The world in
What happened in 1937?
24 events across 8 world regions, each with its sources.
East Asia
- Second Sino-Japanese War begins
In 1937, full-scale war broke out between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. The war was primarily fought in China, also extending into neighboring areas such as northern Burma. It was the largest Asian war in the 20th century and is often regarded as the beginning of World War II in Asia.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Nanjing Massacre
From December 1937 to March 1938, after capturing Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, the Imperial Japanese Army perpetrated mass killings, rape, looting, and arson against civilians, noncombatants, and prisoners of war. The atrocities lasted about six weeks, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and the rape of tens of thousands of women, marking one of the worst war crimes of World War II.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Marco Polo Bridge incident
On 7 July 1937, fighting broke out around the Lugou (Marco Polo) Bridge and Wanping, southwest of Beiping (Beijing), between the Imperial Japanese Army and China’s 29th Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Known as the Marco Polo Bridge incident, it is widely regarded as the trigger for the Second Sino-Japanese War.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Battle of Shanghai
Fought from August to November 1937, the Battle of Shanghai was a major engagement between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. It was the first large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the largest and longest of the conflict, and resulted in Japan's capture of the heavily damaged city.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Battle of Nanking
In December 1937, following the Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese Central China Area Army advanced on Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, and fought the National Revolutionary Army. The Japanese won a decisive victory, capturing the city, which was immediately followed by the Nanjing Massacre.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Battle of Beiping–Tianjin
In July 1937, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Chinese 29th Army fought Japanese forces in the Beiping–Tianjin area, marking an early major engagement of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The battle ended in a Japanese victory and the occupation of the region.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Founding of the first Government Trade School
In 1937, the first Government Trade School, the precursor to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, was founded as the first institution to provide technical education in Hong Kong. This marked the beginning of public technical education in the territory and laid the groundwork for its evolution into a comprehensive research university.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Europe
- The Holocaust
During World War II, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically perpetrated genocide against the Jewish people, resulting in the murder of approximately two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
In 1936, a civil war broke out in Spain between the Republican government and the right-wing Nationalist forces, lasting until 1939. The Republicans were supported by the Soviet Union, while the Nationalists received aid from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The war was seen as an ideological and class struggle.
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 ↗
- Signing of the Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact
In 1932, Poland and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact in Moscow, aiming to maintain peaceful relations. The pact was unilaterally broken by the Soviet Union on September 17, 1939, with the invasion of Poland.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Unveiling of the Sculpture 'Worker and Kolkhoz Woman'
The monumental sculpture 'Worker and Kolkhoz Woman' was erected atop the Soviet pavilion at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris. Conceived by architect Boris Iofan and executed in stainless steel by sculptor Vera Mukhina, it stands 24.5 metres high and depicts two figures raising a hammer and sickle. The work became an icon of socialist realism and was later relocated to Moscow.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Establishment of Haute-Provence Observatory
In 1937, the French government established the Haute-Provence Observatory as a national facility for French astronomers. Located in southeastern France near Saint-Michel-l'Observatoire, it began formal astronomical observations in 1943 using a 1.20 m telescope, with first research papers published the following year. In 1949, the observatory hosted its first foreign observers, the British astronomers Geoffrey and Margaret Burbidge.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North America
- Implementation of the New Deal
Between 1933 and 1938, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented a series of economic, social, and political reforms in response to the Great Depression, centered on relief, recovery, and reform. The policies aimed to stabilize the economy through massive government intervention, assist the poorest, and reform financial markets.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Founding of Taliesin West
In 1937, American architect Frank Lloyd Wright began constructing his winter home and studio, Taliesin West, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The complex later became the main campus of his architecture school and headquarters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, and was designated a National Historic Landmark and a World Heritage Site.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Establishment of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
The United States established the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge along the Georgia–Florida border to protect a majority of the Okefenokee Swamp. The refuge covers about 402,000 acres across several counties and is administered from offices in Folkston, Georgia.
- Founding of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was founded in 1937 in Manhattan's Upper East Side, New York, dedicated to non-objective painting. Established by the Guggenheim Foundation, it is the most renowned institution operated by the foundation. It originally opened as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, receiving its current name in 1952.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
West Asia
- 1936–1939 Arab Revolt in Palestine
From 1936 to 1939, Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine launched a large-scale uprising against British rule and Zionist policies, demanding independence and an end to Jewish immigration and land sales. The revolt erupted during a peak of Jewish immigration, with the Jewish population reaching about 320,000. Though suppressed, it became a key milestone in Palestinian nationalism.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Signing of the Treaty of Saadabad
On 8 July 1937, Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan signed a non-aggression pact at the Saadabad Palace in Tehran. The treaty, lasting five years, aimed to strengthen Middle Eastern relations, with King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan as a key proponent. It entered into force on 25 June 1938 after ratification exchanges and was registered with the League of Nations. The pact was also used to address Kurdish uprisings.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Central & South America
- Los Glaciares National Park inscribed as World Heritage Site
Los Glaciares National Park, located in the Patagonia region of Argentina, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Covering over 4,400 square kilometers, the park is renowned for its glacial landscapes, large lakes, and iconic peaks such as Mount Fitz Roy.
- Establishment of Los Alerces National Park
Los Alerces National Park was established on 11 May 1937 in Chubut Province, Argentina, covering 2,630 km² in the Patagonian Andes. Its creation aimed to protect the Andean Patagonian forest, notably the endangered alerce forests and numerous endemic and threatened species.
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Second Italo-Ethiopian War begins
On 3 October 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia, starting the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The war lasted about seven months and ended with the occupation of Ethiopia and its incorporation into Italian East Africa. Italy used a 1934 border clash between Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia as a pretext and rejected all Ethiopian peace overtures.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Central Asian steppe
- Soviet–Japanese Border Conflicts Break Out
In 1932, a series of border clashes erupted in Northeast Asia between the Soviet Union, Mongolia, and the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. These undeclared hostilities, ranging from minor skirmishes to major battles, persisted through the 1930s and culminated in the 1939 Battle of Khalkhin Gol, shaping the pre-WWII strategic landscape in the Far East.
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 1937
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