1937
1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1937th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 937th year of the 2nd millennium, the 37th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1930s decade.
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | 19th century – 20th century – 21st century |
| Decades: | 1900s 1910s 1920s – 1930s – 1940s 1950s 1960s |
| Years: | 1934 1935 1936 – 1937 – 1938 1939 1940 |
Events
- American Ballet Theatre founded
- January 1 – Anastasio Somoza becomes President of Nicaragua
- January 11 – The first issue of Look magazine goes on sale in the United States.
- January 19 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.
- January 23 – In Moscow, 17 leading Communists go on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime and assassinate its leaders.
- January 31 – Ohio River floods
- January 31 – 31 people executed in the Soviet Union for "Trotskyism"
- March 18 – 300 students and teachers die after an exploson is a caused by a gas leak at the New London school in Texas.
- May 7 – the German zeppelin (airship) LZ 129 Hindenburg catches fire, while trying to land in New Jersey.
- October - Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina orders the execution of the Haitian population living within its borderlands with Haiti, resulting in the Parsley Massacre.
Births
- January 8 - Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer
- January 30 - Vanessa Redgrave, English actress
- February 21 - King Harald V of Norway
- March 20 – Jerry Reed, American musician (d. 2008)
- April 6 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor
- April 28 - Saddam Hussein, Iraqi leader (d. 2006)
- July 18 – Hunter S. Thompson, American writer and journalist (d. 2005)
- December 21 – Jane Fonda, American actress
- December 30 - Gordon Banks, English footballer
- December 31 - Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor
Hit songs
- "Sweet Leilani" – by Harry Owens, from the movie Waikiki Wedding, won the Academy Award for the best song.