
· RAF Hinaidi, Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq (now Iraq) · Middle East
Sport
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya was founded on 4 July 1931 at RAF Hinaidi, a British air station, under the name Gipsy Moth.
The introduction says Iraqi Air Force officers founded the club, while the history section says flight policemen did; both agree on the date and on RAF Hinaidi. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Northern Cape, Union of South Africa (now South Africa) · Africa
Everyday life
South Africa established the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park on 31 July 1931, mainly to protect migrating game, especially the gemsbok, from poaching. It is now part of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, which straddles the border with Botswana.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box give 31 July 1931 for the South African park; the combined transfrontier park dates from 2000.
· Myggbukta, eastern Greenland, Danish territory (now Greenland) · The poles
Politics & diplomacy
In June 1931 Hallvard Devold raised the Norwegian flag at Myggbukta, and a Norwegian royal proclamation of 10 July 1931 claimed Eastern Greenland as Norwegian territory. Norwegians called the occupied stretch of coast Erik the Red's Land.
Wikidata gives 27 June 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and the history section give 10 July 1931 for the proclamation.
· Lwów, Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine) · Europe
Sport
The first World Archery Championships took place in Lwów, Poland, in August 1931. On 4 September, after the competition, the sport's federation, FITA, was formally founded.
Wikidata gives the year 1931 with start and end dates of 23 August and 6 September 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and text give August 1931.
· Catalonia, Spain · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On Sunday 2 August 1931 Catalans voted on a draft Statute of Autonomy, known as the Statute of Núria, and 99.5% of valid votes backed it, on a turnout of 75.3%.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 2 August 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
The Academic Trial was an invented criminal case against Academy of Sciences scholars and local historians in Leningrad, running from 1929 to 1931. On 8 August 1931 the political police board decided the prisoners' fate out of court.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931 as the end of the case; the history section gives 8 August 1931 for the political police resolution that decided the sentences, and says further sentences followed between February and August 1931.
· Colchester, Essex, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Lives
The mathematician, mathematical physicist and philosopher of science Roger Penrose was born in Colchester, Essex, on 8 August 1931.
· Prussia, Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On 9 August 1931 Prussian voters took part in a referendum, started by the veterans' group Der Stahlhelm, on dissolving their state parliament early. Of those voting, 93.9% chose dissolution.
· Berlin, Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck, both captains in the Berlin police, were shot dead on 9 August 1931 by two members of the Communist Party of Germany's paramilitary wing, on an order from the Berlin party leader Walter Ulbricht. The gunmen were Erich Mielke and Erich Ziemer.
· Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
Art & literature
The title People's Artist of the RSFSR was introduced on 10 August 1931 to honour artists in the Russian republic, among them directors, actors, choreographers, musicians and conductors.
Russian Wikipedia also gives 10 August 1931 as the day the title was established.
· Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania (now Romania) · Europe
Art & literature
On 15 August 1931 the newspaper Scânteia, whose name means "The Spark", came out again as the voice of the Romanian Communist Party, printed in secret in Bucharest until 1940.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section both give 15 August 1931. The article treats this as the second of two Communist newspapers with the same name, and says the title 'reemerged' in 1931. Wikidata agrees.
· Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal · Europe
Sport
FC Famalicão was founded by a group of friends on 21 August 1931. Its first match, against FC Porto in 1932, marked the opening of its ground, Campo da Berberia.
· Bled and Ljubljana, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Slovenia) · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
Milan Vidmar proposed the Bled 1931 chess tournament, played in Bled and Ljubljana, whose first round began on 23 August 1931 with fourteen leading masters taking part. Alexander Alekhine won without losing a game, ending 5½ points clear of Efim Bogoljubow.
The article gives 23 August 1931 for the start of round one; Wikidata gives an end date of 28 September 1931.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
After his minority Labour government collapsed, Ramsay MacDonald resigned on 24 August 1931 and formed the first of Britain's national governments of the Great Depression, with a smaller-than-usual cabinet named the next day.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 24 August 1931 as the formation date and 27 October 1931, the general election date, as the end; the history section says MacDonald reconstructed the government on 5 November 1931. Wikidata matches the data box dates.
· Copenhagen, Denmark · Europe
Sport
The eleventh UCI Road World Championships were held in Copenhagen on 26 August 1931, run as an individual time trial rather than a traditional road race. Denmark's Henry Hansen won the amateur race.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The Labour Party held a leadership election on 28 August 1931, after expelling its sitting leader, Ramsay MacDonald.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 28 August 1931; Wikidata agrees. The formation of the National Government is a related event.
· United States · North America
Art & literature
H. P. Lovecraft's novella The Whisperer in Darkness, written between February and September 1930, first appeared in the magazine Weird Tales in August 1931.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box give August 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Ernst Lubitsch directed The Smiling Lieutenant for Paramount, an American musical comedy led by Maurice Chevalier, Claudette Colbert and Miriam Hopkins, released on 1 August 1931. Its story comes from Oscar Straus's operetta Ein Walzertraum.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 1 August 1931 as the United States release date; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Warner Bros. distributed Merrie Melodies, a series of animated comedy shorts in the Looney Tunes franchise, with its first cartoon released in 1931. Harman-Ising Productions made it at first.
English Wikipedia's data box and French Wikipedia both give 2 August 1931 as the series' release date; the text gives only the year 1931 and names the first cartoon. Wikidata gives only the year.
· New York City, United States · North America
Lives
The American jazz cornetist, pianist and composer Bix Beiderbecke died in New York City on 6 August 1931. Few jazz soloists of the 1920s had more influence, and his playing was known for an inventive, lyrical approach and a pure tone.
Wikidata proposes Long Island as the place of death; English Wikipedia's data box gives New York City.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Norman Taurog directed Huckleberry Finn, a 1931 American adventure comedy loosely following Mark Twain's 1884 novel, released on 7 August 1931. Junior Durkin plays Huck, with Jackie Coogan as Tom Sawyer and Mitzi Green as Becky Thatcher.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 7 August 1931 as the release date; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Frederick, Maryland, United States · North America
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
On 10 August 1931 the 104th Observation Squadron of the Maryland National Guard camped at a small municipal airfield in Frederick, Maryland, the first soldiers on the site. The field, set up in 1929, honoured Major Detrick.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the year 1931 as the built date; the history section gives 10 August 1931 for the first military presence. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Chicago, Illinois, United States · North America
LivesSome details uncertain
William Goldman was born in Chicago on 12 August 1931 and became an American novelist, screenwriter and playwright. He wrote 16 novels and many screenplays over seven decades.
English Wikipedia's data box and text give Chicago as the birthplace and say he grew up in Highland Park, Illinois. French Wikipedia and Wikidata name Highland Park as the birthplace, so the place is disputed and confidence is medium. All sources give 12 August 1931 for the birth.
· New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Frank Borzage's drama Bad Girl, with Sally Eilers, James Dunn and Minna Gombell in the leads, opened at the Roxy in New York on 14 August 1931. The story traces a working-class couple from courtship into marriage.
New York saw it first, on 14 August 1931, at the Roxy; Los Angeles followed on 25 August and the official US release was on 13 September 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Springfield, Massachusetts, United States · North America
Lives
The chemist Richard Frederick Heck was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on 15 August 1931. He developed the Heck reaction, a palladium-catalysed way of joining aryl halides to alkenes.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give 15 August 1931; the history section gives the year.
· Valentine, Texas, United States · North America
Disasters
A strong earthquake struck West Texas in the early hours of 16 August 1931 and damaged many homes and buildings near Valentine.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the local date, 16 August 1931, and its history text gives the origin time as 11:40 UTC on 16 August 1931; Italian Wikipedia and Wikidata agree on the day. English Wikipedia's introduction puts the magnitude at 5.8 to 6.4 mb and its body at 5.6 to 6.4 mb, and Italian Wikipedia gives a Mercalli intensity of VII where English says VIII, so neither a magnitude nor an intensity is given.
· New York City, New York, United States · North America
LivesSome details uncertain
Hamilton Othanel Smith, an American microbiologist, was born in New York City on 23 August 1931 and spent his childhood in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. He is known for his work on restriction enzymes.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 23 August 1931 but its introduction and early-life text give 31 August 1931. The 1978 Nobel Prize biography written by Smith himself, French and German Wikipedia and Wikidata all give 23 August 1931, so that day is used and confidence is kept at medium because of the English discrepancy.
· Berkeley, California, United States · North America
Science
On 26 August 1931 Ernest Lawrence founded the University of California's Radiation Laboratory, now Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in the hills above the Berkeley campus.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and the history section give 26 August 1931.
· Denver, Colorado, United States · North America
Lives
John Leonard Swigert Jr., the NASA astronaut, test pilot and politician, was born in Denver, Colorado, on 30 August 1931. In April 1970 he was command module pilot of Apollo 13.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and early-life section all give 30 August 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Fuyun County, Xinjiang, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
Disasters
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck near Fuyun County in northern Xinjiang, China, on 11 August 1931. The ground ruptured along the Koktokay-Ertai fault for 171 km, with a maximum horizontal shift of 14 m.
NOAA UTC date 1931-08-10 21:18; local time was about 05:18 on 11 August 1931, so the local date is 11 August, which English Wikipedia's data box also gives. NOAA and Wikidata give 10 August, the UTC date.
SourcesWikipediangdc.noaa.gov
· Koishikawa, Tokyo, Japan · Asia
Lives
The Japanese politician Hamaguchi Osachi, prime minister from 1929 to 1931 and leader of the liberal Rikken Minseitō, died in Koishikawa, Tokyo, on 26 August 1931.
· Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
ScienceSome details uncertain
In September 1931 Tsander set up GIRD, a Soviet research bureau in Moscow to study rocketry. It launched the first Soviet liquid-fuel rocket in August 1933.
Wikidata gives 15 September 1931, but the article says September 1931.
· Belgium · Europe
Art & literature
From 3 September 1931 a conservative Belgian newspaper ran Hergé's Tintin in America weekly in its children's supplement, until October 1932. Tintin and his dog Snowy travel to the United States to report on gangsters in Chicago.
English Wikipedia's data box lists the album editions (1932 in black and white, 1945 in colour); the serial began on 3 September 1931 according to the body text, which agrees with Wikidata.
· Lwów, Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine) · Europe
Sport
On 4 September 1931 in Lwów, then in Poland, the international archery federation FITA, now called World Archery, was created. Mieczysław Fularski served as its first president, from 1931 to 1939.
Wikidata, English Wikipedia's data box and the history section all give 4 September 1931.
· Riga, Latvia · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
On 5 and 6 September 1931 Latvians voted on giving Riga Cathedral to the Lutheran Church. About 80% said yes, but they made up only 32% of registered voters, short of the 50% needed.
The article and data box give a two-day vote, 5 and 6 September 1931. Wikidata gives only 6 September 1931, the second day.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Art & literatureSome details uncertain
The Collins Crime Club published Agatha Christie's mystery novel The Sittaford Mystery in Britain on 7 September 1931. It had appeared earlier that year in the United States as The Murder at Hazelmoor.
The US edition from Dodd, Mead came out earlier in 1931 (a New York Times review dated 16 August 1931 is quoted). Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain · Europe
Architecture
The Port Vell Aerial Tramway, which spans Barcelona's old harbour from Montjuïc hill to the seaside district of Barceloneta, opened on 12 September 1931, after the size of the project had been underestimated.
The history section gives 12 September 1931; the introduction says 1931. Wikidata dates the opening to the year 1931.
· Dresden, Germany · Europe
LivesSome details uncertain
The Danish painter Lili Elbe, a transgender woman and among the first people to undergo sex reassignment surgery, died in Dresden on 13 September 1931. Organ rejection after her fourth operation in Germany caused an infection that led to cardiac arrest.
Wikidata gives 13 August 1931 and also lists 12 and 13 September 1931. English Wikipedia's data box, the introduction and the text all give 13 September 1931.
· Florence, Italy · Europe
Architecture
The football stadium in Florence was formally opened on 13 September 1931, when Fiorentina beat Admira Wien 1-0 in the opening match. Work was not completely finished until 1932.
The stadium was renamed for Artemio Franchi in 1991.
· Saint-Étienne, France · Europe
Architecture
The Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne opened on 13 September 1931, named after Geoffroy Guichard, who started the Casino retail group and bought the site. AS Saint-Étienne lost the inaugural match against AS Cannes.
Wikidata also lists 1 January 1931 as an inception date, which is only a year; English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give 13 September 1931.
· Europe
Sport
On 13 September 1931 Britain flew the Schneider Trophy course alone after the French and Italian teams pulled out, and so kept the seaplane trophy for good. A private gift from Lucy, Lady Houston had let Supermarine take part after the government withdrew its support.
English Wikipedia dates the British team's solo flight to 13 September 1931, and French Wikipedia's results table also gives 13 September 1931. The Supermarine S.6B later broke the 400 mph barrier on 29 September. The contest ran twelve times from 1913 until its end in 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Invergordon, Scotland, United Kingdom · Europe
War & conflict
About 1,000 sailors of the British Atlantic Fleet at Invergordon refused orders for two days, 15 and 16 September 1931, in a pay dispute after the new National Government announced public spending cuts.
· Munich, Germany · Europe
LivesSome details uncertain
Geli Raubal, Adolf Hitler's half-niece, died in Munich on 18 September 1931, in a death presumed to have been suicide. She was born in Linz, Austria-Hungary, in 1908.
The death date of 18 September 1931 is given in the introduction and data box and by German and French Wikipedia. In the official account her body was found on 19 September; in 2026 a historian reported that her death certificate puts the discovery on the morning of 18 September. Her death is presumed to have been suicide.
· Tattarisuo, Helsinki, Finland · Europe
Everyday life
On 18 September 1931 police found further mutilated human body parts in the Tattarisuo spring outside Helsinki, after a student had found a woman's severed hand there in August 1930.
The history section gives 18 September 1931 for the later find; the case began with the first discovery in August 1930 and ended with sentences in 1932. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Berlin, Germany · Europe
Lives
The German classical philologist Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff died in Berlin on 25 September 1931 after a short spell in a coma. He was regarded as a leading authority on ancient Greece and its literature.
· Troja, Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) · Europe
Everyday life
Prague Zoo, in the city's Troja district, first admitted the public on 28 September 1931, with Jiří Janda as founding director. Its stated goals were furthering zoology, protecting wildlife and educating the public.
Wikidata also lists 1 July 1973, which does not match the article; English Wikipedia's data box and the history section give 28 September 1931.
· London, United Kingdom · Europe
Lives
The Irish painter Sir William Orpen died in London on 29 September 1931, after falling seriously ill in May. He worked mostly in London and painted portraits of well-off Edwardian society.
· Malmö, Sweden · Europe
Lives
The Swedish actress Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg was born in Malmö on 29 September 1931. She worked in American and European cinema and settled permanently in Italy in 1964.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Mervyn LeRoy directed Five Star Final, a 1931 American drama attacking the excesses of tabloid journalism, with Edward G. Robinson, Aline MacMahon and Boris Karloff.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 26 September 1931, while Wikidata's main date is 10 September 1931 and it lists several other dates, so only the month is stated.
· Forest Hills, New York City, United States · North America
Sport
The 51st U.S. National Championships, now called the US Open, were played on grass at Forest Hills from 3 to 10 September 1931.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931, with start and end dates of 15 August and 10 September 1931; the article gives 3 to 10 September.
· Washington, D.C., United States · North America
Architecture
Construction of the National Archives Building in Washington began with a groundbreaking by an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury on 5 September 1931. The building first opened in 1935 and was completed in 1937.
The date is for the start of construction, which Wikidata labels a founding. English Wikipedia's data box gives 1935 as the year built, and its timeline says the building first opened in 1935 and was finished in 1937. The 1937 completion comes from the timeline list in English Wikipedia's article.
· Belize City, British Honduras (now Belize) · North America
Disasters
The 1931 hurricane, the deadliest in the history of British Honduras, struck Belize City on 10 September 1931 at Category 4 strength and killed an estimated 2,500 people. About 70 percent of the city was destroyed.
English Wikipedia says the hurricane reached Category 4 and made landfall at Belize City on 10 September 1931. The storm's whole life span, 6 to 13 September, comes from its data box, and Wikidata gives the same dates. The death toll of about 2,500 is an estimate. Some recent historians dispute the common belief that the storm struck without warning.
· New York City, United States · North America
Lives
Salvatore Maranzano, nicknamed Little Caesar, was murdered in New York City on 10 September 1931 on Lucky Luciano's orders. He had won the Castellammarese War after Joe Masseria was killed in April 1931.
· Saratoga, Texas, United States · North America
Lives
George Glenn Jones was born in Saratoga, Texas, on 12 September 1931 and became an American country singer and songwriter, raised in Colmesneil in the Big Thicket region.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and early-years section all give 12 September 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Alaska, United States · North America
Science
A partial solar eclipse of magnitude only 0.0471 occurred on Saturday, 12 September 1931, visible from parts of Alaska. It was the 72nd and last eclipse of Solar Saros 114.
This is the same event as the end of Solar Saros 114.
· New York City, United States · North America
Lives
The American actress Anne Bancroft was born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano in New York City on 17 September 1931. She made her film debut in Don't Bother to Knock in 1952.
English Wikipedia's data box names New York City as her birthplace; Wikidata names The Bronx.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Monkey Business, the Marx Brothers' third film, starring Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo, was released on 19 September 1931. Norman Z. McLeod directed, and S. J. Perelman and Will B. Johnstone wrote the script.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 19 September 1931 as the release date; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Stanford, California, United States · North America
Lives
David Starr Jordan, an American ichthyologist who served as Stanford University's first president from 1891 to 1913, died in his campus house on 19 September 1931 after strokes in his last years.
· Fort Worth, Texas, United States · North America
Lives
The actor Larry Martin Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on 21 September 1931. He played the oil baron J. R. Ewing in Dallas from 1978 to 1991.
· Indianapolis, Indiana, United States · North America
Architecture
Indianapolis Municipal Airport opened on 24 September 1931 and took over from the older Stout Field as the city's main airport. Today it is Indianapolis International Airport.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and history section give 24 September 1931.
· Chicago, Illinois, United States · North America
Lives
The American particle physicist James Cronin was born in Chicago on 29 September 1931. He later became professor emeritus at the University of Chicago.
· Kulm, North Dakota, United States · North America
Lives
Angeline Dickinson was born in Kulm, North Dakota, on 30 September 1931. She became an American actress, starting on television in anthology series during the 1950s.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 30 September 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· near Mukden, Manchuria, Republic of China (now Shenyang, China) · Asia
War & conflict
On 18 September 1931 Lieutenant Suemori Kawamoto set off a small amount of dynamite near a Japanese-owned railway at Mukden. The Imperial Japanese Army blamed Chinese dissidents and answered with a full invasion of Manchuria.
· Manchuria, Republic of China (now northeastern China) · Asia
War & conflictSome details uncertain
Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, right after the staged Mukden incident, and by February 1932 had set up the puppet state of Manchukuo. Official Chinese resistance ended on 27 February 1932.
Dates run from the start of the invasion on 18 September 1931 to 27 February 1932, when Ding offered to stop fighting and official Chinese resistance ended. French Wikipedia dates the start to 19 September 1931, the day after the Mukden incident.
· Soluch camp, Benghazi, Italian Cyrenaica (now Libya) · Africa
Lives
Omar al-Mukhtar, known as the Lion of the Desert, was hanged by the Italian authorities at the Soluch concentration camp near Benghazi on 16 September 1931. Wounded and captured in battle five days earlier, he was put to death at the age of 73. A teacher who became a general and a leading figure of the Senussi movement, he had led Libyan resistance to Italian colonization in Cyrenaica since 1911.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box agree on 16 September 1931; Wikidata proposes only 'Libya' as the place. English Wikipedia's section on his capture and execution says he was hanged at Soluch on that day, on the order of an Italian court, and was captured on 11 September 1931. German Wikipedia also says he was hanged in the Soluch camp.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Art & literatureSome details uncertain
Virginia Woolf's novel The Waves, issued by the Hogarth Press in October 1931, consists of soliloquies by six characters, broken up by nine short interludes that trace a coastal scene from sunrise to sunset.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 22 October 1931 as the release date, but Spanish Wikipedia gives 8 October 1931, so only the month is stated. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine) · Europe
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
The Kharkiv Tractor Plant, a flagship project of the first Soviet Five-Year Plan, began full production in October 1931, after its first test tractors in August. It started with a wheeled tractor, the SXTZ 15/30, built from an International Harvester design.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 1930 as the founding year and the introduction says 1930-31, so the founding date is uncertain. The history section dates full production to October 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
The National Socialist Women's League, the Nazi Party's organisation for women, was founded in October 1931 by merging several nationalist and Nazi women's associations, among them the German Women's Order, founded in 1926.
The introduction and German Wikipedia give October 1931 as the founding date, while English Wikipedia's data box gives 1933 as the formation date. Wikidata also gives October 1931.
· Osidge, East Barnet, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Lives
Sir Thomas Lipton, who founded Lipton Tea, died at Osidge, East Barnet, on 2 October 1931. He left most of his fortune to his native Glasgow, along with his yachting trophies.
Wikidata proposes London as the place; English Wikipedia's data box and text give Osidge, East Barnet.
· Copenhagen, Denmark · Europe
Lives
The Danish composer, conductor and violinist Carl Nielsen died of a heart attack in Copenhagen on 3 October 1931. He is widely seen as Denmark's most prominent composer.
· Latvia · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Latvians voted for parliament on 3 and 4 October 1931, and the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party stayed largest, with 21 of 100 seats.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give 3 and 4 October 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Genoa, Kingdom of Italy (now Italy) · Europe
Lives
The astrophysicist Riccardo Giacconi was born in Genoa on 6 October 1931. He became an Italian-American scientist whose work laid foundations for X-ray astronomy, and he taught at Johns Hopkins University.
· Makhachkala, Dagestan ASSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
Everyday life
On 8 October 1931 Dagestan's Council of People's Commissars resolved to open an institute for training teachers in Makhachkala, with classes starting that November. It became Dagestan State University in 1957.
The history section gives the 8 October 1931 resolution; the introduction says the institution began in 1931 under the name Teachers' Training Institute, a different name from the Agro-Pedagogical Institute in the history section. English Wikipedia's data box gives the year.
· Spain · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS) was founded on 10 October 1931, fusing the group around Ramiro Ledesma Ramos's La Conquista del Estado with Onésimo Redondo's Castilian councils.
Wikidata gives only October 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and history section give 10 October 1931. The magazine La Conquista del Estado is part of the same story.
· Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
Sport
The seventh USSR Chess Championship was held in Moscow from 10 October to 11 November 1931, and Mikhail Botvinnik, a future world champion, won the tournament.
Wikidata gives dates of 10 October to 11 November 1931, matching the introduction. English Wikipedia's article on the Lisitsin Gambit says the opening gained wide attention from Georgy Lisitsin's first-round game against Nikolai Riumin in this championship, in Moscow.
· Bad Harzburg, Free State of Brunswick, Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On Sunday, 11 October 1931, a short-lived far-right alliance came together at Bad Harzburg, aiming to give a united opposition to Chancellor Heinrich Brüning's government. It joined Hugenberg's German National People's Party with Hitler's Nazi Party, the Stahlhelm veterans' group and others.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and the events section give 11 October 1931.
· Yeadon, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Architecture
Leeds Bradford Airport opened on 17 October 1931 as Leeds and Bradford Municipal Aerodrome, also called Yeadon Aerodrome, on a site the Leeds and Bradford councils had bought jointly in 1930.
Wikidata also lists 1931 as a founding year with no day; English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and history section give 17 October 1931.
· Poole, Dorset, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Lives
David John Moore Cornwell, later the novelist John le Carré, was born in Poole, Dorset, on 19 October 1931. He worked for MI5 and MI6 in the 1950s and 1960s.
· Vienna, Austria · Europe
Lives
The Austrian author and dramatist Arthur Schnitzler died in Vienna on 21 October 1931 from a brain hemorrhage. He counts as a leading figure of Viennese Modernism.
· British Cyprus (now Cyprus) · Europe
War & conflictSome details uncertain
On 21 October 1931 Greek Cypriots who wanted union (Enosis) with Greece rose against British colonial rule, after the governor had blocked in September a council decision to halt tax rises. The rebels were defeated, and order returned by early November.
The text says the revolt ran from 21 October to early November 1931, while English Wikipedia's data box gives 21 to 25 October. The start date is the same in both; the end is left blank.
· Chistopol, Tatar ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Tatarstan, Russia) · Europe
Lives
The composer Sofia Gubaidulina was born in Chistopol on 24 October 1931. She wrote modernist sacred music and was prolific, composing many chamber, orchestral and choral works.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and early-life section all give 24 October 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Switzerland · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Switzerland held federal elections on 25 October 1931. The Social Democratic Party won the most votes, while the Free Democratic Party stayed the biggest party in the National Council with 52 of the 187 seats.
Wikidata gives the same date as the introduction.
· Warsaw, Poland · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The Brest trials began at the Warsaw Regional Court on 26 October 1931, putting on trial leaders of the Centrolew, a centre-left opposition movement against the Sanation government. They finished on 13 January 1932, with some of the accused sentenced to prison terms.
Wikidata gives 26 October 1931 as the start, matching the article.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On 27 October 1931 the United Kingdom voted, and the three-party National Government, set up two months earlier, took 554 of the 615 seats in the House of Commons. Ramsay MacDonald, who had split from Labour, stayed on as Prime Minister.
· Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, United States · North America
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
Construction began in October 1931 on a granite memorial tower at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, marking the first sustained powered flights by the Wright brothers. The New York architects Robert Rodgers and Alfred Easton Poor designed it.
The memorial was dedicated in 1932, not 1931; the 1931 date is the start of construction in October 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Detroit, United States · North America
Art & literature
Chester Gould's strip about a tough, intelligent police detective first ran on Sunday, 4 October 1931, in the Detroit Mirror.
· New York City, New York, United States · North America
Lives
The American philosopher and historian of ideas Richard McKay Rorty was born in New York City on 4 October 1931. He attended the University of Chicago and Yale University.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and biography section all give 4 October 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada · North America
Art & literature
The Vancouver Art Gallery opened its first building, designed by the architects Sharp and Johnston, to visitors on 5 October 1931 at 1145 West Georgia Street. Its association had been set up under the provincial Society Act in April 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives April 1931, which matches the founding of the association rather than the public opening. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States · North America
Lives
The American sculptor Daniel Chester French died in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on 7 October 1931 and was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord. His 1874 statue The Minute Man stands in Concord.
· West Orange, New Jersey, United States · North America
Lives
The American inventor and businessman Thomas Edison died in West Orange, New Jersey, on 18 October 1931. His name is tied to the incandescent bulb, the phonograph, power distribution and early film.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Edgar Selwyn directed the American drama The Sin of Madelon Claudet, starring Helen Hayes, released on 24 October 1931. Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht adapted the screenplay from Edward Knoblock's play The Lullaby.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 24 October 1931 as the release date; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Hudson River, between Fort Lee, New Jersey, and Manhattan, New York City, United States · North America
Architecture
The suspension bridge over the Hudson River joining Fort Lee, New Jersey, with Manhattan was dedicated at a ceremony on 24 October 1931, and the first traffic crossed it the next day.
Wikidata gives 24 October 1931, the day of the dedication ceremony; the article says it opened to traffic on 25 October.
· Guild Theatre, New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & film
Eugene O'Neill's play cycle Mourning Becomes Electra had its Broadway premiere at the Guild Theatre in New York on 26 October 1931, with Alice Brady as Lavinia and Alla Nazimova as Christine. It ran for 150 performances.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Raoul Walsh directed The Yellow Ticket for Fox Film Corporation, a 1931 American pre-Code drama with Elissa Landi, Lionel Barrymore and Laurence Olivier, released on 30 October 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the day, 30 October 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Platinum Blonde, an American romantic comedy from the director Frank Capra, with Loretta Young, Robert Williams and Jean Harlow in the leads, was released on 31 October 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 31 October 1931; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Chile · South America
Politics & diplomacy
Juan Esteban Montero of the Radical Party won Chile's presidential election on 4 October 1931 in a landslide, with 64% of the vote. The vote took place during the Great Depression, soon after the fall of Carlos Ibáñez's military government.
· Peru · South America
Politics & diplomacy
Peruvians voted on 11 October 1931 for a president and a Constitutional Congress, and Sánchez Cerro (Revolutionary Union) won with 50.8% of the votes cast. The race was mainly a contest between the populist leaders Sánchez and Haya de la Torre.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 11 October 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· South America
Science
A partial solar eclipse of magnitude 0.9005 took place on Sunday, 11 October 1931, visible from southern and central South America and from Antarctica. It belonged to solar Saros series 152.
· Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · South America
Architecture
The Art Deco statue of Jesus on the peak of Corcovado opened on 12 October 1931. Paul Landowski designed it and Heitor da Silva Costa built it, in reinforced concrete and soapstone weighing 635 metric tons.
· Rameswaram, Madras Presidency, British India (now Tamil Nadu, India) · Asia
Lives
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, in full Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, was born in Rameswaram on 15 October 1931. He trained in physics and aerospace engineering, worked mainly at DRDO and ISRO on India's space programme and missile development, and held India's presidency between 2002 and 2007.
Wikidata gives the same day; English Wikipedia's data box adds that he died on 27 July 2015.
· Saigon, French Indochina (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) · Asia
Architecture
Thống Nhất Stadium opened in Saigon on 18 October 1931 with a match between the Cho Lon Police and Gia Dinh Stars, which Cho Lon Police won. It was formerly called Cộng Hoà Stadium.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section both give 18 October 1931. Wikidata agrees.
· Empire of Japan (now Japan) · Asia
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
The October Incident was a failed attempt to seize power in Japan, planned for 21 October 1931 by the Sakurakai, a secret society inside the Imperial Japanese Army, with civilian ultranationalist help. Military police arrested the leading plotters on 17 October.
The introduction dates the attempt to 21 October 1931; the history section says the leading plotters were arrested on 17 October 1931.
· Turkey · Middle East
Economy & trade
Turkey's central bank began operating on 3 October 1931, once the duties of several institutions had been centralised. Its enabling law had been passed on 11 June 1930.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the establishment date as 30 June 1930, the date the founding law was published; the history section gives 3 October 1931 as the day the bank began operating. Wikidata matches the 3 October 1931 date.
· Kafr Tahla, Egypt · Middle East
Lives
The Egyptian writer Nawal El Saadawi was born in the village of Kafr Tahla on 27 October 1931. She became a feminist writer, activist, physician and psychiatrist.
· Klerksdorp, Transvaal, Union of South Africa (now South Africa) · Africa
Lives
Desmond Tutu, born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, on 7 October 1931, became a South African Anglican bishop and theologian who campaigned against apartheid and for human rights.
Wikidata names Munsieville as his birthplace; the article gives Klerksdorp, Transvaal.
· Melbourne, Australia · Oceania
Lives
The Australian general and civil engineer Sir John Monash died of a heart attack in Melbourne on 8 October 1931 and received a state funeral. He led the 4th Brigade at Gallipoli and in May 1918 took over the Australian Corps.
· France · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Jean Renoir's La Chienne, his second sound film, adapts a story of the same name by Georges de La Fouchardière and was released in November 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 19 November 1931 as the release date, but French Wikipedia gives 20 November 1931 for the opening in Paris, so only the month is stated. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Rome, Kingdom of Italy (now Italy) · Europe
Lives
Maria Luisa Ceciarelli, later known as Monica Vitti, was born in Rome on 3 November 1931. She starred in several award-winning Michelangelo Antonioni films of the 1960s.
· Berlin, Germany (Weimar Republic) · Europe
Lives
The future director Mike Nichols was born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky in Berlin on 6 November 1931, during the Weimar Republic. He began in comedy with the Compass Players and then formed the duo Nichols and May with Elaine May.
· Catalonia, Spain · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
The Democratic Union of Catalonia, a regionalist, Christian-democratic party, was founded on 7 November 1931 and existed until 2017. From 1978 it formed the Convergence and Union alliance with Democratic Convergence of Catalonia.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the day, 7 November 1931; the introduction says the party existed from 1931. Wikidata agrees with the data box.
· Kingdom of Yugoslavia · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Yugoslavia held parliamentary elections on 8 November 1931 under a new constitution issued that September, with voters offered a single list backing King Alexander's royal dictatorship.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 8 November 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· St John's Wood, London, United Kingdom · Europe
Stage, music & film
The Gramophone Company, a forerunner of EMI, set up the recording studio in November 1931. It was renamed Abbey Road in 1976, and the Beatles were its most notable clients.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box gives 12 November 1931 and the text says November 1931.
· London, United Kingdom · Europe
Lives
The pathologist and microbiologist Sir David Bruce died in London on 27 November 1931. In 1887 he found the bacterium now called Brucella, the cause of Malta fever, and in Uganda he established that the tsetse fly carries sleeping sickness.
· Germany · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Leontine Sagan directed Mädchen in Uniform, a German romantic drama released on 27 November 1931. It is based on a play by Christa Winsloe, who also wrote the screenplay.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931. English Wikipedia's data box gives 27 November 1931 as the release date, and German Wikipedia places the release in November 1931. English Wikipedia also records an inspection committee showing and a ban on viewing by young people on 1 October 1931.
· Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Construction of the Barrandov film studios in Prague began on 28 November 1931, to designs by Max Urban. The studios were completed in 1933.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 as the founding year; the history section gives 28 November 1931 for the start of building. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Jackson, Louisiana, United States · North America
Lives
The American cornetist Buddy Bolden died in Jackson, Louisiana, on 4 November 1931; his death certificate gives cerebral arteriosclerosis as the cause. He was born in New Orleans on 6 September 1877.
· Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States · North America
Lives
Izear Luster Turner Jr., known as Ike, was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, on 5 November 1931. He worked as a musician, bandleader, songwriter, producer and talent scout.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 5 November 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Montreal, Quebec, Canada · North America
Lives
The Canadian philosopher Charles Margrave Taylor was born in Montreal on 5 November 1931 and raised bilingually by a Francophone Catholic mother and an Anglophone Protestant father. He is now professor emeritus at McGill University.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and early-life section all give 5 November 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· Astor Theatre, New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & film
King Vidor's The Champ, starring Wallace Beery as a washed-up boxer trying to rebuild his life for his young son, premiered at New York's Astor Theatre on 9 November 1931. Jackie Cooper also stars.
English Wikipedia's data box release date and the premiere date in the production section agree on 9 November 1931; Wikidata gives only the year.
· Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, United States · North America
Stage, music & film
On 10 November 1931 the 4th Academy Awards honored films from August 1930 to July 1931, and Cimarron won Best Picture. Vice President Charles Curtis addressed the 1,800 guests.
Nominees were announced on 5 October 1931.
· Toronto, Ontario, Canada · North America
Architecture
Maple Leaf Gardens, an indoor ice hockey arena designed by Ross and Macdonald, opened in Toronto on 12 November 1931. The Toronto Maple Leafs played there until 1999.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the opening day, 12 November 1931; the introduction gives 1931 for construction. Wikidata agrees with the data box.
· Staten Island, New York, and Bayonne, New Jersey, United States · North America
Architecture
The Bayonne Bridge, a steel arch bridge over the Kill Van Kull between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey, opened on 15 November 1931, a day after its dedication ceremonies. Othmar Ammann and Cass Gilbert designed it for the Port Authority.
Wikidata gives a 1931 date, and its founding-date field gives 15 November 1931; the history section gives the same day.
· New York City, United States · North America
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
The Whitney Museum of American Art opened on 18 November 1931, a year after Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a socialite, sculptor and art patron, founded it. Juliana Force directed it from 1931 to 1948.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931, and English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give 1930 as the year of founding; the history section gives the opening date of 18 November 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & film
James Whale directed Frankenstein for Universal Pictures, with Colin Clive as the scientist and Boris Karloff as the creature. It reached cinemas on 21 November 1931 and led to sequels and spin-offs.
Wikidata also lists 28 November 1932; English Wikipedia's data box gives 21 November 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Clarence Brown's MGM drama Possessed, starring Joan Crawford and Clark Gable, was released on 21 November 1931. It follows Marian Martin, a factory worker who becomes the mistress of a rich attorney.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 21 November 1931 as the release date, which matches Wikidata.
· Omaha, Nebraska, United States · North America
Art & literatureSome details uncertain
The Joslyn Memorial building in Omaha, Nebraska, begun by Sarah H. Joslyn as a memorial to her husband, the businessman George A. Joslyn, opened on 29 November 1931 with galleries, a concert hall, a lecture hall, a library and classrooms.
The history section gives 29 November 1931 for the opening; English Wikipedia's data box and Wikidata give the year.
· Argentina · South America
Politics & diplomacy
Argentina held general elections on 8 November 1931, after a coup had removed the ageing President Hipólito Yrigoyen in September 1930. The UCR, barred from running its chosen nominee, boycotted the election.
Wikidata gives the same date as the introduction.
· Ruijin, Jiangxi, Chinese Soviet Republic (now China) · Asia
Everyday life
In November 1931 the Chinese Communist Party set up the Red China News Agency in the Soviet Zone of Ruijin, in Jiangxi province. It took the name Xinhua in November 1935.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Tianjin, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
The Tientsin incident was an operation planned by Japan's Kwantung Army, orchestrated by Colonels Kenji Doihara and Itagaki Seishiro, to place Puyi on the throne of Japanese-controlled Manchuria.
The article describes events through November 1931; Wikidata gives November 1931.
· Nen River bridge near Jiangqiao, south of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
War & conflict
On 4 November 1931 Chinese troops under General Ma Zhanshan, defying a Kuomintang order not to resist Japan, defended a railway bridge over the Nen River against Japanese and collaborationist forces. The clash ended in a Japanese victory.
This was the opening battle of the Jiangqiao campaign, and the two share a start date.
· Nen River bridge near Jiangqiao, Heilongjiang, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
War & conflictSome details uncertain
Fighting broke out soon after a repair crew under Japanese guard began work on a railway bridge over the Nen River on 4 November 1931, during Japan's invasion of Manchuria. General Ma Zhanshan ignored a Kuomintang ban on more resistance and defended the bridge.
Wikidata gives 18 November 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and the history section give 4 November 1931 for the start of fighting.
· Ruijin, Jiangxi, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
Politics & diplomacy
On 7 November 1931 the Communist leaders Mao Zedong and Zhu De declared the Chinese Soviet Republic, a proto-state inside the Republic of China, with its capital at Ruijin in the Jiangxi Soviet. A national congress of soviet delegates announced it.
· near Jinan, Shandong, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
Lives
A plane crash in Shandong, near Jinan and Tai'an, killed the Chinese poet Xu Zhimo on 19 November 1931, aged 34, as he flew from Nanjing to Beijing in a Stinson Detroiter. He had tried to free Chinese poetry from its traditional forms.
· Al-Maqal, Basra, Iraq under British mandate (now Iraq) · Middle East
Sport
The multi-sport club Al-Mina'a was founded in Al-Maqal, Basra, on 22 November 1931. It plays in the top tier of Iraqi football.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 22 November 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931. The article says another club, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, was also founded in 1931.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Art & literatureSome details uncertain
The Floating Admiral, a detective novel written in 1931 by members of Britain's Detection Club, was published in December 1931 by Hodder & Stoughton. Twelve authors wrote a chapter each, including Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers.
English Wikipedia's data box gives December 1931 as the release date; the introduction says the book was written in 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Paris, France · Europe
Lives
The French composer and influential teacher Vincent d'Indy died in Paris on 2 December 1931. He had studied with César Franck and co-founded the Schola Cantorum in Paris.
· Moscow, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
Religion & philosophySome details uncertain
On 5 December 1931 Soviet authorities destroyed the original Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow on the Politburo's order, to clear the site for a giant Palace of the Soviets. The palace was never built.
The day-level date comes from an image caption in the history section; the introduction says 1931. Wikidata gives 5 December 1931. The introduction says the 1812 Overture premiered at the cathedral, while a later section puts the first performance in a tent outside the unfinished church.
· Germany (Weimar Republic) · Europe
Economy & trade
On 8 December 1931 President Paul von Hindenburg created the Reich Flight Tax by decree, a capital control law meant to stop money fleeing the Weimar Republic. It applied to wealthy emigrants at an initial rate of 25 percent.
Wikidata gives 8 December 1931 as the start date.
· Rome, Kingdom of Italy (now Italy) · Europe
Lives
Antonio Salandra, an Italian conservative politician and Italy's 21st prime minister from 1914 to 1916, died in Rome on 9 December 1931. He also worked as a journalist and writer.
· Spain · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On 9 December 1931 Spain's Constituent Assembly approved a constitution for the Second Spanish Republic, founded that April. It set up a secular democracy with regional autonomy, votes for women, civil marriage and divorce.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931 as its main date (and 9 December 1931 as a publication date).
· United Kingdom · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Alfred Hitchcock's British romance Rich and Strange was released in the United Kingdom on 10 December 1931. Hitchcock, Alma Reville and Val Valentine adapted Dale Collins's 1930 novel for the screen.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 10 December 1931 for the United Kingdom and 1 January 1932 for the United States; Wikidata's main date is 10 December 1931 and it lists 1 January 1932 as an alternative.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On 11 December 1931 the United Kingdom Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster, which gave the self-governing Dominions much more independence and turned the principles of the 1926 Balfour Declaration into law.
· Maly Opera Theatre, Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Vissarion Shebalin's version of Mussorgsky's comic opera The Fair at Sorochyntsi was first given on 12 December 1931 at the Maly Opera Theatre in Leningrad, with Samuil Samosud conducting.
This is the premiere of Shebalin's completion, not of the opera itself; English Wikipedia's data box gives 13 October 1917 as the premiere date of an earlier version, and Wikidata lists 26 October 1917 as an alternative.
· Marnes-la-Coquette, France · Europe
LivesSome details uncertain
The French polymath Gustave Le Bon died at Marnes-la-Coquette on 13 December 1931. His best-known work, The Crowd, from 1895, is a founding text of crowd psychology.
Wikidata proposes Paris as the place of death, while English Wikipedia's data box gives Marnes-la-Coquette; the data box is followed here.
· Notting Hill, London, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Lives
Vera Page, a British schoolgirl, went missing in Notting Hill, London, on 14 December 1931; her body turned up two days afterwards in undergrowth on nearby Addison Road. No one was ever brought to trial, and the case officially remains unsolved.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 14 December 1931 as her date of death, the day she disappeared; her body was found two days later.
· Utrecht, Netherlands · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The NSB, a Dutch organisation that was fascist and later Nazi before becoming a political party, was founded in Utrecht on 14 December 1931, at a time when several nationalist, fascist and Nazi parties arose. From 1931 to 1935 it had its own black-uniformed paramilitary wing, the Weerbaarheidsafdeling.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box give 14 December 1931; the history section gives the year.
· Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
The Social Democratic Party, trade unions and allied groups created the Iron Front on 16 December 1931, chiefly to protect liberal democracy from totalitarian creeds and from right-wing and far-left politics.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section both give 16 December 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· France · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
René Clair's French musical film À nous la liberté, with a score by Georges Auric, was released on 18 December 1931. Critics praised its use of sound, and its sets earned an Academy Award nomination.
English Wikipedia's data box gives a release date of 18 December 1931; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Finland · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
In a referendum on 29 and 30 December 1931 Finnish voters were asked whether to continue the prohibition law passed in 1919, and 70.5 percent chose total abolition. Turnout was only 44.4 percent.
Wikidata gives 30 December 1931; English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give 29 and 30 December.
· Castilblanco, Badajoz, Spain · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
On 31 December 1931 peasants and the Civil Guard confronted each other in Castilblanco, Spain, after the Civil Guard had dissolved a peaceful demonstration called there on 20 December by the land workers' federation to ask for work.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 31 December 1931; Wikidata agrees.
· El Salvador · North America
War & conflict
On 2 December 1931 El Salvador's armed forces overthrew President Arturo Araujo, as junior officers began the coup that evening; Araujo fled to Guatemala on 4 December. A military junta then handed power to the vice president, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 2 December 1931; Wikidata agrees. The coup began in the evening, local time.
· Springfield, Illinois, United States · North America
Lives
The American poet Vachel Lindsay died in Springfield, Illinois, on 5 December 1931. He took his own life, though newspaper reports at the time blamed a heart attack.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Burt Gillett directed Mickey's Orphans, the 36th Mickey Mouse short, released on 5 December 1931. Trade papers that month reviewed it as a Christmas cartoon.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the day, 5 December 1931; reviews dated 19 and 20 December 1931 are consistent with a December release. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
John Ford directed Arrowsmith, a 1931 American drama headed by Ronald Colman and Helen Hayes, released on 7 December 1931. Sidney Howard adapted Sinclair Lewis's 1925 novel, departing substantially from the book.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 7 December 1931 as the release date; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Humacao, Puerto Rico, United States · North America
Lives
Rita Moreno, whose birth name was Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano, was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on 11 December 1931. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004.
· Lake Placid, Florida, United States · North America
Lives
The American librarian and educator Melvil Dewey, who created the Dewey Decimal method of classifying library books, died at Lake Placid, Florida, on 26 December 1931. He helped found the American Library Association.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released Mata Hari, directed by George Fitzmaurice, on 26 December 1931, with Greta Garbo in the title role. The story draws freely on the dancer Mata Hari, put to death for espionage during the First World War.
English Wikipedia's data box gives a release date of 26 December 1931; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Rouben Mamoulian directed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with Fredric March in the lead, adapting Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 tale. It opened in New York on 31 December 1931.
English Wikipedia lists a Los Angeles premiere on 24 December 1931 and a New York opening on 31 December 1931, plus a US release on 3 January 1932. French Wikipedia calls the New York showing on 31 December 1931 the world premiere and puts Los Angeles on 2 January 1932. The New York opening is the one day both give. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Buenos Aires, Argentina · South America
Lives
José Figueroa Alcorta, an Argentine lawyer and politician, died on 27 December 1931. He was President of Argentina from 12 March 1906 to 12 October 1910 and President of the Supreme Court from 1929 until his death.
· Kuchwada, Bhopal State, British India (now India) · Asia
Lives
Osho was born Chandra Mohan Jain on 11 December 1931 in Kuchwada, Bhopal State. He founded the Rajneesh movement and taught a form called dynamic meditation.
English Wikipedia's data box names Kuchwada in Bhopal State as his birthplace; Wikidata names Udaipura.
· Kolkata, British India (now India) · Asia
ScienceSome details uncertain
On 17 December 1931 Mahalanobis met Pramatha Nath Banerji, Nikhil Ranjan Sen and Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee in Kolkata, a meeting that led to the Indian Statistical Institute. Formal registration followed on 28 April 1932.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give 17 December 1931 for the meeting that led to its establishment; formal registration came on 28 April 1932. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Jinzhou, Liaoning, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
War & conflictSome details uncertain
The Jinzhou Operation was part of Japan's invasion of Manchuria. After armoured trains had been sent from Mukden toward Jinzhou in late November 1931, a new Japanese offensive began on 21 December, and Japanese forces occupied Jinzhou on 3 January 1932.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 21 December 1931, the day a new offensive began. The history section describes an earlier advance by armoured trains in late November 1931 and the occupation of Jinzhou on 3 January 1932, so the operation's exact start is uncertain. Wikidata matches the data box date.
· Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine · Middle East
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
In December 1931 the World Islamic Congress met in Jerusalem, called by the Grand Mufti, Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, and the Indian leader Maulana Shaukat Ali. Delegates came from 22 Muslim countries.
Wikidata gives 7 to 17 December 1931; the article text gives the month.
Events we can place in 1931 but not in a particular month.
· Europe
Art & literature
Dalí's Surrealist oil painting The Persistence of Memory is dated 1931. It was first shown at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1932, where it sold for $250, and since 1934 it has belonged to MoMA in New York.
Wikidata's exact-date field gives only the year 1931, not a specific day.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Art & literature
In 1931 the British newspaper The Times commissioned Times New Roman, conceived by Stanley Morison of Monotype with Victor Lardent, a lettering artist at The Times. It first appeared in the paper on 3 October 1932.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; the article says it was commissioned in 1931 and first printed on 3 October 1932.
· Europe
TechnologySome details uncertain
In 1931 Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska made magnified pictures of mesh grids placed over an anode opening, using an electron beam. Who invented the transmission electron microscope is still disputed.
Who invented the transmission electron microscope is disputed, so confidence is medium. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Lwów, Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine) · Europe
Sport
The first competition held under the World Archery Championships name took place in 1931, with Lwów hosting the first of the outdoor championships.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box give the year 1931.
· Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
In 1931 the SS and the Nazi Party created the SD as their intelligence service. It began as the Ic-Dienst, working from one apartment and answering directly to Heinrich Himmler.
Wikidata gives 5 October 1931 and German Wikipedia gives 4 September 1931 for the secret order that created the service, so only the year is stored; the English article states 1931.
· Stuttgart, Germany · Europe
Economy & trade
The engineer Ferdinand Porsche founded his firm in Stuttgart in 1931, together with Adolf Rosenberger and Anton Piëch, who was then Porsche's son-in-law.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Berlin, Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
In 1930 and 1931 Walter Stennes, the Berlin SA chief, and his men rebelled against the limits Hitler placed on the role of the Nazi storm troopers. Stennes twice ransacked the Berlin regional party offices, and he and his followers were expelled.
The revolt ran across 1930 and 1931, beginning with SA demands in August 1930. Wikidata gives 1 April 1931, so the date is given at year level with low confidence.
· Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
Architecture
Work began in 1931 on the White Sea-Baltic Canal, a man-made ship canal linking the White Sea with Lake Onega. Gulag prisoners built it by forced labor, and it opened on 2 August 1933.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box give 1931 as the start; the text places construction between 1931 and 1933.
· Europe
Art & literature
Arie de Jong revised the language Volapük in the 1920s with the blessing of its remaining leaders, and the result was published in 1931 as Volapük Nulik, 'New Volapük'. His reforms simplified the language and caused a small revival in the 1930s.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box also lists 1931 for Reformed Volapük.
· Kitzbühel, Austria · Europe
Sport
The Hahnenkamm Race, an alpine skiing competition in Kitzbühel, Austria, was first run in 1931. In its first six years it used five different slopes, and since 1937 it has used the Streif and Ganslernhang on the Hahnenkamm.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box lists 1931 as the first running.
· Switzerland · Europe
Art & literature
Hermann Hesse started writing The Glass Bead Game in Switzerland in 1931. It was his last full-length novel, published in Switzerland in 1943 after Germany rejected it because of his anti-fascist views.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the release year as 1943; the 1931 date is when the writing began. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Poissy, France · Europe
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret designed the Villa Savoye in Poissy, a country retreat for the Savoye family. It went up in reinforced concrete between 1928 and 1931, and could not be lived in until 1931.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; the article says the villa was built between 1928 and 1931 and was not habitable until 1931.
· London, United Kingdom · Europe
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
In 1931 Harry Beck designed the first schematic map of the London Underground, showing how stations and lines connect rather than their true geographic positions. His diagram replaced geographic maps, the last of which was the 1932 edition.
Beck's design is dated to 1931; a Beck map published in 1933 is pictured, so the design year and the first public printing differ. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· London, United Kingdom · Europe
Stage, music & film
Dame Ninette de Valois founded the company in 1931, when the reopening of Sadler's Wells brought a ballet company and school called Vic-Wells into the theatre. Frederick Ashton joined as associate choreographer when it began.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box give the year 1931.
· France · Europe
Art & literature
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's second novel appeared in French as Vol de nuit in 1931, published by Gallimard with an introduction by André Gide. It won the Prix Femina for 1931.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 for the French publication and 1932 for the English one.
· Rotterdam, Netherlands · Europe
Architecture
The Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam, designed by Leendert van der Vlugt with the civil engineer J.G. Van der Leeuw, was built between 1925 and 1931. It is seen as a prime example of modernist, functionalist architecture and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 as the completion date.
· Ealing Green, London, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Stage, music & film
Ealing Studios in West London opened its current stages for sound in 1931, with all production moving there in December that year. Filmmaking on the site goes back to 1902, when Will Barker bought White Lodge.
· Germany · Europe
Religion & philosophySome details uncertain
In 1931 the German Christians, a movement inside the German Evangelical Church that followed Nazi principles, organised as a church party, a nominating group aiming to win church elections.
English Wikipedia says the German Christians organised as a church party in 1931 to contest elections in the old-Prussian Union church, but German Wikipedia says the first group of that name began in Thuringia in 1931 and the Reich-wide church party was founded in Berlin on 6 June 1932. Wikidata gives November 1931, so only the year is given. The introduction says the movement existed between 1933 and 1945.
· Athens, Greece · Europe
Architecture
The Athens Charter, a seven-point statement on how to restore historic monuments, was adopted in 1931 at a congress of architects and technicians in Athens organized by the International Museums Office.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Paris, France · Europe
Art & literatureSome details uncertain
Artists including Theo van Doesburg and Jean Hélion started the loosely organized group Abstraction-Création in Paris in 1931 to promote abstract art and offset the influence of the Surrealists led by André Breton.
The introduction says the group was formed in 1931; English Wikipedia's data box lists its active years as 1932 to 1936, which matches the publication of its yearbooks.
· Finland · Europe
Technology
Tikkakoski Oy began serial production of Finland's Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun in 1931, and most of the early guns were bought by the Finnish Defence Forces. Koskinen and Lahti designed it, building on the earlier M-22 and KP/-26.
English Wikipedia's data box gives production years of 1931 to 1953; the introduction says it remained in use until the 1980s.
· Belgium · Europe
Art & literatureSome details uncertain
Hergé's Tintin in the Congo, the second book of The Adventures of Tintin, ran weekly in Le Petit Vingtième from 1930 to June 1931 and then appeared as a collected volume in 1931. It was popular in Belgium and was also serialised in France.
The collected volume appeared in 1931; the weekly serial ended in June 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Mürren, Switzerland · Europe
Sport
Mürren, Switzerland, hosted the first alpine skiing world championships in 1931. Through the 1930s the event was held every year in Europe.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931. English Wikipedia's data box lists January to February as the usual timing of the event, but the 1931 meeting is dated only to the year.
· Shepperton, Surrey, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
The Scottish businessman Norman Loudon bought Littleton Park in Surrey in 1931 to house a new film company he had founded, Sound Film Producing & Recording Studios. The studio facility itself opened in 1932.
The studio was founded in 1931 but, according to the history section, the facility opened in 1932. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Soviet Union · Europe
Art & literatureSome details uncertain
The Little Golden Calf, a satirical picaresque novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, was published in 1931. Its hero, Ostap Bender, also appears in their earlier novel The Twelve Chairs.
The article gives the year of publication; Wikidata also gives only 1931.
· Germany · Europe
Science
The mathematics reviewing journal Zentralblatt für Mathematik und ihre Grenzgebiete was founded in 1931 on the initiative of Otto Neugebauer, Richard Courant, Harald Bohr and the publisher Ferdinand Springer. It is now zbMATH Open, a service for reviews and abstracts of mathematics articles.
English Wikipedia's introduction credits Otto Neugebauer with founding it in 1931, and its history section names Richard Courant, Neugebauer, Harald Bohr and the publisher Ferdinand Springer as the people behind the new journal. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Leiden, Netherlands · Europe
Science
The museum opened in Leiden in 1931 as Het Nederlandsch Historisch Natuurwetenschappelijk Museum. It now focuses on the history of science and medicine, in a former convent in central Leiden.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give the year. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
Heinrich Himmler and Richard Walther Darré founded the SS Race and Settlement Main Office in 1931, the SS department charged with guarding the supposed racial purity of the organisation.
The article gives the year 1931 for the founding. Wikidata gives 31 December 1931, which matches the article's date for Himmler's marriage order, not the founding itself.
· Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany · Europe
Economy & trade
Ferdinand Porsche and his son-in-law Anton Piëch founded a company in Stuttgart in 1931 called Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche GmbH. Today's Porsche SE is a German holding company known mainly for the Volkswagen Group.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction both give 1931, and the introduction says the company was founded in Stuttgart under an earlier company name. Wikidata dates the founding to the year 1931.
· Wolfsberg, Carinthia, Austria · Europe
Sport
Wolfsberger AC was founded in 1931 in Wolfsberg, Carinthia, by founders including Adolf Ptazcowsky, Karl Weber and Michael Schlacher.
· Switzerland · Europe
Everyday life
The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, SRG SSR, was founded in 1931 as the country's public broadcaster, beginning as a body coordinating the regional broadcasting associations. It received the only broadcasting licence issued by the Federal Council.
· Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England, United Kingdom · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
Donington Park, a motor-racing circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, was carved out of the Donington Hall estate and opened in 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box says the circuit opened in 1931 and reopened in 1977. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Northern Italy, Kingdom of Italy (now Italy) · Europe
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
Work began in 1931 on the Alpine Wall, a system of fortifications along Italy's northern frontier that Mussolini ordered built in the years before World War II. It was planned to run from Ventimiglia in the west to Fiume in the east.
The history section says work began in 1931, while English Wikipedia's data box gives a building period of 1930 to 1942. Wikidata dates the creation to the year 1931.
· Greece · Europe
Sport
The Greek Cup, a knockout football tournament organised by the Hellenic Football Federation, dates from 1931. AEK Athens won the first Greek Cup, in 1932.
The first cup final took place in the 1931-32 season; the cup itself dates from 1931.
· Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Europe
Architecture
The House on the Embankment, a constructivist apartment block beside the Moskva River designed by Boris Iofan, was finished in 1931 as a residence for the Soviet elite. No residential building in Moscow was taller until 1952.
English Wikipedia's data box gives construction from 1928 to completion in 1931, and the history section says the block was completed in 1931. Wikidata dates the creation to the year 1931.
· Orval Abbey, Gaume, Belgium · Europe
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
The present-day brewery inside the walls of Notre-Dame d'Orval abbey in Belgium's Gaume region came into use in 1931 and employed lay workers. It was meant to bring in money for rebuilding the monastery.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give 1931 for the brewery coming into use; the first shipment is dated 1932. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) · Europe
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
Bolshoy Dom, the Big House, an office building at 4 Liteyny Avenue, was built in 1931 and 1932 for the OGPU, the Soviet secret police, to a late Constructivist design by architects including Noi Trotsky and Andrey Ol.
English Wikipedia's data box gives construction from 1931 to 1932 and the introduction says it was built in 1931-32, so the date marks the start of building, not an opening. Wikidata dates the founding to the year 1931.
· Manresa, Spain · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
Bàsquet Manresa began in 1931 under the name Manresa Bàsquetbol Club, then in 1934 joined Club Bàsquet Bages to form Unió Manresana de Bàsquet. It plays in Spain's Liga ACB.
The article gives the year 1931; Wikidata gives 27 October 1931.
· Reinickendorf, Berlin, Germany · Europe
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
The White City, a large housing estate in Berlin's Reinickendorf district, was built between 1928 and 1931 to ease the housing shortage, to a plan by Otto Rudolf Salvisberg.
The introduction says the estate was built during the years 1928 to 1931, so 1931 is the completion year. The introduction gives two different apartment totals, so no count is given. Wikidata dates its creation to the year 1931.
· Athens, Greece · Europe
Art & literatureSome details uncertain
In 1931 the Benakis family gave their Athens house and their collection of Islamic and Byzantine objects to the museum that Antonis Benakis had established and endowed in 1930, in memory of his father Emmanuel.
English Wikipedia dates the museum's establishment to 1930 and says the Benakis family donated its Athens house and collection in 1931. French Wikipedia says the collection was offered to Greece on 22 April 1931 at a ceremony, and German Wikipedia says the museum opened in 1931. Wikidata gives 1931 as an opening year.
· Bremgarten forest, Bern, Switzerland · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
The Circuit Bremgarten was built in 1931 as a motorcycle racing track in the Bremgarten forest, north of Bern. The Bern (Swiss) Grand Prix for motorcycles was held there that August, and Stanley Woods of Ireland won the 500cc race on a Norton.
The article gives 1931 as the year the track was built and says the first motorcycle Grand Prix was held there in August 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Belair, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg · Europe
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
The Stade Municipal, later Stade Josy Barthel, was built in the Belair district of Luxembourg City between 1928 and 1931. It was entirely rebuilt in 1990 and later served as Luxembourg's national stadium.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the building period as 1928 to 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacySome details uncertain
From 1931 to 1945 the SS used the motto 'Meine Ehre heißt Treue', rendered 'My honor is loyalty'.
The article gives the year 1931 for the motto's adoption. Wikidata also gives only the year.
· Plouay, Brittany, France · Europe
Sport
The cycling race now called the Bretagne Classic was created in 1931 as the Circuit de Plouay by Dr Berty, who used his influence to bring some of French cycling's biggest names to the first edition.
English Wikipedia calls Berty a former Tour de France doctor, but French Wikipedia (which spells the name Berthy) says he was Tour doctor only from 1952 to 1954, so that detail is left out. French Wikipedia dates the first edition to 1 September 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Orthez, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France · Europe
Sport
Élan Béarnais began in 1931 in Orthez, a town in southwest France. The club is now based in Pau and plays in France's top league, the LNB Élite.
· Venice, Kingdom of Italy (now Italy) · Europe
Everyday life
Giuseppe Cipriani opened Harry's Bar, a restaurant at Calle Vallaresso 1323 in Venice, in 1931.
The article gives the year. Wikidata gives 31 May 1931.
· Zokniai, Šiauliai, Lithuania · Europe
Architecture
Zokniai aerodrome was built in 1931 as a second air base for the Lithuanian Air Force. The site is now Šiauliai Air Base, a major Lithuanian Air Force facility.
· Europe
Economy & trade
The firm began in 1931 as H.W. Egli - Bull, formed to exploit the punched card patents of the Norwegian engineer Fredrik Rosing Bull. It is now a French computer company based in Les Clayes-sous-Bois, west of Paris.
The article gives the year. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Johannisthal, Berlin, Germany · Europe
Economy & trade
The German aircraft maker Albatros Flugzeugwerke, founded in Johannisthal, Berlin, on 20 December 1909 by Walter Huth and Otto Wiener, merged into Focke-Wulf in 1931.
The article gives the year of the merger. Wikidata gives only the year 1931. English Wikipedia's data box describes the company as a manufacturer from 1909 to 1931.
· Germany · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Left-wing members broke away from the SPD in autumn 1931 to form the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany, a centrist Marxist party.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 and its text says autumn 1931, with party leaders listed as taking office in September 1931. German Wikipedia says the party was founded in Berlin on 4 October 1931 and puts its peak membership at about 25,000, while the English text speaks of around 20,000 breakaway members, so no figure is used and only the year is kept. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Wolverhampton, England, United Kingdom · Europe
Economy & trade
A. J. Stevens & Co. of Wolverhampton, founded by the Stevens brothers, made motorcycles and cars as an independent firm until 1931, when it was sold to Matchless.
English Wikipedia gives 1931 for the sale to Matchless. German Wikipedia says the firm ran into money trouble in 1931 and was bought by Harry and Charlie Collier of Matchless, who moved production to Plumstead; it dates the Associated Motor Cycles group to 1938 and French Wikipedia to 1937. French Wikipedia also dates the firm's creation to 1899 where English Wikipedia says 1909, so no start year is given. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Finland · Europe
Everyday life
Miss Suomi, Finland's national beauty pageant, was founded in 1931, and its first contest was held the same year.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and history section give 1931 for the founding and first contest; Wikidata gives only the year 1931. Finnish Wikipedia also says the Miss Suomi contest proper was first held in 1931, after an earlier beauty contest in 1919. The introduction says winners were sent to Miss Universe, but the history section shows Finland's entries from 1952 came first from a different contest, Suomen Neito. The 1952 crowning of Armi Kuusela, the Suomen Neito winner, as the first Miss Universe is in English Wikipedia's history section.
· Tampere, Finland · Europe
Sport
Ilves was founded in Tampere in the spring of 1931. Its opening match, against Tampereen Palloilijat, followed that winter.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give the spring of 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· United Kingdom · Europe
Politics & diplomacy
Supporters of the National Government who had come from the Labour Party formed National Labour in 1931. Ramsay MacDonald led it until 1937, followed by his son Malcolm until 1945.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give the year 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931. The formation of the National Government and the October 1931 general election are related events.
· Latvia · Europe
Sport
Latvia's top ice hockey league was established in 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give the year 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Vienna, Austria · Europe
SportSome details uncertain
Senior skaters from European member nations of the ISU competed for the continental title at the 1931 European Figure Skating Championships in Vienna.
Wikidata gives only January 1931, so the date is given at year level.
· Augustenborg, Denmark · Europe
LivesSome details uncertain
The ducal line of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, named after Augustenborg Palace in Denmark, died out in 1931 with Albert, who had been duke since 1921.
The history section gives the year 1931. Wikidata gives 27 April 1931.
· Europe
Sport
The European Drivers' Championship, run by the AIACR (forerunner of today's FIA), started its first season in 1931 and continued through 1939, skipping 1933 and 1934. Drivers scored points in major Grand Prix races.
The article gives the year 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931. English Wikipedia's introduction says the championship paused in 1933–34, and its results table marks 1933 and 1934 as not held.
· Milan, Kingdom of Italy (now Italy) · Europe
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
In 1931 the offices running Milan's public transport were made independent as the Azienda Tranviaria Municipale, known as ATM. It now serves Milan and 46 surrounding municipalities.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give the year 1931. Wikidata gives 22 May 1931.
· Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine) · Europe
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
The Supreme Soviet of the National Economy founded the steelworks in Kryvyi Rih in 1931 under the name Krivorozhstal, and the foundation stone was laid that year.
The introduction says the company was founded in 1931 and the background section says the decree and foundation stone date from that year, while English Wikipedia's data box gives 1934, the year the introduction says the first blast furnace was working. Wikidata gives 16 June 1931; the text itself supports only the year.
· Switzerland · Europe
TechnologySome details uncertain
Radio for Italian-speaking Switzerland, the ancestor of today's RSI, was set up in 1931 as part of the founding of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Its station on Monte Ceneri began broadcasting in the early 1930s.
Italian Wikipedia says the service began in 1931 within the founding of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, and English Wikipedia's data box and Wikidata also give 1931. English Wikipedia's history text instead says it was set up in 1925 as Radio Monte Ceneri, with regular transmissions from 1933; Italian Wikipedia gives 1932 or 1933 for the first broadcasts. The founding year is therefore disputed and kept with low confidence.
· Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom · Europe
Religion & philosophySome details uncertain
St Mirin's, the principal church of the Catholic Diocese of Paisley, was finished in 1931 near the site of an earlier church of the same name from 1808. A solemn mass in 1932 formally opened it.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give completion in 1931; the formal opening mass was in 1932. Wikidata dates the creation to the year 1931.
· Vatican City · Europe
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
The Governor's Palace, where the Vatican City State's Pontifical Commission sits, went up in an eclectic style between 1927 and 1931 behind St. Peter's Basilica, within the Vatican Gardens.
The history section gives the building period as 1927 to 1931, so 1931 is the completion year. Wikidata dates the creation to the year 1931.
· Shostka, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Sumy Oblast, Ukraine) · Europe
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
Production started in 1931 at Svema, a major state-owned Soviet manufacturer of photographic film and magnetic tapes in Shostka, then in the Ukrainian SSR.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the founding year as 1931 and its introduction says manufacturing started in 1931, but its history section dates the plant's origin to 1928, as a joint venture with the French firm Lumière. Wikidata dates the founding to the year 1931. The date given is the start of production.
· Monaco · Europe
Architecture
The Jardin Exotique de Monaco, a cliffside botanical garden mainly of exotic succulent plants, first opened in 1931. Prince Louis II formally inaugurated it on 7 February 1933.
The introduction says the garden first opened in 1931 and the history section says it was open from 1931 and formally inaugurated on 7 February 1933. Wikidata dates the opening to the year 1931.
· Honduras · North America
Economy & trade
Honduras brought in the lempira as its currency in 1931, exchanging it for the peso one for one. Coins were issued that year, and paper money followed in 1932.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box both give the year 1931.
· Black Canyon, Colorado River, on the Nevada-Arizona border, United States · North America
Architecture
In early 1931 the consortium Six Companies, Inc. began building the Hoover Dam in Black Canyon on the Colorado River, after President Hoover told the builders to start in March rather than October. Building ran until 1936.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931. The text says 'early 1931' for the start and mentions a presidential order to begin work in March 1931.
· Columbia University, New York City, United States · North America
ScienceSome details uncertain
In late 1931 the Columbia University chemist Harold Urey used spectroscopy to detect deuterium, a stable form of hydrogen whose nucleus holds a proton and a neutron. He won a Nobel Prize for the discovery in 1934.
English Wikipedia's history section puts the discovery in late 1931. Wikidata gives the year only.
· North America
Science
Samuel Stephens Kistler made the first documented aerogel in 1931, using supercritical drying to replace the liquid in a silica gel with gas. The result is a solid that is very light and conducts heat very poorly.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· 1619 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, United States · North America
Architecture
The Brill Building at 1619 Broadway, north of Times Square, was built in 1931 to a design by Victor Bark Jr. Its original name was the Alan E. Lefcourt Building.
· Farmingdale, New York, United States · North America
Economy & trade
Alexander de Seversky, a Russian émigré who flew in the First World War and lost a leg in it, founded the Seversky Aircraft Company in Farmingdale, Long Island, in 1931. It was reorganized as Republic Aviation in 1939.
The 1939 reorganization is given in English Wikipedia's data box and its history section, which says the company was renamed Republic Aviation Corporation in September 1939.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Robert Z. Leonard directed and produced Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise), an MGM film adapted from a David Graham Phillips novel, with Greta Garbo and Clark Gable starring. It was released in 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 10 September 1931 as the release date, while German Wikipedia says the film went into national distribution on 16 October 1931, so only the year is stated. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· North America
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
In 1931 Adolph Rickenbacker and George Beauchamp started the Ro-Pat-In Corporation to sell electric lap steel guitars. At the end of the year Beauchamp, Rickenbacker and others joined together to make and distribute electrically amplified instruments.
The history section gives 1931 as the founding year and describes the corporation being formed at the end of 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
William A. Wellman directed Night Nurse, a Warner Bros. crime film led by Barbara Stanwyck, with Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell and Clark Gable, released in 1931. It is based on a 1930 novel by Grace Perkins, who wrote as Dora Macy.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 8 August 1931 for the United States release, while French Wikipedia gives 16 July 1931 and the article says Time magazine reviewed the film in July 1931, so only the year is stated. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Herman Hupfeld wrote the jazz song 'As Time Goes By' in 1931 for Everybody's Welcome, a Broadway musical that opened on 31 October 1931. Rudy Vallée first recorded it for Victor Records on 25 July 1931.
The song was written in 1931, first recorded on 25 July 1931, and introduced in a musical that opened on 31 October 1931, so only the year is given. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· New York City, United States · North America
Stage, music & film
Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg formed the Group Theatre in New York City in 1931, wanting a base for forceful, naturalistic and highly disciplined theatre. It first staged Paul Green's play The House of Connelly on 23 September 1931 at the Martin Beck Theatre.
The article gives 1931 as the year the group was formed and 23 September 1931 as the date of its first production. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· United States · North America
Sport
The Baseball Writers' Association of America began presenting an MVP award in each of the American and National Leagues after the 1931 season, modelled on the National League's earlier format.
The article gives the year 1931, and says the first modern award came after that season. Wikidata gives only the year 1931. The article's data box lists the United States and Canada for the award today; the 1931 season article names sixteen clubs, eight per league, and no Canadian club, so the place for 1931 is the United States.
· Attica, New York, United States · North America
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
Attica Correctional Facility, a high-security prison campus in Attica, New York, opened in 1931 and was constructed during the 1930s following earlier riots at New York prisons.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 as the opening year; the introduction says that it was built in the 1930s. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Isle of Pines, Cuba · North America
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
The Presidio Modelo, a model prison built on a panopticon plan in the Chacón quarter of Nueva Gerona on Cuba's Isla de Pinos, went up between 1926 and 1931 under President Gerardo Machado.
The article says that building ran from 1926 to 1931, so 1931 is the year work ended, not a confirmed opening day. Wikidata gives 16 September 1931 for the opening.
· Hollywood, California, United States · North America
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
Ray Johnston established the American film studio Monogram Pictures in 1931, when his company, after several earlier names, finally took the Monogram name in March. It made mostly low-budget films until 1953.
The history section says Johnston's company took the Monogram name in March 1931 after several earlier names, and English Wikipedia's data box dates the original founding to 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Washington, D.C., United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
The Dutch-born cellist Hans Kindler officially organized the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., in 1931, after an informal first concert on 31 January 1930. He directed it until 1949.
The introduction and data box give 1930 as the founding year, while the history section says it was officially organized in 1931 after a first concert in January 1930. Wikidata gives 1931.
· United States · North America
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Frank Lloyd's East Lynne, a melodrama starring Ann Harding and Clive Brook, is a film version of Ellen Wood's 1861 novel, released in 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box lists a New York release on 20 February 1931 and a United States release on 31 March 1931, while German Wikipedia gives a premiere on 1 March 1931, so only the year is stated. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Los Angeles, California, United States · North America
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
Roy E. Silent and E. S. Jones designed the flag of Los Angeles in 1931, for the city's sesquicentennial, counted from its founding in 1781.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box give 22 July 1931 as the adoption date; the design itself is dated to 1931, for the sesquicentennial celebrations, so the year is kept.
· Los Angeles, California, United States · North America
Economy & trade
In 1931 Jonathan Bell Lovelace set up the investment firm Lovelace, Dennis & Renfrew in Los Angeles, which eventually became Capital Group.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and history section give the year 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Los Angeles, California, United States · North America
Economy & trade
Donald Baxter, a Los Angeles doctor, started the firm in 1931 to produce and sell intravenous therapy solutions. It is now an American healthcare multinational based in Deerfield, Illinois.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give the year 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States · North America
Architecture
Cross & Cross designed the 50-floor Art Deco skyscraper at 570 Lexington Avenue, completed in 1931 and called the RCA Victor Building while under construction.
The introduction and data box give completion in 1931 (built 1929-1931). Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Pontiac, Michigan, United States · North America
Economy & trade
In 1931 General Motors ended Oakland, a carmaker it had bought in 1909, and put Pontiac in its place. The decision came as the Great Depression set in.
The article gives the year 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Virginia, United States · North America
Sport
Jim Crockett, a promoter of live events including wrestling, founded his own wrestling promotion in 1931. The family-owned firm was later based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
English Wikipedia's data box, introduction and history section give the year 1931; the data box places the original company in Virginia. Wikidata dates the founding to the year 1931.
· Los Angeles, California, United States · North America
Science
The Gemological Institute of America, a nonprofit for gemology research and education, was founded in 1931, and its first laboratory was set up in Los Angeles that year.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give the founding year as 1931. The place given is where the first laboratory was established. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Chicago, Illinois, United States · North America
Everyday life
Herman A. DeVry founded the De Forest Training School in Chicago in 1931. It later became DeVry University, a private for-profit university offering campus and online programs.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Cleveland, Ohio, United States · North America
Economy & tradeSome details uncertain
The Peerless Motor Car Company of Cleveland, Ohio, built luxury cars from 1900 until about 1931.
The introduction gives 1900 to 1931 as the company's car-making years and Wikidata dates the dissolution to the year 1931. The history section of English Wikipedia says the last Peerless, a single V16-engined car, was finished in June 1932, while French Wikipedia gives June 1931, so the end date is uncertain and the summary says about 1931.
· Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States · North America
SportSome details uncertain
A professional ice hockey team, the Philadelphia Quakers played a single full NHL season, 1930-31, at the Philadelphia Arena. They took over from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The team's one full season was 1930-31. Wikidata dates the dissolution to the year 1931.
· Buenos Aires, Argentina · South America
Art & literature
The Buenos Aires literary magazine Sur first came out in 1931, helped by a multidisciplinary team of collaborators, and ran until 1992.
The introduction and history section give the year 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Kazym, Khanty-Mansi region, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Asia
War & conflictSome details uncertain
The Khanty and Nenets peoples of western Siberia rose against Soviet rule over the enforcement of collectivization, in a revolt named for the small town of Kazym. The Red Army ended it, killing many Khanty and Nenets and burning their forest settlements.
The introduction dates the revolt to 1933, and English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 to 1934 with 1933 as the main stage; some sources describe a series of conflicts from 1931 to 1934. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Karaganda, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan) · Asia
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
Karaganda was incorporated as a village in 1931, a year after coal mining in the area started up again, and was declared a city in 1934. A railway link arrived in February 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 as the year of establishment; the history section says it was incorporated as a village in 1931. Wikidata gives only the year.
· British India (now India) · Asia
Science
In 1931 S. R. Ranganathan proposed the five laws of library science, principles for running a library system that many librarians worldwide accept as foundations of their field.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Japan · Asia
TechnologySome details uncertain
In the summer of 1931 DAT Motorcar Co. finished the first prototype of its new small car, which it called the 'Datson'. The production model was the Datson Type 10.
The introduction says the name changed to Datsun after Nissan took control in 1934, while the history section says it changed in 1933.
· Kabul, Afghanistan · Asia
ScienceSome details uncertain
Kabul University was founded under King Mohammed Nadir Shah, whose brother Hashim Khan was prime minister; its founding year is given as 1931 or 1932. Turkish professors led by Kamil Rıfkı Urga set up its first Faculty of Medicine in 1932.
The introduction says the university was founded in 1931, while English Wikipedia's data box gives November 1932 and the history section says it was established in 1932 and opened a year later. Wikidata gives 1931.
· Tuban, Bali, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) · Asia
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
The Dutch colonial government built an airfield at Tuban, at the narrowest point of Bali's southern coast, in the early 1930s, opening it around 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box says the airport opened in 1931, while the history section says the Dutch built the airfield in the early 1930s, so the exact year is uncertain.
· Osaka, Japan · Asia
Everyday life
Osaka Imperial University was officially set up in 1931 as Japan's sixth Imperial University, opening with two faculties, science and medicine. A medical college joined a newly created college of science to form it.
Wikidata gives 1 May 1931; the article states the year 1931 for the establishment.
· Akmolinsk (now Astana), Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan) · Asia
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
The airport that is now Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport began public operation in 1931 as Akmolinsk Airport, after being built in 1930 three kilometres from the town. It was later renamed Tselinograd Airport and then Astana International Airport.
The sources disagree: English Wikipedia's data box says the airport opened in 1931, the introduction says it was established in 1930 and began public service in 1931, and the history section says it was built in 1930 but gives December 1931 for the first Astana airfield. French Wikipedia says it was built in 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· British Hong Kong (now Hong Kong, China) · Asia
Sport
The Hong Kong football club Kitchee Sports Club was established under that name in 1931, after a group of Hong Kongers had formed a team in the late 1920s. It now plays in the Hong Kong Premier League.
A group of Hong Kongers formed a team in the late 1920s; English Wikipedia says it became Kitchee Sports Club only in 1931. The club rented its first office, on Johnston Road in Wan Chai, in 1934.
· Magadan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Asia
Economy & trade
Dalstroy was created in 1931 to manage road building and gold mining in the Russian Far East, with Magadan as its base town. It was placed under the NKVD in 1938.
The introduction gives the year 1931. Wikidata gives 13 November 1931. The organisation relied on forced labour in prison camps.
· Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan · Asia
Architecture
Kishichiro Okura built the Okurayama ski jump in Sapporo in 1931 with advice and money from Prince Chichibu, then gave it to the city.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give the year 1931. Wikidata gives October 1931.
· Meru Betiri, East Java, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) · Asia
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
In 1931 the Dutch colonial government first made the Meru Betiri forest in East Java a protected forest. The national park itself was established in 1982.
The 1931 date is for the first protected-forest designation; the national park was established in 1982 according to English Wikipedia's data box. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Yakutsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Asia
ArchitectureSome details uncertain
Construction of the airport at Yakutsk began in 1931. It is now Platon Oyunsky Yakutsk International Airport, a base for regional airlines including Yakutia Airlines.
The article gives 1931 as the year construction started, not the date the airport opened. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Beirut, French Mandate of Lebanon (now Lebanon), and Beijing, Republic of China (now China) · Asia
ExplorationSome details uncertain
The Yellow Expedition, a French journey across Asia organized by Citroën to promote its P17 Kégresse track vehicles, ran through 1931 and 1932. One group set out from Beirut and another from Beijing, and they were to meet along the route.
Wikidata gives 4 April 1931 as the start date; the article states that the expedition ran in 1931 and 1932.
· Surgut, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia) · Asia
TechnologySome details uncertain
The first aircraft arrived at the village of Surgut in 1931. The site is now Farman Salmanov Surgut Airport, north of the city of Surgut in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug.
The article says that the first aircraft reached Surgut in 1931. Wikidata gives February 1931.
· British India (now India) · Asia
Stage, music & filmSome details uncertain
Shirin Farhad, a Hindi musical directed by J. J. Madan and starring Master Nissar and Kajjanbai, dates from 1931. It tells the love story of Farhad and Shirin from the Shahnameh, as retold by Nizami Ganjavi.
English Wikipedia's data box and Wikidata give the year 1931.
· Almaty, Kazakh ASSR, Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan) · Asia
Everyday life
Almaty's biggest museum, the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan, was founded in 1931 and first housed in the Almaty Cathedral. It moved into a modern building in 1985.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give 1931, and Wikidata gives only the year 1931. The history section also describes earlier regional museums, including one set up in 1920, so 1931 is the date the article gives for this museum itself.
· Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union (now Azerbaijan) · Asia
Stage, music & film
Theatre activists led by Jafar Jabbarly pushed for a puppet theatre in Baku, and the Azerbaijan SSR's Education Commission founded it in 1931. It has been active ever since.
English Wikipedia's data box gives June 1910 as the opening of the building; the puppet theatre itself dates from 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union (now Armenia) · Asia
Everyday life
The Yerevan History Museum began in 1931 under the name Communal Museum, at first using upstairs rooms in the Yerevan Fire Department building. It relocated to the Blue Mosque in 1936.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give the year; Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Kostanay Region, Kazakh ASSR, Soviet Union (now Kazakhstan) · Asia
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
Naurzum State Nature Reserve was created in 1931 in Kazakhstan's Kostanay Region to protect steppe, semi-desert and forest.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the year 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Amman, Transjordan (now Jordan) · Middle East
LivesSome details uncertain
Hussein bin Ali, a ruler of Mecca from 1908 who was King of the Hejaz from 1916 to 1924, died in Amman, Transjordan, in 1931. He launched the Great Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule.
English Wikipedia's data box and Wikidata give his death as 4 June 1931, while the introduction gives 4 July 1931, so the exact day is uncertain and only the year is stored. The data box gives his birth as 1 May 1853.
· Middle East
Economy & trade
Sheikh Muhammad bin Ladin founded the Saudi Binladin Group in 1931. His link with Abdulaziz Al Saud won major state contracts, and the firm grew into a multinational construction conglomerate based in Jeddah.
· Northern Iraq, Mandatory Iraq (now Iraq) · Middle East
War & conflictSome details uncertain
The Ahmed Barzani revolt, the first major Barzani revolt and the third Kurdish nationalist uprising in modern Iraq, began in 1931 after Ahmed Barzani united several Kurdish tribes. The Iraqi Army, backed by Britain, overpowered his forces.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 to 1932 for the revolt and notes further low-level fighting through 1933; the introduction says that it began in 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine · Middle East
Architecture
The King David Hotel in Jerusalem, built from locally quarried pink limestone and founded by the Egyptian Jewish banker Ezra Mosseri, opened in 1931.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931. English Wikipedia also says Alfonso XIII, the Spanish king who had to give up his throne in 1931, lived at the hotel in exile; this could not be confirmed elsewhere, so it is left out.
· Mandatory Palestine · Middle East
War & conflictSome details uncertain
The Irgun, a Zionist paramilitary group, began operating in Mandatory Palestine in 1931 after splitting from the older and larger Haganah. Its policy followed Revisionist Zionism, a movement founded by Ze'ev Jabotinsky.
Wikidata gives April 1931. The history section describes a refusal on 10 April 1931 to return weapons to the Haganah, while the introduction says that the group operated from 1931.
· Ararat region, Ağrı Province, Turkey · Middle East
War & conflictSome details uncertain
Kurds in Ağrı Province, in the east of Turkey, rose against the government in Ankara, with Ihsan Nuri leading the guerrilla forces. Turkish forces began armed operations in 1930, and the rising was crushed in 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives October 1927 to September 1931, and Wikidata gives September 1931; the introduction calls it a 1930 uprising, and the history section says the campaign was over by 17 September 1930 yet also that the insurrection was defeated in 1931. German Wikipedia describes the third and last uprising as taking place in 1930, so the end year is contested.
· Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine · Middle East
Religion & philosophy
The Roman Catholic Church of St Peter in Gallicantu, on Mount Zion's eastern slope just beyond the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, was rebuilt in 1931.
English Wikipedia's data box gives the completion year 1931 and the history section says it was rebuilt in 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Kababir, Haifa, Mandatory Palestine · Middle East
Religion & philosophySome details uncertain
Maulana Shams built the Mahmood Mosque in the Kababir quarter of Haifa, on Mount Carmel, in 1931. It was the first mosque on Mount Carmel.
English Wikipedia's data box and history section give 1931, while the introduction says that it was built in the early 1930s. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine · Middle East
Science
Otto Warburg, who founded the Hebrew University's botany department, established the botanical garden on Mount Scopus in 1931, and the botanist Alexander Eig planted the first tree there that year.
The article and data box give the year. Wikidata gives only the year 1931. Its formal name honours Montague Lamport.
· Aleppo, French Mandate of Syria (now Syria) · Middle East
Science
Aleppo's National Museum, the city's biggest museum, was founded in 1931 when the Syrian authorities picked a small Ottoman palace to house it. Most displays cover Syrian archaeology, mainly from northern sites.
English Wikipedia's data box and introduction give the year 1931. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· French Equatorial Africa and French Cameroon (now Central African Republic and Cameroon) · Africa
War & conflict
The Kongo-Wara rebellion, also called the War of the Hoe Handle, was an anticolonial uprising against French rule that began because local people were forced into railway construction and rubber tapping. French forces put it down in 1931, after a closing stage known as the 'war of the caves'.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931 as the end; English Wikipedia's data box gives 1928 to 1931 for the whole rebellion.
· Eastern Cape, Union of South Africa (now South Africa) · Africa
Everyday life
The Addo forest was formally made a national park in 1931, after the Natural Parks Act of 1926, with Sydney Skaife's efforts helping the cause. The park lies near Gqeberha, in Eastern Cape province.
Wikidata and English Wikipedia's data box give the year 1931.
· Western Cape, Union of South Africa (now South Africa) · Africa
Everyday lifeSome details uncertain
A national park to protect the bontebok antelope was established in South Africa in 1931, and seventeen animals from a relict herd on private farmland were moved to it. The present park, near Swellendam, received animals in 1961.
English Wikipedia's introduction and data box give 1931 for the park, but its history section says the 1931 animals went to the first Bontebok National Park and the survivors were moved to the present one, near Swellendam, in 1961. German Wikipedia gives 1931 for the park, while Spanish Wikipedia's data box gives 1961. The 1931 date is kept for the first park, whose location is not given. The 1961 move of the surviving animals to the present park is stated in English Wikipedia's history section.
· Antarctica · The poles
Exploration
The British, Australian and New Zealand research expedition BANZARE, led by the Australian geologist Sir Douglas Mawson, made two voyages to Antarctica between 1929 and 1931. On 5 January 1931 the party proclaimed a British claim to Adélie Land at Cape Denison.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931 as the end. The second voyage took place in the summer of 1930-31.
· East Greenland, Denmark (now Greenland) · The poles
Exploration
The Three-year Expedition explored East Greenland from 1931 to 1934, paid for by the Carlsberg Foundation together with the Danish state. It included aerial surveys and used the Eskimonaes station as its wintering base.
The introduction gives the span 1931 to 1934. Wikidata dates the start to the year 1931 and the end to 1934.
· Worldwide
Science
In 1931 Georges Lemaître reasoned that an expanding universe must once have been much smaller, and proposed that all its mass had sat at a single point he called the 'primeval atom'.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; the article's history section also dates Lemaître's proposal to 1931.
· Worldwide
Science
In 1931 the CIE published its colour spaces, mathematical models built around a standard observer, an idealised normal human eye, that link the visible spectrum to human colour vision.
The article gives the year. Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
· Worldwide
Science
The International Council of Scientific Unions, later called the International Council for Science, was formed in 1931 as an international non-governmental organization for scientific cooperation. It grew from the International Association of Academies and the International Research Council.
English Wikipedia's data box gives 1931 as the year of formation; Wikidata gives only the year.
· Worldwide
Science
In a 1931 paper Lars Onsager showed that in systems away from equilibrium certain ratios between flows and forces are equal, deriving the result from the time reversibility of microscopic motion.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931; the article refers to Onsager's 1931 paper.
· Worldwide
Science
In 1931 Władysław Ślebodziński put forward a new differential operator, which David van Dantzig later named the Lie derivative. It measures how a tensor field changes along the flow of another vector field.
Wikidata gives only the year 1931.
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