The world in
What happened in 1931?
19 events across 7 world regions, each with its sources.
Europe
- Rise of Fascism as a Political Ideology
Fascism emerged as a far-right political ideology and movement in Europe during the 1920s and early 1930s, notably in Italy and Germany. Its core features included veneration of a dictatorial leader, ultranationalism, violent suppression of opposition, and strict regimentation of society and economy. Opposed to communism, democracy, and liberalism, its rise was closely tied to post-World War I economic and social crises.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR
On December 30, 1922, the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR was signed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, officially establishing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Plenipotentiary delegates from the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian Soviet republics signed the treaty, along with a declaration serving as its preamble. The treaty legally formalized the political union of the Soviet republics that had existed since 1919, creating a new federal government with centralized functions in Moscow. Legislative power was vested in the Congress of Soviets and the Central Executive Committee, while executive power lay with the Council of People's Commissars.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Completion of Villa Savoye
Villa Savoye was completed in 1931 in Poissy, near Paris, designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. A milestone of modernist architecture, its white parallelepiped on slender pilotis features horizontal ribbon windows and a roof terrace, embodying Le Corbusier's Five Points of Architecture. The last of his 'white villas', it stands as an avant-garde icon of 20th-century private residences and was later inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site alongside 16 other works by the architect.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Completion of the Van Nelle Factory
Completed in 1931 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the Van Nelle Factory is a masterpiece of International Style and modernist architecture. Designed by architects Leendert van der Vlugt and Johannes Brinkman, it is recognized as a landmark of modern architecture.
- Inauguration of the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing
The Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing was inaugurated in Comines-Warneton, Belgium, established by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It commemorates soldiers of the Allied Powers who fell on the northern Western Front in World War I and whose graves are unknown. The memorial stands in the center of Berks Cemetery Extension in the village of Ploegsteert.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Construction of the White City housing estate begins
The White City housing estate, located in Berlin's Reinickendorf district, began construction in the early 1930s. As the last large-scale housing estate rooted in modern architecture during the Weimar Republic, it comprises 1268 apartments, forming one of the Berlin Modernism Housing Estates and later designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Construction of Stade Chaban-Delmas completed
In 1931, the Parc Lescure stadium (later renamed Stade Chaban-Delmas) was completed in Bordeaux, France. It initially served as the home ground of FC Girondins de Bordeaux and became a key sporting venue in the city.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Milano Centrale railway station opens
In 1931, Milano Centrale railway station opened at Piazza Duca d'Aosta in central Milan, replacing a 19th-century station and emerging as a major Italian and European rail hub. It is the largest station in Europe by volume and one of Italy's busiest, with connections to key Italian cities and international services to Switzerland, as well as a link to the Milan Metro.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Opening of the Casa de Campo as a public park
Originally established as a royal hunting estate in the early 16th century, the Casa de Campo is located west of central Madrid and covers over 1,700 hectares. In 1931, it was opened to the public, becoming a municipal park and the largest public green space in Madrid at the time. It later became a popular weekend destination for local residents.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
East Asia
- 1931 China floods
In the summer of 1931, the Yangtze and Huai River basins in China suffered catastrophic flooding from persistent heavy rain. About 150,000 people drowned; including disease and famine, death tolls range from hundreds of thousands to millions. Over a dozen provinces were hit, tens of millions were affected, and a dike burst near Lake Gaoyou around 25 August.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Osaka Imperial University founded
Osaka Imperial University was formally established in 1931 as the sixth imperial university in Japan, initially comprising faculties of science and medicine. Its predecessors included Edo-era institutions Tekijuku and Kaitokudo, and a medical school founded in 1880. The founding marked a significant expansion of higher research education in the Kansai region. After post-war reforms and mergers, it became a comprehensive national university, now among Japan's largest.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Mukden Incident
On September 18, 1931, Japanese military personnel detonated dynamite near a railway line owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway near Mukden, blamed the explosion on Chinese forces, and used it as a pretext for a full-scale invasion of Manchuria, marking the beginning of Japan's large-scale armed aggression in northeastern China.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Central Asian steppe
- Outbreak of the Basmachi Movement
In 1916, an uprising by Muslim peoples of Central Asia against tsarist conscription and colonial rule broke out in Turkestan, marking the beginning of the Basmachi movement. This decentralized resistance later turned against Soviet rule and became the most protracted anti-colonial armed struggle in the region, gradually subsiding only by 1934.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Naurzum Nature Reserve designated part of UNESCO site
Naurzum Nature Reserve in Kostanay Region, Kazakhstan, became part of the UNESCO site Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan, protecting about 3,081 square kilometres of steppes, semi-desert and forests.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North America
- Establishment of Canyon de Chelly National Monument
On April 1, 1931, the United States established Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeastern Arizona, within the Navajo Nation, managed by the National Park Service. The site preserves one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes in North America, containing ruins of indigenous tribes such as the Ancestral Puebloans. It covers 83,840 acres and encompasses the rims and floors of Canyon de Chelly, Canyon del Muerto, and Monument Canyon.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Empire State Building Completed
The Empire State Building was completed in 1931 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. This 102-story Art Deco supertall skyscraper has a roof height of 1,250 feet and a total height of 1,454 feet with its antenna, becoming the world’s tallest building upon completion.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Central & South America
- Banana Wars
Between 1898 and 1934, the United States carried out a series of military occupations, police actions, and interventions in Central America and the Caribbean. These operations were primarily conducted by the United States Marine Corps, which compiled the Small Wars Manual (1921) based on its experiences.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
South Asia
- Founding of Kabul University
Kabul University was founded in 1931 or 1932 in the Afghan capital, established by King Mohammed Nadir Shah and his government. As one of the earliest and principal institutions of higher education in Afghanistan, its creation marked the beginning of modern university-level education in the country, fostering generations of professionals despite decades of subsequent conflict and instability.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North Africa
- Outbreak of the French conquest of Morocco
In 1907, France began its conquest of the Sultanate of Morocco by occupying Oujda on 29 March. Subsequent military campaigns led to the Treaty of Fes in 1912, establishing the French protectorate, while pacification operations continued until 1934.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Around 1931
These are known only to the century, not to the year. They are listed separately so a rough date is never mistaken for an exact one.
- Establishment of Women's Suffrage Worldwide
- Establishment of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
- Construction of Grimeton Longwave Radio Station
- Construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway begins
- Construction of the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright Begins
- Construction of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in 'The Centre of Heaven and Earth'
- Establishment of the Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains
- Designation of the Maotianshan Shales member and type section