Directory

1936 CE

The Spanish Civil War begins as Franco’s Nationalists rise against the Republicans; at the 1936 Summer Olympics, Jesse Owens wins four gold medals, defying Nazi racial ideology; the death and state funeral of George V shocks Britain, followed by the Abdication of Edward VIII; the Remilitarisation of the Rhineland violates the Treaty of Versailles, emboldening Hitler; the Anti-Comintern Pact is signed by Germany and Japan against the Soviet Union; the February 26 incident, a failed coup attempt in Japan, leads to political purges.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • February 16 – 1936 Spanish general election: The left-wing Popular Front coalition takes a majority.source
  • March 7 – In violation of the Treaty of Versailles and Locarno Treaties, Nazi Germany reoccupies the Rhineland. Hitler and other Nazis later admit that the French army alone could have destroyed the Wehrmacht.source
  • March 9 – Pro-democratic militarist Keisuke Okada steps down as Prime Minister of Japan and is replaced by radical militarist Kōki Hirota.source
  • May 9 – Speaking in Rome, Benito Mussolini announces the foundation of the empire, as Italian East Africa is formed from the Italian territories of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland.source
  • July 20 – The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits is signed in Montreux, allowing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime.source
  • August 26 – The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 is signed.source
  • September 9 – The Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence is signed.source
  • September 28 – After the election to the Swedish Riksdag's second chamber, Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp and his "Holiday Cabinet" ("Semesterregeringen") resign (though he remains as Minister of Agriculture) and Per Albin Hansson returns as Prime Minister, staying in office until his death from a heart attack in 1946.source
  • October 25 – The Italo-German protocol of 23 October 1936 is signed, resulting in the creation of the Axis.source
  • November 25 – The Anti-Comintern Pact is signed by Germany and Japan.source
  • December 5 – The 1936 Soviet Constitution, promulgated by Stalin, is adopted in the Soviet Union. The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic is dissolved, and Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia become full Republics of the Soviet Union.source
  • December 10 – Edward VIII abdication crisis: King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom signs an instrument of abdication at Fort Belvedere, Surrey in the presence of his three brothers, The Duke of York, The Duke of Gloucester and The Duke of Kent.source
  • December 11 – Taking the opportunity to free itself further from ties to the United Kingdom, the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State passes the Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936, removing most powers from the office of Governor-General of the Irish Free State, and the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 (signed into law December 12), assenting to the abdication and restricting the power of the monarch in relation to Ireland to international affairs.source
  • December 11 – Edward VIII abdication crisis: The British Parliament passes His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 on behalf of the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The King performs his last act as sovereign by giving Royal Assent to the Act, and his brother Prince Albert, Duke of York, becomes King, reigning as King George VI. The former King, now HRH Prince Edward, makes a broadcast to the nation explaining his decision to abdicate, and leaves the country for Austria.source

Conflict & Security

  • January 8 – Reza Shah of Iran issues the Kashf-e hijab which bans all Islamic veils such as the hijab, in addition to many types of male traditional clothingsource
  • February 10–19 – Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Amba Aradam – Italian forces gain a decisive tactical victory, effectively neutralizing the army of the Ethiopian Empire.source
  • February 26 – February 26 Incident (二・二六事件, Niniroku Jiken): The Imperial Way Faction engineers a failed coup against the Japanese government; some politicians are killed.source
  • April 15 – The Tulkarm shooting, followed by Jewish retaliation, begins the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine against British administration, and stokes opposition to Jewish immigration.source
  • May 5 – March of the Iron Will: Italian forces occupy Addis Ababa unopposed.source
  • July 17 – The Spanish Army of Africa launches a coup d'état against the Republican Second Spanish Republic, beginning the Spanish Civil War.source
  • July 19 – The first of hundreds of concentration camps open in Francoist Spain in the Alcazaba of Zeluán.source
  • July 24 – Carmelite Martyrs of Guadalajara: 3 nuns are shot dead by the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War).source
  • August 4 – A self-coup is staged by Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas, marking the beginning of the authoritarian 4th of August Regime, which will rule Greece until the Axis occupation of Greece in 1941.source
  • September 5 – Spanish Civil War: Robert Capa's photograph The Falling Soldier is taken.source
  • September 9 – 1936 Naval Revolt (Portugal): The crews of Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Afonso de Albuquerque and destroyer Dão mutiny while anchored in Lisbon Harbour. Opposed to the Salazar dictatorship's support of General Franco's coup in Spain, they declare their solidarity with the Second Spanish Republic.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • September 4–5 – English-born aviator Beryl Markham becomes the first woman to make an east-to-west solo transatlantic flight, from Abingdon-on-Thames, England, to Baleine, Nova Scotia.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • March 1 – Construction of Hoover Dam is completed in the United States.source
  • June 26 – Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first fully controllable helicopter, makes its maiden flight.source
  • November 2 – The BBC launches the world's first regular television service in high-definition (according to contemporary standards).source
  • November 2 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) begins radio in Canada.source
  • November 12 – In California, the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic.source

Science & Discovery

  • February 4 – Radium E (bismuth-210) becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.source
  • May 28 - Alan Turing submits "On Computable Numbers", proving the undecidability of the Halting problem and the decision problem for logic. Computer scientist Avi Wigderson called this paper "easily the most influential math paper in history".source
  • June 19 – The total solar eclipse of June 19, 1936 is visible in Greece, Turkey, Russia and Japan. It is part of Solar Saros 126; Gamma is a value of 0.53889.source
  • July 4 – First publication recognizing stress as a biological condition.source
  • October 19 – H. R. Ekins, reporter for the New York World-Telegram, wins a race to travel around the world on commercial airline flights, beating Dorothy Kilgallen of the New York Journal and Leo Kieran of The New York Times. The flight takes 18½ days.source
  • Nestlé introduce the white chocolate Milkybar (called Galak in Continental Europe and elsewhere).source

Health & Medicine

  • September 13 – In response to a polio outbreak, Chicago Public Schools launches a distance education program which constitutes the first large-scale use of radio broadcasts to facilitate distance education.source
  • December 7 – Streptococcous meningitis (a condition previously 99% fatal) is successfully treated for the first time with a sulfonamide.source

Crime & Justice

  • November 19 and 20 – Buenaventura Durruti, a major Spanish anarchist, is fatally shot in Madrid, dying the following day.source
  • December 12 – Xi'an Incident: Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China is kidnapped by Marshal Zhang Xueliang.source
  • The Viking Age craftsman's Mästermyr chest is discovered in the Mästermyr mire (after which it is later named), west of Hemse, on the island of Gotland, Sweden.source
  • Joseph Stalin's Great Purge begins in the Soviet Union.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • May 25 – The Remington Rand strike of 1936–37 begins, spawning the notorious Mohawk Valley formula, a corporate plan for strikebreaking.source
  • November 20 – A levee failure and continued massive rain at the Mitsubishi Osarizawa mine, Kazuno, northeastern Akita, Japan, results in at least 375 deaths.source
  • November 30 – A spectacular fire destroys The Crystal Palace in London, originally built for the 1851 Great Exhibition.source

Climate & Environment

  • April 5 – A tornado hits Tupelo, Mississippi, United States, killing 216 people and injuring over 700 (the 4th deadliest tornado in U.S. history).source
  • June 19 – Per Albin Hansson resigns as Prime Minister of Sweden, over the issue of defence policy. He is replaced by the leader of the Farmer's League (Bondeförbundet) Axel Pehrsson-Bramstorp, who also becomes Minister of Agriculture.source
  • November 3 – 1936 United States presidential election: Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected to a second term, in a landslide victory over Kansas Governor Alf Landon; farmers support Roosevelt.source
  • West China Famine: An estimated five million people die.source

Culture & Society

  • January 28 – State funeral of George V of the United Kingdom. After a procession through London, he is buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.source
  • February 5 – Modern Times, widely considered one of the greatest films ever, premieres in New York City.source
  • February 6 – The IV Olympic Winter Games open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.source
  • August 1 – The 1936 Summer Olympics open in Berlin, Germany, and mark the first live television coverage of an international sports event in world history (John Logie Baird had broadcast the Derby horse race in Britain in 1931).source
  • August 3 – 1936 Summer Olympics: African-American athlete Jesse Owens wins the 100-meter dash.source
  • August 14 – 1936 Summer Olympics: The Junior Varsity Rowing Crew from the University of Washington surprises the world listening on radio when they come from behind to win Olympic Gold.source
  • September 10 – The first World Speedway Championship is held at Wembley Stadium in London, England. It is won by Australian Lionel Van Praag, with Englishman Eric Langton second and Australian Bluey Wilkinson third.source
  • November 23 – Cover date of the first issue of Life, a weekly news magazine launched in the United States under the management of Henry Luce.source
  • December 24 – The first filmed Ukrainian opera, Natalka Poltavka, is released in Ukraine.source

Births

  • February 17 – Jim Brown, African-American football player and actor (d. 2023)source
  • March 6 – Marion Barry, African-American civil rights activist and politician (d. 2014)source
  • March 10 – Sepp Blatter, Swiss sports administrator, president of FIFAsource
  • March 11 – Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2016)source
  • March 28 – Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian writer, politician, journalist and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2025)source
  • April 9 – Valerie Solanas, American feminist writer who attempts to kill Andy Warhol (d. 1988)source
  • June 23 – Costas Simitis, Greek politician, 78th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2025)source
  • June 25 – B. J. Habibie, Indonesian politician, 3rd President of Indonesia (d. 2019)source
  • August 1 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-born French fashion designer (d. 2008)source
  • August 29 – John McCain, American politician, U.S. Senator (R-Az.) (d. 2018)source
  • September 14 – Walter Koenig, American actor (Star Trek: The Original Series)source
  • September 24 – Jim Henson, American puppeteer, filmmaker and television producer (The Muppets) (d. 1990)source
  • September 29 – Silvio Berlusconi, 50th Prime Minister of Italy, media entrepreneur (d. 2023)source
  • December 13 – Prince Karim Al-Husseini, Aga Khan IV, Swiss-born 49th imam of Nizari Isma'ilis, businessman, philanthropist and racehorse owner (d. 2025)source

Deaths

  • January 18 – Rudyard Kipling, British writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)source
  • January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House.source
  • February 8 – Charles Curtis, 31st Vice President of the United States (b. 1860)source
  • February 19 – Billy Mitchell, American general, military aviation pioneer (b. 1879)source
  • February 27 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian psychologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1849)source
  • March 18 – Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek statesman, several times Prime Minister (b. 1864)source
  • April 3 – Richard Hauptmann, German killer of Charles Lindbergh Jr. (executed) (b. 1899)source
  • June 11 – Robert E. Howard, American pulp fiction writer (suicide) (b. 1906)source
  • July 23 – Anna Abrikosova, Soviet Roman Catholic religious sister and servant of God (b. 1882)source
  • September 7 – The last known thylacine ("Tasmanian tiger"), named Benjamin, dies in Hobart Zoo in Tasmania.source
  • October 19 – Lu Xun, leading figure of modern Chinese literature (b. 1881)source
  • December 9 – Juan de la Cierva, Spanish civil engineer, aviator and aeronautical engineer, inventor of the autogyro (b. 1895)source
  • December 10 – Luigi Pirandello, Italian dramatist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)source
  • December 18 – Leonardo Torres Quevedo, Spanish engineer, a pioneer of computing and radio control, inventor of El Ajedrecista (The Chess Player) (b. 1852)source