What Happened in December 1933

Historical Events

Hess and Rohm Made Ministers

Dec 1 Rudolf Hess & Ernest Rohm become ministers in Hitler's government

Mickey Cochrane

Dec 3 As part of a famous MLB fire sale of players, Philadelphia A's owner Connie Mack sells catcher Mickey Cochrane to Detroit for $100,000; Cochrane is immediately named Tigers manager

Arthur Currie's Funeral

Dec 3 Funeral of WWI commander Sir Arthur Currie with 150,000 people lining the streets of Montreal - largest Canadian funeral at the time

Dec 3 Joe Lilliard QBs Chic Cardinals; last NFL black until 1946

Federal Alcohol Control Administration

Dec 4 FDR creates Federal Alcohol Control Administration

Dec 4 Jack Kirkland's play "Tobacco Road" premieres in NYC, became the longest-running play of its time
Dec 5 Prohibition ends in the US when 21st Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, 18th Amendment repealed (5:32 PM EST)

Ulysses Ban Lifted

Dec 6 Ban on James Joyce's "Ulysses" in US lifted

Dec 8 French nun Bernadette Soubirous, who saw the vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, is canonized by the Catholic Church
Dec 9 CFL Grey Cup, Athletic Park, Sarnia: Toronto Argonauts edge Sarnia Imperials, 4-3 for their 3rd Championship
Dec 9 Romania prohibits fascist Iron Guard

Dirac and Schrödinger Physics Nobel

Dec 10 Nobel Prize for Physics is presented to Paul Dirac and Erwin Schrödinger "for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory"

Theoretical Physicist and Nobel Laureate Paul Dirac

Physicist and Nobel Laureate Erwin Schrödinger

Bailey's Sudden Career End

Dec 12 Eddie Shore hits Toronto Maple Leaf star Ace Bailey from behind, fracturing his skull and ending his career

Baker in Amsterdam

Dec 14 Josephine Baker performs in Amsterdam

Dancer, Singer, Spy and Civil Rights Activist Josephine Baker

Dec 15 Baseball owners agree to ban Sunday doubleheaders until after June 15
Dec 16 Abe de Vries & Sipke Castelein win Elfstedentocht
Dec 17 Bryan Valentine (136) and Lala Amarnath (102no) score centuries on their Test Cricket debut on Day 3 of 1st Test between England and India at Bombay

Chicago Bears Win 1st Title

Dec 17 National Football League Championship - 1st title game, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 23-21; "Bronko Nagurski Rule" - forward pass is legal anywhere behind line of scrimmage

Hall of Fame American Football Player Bronko Nagurski

Dec 17 Spain's 2nd government of Lerroux forms
Dec 19 US President Roosevelt creates Electric Home & Farm Authority (EHFA) to assist low income household with purchase of major appliances [1]
Dec 20 Bolivia & Paraguay sign cease fire
Dec 21 Dried human blood serum 1st prepared, University of Pennsylvania

Fox Signs Shirley Temple

Dec 21 Fox Films signs Shirley Temple aged 5, to a studio contract

Dec 21 Newfoundland reverts to being a crown colony of Great Britain

Arsonist Sentenced to Death

Dec 23 Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe sentenced to death for setting the German Reichstag on fire

The Reichstag building in Berlin, housing the German Parliament, on fire during the night of February 27, 1933.

Morenz Goal Record

Dec 23 Montreal Canadiens center Howie Morenz scores in 3-0 win v Detroit Red Wings; his NHL record 249th career goal

Dec 23 Train crash in Eastern Paris; 230 die
Dec 24 Paris express train derails & kills 160, injures 300 (France)
Dec 25 Another Christmas Day five-wicket haul by Clarrie Grimmett
Dec 25 Belgian Working people's party accept Henry de Mans Plan of Labor
Dec 25 Stan Smith takes 8-33 for Victoria v Tasmania at Hobart
Dec 26 FM radio patent granted to American engineer Edwin Howard Armstrong
Dec 26 US forswears armed intervention in Western Hemisphere

"Sons of the Desert"

Dec 29 "Sons of the Desert" film directed by William A. Seiter starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy is released

Yankees Refuse Babe Ruth Release

Dec 29 New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert refuses to release future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth to manage the Cincinnati Reds

Dec 30 -50°F (-46°C) in Bloomfield, Vermont (state record)
Dec 30 Government disallows NSB-membership for civil service
Dec 30 Jack Badcock scores 274 v Victoria, Tasmania's 1st double-ton

Events in 1933

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Fujiko F. Fujio [Hiroshi Fujimoto], Japanese manga cartoon artist (Doraemon), born in Takaoka, Japan (d. 1996)
Dec 1 Lou Rawls, American soul singer-songwriter and producer ("You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine", "Natural Man"), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2006)
Dec 1 Violetta Verdy, French ballerina and teacher, born in Pont-l'Abbé, Brittany (d. 2016)
Dec 2 K. Veeramani, Indian anti-caste activist, born in Cuddalore, Madras Presidency, British India
Dec 2 Michael Larrabee, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4x400m relay 1964), born in Hollywood, California (d. 2003)
Dec 3 Paul J. Crutzen, Dutch chemist, Nobel laureate
Dec 3 Rosalind Knight, British stage and screen actress (Friday Night Dinner - "Horrible Grandma"), born in Marylebone (now Westminster), England (d. 2020)
Dec 4 Dick Ricketts Jr., American basketball center (# 1 overall pick 1955 NBA draft St. Louis Hawks) and baseball pitcher (St. Louis Cardinals), born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania (d. 1988)
Dec 4 Horst Buchholz, German actor (Magnificent 7; Raid on Entebbe), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 2003)
Dec 4 James Cossins, English stage and screen character actor (The Anniversary; Fawlty Towers), born in Beckenham, England (d. 1997)
Dec 5 Bernard van Beurden, Dutch composer and music educator, born in Amsterdam (d. 2016)
Dec 5 Edward Daly, Irish Bishop "Bloody Sunday" priest, born in Belleek, County Fermanagh (d. 2016)
Dec 6 Henryk Górecki, Polish composer (Symphony No. 3 - Symphony of Sorrowful Songs), born in Czernica, Poland (d. 2010)
Dec 6 Jim Pothecary, South African cricket medium pace bowler (3 Tests, 9 wickets; Western Province), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2016)
Dec 8 (Clerow) "Flip" Wilson, American Grammy Award-winning comedian, and Emmy Award-winning writer and TV personality (The Flip Wilson Show), born in Jersey City, New Jersey (d. 1998)
Dec 8 Ana Ofelia Murguía, Mexican actress (Mamá Coco-Coco; La Reina de la Noche), born in Mexico City (d. 2023)

Dec 8 Johnny Green, American basketball power forward (NBA All-Star 1962, 63, 65, 71; NY Knicks, Baltimore Bullets, SD Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, Cincinnati Royals/KC-Omaha Kings), born in Dayton, Ohio (d. 2023)
Dec 9 Milt Campbell, American decathlete (Olympic gold 1956), born in Plainfield, New Jersey (d. 2012)
Dec 9 Orville Moody, American golfer (US Open 1969), born in Chickasha Oklahoma (d. 2008)
Dec 10 Larry Morris, American College Football HOF iinebacker (NCAA C'ship 1952 Georgia Tech; NFL C'ship 1963 Chicago Bears), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2012)
Dec 10 Mako, Japanese-American actor (The Sand Pebbles), born in Kobe, Hyōgo, Empire of Japan (d. 2006)
Dec 11 Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., Filipino politician (President of the Senate of the Philippines. 2000-01; Senator, 1987-92 and 1998-2010), born in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, Philippine Islands (d. 2019)
Dec 11 Ernst van Altena, Dutch author and interpreter (Chansons van Earnest), born in Amsterdam (d. 1999)
Dec 12 Manu Dibango, Cameroonian musician (Soul Makossa), born in Douala, French Cameroon (d. 2020)
Dec 13 Lou Adler, American music executive, director, producer, and co-owner of the famous Roxy Theatre, born in Chicago, Illinois
Dec 14 Leo Wright, American jazz saxophone and flute player (Dizzy Gillespie;; Blues Shout; I Left My Heart In San Francisco), born in Wichita Falls, Texas (d. 1991)
Dec 15 (Thomas) "Tim" Conway, American Emmy Award-winning comic actor and screenwriter (McHale's Navy; The Carol Burnett Show, 1975-78; The Apple Dumpling Gang), born in Willoughby, Ohio (d. 2019)
Dec 15 Donald Woods, South African journalist, anti-apartheid activist and author (Biko; Asking for Trouble), born in Elliotdale, South Africa (d. 2001)
Dec 15 Jesse Belvin, American pop singer, piano player (Mr. Easy), and songwriter (Earth Angel), born in San Antonio, Texas (d. 1960)
Dec 16 Charles L. Blockson, American historian, author, bibliophile, and curator (co-founder of the African American Museum in Philadelphia), born in Norristown, Pennsylvania (d. 2023)
Dec 16 Johnny "Hammond" Smith, American jazz and bop organist (Wild Horses Rock Steady), born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1997)

Dec 17 Bruce Morrison, cricketer (one Test NZ v England 1963)
Dec 17 Paul Snoek [Edm Schietekat], Belgian poet
Dec 17 Stefan Florenski, Polish soccer defender (11 caps; Górnik Zabrze), born in Gleiwitz, Poland (d. 2020)
Dec 18 Arthur Leigh Allen, American elementary school teacher and suspected Zodiac serial killer, born in Honolulu, Hawaii (d. 1992)
Dec 19 Kevan Gosper, Australian sports executive (president Australian Olympic Committee 1985–1990; chairman Australian Institute of Sport 1980–85), born in Sidney, Australia
Dec 20 Gordon Getty, American composer, businessman, and heir of J. Paul Getty, born in Los Angeles, California
Dec 20 Jean Carnahan, US politician and writer (Missouri, Senator 2001–2002), born in Washington, D.C.
Dec 20 Rik Van Looy, Belgian cyclist (world champion, 1961), born in Grobbendonk, Belgium
Dec 21 Huib Eversdijk, Dutch 2nd chamber member (CDA), born in Kapelle, Netherlands (d. 2012)
Dec 21 Jackie Hendriks, West Indian cricket wicket-keeper (20 Tests, 47 dismissals, 2 x 50; Jamaica), born in Kingston, Jamaica
Dec 21 Miklos Kocsar, Hungarian composer, born in Debrecen, Hungary

Akihito (90 years old)

Dec 23 Emperor of Japan (1989-2019), born in Tokyo, Japan

Dec 26 Billy Bean, American jazz guitarist (John Lewis; Herbie Mann; Bud Shank), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
Dec 26 Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street (1969-2018), born in Waltham, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
Dec 26 Ugly Dave Gray, Australian television personality
Dec 27 Dave Marr, American golfer (PGA Championship 1965), and broadcaster, born in Houston, Texas (d. 1997)
Dec 28 Jack Perkins, newscaster (Prime Time Sunday, NBC Magazine), born in Cleveland, Ohio
Dec 28 John Y. Brown, Jr., American politician
Dec 29 "Prez" Kenneth [Kidd], American blues singer and bass guitarist ("Devil Dealing"), born in Newton, Massachusetts (d. 1995)
Dec 30 Perry Ford [Brian Pugh], British pop singer, session musician and songwriter (The Ivy League - "Tossing And Turning"), born in Lincoln, England (d. 1999)
Dec 31 Chryssa [Vardea-Mavromichali], Greek-American artist, born in Athens, Greece (d. 2013)
Dec 31 Edward Bunker, American Crime novelist (No Beast So Fierce; Animal Factory), actor (Straight Time; Reservoir Dogs), screenwriter, and felon, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2005)
Dec 31 Fred F. Carter Jr., American country session guitarist, singer, producer and composer (Nashville's "A-Team"), born in Winnsboro, Louisiana (d. 2010)

Born in 1933

Famous Weddings

Dec 2 1st transatlantic telephone wedding (Bertil Clason-Sigrid Carlson)

Gary Cooper

Dec 15 American actor Gary Cooper (32) weds American actress Veronica Balfe (20) at her mother's home on Park Avenue, New York City, until his death in 1961

Famous Deaths

Dec 2 Josef Gruber, Austrian organist and composer, dies at 78
Dec 3 Richard Henry Warren, American organist and composer, dies at 74
Dec 4 Stefan George, German poet (Das neue Reich), dies at 65
Dec 8 Yamamoto Gonnohyōe, Japanese admiral and politician (Prime Minister of Japan 1913-1914, 1923-1924), dies at 81
Dec 9 Morice Bird, cricketer (scored 280 runs in 10 Tests for England), dies
Dec 11 Emile Wauters, Belgian painter (Van der Goes Klooster), dies at 87
Dec 12 Theodore Moses Tobani, German composer, dies at 78
Dec 17 Hans Vaihinger, German philosopher (Side-Studies), dies at 81
Dec 17 Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama, dies at 57
Dec 19 George Jackson Churchward, British engineer who was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Western Railway (1902-22), struck and killed by a Paddington to Fishguard express train at 76
Dec 21 Knud J. V. Rasmussen, Danish Pole explorer (Thule), dies at 54
Dec 21 Tod Sloan, American thoroughbred jockey (1,000 Guineas 1899 [Sibola], Ascot Gold Cup 1900 [Merman]; created monkey crouch riding style), dies from cirrhosis at 59
Dec 25 Francesc Macià, Catalonian statesman (b. 1859)
Dec 26 Anatoly Lunacharsky, Russian Marxist revolutionary, author and literary critic, dies at 58
Dec 29 Joh Georghe Duca, premier of Romania, murdered

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