January: Alan Turing publishes paper 'On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungs Problem' presenting the concept of a Universal Turing Machine.

February: The John Steinbeck novella Of Mice and Men is published.

March: American weird fiction author H. P. Lovecraft dies of intestinal cancer aged, 46.

April: Frank Whittle ground-tests the world's first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.

May: The Golden Gate Bridge opens to the public in San Francisco. It is ahead of schedule and under budget.

June: Sylvan Goldman introduces an invention of his called a 'Shopping Cart' at the Humpty Dumpty supermarket he ownes in Oklahoma City.

July: Hunter S. Thompson, journalist and author, founder of the gonzo journalism movement, is born in Louisville, Kentucky.

August: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio opens its doors. Characters created will include Tom and Jerry, Droopy, and Barney Bear.

September: Austrian born actress of Jewish descent, Hedy Lamarr arrives in New York City fleeing from her husband Friedrich Mandl who made arms agreements with the Nazis, & to begin her Hollywood career.

October: The Ernest Hemingway novel To Have and Have Not is published by Scribner's. The work gets a mixed critical reception.

November: British statesman Ramsay MacDonald dies aged 71. He was the United Kingdom's first Labour Party Prime Minister.

December: Disney's first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiers at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, California.