1939

WW II begins when Germany invades Poland and France and Great Britain declare war
Germany and USSR sign Non-aggression Pact
German battleship Graf Spee scuttled
USSR invades Finland
Spanish Civil War ends
American DAR refuses to let Marian Anderson sing at Constitution Hall
New York World's Fair, "The World of Tomorrow" opens
Rockefeller Center opens in New York City
1st televised baseball game

Gone With the Wind
Goldfish swallowing craze starts
1st appearance of "Kilroy was here"
C.S. Forester's Captain Horatio Hornblower
Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath
Rh Factor in human blood discovered
1st helicopter
1st electric carving knife
Polyethylene invented
Aaron Copeland's "Billy the Kid" ballet
films - "Gone With the Wind", "The Wizard of Oz", "Stagecoach", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"
Hattie McDaniel wins Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Gone With the Wind" (1st African American to win an Oscar)
Radio - "Captain Midnight"
Germaine Greer and Jackie Stewart born
William Butler Yeats, Sigmund Freud, and Zane Grey die