1936

Events from the year **1936 in the United States**.

* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Joseph W. Byrns Sr. (D-TN) (until June 4), William B. Bankhead (D-AL) (starting June 4)
* Senate Majority Leader: Joseph Taylor Robinson (D-AR)
* Congress: 74th

Governors
* Governor of Alabama: Bibb Graves (Democratic)
* Governor of Arizona: Benjamin Baker Moeur (Democratic)
* Governor of Arkansas: Junius Marion Futrell (Democratic)
* Governor of California: Frank Merriam (Republican)
* Governor of Colorado: Edwin C. Johnson (Democratic)
* Governor of Connecticut: Wilbur Lucius Cross (Democratic)
* Governor of Delaware: C. Douglass Buck (Republican)
* Governor of Florida: David Sholtz (Democratic)
* Governor of Georgia: Eugene Talmadge (Democratic)
* Governor of Idaho: C. Ben Ross (Democratic)
* Governor of Illinois: Henry Horner (Democratic)
* Governor of Indiana: Paul V. McNutt (Democratic)
* Governor of Iowa: Clyde L. Herring (Democratic)
* Governor of Kansas: Alfred M. Landon (Republican)
* Governor of Kentucky: Happy Chandler (Democratic)
* Governor of Louisiana:
	+ until January 28: Oscar K. Allen (Democratic)
	+ January 28-May 12: James Albert Noe (Democratic)
	+ starting May 12: Richard W. Leche (Democratic)
* Governor of Maine: Louis J. Brann (Democratic)
* Governor of Maryland: Harry W. Nice (Republican)
* Governor of Massachusetts: James Michael Curley (Democratic)
* Governor of Michigan: Frank Fitzgerald (Republican)
* Governor of Minnesota: Floyd B. Olson (Farmer-Labor) (until August 22), Hjalmar Petersen (Farmer-Labor) (starting August 22)
* Governor of Mississippi:
	+ until January 21: Martin Sennett Conner (Democratic)
	+ January 21-January 26: vacant
	+ starting January 26: Hugh L. White (Democratic)
* Governor of Missouri: Guy Brasfield Park (Democratic)
* Governor of Montana: Elmer Holt (Democratic)
* Governor of Nebraska: Robert Leroy Cochran (Democratic)
* Governor of Nevada: Richard Kirman Sr. (Democratic)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Styles Bridges (Republican)
* Governor of New Jersey: Harold G. Hoffman (Republican)
* Governor of New Mexico: Clyde Tingley (Democratic)
* Governor of New York: Herbert H. Lehman (Democratic)
* Governor of North Carolina: John C. B. Ehringhaus (Democratic)
* Governor of North Dakota: Walter Welford (Republican)
* Governor of Ohio: Martin L. Davey (Democratic)
* Governor of Oklahoma: Ernest W. Marland (Democratic)
* Governor of Oregon: Charles H. Martin (Democratic)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: George Howard Earle III (Democratic)
* Governor of Rhode Island: Theodore Francis Green (Democratic)
* Governor of South Carolina: Olin D. Johnston (Democratic)
* Governor of South Dakota: Tom Berry (Democratic)
* Governor of Tennessee: Harry Hill McAlister (Democratic)
* Governor of Texas: James V. Allred (Democratic)
* Governor of Utah: Henry H. Blood (Democratic)
* Governor of Vermont: Charles M. Smith (Republican)
* Governor of Virginia: George C. Peery (Democratic)
* Governor of Washington: Clarence D. Martin (Democratic)
* Governor of West Virginia: Herman G. Kump (Democratic)
* Governor of Wisconsin: Philip La Follette (Wisconsin Progressive)
* Governor of Wyoming: Leslie A. Miller (Democratic)

Lieutenant Governors
* Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Thomas E. Knight (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: William Lee Cazort (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of California: George J. Hatfield (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Raymond Herbert Talbot (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: T. Frank Hayes (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Roy F. Corley (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: G. P. Mix (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Thomas Donovan (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: M. Clifford Townsend (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Nelson G. Kraschel (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Charles W. Thompson (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Keen Johnson (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: James A. Noe (Democratic) (until May 12), Earl K. Long (Democratic) (starting May 12)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Joseph L. Hurley (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Thomas Read (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Hjalmar Petersen (Farmer Labor) (until August 24), William B. Richardson (Republican) (starting August 24)
* Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Dennis Murphree (Democratic) (until January 21), Jacob Buehler Snider (Democratic) (starting January 21)
* Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Frank Gaines Harris (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Montana: William P. Pilgeram (political party unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Walter H. Jurgensen (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Fred S. Alward (political party unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Louis Cabeza de Baca (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of New York: M. William Bray (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Richard T. Fountain (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: vacant
* Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Harold G. Mosier (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: James E. Berry (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Thomas Kennedy (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Robert E. Quinn (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Joseph Emile Harley (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Robert Peterson (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: William P. Moss (Democratic) (until month and day unknown), Bryan Pope (Democratic) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Texas: Walter Frank Woodul (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: George D. Aiken (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: James H. Price (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Victor A. Meyers (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Thomas J. O'Malley (Democratic) (until May 27), vacant (starting May 27)

## Events

### January - March

* January 4 – *Billboard* magazine publishes its first music hit parade.
* January 15 – The first American building to be completely covered in glass is completed in Toledo, Ohio, for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company.
* February 17 – The first superhero to wear a skin-tight costume and mask, *The Phantom*, makes his appearance in U.S. newspapers.
* March 1 – Construction of Hoover Dam is completed.
* March 2 – German American Bund formed in Buffalo, New York, in support of Nazi Germany to succeed the Friends of New Germany, with German-born American citizen Fritz Julius Kuhn elected as its first leader.
* March 5 – The 8th Academy Awards, hosted by Frank Capra, are presented at Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, with Frank Lloyd's *Mutiny on the Bounty* winning the Academy Award for Outstanding Production. The film receives the most nominations with eight, while John Ford's *The Informer* wins the most awards with four, including Best Director for Ford.
* March 17 – Pittsburgh Flood of 1936 ("St. Patrick's Day Flood") begins: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, suffers the worst flooding in its history.
* March 18 – Pittsburgh Flood of 1936 ("St. Patrick's Day Flood") ends.
* March 26 – The longest game in the history of the National Hockey League is played. The Montreal Maroons and Detroit Red Wings are scoreless until 16½ minutes into the sixth overtime when Mud Bruneteau ends it at 2:25 am.

### April - June

* April 3 – Richard Hauptmann, convicted of the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder in 1932, is executed by electrocution in New Jersey State Prison.
* April 5 – A tornado hits Tupelo, Mississippi, killing 216 and injuring over 700 (the 4th deadliest tornado in U.S. history).
* April 6 – Two tornadoes strike Gainesville, Georgia. The smaller tornado hits north Gainesville, the stronger tornado the west side of town. 203 die and 1,600 are injured in the 5th deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
* May 1 – Lawrence Warehouse Company, based in San Francisco, California has an initial public stock offering.
* May 12 – The Santa Fe railroad inaugurates the all-Pullman *Super Chief* passenger train between Chicago and Los Angeles.
* May 25 – Remington Rand strike of 1936–37 begins.
* June 1
	+ A major heat wave strikes North America; high temperature records are set and thousands die.
	+ The first production model PCC streetcar, built by St. Louis Car Company, is placed in service by Pittsburgh Railways.
* June 7 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee is founded.
* June 10 – Margaret Mitchell's epic historical romance *Gone with the Wind* is published.
* June 19 – Max Schmeling knocks out Joe Louis in the 12th round of their heavyweight boxing match at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
* June 29 – United States Maritime Commission is formed.

### July - September

* July 11 – Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.
* July 13 – Peak of July 1936 heat wave: The U.S. states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana all set new state records for high temperature. At Mio in northern Michigan, it soars to 113 °F (45 °C).
* August 3 – African-American athlete Jesse Owens wins the 100-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics.
* August 14
	+ Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, in the last public execution in the United States
	+ 1936 Summer Olympics: The United States men's national basketball team wins its first ever Olympic basketball tournament in the final game over Canada, 19–8.

### October - December

* October 6 – The New York Yankees defeat the New York Giants, 4 games to 2, to win their 5th World Series Title.
* October 11 – Earl Bascom, rodeo cowboy and artist, designs and builds Mississippi's first permanent rodeo arena at Columbia, Mississippi.
* October 19 – H.R. Ekins, reporter for the *New York World-Telegram*, wins a race to travel around the world on commercial airline flights, beating Dorothy Kilgallen of the *New York Journal* and Leo Kieran of *The New York Times*. The flight takes 18½ days.
* October 29 – The historic Uptown Theater opens in Washington, D.C.
* November 3 – U.S. presidential election, 1936: Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected to a second term in a landslide victory over Republican Governor of Kansas Alf Landon.
* November 12 – In California, the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic.
* November 23 – *Life* magazine begins publication as a weekly news magazine under the management of Henry Luce.
* November 25 – The Abraham Lincoln Brigade sails from New York City on its way to the Spanish Civil War.
* December 3 – Radio station WQXR is officially founded in New York City.
* December 29 – The United Auto Workers begins the Flint Sit-Down Strike in Flint, Michigan.

## Memoriam

* January 1 – Harry B. Smith, songwriter, librettist and composer (aged 75; Atlantic City, NJ, USA)
* January 6 – Louise Bryant, journalist (aged 50; Sèvres, France)
* January 9 – John Gilbert, silent film actor (aged 38; Bel Air, CA, USA)
* January 15 – George Landenberger, U.S. Navy Captain and 23rd Governor of American Samoa (aged 56; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* January 16 – Albert Fish, serial killer (aged 65; Ossining, NY, USA)
* February 3 – Elia Goode Byington, newspaper proprietor, editor, and manager (aged 77; Macon, GA, USA)
* February 8 – Charles Curtis, 31st Vice President of the United States from 1929 to 1933 (aged 76; Washington, DC, USA)
* February 9 – John Cutting Berry, physician and missionary (aged 59; Worcester, MA, USA)
* February 11 – William Hope Harvey, lawyer, author, politician, and health resort owner (aged 84; Monte Ne, AR, USA)
* February 19 – Billy Mitchell, U.S. general and military aviation pioneer (aged 56; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 24 – Albert Ritchie, 49th Governor of Maryland (aged 59; Baltimore, MD, USA)
* March 4 – Charles F. Watkins, physician (aged 63; Billings, MT, USA)
* March 6 – Rubin Goldmark, pianist, composer and teacher (aged 63; NY, USA)
* March 11 – Ferdinand Lee Barnett, African American journalist, lawyer and civil rights activist (aged 84; Chicago, IL, USA)
* March 18 – W. Herbert Dunton, Western painter (aged 57; Taos, NM, USA)
* March 20 – Herman P. Faris, businessman and politician (aged 77; Deepwater, MO, USA)
* April 3 – Richard Hauptmann, carpenter convicted of murder (aged 36; Trenton, NJ, USA)
* April 13 – Howard Thurston, stage magician (aged 66; Miami, FL, USA)
* April 22 – Mary Haviland Stilwell Kuesel, pioneer dentist (aged 70; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* May 11 – A. Mitchell Palmer, attorney and politician (aged 64; Washington, DC, USA)
* June 11 – Robert E. Howard, pulp fiction and fantasy writer and poet (aged 30; Cross Plains, TX, USA)
* June 17 – Duncan U. Fletcher, lawyer and politician (aged 77; Washington, DC, USA)
* June 27 – Mike Bernard, ragtime musician (aged 61; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* July 8 – Thomas Meighan, actor (aged 57; Great Neck, NY, USA)
* July 21 – Earle Ovington, aviator, flew first experimental airmail (aged 56; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* August 8 – Mourning Dove, Native American writer (aged 52; Medical Lake, WA, USA)
* September 14 – Irving Thalberg, film producer, pneumonia, (aged 37; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* September 26 – Harriet Monroe, literary editor, scholar and critic and patron of the arts (aged 75; Arequipa, Peru)
* October 3 – John Heisman, American football coach (aged 66; New York City, NY, USA)
* October 8
	+ Cheiro, astrologer (aged 69; Hollywood, CA, USA)
	+ William Henry Stark, businessman (aged 85; Orange, TX, USA)
* October 13 – John H. Hill, African American lawyer and educator (aged 84; Institute, WV, USA)
* October 20 – Anne Sullivan, teacher of Helen Keller (aged 70; Queens, NY, USA)
* October 22 – James J. Couzens, businessman, politician and philanthropist (aged 64; Detroit, MI, USA)
* November 2 – Nathaniel P. Conrey, politician and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California (aged 76; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 6 – Henry Bourne Joy, business leader (aged 71; Laramie, WY, USA)
* November 22 – Oris Paxton Van Sweringen, financier (aged 57; Hoboken, NJ, USA)
* December 8 – Katherine Metzel Debs, wife of American Socialist Eugene V. Debs (aged 69; Terre Haute, IN, USA)
* December 11 – Myron Grimshaw, baseball player (aged 61; Canajoharie, NY, USA)
* December 24 – Irene Fenwick, stage and silent film actress (aged 49; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)