The following events occurred in November 1933:
November 1, 1933 (Wednesday) The regulations for Germany's Dachau concentration camp were put into effect by its commander, Theodor Eicke, and used as a blueprint for other camps. Under Article 12, people who refused to work, or shouted while on the job, were to be shot immediately. Born: Huub Oosterhuis, Dutch theologian; in Amsterdam (d. 2023) Samir Roychoudhury, Indian Bengali poet and philosopher of Hungry generation; in Panihati, Bengal Province (now India's West Bengal state), British India (d. 2016)
November 2, 1933 (Thursday) Home rule in Malta, at the time a British colony, was suspended after the Nationalist Party continued to advocate Italian as an official language to be used in schools and court proceedings, in order to strengthen ties to Fascist Italy. Authority over the islands was returned to the British Governor, General David Campbell. Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States, opened the White House Conference on the Emergency Needs of Women. Born: H. Jay Dinshah, founder of the American Vegan Society, and the first President of the Vegetarian Union of North America; in Malaga, New Jersey (d. 2000)
November 3, 1933 (Friday) The United States and Haiti signed a treaty of friendship."Haiti", in Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M, Edmund Jan Osmańczyk and Anthony Mango, eds., (Taylor & Francis, 2003), p. 868. Born: Michael Dukakis, American politician and 1988 Democratic Presidential nominee; in Brookline, Massachusetts Ken Berry, American TV actor who portrayed Sam Jones on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D.; in Moline, Illinois (d. 2018) Aneta Corsaut, American TV actress best known as Helen Crump on The Andy Griffith Show; in Hutchinson, Kansas (d. 1995) Jeremy Brett, British TV actor best known for portraying Sherlock Holmes; in Berkswell, Warwickshire (d. 1995) John Barry, British film score composer for the original James Bond films, in York (d. 2011) Amartya Sen, Indian economist and 1998 Nobel laureate, in Santiniketan Died: Pierre Paul Émile Roux, 69, French physician and immunologist who created the cure for diphtheria
November 4, 1933 (Saturday) Otto Fischer of Germany became the first person to be launched in a manned rocket, lifting off from the island of Rügen in a liquid oxygen and gasoline fueled missile, rapidly ascending to an altitude of six miles, and then returning to earth by parachute ten minutes later."Has the Rocket a Future?", by Helen S. Waterhouse, Popular Aviation magazine (November 1934) p301"Rockets 6 Miles Aloft", Pittsburgh Press, November 5, 1933, p1 Sally Rand, who had attained fame doing the suggestive "fan dance", announced that she was giving up her signature routine."Sally Rand Swears Off Fan Dancing", Pittsburgh Press, November 4, 1933, p1 Born: Charles K. Kao, Chinese-born physicist known as the "Father of Fiber Optic Communications"; in Shanghai (d. 2018); Didier Ratsiraka, President of Madagascar from 1975 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2002; in Vatomandry (d. 2021); Odumegwu Ojukwu, Nigerian general who led the abortive secession of Biafra from 1967 to 1970; in Zungeru (d. 2011) Mildred McDaniel, American track athlete who held the women's world record for the high jump; in Atlanta (d. 2004) Died: John Jay Chapman, 81, American author
November 5, 1933 (Sunday) In Spain, Basque voters in the provinces of Vizcaya, Alava and Guipuzcoa approved a resolution for an autonomous republic within the nation.Gabriel Jackson, The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939 (Princeton University Press, 1965) p141 Nearly 300 troops from Paraguay were killed in battle at Fort Arce in their war against Bolivia."300 Slain in Battle", Pittsburgh Press, November 6, 1933, p1 Five people died when an airplane crashed into their home near Red Bank, New Jersey."7 Are Killed in Air Crash", Pittsburgh Press, November 6, 1933, p5 Died: Texas Guinan, 49, American club operator keeper and actress who operated the "300 Club" during prohibition, died of amoebic dysentery Sen Katayama, 73, founder of the Japanese Communist Party
November 6, 1933 (Monday) In Portugal, Decree number 23,203 from Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar established the Special Military Court (TME) which could convict people of any action deemed subversive, including the spreading of rumors or the organizing of strikes.Filipe de Meneses, Salazar: A Political Biography (Enigma Books, 2009) p150 British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald said in a speech to his cabinet of ministers and party leaders that the United States was becoming a dictatorship, commenting, "We must always look out for the backwash. It will be interesting to see what the backwash will be in America and Germany by next April."M'Donald Watches U.S. 'Dictatorship'", Pittsburgh Press, November 6, 1933, p6 Born: Knut Johannesen, Norwegian speed-skater, Olympic gold medalist 1960 and 1964; in Oslo Else Ackermann, German physician and pharmacologist; in Berlin (d. 2019) Died: Polly Bemis, 80, Chinese-born American pioneer whose story was made into a novel and a 1991 film, Thousand Pieces of Gold
November 7, 1933 (Tuesday) Mohandas K. Gandhi began a 12,500 mile, nine month tour of India to promote the cause of ending prejudice against the Harijan ("Untouchable") caste.Michael Battle, Blessed Are the Peacemakers: A Christian Spirituality of Nonviolence (Mercer University Press, 2004) p178 The United States and Saudi Arabia signed their first treaty; in the initial agreement, they granted each other most favored nation status in trade.Fahad M. Al-Nafjan, The Origins of Saudi-American Relations: from recognition to diplomatic representation (1931–1943) (Eman Al Nafjan, 2009) Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Utah all voted in favor of repealing the 18th Amendment in general elections, but North Carolina and South Carolina became the first two states to vote to continue to ban liquor sales. The four new states brought the total number of ratifications to 37, one short of the 38 necessary."Prohibition Doomed By Vote Of 3 States; Carolinas Stay Dry", Pittsburgh Press, November 8, 1933, p1 Voters in most Pennsylvania cities approved the repeal of a ban on Sunday sports, paving the way for the new NFL franchises in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to operate."Sunday Sport Backers Win Big Victory", Pittsburgh Press, November 8, 1933, p1 Born: Abdallah Laroui, Moroccan historian; in Azemmour Died: Andrey Lyapchev, 66, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 1926 to 1931
November 8, 1933 (Wednesday) Mohammed Nadir Shah, the King of Afghanistan since 1929, was assassinated by Abdul Khaliq, a 17-year-old student who shot the King at an awards ceremony at the Royal Palace in Kabul."King Killed in Palace", Pittsburgh Press, November 11, 1933, p1 Khaliq was avenging the execution of his adoptive father, Ghulam Nabi Charki, who had been put to death on the King's orders exactly a year earlier.Peter Tomsen, The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers (PublicAffairs, 2011) p82 The King was succeeded by his 19-year-old son, Mohammed Zahir Shah, who would rule until 1973."Zahir Shah, Muhammad", in Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan, by Ludwig W. Adamec (Scarecrow Press, 2011) pp456-457
November 9, 1933 (Thursday) As part of his New Deal programs, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6420-B, creating the Civil Works Administration, an organization designed to create jobs for more than 4 million of the unemployed."Civil Works Administration (CWA)" in The American Economy: A Historical Encyclopedia, Cynthia Clark Northrup, ed. (ABC-CLIO, 2003) pp46-47 Brooke Hart, the 22-year-old son of a department store owner in San Jose, California, was kidnapped by two men as he was leaving work for the day. The men beat Hart to death, dropped his body from a bridge, and then called the Hart family to demand a ransom of $40,000 for his safe return."Hart, Brooke", in The Encyclopedia of Kidnappings, Michael Newton, ed. (Infobase Publishing, 2002) p133 Jamil al-Midfai became the new Prime Minister of IraqJoseph Sassoon, Economic Policy in Iraq, 1932-1950 (Frank Cass & Co., 1987) p43 Born: Jim Perry (stage name for James Edward Dooley), American game show host known for $ale of the Century; in Camden, New Jersey (d. 2015) Died: William Dick, 76, U.S. Mohican Indian believed to be the last person who could speak the Mohican language, which was never written down."Last of Mohicans Dies at Milwaukee", Pittsburgh Press, November 9, 1933, p1
November 10, 1933 (Friday) The first sitdown strike in the United States during the depression took place when workers at the Hormel food processing factory in Austin, Minnesota, halted work and occupied the plant for three days. Thousands of angry farmers marched into the town of Marshall, Minnesota, seized control of the Swift and Company chicken processing plant as part of a farm strike to protest against mortgage foreclosures on farms as part of the activities of the "Farm Holiday Association". Born: Don Clarke, New Zealand rugby union football player and cricketer, nicknamed "The Boot"; in Pihama (d. 2002) Ronald Evans, American astronaut who flew the command module on Apollo 17, the last crewed mission to the Moon; in St. Francis, Kansas (d. 1990) Alexander Bessmertnykh, Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union 1990–1991; in Biysk Died: Hugh Trevor (born Hugh Edwin Trevor-Thomas), 30, American actor, from complications following appendectomy)
November 11, 1933 (Saturday) The first dust storm in the "Dust Bowl", an area that experienced a long series of such wind storms, swept through South Dakota and stripped away almost all of the loose topsoil by the end of the first day, and making the skies black by the second day. The storms would continue throughout the 1930s.Sean Cashman, America Ascendant: From Theodore Roosevelt to FDR in the Century of American Power, 1901-1945 (New York University Press, 1998) p298 Girl Scout cookies, according to one source, were created when the Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia were baking treats on the Armistice Day holiday, as a community project to benefit day care centers. Passers by the kitchen at 1401 Arch Street in Philadelphia asked about buying the cookies, and the money raised inspired the girls to repeat the project the next autumn, with the Keebler Company making a special vanilla shortbread cookie in the shape of the Girl Scout emblem.Chris Epting, The Birthplace Book: A Guide to Birth Sites of Famous People, Places, and Things (Stackpole Books, 2009) p77 Control of Easter Island was transferred from the Compania Explotadora de la Isla de Pascua (CEDIP), a subsidiary of the Williamson-Balfour Company, to the Republic of Chile.Steven Roger Fischer, Island at the End of the World: The Turbulent History of Easter Island (Reaktion Books, 2005) p187 In Austria, a decree by dictator Engelbert Dollfuss provided for prompt judgment and sentencing for people charged with murder, arson or damage of state property.Rolf Steininger, et al., Austria In the Twentieth Century (Transaction Publishers, 2008) p58 The Dow Jones Composite Average was introduced, combining the Industrial, Transportation and Utility Averages.Henry Shilling, The International Guide to Securities Market Indices (Taylor & Francis, 1996) p30 Born: Miriam Tlali, the first black South African woman to publish a novel, starting with Muriel at Metropolitan in 1979; in Doornfontein, Johannesburg (d. 2017)
November 12, 1933 (Sunday)