Winston Churchill warned Britain that Germany was re-arming "secretly, illegally and rapidly." He expressed astonishment at the government's attitude "when we consider the character of the present German government, the rapidly darkening European scene, and the obligations which ministers repeatedly are declaring we have in Europe."[1]
Born:Umberto Agnelli, Swiss-born Italian industrialist and politician, in Lausanne (d. 2004)
A team of American baseball stars including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig arrived in Japan to begin a tour of exhibition games against Asian teams. Over the next five weeks the American stars would play games in Japan, China and the Philippines.[3][4]
Australian Attorney-General Robert Menzies said that Egon Kisch would not be allowed into the country, explaining that the Commonwealth had the right to protect itself from revolutionaries.[12]
Lord Chief Justice Hewart dismissed contempt of court charges against four London newspapers. They were accused of prejudicing a fair trial for four Fascists charged with assault and breaching the peace by reporting that they wore brass knuckles in court.[13]
Born:S. Henry Cho, taekwondo instructor, in Korea (d. 2012); Carl Sagan, astronomer and science communicator, in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1996)
All teachers in Italy were ordered to wear the Fascist uniform during school hours.[20]
Egon Kisch jumped from the Strathaird onto Melbourne's concrete dock, breaking his leg. Kisch held the mistaken belief that he would be arrested and detained on Australian soil if he set foot in the country. Instead, authorities carried him back onto the ship as it sailed for Sydney.[21]
England and Italy played a famously violent and contentious football match called the Battle of Highbury that England won 3–2.
Salvador Dalí and his wife Gala arrived in New York City aboard the ocean liner SS Champlain.[22] Dalí emerged to greet the American media conspicuously holding a 2.5-metre (8 ft 2 in) long loaf of bread, with the intention of distributing it among them "as Saint Francis did with his birds." To his disappointment, however, none of the reporters asked him about it.[23]
Australian High Court Justice H. V. Evatt ordered Egon Kisch discharged from detainment aboard the Strathaird. Kisch was removed from the ship and then immediately taken to a police station where customs officials subjected him to a dictation test in Gaelic. Although Kisch knew 11 languages, he refused to take the test and was deemed to have failed. Kisch was charged with being a prohibited immigrant and then taken to hospital for his broken leg. Kisch would take his case to the High Court of Australia.[9][26][27]
The New York Daily News ran a famous headline exposing the secret of professional wrestling: "Londos and Marshall Meet at Garden Tonight for the 26th Time. Score – Londos 26, Marshall 0." Promoter Jack Pfefer exposed wrestling's predetermined nature to exact revenge on his former business associates, and he got the result he wanted when pro wrestling attendance immediately plummeted.[33][self-published source]
Retired U.S. Marine Corps officer Smedley Butler caused an uproar when he gave testimony before a House of Representatives committee on un-American activities in which he alleged a conspiracy among Wall Street interests to overthrow the Roosevelt Administration and replace it with a fascist dictatorship.[35] This alleged conspiracy would come to be known as the Business Plot.
King George V opened a new session of British parliament with a throne speech appealing for the maintenance of world peace.[36]
Turkish President Mustafa Kemal changed his name to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as the Turkish government abolished nicknames, pious titles and titles of nobility.[10][43] "Atatürk" means "father of the Turks" and use of the surname by anyone else was forbidden by Turkish parliament.[44]
University of Bonn professor Karl Barth was suspended and tried in court for refusing to swear the oath of loyalty to Hitler.[45]
Winston Churchill gave a speech to the House of Commons calling on the government to increase its defence spending, because Germany's munitions factories were already working "under practically war conditions."[20]
Lord Ashley was granted a divorce from wife Sylvia. Spectators packed the courtroom hoping to hear lurid details of Sylvia's affair with the American actor Douglas Fairbanks, but were disappointed when the legal proceedings lasted only ten minutes.[49]
King Fuad of Egypt suspended the constitution after nationalist riots.[10]
Lázaro Cárdenas took the oath of office as President of Mexico. In his inaugural address before 60,000 people he said his administration would focus on unemployment and social inequality.[53]
^Maguire, Liam (2012). Next Goal Wins!: The Ultimate NHL Historian's One-of-a-Kind Collection of Hockey Trivia. Randome House Canada. p. 118. ISBN978-0-307-36340-4.
^ abcMercer, Derrik (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 446. ISBN978-0-582-03919-3.
^"Calendar of Current Releases". Variety. New York: Variety, Inc. December 25, 1934. p. 25.
^Slowik, Michael (2014). After the Silents: Hollywood Film Music in the Early Sound Era, 1926–1934. Columbia University Press. p. 314. ISBN978-0-231-16582-2.
