Stories from 1939
Browse a timeline of top world events from 1939. Or, use Proust to tell your life story and share personal
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February 15, 1939
John Wayne finally made it big on the silver screen with his role of Ringo Kid in John Ford's western Stagecoach.
April 9, 1939
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Washington, D.C.
African American singer Marian Anderson, one of the world's best contraltos, performed in front of an audience of 75,000 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
April 14, 1939
John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath was published, a novel that follows an Oklahoma family during the Dust Bowl Era.
April 21, 1939
Upon its creation, the House Un-American Activities investigated Nazi and Ku Klux Klan operations. Later the committee would examine communist activity in the country.
April 22, 1939
Batman, created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, was featured for the first time in Detective Comics #27.
May 17, 1939
Columbia and Princeton played ball in the first televised baseball game. At the end of 10 innings, Princeton won 2-1.
August 15, 1939
Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my! Judy Garland starred in The Wizard of Oz.
