Directory

1935 CE

A year marked by Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, the passage of the Nuremberg Laws in Germany, the creation of Social Security in the United States, and the continuing devastation of the Dust Bowl across the American Great Plains.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • Italy invaded Ethiopia on October 3 without a declaration of war, beginning a campaign of conquest that provoked international condemnation and tested the League of Nations.
  • The League of Nations imposed economic sanctions on Italy in November following the invasion of Ethiopia, though the sanctions excluded oil and proved largely ineffective.
  • Germany formally repudiated the military clauses of the Treaty of Versailles in March and announced the reintroduction of conscription and the creation of the Wehrmacht.
  • The Saar region voted overwhelmingly in a January plebiscite to rejoin Germany, returning to German control after fifteen years under League of Nations administration.
  • The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed in May, aligning France and the Soviet Union against potential German aggression.
  • The Government of India Act was passed by the British Parliament in August, granting greater autonomy to Indian provinces while retaining British control over defense and foreign affairs.
  • Persia officially requested that foreign nations use the name Iran in all correspondence and diplomatic communications, reflecting the country's preferred name.
  • The Philippines Commonwealth was inaugurated on November 15 with Manuel Quezon as president, beginning a ten-year transition to full independence from the United States.
  • The Anglo-German Naval Agreement was signed in June, allowing Germany to build a navy up to thirty-five percent of the Royal Navy's tonnage, undermining the Treaty of Versailles.
  • President Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act of 1935 in August, imposing an arms embargo on belligerent nations and reflecting American isolationist sentiment.

Conflict & Security

  • Italian forces advanced into Ethiopia from Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, using modern weapons including poison gas against Ethiopian defenders.
  • Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie mobilized his forces to resist the Italian invasion, appealing to the League of Nations for support.
  • The Long March of the Chinese Communists concluded in October when Mao Zedong's forces reached Shaanxi province after a grueling trek of roughly six thousand miles.
  • Germany announced the expansion of the Luftwaffe, openly violating the Treaty of Versailles prohibition on a German air force.
  • The Abyssinian crisis revealed the inability of the League of Nations to enforce collective security against an aggressor state.
  • Border skirmishes between Japanese and Soviet forces occurred along the Manchukuo-Mongolia frontier, heightening tensions in East Asia.
  • Germany introduced universal military conscription in March, aiming to build an army of thirty-six divisions.
  • Civil unrest in Greece led to a political crisis, with Georgios Kondylis staging a coup and restoring the monarchy through a disputed plebiscite in November.
  • The Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay moved toward a ceasefire in June after three years of fighting over the Gran Chaco region.
  • Japan continued its military expansion in northern China, pressuring the Chinese government to accept Japanese influence in Hebei and Chahar provinces.

Economy & Finance

  • President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, establishing a federal system of old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and welfare benefits in the United States.
  • The Works Progress Administration was created in May as part of the New Deal, employing millions of Americans in public works, arts, and infrastructure projects.
  • The Rural Electrification Administration was established to bring electric power to rural areas across the United States, where most farms still lacked electricity.
  • The National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act, was signed into law in July, guaranteeing American workers the right to organize and bargain collectively.
  • The Banking Act of 1935 restructured the Federal Reserve System, centralizing monetary policy authority in the Board of Governors in Washington.
  • Germany's economy continued its recovery under a program of massive rearmament and public works spending, reducing unemployment significantly.
  • The Dust Bowl devastated the agricultural economy of the Great Plains, displacing thousands of farming families and destroying crops and livelihoods.
  • Italy's war in Ethiopia strained its economy, leading to calls for national self-sufficiency and autarky.
  • The Soviet Union continued its Second Five-Year Plan, emphasizing heavy industry and military production at the expense of consumer goods.
  • Global trade remained depressed compared to pre-Depression levels, though some recovery was underway in industrialized nations.

Technology & Infrastructure

  • The Douglas DC-3 made its first flight on December 17, beginning a career as the most successful commercial airliner of the era.
  • Radar technology was demonstrated in Britain by Robert Watson-Watt in February, proving that radio waves could detect aircraft at a distance.
  • The Hoover Dam on the Colorado River was formally dedicated by President Roosevelt on September 30, 1935, and began generating hydroelectric power for the growing cities of the American Southwest.
  • Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California in January, crossing the Pacific in approximately eighteen hours.
  • The first practical canned beer was introduced by the American Can Company and the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company.
  • Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge progressed in San Francisco, with work on the suspension cables advancing through the year.
  • The Moscow Metro opened its first line in May, showcasing Soviet engineering with elaborately decorated underground stations.
  • Nylon was first synthesized by Wallace Carothers at DuPont, though it would not be commercially available for several more years.
  • Regular airmail service expanded across the United States, linking major cities and accelerating postal communications.
  • Germany began construction of the Autobahn highway system, with Adolf Hitler opening the first completed section between Frankfurt and Darmstadt in May.

Science & Discovery

  • The Richter magnitude scale was developed by Charles Richter and Beno Gutenberg at the California Institute of Technology to measure earthquake intensity.
  • Physicist Hideki Yukawa proposed the existence of mesons as the carriers of the strong nuclear force binding protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei.
  • The first sulfonamide drug, Prontosil, was shown by Gerhard Domagk to be effective against bacterial infections, opening the era of antibacterial chemotherapy.
  • Physicist Erwin Schrodinger proposed his famous thought experiment involving a cat to illustrate the paradoxes of quantum mechanics.
  • Astronomers Clyde Tombaugh and others continued cataloging trans-Neptunian objects following the discovery of Pluto five years earlier.
  • Robert Watson-Watt's radar experiments demonstrated the feasibility of detecting aircraft using reflected radio waves, a breakthrough with immense military implications.
  • Sir James Chadwick was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the neutron.
  • Research into cosmic rays continued, with scientists using balloon-borne instruments to study high-energy particles from space.
  • Frederic Joliot and Irene Joliot-Curie were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their synthesis of new radioactive elements.
  • The study of vitamins and nutrition advanced, with researchers identifying essential dietary components and their roles in human health.

Health & Medicine

  • Prontosil, the first commercially available sulfonamide antibiotic, was demonstrated to cure streptococcal infections, marking a turning point in the treatment of bacterial diseases.
  • Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio in June by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, pioneering a peer-support approach to treating alcohol addiction.
  • Lobotomy was introduced as a psychiatric treatment by Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz, beginning a controversial era of psychosurgery.
  • The development of blood banks advanced, with researchers improving techniques for blood storage and transfusion.
  • Tuberculosis remained a leading cause of death worldwide, with treatment limited primarily to sanatorium rest and surgical interventions.
  • Polio outbreaks continued to affect communities across the United States and Europe, with no vaccine yet available.
  • Malaria remained a major killer in tropical regions, with quinine as the primary treatment.
  • Public health campaigns in the United States promoted improved sanitation, nutrition, and childhood vaccination.
  • Research into the health effects of industrial chemicals and workplace hazards expanded, though occupational safety regulations remained limited.
  • Insulin treatment for diabetes continued to improve, extending the lives of patients who previously faced early death from the disease.

Climate & Environment

  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels stood at approximately 307 parts per million, reflecting a gradual increase from the pre-industrial baseline of around 280 parts per million.
  • The Dust Bowl reached its peak severity on April 14, known as Black Sunday, when massive dust storms swept across the Great Plains, darkening skies from Texas to the Dakotas.
  • The Soil Conservation Service was established in the United States to address the erosion crisis devastating farmland across the Great Plains.
  • A devastating hurricane struck the Florida Keys on September 2, killing over four hundred people, including many World War I veterans working on a federal relief project.
  • Severe flooding struck parts of the Republican River basin in Nebraska and Kansas, causing significant damage and loss of life.
  • Drought conditions persisted across much of the central United States, compounding the agricultural devastation of the Dust Bowl.
  • The Civilian Conservation Corps continued its work planting trees, building trails, and combating erosion across the United States.
  • Deforestation and overgrazing contributed to soil degradation in many regions worldwide.
  • Japan's industrial expansion increased pollution in urban areas, though environmental regulation was virtually nonexistent.
  • The concept of wilderness preservation gained attention in the United States, with the Wilderness Society founded in January by Aldo Leopold, Robert Marshall, and others.

Culture & Society

  • The global population was approximately 2.2 billion, with growth continuing despite the economic hardships of the Great Depression.
  • It Happened One Night won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the ceremony held in February, sweeping all five major categories.
  • The Nuremberg Laws were enacted in Germany in September, stripping Jewish citizens of their rights and forbidding marriages between Jews and non-Jewish Germans.
  • George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess premiered in New York City on October 10, blending jazz, blues, and classical music.
  • Babe Ruth retired from professional baseball in June after twenty-two seasons, leaving behind records including 714 career home runs.
  • The board game Monopoly was released by Parker Brothers, becoming one of the best-selling board games of all time.
  • T. E. Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia, died on May 19 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in Dorset, England.
  • Penguin Books launched in Britain in July, pioneering the mass-market paperback format and making quality literature affordable.
  • Will Rogers, one of America's most popular entertainers and humorists, died in a plane crash in Alaska on August 15.
  • The Federal Writers' Project was established under the WPA, employing writers to produce state guidebooks and document American life.