What Happened in 1938

Road to War

Under the Versailles Settlement, Czechoslovakia was created, including the Sudetenland, which had a large German population.Hitler,on its first... Read more

Philmont Scout Ranch is Founded

Waite Phillips believed in sharing his wealth with people outside his family. In this spirit, he offered 35,857 acres of his ranch to the Boy... Read more

Pearl S. Buck Becomes the First American Woman to be Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1938 was awarded to Pearl Buck "for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her... Read more

Office International Nansen pour les Réfugiés Wins the Nobel Peace Prize

The Office International Nansen pour les Réfugiés was established in 1930 by the League of Nations, shortly after the death of its name patron... Read more

Mondrian Moves to London and New York

In September 1938, Mondrian left Paris in the face of advancing fascism and moved to London. After the Netherlands were invaded and Paris fell in... Read more

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Moves to Chicago

In 1938 the Armour Institute of Technology, a modest technical training school on Chicago's near south side, engaged German- born architect Ludwig... Read more

Gerald Ford Attends Yale Law School

Ford hoped to attend Yale's law school beginning in 1935 while serving as boxing coach, assistant varsity football coach, and teacher of JV... Read more

Frank Sinatra is arrested

In 1938, a 23-year-old Frank Sinatra was arrested in Bergen County, N.J. on charges of seduction and adultery. According to the FBI reports, "On... Read more

Ford Prefect is First Produced

The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars produced by the UK section of the Ford Motor Company, and a more upmarket version of its direct siblings... Read more

Ford 7Y is First Produced

Ford 7Y is a car from Ford built in the United Kingdom between 1938 and 1939. It was officially marketed as a Ford "Eight", and was a rebodied and... Read more

André Breton Friends Frida Kahlo

In 1938, Kahlo met André Breton, who helped arrange for some exhibits of her work. After a few minor exhibitions as well as one major solo exhibit... Read more

Xerography is Invented by Chester Carlson

It took Carlson 15 years to establish the basic principles of electrophotography, and he patented his developments every step along the way. He... Read more

Volvo PV800 is First Produced

The Volvo PV800 Series (affectionately known as Volvo-suggan or the Sow) was a taxicab manufactured by Volvo between 1938 and 1958. The Sow... Read more

Northwest Airlines Flight 2 Crashes into the Bridger Mountains, Killing 10

Northwest Airlines Flight 2, registration NC17388, was a Lockheed 14H Super Electra aircraft which crashed into the Bridger Mountains about 12... Read more

'The Unvanquished' Is Published

The Unvanquished is a novel by the American author William Faulkner, set in Yoknapatawpha County. It tells the story of the Sartoris family, who... Read more

Japanese Army Begins Sustained Bombing of Chongqing

The bombing of Chongqing (Traditional Chinese: 重慶大轟炸, Simplified Chinese: 重庆大轰炸, Japanese: 重慶爆撃, from 18 February 1938 to 23 August 1943) was part... Read more

"Bringing Up Baby" Is Released

Bringing Up Baby is a 1938 screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. It tells the story of a... Read more

"A Slight Case Of Murder" Is Released

A Slight Case of Murder is a 1938 comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon. The film is based on a play by Damon Runyon and Harold Lindsay. The offbeat... Read more

Los Angeles Flood of 1938

The 1938 flood event resulted in the deaths of 115 people. It destroyed 5,601 homes and damaged 1,500 homes making them uninhabitable. For many... Read more

10th Academy Awards

The 10th Academy Awards were held on March 10, 1938 at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Originally scheduled to be held on March... Read more

Edward R. Murrow and William Shirer Report on Hitler's Anschluss

Murrow gained his first glimpse of fame during the March 1938 Anschluss, in which Adolf Hitler engineered the annexation of Austria by Nazi... Read more

Battle of Xuzhou

The Battle of Xuzhou was fought between Japanese and Chinese forces in May 1938 during Second Sino-Japanese War. In contemporary accounts in... Read more

Battle of Taierzhuang

The Battle of Tai'erzhuang (simplified Chinese: 台儿庄会战; traditional Chinese: 臺兒莊會戰; pinyin: Tái'érzhūang Huìzhàn) was a battle of the Second... Read more

Henry Picard wins the 5th Masters Tournament

Henry Picard fired a final round 70 to defeat Harry Cooper and Ralph Guldahl by two strokes.The only scheduled Friday start. Play began, then was... Read more

Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup

The 1938 Stanley Cup Finals was a best-of-five series between the Chicago Black Hawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Chicago would win the series 3–1... Read more