September 1931

1931

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September 14, 1931: British Prime Minister MacDonald and the Indian independence activist Mohandas Gandhi convene the second round of Round Table Discussions in London

September 18, 1931: Japanese troops begin invasion of Chinese region of Manchuria

September 6, 1931: Rebel Chilean Navy ships bombed by Chile's warplanes

The following events occurred inSeptember 1931:

September 1, 1931 (Tuesday)

• A mutiny broke out among sailors and officersin theChilean Navywhen crews stationed at the port ofCoquimborevolted against proposed reductions in salaries.
• In a suburb ofHavanaat 2:20 in the morning, a large bomb exploded at the branch of theRoyal Bank of Canada.The blast caused several thousand dollars worth of damage.
• Born:
  • Cecil Parkinson,English politician; inCarnforth(d. 2016)
  • Javier Solís,Mexican singer and actor, inTacubaya,Mexico City(d. 1966)

September 2, 1931 (Wednesday)

• The Italian government announced a surprise agreement with the Vatican allowingAzione Cattolicato operate as long as it abstained from politics and did not compete with the interests of the state in any way.
• The Chilean cabinet resigned over the naval mutiny crisis.
• 15 Minutes with Bing Crosbydebuted on theCBSradio network.

September 3, 1931 (Thursday)

• KingAlexander I of Yugoslaviaproclaimed theYugoslav Constitutionby decree.The new Constitution provided powers to the King as both head of state and commander-in-chief of the Yugoslavian armed forces, with power to dissolve Parliament with approval of the cabinet.
• The German stock exchange reopened for the first time since being shut on July 13.
• TheP. G. WodehousenovelIf I Were Youwas first published.

September 4, 1931 (Friday)

• Jimmy Doolittleset a newtranscontinental flight recordof 11 hours 15 minutes.
• Born:Mitzi Gaynor(stage name for Francesca von Gerber), American film actress and dancer; inChicago

September 5, 1931 (Saturday)

• The Chilean military attacked the mutinous naval base ofTalcahuano.
• By an 8–7 vote theWorld Courtruled that the Austro-German customs agreement violated the 1922Protocol for the reconstruction of Austria.

Goalkeeper Thomson

• Died:John Thomson,the 22-year-old goalkeeper for the Scottish soccer football teamCeltic,was fatally injured during a match againstRangersatIbrox StadiuminGlasgow.Thomson, the goalkeeper, was diving for the ball while Rangers strikerSam Englishwas moving forward; Thomson fractured his skull and ruptured an artery on the right side of his brain when he collided with English's knee. Thomson died hours later after being taken toVictoria Infirmary.

September 6, 1931 (Sunday)

• TheChilean Air Forcebombed rebel warships at Coquimbo.
• Hack Wilsonwas suspended by theChicago Cubsfor the rest of the season for "failure to observe training rules".

September 7, 1931 (Monday)

• The Chilean mutineers surrendered.
• KingGeorge Vopted to take a pay cut of £50,000 a year for as long as the depression lasted.

September 8, 1931 (Tuesday)

• Ramsay MacDonald'sFirst National ministrypassed its first test in the British House of Commons, winning a vote of confidence 309–250. TheLabour Partyvoted solidly against the new government.
• Born:Jack Rosenthal,English playwright and TV screenwriter; inCheetham Hill,Manchester(d. 2004)

September 9, 1931 (Wednesday)

• Ramsay MacDonald's government won a vote ofcloture306–212 to cut off debate about its emergency economic bill.

September 10, 1931 (Thursday)

Damage in Belize City

• A hurricanestruckBritish Honduras,killing at least 2,500 people and levelingSt. John's CollegeinBelize City.
• Born:Philip Baker Hall,American character actor; inToledo, Ohio
• Died:Salvatore Maranzano,45, Sicilian-born American mob boss who founded, and wascapo di tutti i capiof, the "Five Families"of theAmerican Mafiain New York City. Maranzano was shot to death at the New York Central Building by four gangsters hired byLucky Luciano,whom Maranzano had targeted for killing.

September 11, 1931 (Friday)

• Britain put theR100airship up for sale due to lack of funds.

September 12, 1931 (Saturday)

• Mexicowas admitted to theLeague of Nations.
• TheMahatma Gandhiarrived in London to attend theRound Table Conferenceon Indian independence. He took a small room atKingsley Hallin the city'sEast End.
• Born:
  • Ian Holm(stage name for Ian Holm Cuthbert), English stage and film actor and Tony Award winner and BAFTA Award winner; inGoodmayes,Essex(d. 2020)
  • George Jones,popular American country musician, inSaratoga, Texas(d. 2013)
• Died:U.S. Navy Rear AdmiralFrancis J. Higginson,88, veteran of the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War, and the first commander of theNorth Atlantic Fleet

September 13, 1931 (Sunday)

• Twenty-two people were killed by a bomb that had been planted in a viaduct near the town ofBiatorbágyinHungary.Authorities initially blamed Bulgarian Communists,but a mentally disturbed man by the name ofSzilveszter Matuskawas later convicted of the crime.
• Austrian troops put down aHeimwehrrevolt in the province ofStyria.
• Great Britain won theSchneider Trophyas Flight LieutenantGeorge Stainforthset a new seaplane speed record of 386.1 mph.

September 14, 1931 (Monday)

• The secondRound Table Conferenceon Indian independence opened in London.

September 15, 1931 (Tuesday)

• TheInvergordon Mutinybegan at the Scottish port ofInvergordonwhen 1,000 sailors of theRoyal Navy'sAtlantic Fleetstarted refusing orders in protest against pay cuts.
• ThePhiladelphia Athleticsclinched their third straightAmerican Leaguepennant with a 14–3 victory over theCleveland Indians.

September 16, 1931 (Wednesday)

• The gangland killing known as theCollingwood Manor Massacreoccurred inDetroitwith the contract killing of three gunmen ofThe Purple Gangwho had been invited by Ray Bernstein to attend a meeting at the Collingwood Manor Apartments.
• TheTexas Senatepassed a resolution calling Louisiana GovernorHuey Longa "consummate liar" for his statement that the Texas legislature had been bought off.
• The Invergordon Mutiny ended when the British government made some concessions.
• TheSt. Louis Cardinalsclinched theNational Leaguepennant when the second-placeNew York Giantswere eliminated by losing 7–3 to theCincinnati Reds.

Mukhtar, shortly before his trial and execution

• Died:Omar Mukhtar,73, Libyan revolutionary who led theLibyan resistance movementagainst Italian colonial authorities in Cyrenaica, was hanged five days after being wounded and captured in battle

September 17, 1931 (Thursday)

• RCA Victorintroduced theLP recordin a demonstration at theSavoy-Plaza Hotelin New York. However, the long playing discs were too expensive at the time to be commercially successful.
• Karlag,one of the largest forced labour camps in the Soviet Union, was established in theKazakh SSR.
• Born:Anne Bancroft(stage name for Anna Maria Italiano), American stage, film and TV actress best known forThe Miracle Worker,winner of two Tony Awards, an Academy Award, and two Emmy Awards; inthe Bronx,New York City(d. 2005)
• Died:
  • Marvin Hart,55, American heavyweight boxing champion, world champion 1905 to 1906; from a stroke
  • Marcello Amero D'Aste,78, Admiral of the Royal Italian Navy and theRegia MarinaCommander-in-Chief during World War One

September 18, 1931 (Friday)

• TheMukden Incident,staged by Japanese military personnel in the Chinese region ofManchuria,took place when an officer of the 29th Japanese Infantry exploded a small bomb on the tracks of the Japanese-ownedSouth Manchuria Railwaynear the city ofMukden(now Shenyang). Japan's Imperial Army then accused Chinese dissidents of attempting to sabotage the railway and invaded the city the next day with the goal of eventually annexing Manchuria.
• Died:Geli Raubal,23, half-niece of Adolf Hitler and his girlfriend, committed suicide at Hitler's Munich apartment, shooting herself in the chest with a pistol owned by him.

September 19, 1931 (Saturday)

• TheJapanese invasion of Manchuriabegan as a Japanese Army unit fired artillery shells at a Chinese Army garrison at Beidaying on the pretext of retaliation for the bomb explosion at the South Manchuria Railway the night before. By the end of the day, 500 Japanese troops had taken control of the city. The Japanese also occupiued the city of Mukden.
• InClarksburg, West Virginia,an angry mob of 10,000 people tried to storm the county jail to get at accused murdererHarry Powers.Police firedtear gasto bring the crowd under control.Powers would be convicted of killing an Illinois woman and her three children, and hanged at the West Virginia State Penitentiary on March 18.
• Died:David Starr Jordan,80, American ichthyologist and university administrator who served as the first president ofStanford Universityand later as the president ofIndiana University

September 20, 1931 (Sunday)

• Britain's government abandoned thegold standardas the basis for the value of the pound sterling.
• Died:Joan Beauchamp Procter,34, English zoologist andherpetologist,died of cancer

September 21, 1931 (Monday)

• The British emergency measure to suspend the gold standard was rushed through the House of Commons and House of Lords and granted royal assent all in the same day.
• The German stock exchange was closed again.It would not reopen until April 1932.
• Born:
  • Larry Hagman,American television actor known forDallasandI Dream of Jeannie;inFort Worth, Texas(d. 2012)
  • Gloria Cordes,baseball pitcher and twice all-star for theAAGPBLin 1952 and 1954; inStaten Island,New York City(d. 2018)

September 22, 1931 (Tuesday)

• Charlie Chaplinpaid his respects to the Mahatma Gandhi inCanning Town,London.
• Born:
  • Fay Weldon,English novelist; inBirmingham(d. 2023)
  • George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie,Scottish banker, politician, and BritishSecretary of State for Defencefrom 1986 to 1989; inStirling,Stirlingshire(d. 2003)

September 23, 1931 (Wednesday)

• The Soviet Union notified Japan of its disapproval of theJapanese invasion of Manchuria.Foreign Affairs ComissarMaxim Litvinovtold the Japanese minister that the Soviet government was displeased at not being informed ahead of time and that the conflict could have been settled through compromise.
• Died:Asger Ostenfeld,64, Danish civil engineer and expert on steel structural construction

September 24, 1931 (Thursday)

• Japan told theLeague of Nationsthat it would it begin to withdraw troops fromManchuriaif the safety of Japanese residents in the area and their property was guaranteed.
• Born:Anthony Newley,English pop singer and later a film lyricist (d. 1999)

September 25, 1931 (Friday)

• The Mahatma Gandhi visited theLancashirecotton mills. Despite the Indian boycott damaging the British textile industry, Gandhi was cheered by workers.
• Scotland Yardraided the offices of theDaily Worker,the newspaper of theCommunist Party of Great Britain,due to articles printed the week before about the Invergordon Mutiny.
• Born:Peggy Connelly,American singer and actress, inShreveport, Louisiana(d. 2007)
• Died:Aleksander Skrzyński,49, Prime Minister of the Second Polish Republic for six months in 1925 and 1926, was killed in a car accident

September 26, 1931 (Saturday)

• A printer of theDaily Workerwas brought into police court and charged with inciting mutiny.
• The filmFive Star FinalstarringEdward G. Robinsonwas released.
• The comedy filmSidewalks of New YorkstarringBuster Keatonwas released.
• Died:
  • Albert Capellani,57, French film director and screenwriter
  • Harry Macdonough(stage name for John Scantlebury Macdonald), 60, Canadian recording artist and singer whose works were among the first best-selling phonograph records; later a recording executive for Columbia Records

September 27, 1931 (Sunday)

• Following the decision by the United Kingdom,Norway,SwedenandEgyptall abandoned thegold standard.
• In local elections inHamburg,theSocial Democratic Party of Germanynarrowly edged out theNazi Party,winning 46 seats to the NSDAP's 43.

September 28, 1931 (Monday)

• France and Germany created a new trade commission to improve trade relations between the two countries.
• Denmarkabandoned thegold standard.
• ThePrague Zoowas opened.
• Born:John Gilmore,American jazz saxophonist, inSummit, Mississippi(d. 1995)
• Died:Earl Little, 41, father ofMalcolm X

September 29, 1931 (Tuesday)

• George Stainforth broke his own speed record by flying an airplane at 408.8 mph.
• The British Ministry of Labour reported record unemployment, with 2.8 million people out of work.On the same day, huge crowds of unemployed workers poured intoWestminsterto protest. Many arrests were made as the demonstrators clashed with mounted police.
• TheEstevan Riotoccurred inEstevan,Saskatchewanbetween theRoyal Canadian Mounted Policeand striking coal miners.
• Born:
  • James Cronin,American nuclear physicist and 1980 Nobel laureate, inChicago,Illinois(d. 2016)
  • Anita Ekberg,Swedish-born Italian film actress and model; inMalmö(d. 2015)

September 30, 1931 (Wednesday)

• London police clashed again with unemployed workers outside theBow Street police stationandMagistrates' Courtwhere those arrested in last night's disturbances were being tried.
• Mahatma Gandhi met with Prime Minister MacDonald in London.
• The British government that the pound sterling had lost 20% of its value in 10 days following its abandonment of the gold standard.
• The filmAlice in Wonderland,the first talking screen adaptation of theLewis CarrollnovelAlice's Adventures in Wonderland,was released.
• Born:
  • Angie Dickinson,American film and television actress known forRio Bravoand the NBC seriesPolice Woman;as Angeline Brown, inKulm, North Dakota
  • Wesley L. Fox,U.S. Marine Corps officer andMedal of Honorrecipient, inHerndon, Virginia(d. 2017)
• Died:Henry C. Warmoth,89, officer for the Union Army in the American Civil War who was electedGovernor of Louisianain 1868 at the age of 26 during the Reconstruction Era;