Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s - 1930s - 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
Years: 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
Events and Trends
- Worldwide Great Depression
- Socialists proclaim The death of Capitalism
- Radio becomes dominant mass media in industrial nations.
- Nuclear fission discovered by Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann
- First intercontinental commercial airline flights.
- Rise to power of Adolf Hitler in Germany
- Millions killed in famines and purges in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.
- Japan invaded China as a precursor to Japanese invasions in Southeast Asia
- The Spanish Civil War
- Start of World War II in Asia and Europe
- Height of the Art Deco movement in Europe and the US
- The Wizard of Oz
- President Chiang Kai-shek (Republic of China)
- President Lin Sen (Republic of China)
- President Paul von Hindenburg (Germany)
- Adolf Hitler (Germany)
- King Victor Emmanuel III (Italy)
- Prime Minister Benito Mussolini (Italy)
- Emperor Hirohito (Japan)
- Pope Pius XI
- Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union)
- King George V (United Kingdom)
- King Edward VIII (United Kingdom)
- King George VI (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (United Kingdom)
- President Herbert Hoover (United States)
- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (United States)
- President W.T. Cosgrave (Irish Free State)
- President Eamon de Valera (Irish Free State)
- Taoiseach Eamon de Valera (Éire)