February 12, 1931: Bela Lugosi introduces film audiences to Count DraculaFebruary 3, 1931: Earthquake kills 246 people in and around city of Napier, New Zealand
The state legislature ofArkansas passed a motion to pray for the soul of the satirical writerH. L. Mencken after he called the state "the Apex of Moronia".[6]
At thePiazza Colonna in Rome, authorities moved to arrest two anarchists, one of them the naturalized AmericanMichele Schirru, for plotting to assassinateBenito Mussolini. One anarchist fled, but Schirru pulled out a gun and killed one policeman. Schirru then shot himself, but survived to face trial.[7]
TheNational League adopted a new, deader baseball for the 1931 season in an effort to cut down on very high scoring rates.[11]
Buster Keaton got into a violent brawl with his mistress, the actressKathleen Key, until MGM studio police rushed into Keaton's dressing room and hauled Key away. The fight made national headlines, but MGM had Keaton make up an explanation that they were arguing over a bet they'd made that the actress could lose 20 pounds in ten days. Keaton then cut a secret $10,000 check to Key in order to keep their love affair out of the press.[12]
Born:Isabel Perón, president of Argentina from 1974 to 1976, the first woman to serve as president of a country.
Kijūrō Shidehara made a speech in the JapaneseNational Diet in which he explained that EmperorHirohito's approval of theLondon Naval Treaty was confirmation that it did not endanger the country's security. Opposition members took this to mean that any defects in the treaty were a reflection on the emperor, and one member pulled out a dagger during the ensuing debate. Shidehara left the building under heavy guard as a brawl broke out in an anteroom of the Diet, injuring 12.[14]
Born:
Rip Torn (stage name for Elmore Torn Jr.), U.S. film and TV actor and comedian; inTemple, Texas (d. 2019)
A gas explosion and ensuing fire at a mine inFushun, Manchuria, killed 3,000 people.[2]
KingAlfonso XIII of Spain published a royal decree calling elections for the chamber of deputies on March 1 and for the senate on March 15, the first elections since before the dictatorship ofMiguel Primo de Rivera. The decree also restored freedoms of speech and assembly for the duration of the election period.[16]
Several days of festivities began marking the transfer of the capital of India toNew Delhi.[2]
The 107Nazi deputies of the Reichstag walked out and began a boycott of parliament in protest of new reforms which included the removal ofparliamentary immunity from deputies against whom court cases were pending. TheGerman National People's Party joined in the boycott.[19]
Chancellor of the ExchequerPhilip Snowden warned the House of Commons, "I say with all the seriousness I can command that the national position is so grave that drastic and disagreeable measures will have to be taken if Budget equilibrium is to be maintained and if industrial progress is to be made ... No Budget in the world could stand such an excessive strain as that which has been placed upon it by the increase of unemployment during the last 12 months."[20]
Lillian Leitzel (Leopoldina Pelikan), 39, German-born U.S. acrobat and circus performer, died two days after falling while performing at a circus in Copenhagen;
The sinking of a ship in China'sPearl River, south ofGuangzhou, killed 100 people. The steamer was carrying 500 people when it hit a rock and sank.[24]
KingZog I of Albania survived an assassination attempt as he was leaving theVienna State Opera building. Two Albanian students opened fire as members of the royal entourage emerged from the building, killing one of Zog's bodyguards and injuring two others. However, the king left through a different exit and was unharmed.[30]
An estimated 40,000 German republicans demonstrated in the BerlinLustgarten in favour of the republic and against antidemocratic parties. At the same time, 5,000 members of theReichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold marched in uniform. Isolated clashes were reported in other German cities where similar demonstrations took place.[33]
Cuban PresidentGerardo Machado survived the second attempt on his life within 24 hours when police seized a youth who attempted to draw a pistol while Machado was making a speech dedicating the new capitol.[35]
Norwegian ski jumperSigmund Ruud set a new world record with a jump of 81 meters.[36]
The U.S. Supreme Court decidedUnited States v. Sprague, upholding the validity of the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the prohibition against the sale of alcohol in the United States.
Born:Brian Close, English cricketer and the youngest man to play Test cricket for the England national team; inRawdon, West Yorkshire (d. 2015)
"World Unemployment Day" marches were held in Germany, organized by theCommunist Party.[37] Four were killed and many injured in clashes with police.[38]
The Canadian government banned the importation of Soviet goods, explaining that they did not want to economically strengthen communism. The Soviet Union banned Canadian goods in reprisal.[43]
SirOswald Mosley resigned from theLabour Party and immediately announced the formation of a new political organization known as theNew Party. "We differ from the old parties in our demand for a complete revision of parliament which will change it from a talk shop into a workshop", Mosley explained in a statement. "We challenge the 50-year-old system of free trade which exposes industry in the home market to the chaos of world conditions, such as price fluctuations, dumping and competition of sweated labor, which result in the lowering of wages and industrial decay."[44]
Born:
Dean Smith, U.S. college basketball coach who won 879 games for the University of North Carolina and two NCAA championships; inEmporia, Kansas (d. 2015)
Gavin MacLeod (stage name for Allan George See), American TV and film actor known forThe Love Boat andThe Mary Tyler Moore Show; inMount Kisco, New York (d. 2021)
^Darrah, David (May 29, 1931). "Italy Executes American; Shot by Firing Squad".Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
^Holston, Kim R. (2013).Movie Roadshows: A History and Filmography of Reserved-Seat Limited Showings, 1911–1973. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 72.ISBN978-0-7864-6062-5.
^Steele, John (February 5, 1931). "9 Killed, 3 Hurt as Giant Plane Crashes in Sea".Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 7.
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