1931 saw the doubling of unemployment to 16.3% , and everybody realized that the stock market crash of 1929 was having far reaching effects . The US government started making some progress on the mob and a notable success was the conviction of Al Capone on tax fraud charges in 1931 which got him an 11 year prison sentence in Alcatraz. Many car manufacturers also went out of business as people did not have money to buy new cars. One of the few successes was the completion of the Empire State building , and in Las Vegas the small local community made the decision to legalize gambling . Nature even conspired to make things worse by causing a serious drought in the Midwest which in turn made food more expensive and turned some area's into dust bowls.

How Much things cost in 1931 Average Cost of new house $6,790.00 , Average wages per year $1,850.00 , Cost of a gallon of Gas 10 cents , Average Cost for house rent $18.00 per month , A loaf of Bread 8 cents , A LB of Hamburger Meat 11 cents , Alarm Clock $3.50 New Car Average Price $640.00

Prices for UK guides in Pounds Sterling Average House Price 600


Technology

  • More Television is broadcast and RCA places a transmitter at the top of The Empire State Building

Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use )
Electric Razor USA by Jacob Schick
Nylon USA by Wallace Corothers - artificial silk
Aerosol Can Norway by Erik Rotheim

What Events Happened in 1931

U.S.
  • Empire State Building is completed and opens on May 1st, and becomes the tallest building in the world , it is a 102-story contemporary Art Deco style building in New York City
New Zealand
  • Hawke's Bay earthquake of 1931, also known as the Napier earthquake destroys much of Napier in New Zealand and measures 7.8 on the Richter scale.
China
  • Yellow River flood (Huang He flood) is generally thought to be the deadliest natural disaster of historic times, and almost certainly of the twentieth century and kills between 900,000-2,000,000 people in China
Japan
  • Japan invades Manchuria in China
U.S.
  • US Unemployment reaches 8 million
U.S.
  • The State of Nevada Senate voted to legalize all forms of gambling
U.S.
  • Chicago runs out of money and can not pay it's teachers for 2 months
U.S.
  • Prices of consumer goods drop an estimated 17 percent from 1930
U.S.
  • U.S. National Anthem becomes The Star Spangled Banner on March 3rd
U.S.
  • George Washington Bridge opens on March 19th connecting New York and New Jersey
U.S.
  • Population US 122 million
U.S.
  • Chicago Tunnel Explosion and Fire
U.S.
  • Ford ends production of the Ford Model A and prepares for the new Ford V8
U.S. U.S.
  • On April 6th First Children's Serial Little Orphan Annie is transmitted on Radio
Spain
  • King Alfonso XIII of Spain is forced to live in Exile in Rome following Spain Becoming a Republic
UK
  • Population Great Britain 46 million
UK
  • Great Britain Abandons Gold Standard
UK
  • As the great depression spreads world wide thousands of British ships are rusting in harbors because there are no goods to export
World
  • Number of Cars Produced World Wide 36 Million
U.S.
  • Following the Wall Street Crash 2500 banks in the US fail
Australia
  • Australia Gains Independence From Great Britain



Popular Culture

  • FILM Frankenstein
  • FILM Mata Hari
  • FILM City Lights starring Charles Chaplin
  • MUSIC " Just One More Chance " Bing Crosby


Born This Year 1931

Angie Dickinson September 30th
Boris Yeltsin February 1st
James Dean February 8th
William Shatner March 22nd
Anne Bancroft September 17th -- The Bronx, New York, U.S.
John Le Carré October 19th -- Poole, Dorset, England
Angie Dickinson September 30th -- Kulm, North Dakota, U.S.
Robert Duvall January 5th -- San Diego, California, U.S.
Larry Hagman September 21st -- Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Rupert Murdoch March 11th -- Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Leonard Nimoy March 26th -- Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Willie Shoemaker August 19th -- Fabens, Texas, United States
Desmond Tutu October 7th -- Klerksdorp, Transvaal, South Africa



Major World Political Leaders

Australia Prime Minister James Scullin Brazil President Military Joint Tri Till 3 November
Brazil President Getúlio Vargas From 3 November
Canada Prime Minister Richard Bedford Bennett
Italy Prime Minister Benito Mussolini
Japan Prime Minister Osachi Hamaguchi Till 14 April
Japan Prime Minister Reijiro Wakatsuki From 14 April
Japan Prime Minister Reijiro Wakatsuki Till 13 December
Japan Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai From 13 December
Mexico President Pascual Ortiz Rubio Russia / Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee Joseph Stalin South Africa Prime Minister James Barry Munnik Hertzog United States President Herbert Hoover United Kingdom Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald

Political Elections


British General Election 1931 Stanley Baldwin ( Conservative ) defeats Arthur Henderson ( Labour ) and Sir Herbert Samuel ( Liberal )
Due to the effects of the great depression although Conservative won a large majority Ramsay MacDonald stays on as The British Prime Minister in a (National Government)