The World of Indiana Jones: 1938

In just 22 hours and 50 minutes (it's 1:10 AM now) I will be sitting in a theater, getting ready to enjoy the newest Indiana Jones film. The last Indy film to hit the big screen was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. The film took place in 1938 and was set primarily in Italy, Austria, Germany, and the Middle East. Let's take a look at the major world events from 1938, when FDR still was still President, stamps were still $0.03, the world was introduced to ball point pens, Superman, and Buggs Bunny, and Adolf Hitler was TIME's Man of the Year.

January

* January 1 - The Merrie Melodies cartoon short Daffy Duck and Egghead is released.
* January 3 - The March of Dimes is established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
* January 27 - The Niagara Bridge at Niagara Falls, New York collapses due to an ice jam.

February

* February 4 - Adolf Hitler creates the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces), giving him direct control of the German military, and sacks political and military leaders considered unsympathetic to his philosophy or policies.
* February 12 - Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg of Austria meets Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden and, under threat of invasion, is forced to yield to German demands for greater Nazi participation in the Austrian government.
* February 24 - A nylon bristle toothbrush becomes the first commercial product to be made with nylon yarn.

March

* March 3 - Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
* March 12 - Anschluss: German troops occupy Austria; annexation declared the following day.

April

* April 28 - The towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott in Massachusetts are disincorporated to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir.

May

* May 14 - Chile withdraws from the League of Nations
* May 17 - Information Please debuts on NBC Radio.
* May 20 - Czechoslovakia orders a partial mobilization of its armed forces along the German border.

June

* June - Action Comics issue #1 is published, presenting the first appearance of Superman, considered the first superhero.
* June 19 - Italy beat Hungary 4-2 to win the 1938 World Cup (Soccer)
* June 22 - Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis knocks out Max Schmeling in the first round of their rematch (from 1936) at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
* June 24 - A 450 metric ton meteorite strikes the earth in an empty field near Chicora, Pennsylvania.
* June 25 - Dr. Douglas Hyde is elected the first President of Ireland.

July

* July 3 - The last reunion of the Blue and Gray commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
* July 14 - Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91 hour airplane flight around the world.
* July 18 - Wrong Way Corrigan takes off from New York, ostensibly heading for California. He lands in Ireland instead.

August

* August 6 - The Looney Tunes animated short Porky & Daffy is released.
* August 16 - Robert Johnson, father of Blues music (b. 1911)
* August 18 - The Thousand Islands Bridge, connecting the United States with Canada, is dedicated by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

September

* September 21 - A large hurricane (the New England Hurricane of 1938) strikes Long Island and southern New England, killing over 300 along the Rhode Island shoreline and 600 altogether.
* September 30 - Neville Chamberlain returns to Britain from meeting with Adolf Hitler and declares "Peace In Our Time"

October

* October 2 - Tiberias massacre: Arabs murder 20 Jews.
* October 10 - The Blue Water Bridge opens, connecting Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario
* October 16 - Winston Churchill, in a broadcast address to the United States, condemns the Munich Agreement as a defeat and calls upon America and western Europe to prepare for armed resistance against Hitler.
* October 24 - Minimum wage established by law in the United States
* October 27 - Du Pont announced a name for its new synthetic yarn: "nylon".
* October 30 - Orson Welles's radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds is broadcast, causing panic in various parts of the United States.
* October 31 - Great Depression: In an effort to try restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public.

November

* November 9 - Holocaust: Kristallnacht begins - In Germany, the "night of broken glass" begins as Nazi troops and sympathizers loot and burn Jewish businesses (the all night affair saw 7,500 Jewish businesses destroyed, 267 synagogues burned, 91 Jews killed, and at least 25,000 Jewish men arrested).
* November 10 - The founder of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, dies.
* November 13- The people of New York City held a fruit tasting contest held by managers.

December

* December 16 - MGM releases its successful film version of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. The film was originally intended to star Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezer Scrooge, but Barrymore, ill with arthritis, is replaced by Reginald Owen.
* December 23 - A Coelacanth, a fish thought to have been extinct, is caught off the coast of South Africa near Chalumna River.
* December 27 - 87 killed, a construction worker of domitory site hit avalanche by heavy massivie snow at Kurobe, Japan.

Undated
* The first cartoon to feature a prototypical Bugs Bunny, Porky's Hare Hunt, is released.
* The Schomburgk's Deer becames extinct by this date.
* Siam is renamed Thailand.


Notable Births

* January 8 - Bob Eubanks, American game show host
* January 21 - Wolfman Jack, American disc-jockey and actor (d. 1995)
* March 7 - Janet Guthrie, American race car driver
* March 18 - Charley Pride, American baseball player and musician
* April 8 - Kofi Annan, Ghanaian Secretary General of the United Nations
* April 11 - Michael Deaver, Reagan's Deputy White House Chief of Staff (d. 2007)
* April 29 - Larry Niven, American author
* May 31 - Johnny PayCheck, American singer (d. 2003)
* June 19 - Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and professional wrestler (d. 2002)
* July 20 - Diana Rigg, English actress, Bond girl
* July 29 - Peter Jennings, Canadian-born television news reporter (d. 2005)
* October 17 - Evel Knievel, American motorcycle daredevil (d. 2007)
* October 20 - Iain Macmillan, Abbey Road photographer (d. 2006)
* October 22 - Christopher Lloyd, American actor
* November 17 - Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk singer
* November 19 - Ted Turner, modern entrepreneur
* November 26 - Porter J. Goss, American politician and Central Intelligence Agency director
* December 5 - J. J. Cale, American singer
* December 29 - Jon Voight, American actor

Sports in 1938

World Series: New York Yankees defeat the Chicago Cubs, 4-0.
NFL: New York Giants 23-17 Green Bay Packers for the NFL title.


Now we come to a slight pause. I will not be looking at anything involving the new Indiana Jones film until after I have seen the movie. Tonight, before I go to the theater, I will be posting a look back at some of the major artifacts that Indy has gone after. This will include the Ark of the Covenant, the Shankara Stones, and the Holy Grail. After I have seen the film, I will be posting a look back at the year 1957 and a look at the legend surrounding the Crystal Skulls. Until then...