WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO AUGUST 1939
Find out what all happened January to August 1939

From Prague Castle, Hitler proclaims Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate. (16. March 1939)

The United Kingdom and Poland form a military alliance in which the UK promises to defend Poland in case of invasion by a foreign power. (25. August 1939)

Huỳnh Phú Sổ founds Hòa Hảo Buddhism. (4. July 1939)

Holocaust: The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, in the United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps. (4. June 1939)

The erroneous word "dord" is discovered in the Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation. (28. February 1939)

World War II: Germany takes Memel from Lithuania. (22. March 1939)

Billie Holiday records the first civil rights song "Strange Fruit". (20. April 1939)

World War II: Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In a secret addition to the pact, the Baltic states, Finland, Romania, and Poland are divided between the two nations. (23. August 1939)

13 Stukas dive into the ground during a disastrous air-practice at Neuhammer. There are no survivors. (15. August 1939)

Spanish Civil War – Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona. (26. January 1939)

Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid after a three-year siege. (28. March 1939)

The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day. (23. May 1939)

Nazi Germany mounts a staged attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day thus starting World War II in Europe. (31. August 1939)

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) begins a bombing and sabotage campaign in England. (16. January 1939)

Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and Japan begins, (17. March 1939)

Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison (17. June 1939)

The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States' first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City. (17. May 1939)

The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, New York. (12. June 1939)

A Lockheed P-38 Lightning flies from California to New York in 7 hours 2 minutes. (11. February 1939)

The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people. (24. January 1939)