Major Events
- Jan 28 The name "Pakistan" is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali and gradually accepted by Muslims in the Indian sub-continent who use it to push for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia
- Jan 30 President Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler as Reich Chancellor of Germany who forms a government with Franz von Papen
- Feb 27 Nazi Germany's parliament building, the Reichstag, is destroyed by fire; possibly set by the Nazis, who blame and execute Dutch Communist Marinus van der Lubbe
- Mar 4 Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd US President, pledges to pull the US out of the Depression, stating in his inaugural address "that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself".
- Mar 9 US Congress is called into special session by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, beginning its "100 days" in which it passes 77 laws
- Mar 20 Dachau the first Nazi concentration camp, is completed
- Mar 23 German Reichstag hastily passes the Enabling Act and President Paul von Hindenburg signs it the same day, granting Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers
- Jul 14 All non-Nazi parties are banned in Germany
- Aug 7 The Iraqi Government slaughters over 3,000 Assyrians in the village of Sumail. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
- Sep 12 Leó Szilárd, waiting for a red light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, conceives idea of a nuclear chain reaction
- Oct 14 Nazi Germany announces its withdrawal from the League of Nations
- Nov 13 First modern sit-down strike by Hormel meat packers in Austin, Minnesota
- Dec 5 Prohibition ends in the US when 21st Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, 18th Amendment repealed (5:32 PM EST)
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1933 in Film & TV
- Jan 5 "Cavalcade" based on the play by Noël Coward, directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook premieres in New York (Best Production/Picture 1934)
- Mar 2 "King Kong" film directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Fay Wray premieres at Radio City Music Hall and RKO Roxy in NYC
- May 27 Walt Disney's short film "3 Little Pigs" released (Academy Award Best Animated film 1934)
- Aug 23 First televised boxing match — 6-round exhibition at Broadcasting House in London between middleweights Archie Sexton and Lauri Raiteri; aired by BBC-TV
- Nov 17 Marx brothers film "Duck Soup" directed by Leo McCarey and starring the Marx Brothers is released in the US
- Nov 24 Fred Astaire's 1st film, "Dancing Lady", released
- Dec 4 Jack Kirkland's play "Tobacco Road" premieres in NYC, became the longest-running play of its time
1933 in Music
- Jul 22 Caterina Jarboro sings "Aida" at the New York Hippodrome, becoming the 1st black female opera singer to perform in the US
1933 in Sport
- Jan 16 Cricket's Bodyline Tour: Australian batsman Bert Oldfield's skull fractured by delivery bowled by Englishman Harold Larwood during the third test in Adelaide
- Aug 17 MLB player Lou Gehrig plays record 1,308th consecutive game
- Aug 23 First televised boxing match — 6-round exhibition at Broadcasting House in London between middleweights Archie Sexton and Lauri Raiteri; aired by BBC-TV
More People Born in 1933
Fun Fact About 1933
First modern sighting of the Loch Ness Monster by Aldie and John Mackay saw "something resembling a whale"
More 1933 Deaths
Articles About 1933
Fire Sparks Hitler’s Rise To Absolute Power
The Reichstag building, home of the German parliament in Berlin, went up in flames on this day giving Adolf Hitler propaganda in his quest for dictatorship.February 27Reichstag Fire
The Reichstag building in Berlin, housing the German Parliament, on fire during the night of February 27, 1933.February 27King Kong Premieres
Poster for the 1933 film "King Kong", the first in a series of movies about the giant gorillaMarch 2Turin Shroud: Holy Relic or Fake?
For 600 years controversy has raged over the Turin Shroud, said to be Christ’s burial cloth. But thousands gazed in awe when, on this day, it went on display.September 25
Famous Weddings in 1933
- Jun 1 Charlie Chaplin (44) weds Paulette Goddard (22)
- Jun 17 Vernon Presley marries Gladys Love Smith
- Jun 24 American actor John Wayne (26) weds Josephine Saenz (25) in Los Angeles, California; divorce in 1945
More Weddings in 1933