Historical Events in April 1932

Tarzan the Ape Man

Apr 2 "Tarzan the Ape Man" released starring Olympic swimmer Johnny Weissmuller in the first of his 12 Tarzan films

Author and Creator of the Character Tarzan Edgar Rice Burroughs

Lindbergh Pays Ransom

Apr 2 Charles Lindbergh turns over $50,000 as ransom for his kidnapped son

Apr 4 Charles G. King, University of Pittsburgh isolates Vitamin C, using adrenal samples provided by Hungarian Albert Szent-Györgyi

Too True To Be Good

Apr 4 George Bernard Shaw's comedy play "Too True To Be Good" premieres in NYC; runs for 59 performances

Apr 5 Dominion of Newfoundland: 10,000 rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government
Apr 5 Dutch textile strike broken by trade unions

Event of Interest

Apr 9 German banking regulator Hans Luther is shot and suffers a shoulder wound at the Potsdam, Germany train station by an assailant who disliked his fiscal policies

Apr 9 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs beat New York Rangers, 6-4 for 3-0 series sweep; Toronto's first SC as the Maple Leafs

Hindenburg President

Apr 10 Paul von Hindenburg is re-elected President of Germany in a runoff election against Adolf Hitler

German President and WWI General Paul von Hindenburg

Grand Hotel

Apr 12 "Grand Hotel" directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Greta Garbo and John Barrymore premieres in New York, includes the line "I want to be alone" (Best Picture/Production 1932)

Apr 12 Emmanuel Chabriers & Balanchines ballet premieres in Monte Carlo

Jeux d'Enfants

Apr 14 Léonide Massine & Joan Miro's adaptation for dance of Georges Bizet's "Jeux d'Enfants" premieres with the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo, at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo

Apr 14 World's first particle accelerator built by Ernest Walton and John Cockcroft performs the first artificial nuclear fission with Lithium at Cambridge University [1]

The Music Box

Apr 16 Short film "The Music Box" released in the US, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (1932 Academy Award Best Live Action Short Film)

Haile Selassie Ends Slavery

Apr 17 Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia ends slavery

Apr 18 36th Boston Marathon won by German runner Paul de Bruyn in 2:33:36.4

Bonnie Parker Captured

Apr 19 Bonnie Parker is captured in a failed hardware store burglary, and subsequently jailed; a grand jury fails to indict her, however, and she is released a few months later