1930-1939: DECADE OF BANRUPTCY & BUREAUCRACY

HISTORIC EVENTS

1930

* Name of Constantinople changed to Istanbul.

* Ras Tafari becomes Emperor Haile Selassi of Ethiopia.

* Last Allied troops leave post-World War I Rhineland.

1931

* Jane Addams, founder of Hull House in Chicago, shares the Nobel Peace Prize with fellow American Nicholas Murray Butler.

* Jehovah's Witnesses formed from International Bible Students Association.

1932

* Franklin D. Roosevelt wins U.S. presidential election in Democratic landslide.

* Austrian-born Adolf Hitler receives German citizenship.

* Ibn Saud names his kingdom Saudi Arabia.

1933

* Adolf Hitler appointed German chancellor; later granted dictatorial powers.

* Chicago World's Fair opens.

* U.S. recognizes U.S.S.R. and resumes trade.

* Fiorello H. LaGuardia is elected mayor of New York City, defeating Tammany Hall.

1934

* Mahatma Gandhi suspends civil disobedience campaign in India.

* German President Paul von Hindenburg dies; German plebiscite votes for Hitler as Fuhrer.

* Winston Churchill warns British Parliament of German air menace.

* Stalin's close collaborator, Serge Kirov, assassinated in Leningrad; purge of Communist Party begins.

1935

* Huey Long assassinated by Dr. Carl Weiss in Louisiana Capitol building.

* King George II returns to Greece.

* Chiang Kai-shek named president of China.

* Persia changes its name to Iran.

1936

* England's George V dies and is succeeded by his son, Edward VIII. Edward VIII abdicates and is succeeded by his brother, George VI, on Dec. 11; Edward is named Duke of Windsor.

* Spanish Civil War begins in July.

* Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler proclaim Rome-Berlin Axis.

* Chiang Kai-shek of China declares war on Japan.

* Leon Trotsky exiled from Russia, settles in Mexico.

1937

* George VI crowned king of Great Britain; broadcast of ceremonies is first worldwide program heard in the United States.

* Royal Commission on Palestine recommends the establishment of Arab and Jewish states.

* Germany promises not to invade Belgium.

1938

* Orson Welles' radio production of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" causes considerable panic.

* Douglas "Wrong-Way" Corrigan lands in Ireland.

* Americans protest Hitler's treatment of Jews; FDR recalls ambassador.

* Winston Churchill leads country's outcry against British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy toward Germany.

1939

* Madrid falls to Generalissimo Francisco Franco, ending Spanish Civil War; Britain, France and later United States recognize Franco's government.

* King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (now Queen Mum) visit the United States.

* Italy invades Albania. Britain's Chamberlain moves from appeasement to stop-aggression policy.

* Germany invades Poland on Sept. 1. Britain and France declare war on Germany on Sept. 3. Soviet Union invades Poland on Sept. 17.

* FDR declares U.S. neutrality but orders more planes for air defense.

* U.S.S.R. invades Finland.

-- Compiled by Debbie Meyers