September 1937

The following events occurred in September 1937:

• The first deportation of ethnic Koreans from the Russian Republic in the Soviet Union was made as a group of 11,807 Koreans were placed on trains and removed to the Uzbek SSR.^[1]
• The Housing Act of 1937, also called the Wagner–Steagall, Act, was signed into law by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. The Act create the United States Housing Authority to provide financial assistance to the individual States "for the elimination of unsafe and insanitary housing conditions, for the eradication of slums, for the provision of decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings for families of low income, and for the reduction of unemployment and the stimulation of business activity."^[2]
• Trans-Canada Air Lines, which would be renamed Air Canada in 1965, made its first passenger flights, transporting two passengers from Vancouver in Canada to Seattle in the U.S. as part of a round trip that cost $14.20 per person (equivalent to $313 almost 90 years later.^[3]
• The Battle of Taiyuan began as Japanese troops besieged the capital of China's Shanxi Province. The city would surrender two months later on November 9.^[4]
• Spain's rebel Nationalists launched the Asturias Offensive against the Spanish Republic on the northern front. The Nationalists would capture the province by October 21.^[5]
• The musical film The Firefly starring Jeanette MacDonald and Allan Jones premiered at the Astor Theatre in New York City.^[6]

• The popular adventure film The Prisoner of Zenda, produced by David O. Selznick starring Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. premiered in New York^[7] before being released nationwide the next day.
• Hermann Göring warned in a speech in Stuttgart that if a new boycott of Nazi Germany was attempted, "any damages caused will be paid by Jews in Germany."^[8]
• Born: Len Carlson, Canadian voice actor; in Edmonton, Alberta (d. 2006)
• Died:
  • Pierre de Coubertin, 74, French educator, historian and founder of the International Olympic Committee, known for organizing the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.^[9]
  • Georgy Oppokov, 49, the first
  • Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, 56, Indian leftist revolutionary, known as "Chatto", who sought to overthrow British rule in India by armed force, was executed in the Soviet Union six weeks after his arrest.^[10]
  • Alexander Shliapnikov, 52, Russian Communist dissident, was executed in the Soviet Union.^[11]

• The Great Hong Kong typhoon made landfall, made landfall at 7:00 in the morning^[12] (23:00 UTC on September 2), and killed at least 11,000 people in one of the deadliest disasters in Hong Kong's history.^[13]
• In the Mongolian People's Republic, Prime Minister Khorloogiin Choibalsan issued "Order 366" the day after the burial of the late chief of the nation's armed forces Marshal Gelegdorjiin Demid, who had died suddenly from poisoning on August 22. Under Order 366, Choibalsan declared that many of his political rivals had "fallen under the influence of Japanese spies and provocateurs," and used the accusation as a pretext for mass arrests and executions.^[14]
• Konstantin Päts, Prime Minister of Estonia since 1934, took office as Estonia's head of state with the title of "President-Regent" (Riigihoidja) in preparation of a new constitution.
• Congress of Industrial Organizations leader John L. Lewis gave a radio address broadcast across the United States in which he attacked the Roosevelt Administration for professing impartiality in the country's labor disputes instead of supporting the workers. Lewis brought up the prospect of creating a farmer-labor third party movement.^[15]
• Another Soviet merchant ship, the Blagoev, was attacked near Greece and sunk in the Mediterranean.^[16]

• The press of the Soviet Union blamed the August 30 sinking of the Timiryazev on Italy. "The government will make the Fascist bandits pay dearly", declared Pravda.^[17]
• The Japanese puppet state known as the South Chahar Autonomous Government was established in Zhangjiakou.^[18]
• Born:
  • Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer and politician, in Balmain, New South Wales
  • Mikk Mikiver, Estonian actor and theater director, in Tallinn (d. 2006)

• Llanes fell to the Nationalists.
• The Argentine presidential election was held, resulting in the election of Roberto María Ortiz.
• Japan established a naval blockade spanning the entire Chinese coastline with the exception of ports where foreign powers had treaty rights.^[19]
• Born: William Devane, American actor; in Albany, New York

• The Battle of El Mazuco began in the north.
• Italy denied responsibility for the sinking of the Timiryazev and Blagoev.^[20]
• Born:
  • Sergio Aragonés, Spanish-born American cartoonist known for his work in MAD magazine; in Sant Mateu
  • Kirtanananda Swami, American Hare Krishna guru, in Peekskill, New York (d. 2011)
  • Jo Anne Worley, American actress; in Lowell, Indiana
• Died: Henry Kimball Hadley, 65, American composer and conductor

• The Zaragoza Offensive ended in Republican failure.
• The Battle of Belchite ended in a tactical Republican victory.
• The Battle of Cape Cherchell was fought.
• A manifesto written by Hitler was read by Adolf Wagner at the Nuremberg Rally, offering to stand beside Italy and Japan in a "defensive fight" against communism.^[21]
• The first winners of the new German National Prize for Art and Science were announced.
• Born: Cüneyt Arkın, Turkish actor, director and producer; in Gökçeoğlu, Eskişehir Province, Turkey (d. 2022)
• Died: Annie Lorrain Smith, 82, British lichenologist and mycologist

• Italy announced it would not be attending the upcoming Nyon Conference on Mediterranean piracy due to the Soviet Union's demands on Italy for satisfaction. Germany would not be participating either.^[22]
• Bloudan Conference: A Pan-Arab conference of 400 unofficial delegates in Bloudan rejected the Peel Commission report recommending partition of Palestine.^[19]

• Hitler laid the cornerstone for the Deutsches Stadion.^[23] Like many major Nazi construction projects it would never be completed.

• The Nyon Conference began in Nyon, Switzerland, aiming to address attacks on international shipping in the Mediterranean during the Spanish Civil War.
• Born: Jared Diamond, American geographer, historian, and author; in Boston

• The French right-wing terrorist group La Cagoule set off bombs that destroyed the Paris headquarters of the Confédération générale du patronat français (CGPF) on Rue de Presbourg and of the Union des industries et métiers de la métallurgie (UIMM) on Rue Boissière, two major manufacturers associations, killing guards and both places and injuring several bystanders. The intent was to blame the bombings on the French Communist Party but the government took no official action against any of the Communist officials.^[24]
• American film producer Hal Roach, known for his successful comedy films with Laurel and Hardy and the Our Gang short films, formed a production company in Fascist Italy with Vittorio Mussolini, the son of Italy's premier Benito Mussolini. News of the creation of "R.A.M. Productions" (for "Roach and Mussolini") film studios caused enough controversy that the Loew's chain of the movie theaters suspended its contract to show MGM films and the MGM studios directed Roach to buy his way out the R.A.M. contract.^[25]
• U.S. President Roosevelt said at a press conference in New York vowing he would do everything possible "to keep us out of war."^[26]
• Bette Cooper of New Jersey won the 11th Miss America beauty pageant.
• Born:
  • Queen Paola of Belgium, Italian-born wife of King Albert II of Belgium and Queen Consort from 1993 to 2013; as Paola Ruffo di Calabria, in Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, Kingdom of Italy^[27]
  • Robert Crippen, American astronaut on the first space shuttle mission (STS-1, in 1981) and on three other missions; in Beaumont, Texas^[28]
  • Marilyn Webb, New Zealand artist; in Grey Lynn, Auckland (d.2021)^[29]
• Died:
  • Trevor Lloyd, 73, New Zealand artist^[30]
  • Nazmi Ziya Güran, 57, Turkish impressionist painter, died of a heart attack.^[31]

• In Turkey, 73 participants in the Dersim rebellion were invited to negotiate directly with the Turkish government, then arrested while on their way to Erzincan the meeting.^[32] Seven convicted men were sentenced to death, and Seyid Riza was hanged on November 15, 1937, at Elazig.
• Varvara Yakovleva, the Finance Minister of the Russian Republic within the USSR since 1930, was arrested by the NKVD and charged with sabotage and membership in a "Trotskyite-fascist diversionary terrorist organization", in part because of her sexual orientation.^[33]
• The Republic of China filed a complaint against the Empire of Japan before the League of Nations, but the League declined to set official sanctions, limiting its action to a statement on October 4, 1937, that proclaimed its "spiritual support" to China in its defense against a Japanese invasion.
• Excerpts from a letter written by the imprisoned German pastor Martin Niemöller were read to his congregation. "I often think of others who must wander through the same dark valley as myself", one passage read. "But it is a comfort to us all to know that you are praying for us. I am certain the almighty God will triumph."^[34]
• Rudolf Caracciola of Germany won the Italian Grand Prix in the fifth and final race of the 1937 European Grand Prix championship. Caracciola clinched the championship after having finished in first place in four of the five events (in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy).^[35]
• Born:
  • Henri Lopes, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo from 1973 to 1975 and later the nation's ambassador to France from 1998 to 2016; in Leopoldville, Belgian Congo (now Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d.2023)^[36]
  • Dale Hamer, American NFL official who served as head linesman in two Super Bowls and as president of the referees labor union; in Fairhope, Pennsylvania (d.2024)^[37]
  • George Chuvalo, Canadian heavyweight boxer and two-time world heavyweight challenger against Ernie Terrell in 1965 and Muhammad Ali in 1972; as Jure Cuvalo to Croatian immigrants in Toronto ^[38]
  • Swami Ghanananda Saraswati, Ghanaian born Hindu swami and the first swami of African descent; as Kewsi Essel in Senya Beraku, Gold Coast colony (d.2016)
• Perry Ray Robinson, African-American civil rights activist who disappeared in 1973 after confronting American Indian Movement activists during the Wounded Knee incident; in Bogue Chitto, Alabama (d. 1973)
• Died:
  • William Henry Heard, 87, African-American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia from 1895 to 1898.^[39]

• The Battle of Xinkou began.
• Heinrich Himmler decreed that Jews could be released from "protective custody" in concentration camps if they provided evidence that they were emigrating.^[40]
• Japanese forces captured Datong.^[41]
• The Chinese government made a formal appeal to the League of Nations to take action against Japan.^[42]
• In his final address on the closing day of the Nuremberg Rally, Hitler declared that the failure of Franco's Nationalists would "upset the balance of power in Europe, which is of vital importance to Germany."^[43]
• Born: Don Bluth, American animator and film director, former animator at Disney from 1955 to 1979, founder of Sullivan Bluth Studios, co-founder of 20th Century Fox Animation and co-creator of An American Tail, The Land Before Time and Anastasia.
• Died: Ellis Parker Butler, 67, American author

• The Nyon Conference ended with an agreement to establish a system of patrol zones, with the British and French assuming the most responsibility.^[19] It was agreed that submarines that attacked merchant vessels could be attacked in return by the patrols.^[44]
• Died: Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, 87, 1st President of Czechoslovakia

• Hitler's half-brother Alois opened a café in Berlin.^[45]
• Born:
  • King Curtis Iaukea, U.S. professional wrestler, in Honolulu, Hawaii (d. 2010)
  • Robert Lucas, Jr., U.S. economist and Nobel laureate, in Yakima, Washington
  • Fernando de la Rúa, President of Argentina; in Cordoba (d. 2019).

• The NAACP sent a telegram to President Roosevelt urging that he call upon Hugo Black to resign from the Supreme Court or "take other appropriate action in the absence of repudiation and disproof of the charges by Senator Black to relieve himself and the nation of the embarrassment of having upon the highest court a man pledged to uphold principles inimical to true Americanism."^[46]
• The British historical film Victoria the Great starring Anna Neagle premiered in London.^[47]
• Born: Jesse J. McCrary, Jr., American lawyer and civil rights activist; in Blitchton, Florida (d. 2007)

• The Battle of Santander ended in a decisive Nationalist victory.
• The Nyon agreement was expanded to include aircraft as legitimate targets for reprisal attacks by patrol ships.^[44]
• The Abraham Lincoln head on the Mount Rushmore sculpture was dedicated.^[48]
• Born:
  • Orlando Cepeda, Puerto Rican and American baseball player; in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2024)
  • Ilarion Ionescu-Galați, Romanian violinist and conductor; in Iași

• Spanish Prime Minister Juan Negrín spoke before the Assembly at the League of Nations, calling the Spanish Civil War "a war of invasion" and denouncing Hitler and Mussolini as "international highwaymen." Negrín called on the League to recognize German and Italian aggression, give the Republic the right to freely procure war materiel and have all foreign combatants withdrawn from Spanish territory.^[49]
• The Alliance of Democrats formed in Poland.

• The Folsom escape attempt occurred. Two of the seven prisoners trying to escape were shot dead; the other five were sentenced to death and eventually executed.
• Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta was founded in Switzerland.
• Born: Abner Haynes, AFL running back, in Denton, Texas (d. 2024)

• Anthony Eden spoke at the League of Nations Assembly, telling Italy and Japan they were ruining themselves financially by their policies of territorial conquest and informing Germany that the way to obtain raw materials was to buy them instead of demanding colonies.^[50]
• Spain failed to get the two-thirds majority it needed to get re-elected onto the League of Nations council. The Latin American countries no longer supported the Spanish Republic because they had shifted their support to Franco.^[50]
• Died:
  • Henry Denhardt, 61, American politician, was shot.
  • Lev Karakhan, 48, Soviet revolutionary and diplomat, was executed as part of Stalin's Great Purge)
  • Harry Stovey, 80, American baseball player
  • Felix M. Warburg, 66, German-born American banker

• The Hobbit, the popular children's fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, was published for the first time and released in the United Kingdom by the George Allen & Unwin company.^[51]
• Kunreisiki rômazi, the official transliteration of the Japanese language in the Latin alphabet, was approved by the ministers of Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe's government on recommendation of the Education Minister Yasui Eiji.^[52]
• Pepperdine University, created in Los Angeles as a Christian research university by entrepreneur George Pepperdine, held its first classes with 167 students.^[53] Originally called "George Pepperdine College", the university would have more than 10,000 students 85 years after its opening.^[54]
• A group of 21 Japanese warplanes bombed the Chinese city of Canton for 90 minutes, killing many civilians.^[55]
• Italy reversed itself and agreed in principle to participate in the patrolling of the Mediterranean Sea.^[47][56]
• Died:
  • Osgood Perkins, 45, American stage actor, died of a heart attack in his bathtub after having performed the night before as "Barrie Trexel" in the play Susan and God^[57]
  • Virginia Earle, 64, American stage actress^[58]

• The Battle of El Mazuco ended in a Nationalist victory.
• Japan's apology for the August 26 airplane attack on ambassador Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen was made public by Britain and the matter was declared closed.^[59]
• Died: Ruth Roland, 45, American actress and film producer, died of cancer.

• The New York Yankees won the American League pennant when the Detroit Tigers were eliminated in a 4–3 loss to the Boston Red Sox.^[60]
• Benito Mussolini's second son Vittorio arrived in the United States to study filmmaking methods in Hollywood with the producer Hal Roach.^[61]
• The professional wrestling event known as the EMLL 4th Anniversary Show took place in Mexico City.
• Born: Martin Litchfield West, English scholar of classical antiquity; in London(d. 2015)

• The Battle of Pingxingguan began.
• The Imperial Japanese Army occupied Baoding.^[62]

• The Battle of Pingxingguan ended in Chinese victory.
• Benito Mussolini arrived in Munich on the first day of a five-day official visit to Germany.^[63]
• Geelong defeated Collingwood in the VFL Grand Final.
• Born: Freeman Patterson, Canadian nature photographer and writer; in Long Reach, New Brunswick

• British District Commissioner for the Galilee Lewis Yelland Andrews and his bodyguard were gunned down in Nazareth.^[64]
• The Storstrøm Bridge, one of the longest in Europe, was inaugurated in Denmark by King Christian X.^[65]
• Died: Bessie Smith, 43, American blues singer, was killed in a car accident.

• British authorities arrested 120 suspects in the Lewis Yelland Andrews murder.^[64]
• Italy signed on to the Nyon accords.^[44]
• Born: Barbara Helsingius, Finnish singer, poet and Olympic fencer; in Helsinki (d. 2017)^[66]

• Hitler and Mussolini spoke at a rally in Berlin that was heard by millions around the world in a radio broadcast. Hitler went first and spoke of the "common ideals and interests inspiring Italy and Germany." Mussolini, delivering his speech in German, made the first official acknowledgement that Italy had troops in Spain when he said, "Where words are insufficient to carry on the fight we turn to weapons. We have done this in Spain, where thousands of Italian Fascist volunteers have lost their lives."^[67]
• At the League of Nations, Britain and France balked at Spain's demand to condemn Germany and Italy as aggressors and allow arms exports to the Spanish government, fearing it would worsen the general situation in Europe.^[68]
• The League of Nations officially condemned the Japanese bombing of Chinese cities.^[68]
• U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River Gorge.^[41]
• Born: Rod Roddy, american radio and television announcer; in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2003)

• Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong agreed to put aside their differences and join forces to fight the Japanese invasion.^[41]
• Purdy Bridge opened in Purdy, Washington.
• Died: Ray Ewry, 63, American track and field athlete

• The League of Nations drafted a resolution warning that if Italy did not withdraw its troops from Spain, the League would "consider ending the policy" of nonintervention.^[69]
• The New York Giants clinched the National League pennant with a 2–1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The 1937 World Series would be a rematch of 1936.^[70]