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William N. Page

William N. Page

William Nelson Page (January 6, 1854–March 7, 1932), was a United States civil engineer, entrepreneur, capitalist, businessman, and industrialist. Page was one of the leading developers of West Virginia's rich bituminous coal fields in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as being deeply involved in building the infrastructure to transport the mined coal. He came to the area to help build the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and soon became involved in many coal and related enterprises in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Among his many enterprises, Page partnered with financier Henry Huttleston Rogers to plan and construct the Virginian Railway (VGN), secretly built right between two of the country's larger railroads. The well-engineered and highly efficient VGN operated very profitably and came to be known as the "Richest Little Railroad in the World." Page was also a civic leader, a mayor of his hometown of Ansted, served in the local militia during the Spanish American War and later the West Virginia National Guard, and helped found a hospital in 1889. The railroad town of Page, West Virginia was named for him. After his retirement in 1917, a ship which served the US Navy and the merchant marine during both world wars, the S.S. William N. Page, was named in his honor.

Biography

Early life, education, and employment

William Nelson Page was born at "Locust Grove" in Campbell County, Virginia on January 6, 1854. His parents were Edwin Randolph and Olivia (née Alexander) Page. He attended special courses in engineering at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Page became a civil engineer and between 1871 and 1876, played a role in engineering and building the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O). He led the surveying party charged with mapping out the route of the double-track railway ordered by Congress to extend between Hampton Roads and the Ohio River via the valleys of the James River and Jackson River in Virginia, and the New River and Kanawha River in West Virginia. He directed the location and construction of several important C&O bridges. While working with the C&O, he became fascinated with the potential of the untapped mineral resources of the more rugged portions of West Virginia.

Family and children

On February 9, 1882, Page married Emma Hayden Gilham. Emma had been born in Lexington, Virginia in Rockbridge County in 1855. She was the daughter of Major William Gilham, Commandant of Cadets and an instructor at Virginia Military Institute (VMI), one of 7 children he had with his wife Cordelia A Gilham. In 1860, her father prepared a well-known training manual for recruits and militia at the request of Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise, and was involved with early training of cadets at Camp Lee in Richmond, Virginia as the American Civil War broke out the following year. Her father became president of fertilizer company in Richmond after the War ended in 1865. Emma spent her teen-aged years at Richmond, where she was a débutante at one of Richmond's earliest "Germans", which were formal social gatherings for the young people (the name of these events had no relationship to Germany). [http://richmondthenandnow.com/Newspaper-Articles/Richmond-Germans.html] She was the sister of Julius Hayden Gilham (April 6, 1852 - March 10, 1936) who is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. [http://www.vmi.edu/archives/local%5Fhistory/1860census.pdf] It is not known how William and Emma met, but they both had roots and family in Augusta County and Rockbridge County area of teh Shenandoah Valley. It is known that they had four children:
- Delia Hayden Page
- Edwin Randolph Page
- Mary Josephine Page
- Evan Powell Page

Entrepreneur and developer

Augusta County A knowledgeable man with training and experience as a civil engineer, and the spirit of an entrepreneur, Page was exceptionally well-prepared to help develop West Virginia's hidden wealth: huge deposits of "smokeless" bituminous coal. Former West Virginia Governor William A. MacCorkle described him as a man who knew the land "as a farmer knows a field." Page became a protégé' of Dr. David T. Ansted, a noted British geologist with large land holdings in southern West Virginia. Page busied himself with many enterprises to develop the natural resources which lay all around him, primarily working with iron and coal operations. Of course, with his background with the C&O, Page was also into railroads. He was the general manager of the Hawks Nest Coal Co. between 1877 and 1880, Superintendent of the Victoria Blast Furnace at Goshen, Virginia from 1880 to 1885, and located and built the Powellton bridge for the C&O between 1885 and 1889. After developing the Mt. Carbon Collieries, he organized and developed the Gauley Mountain Coal Co, and he became a consulting engineer for other coal-producing firms as well. Other involvements were Virginia and Pittsburgh Land Association (a land development company), and Pittsburgh and Virginia Railroad Company. He was later a principal of Page Coal and Coke Company.

The "Idea Man from Ansted"

William Page settled in the tiny mountain hamlet of Ansted, a town with a population of 2,000 located in Fayette County, West Virginia. Ansted sits on high bluffs on Gauley Mountain near an outcropping of rocks called Hawk's Nest overlooking the New River far below, where the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway tracks occupied both sides of the narrow valley. There, in 1898 while he was president of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company, Page had a palatial white Victorian mansion built by company carpenters on a knoll in the middle of town. Col. Page, as he became known, was in truth an uniformed major in a locally recruited Spanish-American War militia. A colorful character by all accounts, he was described as a slight man who was known for his handlebar mustache, pince-nez glasses, iron bowler derby, and elegant suits. He was considered to be somewhat aloof by the local population, and could frequently be seen riding a bicycle on the sloping lawn of the mansion, where eight servants were employed. Described years later by author H. Reid as "the Idea Man from Ansted," Page spent long hours working in the den just off the main entrance to his resplendent home. In addition to pursuing business interests, Page also found time to serve as the mayor of Ansted for 10 years and rose to the rank of brigadier inspector general in the West Virginia National Guard. He was also an incorporator and director of Sheltering Arms Hospital in neighboring Kanawha County. However, of all of his many activities, William Nelson Page is probably best-known for the founding and building of the Virginian Railway (VGN). It started much like just another of his many projects, but would ultimately grow far beyond its original scope. The story of the building of the Virginian Railway is a textbook example of natural resources, railroads, and a smaller company taking on big business (and winning) early in the 20th century.

Building the Virginian Railway

Forming a partnership

While heading Gauley Mountain Coal Company, Col. Page made the acquaintance of financier and industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers (January 29, 1840–May 19, 1909). 1909 Rogers was a millionaire who had made his initial fortune as one of the key men with the Standard Oil Trust. He was an energetic entrepreneur much like the younger Page, and was also involved in many rail and mineral development projects. Col. Page knew of rich untapped bituminous coal fields lying between the New River Valley and the lower Guyandotte River in southern West Virginia in an area not yet reached by the C&O and its major competitor, the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). While the bigger railroads were preoccupied developing nearby areas and shipping coal via rail to Hampton Roads, he formed a plan to take advantage of the undeveloped coal lands. As his plan evolved, he got Rogers and several others to invest in it. A powerful partnership had been formed.

Deepwater Railway vs. the big railroads

Col. Page and his investors purchased the remote land in the name of Loup Creek Colliery. To access it, in 1896, he formed a small logging railroad, the Loup Creek and Deepwater Railway (LC&D). In 1898, he filed a new charter for the LC&D to become the Deepwater Railway. It was originally planned to run only a short distance. In 1902, the Deepwater Railway charter was amended again to provide for the short-line railroad to connect with the existing lines of the C&O along the Kanawha River at Deepwater and the N&W at Matoaka. After the extension provided by the 1902 amendment, the total distance involved, all within West Virginia, was about 80 miles. By planning interchange points with the two large railroads, Page could anticipate competition and negotiation of fair rates with the only two big railroads nearby. As Col. Page developed the short-line Deepwater Railway, he ran into an unexpected brick wall when attempting to negotiate with either of the larger railroads who he realized had considered the territory to be potentially theirs for future growth. But he got nowhere with either of them. It was only later revealed that the both the C&O and the N&W were essentially under the common control of the even larger Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and New York Central Railroad (NYC), whose leaders, Alexander Cassatt and William Vanderbilt respectively, had secretly entered into a "community of interests pact." The C&O and the N&W had apparently agreed with each other to refuse to negotiate with Col. Page and his upstart Deepwater Railway. Page didn't give up as must have been anticipated. Instead, he stubbornly continued building his short-line railroad through some of the most rugged terrain of the Mountain State, to the increasing puzzlement of the big railroads. They were unaware that one of Page's investors (who were silent partners in the venture) was the powerful Rogers, who wasn't about to have the investment foiled by the big railroads. Instead, he and Page set about secretly planning and securing their own route out of the mountains and across Virginia to Hampton Roads.

Tidewater Railway: from the mountains to the sea

In 1904, Page and Rogers had Staunton, Virginia attorney Thomas D. Ranson form another intrastate railroad company. The Tidewater Railway was to be used for the portion of their mountains to the sea project to be in Virginia. As intrastate railroads, the Deepwater and Tidewater were each under jurisdiction of their respective state. Thus, they were not obviously linked to each other by the various (and usually different) attorneys handling rights-of-way cases in the local courts of each state. Planning and land acquisition for the Tidewater Railway were done largely in secret. In his book "The Virginian Railway" (Kalmbach, 1961), author H. Reid described some of the tactics. On a Sunday in February, 1905, a group of 35 surveyors from New York disguised themselves as fishermen and rode to the location aboard a N&W passenger train. While they stood in icy water apparently "fishing" with their transit poles, the surveyors mapped out a crossing of the New River at Glen Lyn, as well as the adjacent portion of the line through Narrows to a point near Radford. After leaving the valley of the New River, the new line was surveyed to cross the U.S. Eastern Continental Divide in a tunnel to be built near Merrimac, Virginia. After descending on the eastern side of the mountain, the new line for the Tidewater Railway essentially followed the valley of the Roanoke River past Salem and Roanoke and through the water gap formed by the river in the Blue Ridge Mountains. As the terrain changed to the more gentle rolling hills of the Piedmont region, the plan was to run almost due east to Suffolk, within just a few miles of the goal: Hampton Roads. Deals were quietly struck with the various communities all along the way. Many were small towns and villages that had been passed by when the big railroads were building 20-25 years earlier, and the new railroad was welcomed. Even the leaders of Roanoke, home to the headquarters of the N&W, were accommodating, authorizing a path through their city along the north bank of the Roanoke River.

A coup at Sewell's Point

Roanoke Perhaps most notable of all of the communities which helped make the new railroad possible was the City of Norfolk, Virginia. N&W's coal pier and huge storage yards were at Lambert's Point near downtown Norfolk. Other big railroads, C&O, Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line, and a Pennsylvania railroad subsidiary, had established facilities nearby as well. Access to Hampton Roads frontage and space to build a new coal pier was crucial to the whole scheme. However, it was also very important that the big railroads not learn of the plans, or surely they would attempt to interfere. The solution was found at an unlikely location: isolated and somewhat desolate Sewell's Point in a rural area near the mouth of Hampton Roads. To reach Sewell's Point from Suffolk, the Tidewater Railway was plotted to run about 15 miles to the east, staying well south of the downtown Portsmouth and Norfolk harbor areas (and the other railroads). After reaching South Norfolk, the new railroad would begin a wide 180' counter-clockwise loop to the north. Trains would actually heading west when reaching Hampton Roads. To enable the necessary routing, Norfolk's civic leaders provided a 13 mile (21 km) long right-of-way around their city. Page-Rogers' interests purchased 1000 feet (300 m) of the waterfront and 500 acres (2 km²) of adjoining land. There would be plenty of space for the new pier, storage yards, tracks, and support facilities at Sewell's Point.

The common enemy with deep pockets

In West Virginia, Page went to court to secure right-of way for the Deepwater Railway to proceed east past the earlier planned terminus (with the N&W) at Matoaka. In what may have been a near-miss with a perjury charge, upon interrogation by N&W attorneys in a West Virginia legal confrontation over right-of-way, Page representing the Deepwater Railway identified the estate of the late Abram S. Hewitt (a former mayor of New York City) as one of his investors. Page never mentioned Henry Rogers, who it is now known had been an associate of Hewitt and may have been acting through the Hewitt estate. The N&W attorneys were unsuccessful in learning more at that time, or during other confrontations as they attempted to stop the progress of the Deepwater in West Virginia. Meanwhile, over in Virginia, with the land and route secured, in 1905 the Tidewater Railway began construction. By the time the larger railroads finally realized what was happening, and that Col Page was involved in both the Deepwater and Tidewater Railways, their new competitor could not be successfully blocked in the courts. As the construction continued throughout 1905, Col. Page continued to meet with each of the big railroads to attempt to negotiate rates and/or perhaps sell off his growing enterprise. The leaders of the C&O and the N&W exchanged correspondence sharing their mutual concern about the "common enemy." Page did not appear to be financially capable of the project and they were skeptical that the new Deepwater and Tidewater railroads could be financed and completed. After all, they reasoned, there had been no public offering of bonds or stock, which were the way such enterprises were customarily financed at the time. The big railroads saw to it that the "negotiations" were always unproductive, and Col. Page always declined to indicate the source of his "deep pockets". Norfolk and Western Railway President Lucius E. Johnson tried a different tactic to block (or at least slow) construction and increase costs. He filed papers with Virginia's State Corporation Commission to attempt to force costly overpasses at proposed at-grade crossings with the N&W in Roanoke and South Norfolk, citing great concern about the potential safety hazards which would allegedly result. The state authorities ruled against N&W at both locations, and construction of the new Tidewater Railway continued.

Henry Rogers steps forward

The leaders of the big railroads heard many rumors regarding possible sources of the mysterious funding. Henry Rogers' name had been mentioned, along with just about every other wealthy industrialist. The names of many companies, including Standard Oil, had also been discussed as well as those of many other large companies. There was a lot at stake, as the C&O and the N&W through the secret "community of interests" pact were carefully controlling coal shipping rates. Such collusion was the very game that helped Rogers make his fortune at Standard Oil. Rumors notwithstanding, there seems to be no credible evidence that the leaders of the N&W/C&O had any confirmation of the Rogers involvement until he and Page were ready for them to know. Finally, well into 1906, at the request of Rogers, famous industrialist turned philanthropist Andrew Carnegie brought President L. Smith of the Norfolk and Western Railway to Rogers' office in the Standard Oil Building in New York. According to Norfolk and Western's corporate records, the meeting lasted less than five minutes. Some tense and less-than-pleasant words were exchanged, and Rogers' backing had finally been confirmed. Of course, the head of the C&O soon also received the news, as did the leaders of the Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads. There would be an old and experienced hand at rate-making as a new player in their game. New York

Victoria is created

Late in 1906, near the halfway point on the Tidewater Railway between Roanoke and Sewell's Point, a new town with space set aside for railroad offices and shops was created in Lunenburg County, Virginia. It was named Victoria, in honor of Queen Victoria of England, who was long-admired by Henry Rogers. Victoria was the location of a large equipment maintenance operation, with roundhouse, turntable coaling and water facilities for servicing steam locomotives, and a large yard. Offices for the VGN's Norfolk Division were built by adding a second floor to the passenger station building a few years later.

Virginian Railway born, Jamestown Exposition

Early in 1907, with some portions of each still under construction, the Deepwater and Tidewater Railways were combined to become "The Virginian Railway Company." On April 15, 1907, Col. Page was elected as its first president. About the same time, a large stretch of the eastern portion had been completed and regular passenger service established between Norfolk and Victoria. This proved just in time for the new railroad to serve the Jamestown Exposition, which was held on land adjacent to the VGN coal pier site at Sewell's Point. At the exposition, Page served as Chief of International Jury of Awards, Mines and Metallurgy. On April 26, 1907, US President Theodore Roosevelt opened the exposition. Mark Twain was another honored guest, arriving with his friend Henry Rogers on the latter's yacht Kanawha. In addition to President Roosevelt, the newly renamed Virginian Railway (VGN) transported many of the 3 million persons who attended before the Exposition closed on December 1, 1907.

Financial panic of 1907 - Rogers has stroke

Work progressed on the VGN during 1907 and 1908 using construction techniques not available when the larger railroads had been built about 25 years earlier. By paying for work with Henry Rogers' own personal fortune, the railway was built with no public debt. This feat, a key feature of the successful secrecy in securing the route, was not accomplished without some considerable burden to Rogers, however. He had suffered some setbacks in the Financial Panic of 1907 which began in March of that year. Then, a few months later, he experienced a debilitating stroke. Fortunately, Henry Rogers recovered his health, at least partially, and saw to it that construction was continued on the new railroad until it was finally completed early in 1909.

Final spike, celebrations

1909 The final spike in the VGN was driven on January 29, 1909, at the west side of the massive New River Bridge at Glen Lyn, near where the new railroad crossed the West Virginia-Virginia state line. The former Deepwater and Tidewater Railways were now physically connected. In April, 1909, Henry Huttleston Rogers and Mark Twain, old friends, returned to Norfolk, Virginia together once again for a huge celebration of the new "Mountains to the Sea" railroad's completion. They were met at the shore by a huge crowd of Norfolk citizens waiting with great excitement despite rain that day. While Rogers toured the railway's new $2.5 million coal pier at Sewell's Point, Mark Twain spoke to groups of students at several local schools. That night, at a grand banquet held in downtown Norfolk, the city's civic leaders, Mark Twain, other dignitaries, and Rogers himself spoke. Rogers left the next day on his first (and only) tour of the newly completed railroad. He died suddenly only six weeks later at the age of 69 at his home in New York. But by then, the work of the Page-Rogers partnership to build the Virginian Railway had been completed.

Accomplishments

While neither William Page or Henry Rogers ended up running their newly completed Virginian Railway, it was arguably a crowning lifetime achievement for each man. Together, they had conceived and built a modern, well-engineered rail pathway from the coal mines of West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads right under the noses of the big railroads. The Virginian Railway could operate more efficiently than its larger competitors, had all new infrastructure, and no debt. It was an accomplishment like no other in the history of US railroading, before or since. The new railroad opened up isolated communities in both West Virginia and Virginia and soon helped develop new coalfields and other industries. Throughout its profitable 50 year history, the VGN continued to follow the Page-Rogers policy of "paying up front for the best." It became particularly well-known for treating its employees and vendors well, another investment which paid rich dividends. The VGN operated some of the largest and most innovative steam, electric, and diesel locomotives, and could afford to, earning the nickname "Richest Little Railroad in the World." In time, the big railroads learned to coexist with their newer competitor, and came to regret turning down opportunities to purchase it before completion. There were many failed attempts by each of them and others to acquire the VGN. Eventually, the owners of the VGN agreed to merge with arch-rival Norfolk and Western Railway in 1959. In 2004, much of the former Virginian Railway is still in use by N&W successor Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). The well-engineered low gradient VGN route helps NS compete efficiently with rival CSX Transportation (successor to the VGN's old rival C&O) and non-rail transport modes in the transportation markets of the 21st century.

Heritage

The seemingly remotely-located terminal Page and Rogers planned and built at Sewell's Point played an important role in 20th century U.S. naval history. Beginning in 1917, the former Jamestown Exposition grounds adjacent to the VGN coal pier became an important facility for the United States Navy. The VGN transported the high quality "smokeless" West Virginia bituminous coal favored by the US Navy for its ships and submarines, providing a reliable supply during both World Wars. Today, the former VGN property at Sewell's Point is part of the Norfolk Navy Base, the largest naval facility in the world. Norfolk Navy Base After Col. Page retired in 1917, a ship was named in his honor. William N. Page was a steamship built at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Ship Building and Dry Dock Corp. It was taken over by the US Navy for operation by the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) and commissioned on December 18, 1918. After fitting out, William N. Page loaded general cargo and locomotives and departed for France. She made several transatlantic trips through the treacherous German U-boat infested waters before finally returning to Norfolk where on May 31, 1919, she was decommissioned by the Navy. After her brief naval career, the William N. Page remained in active merchant service for nearly three decades. Her successive owners and operators included the Mystic Steamship Co., the Koppers Coal Co., and Eastern Gas and Fuel Associates. The latter two companies were majority owners of the Virginian Railway after purchasing a controlling interest from Rogers' heirs in 1936. Col. Page died at his home in Washington, DC in 1932 at the age of 78. His mansion on the hilltop in Ansted, West Virginia still stands as evidence of the once thriving coal business. Later occupied by the Vawter family, the Page-Vawter House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nearby, breathtaking Hawk's Nest overlooks the New River Gorge National River. Formed in 2002, [http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/VirginianRailwayEnthusiasts/ Virginian Railway (VGN) Enthusiasts] a non-profit group of preservationists, authors, photographers, historians, modelers, and rail fans, has grown to over 400 members. Members come from as far from the VGN tracks as Australia and include U.S. troops stationed in the war-torn Middle East. A group of retired railroaders calling themselves "[http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?board=Virginian;action=display;num=1098089350 The Virginian Brethren]" meet weekly, share tales of the VGN, and answer questions posed by members of the on-line group. New River Gorge National River The initials "H.H.R." and 'W.N.P." were recently placed in new rail laid for a caboose to be displayed at Victoria, a town they caused to be founded on the "Mountains to Sea" railroad. Their Virginian Railway has turned out to be a lasting tribute, both to Henry Huttleston Rogers, and to William Nelson Page, the "Idea Man from Ansted".

References

Books


- Barger, Ralph L. (1983) Corporate History of Coal & Coke Railway Co., Charleston, Clendennin & Sutton R.R., Roaring Creek & Belington R.R. Co., as of Date of Valuation, June 30, 1918. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society.
- Cartlidge, Oscar (1936) Fifty Years of Coal Mining Charleston, WV: Rose City Press.
- Conley, Phil (1960) History of the Coal Industry of West Virginia Charleston, WV: Educational Foundation.
- Conley, Phil (1923) Life in a West Virginia Coal Field Charleston, WV: American Constitutional Association.
- Corbin, David Alan (1981) Life, Work and Rebellion in the Coal Fields: The Southern West Virginia Miners, 1880-1922 Chicago, Illinois: University of Illinois Press.
- Corbin, David Alan, editor (1990) The West Virginia Mine Wars: An Anthology Charleston, WV: Appalachian Editions.
- Craigo, Robert W., editor (1977) The New River Company: Mining Coal and Making History, 1906-1976 Mount Hope, WV: New River Company.
- Dix, Keith (1977) Work Relations in the Coal Industry: The Hand Loading Era, 1880-1930 Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Institute for Labor Studies.
- Dixon, Thomas W, Jr., (1994) Appalachian Coal Mines & Railroads. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc. ISBN 1-883089-08-5
- Frazier, Claude Albee (1992) Miners and Medicine: West Virginia Memories Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
- Huddleston, Eugene L, Ph.D. (2002) Appalachian Conquest, Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc. ISBN 1-883089-79-4
- Lambie, Joseph T. (1954) From Mine to Market: The History of Coal Transportation on the Norfolk and Western Railway New York: New York University Press
- Lane, Winthrop David (1921) Civil War in West Virginia: A Story of the Industrial Conflict in the Coal Mines New York, NY: B. W. Huebsch, Inc.
- Lewis, Lloyd D. (1992) The Virginian Era. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc.
- Lewis, Lloyd D. (1994) Norfolk & Western and Virginian Railways in Color by H. Reid. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc. ISBN 1-883089-09-3
- MacCorkle, William (1928) The Recollections of Fifty Years New York, New York: G.P.Putnam's Sons Publishing
- Middleton, William D. (1974) When The Steam Railroads Electrified (1st ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89024-028-0
- Reid, H. (1961). The Virginian Railway (1st ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Co.
- Reisweber, Kurt (1995) Virginian Rails 1953-1993 (1st ed.) Old Line Graphics. ISBN 1-879314-11-8
- Sullivan, Ken, editor (1991) The Goldenseal Book of the West Virginia Mine Wars: Articles Reprinted from Goldenseal Magazine, 1977-1991. Charleston: Pictorial Histories Pub. Co.
- Striplin, E. F. Pat. (1981) The Norfolk & Western : a history Roanoke, Va. : Norfolk and Western Railway Co. ISBN 0963325469
- Tams, W. P. (1963) The Smokeless Coal Fields of West Virginia Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Library.
- Thoenen, Eugene D. (1964) History of the Oil and Gas Industry in West Virginia Charleston, WV:
- Traser, Donald R. (1998) Virginia Railway Depots. Old Dominion Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. ISBN 0-9669906-0-9
- various contributors (1968). Who Was Who in America Volume I (7th ed.). New Providence, New Jersey: Marquis Who’s Who
- Wiley, Aubrey and Wallace, Conley (1985

January 6

January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. 359 days (360 in leap years) remain in the year after this day.

Events


- 1066 - Harold Godwinson crowned King of England
- 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans
- 1540 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves.
- 1579 - The Union of Atrecht was signed
- 1661 - The fifth monarchy men unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London.
- 1690 - Joseph, son of Emperor Leopold I becomes King of the Romans
- 1720 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings
- 1853 - American President-Elect Franklin Pierce, wife Jane, and son Ben are involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts. Franklin and Jane survive but eleven-year-old Ben is killed.
- 1858 - Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.
- 1887 - `Abd-allah II of Harar opens the Battle of Chelenqo with an attack on the camp of the Shewan army of Negus Menelik II early in the morning; prepared for the assault, the Negus orders a counter-attack which routs the enemy, resulting with the capture of Harar a few days later.
- 1893 - Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
- 1870 - The inauguration of the Musikverein (Vienna).
- 1900 - It is reported that millions are starving in India.
  - Boers attack Ladysmith, South Africa - over 1,000 people killed
- 1907 - Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome.
- 1912 - New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U.S. state.
- 1929 - King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country's constitution (the so-called January 6th Dictatorship, Šestojanuarska diktatura.)
- 1930 - The first diesel-engine automobile trip is completed (Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).
- 1931 - Thomas Edison submits his last patent application.
- 1936 - Supreme Court of the United States rules the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.; Porky Pig premieres
- 1940 - Actor William Powell marries his 3rd and final wife, actress Diana Lewis
  - Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the city of Poznan, Warthegau.
- 1941 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.
- 1942 - Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to have a flight go around the world.
- 1946 - William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) hanged for treason at the age of 39
- 1950 - The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
- 1961 - A fire at the Thomas Hotel in San Francisco kills 20 people.
- 1967 - United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta.
- 1973 - Schoolhouse Rock premieres on American television
- 1974 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
- 1975 - The American soap opera Another World becomes the first soap opera in the world to air hour-long regularly scheduled episodes.
- 1978 - The Hungarian Holy crown (also known as Stephen_I_of_Hungary crown) returned to Hungary from the United_States, where was held after the WW_II.
- 1982 - William Bonin convicted of being the "freeway killer".
- 1992 - The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously condemning Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
- 1994 - Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the right leg by an assailant under orders from figure skating rival Tonya Harding.
- 1995 - A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.
- 1996 - 1996 Gaithersburg Metrorail Accident on the Washington Metro system kills one in Montgomery County, Maryland, during the Blizzard of 1996.
- 1998 - The Lunar Prospector spacecraft is launched to survey the moon's surface.
- 1999 - Bob Newhart receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 2001 - Al Gore, as President of the U.S. Senate, tallies the electoral votes and certifies George W. Bush as the winner of U.S. presidential election, 2000.
- 2005 - Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders: Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect for the 1964 murders of three Civil Rights workers.

Births


- 1367 - King Richard II of England (d. 1400)
- 1412 - Joan of Arc, French warrior and Catholic saint (d. 1431)
- 1418 - Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (d. 1448)
- 1486 - Martin Agricola, German composer (d. 1556)
- 1488 - Helius Eobanus Hessus, German poet (d. 1540)
- 1525 - Caspar Peucer, German reformer (d. 1602)
- 1561 - Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (d. 1656)
- 1587 - Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count-Duke of Olivares, Spanish statesman (d. 1645)
- 1595 - Claude Favre de Vaugelas, French man of letters (d. 1650)
- 1617 - Kristoffer Gabel, Danish statesman (d. 1673)
- 1706 (O.S.) - Benjamin Franklin, American statesman (d. 1790)
- 1714 - Percivall Pott, English physician and surgeon (d. 1788)
- 1822 - Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (d. 1890)
- 1832 - Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)
- 1838 - Max Bruch, German composer (d. 1920)
- 1872 - Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer (d. 1915)
- 1878 - Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)
- 1880 - Tom Mix, American actor (d. 1940)
- 1882 - Fan S. Noli, Albanian bishop, poet, and political figure (d. 1965)
- 1882 - Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1961)
- 1883 - Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer and painter (d. 1931)
- 1898 - James Fitzmaurice, Irish aviation pioneer (d. 1965)
- 1899 - Phyllis Haver, American actress (d. 1960)
- 1903 - Maurice Abravanel, Greek-born conductor (d. 1993)
- 1910 - Morris Wright, American writer (d. 1998)
- 1910 - Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)
- 1913 - Edward Gierek, Polish politician (d. 2001)
- 1914 - Danny Thomas, American singer, actor, and comedian (d. 1991)
- 1915 - Alan Watts, English writer, philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1920 - Sun Myung Moon, Korean evangelist
- 1920 - John Maynard Smith, English bioligist (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Early Wynn, baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Jacobo Timerman, Argentine writer (d. 1999)
- 1924 - Earl Scruggs, American musician
- 1925 - John De Lorean, American auto maker (d. 2005)
- 1926 - Ralph Branca, baseball player
- 1926 - Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (d. 2003)
- 1929 - Babrak Karmal, Afghani politician (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Vic Tayback, American actor
- 1931 - Capucine, French actress (d. 1990)
- 1931 - E. L. Doctorow, American author
- 1931 - Dickie Moore, Canadian hockey player
- 1932 - Stuart A. Rice, American chemist
- 1933 - Oleg Makarov, cosmonaut (d. 2003)
- 1933 - Emil Steinberger, Swiss comedian
- 1936 - Julio María Sanguinetti Coirolo, President of Uruguay
- 1940 - Penny Lernoux, American journalist and author (d. 1989)
- 1940 - Van McCoy, American musician (d. 1979)
- 1943 - Terry Venables, English football manager
- 1944 - Bonnie Franklin, American actress
- 1944 - Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1946 - Syd Barrett, English guitarist and singer
- 1947 - Sandy Denny, English vocalist (d. 1978)
- 1951 - Kim Wilson, American musician
- 1953 - Malcolm Young, Scottish guitarist (AC/DC)
- 1954 - Hans Robert Hiegel, German architect
- 1954 - Anthony Minghella, British director
- 1955 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor
- 1957 - Nancy Lopez, American golfer
- 1959 - Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer
- 1959 - Kathy Sledge, American singer
- 1960 - Nigella Lawson, British chef and writer
- 1960 - Howie Long, American football star
- 1962 - Michael Houser, American musician (Widespread Panic) (d. 2002)
- 1964 - Henry Maske, German boxer
- 1964 - Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan athlete (d. 2005)
- 1966 - Fernando Carrillo, Venezuelan actor
- 1968 - John Singleton, American film director and writer
- 1970 - Julie Chen, American television presenter and newsreader
- 1970 - Gabrielle Reece, American volleyball player and model
- 1974 - Nicole DeHuff. American actress (d. 2005)
- 1976 - Danny Pintauro, American actor
- 1980 - Steed Malbranque, French footballer
- 1981 - Mike Jones, American rapper

Deaths


- 1088 - Berengar of Tours, French theologian
- 1448 - Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1418)
- 1537 - Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence (b. 1510)
- 1537 - Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (b. 1481)
- 1616 - Philip Henslowe, English theatrical entrepreneur
- 1689 - Bishop Seth Ward, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1671)
- 1711 - Philipp van Almonde, Dutch admiral (b. 1646)
- 1718 - Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (b. 1664)
- 1718 - Richard Hoare, English goldsmith and banker (b. 1648)
- 1724 - Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese dramatist (b. 1653)
- 1731 - Étienne François Geoffroy, French chemist (b. 1672)
- 1734 - John Dennis, English critic and dramatist (b. 1657)
- 1840 - Fanny Burney, English novelist and diarist (b. 1752)
- 1852 - Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind (b. 1809)
- 1855 - Giacomo Beltrami, Italian explorer (b. 1779)
- 1884 - Gregor Johann Mendel, Austrian geneticist (b. 1822)
- 1885 - Peter Christian Asbjørnsen, Norwegian writer and scientist (b. 1812)
- 1918 - Georg Cantor, German mathematician (b. 1845)
- 1919 - Max Heindel, Danish astrologer and mystic (b. 1865)
- 1919 - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1858)
- 1928 - Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete (b. 1876)
- 1937 - Brother Andre, Canadian religious figure (b. 1845)
- 1942 - Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian International Olympic Committee president (b. 1876)
- 1945 - Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (b. 1863)
- 1949 - Victor Fleming, American director (b. 1883)
- 1981 - A.J. Cronin, Scottish writer (b. 1896)
- 1990 - Ian Charleson, Scottish actor (b. 1949)
- 1990 - Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1992 - Dizzy Gillespie, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1917)
- 1993 - Rudolf Nureyev, Russian ballet dancer (b. 1938)
- 1995 - Joe Slovo, South African politician (b. 1926)
- 1996 - Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian leader (b. 1966)
- 2000 - Don Martin, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
- 2004 - Pierre Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica (b. 1954)
- 2004 - Charles Dumas, American athlete (b. 1937)
- 2004 - Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Lois Hole, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (b. 1933)
- 2005 - Louis Robichaud, Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances


- Ancient Latvia - Zvaigznes Diena observed
- Christianity (except Eastern Orthodox who follow the Julian Calendar) - Epiphany of the Lord (a.k.a. "Twelfth Day of Christmas" and Three Kings Day in some areas).
- In the Irish Calendar- Little Christmas or "Women's Christmas" and/or Twelfth Day.
- Rastafari movement - Celebration of the ceremonial birthday of Haile Selassie
- Armenian Christmas

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/6 BBC: On This Day] ---- January 5 - January 7 - December 6 - February 6 — listing of all days ko:1월 6일 ja:1月6日 simple:January 6 th:6 มกราคม

March 7

March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (67th in Leap years). There are 299 days remaining.

Events


- 161 - Roman emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, an unprecedented political arrangement in the Roman Empire.
- 1798 - The French army enters in Rome: the birth of the Roman Republic
- 1799 - Napoleon I of France captures Jaffa in Palestine and his troops proceed to kill more than 2,000 Albanian captives.
- 1814 - Napoleon wins the Battle of Craonne.
- 1827 - Shrigley Abduction: Ellen Turner, a wealthy heiress in Cheshire, England is abducted by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, the future politician in colonial New Zealand.
- 1848 - The Great mahele (land division) is signed in Hawaii.
- 1850 - United States Senator Daniel Webster gives his "Seventh of March" speech in which he endorses the Compromise of 1850 in order to prevent a possible civil war.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Pea Ridge - Union forces led by General Samuel Curtis defeat Confederate troops under General Earl Van Dorn at Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas.
- 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the telephone (patent # 174,464).
- 1911 - Revolution in Mexico.
- 1912 - Roald Amundsen first announces to the world that his expedition has reached the South Pole, though they had arrived on December 14, 1911.
- 1918 - World War I: Finland forms an alliance with Germany.
- 1936 - World War II: In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.
- 1945 - World War II: American troops seize the bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany and begin to cross.
- 1947 - The Kuomintang and Communist Party of China resume full-fledged Civil War.
- 1950 - Cold War: The Soviet Union issues a statement denying that Klaus Fuchs served as a Soviet spy.
- 1951 - Korean War: Operation Ripper - In Korea, United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgeway begin an assault against Chinese forces.
- 1965 - In Selma, Alabama, State troopers and local law enforcement forcefully break up a group of 600 civil rights marchers. The event was televised and was dubbed Bloody Sunday.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: The First Battle of Saigon begins.
- 1973 - The ultimately disappointing Comet Kohoutek is discovered by Luboš Kohoutek.
- 1983 - The Nashville Network (TNN) begins broadcasting.
- 1984 - The United States attacks San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua.
- 1987 - Mike Tyson adds the WBA World Heavyweight boxing championship to his WBC one when he beats James Smith after a 12-round fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 1988 - Colombia becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1989 - The State Council of the People's Republic of China declares martial law in Lhasa, Tibet.
- 1994 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use.
- 1996 - The first democratically elected Palestinian parliament is formed.
- 1999 - American film director, Stanley Kubrick, dies in his sleep from a fatal heart attack.
- 2002 - Opening of The IX Paralympics Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- 2002 - The Network Against Prohibition forms in Darwin, Australia.
- 2005 - Mass protest outside the National Assembly of Kuwait building for women's voting rights in Kuwait.

Births


- 189 - Publius Septimius Geta, Roman Emperor (d. 211)
- 1481 - Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (d. 1537)
- 1556 - Guillaume du Vair, French writer (d. 1621)
- 1671 - Robert Roy MacGregor, Scottish folk hero (d. 1734)
- 1678 - Filippo Juvara, Italian architect (d. 1736)
- 1687 - Jean Lebeuf, French historian (d. 1760)
- 1693 - Pope Clement XIII (d. 1769)
- 1715 - Ewald Christian von Kleist, German poet (d. 1759)
- 1715 - Ephraim Williams, American philanthropist (d. 1755)
- 1730 - Baron de Breteuil, French statesman (d. 1807)
- 1746 - André Michaux, French botanist (d. 1802)
- 1765 - Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor (d. 1833)
- 1792 - John Herschel, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1871)
- 1837 - Henry Draper, American physician and astronomer (d. 1882)
- 1849 - Luther Burbank, American biologist and botanist (b. 1849)
- 1850 - Tomáš Masaryk, first President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1937)
- 1857 - Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian neuroscientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1940)
- 1872 - Piet Mondrian, Dutch painter (d. 1944)
- 1875 - Maurice Ravel, French composer (d. 1937)
- 1887 - Heino Eller, Estonian composer (d. 1970)
- 1902 - Heinz Rühmann, German actor (d. 1994)
- 1904 - Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1969)
- 1904 - Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi official (d. 1942)
- 1908 - Anna Magnani, Italian actress (d. 1973)
- 1926 - Alan Sues, American comedian and actor
- 1930 - Antony Armstrong-Jones, Lord Snowdon
- 1934 - Willard Scott, American television broadcaster
- 1938 - David Baltimore, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1938 - Janet Guthrie, American race car driver
- 1940 - Rudi Dutschke, German student leader (d. 1979)
- 1940 - Daniel J. Travanti, American actor
- 1942 - Tammy Faye Bakker, American evangelist
- 1942 - Michael Eisner, American film studio executive
- 1944 - Stanley Schmidt, American editor
- 1944 - Townes Van Zandt, American musician and songwriter
- 1945 - John Heard, American actor
- 1945 - Arthur Lee, American musician (Love)
- 1946 - Peter Wolf, American musician (J Geils Band)
- 1947 - Richard Lawson, American actor
- 1947 - Walter Röhrl, German race car driver
- 1949 - Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian politician
- 1950 - Iris Chacon, Puerto Rican singer and dancer
- 1950 - Franco Harris, American football player
- 1952 - Ernie Isley, American singer
- 1952 - Lynn Swann, American football player
- 1955 - Tommy Kramer, American football player
- 1956 - Bryan Cranston, American actor
- 1958 - Rik Mayall British actor
- 1960 - Joe Carter, baseball player
- 1960 - Ivan Lendl, Czech tennis player
- 1963 - Bill Brochtrup, American actor
- 1963 - Denyce Graves, American singer
- 1964 - Bret Easton Ellis, American writer
- 1964 - Wanda Sykes, American actress and comedienne
- 1965 - Jesper Parnevik, Swedish golfer
- 1971 - Rachel Weisz, British actress
- 1977 - Mitja Zastrow, German-born swimmer
- 1980 - Laura Prepon, American actress
- 1984 - Mathieu Flamini, French footballer

Deaths


- 322 BC - Aristotle, philosopher (b. 384 BC)
- AD 161 - Antoninus Pius, Roman Emperor (b. 86)
- 308 - Saint Eubulus, Christian martyr
- 851 - Nominoe, Duke of Brittany
- 1226 - William de Longespee, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English military leader
- 1274 - Thomas Aquinas, Italian scholastic philosopher (b. 1225)
- 1578 - Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (b. 1515)
- 1625 - Johann Bayer, German astronomer (b. 1572)
- 1724 - Pope Innocent XIII (b. 1655)
- 1767 - Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, French colonizer and Governor of Louisiana (b. 1680)
- 1778 - Charles De Geer, Swedish industrialist and entomologist (b. 1720)
- 1810 - Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, British admiral (b. 1750)
- 1932 - Aristide Briand, French statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1862)
- 1952 - Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (b. 1893)
- 1957 - Wyndham Lewis, British author and painter (b. 1882)
- 1954 - Otto Diels, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
- 1967 - Alice B. Toklas, American companion to Gertrude Stein (b. 1877)
- 1974 - Alberto Rabagliati, Italian singer and actor (b. 1906)
- 1975 - Mikhail Bakhtin, Russian philosopher (b. 1895)
- 1975 - Ben Blue, Canadian actor (b. 1901)
- 1976 - Wright Patman, American politician (b. 1893)
- 1981 - Kiril Kondrashin, Russian conductor (b. 1914)
- 1986 - Jacob Javits, American politician (b. 1904)
- 1988 - Divine, American actor (b. 1945)
- 1991 - Cool Papa Bell, baseball player (b. 1903)
- 1995 - Georges J.F. Kohler, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1946)
- 1997 - Rabbi Emanuel Bronner, German-American soap magnate and philosopher (b. 1908)
- 1997 - Edward Mills Purcell, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
- 1999 - Sidney Gottlieb, American Central Intelligence Agency official (b. 1918)
- 1999 - Stanley Kubrick, American film director (b. 1928)
- 2000 - Charles Gray, British actor (b. 1928)
- 2000 - Jack Sanford, baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2002 - Doris Allen, American psychologist (b. 1901)
- 2004 - Paul Winfield, American actor (heart attack) (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances


- Catholicism - Feast day of Ss. Perpetua and Felicity
- Albania - Teacher's Day
- Illinois - Casimir Pulaski Day observed, 2005 (First Monday of March)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/7 BBC: On This Day] ---- March 6 - March 8 - February 7 - April 7 -- listing of all days ko:3월 7일 ja:3月7日 simple:March 7 th:7 มีนาคม

1932

1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on Friday.

Events

January-February


- January 3 - British arrest and intern Mohandas Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel
- January 8 - In Britain the Archbishop of Canterbury forbids church remarriage of divorcees
- January 12 - Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate
- January 14 - Maurice Ravel's Concerto in G (Ravel) debuts with piano soloist Marguerite Long and Ravel conducting the Lamoureux Orchestra
- January 15 - Pierre Laval forms a new government in France
- January 15 - About 6 million unemployed in Germany
- January 26 - British submarine M-2 sinks with all 50 hands
- January 28 - Japan occupies Shanghai
- January 29 - Minority government of Karl Mureschi in Austria ends the governmental crisis
- January 31 - Japanese warships arrive in Nanking
- February 2 - General convention of disarmament begins in Geneva
- February 2 - League of Nations again recommends negotiations between the Republic of China and Japan
- February 4 - 1932 Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, New York. Japan occupies Harbin, China
- February 11 - Pope Pius XI meets Benito Mussolini in the Vatican City
- February 18 - Japan declares Manzhouguo (Japanese name for Manchuria) formally independent from China
- February 27 - Adolf Hitler gains German citizenship prior to elections
- February 27 - Mäntsälä Rebellion in Finland

March-April


- March 1 - Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, the baby son of Anne Morrow Lindbergh and Charles Lindbergh is kidnapped
- March 9 - Eamon de Valera is elected President of the Executive Council. It is the first change of government in the Irish Free State in 10 years.
- March 18 - Peace negotiations between China and Japan begin.
- March 19 - Sydney Harbour Bridge opens
- March 20 - Graf Zeppelin begins a regular route to South America
- March 25 - Tarzan the Ape Man opens, with Olympic gold medal swimmer Johnny Weissmuller in the title role. Weismuller starred in a total of 12 Tarzan films.
- April 5 - Prohibition is lifted in Finland at 10 in the morning (local time), inventing a new mnemonic "543210".
- April 6 - U.S. president Herbert Hoover supports armament limitations
- April 6 - Trial against fraudulent art dealer Otto Wacker begins in Berlin
- April 10 - Paul von Hindenburg elected president of Germany. Adolf Hitler receives over 13 million votes.
- April 17 - Haile Selassie announces an anti-slavery law in Abyssinia
- April 19 - German art dealer Otto Wacker is sentenced for 19 months for selling fraudulent paintings of Vincent van Gogh

May-June


- May 2 - Comedian Jack Benny's radio show airs for the first time.
- May 6 - Paul Gorguloff assassinates French president Paul Doumer in Paris - Doumer dies the next day.
- May 10 - Albert Lebrun becomes the new president of France
- May 12 - Ten weeks after his abduction, the infant son of Charles Lindbergh is found dead in Hopewell, New Jersey just a few miles from the Lindbergh's home.
- May 13 - The Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, is dismissed by the State Governor, Sir Phillip Game
- May 15 - Japanese troops leave Shanghai; May 15 Incident, the assassination of Japanese prime minister Tsuyoshi Inukai, occurs.
- May 16 - Massive riots between Hindus and Muslims in Bombay - thousands dead and injured.
- May 20-21 - Amelia Earhart flies from USA to Londonderry, Northern Ireland in 14 hours 54 minutes
- May 30 - German chancellor Heinrich Brüning resigns. President Hindenburg takes Franz von Papen to form a new government.
- June - 15,000 World War I veterans march in Washington, DC
- June 4 - Military coup in Chile
- June 6 - The Revenue Act of 1932 is enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States at 1 cent per US gallon (0.26 ¢/L) sold.
- June 14 - Bans against SS and SA overturned in Germany
- June 20 - Benelux customs union negotiated
- June 24 - After a relatively bloodless military rebellion, Siam becomes a constitutional monarchy

July-October


- July 1- ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) established
- July 5 - António de Oliveira Salazar becomes the fascists prime minister of Portugal (for the next 36 years)
- July 7 - French submarine Sromethee sinks off Cherbourg - 66 dead
- July 12 - Hedley Verity establishes a new first-class record by taking all ten wickets for only ten runs against Nottinghamshire on a pitch affected by a storm.
- July 17 - Bloody Sunday of Altona in Germany - armed communists attack a national socialist demonstration - 18 dead. Many other political street fights follow.
- July 28 - US President Herbert Hoover orders the United States Army to forcibly evict the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, DC. US troops dispersed the last of the "Bonus Army" the next day.
- July 30 - 1932 Summer Olympics open in Los Angeles.
- August 6 - First Venice Film Festival
- August 10 - A 5.1 kg chondrite type meteorite broke into at least seven fragments and struck earth near the town of Archie in Cass County, Missouri.
- August 18 - Auguste Piccard reaches altitude of 16.500 meters with an air balloon
- August 30 - Hermann Göring elected as a chairman of German senate
- August 31 - Total solar eclipse visible from northern Canada through NE Vermont, New Hampshire, SW Maine, and the Capes of Massachusetts
- September 9 - The Generalitat reinstaurated, Catalonia regains political autonomy inside the 2nd Spanish Republic from September 25
- September 18 - Actress Peg Entwhistle commits suicide jumping from the letter H of the (then) Hollywoodland sign
- September 20 - Mohandas Gandhi begins an hunger strike in Poona prison
- September 28 - According to Prussian statistics, 115 people have been killed in political riots during the year
- October 15 - Tata Airlines (later to become Air India) makes its first flight
- October 19 - Wedding of Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

November-December


- November 1 - San Francisco Opera House opened
- November 7 - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century airs on radio for the first time.
- November 8 - U.S. presidential election, 1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Herbert Hoover in a landslide victory.
- November 9 - Riots between conservative and socialist supporters in Switzerland - 12 dead, 60 injured
- November 11 - Tornado and huge waves kills about thousand in Santa Crus del Sure in Cuba
- November 19 - Second wife of Josef Stalin is found dead in her home
- November 21 - German president Hindenburg begins negotiations with Adolf Hitler about the formation of a new government
- November 24 - In Washington, DC, the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory (better known as the FBI Crime Lab) officially opens.
- December 3 - Hindenburg names Kurt von Schleicher as a German chancellor
- December 12 - Japan and Soviet Union reform their diplomatic connections
- December 25 - Earthquake in the Kansu Province in China - 70,000 dead

Unknown dates


- Saudi Arabia is declared a unified nation with Ibn Saud as a king.
- Female suffrage in Brazil
- Norway annexes northern Greenland.
- Chaco war between Bolivia and Paraguay
- In the next five years, Dr. Morris Bolber and associates successfully murder and collect the insurance money for more than 30 victims.
- Mars candy bar
- Zippo lighters
- Zero-length springs invented, revolutionizing seismometers and gravimeters
- The