August 1931: Flooding drowns at least 140,000 along China's Yangtze River, leads to starvation and cholera that kills millions (pictured: Hankou business district of Wuhan)Flood survivors in China
The following events occurred in August 1931:
August 1, 1931 (Saturday)
The Reichsbank raised its interest rate for loans to 15%, a 5 percent jump from July 16.[1]
In a referendum on autonomy in the Spanish province of Catalonia, citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of autonomy within the Second Spanish Republic, which was approved by parliament six weeks later.[2]
Three African-American people died in a riot in Chicago. Police fought a crowd of 2,000 protesting against an apartment landlord evicting an elderly African-American woman.[4]
August 4, 1931 (Tuesday)
A new German decree went into force making the purchase of foreign currency against the Reichsmark only possible through the Reichsbank.[5]
Prominent stage actress Ina Claire was granted a divorce from her husband of two years, silent film star John Gilbert.[6]
August 5, 1931 (Wednesday)
German banks allowed regular transactions for the first time since July 13.[3]
A referendum seeking to force the dissolution of the Prussian Landtag failed because only 37.1% of eligible voters showed up to vote, and a 50% turnout was required in order for it to pass.
Sixteen people died in Communist-backed rioting in Berlin during the referendum campaign.[10][11]
Born:Mário Zagallo, Brazilian soccer football forward who played for, and later managed, the Brazil national team, winning the FIFA World Cup as a player in 1958 and 1962, as a manager in 1970, and as an assistant manager in 1994; in Atalaia, Alagoas state[12] (d. 2024)
German police padlocked the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) headquarters, located at the Karl Liebknecht House in Bülow-Platz, as punishment for rioting the day before. Publication of the KPD newspaper Red Flag was also suspended for two weeks.[14]
Cuban President Gerardo Machado declared martial law to put down a rebellion.[3]
Anti-Chinese sentiment increased in Japan after the Japanese government revealed that three Japanese nationals traveling in China had been arrested, killed and cremated. China admitted the action but contended that one of them was a spy.[21]
August 18, 1931 (Tuesday)
The flooding on the Yangtse River in China reached its worst point when the water level peaked with waters as high as 53 feet (16 m) above normal river levels at Hankou in Wuhan province.[25] The flooding, including subsequent famine and disease, killed about 3.7 million people in total, perhaps the worst natural disaster of the 20th century.[26]
A committee of bankers in Basel released a report recommending that credit be extended to Germany for another six months due to the country's inability to meet its debt obligations.[21]
Born:
Hans van Mierlo, Dutch politician who served as Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands; in Breda (d. 2010)
Died:Aristides Agramonte, 63, Cuban American physician, pathologist and bacteriologist
August 20, 1931 (Thursday)
Spain passed a decree forbidding churches from selling their property, in response to a rumor that exiled cardinal Pedro Segura y Sáenz had ordered the churches to sell their property before it could be confiscated.[28][29]
The eighth Great German Radio Exhibition opened in Berlin. Attractions included the first electronic television receiver with a Braun tube, manufactured by Loewe AG.[30]
King George V cut short his vacation at Balmoral Castle to head back to London as the resignation of the Ramsay MacDonald government appeared imminent due to the country's budget deficit crisis.[32]
August 23, 1931 (Sunday)
Lefty Grove started a baseball game for the Philadelphia Athletics tied for the American League record of most consecutive wins with 16. Facing the St. Louis Browns, Grove lost his shot at sole possession of the record when he was outduelled by Dick Coffman and lost 1–0. After the game, Grove went on an infamous rampage in the clubhouse and destroyed everything in sight, from uniforms to lockers to chairs.[33][34]
Hamilton O. Smith, U.S. microbiologist and 1978 Nobel laureate for his work in discovering and identifying the restriction enzyme within DNA; in New York City[35]
Hal Fishman, Los Angeles news anchor with 47 consecutive years as the anchorman for various L.A. stations; in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2007)
August 26, 1931 (Wednesday)
The Mahatma Gandhi announced that he had reversed his decision not to attend the Round Table Conference after a three-hour discussion with ViceroyThe Earl of Willingdon.[38]
The Portuguese Army put down a revolt in Lisbon.[39]
Deputy Sheriff James Leo McDermott, 40, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department died in a freak accident. After stepping out of his car at an oil station, the vehicle began to roll forwards, and McDermott attempted to hop onto the car's running board to stop it. It carried him forward and slammed him into a hook used to hold air and water hoses, which impaled him just below the heart.[40][41][42]
Osachi Hamaguchi, 61, twice Prime Minister of Japan, died of a sepsis infection less than nine months after he had been wounded in an assassination attempt. Hamaguchi had resigned on April 14 because of his deteriorating condition.
Frank Harris, 75, Irish-born American editor, journalist and publisher
August 27, 1931 (Thursday)
The German flying boat Dornier Do X arrived in New York, ending a 12,500-mile (20,100 km) trip lasting almost a year that spanned four continents.[44][45]
The Mahatma Gandhi set sail on the SS Rajputana from Bombay to Marseilles en route to the Round Table Conference in London. "I see nothing on the horizon to warrant hope, but I am an optimist and I am hoping against hope. For me the service of India is identical with the service of humanity", Gandhi said as he boarded.[47][48]
