1936
1936 was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar).
Events January-March January 7 -10 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War : In the Battle of Ganale Doria, General Graziani attacks troops under Ras Desta Damtew guarding southern Ethiopia ; after over three days of slaughter, the Ethiopians break and flee. January 15 - The first building to be completely covered in Glass is completed in Toledo, Ohio , for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company . January 16 - Serial killer Albert Fish executed in Sing Sing January 20 - Death of George V of the United Kingdom . His son Edward VIII succeedes him as King of the United Kingdom , King of Ireland and Emperor of India . January 24 - Albert Serraut's government begins in France . January 28 - Ismail Kadare , Albanian writer. January 31 - The Green Hornet Radio show debuts. February 4 - Radium E. becomes the first Radioactive element to be made synthetically. February 6 - The 1936 Winter Olympic Games opens in Garmisch-Partenkirchen , Germany . February 10 -15 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Ethiopian units under Ras Mulugeta counterattack southwest of Chalacot in the Battle of Amba Aradam, but are repulsed with heavy losses. From February 14 , 1936, to March 1 , 1945 , AG Weser launched a total of 162 U-boats . February 19 - Manuel Aznar's government begins in Spain February 26 - 1400 Japanese soldiers invade government offices in Tokyo . They demand arrest of general Kazushige Ugaki and that general Sadao Araki made head of the Kwantung Army and death of the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, the minister of Finance and Inspector General of Military Education February 29 - Emperor Hirohito orders Japanese army to arrest 123 conspirators in Tokyo government offices - 19 of them are executed in July. March 31 - Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Emperor Haile Selassie personally leads an Ethiopian counter-attack in the Battle of Maychew . A crushing Ethiopian defeat, this is the last major battle of the war. May-June July-September October November-December November 3 - U.S. presidential election, 1936 : Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected to a second term in a landslide victory over Alf Landon . November 12 - In California , the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic. November 16 - Edward VIII of the United Kingdom announces his intention to marry Wallis Simpson November 20 - In UK , new Matrimonial Causes Act permits Divorce on the grounds of cruelty, drunkenness, willful desertion, incurable insanity, and being a prisoner on a death sentence November 23 - The first edition of Life is published. November 25 - In Berlin , Nazi-Germany and Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact , thus agreeing to consult on what measures to take "to safeguard their common interests" in case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union against either nation (Adolf Hitler broke the terms of the pact when he signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in August, 1939 ). November 25 - Abraham Lincoln Brigade sails from New York City on its way to Spanish Civil War November 30 - In London , The Crystal Palace is destroyed in a fire (it had been built for the 1851 Great Exhibition ). December 3 Radio station WQXR is officially founded December 10 -11 - Edward VIII of the United Kingdom abdicates December 11 - Abdication of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom leads to accession of King George VI of the United Kingdom . December 12 - George VI of the United Kingdom accedes to the throne. December 12 -26 - Men of two of his generals kidnap Chiang Kai-shek in Xi'an (Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng do it to force him to negotiate a deal with the communists) December 30 - The United Auto Workers union stages its first sit-down strike. Unknown Dates Births January-February January 2 - Roger Miller , American singer (d. 1992 ) January 3 - Georgina Spelvin , film actress January 10 - Stephen Ambrose , American historian (d. 2002 ) January 10 - Robert Wilson , American physicist and radio astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate January 21 - Koji Hashimoto , Japanese film director (d. 2005 ) January 22 - Ong Teng Cheong , President of Singapore (d. 2002 ) January 22 - Alan J. Heeger , American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate January 22 - Joseph Wambaugh , American author January 23 - Jerry Kramer , American football player January 27 - Troy Donahue , American actor (d. 2001 ) January 27 - Samuel C. C. Ting , American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate January 28 - Alan Alda , American actor January 28 - Ismail Kadare , Albanian writer February 1 - Azie Taylor Morton , U.S. Treasurer (d. 2003 ) February 11 - Burt Reynolds , American actor February 14 - Andrew Prine , American actor February 17 - Jim Brown , American football player February 20 - Larry Hovis , American actor (d. 2003 ) February 21 - Barbara Jordan , American politician (d. 1996 ) February 24 - Lance Reventlow , English playboy, entrepreneur, and race car driver (d. 1972 ) February 29 - Henri Richard , Canadian hockey player March-April March 4 - Jim Clark , Scottish race car driver (d. 1968 ) March 5 - Canaan Banana , first President of Zimbabwe (d. 2003 ) March 5 - Dean Stockwell , American actor March 6 - Marion Barry Jr. , Mayor of Washington, DC March 7 - Loren Acton , astronaut March 9 - Tom Sestak , American football player (d. 1987 ) March 11 - Rev. Ralph Abernathy , American civil rights leader (d. 1990 ) March 11 - Antonin Scalia , U.S. Supreme Court Justice March 17 - Ladislav Kupkovic , Slovak composer March 18 - Frederik Willem de Klerk , President of South Africa , recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize March 19 - Ursula Andress , Swiss actress March 20 - Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Jamaican musician March 24 - David Suzuki , Canadian environmentalist March 28 - Mario Vargas Llosa , Peruvian author and politician March 31 - Marge Piercy , American novelist April 10 - John Madden , American football coach and sportscaster April 14 - Kenneth Mars , American actor April 22 - Glen Campbell , American musician April 23 - Roy Orbison , American singer (d. 1988 ) April 29 - Zubin Mehta , Indian conductor May-August May 2 - Engelbert Humperdinck , British singer May 9 - Albert Finney , English actor May 9 - Glenda Jackson , English actress and politician May 12 - Frank Stella , American painter May 14 - Aline Chainé , First Lady of Canada May 14 - Bobby Darin , American singer (d. 1973 ) May 14 - Waheeda Rehman , Indian actress May 15 - Anna Maria Alberghetti , Italian-born actress May 15 - Paul Zindel , American novelist and playwright (d. 2003 ) May 16 - Karl Lehmann , German theologian May 17 - Dennis Hopper , American actor and director May 22 - M. Scott Peck , American psychiatrist and writer (d. 2005 ) May 28 - Betty Shabazz , American civil rights leader May 30 - Keir Dullea , American actor June 4 - Nutan , Indian actress June 8 - James Darren , American actor and singer June 8 - Kenneth G. Wilson , American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate June 22 - Kris Kristofferson , American singer, songwriter, and actor June 23 - Costas Simitis , Prime Minister of Greece June 26 - Robert Maclennan , British politician June 28 - Cathy Carr , American singer (d. 1988 ) June 28 - Chuck Howley , American football player June 29 - Harmon Killebrew , baseball player July 5 - James Mirrlees , Scottish economist, Nobel Prize laureate July 6 - Dave Allen , Irish comedian (d. 2005 ) July 23 - Don Drysdale , baseball player (d. 1993 ) July 28 - Garfield Sobers , West Indian cricketer August 1 - Yves St. Laurent , Algerian-born French fashion designer August 4 - Assia Djebar , Algerian writer and filmmaker August 20 - Hideki Shirakawa , Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize laureate August 21 - Wilt Chamberlain , American basketball player(d. 1999 ) August 29 - Inga Artamonova , Russian speed skater (d. 1966 ) September-December September 2 - Andrew Grove , Hungarian-born businessman September 7 - Buddy Holly , American singer (d. 1959 ) September 14 - Walter Koenig , American actor September 24 - Jim Henson , American puppeteer, filmmaker, and television producer (d. 1990 ) October 3 - Steve Reich , American composer October 7 - Charles Dutoit , Swiss conductor October 16 - Andrei Chikatilo , Russian serial killer (d. 1994 ) October 31 - Michael Landon , American actor (d. 1991 ) November 12 - Mills Lane , American boxing referee November 19 - Yuan T. Lee , Taiwanese-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate November 20 - Don DeLillo , American author November 21 - Victor Chang , Australian heart surgeon December 11 - Taku Yamasaki , Japanese politician December 25 - Princess Alexandra of Kent December 29 - Mary Tyler Moore , American actress Ray Nitschke , American football player (d. 1998 ) Deaths January 16 - Albert Fish , American serial killer (executed) (b. 1890 ) January 18 - Rudyard Kipling , British writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865 ) January 20 - King George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865 ) February 4 - Wilhelm Gustloff , German leader of the Swiss Nazi Party (b. 1895 ) February 19 - Billy Mitchell , U.S. general and military aviation pioneer (b. 1879 ) February 26 - Saito Makoto , Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1858 ) February 27 - Ivan Pavlov , Russian psychologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1849 ) March 16 - Marguerite Durand , French journalist and feminist leader (b. 1864 ) March 21 - Alexander Glazunov , Russian composer (b. 1865 ) April 3 - Bruno Hauptmann , German killer of Charles Lindbergh Jr. (b. 1899 ) April 8 - Robert Bárány , Austrian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1876 ) April 30 - Alfred Edward Housman , English poet (b. 1859 ) June 11 - Robert E. Howard , American author (suicide} (b. 1906 ) June 14 - Gilbert Keith Chesterton , English author (b. 1874 ) June 14 - Maxim Gorky , Russian writer (b. 1868 ) August 2 - Louis Blériot , French aviation pioneer (b. 1872 ) August 9 - Lincoln Steffens , American journalist (b. 1866 ) August 15 - Grazia Deledda , Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871 ) August 19 - Federico García Lorca , Spanish writer (b. 1898 ) October 3 - John Heisman , American football coach (b. 1869 ) October 8 - William Henry Stark American businessman (b. 1851 ) December 9 - Arvid Lindman , Prime Minister of Sweden December 10 - Bobby Abel , English cricketer (b. 1857 ) December 10 - Luigi Pirandello , Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867 ) Nobel Prizes Fields Medalists