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
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling
Average House Price 600
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
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling
Average House Price 600
Technology
- More Television is broadcast and CNN 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
- Empire State Building is completed, and becomes the tallest building in the world , it is a 102-story contemporary Art Deco style building in New York City
- 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.
- 1931 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
- US Unemployment reaches 8 million
- The State of Nevada Senate voted to legalize all forms of gambling
- Chicago runs out of money and can not pay it's teachers for 2 months
- Prices of consumer goods drop an estimated 17 percent from 1930
- Japan invades Manchuria
- U.S. National Anthem becomes The Star Spangled Banner on March 3rd
- George Washington Bridge opens on March 19th connecting New York and New Jersey
- Population US 122 million
- Chicago Tunnel Explosion and Fire
- Ford ends production of the Ford Model A and prepares for the new Ford V8
- Work starts on the Boulder Dam
- First Childrens Serial Little Orphan Annie is transmitted on Radio
- King Alfonso XIII of Spain is forced to live in Exile in Rome following Spain Becoming a Republic
- Population Great Britain 46 million
- Great Britain Abandons Gold Standard
- As the great depression spreads world wide thousands of British ships are rusting in harbors because there are no goods to export
- Number of Cars Produced World Wide 36 Million
- Following the Wall Street Crash 2500 banks in the US fail
- 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 30thBoris Yeltsin February 1st
James Dean February 8th
William Shatner SMarch 22nd
Major World Political Leaders 1931
Australia Prime Minister James ScullinBrazil 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 1931
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)
The Information above is taken from our new page that gives world leaders from 1920 to current.
WorldLeaders
