Salvador Dalí opened his second solo exhibition at the Pierre Colle Gallery in Paris.[6] It was at this show that the painting destined to become his most famous, The Persistence of Memory, was publicly displayed for the first time.[7][8]
Lindy Remigino, U.S. track and field athlete and 1952 Olympic gold medalist in the 100 meter race; in
Elmhurst, Queens, New York (d. 2018)
Thursday, June 4, 1931
The Spanish provisional government issued a decree declaring 1,600 churches and castles to be "historical and artistic monuments belonging to the nation's artistic treasures" that could not be disposed of or altered without government approval.[9]
Berlin Police President Albert Grzesinski banned the Nazi newspaper Der Angriff for a month for violating the emergency decree of March 28.[10]
German Chancellor
Heinrich Brüning and Foreign Minister
Julius Curtius arrived in England on an official visit.[11] Brüning warned Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald that due to the Austrian banking crisis, the German banking system was itself at risk of complete collapse.[12]
Germany passed an emergency decree attempting to balance the budget by implementing new
austerity measures.[14] Unemployment benefits were cut by 5%.[15]
A
6.1 magnitude earthquake struck the
United Kingdom at 1:30 in the morning and remains the strongest tremor to affect the UK since measurements were first recorded. The epicenter of the quake was at the
Dogger Bank, a shallow offshore sandbank in the
North Sea roughly 65 miles (105 km) east of
Bridlington,
Yorkshire. Damage was minor with a church steeple in the town of
Filey being twisted.
Born:Malcolm Morley, artist, in London, England (d. 2018)
Monday, June 8, 1931
A British committee awarded sole ownership of the
Wailing Wall to the Muslims, but granted Jews access at all times.[20]
Born:Dana Wynter, German-born English actress, in Berlin (d. 2011)
Tuesday, June 9, 1931
Twenty-one
Royal Navy personnel on the British submarine
HMS Poseidon were killed after the vessel collided with a Chinese cargo ship off of the coast of
Weihai (Port Edward) and sank. Five of the 26 people on Poseidon survived, after being part of a group of eight who were able to use the
Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus to escape the forward end of the boat.[21][22]
The Italian government sent a note to the Vatican explaining the reasons for the recent banning of
Catholic organizations throughout
Italy, accusing them of plotting against the government. The note also expressed regret at reports of
Fascist violence against the Catholic church, but fell short of the formal apology that the Vatican was seeking.[23]
Rioting broke out across Germany in anger at the government's austerity measures.[24]
Britain's Labour coalition government appeared to be on the verge of collapse when Liberal leader
David Lloyd George announced he would not support the proposed
land value tax without an amendment.[25]
More than 500 people drowned in the capsizing of a French tour boat, the Saint-Philibert, when it was toppled in a gale while returning to
Nantes from the
Île de Noirmoutier. On departure from Nantes, the boat was carrying 467 adult passengers, a seven member crew, and an unknown number of children who were accompanying their families for the excursion. The overloaded Saint-Philibert sank in the
Loire river within sight of
Saint-Nazaire, and only eight people survived.[30]
Died:Henry L. Williams, 61, American college football coach for the University of Minnesota and College Football Hall of Fame enshrinee
Monday, June 15, 1931
Britain's Labour government was defeated in a surprise vote in the House of Commons on a minor amendment in the land tax bill, but it refused to accept the defeat as cause for resignation because many benches were empty. A second vote was called, which the government won by 14 votes.[31]
U.S. President
Herbert Hoover gave a lengthy speech in
Indianapolis on the economy and the government's measures to fight the
Depression. "We have come out of each previous depression into a period of prosperity greater than ever before", Hoover said. "We shall do so this time." Hoover said that the "underlying forces of recovery are asserting themselves."[33]
The Spanish provisional government received notes of protests from the Vatican and exiled cardinal
Pedro Segura y Sáenz, claiming he had been mistreated at the hands of authorities and that only the Vatican had the right to recall a prelate.[34]
Thursday, June 18, 1931
Le Journal printed an interview with
Benito Mussolini in which he explained his views on the relations between church and state in light of his recent conflicts with the Vatican. Mussolini said that religion was "indispensable", but "[f]or that I let the priests work; that's religion. The rest is politics, and politics – that's me. I will not admit that anybody, absolutely anybody touch in any way that which belongs to the state. My formula is clear –
everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state."[35]
Two German professors at the
University of Berlin published a paper announcing the invention of a 2.6-million volt
X-ray tube, double the power of anything else in the world.[36]
Died:Fanny Holland, 83, English singer and comic actress
Friday, June 19, 1931
The first commercial
photodetector and motor system, commonly called an "
electric eye", was installed by the General Electric company to operate the door between the kitchen and dining area of a restaurant in
West Haven, Connecticut. GE marketed the system under the brand name "Magic Eye".[8][37]
Saturday, June 20, 1931
U.S. President Hoover announced his proposal, referred to in the press as the "
Hoover Moratorium", to serve as a one-year suspension of the collection of war debts owed by the
Allies of World War I to the United States, to apply to any nation that would grant Germany a similar
moratorium on
World War I reparations owed under the Treaty of Versailles.[38]
Film actress
Evalyn Knapp was seriously injured in a fall from a cliff while hiking
Hollywood Heights. Doctors feared she would be permanently paralyzed, but she recovered in a few months.[39][40]
Born:Margaret Heckler, U.S. Representative for Massachusetts who later served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and later as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland; in
Flushing, Queens,
New York (d. 2018)
Died: Lieutenant
Hugh Chevis, 28, British Army officer, died of poisoning from
strychnine that had been placed in his dinner the night before. The apparent homicide was never solved, despite several telegrams from a person identifying himself as "J. Hartigan" and suspicion of several persons, including Mrs. Chevis.
Monday, June 22, 1931
A mass trial of the
Sicilian Mafia ended in Italy after almost a year. 124 were given prison terms while 54 were freed.[41]
Wiley Post and
Harold Gatty took off in the
Lockheed VegaWinnie Mae from
Roosevelt Field in an attempt to fly around the world in record time.[43] Post and Gatty were successful in circumnavigating the world in 8 days, 15 hours and 15 minutes and returned to Long Island on July 1.
Spain fired
Ramón Franco as chief of Aeronautics for alleged involvement in an anarchist plot to disrupt Sunday's elections. Due to fears of Franco's popularity, the decision was made not to imprison him.[48]
The
Republic of Galicia was proclaimed in northwestern Spain by leftist Antón Alonso Ríos and Pedro Campos Couceiro, after the new Spanish Republic government temporarily halted construction of a railroad line intended to link the Galician city of
Ourense to the larger city of
Zamora. The government of Spain agreed to resume railway construction and the declaration of independence was rescinded after a few hours.
General elections were held in Spain, with socialist parties winning the largest share of voting. Eight died in various outbreaks of violence around the country.[51]
Died:Henry Hobbs, 44, American football player and coach, died from heart disease
The film All Quiet on the Western Front, though banned in Germany, was allowed to be shown in a Berlin hall that had taken all precautions to avoid disturbances.[12]
References
^Allen, Jay (June 2, 1931). "Spain Wipes Out All Titles of Nobility". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^
abcMercer, Derrik (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. pp. 403–404.
ISBN978-0-582-03919-3.
^Steele, John (June 4, 1931). "Cameronian Favorite, Wins English Derby". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 27.
^White, Justin (2009). The Concise New Makers of Modern Culture. Routledge. p. 36.
ISBN978-1-134-02139-0.
^Jeffett, William. "Paranoiac Surrealism." Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí. Ed. William H. Robinson, Jordi Falgàs, Carmen Belen Lord. Yale University Press, 2006. p. 348.
ISBN978-0-300-12106-3
^"Four Newspapers Gagged in Cuba by Censorship". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 26, 1931. p. 22.
^Allen, Jay (June 27, 1931). "Spain Fires Sea Flyer as Head of Air Service". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 12.
^Rhodes, Gary Don (1997). Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 49.
ISBN978-0-7864-2765-9.
^Taylor, Edmond (June 27, 1931). "Debt Plan Wins in France". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^"Spain Supports Republic at Polls; 8 Slain". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 29, 1931. p. 3.