1941 No spare tires on new cars
in US
Buick lowered
its prices to reflect the absence of spare tires or inner tubes from
its new cars. Widespread shortages caused by World War II had led
to many quotas and laws designed to conserve America's resources.
One of these laws prohibited spare tires on new cars. Rubber, produced
overseas, had become almost impossible to get. People didn't mind
the spare-tire law too much, though. They were too busy dealing with
quotas for gasoline, meat, butter, shoes, and other essentials. |
1937 Italy withdraws from League of Nations -- L’Italie
se retire de la SDN. C'est la conséquence des sanctions prises par l'organisation
internationale contre l'Etat fasciste, suite à l'invasion de l'Ethiopie.
Mussolini, par cette décision, fait un pas de plus vers Hitler, dans une
alliance qui lui sera fatale.
1936 King Edward VIII of England
abdicates for woman he loves, divorcée Wallis
Warfield Simpson of the US..
Edward
VIII (1894-1972) was the eldest son of George V, who died on January
20, 1936, a date, of course, which upon Edward became king, automatically.
By then, however, Edward was notoriously involved with a married woman,
Wallis Warfield, whom he had known since 1931. He wanted to marry
her and make her his queen. He sought the approval of his family,
the Church of England, and the political establishment. Spurred on
by sensational newspaper headlines the authorities dug in and a swirl
of controversy developed. On December 10, 1936, Edward submitted his
abdication. The next day he addressed a worldwide audience via radio.
- "At long last I am able to say a few words of my own. I have
never wanted to withhold anything, but until now it has not been
constitutionally possible for me to speak.
A few hours ago I discharged my last duty as King and Emperor,
and now that I have been succeeded by my brother, the Duke of
York, my first words must be to declare my allegiance to him.
This I do with all my heart.
You all know the reasons which have impelled me to renounce
the throne. But I want you to understand that in making up my
mind I did not forget the country or the empire, which, as Prince
of Wales and lately as King, I have for twenty-five years tried
to serve.
But you must believe me when I tell you that I have found
it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and
to discharge my duties as King as I would wish to do without
the help and support of the woman I love.
And I want you to know that the decision I have made has been
mine and mine alone. This was a thing I had to judge entirely
for myself. The other person most nearly concerned has tried
up to the last to persuade me to take a different course.
I have made this, the most serious decision of my life, only
upon the single thought of what would, in the end, be best for
all.
This decision has been made less difficult to me by the sure
knowledge that my brother, with his long training in the public
affairs of this country and with his fine qualities, will be
able to take my place forthwith without interruption or injury
to the life and progress of the empire. And he has one matchless
blessing, enjoyed by so many of you, and not bestowed on me
-- a happy home with his wife and children.
During these hard days I have been comforted by her majesty
my mother and by my family. The ministers of the crown, and
in particular, Mr. Baldwin, the Prime Minister, have always
treated me with full consideration. There has never been any
constitutional difference between me and them, and between me
and Parliament. Bred in the constitutional tradition by my father,
I should never have allowed any such issue to arise.
Ever since I was Prince of Wales, and later on when I occupied
the throne, I have been treated with the greatest kindness by
all classes of the people wherever I have lived or journeyed
throughout the empire. For that I am very grateful.
I now quit altogether public affairs and I lay down my burden.
It may be some time before I return to my native land, but I
shall always follow the fortunes of the British race and empire
with profound interest, and if at any time in the future I can
be found of service to his majesty in a private station, I shall
not fail.
And now, we all have a new King. I wish him and you, his people,
happiness and prosperity with all my heart. God bless you all!
God save the King!"
Edward's younger brother took the throne as George the VI. He gave
Edward the title, Duke of Windsor; and the ostracized pair, Edward
and Wallis, then moved to Paris. They were married in France on June
3, 1937. During World War II, Edward served as governor of the Bahamas.
He died in Paris on May 28, 1972. His wife died there, April 24, 1986.
On 3 June 1937, in France, the duke of Windsor--formerly King Edward
VIII of Great Britain and Northern Ireland--marries Wallis Warfield,
the American divorcée for whom he abdicated the British throne in
December 1936. Edward, born in 1896, was the eldest son of King George
V, who became the British sovereign in 1910. He served as a staff
officer during World War I and in the 1920s made extensive goodwill
trips abroad as Prince of Wales, a title bestowed on male heirs to
the British throne. During the Depression, he helped organize work
programs for the nation's unemployed and was highly regarded by the
public in the years leading up to his father's death. Edward, still
unmarried as he approached his 40th birthday, socialized with the
fashionable London society of the day and frequently entertained at
Fort Belvedere, his country home. By 1934, he had fallen deeply in
love with American socialite Wallis Warfield Simpson, who was married
to Ernest Simpson, an English-American businessman who lived with
Mrs. Simpson near London. Wallis, who was born in Pennsylvania in
1896 and brought up in Maryland, had previously married and divorced
a US Navy pilot. The royal family disapproved of Edward's married
mistress, but by 1936 the prince was intent on marrying Mrs. Simpson.
Before he could discuss this intention with his father, George V died
on January 20, 1936, and Edward was proclaimed king. The new king
proved popular with his subjects, and his coronation was scheduled
for May 1937. His affair with Mrs. Simpson was reported in American
and continental European newspapers, but due to a gentlemen's agreement
between the British press and the government, the affair was kept
out of British newspapers. On October 27, 1936, Mrs. Simpson obtained
a preliminary decree of divorce, presumably with the intent of marrying
the king, precipitating a major scandal. To the Church of England
and most British politicians, an American woman twice divorced was
unacceptable as a prospective British queen. Winston Churchill, then
a Conservative backbencher, was the only notable politician to support
Edward. Despite the seemingly united front against him, Edward could
not be dissuaded. He proposed a morganatic marriage, in which Wallis
would be granted no rights of rank or property, but Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin rejected this as impractical on December 2. The next
day, the scandal broke on the front pages of British newspapers and
was discussed openly in Parliament. With no resolution possible, the
king renounced the throne on December 10. The next day, Parliament
approved the abdication instrument, and Edward VIII's 325-day reign
came to an end. That evening, the former king gave a radio broadcast
in which he explained: "I have found it impossible to carry on the
heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge the duties of King,
as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I
love. “ On December 12, his younger brother, the duke of York,
was proclaimed King George VI. That day, the new king made his older
brother the duke of Windsor. By that time, Edward had already left
for Austria, where he lived with friends apart from Mrs. Simpson as
her divorce proceedings progressed. Her divorce became final in May
1937, and she had her name legally changed back to Wallis Warfield.
On June 3, 1937, the duke of Windsor and Wallis Warfield married at
the Château de Candé in France's Loire Valley. A Church of England
clergyman conducted the service, which was witnessed by only about
16 guests. Wallis was now the duchess of Windsor, but King George,
under pressure from his ministers, denied her the title of "royal
highness" enjoyed by her husband. For the next two years, the duke
and duchess lived primarily in France but visited other European countries,
including Germany, where the duke was honored by Nazi officials in
October 1937 and met with Adolf Hitler. After the outbreak of World
War II, the duke accepted a position as liaison officer with the French.
In June 1940, France fell to the Nazis, and Edward and Wallis went
to Spain. During this period, the Nazis concocted a scheme to kidnap
Edward with the intention of returning him to the British throne as
a puppet king. George VI, like his prime minister, Winston Churchill,
was adamantly opposed to any peace with Nazi Germany. Unaware of the
Nazi kidnapping plot but conscious of Edward's pre-war Nazi sympathies,
Churchill hastily offered Edward the governorship of the Bahamas in
the West Indies. The duke and duchess set sail from Lisbon on August
1, 1940, narrowly escaping a Nazi SS team sent to seize them. In 1945,
the duke resigned his post, and the couple moved back to France. They
lived mainly in Paris, and Edward made a few visits to England, such
as to attend the funerals of King George VI in 1952 and his mother,
Queen Mary, in 1953. It was not until 1967 that the duke and duchess
were invited by the royal family to attend an official public ceremony,
the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to Queen Mary. Edward died in
Paris in 1972 but was buried at Frogmore, on the grounds of Windsor
Castle. In 1986, Wallis died and was buried at his side. |
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Deaths which occurred on a December 11:
