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1936
• On 20 January in Britain, George V dies. He is succeeded by his son Edward VIII who, on 10 December, is forced to abdicate because he wants to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson. He is succeeded by his brother George VI. • On 7 March, German troops reoccupy the Rhineland in defiance of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which specified that it should be a demilitarised zone. • On 18 July, Spanish Civil War begins in Morocco (ends 1939) as General Francisco Franco leads a rebellion against the left-wing Popular Front government. • In August at the Berlin Olympics, staged by Adolf Hitler to demonstrate the physical prowess of the 'Aryan' race, black American athlete Jesse Owens wins four gold medals: 100-metre race, 200- metre race, 400-metre relay race and the long jump. • In August, Stalin holds show trials of his opponents in Moscow. • In Palestine, the Arab Higher Committee is formed to coordinate resistance to Zionist immigration. • On 3 November, Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins re-election to the US presidency by another landslide, carrying all but two states. • The British Broadcasting Corporation begins the first public service broadcasts of black and white television. • In Britain, Penguin introduces the first paperback books. • Spanish artist Salvador Dali's surrealist painting Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: Premonition of civil war is exhibited. He appears on the cover of Time magazine. |
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