1931 in the United States

::John Nance Garner (D-Texas) (starting December 7) - Senate Majority Leader: James Eli Watson (R-Indiana) - Congress: [71st](71st-united-states-congress) (until March 4), [72nd](72nd-united-states-congress) (starting March 4) #### State governments ::data[format=table] | Governors and lieutenant governors | |---| | | :: ## Events ### January - January – The American Federation of Labor's National Committee for Modification of the Volstead Act is formed to work for the repeal of Prohibition in the United States. - January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. - January 3 – Albert Einstein begins doing research at the California Institute of Technology, along with astronomer Edwin Hubble. - January 6 - Thomas Edison submits his last patent application. - In Chicago, CBMC hosts the first meeting to address a greater purpose for business during The Great Depression; over 800 people attend the meeting, in Chicago's Garrick Theatre. - January 30 – Charlie Chaplin comedy drama film *City Lights* receives its public premiere at the Los Angeles Theater with Einstein as guest of honor. Contrary to the current trend in cinema, it is a silent film, but with a score by Chaplin. Critically and commercially successful from the start, it will place consistently in lists of films considered the best of all time. ### February - Food riots break out in Minneapolis and other parts of the United States. - February 14 – The original film version of *Dracula*, with Bela Lugosi, is released in the United States. - February 20 – California gets the go-ahead by the U.S. Congress to build the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. ### March - March 1 – Battleship is placed back in full commission after a refit. - March 3 – *The Star-Spangled Banner* is adopted as the United States national anthem. - March 17 – Nevada legalizes gambling. - March 25 – The Scottsboro Boys are arrested in Alabama and charged with sexual activity. ### April - April 1 – Canyon de Chelly National Monument is established. - April 15 – The Castellemmarese War ends with the assassination of Joe "The Boss" Masseria, briefly leaving Salvatore Maranzano as *capo di tutti i capi* ("boss of all bosses") and undisputed ruler of the American Mafia. Maranzano is himself assassinated less than 6 months later, leading to the establishment of the Five Families. - April 18 – Cheverly, Maryland is incorporated. - April 22 – The U.S., Austria, United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Sweden recognize the Spanish Republic. ### May ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Empire_State_Building_from_the_Top_of_the_Rock.jpg" caption="May 1: [[Empire State Building]] completed"] :: - May 1 – Construction of the Empire State Building is completed in New York City. - May 7 – "Siege of West 91st Street": 18-year-old serial murderer Francis "Two Gun" Crowley surrenders after a 2-hour gun battle with New York City Police Department witnessed by 15,000 bystanders. - May 20 – Lake of the Ozarks completed. ### June - June 1 – New York City Fire Department Rescue 3 is put in service for service in the Bronx and above [116th Street (Manhattan)](116th-street-manhattan). Rescue 4 is founded the same day for Queens - June 19 – In an attempt to stop the banking crisis in Central Europe from causing a worldwide financial meltdown, President Herbert Hoover issues the Hoover Moratorium. - June 23 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, in an attempt to accomplish the first round-the-world flight in a single-engine plane. ### July - July – John Haven Emerson of Cambridge, Massachusetts, perfects the Emerson iron lung just in time for the growing polio epidemic. - July 26 – The International Bible Students Association adopts the name Jehovah's Witnesses at a convention in Columbus, Ohio. ### August - Warner Brothers releases the first Merrie Melodies cartoon, *Lady, Play Your Mandolin*. - August 16 – Texas experiences an [earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.5](1931-valentine-earthquake), the most powerful earthquake in its recorded history. ### September - September – Construction of Rockefeller Center on Manhattan begins. ### October - October – The Caltech Department of Physics Faculty and graduate students meet with Albert Einstein as a guest. - October 4 – *Dick Tracy*, the comic strip detective character created by cartoonist Chester Gould, makes his first appearance in the *Detroit Mirror* newspaper. - October 10 – The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4 games to 3, to win their second World Series title in baseball. - October 17 – American gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion in Chicago. - October 24 – The George Washington Bridge across the Hudson River is dedicated; it opens to traffic the following day. At 3500 ft, it nearly doubles the previous record for the longest main span in the world. ### November - November 10 – The [4th Academy Awards](4th-academy-awards), hosted by Lawrence Grant, are presented at Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, with William LeBaron's *Cimarron* winning the Academy Award for Best Picture. The film also receives the most nominations and awards, with seven and three respectively. Norman Taurog wins Best Director for *Skippy*. - November 21 – James Whale's film of *Frankenstein* is released in New York City. - November 26 – Deuterium is discovered by Harold Urey. ### December - December 10 – Jane Addams becomes the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. - December 26 – Phi Iota Alpha, the oldest surviving Latino fraternity, is founded. - December – Ess Bee Dress Company is incorporated. ### Undated - Elizabeth Dilling begins anti-communist activism. - The Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc. (ARE) founded in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as an open-membership group to research the collected transcripts of Edgar Cayce's continuing trances, stored at the Edgar Cayce Foundation. ### Ongoing - Lochner era (c. 1897–c. 1937) - U.S. occupation of Haiti (1915–1934) - Prohibition (1920–1933) - Great Depression (1929–1933) - Dust Bowl (1930–1936) ## Births ### January ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Robert_Duvall_2_by_David_Shankbone.jpg" caption="[[Robert Duvall"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/James_Earl_Jones_(8516667383).jpg" caption="[[James Earl Jones"] :: - January 1 – Bobbie Nelson, pianist and singer (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - January 5 - Alvin Ailey, choreographer (d. [1989](1989-in-the-united-states)) - Robert Duvall, actor and director - January 6 - Fern Battaglia, baseball player (d. [2001](2001-in-the-united-states)) - E. L. Doctorow, novelist (d. [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - January 7 – Mack Mattingly, U.S. Senator from Georgia from 1981 to 1987 - January 10 – Ron Galella, photographer (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - January 16 – Ellen Holly, actress (d. [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - January 17 – James Earl Jones, African-American actor (d. [2024](2024-deaths-in-the-united-states)) - January 20 - Jack Grinnage, actor - Preston Henn, businessman, founder of Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop (d. [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - David Lee, physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1996 - January 22 - Sam Cooke, African-American singer (d. [1964](1964-in-the-united-states)) - Helen Hays, ornithologist and conservationist (d. [2025](2025-in-the-united-states)) - January 25 – Dean Jones, actor (d. [2015](2015)) - January 27 – Red Bastien, wrestler, trainer and promoter (d. [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) - January 29 – Jim Baumer, baseball player and manager (d. [1996](1996-in-the-united-states)) - January 30 – Allan W. Eckert, historian, naturalist, and author (d. [2011](2011-in-the-united-states)) - January 31 - Ernie Banks, African-American baseball player (d. [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - Lorraine Ellison, African-American soul singer (d. [1983](1983-in-the-united-states)) - Jack Taylor, swimmer (d. [1955](1955-in-the-united-states)) ### February ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/James_Dean_in_Rebel_Without_a_Cause.jpg" caption="[[James Dean"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Toni_Morrison.jpg" caption="[[Toni Morrison"] :: - February 6 - Rip Torn, actor (d. [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - Mamie Van Doren, film actress - February 8 - James Dean, actor (d. [1955](1955-in-the-united-states)) - Larry Dolan, attorney and baseball club owner (d. [2025](2025-in-the-united-states)) - February 9 - Robert Morris, sculptor and artist (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Jack Van Impe, televangelist (d. [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - February 10 – Carl Rettenmeyer, biologist (d. [2009](2009-in-the-united-states)) - February 11 – Larry Merchant, author and boxing commentator - February 13 – Geoff Edwards, actor, game show host (d. [2014](2014-in-the-united-states)) - February 15 – Maxine Singer, molecular biologist (d. [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - February 16 – George E. Sangmeister, politician (d. [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - February 18 - Johnny Hart, cartoonist (d. [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - Toni Morrison, African-American novelist, essayist, editor, teacher and professor (d. [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - Bob St. Clair, American football player (d. [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - February 20 – John Milnor, mathematician - February 23 – Betty Ray McCain, politician (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - February 24 - James Abourezk, politician (d. [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - Dominic Chianese, actor, singer - February 28 - Gavin MacLeod, actor, Mayor of Pacific Palisades (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - Dean Smith, basketball player and coach (d. [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) ### March ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Leonard_Nimoy_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg" caption="[[Leonard Nimoy"] :: - March 3 – Paul Clayton, folk singer and folklorist (d. [1967](1967)) - March 4 - Wally Bruner, journalist and television host (d. [1997](1997-in-the-united-states)) - Alice Rivlin, born Georgianna Alice Mitchell, American economist (d. [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - March 6 - Carmen de Lavallade, actress, dancer and choreographer (d. [2025](2025-in-the-united-states)) - John Smith, actor (d. [1995](1995-in-the-united-states)) - March 12 – Herb Kelleher, businessman (d. [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - March 15 - D. J. Fontana, drummer (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Ted Marchibroda, American football player (d. [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - March 18 – Shirley Stovroff, American baseball player (d. [1994](1994-in-the-united-states)) - March 20 - Norman Francis, American lawyer - Hal Linden, American actor, singer (*Barney Miller*) - Karen Steele, American actress and model (d. [1988](1988-in-the-united-states)) - March 22 - Paul G. Hewitt, American physicist, boxer, uranium prospector, author and cartoonist - Burton Richter, American physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1976 - March 24 – Connie Hines, American actress (d. [2009](2009-in-the-united-states)) - March 26 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor and film director (d. [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - March 27 – David Janssen, American actor (d. [1980](1980-in-the-united-states)) ### April ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/John_Gavin_Destry_1964.JPG" caption="[[John Gavin"] :: - April 5 – Jack Clement, singer-songwriter, record producer (d. [2013](2013-in-the-united-states)) - April 8 - John Gavin, actor, diplomat (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Jack Stallings, baseball head coach (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - April 10 – James L. Dozier, U.S. Army officer - April 11 – Johnny Sheffield, child actor (d. [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - April 13 – Dan Gurney, race car driver (d. [2018](2018)) - April 14 – Hugh Leatherman, politician (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - April 16 – Julian Carroll, lawyer and politician, Governor of Kentucky (d. [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - April 18 - Noel Marshall, agent and producer (d. [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) - April 19 – Fred Brooks, computer scientist (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - April 22 – Joe Cuba, musician (d. [2009](2009-in-the-united-states)) - April 23 - Chuck Feeney, businessman and philanthropist (d. [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - April 26 – Ted Stanley, businessman and philanthropist (d. [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - April 29 – Don Leo Jonathan, American-Canadian professional wrestler (d. [2018](2018)) - April 30 - Eugene John Gerber, Catholic prelate (d. [2018](2018)) - Peter La Farge, singer, songwriter (d. [1965](1965)) ### May ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Willie_Mays_cropped.jpg" caption="[[Willie Mays"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Carroll_Baker_headshot_for_Station_Six-Sahara_1962.png" caption="[[Carroll Baker"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/John_Robert_Schrieffer_1972.jpg" caption="John Schrieffer"] :: - May 2 – Cruz Reynoso, civil rights lawyer and jurist (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - May 6 - Louis Gambaccini, civil servant (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Willie Mays, African-American baseball player (d. [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - May 7 - Teresa Brewer, pop and jazz singer (d. [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - Jerry Chesnut, songwriter (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - May 8 – Bob Clotworthy, American diver (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - May 9 – Don Gardner, American singer-songwriter (d. [2018](2018)) - May 13 – Jim Jones, American People's Temple cult leader (d. [1978](1978)) - May 14 - Alvin Lucier, American composer (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - Frank Shrontz, American businessman and politician (d. [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - May 15 - Joseph A. Califano Jr., Chairman of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse - Ken Venturi, golfer (d. [2013](2013)) - May 16 - Jack Dodson, actor (d. [1994](1994)) - Lowell Weicker, politician (d. [2023](2023)) - May 17 - Stan Albeck, basketball coach (d. [2021](2021)) - Marshall Applewhite, Heaven's Gate religious sect founder (d. [1997](1997)) - May 18 - Don Martin, artist (*MAD Magazine*) (d. [2000](2000)) - Robert Morse, actor (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - George Shapiro, talent manager and television producer (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - May 19 — David Wilkerson, Christian evangelist (d. [2011](2011-in-the-united-states)) - May 20 – Ken Boyer, baseball player (d. [1982](1982)) - May 23 - Barbara Barrie, actress - Patience Cleveland, actress and diarist (d. [2004](2004)) - May 28 – Carroll Baker, actress - May 30 - Charles Bowsher, businessman and politician, Comptroller General of the United States (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - Audrey Flack, visual artist (d. [2024](2024)) - May 31 - John Schrieffer, physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1972 (d. [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - Shirley Verrett, mezzo-soprano (d. [2010](2010-in-the-united-states)) ### June ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Marla_Gibbs.jpg" caption="[[Marla Gibbs"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/OlympiaDukakisHWOFMay2013.jpg" caption="[[Olympia Dukakis"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Billy_Casper_(cropped).jpg" caption="[[Billy Casper"] :: - June 1 – Hal R. Smith, American baseball player and coach (d. [2014](2014-in-the-united-states)) - June 2 - William H. Donaldson, American banker and businessman, co-founded Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette - James L. Fisher, American psychologist and academic administrator (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - Larry Jackson, American baseball player and politician (d. [1990](1990-in-the-united-states)) - June 6 – Ken Knowlton, American computer graphics pioneer (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - June 9 - Joe Santos, American actor (d. [2016](2016)) - Bill Virdon, American baseball player (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - June 11 – Paul Hardin III, American academic administrator (d. [2017](2017)) - June 12 – Rona Jaffe, American novelist (d. [2005](2005)) - June 13 - Marla Gibbs, African-American actress, comedian and singer - Junior Walker, saxophonist, singer (d. [1995](1995)) - June 20 - Mary L. Good, inorganic chemist (d. [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - Olympia Dukakis, screen actress (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - June 21 - Margaret Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. [2018](2018)) - Les Vandyke, musician (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - June 22 – Martin Lipton, American lawyer - June 23 – Doris Cook, American baseball pitcher, outfielder - June 24 - Billy Casper, golfer (d. [2015](2015)) - Juanita Quigley, child actress (d. [2017](2017)) - June 26 - Robert Colbert, actor - George Lois, art director, designer and author (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - June 28 - Junior Johnson, NASCAR driver of the 1950s and 1960s (d. [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - Tom Stolhandske, American football linebacker - June 29 - Richard L. Berkley, politician (d. [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - Ed Gilbert, actor (d. [1999](1999)) - June 30 - Don Gross, American baseball player (d. [2017](2017)) - Ronald Rene Lagueux, American judge (d. 2023) - Kaye Vaughan, American football player (d. [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) ### July ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Della_Reese_1998.jpg" caption="[[Della Reese"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/TabHunter.jpg" caption="[[Tab Hunter"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Frank_Ramsey_Celtics.jpg" caption="Frank Ramsey"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Jerry_Van_Dyke_1990.jpg" caption="[[Jerry Van Dyke"] :: - July 1 – Marilyn Hickey, American televangelist, speaker and author - July 3 - Ed Roebuck, American Major League Baseball relief pitcher (d. [2018](2018)) - Ray Rogers, American politician (d. [2020](2020)) - July 4 - Rick Casares, American football player and soldier (d. 2013) - Bobby Malkmus, American Major League Baseball infielder, scout - Lyndell Petersen, American politician - July 6 - Robert Dunham, American actor, writer (d. [2001](2001)) - Maralou Gray, American film, television, and theater actress - Della Reese, African-American actress, singer and evangelist (d. [2017](2017)) - July 7 – J. Joseph Curran Jr., American politician - July 8 - Lowell N. Lewis, American plant physiology professor (d. [2021](2021)) - Zach Monroe, American baseball player - July 9 - Rodney Anderson, American politician - Sylvia Bacon, American judge (d. [2023](2023)) - Thomas A. Pankok, American Democratic Party politician (d. [2022](2022)) - July 10 - Nick Adams, American actor (d. [1968](1968)) - Jerry Herman, American composer, lyricist (d. [2019](2019)) - Julian May, American science fiction, fantasy, horror, and science writer (d. [2017](2017)) - July 11 – Tab Hunter, American actor, singer (d. [2018](2018)) - July 13 - Ernie Colón, American-born Puerto Rico comics artist (d. [2019](2019)) - Frank Ramsey, American professional basketball player, coach (d. [2018](2018)) - July 15 - Clive Cussler, American thriller writer and underwater explorer (d. [2020](2020)) - Joanna Merlin, American actress and casting director (d. [2023](2023)) - July 16 – Norm Sherry, American Major League Baseball catcher, manager, and coach (d. [2021](2021)) - July 18 – Maury Duncan, American quarterback - July 19 - Marilyn Lewis, American politician (d. [2020](2020)) - Mary Lou Studnicka, American female professional baseball player (d. [2014](2014)) - July 27 – Jerry Van Dyke, American comedian, actor (d. [2018](2018)) - July 31 - Nick Bollettieri, American tennis coach (d. [2022](2022)) - Kenny Burrell, American jazz guitarist ### August ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Don_King_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg" caption="Don King"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Life_Ball_2013_-_magenta_carpet_Barbara_Eden_01_(cropped).jpg" caption="[[Barbara Eden"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Regis_Philbin_at_the_2009_Tribeca_Film_Festival.jpg" caption="[[Regis Philbin"] :: - August 1 – Hal Connolly, American athlete (d. [2010](2010)) - August 2 – Hugh Aynesworth, American journalist (d. [2023](2023)) - August 6 – Ron Feiereisel, American basketball player, coach (d. [2000](2000)) - August 7 – Charles E. Rice, American legal scholar, author (d. [2015](2015)) - August 10 – Tom Laughlin, American actor (*Billy Jack*) (d. [2013](2013)) - August 12 – William Goldman, American author (d. [2018](2018)) - August 13 – William D. Mullins, American politician and baseball player (d. [1986](1986)) - August 14 – Frederic Raphael, American screenwriter, novelist and non-fiction author working in the UK - August 15 - Joe Feeney, American singer (d. [2008](2008-in-the-united-states)) - Richard F. Heck, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2010 (d. [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - Janice Rule, American actress (d. [2003](2003)) - August 16 – William Luce, American writer (d. [2019](2019)) - August 19 – Willie Shoemaker, American jockey (d. [2003](2003)) - August 20 – Don King, African-American boxing promoter - August 23 - Barbara Eden, American actress, singer (*I Dream of Jeannie*) - Lyle Lahey, American cartoonist (d. [2013](2013)) - Hamilton O. Smith, American microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1978 - August 25 - Cecil Andrus, American politician (d. [2017](2017)) - Hal Fishman, Los Angeles-based American local news anchor (d. [2007](2007)) - Regis Philbin, American television personality (d. [2020](2020)) - August 27 – Joe Cunningham, American baseball player (d. [2021](2021)) - August 30 – Jack Swigert, American astronaut (d. [1982](1982-in-the-united-states)) - August 31 – Noble Willingham, American actor (d. [2004](2004)) ### September ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Barbara_Bain.jpg" caption="[[Barbara Bain"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Larry_Hagman_2010.jpg" caption="[[Larry Hagman"] :: - September 1 – Richard Hundley, American pianist, composer (d. [2018](2018)) - September 2 - Michael Dante, American actor - Alan Simpson, politician (d. [2025](2025-in-the-united-states)) - Ernest E. West, soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - September 3 – Tom Brewer, American baseball player (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - September 4 – Mitzi Gaynor, American actress, singer and dancer (d. [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - September 10 - Mathew Ahmann, American Catholic civil rights activist (d. [2001](2001-in-the-united-states)) - Philip Baker Hall, American actor (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - September 11 – John Reger, American football player (d. [2013](2013-in-the-united-states)) - September 12 - George Jones, American country music singer, songwriter (d. [2013](2013-in-the-united-states)) - Bill McKinney, American actor (d. [2011](2011)) - September 13 – Barbara Bain, American actress (*Mission: Impossible*) - September 16 – Little Willie Littlefield, American R&B pianist and singer (d. [2013](2013-in-the-united-states)) - September 17 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (d. [2005](2005-in-the-united-states)) - September 19 - Brook Benton, American singer-songwriter (d. [1988](1988)) - Ray Danton, American actor (d. [1992](1992)) - September 20 – Malachy McCourt, American actor and writer (d. [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - September 21 - Gertrude Alderfer, American female professional baseball player (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Gloria Cordes, American female professional baseball player (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Larry Hagman, American actor, director (*Dallas*) (d. [2012](2012)) - September 29 – James Watson Cronin, American nuclear physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1980 (d. [2016](2016-in-the-united-states)) - September 30 - Angie Dickinson, American actress - Wesley L. Fox, U.S. Marine Corps officer (d. [2017](2017)) ### October ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Mickey_Mantle_1953.jpg" caption="[[Mickey Mantle"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Dan_Rather_Peabody.jpg" caption="[[Dan Rather"] :: - October 1 – Alan Wagner, opera critic (d. [2007](2007)) - October 2 – Morris Cerullo, televangelist (d. [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - October 3 – Denise Scott Brown, architect - October 7 - Ruth Butler, art historian (d. [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - Cotton Fitzsimmons, basketball coach (d. [2004](2004-in-the-united-states)) - October 13 – Eddie Mathews, baseball player (d. [2001](2001-in-the-united-states)) - October 15 - Freddy Cole, singer and pianist (d. [2020](2020-in-the-united-states)) - Gail Harris, baseball player and coach (d. [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) - October 16 - James Chace, historian (d. [2004](2004-in-the-united-states)) - Charles Colson, politician, Watergate conspirator, later evangelist (d. [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) - October 20 - Mickey Mantle, baseball player (d. [1995](1995-in-the-united-states)) - Zeke Bratkowski, American football player (d. [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) - October 22 – Ann Rule, true-crime writer (d. [2015](2015)) - October 23 – Jim Bunning, U.S. Senator from Kentucky from 1999 to 2011 (d. [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - October 26 - Hank Garrett, actor, comedian - Larry Lieber, comic book artist and writer - October 28 - Harold Battiste, composer, arranger (d. [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - Everett Mendelsohn, historian of science (d. [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) - October 30 - Dick Gautier, actor (d. [2017](2017)) - Rita Crocker Clements, political organizer (d. [2018](2018)) - October 31 - Jack Molinas, basketball player (d. [1975](1975)) - Dan Rather, television news reporter (*CBS Evening News*) ### November ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Iketurner1997.jpg" caption="[[Ike Turner"] :: - November 1 – Jack Morris, American football player (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - November 2 – Phil Woods, saxophonist (d. [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - November 4 - Marie Mansfield, professional baseball player (d. [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - Bernard Francis Law, cardinal (d. [2017 in Italy](2017-in-italy)) - November 5 – Ike Turner, African-American rock musician (d. [2007](2007-in-the-united-states)) - November 8 - Jack Collom, poet, essayist and poetry teacher (d. [2017](2017-in-the-united-states)) - Darla Hood, child actress, and singer (d. [1979](1979-in-the-united-states)) - November 9 - Pascal F. Calogero Jr., judge (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - Whitey Herzog, baseball player and manager (d. [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - November 11 – Leslie Parnas, cellist (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - November 12 - Norman Mineta, politician (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - Mary Louise Wilson, actress, singer - November 14 – Dolores Crow, politician, legislator (d. [2018](2018)) - November 15 – John Kerr, actor (d. [2013](2013)) - November 16 - Duane E. Dewey, Medal of Honor recipient (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - Hubert Sumlin, blues musician (d. [2011](2011-in-the-united-states)) - November 16 – Hubert Sumlin, blues musician (d. [2011](2011)) - November 24 – Tommy Allsup, musician (d. [2017](2017)) - November 30 - Jack Ging, actor (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - Jack Sheldon, entertainer (d. [2019](2019-in-the-united-states)) ### December ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Martin_Milner_1960_publicity_photo.jpg" caption="[[Martin Milner"] :: ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Skeeter_Davis_1960s_portrait.jpg" caption="[[Skeeter Davis"] :: - December 1 - Jimmy Lyons, American musician (d. [1986](1986-in-the-united-states)) - Jim Nesbitt, American country music singer (d. [2007](2007)) - December 2 - Wynton Kelly, Jamaican-American jazz pianist, composer (d. [1971](1971-in-the-united-states)) - Edwin Meese, American attorney, law professor, and author - December 3 - Jaye P. Morgan, American singer, chanteuse - Jolene Unsoeld, American politician (d. [2021](2021-in-the-united-states)) - December 7 – Richard N. Goodwin, American writer (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - December 11 – Benny Spellman, American R&B singer (d. [2011](2011-in-the-united-states)) - December 15 – Minnie Lou Bradley, American rancher and cattlewoman d. [2025](2025-in-the-united-states)) - December 16 – Ralph Wolfe Cowan, American portrait artist (d. [2018](2018-in-the-united-states)) - December 17 – Dave Madden, actor (*The Partridge Family*) (d. [2014](2014-in-the-united-states)) - December 18 – Gene Shue, American basketball player and coach (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - December 19 – Bud Clark, American politician and businessman (d. [2022](2022-in-the-united-states)) - December 20 - Terry Sanders, American film director, producer and screenwriter - Ike Skelton, American lawyer and politician (d. [2013](2013-in-the-united-states)) - December 23 – Ronnie Schell, actor - December 24 – Ray Bryant, jazz pianist, composer, arranger (d. [2011](2011-in-the-united-states)) - December 25 – Lefty Driesell, American baseball coach (d. [2024](2024-in-the-united-states)) - December 27 - Edward E. Hammer, electrical engineer, inventor (d. [2012](2012-in-the-united-states)) - Scotty Moore, guitarist (d. 2016) - December 28 – Martin Milner, actor (*Adam-12*) (d. [2015](2015-in-the-united-states)) - December 30 - Charles Bassett, American electrical engineer, astronaut (d. [1966](1966-in-the-united-states)) - Skeeter Davis, American country singer (d. [2004](2004-in-the-united-states)) - Charles E. Young, American academic administrator d. [2023](2023-in-the-united-states)) ### Undated - Don Whiteside, sociologist, native author, Canadian civil servant, and association founder. (d. [1993](1993)) ## Deaths - January 4 - Art Acord, actor (born [1890](1890-in-the-united-states)) - Roger Connor, baseball player and MLB Hall of Famer (born [1857](1857-in-the-united-states)) - January 12 – Anna Manning Comfort, physician (born [1845](1845-in-the-united-states)) - January 14 – Hardy Richardson, baseball player (born [1855](1855-in-the-united-states)) - January 21 – Alma Rubens, actress (born [1897](1897-in-the-united-states)) - January 31 – Zina P. Young Card, Mormon leader and women's rights activist (born [1850](1850-in-the-united-states)) - February 14 – Clarence Ransom Edwards, army officer (born [1859](1859-in-the-united-states)) - February 18 – Louis Wolheim, actor (born [1880](1880-in-the-united-states)) - February 28 - Laton Alton Huffman, photographer of the American frontier and Native American life (born [1854](1854-in-the-united-states)) - Thomas S. Rodgers, admiral (born [1858](1858-in-the-united-states)) - March 20 – Joseph B. Murdock, United States Navy admiral and New Hampshire politician (born [1851](1851-in-the-united-states)) - March 24 – Robert Edeson, actor (born [1868](1868-in-the-united-states)) - March 25 – Ida Wells, African-American lynching crusader (born [1862](1862-in-the-united-states)) - March 28 – Ban Johnson, baseball executive (born [1864](1864-in-the-united-states)) - March 31 – Knute Rockne, football coach (born [1888](1888-in-the-united-states)) - April 1 – Macklyn Arbuckle, actor (born [1866](1866-in-the-united-states)) - April 9 – Nicholas Longworth, politician, Speaker of the House (born [1869](1869-in-the-united-states)) - April 17 – Ernesto Rossi, racketeer (born [1903](1903-in-the-united-states)) - April 26 – George Herbert Mead, philosopher (born [1863](1863-in-the-united-states)) - May 2 – George Fisher Baker, financier and philanthropist (born [1840](1840-in-the-united-states)) - May 14 – David Belasco, Broadway impresario, theater owner and playwright (born [1853](1853-in-the-united-states)) - June 2 – Joseph W. Farnham, screenwriter (born [1884](1884-in-the-united-states)) - June 8 – Virginia Frances Sterrett, artist and illustrator (born [1900](1900-in-the-united-states)) - June 14 – Jimmy Blythe, pianist (born [1901](1901-in-the-united-states)) - July 5 – Arthur Starr Eakle, mineralogist (born [1862](1862-in-the-united-states)) - July 24 – George Arthur Boeckling, businessman, president of Cedar Point Pleasure Company (born [1862](1862-in-the-united-states)) - August 6 – Bix Beiderbecke, jazz trumpeter (born [1903](1903-in-the-united-states)) - August 27 – Francis Marion Smith, businessman (born [1846](1846-in-the-united-states)) - August 29 – David T. Abercrombie, businessman, co-founder of Abercrombie & Fitch (born [1867](1867-in-the-united-states)) - September 6 – Juliana Walanika, the "Hawaiian Nightingale", court singer (born 1846 in the Kingdom of Hawaii) - September 17 – Marvin Hart, World Heavyweight Boxing Champion (born [1876](1876-in-the-united-states)) - September 19 – David Starr Jordan, ichthyologist, educator, eugenicist, and peace activist (born [1851](1851-in-the-united-states)) - September 30 – Jane Meade Welch, historian (born [1854](1854-in-the-united-states)) - October 6 - Carrie Babcock Sherman, Second Lady of the United States as wife of James S. Sherman (born [1856](1856-in-the-united-states)) - Albert M. Todd, businessman and politician (born [1850](1850-in-the-united-states)) - October 7 – Daniel Chester French, sculptor (born [1850](1850-in-the-united-states)) - October 18 – Thomas Edison, inventor (born [1847](1847-in-the-united-states)) - October 26 – Charles Comiskey, baseball owner (born [1859](1859-in-the-united-states)) - October 31 – Charles E. Rushmore, businessman, attorney, namesake of Mount Rushmore (born in [1857](1857-in-the-united-states)) - November 4 – Buddy Bolden, African American musician (born [1877](1877-in-the-united-states)) - November 6 – Jack Chesbro, baseball player and MLB Hall of Famer (born [1874](1874-in-the-united-states)) - December 5 – Vachel Lindsay, poet (born [1879](1879-in-the-united-states)) - December 18 – Jack Diamond, gangster (born [1897](1897-in-the-united-states)) - December 23 – Tyrone Power Sr., actor (born [1869](1869-in-the-united-states)) - December 26 – Melvil Dewey, librarian, inventor of Dewey Decimal Classification (born [1851](1851-in-the-united-states)) ## References ## References 1. (November 16, 2015). ["CBMC History"](https://stlouis.cbmc.com/CBMC-History). 2. Vance, Jeffrey. ["City Lights"](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/city_lights.pdf). *[[Library of Congress]]*. 3. ["Wiley Post"](http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/Wiley_Post/EX27.htm). *U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission*. 4. [[Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses#International Bible Students Association]] 5. ["The long legacy of the U.S. occupation of Haiti"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/08/06/haiti-us-occupation-1915/). *Washington Post*. 6. ["Volstead Act {{!}} History, Definition, & Significance {{!}} Britannica"](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Volstead-Act). 7. (2018). "Chase's Calendar of Events 2019 : the ultimate go -to guide for special days, weeks and months". *Bernan Press*. 8. Jerome, Jim. (April 14, 2003). ["Dance Fever"](http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20139782,00.html). 9. (1997). ["Contemporary Jewish-American Novelists: A Bio-critical Sourcebook"](https://books.google.com/books?id=X3HN2tYhR0cC&pg=PA54). *Greenwood Publishing Group*. 10. [https://loeildelaphotographie.com/en/in-memoriam-ron-galella-1931-2022-dv/ In Memoriam : Ron Galella (1931-2022)] 11. (September 9, 2024). ["James Earl Jones Dies: Revered ‘Field Of Dreams’ Star, Darth Vader Voice & Broadway Regular Was 93"](https://deadline.com/2024/09/james-earl-jones-dead-1236082801/). *Deadline*. 12. ["David Lee"](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1996/lee/facts). 13. (2006). ["Midnight Mover: My Autobiography: the True Story of the Greatest Soul Singer in the World"](https://books.google.com/books?id=voA3AQAAIAAJ). *John Blake*. 14. Flaherty, Mike. (September 2, 2015). ["Dean Jones, Affable Star in 'Love Bug' and a Disney Fixture, Dies at 84"](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/movies/dean-jones-star-of-disneys-the-love-bug-dies-at-84.html?_r=0). *[[The New York Times]]*. 15. [https://www.swarthmore.edu/news-events/honor-pioneering-microbiologist-science-educator-maxine-frank-singer-’52-h’78 In Honor of Pioneering Microbiologist, Science Educator Maxine Frank Singer ’52, H’78] 16. (August 6, 2019). ["Obituary: Toni Morrison"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27635463). 17. [https://restorationnewsmedia.com/articles/local-news/betty-mccain-remembered-for-lifetime-of-service/ Betty McCain remembered for lifetime of service] 18. [https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2021-11-12/hugh-leatherman-stalwart-south-carolina-senator-dies-at-90 Hugh Leatherman, Stalwart South Carolina Senator, Dies at 90] 19. [https://apnews.com/article/former-kentucky-governor-julian-carroll-obituary-dead-785894176558f5ec06ee7f3af492b87c Former Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll dies at age 92] 20. [https://www.i-programmer.info/news/82-heritage/15886-fred-brooks.html A Giant of Computer Science - Fred Brooks] 21. [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/09/business/charles-f-feeney-dead.html Charles Feeney, Who Made a Fortune and Then Gave It Away, Dies at 92] 22. [https://thetowerlight.com/former-tu-president-james-l-fisher-dies-at-91/ Former TU President James L. Fisher dies at 91] 23. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220627074905/https://www.dtnext.in/edit/2022/06/27/in-memoriam-ken-knowlton-a-pioneer-of-computer-art-and-animation In memoriam: Ken Knowlton, a pioneer of computer art & animation] 24. [https://eu.news-leader.com/story/news/2021/11/23/former-mlb-star-bill-virdon-springfield-dies-90/8734410002/ Ex-Major League Baseball player and longtime Springfield resident Bill Virdon dies at 90] 25. (February 11, 2015). ["Billy Casper: Golfer who won prolifically but who became unfairly"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/billy-casper-golfer-who-won-prolifically-who-became-unfairly-overshadowed-big-three-his-generation-a173166.html). 26. (October 24, 2022). ["Parnas, Leslie"](https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2292688). 27. [https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/dec/03/in-our-view-unsoeld-left-indelible-impression-on-washington/ In Our View: Unsoeld left indelible impression on Washington] 28. [https://roanoke.com/sports/college/va_tech/kenny-brooks-virginia-tech-womens-basketball-lefty-driesell-jmu/article_d162d540-d266-11ee-9b44-cb1b745cbc79.html Virginia Tech's Kenny Brooks remembers late mentor Lefty Driesell] 29. (August 2014). ["Aboriginal collections and library services in Canadian research libraries"](http://www.carl-abrc.ca/doc/Aboriginal_research_collections_and_libary_services_AGM_2014-final.pdf). *Canadian Association of Research Libraries*. 30. (April 2, 1931). ["Maclyn Arbuckle dies"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19310401&id=HNMgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3WoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5216,200784). *The Lewiston Daily Sun*. 31. (April 18, 1931). ["RACKETEER SHOT DEAD AT DETECTIVE'S HOME; Slain as Auto Stops in Front of Brooklyn House--Believed Reprisal in Joe the Boss Killing."](https://www.nytimes.com/1931/04/18/archives/racketeer-shot-dead-at-detectives-home-slain-as-auto-stops-in-front.html). *New York Times*. 32. (November 18, 2011). ["Take a Gander at Virginia Frances Sterrett's Fairy Tale Illustrations"](https://www.themarysue.com/virginia-frances-sterrett-old-french-fairy-tales/). 33. <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->. (September 19, 1931). ["Dr. David Starr Jordan Dies; Family With Educator As Passes Away: Fifth Attack Ends an Illness of Two Years"](https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=HT19310919.2.20). *[[Healdsburg Tribune]]*. ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_in_the_United_States) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the [article history page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_in_the_United_States?action=history). ::