March 3
The Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the national anthem.
April 14
Spanish Republic is proclaimed. King Alfonso XIII abdicates.
Moderates are elected.
May 1
Dedication and opening of the Empire State Building in New York
City. At 103 stories, it's the tallest building in the world.
President Hoover presses a button in Washington, D.C. officially
opening and turning on the Empire State Building's lights. Two years
later, the building will be the backdrop for the final scenes in the
film, King Kong.
October 8
Japan invades Manchuria and moves on northeast
China provinces.
October 18
Despite efforts at jury tampering, Scarface Al Capone (right) is
convicted of tax evasion in federal court and is sentenced to a
total of 11 years. He will spend most of his sentence in Alcatraz, a
brand-new prison situated on a rocky island in
San Francisco Bay.
October 18
Thomas Alva Edison, one of the world's premier inventors, dies in
West Orange, New Jersey at age 84. Among his many inventions are the
incandescent light bulb (1879); the motion picture camera (1891);
and the alkaline storage battery (1900-1910). Edison formed the
world’s first electric utility, which served wealthy patrons near
New York City’s Wall Street, as early as 1880. In addition, Edison
improved countless existing devices, from dictation machines to
phonographs. He received 1,368 separate and distinct patents during
his lifetime.
October 24
The George Washington Bridge opens. At its opening it is the world's
largest suspension bridge at 1,164 feet spanning the Hudson River,
connecting New York City's upper Manhattan to New Jersey.
Also in 1931:
The "Double Feature" emerges as a way for the unemployed to
occupy time.
Unemployment and bank closures will double this year.
At the movies, it's Jimmy Cagney in Public Enemy, with Jean
Harlow, see? Boris Karloff stars as the tragically misunderstood
Creature in Frankenstein.
