* 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
