WORLD HISTORY · 1937 日本語
Events of 1937Showa 12 (Japan) · Year of the Ox
What happened in 1937?
In 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident escalated into full-scale war between Japan and China, and Konoe Fumimaro formed his first cabinet. The Anti-Comintern Pact was expanded to include Italy, and the Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic.
- Guernica hit by indiscriminate bombingEurope
- Airship Hindenburg explodesNorth America
- Golden Gate Bridge opensNorth America
- First Konoe cabinet takes officeAsia
- Second Sino-Japanese War escalates into full-scale conflictAsia
- Anti-Comintern Pact expands to include ItalyAsia
- Japanese army captures NanjingAsia
- Animated feature Snow White premieresNorth America
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
1937 at a glance
| Japanese era | Showa 12 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Ox |
| Age of people born in 1937 | Turn 89 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 1936 (Showa 11) ／ 1938 (Showa 13) |
| Events | 69 |
| AP World History | Unit 7 (Global Conflict) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 7 |
Famous people born in 1937
Our birthday pages list 601 people born in 1937. Here are some of them.
- Ridley ScottBorn November 30 · turns 89 this year · British film director and producer known for Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Loui…
- Jack NicholsonBorn April 22 · turns 89 this year · American actor and three-time Academy Award winner known for Chinatown, The Shi…
- Morgan FreemanBorn June 1 · turns 89 this year · American actor known for The Shawshank Redemption and Driving Miss Daisy, who w…
- Roberta FlackBorn February 10 · turns 89 this year · American singer and pianist known for "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and "Th…
- Warren BeattyBorn March 30 · turns 89 this year · American actor, director, and producer known for Bonnie and Clyde and the Oscar…
- Colin PowellBorn April 5 · turns 89 this year · American four-star general and statesman who chaired the Joint Chiefs of Staff…
- Merle HaggardBorn April 6 · turns 89 this year · American country singer and songwriter known for the Bakersfield sound and hits…
- Madeleine AlbrightBorn May 15 · turns 89 this year · Czech-born American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nation…
- Richard PettyBorn July 2 · turns 89 this year · American stock car racer known as "The King," who won 200 NASCAR races and seve…
- David HockneyBorn July 9 · turns 89 this year · English painter famous for bright California swimming pool scenes such as A Big…
- Dustin HoffmanBorn August 8 · turns 89 this year · American actor known for The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, Tootsie, and Oscar-winn…
- Saddam HusseinBorn April 28 · turns 89 this year
Show 28 more
- Jane FondaBorn December 21 · turns 89 this year
- Glen A. LarsonBorn January 3 · turns 89 this year
- Dyan CannonBorn January 4 · turns 89 this year
- Grace BumbryBorn January 4 · turns 89 this year
- Doris TroyBorn January 6 · turns 89 this year
- Lou HoltzBorn January 6 · turns 89 this year
- Ludvík DaněkBorn January 6 · turns 89 this year
- Shirley BasseyBorn January 8 · turns 89 this year
- Felix SillaBorn January 11 · turns 89 this year
- Shirley EatonBorn January 12 · turns 89 this year
- Guy DodsonBorn January 13 · turns 89 this year
- Billie Jo SpearsBorn January 14 · turns 89 this year
- J. BernlefBorn January 14 · turns 89 this year
- Ken HiggsBorn January 14 · turns 89 this year
- Leo KadanoffBorn January 14 · turns 89 this year
- Rao Gopal RaoBorn January 14 · turns 89 this year
- Sonny SiebertBorn January 14 · turns 89 this year
- Margaret O'BrienBorn January 15 · turns 89 this year
- Francis GeorgeBorn January 16 · turns 89 this year
- Luiz BuenoBorn January 16 · turns 89 this year
- Alain BadiouBorn January 17 · turns 89 this year
- John HumeBorn January 18 · turns 89 this year
- John LionsBorn January 19 · turns 89 this year
- Princess Birgitta of SwedenBorn January 19 · turns 89 this year
- Bailey HowellBorn January 20 · turns 89 this year
- Judit Ágoston-MendelényiBorn January 21 · turns 89 this year
- Prince Max, Duke in BavariaBorn January 21 · turns 89 this year
- Alma Delia FuentesBorn January 22 · turns 89 this year
Events of 1937 (timeline · 69)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republicans both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in seven hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime.
The Guiding Light debuts on NBC radio from Chicago. In 1952 it moves to CBS television, where it remains until September 18, 2009.
Spanish Civil War: Republican forces establish the Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos in Cantabria.
The Flint sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union.
Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.
The League of Nations bans foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War.
The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republican forces defeat the Italians at the Battle of Guadalajara.
The New London School explosion in New London, Texas, kills 300 people, mostly children.
Ponce massacre: Nineteen unarmed civilians in Ponce, Puerto Rico are gunned down by police in a terrorist attack ordered by the US-appointed Governor, Blanton Winship.
The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London. It is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria.
South African medical researcher Max Theiler develops the yellow fever vaccine at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City.
The Commonwealth of the Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.
Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.
Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces.
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom are crowned in Westminster Abbey.
Spanish Civil War: The Largo Caballero government resigns in the wake of the Barcelona May Days, leading Juan Negrín to form a government, without the anarcho-syndicalist CNT, in its stead.
A Soviet station, North Pole-1, becomes the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean.
Walter Reuther and members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) clash with Ford Motor Company security guards at the River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, during the Battle of the Overpass.
In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.
The Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom) marries Wallis Simpson.
Pennsylvania becomes the first (and only) state of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday.
Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean and disappear while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid.
The Peel Commission Report recommends the partition of Palestine, which was the first formal recommendation for partition in the history of Palestine.
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (Lugou Bridge) provides the Imperial Japanese Army with a pretext for starting the Second Sino-Japanese War (China-Japan War).
The silent film archives of Fox Film Corporation are destroyed by the 1937 Fox vault fire.
New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Tongzhou mutiny: In Tongzhou, China, the East Hebei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.
Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution "Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH" to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, the effect of which is to render marijuana and all its by-products illegal.
Spanish Civil War: The Regional Defence Council of Aragon is dissolved by the Second Spanish Republic.
A lightning strike starts the Blackwater Fire of 1937 in Shoshone National Forest, killing 15 firefighters within three days and prompting the United States Forest Service to develop their smokejumper program.
Spanish Civil War: Sovereign Council of Asturias and León is proclaimed in Gijón.
Spanish Civil War: the Basque Army surrenders to the Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie following the Santoña Agreement.
Nine nations attend the Nyon Conference to address international piracy in the Mediterranean Sea.
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published for the first time. (September 22 is celebrated by some fans as Hobbit Day, however.)
Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Eighth Route Army gains a minor, but morale-boosting victory in the Battle of Pingxingguan.
Rafael Trujillo orders the execution of Haitians living in the border region of the Dominican Republic.
Murder of 9 Catholic priests in Zhengding, China, who protected the local population from the advancing Japanese army.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor tour Nazi Germany for 12 days and meet Adolf Hitler on 22 October.
Stalinists execute Pastor Paul Hamberg and seven members of Azerbaijan's Lutheran community.
Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Army withdraws from the Battle of Shanghai.
Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking: Japanese troops under the command of Lt. Gen. Yasuhiko Asaka launch an assault on the Chinese city of Nanking.
Second Sino-Japanese War: USS Panay incident: Japanese aircraft bomb and sink U.S. gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze river in China.
Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking: The city of Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese. This is followed by the Nanking Massacre, in which Japanese troops rape and slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 1937 in the Japanese calendar?
1937 was Showa 12 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1937?
1937 is the Year of the Ox.
How old is someone born in 1937?
They turn 89 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 1937?
In 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident escalated into full-scale war between Japan and China, and Konoe Fumimaro formed his first cabinet. The Anti-Comintern Pact was expanded to include Italy, and the Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.