Decade Quiz 1930s
What year was Pluto discovered?
- Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh, based on earlier calculations by Percival Lowell. Pluto was chosen because the first two letters are the initials of Percival Lowell.
What year did Orson Welles make his infamous broadcast of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds?
- In 1938, broadcasting was still in its infancy.
What year did Amelia Earhart become the first woman to pilot the Atlantic solo?
- Earhart made her historic flight in 1932.
What year did two of the deadliest tornadoes hit Tupelo, Miss., and Gainesville, Ga., on consecutive days?
- Together, the devastating tornadoes killed 419 people.
What year did the Everglades become a National Park?
- The National Park System covers more than 83 million acres, more than 1,500,000 located in the Everglades.
What year did World War II begin?
- The Allies declared war on September 3, 1939.
What year were Gone With the Wind, Stagecoach, and The Wizard of Oz in competition for the Best Picture Oscar?
- Though competition was fierce, Gone With the Wind was voted Best Picture. Victor Fleming also won for best direction, as did Vivien Leigh and Hattie McDaniel for best actress and supporting actress.
What year was the Cyclotron, commonly known as an atom smasher, invented by Ernest O. Lawrence?
- Ernest O. Lawrence invented the physics instrument in 1931. Other important inventions and discoveries included deuterium in 1931 and Wallace H. Carothers's invention of nylon in 1935.
What year was Luigi Pirandello awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature?
- American authors who were awarded Nobel Prizes in the 1930s included Sinclair Lewis, Eugene O'Neill, and Pearl Buck.
What year did 20,000 fans file into Comiskey Park to watch the Negro National League All-Star Game?
- Negro League Baseball began in the late 1800's, but flourished in the 1930s.
