The bungalow we are in the process of buying was built in 1933. So while we’re waiting for the legal stuff to happen, I thought it might be quite fun to find out what was going on in the world the year it was built.

Given that the 1930’s were a prelude to the second world war, some of the stuff that went on in 1933 is a bit ‘heavy’, so I’ve tried to select a mix of lighter topics.

January- Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.

February- The New York City-based Postal Telegraph Company introduces the first singing telegram.

March- U.S. President Herbert Hoover is succeeded by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

April- The International Court in The Hague decides that Greenland belongs to Denmark and condemns Norwegian landings on the island.

May- Walt Disney’s classic Silly Symphony cartoon ‘The Three Little Pigs’ is first released.

June- Union Station massacre: In Kansas City, Missouri, Pretty Boy Floyd kills an FBI agent, 3 local police, and the person they intended to rescue, captured bank robber Frank Nash.

July- Gandhi is sentenced to prison in India.

August- Winston Churchill makes his first public speech warning of the dangers of German rearmament.

September- A tornado destroys the town of Tampico, Mexico.

October- United Airlines Boeing 247 mid-air explosion: A bomb destroys a United Airlines Boeing 247 on a transcontinental flight in mid-air killing all 7 on board, in the first proven case of sabotage in civil aviation, although no suspect was ever identified.

November- The Marx Brothers anarchic comedy film ‘Duck Soup’ is released in the U.S.

December- The US 21st Amendment officially goes into effect, alcohol becomes legal in the US.

And a little nearer to home:

Monarch – King George V.
Prime Minister – Ramsay MacDonald.

The London Underground diagram designed by Harry Beck is introduced to the public.

The Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale leads an expedition to be the first to fly an aircraft over Mount Everest.

The Jessop & Son department store in Nottingham is acquired by the John Lewis Partnership, its first store outside London.

In a cricket test match against New Zealand, England batsman Wally Hammond scores a record 336 runs.

The first alleged modern sighting of the Loch Ness Monster occurs.

Battersea Power Station, London, first generates electricity.

The England cricket team wins The Ashes using the controversial bodyline tactic

I hope you’ve enjoyed my brief journey into history. It seems to me for all our progress, some things never change.