1933 News and Interesting Tidbits


Franklin D. Roosevelt Inaugurated
Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United States pledging to lead the country out of the Great Depression






Emergency Banking Act
President Franklin Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress to ease the run on small banks causing them to go into bankruptcy.







Wiley Post Flies Solo Round The World
Wiley Hardeman Post ( Wiley Post ) becomes the first man to fly solo around the world in his plywood monocoque aircraft, the Winnie Mae. He took 7 days, 19 hours -- 21 hours less than his previous record ( Which he had set in 1931 with a navigator, Harold Gatty ). Instead of a navigator he had installed an auto pilot device and a radio compass which were still in development, but which allowed him to make his solo journey.




United States Executive Order 6102
President Franklin Roosevelt signs "United States Executive Order 6102" which prohibited the "hoarding" of privately held gold coins and bullion in the United States. The government required holders of significant quantities of gold to sell their gold at the prevailing price of $20.67 per ounce. Shortly after this forced sale, the price of gold from the treasury for international transactions was raised to $35 an ounce.






3.2% Beer And Wine Sales Made Legal
President Roosevelt signed the bill which legalized the sale of 3.2 percent beer and wine.






Roosevelt Resolves To Help America Out Of Great Depression
Within one month of taking office President Roosevelt set about pulling America out of the depths of the worst depression in history.

He temporarily closed the nation's banks.

He passed emergency legislation aimed at stabilizing financial institutions.

Spoke on the nations radio airwaves giving people hope and a much needed pep talk.

Signed the Economy Act into law which cut salaries of federal employees including war veterans .






Pay Cut from $19.00 to $14.00 per week
Many state emergency work relief bureau are cutting the hourly rate for laborers from 40 cents per hour to 35 cents per hour and implementing a five day week . These changes will affect workers pay down from $19.00 per week to $14.00 per week in line with the changing economic trends throughout the country and should help to provide more work for those seeking jobs.






Roosevelt first " fireside chat "
President Roosevelt gives his first " fireside chat " radio broadcast just 8 days after his inauguration telling the American people to keep faith with their country and their banking system, and asking them to leave their money in the bank where it would be kept safe . His chats to the people through these "fireside chats " on this day and future days were made friendly and informative but keeping them easy to understand by all and many consider helped him win an unprecedented 3 terms of office.






Great Depression Roosevelt announces 4 million jobs
President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced plans for an organization that will create 4 million additional jobs for the unemployed he made available $400,000,000 of public works funds.







Federal Emergency Relief Fund
The Federal Emergency Relief fund has given 8 states a total of $5,336,317 in relief funding today to pay for welfare programmes including Texas and Washington State







Roosevelt Signs The Home Owner's Refinancing Act
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) or Home Owner's Refinancing Act as part of the New Deal Package to prevent people losing their homes through foreclosure. It was used to extend loans from shorter term loans ( often 3 to 10 years ) in those years to fully amortized, longer term loans (typically 20-25 years) and loans were only available for homes worth less than $20,000.

The HOLC stopped lending after about 2 years once all the available capital had been spent.







Bank Holiday to Save Banks
To help stop the run on US banks U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced a four-day "bank holiday" . All U.S. banks would close effective March 6 to help stop Americans from withdrawing their money in panic which in turn caused more banks to collapse. Governor William A. Comstock had declared an eight-day bank holiday-really a temporary moratorium. This decision was made in light of the current financial emergency that was taking place in the city of Detroit and the rest of the state of Michigan. The main reason for this temporary bank closure was because of the Detroit Ford Motor Company’s refusal to entrust its deposits to the Union Guardian Trust. Governor Comstock felt that it would help protect the interest of small depositors.








How Much things cost in 1933
Example Home Price
Oakland, California Spanish style House 3 large bedrooms , tile roof , big basement, furnace $6,200

Tooth paste 27 cents

Chuck Roast 15 cents per pound

Average wages per year $1,550.00

Cost of a gallon of Gas 10 cents

A loaf of Bread 7 cents

Womens silk hose 49 cents

A LB of Hamburger Meat 11 cents

Plymouth 6 Car $445.00

1933 Chrysler $1125

Campbells Vegetable Soup 10 cents

Sugar 49 cents for 10 pounds





Midwest Dust Bowl
Strong winds strip the topsoil from the drought affected farms of South Dakota and within two days, dust from the storm had reached all the way to Albany, New York. This was just one of a number of winds that took topsoil from farmland due to the soil turning into dust through severe drought ( Known as the Dust Bowl Years ) Many changes in farming practices were learnt from these periods of time including introduction of hedges and other soil conservation techniques .







Dirigible Airship The Akron Crashes Killing 75
The dirigible airship The Akron crashes in New Jersey, killing 73 people in one of the first air disasters in history, it was the largest airship built in the United States when it took its first flight in August 1931.






With Increased Poverty Disease Increased
As the number affected by poverty through the lack of work increases , the corresponding increase in disease continue with Diphtheria, Tuberculosis and scarlet fever all on the increase
In an attempt to fight diphtheria inoculation is started with pre-school children and will include all children of school age.







Loch Ness Monster
A local Inverness newspaper "The Inverness Courier" publishes an account by a local couple who claimed to have seen "an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface." of Loch Ness.

The story of the "monster" sparks media interest around the world and a number of expeditions to uncover "Nessie" over the 75 years have still not proved that the monster exists.

Loch Ness has the largest volume of fresh water in Great Britain; the body of water reaches a depth of nearly 800 feet and the loch is about 23 miles long.







Milk Price War
A Milk Price War is going on and the stable prices of 10 cents per quart are currently 8 cents and in some shops 7 cents per quart







Hitler Makes Germany A One Party State
Hitler bans all other parties making Germany a one political party country, the National Socialist party is the only party that now exists in Germany. This followed a number of other changes in 1933 including creation of the German Secret State Police (Gestapo) and the banning of Trade Unions. The death penalty was declared for anti fascists.








Tornadoes strike Kentucky and Tennessee
Tornadoes strike Kentucky and Tennessee leaving a trail of death with 61 deaths and property destruction in their wake , amongst the worst hit are areas of Louisville.







Great Britain War Loan Repayments
A major debate is raging on both sides of the Atlantic concerning the money loaned to Great Britain for the War effort . At the end of the War the French Government stated they would only pay 10 cents on the dollar of the money loaned to them and for weapons and the United States Government Agreed to the settlement. Britain in the meantime came to the United States and agreed to pay the full debt including a higher rate of interest than the French.


Now the British Government is demanding the US Government to treat the debts owed exactly the same as the French and other countries in Europe but with the United States having it's own problems with unemployment they are not willing to negotiate . This now leaves 2 great allies in war at odds with each other over war debts and many are waiting to see the outcome on both sides of the ocean.






Tobacco Producers Want Increase
All the tobacco markets have been closed in North Carolina, as well as in South Carolina. Georgia and Virginia soon followed suit. These states pushed for a higher price for their tobacco farmers.






King Kong
The Original "King Kong" featuring featuring Fay Wray has its world premiere in New York. The Movie from RKO Studios was ahead of it's time using an 18-inch model for Kong, special effects using stop motion models and animatronics.






Albert Einstein
Dr. Albert Einstein and his wife arrive in Princeton, New Jersey, where he will continue his scientific work at the Institute of Advanced Study.






Peace In Our Time ?
Just two weeks after the Munich agreement was signed and the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced to the world "Peace In Our Time" Hitler is pushing the bounds of the agreement on the German occupation of Czechoslovakia and taking additional areas under Nazi control. Many suspect he had no intention of slowing his occupation of other countries and a second world war is inevitable.






George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw showed his admiration for Hitler. What Shaw most admired about him was his “expression of intense resentment”. Shaw was a part of the Fabian society, a British socialist movement.
He was also partially responsible for the Labour Party, which represented the working class people. Later on in life, Shaw was noted to having regretted supporting the Hitler movement.






Prohibition Ends
Prohibition comes to an end as Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing the 18th Amendment






Nissan Started
Nissan car company is started in Japan, it begins by selling it's cars under the Datsun name.







$4.78 to the British Pound
It's interesting when studying history how history can put things considered to be a major talking point in perspective

Below Are A Few Example Years Exchange Rates

1933 Exchange Rate $4.78 to the British Pound
1962 Exchange Rate $2.80 to the British Pound
1997 Exchange Rate $1.60 to the British Pound
2007 Exchange Rate $2.07 to the British Pound


I was doing some research today for the 30's and spotted this from 1933
it was actually to with the price of gold

The Roosevelt gold buying policy was inaugurated today with the government paying $31.36 per ounce 27 cents higher than quotations on the London Gold Exchange.


The London Price is currently $31.00 based on the

exchange rate October 9th 1933 $4.78 to the British Pound


The Current Exchange rate :
exchange rate October 9th 2007 $2.07 to the British Pound









1932 Previous Year ---- ( Current Year Is 1933 ) ---- Following Year 1934



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