The World in 1934

World Events

• Chancellor Dollfuss of Austria is assassinated by Nazis.
• Hitler becomes Führer when chancellorship and presidency are united.
• U.S.S.R. admitted to League of Nations.
• Dionne sisters, first quintuplets to survive beyond infancy, born in Canada. Background: Multiple Births
• Mao Zedong begins the Long March north with 100,000 soldiers.

U.S. Events

• Securities Exchange Act is passed, establishing the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Federal Communications Commission is established to regulate communications.
• Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker ambushed by lawmen in Louisiana. John Dillinger is shot outside Chicago movie theater.
• Dust storms ruin about 100 million acres and damage another 200 million acres of cropland in Kansas, Texas, Colorado, and Oklahoma (“Dust Bowl”).

Economics

Federal spending: $6.54 billion
Consumer Price Index: 13.4
Unemployment: 22.0%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.03

Sports

St. Louis Cardinals d. Detroit (4-3)

Stanley Cup

Chicago d. Detroit (3-1)

Wimbledon

Women: Dorothy Round d. H. Jacobs (6-2 5-7 6-3)
Men: Fred Perry d. J. Crawford (6-3 6-0 7-5)

Kentucky Derby Champion

Cavalcade

NCAA Football Champions

Minnesota (8-0-0)

World Cup

Italy d. Czechoslovakia (2-1 (OT))

Entertainment

Events

• The Communications Act of 1934 creates the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates broadcasting.
• It Happened One Night sweeps the Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Actress.

Science

• Enrico Fermi works on the creation of new elements through the bombardment of uranium with neutrons.
• Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie create the first man-made radioactive substance by bombarding aluminumwith alpha particles that create radioactive phosphorus.
• Henrik Dam discovers vitamin K.