What Happened In 1939?
39 Trivia Questions and Answers for 1939 History
1. What was the highest-grossing film of 1939?
Gone With The Wind
2. What museum and Hall of Fame opened in 1939?
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
3. In 1939, what was the average life expectancy in the United States?
Men – 62.1 years, Women – 65.4 years.
4. Created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, what costumed adventurer made his first appearance in the spring of 1939?
Batman
5. Where did Batman make his first appearance?
Detective Comics #27 (comic book)
6. Starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, what was the third Frankenstein film?
Son of Frankenstein
7. What was the Biggest Number One Song of 1939?
Deep Purple by Larry Clinton
8. How much did a Loaf of Bread cost in 1939?
8 cents
9. 1939 Catchphrase: Who said “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn”?
Rhett Butler on Gone with the Wind
10. Directed by Frank Capra, this political comedy/drama featured Jimmy Stwart as Jefferson Smith, and everyman selected to serve as a United States senator…
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
11. Based on a book written in 1900, this 1939 film has become the most-watched film in movie history…
The Wizard of Oz
12. Who won the Stanley Cup in 1939?
In 1939, The Boston Bruins won over the Toronto Maple Leafs (4 games to 1)
13. How many people lived in the United States in 1939?
The population was an estimated 130,879,718 people.
14. Anticipating possible war with Germany, what famous museum packed up and transported its art treasures to secret locations for safekeeping?
The Louvre, in Paris France
15. This 1939 John Ford film gave John Wayne his breakout role…
Stagecoach
16. This film series went on two 14 films, all starring Basil Rathbone as the title character…
(The Adventures of) Sherlock Holmes
17. This comic book featured the first appearances of the characters Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch. What was it?
Marvel Comics #1. (cover date October 1939)
18. Who was President of the United States in 1939?
Franklin D. Roosevelt (March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945)
19. What celebrity was NOT born in April 1939: Ali McGraw, Marvin Gaye, Tammy Wynette, Francis Ford Coppola or Paul Sorvino?
Tammy Wynette (born May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998)
20. What was the Bestselling Fiction Book in 1939?
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
21. On June 6, 1939, Williamsport, Pennsylvania featured the debut of what activity for children?
Little League Baseball
22. On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast on station W2XBS, between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers. What city was it broadcasted from?
New York (Ebbets Field). W2XBS later became WNBC-TV.
23. Who won the 1939 World Series?
In 1939, The New York Yankees won, beating the Cincinnati Reds (4 games to 0)
24. What popular woman’s elastic apparel went on sale, becoming an instant affordable hit?
Nylon stockings
25. Who were the MGM cartoon studio’s most successful (with 163 cartoon shorts) animated characters?
Tom and Jerry
26. What American event featured the motto “The World of Tomorrow”?
The 1939-40 New York World’s Fair
27. Featuring attendees like Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Jack Williamson and Forrest J. Ackerman, what first-time event was held in conjunction with New York’s World’s Fair?
The First World Science Fiction Convention
28. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 1939?
$0.19 per gallon
29. On July 2, 1939, the fourth presidential head was dedicated at Mount Rushmore. Which president was it?
Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt
30. What was the Glen Miller Band’s biggest number one hit?
In The Mood (12 weeks at number one)
31. What was the title of Billie Holiday’s song protesting the lynchings of Black Americans?
Strange Fruit
32. Adjusting for inflation, what is the biggest-grossing film of all time?
Gone With the Wind
33. In March of 1939, Students at Harvard University introduced what ingestion fad?
Swallowing goldfish
34. After missing for 18 months, what famous aviator was officially declared dead?
Amelia Earhart
35. This popular Hollywood gossip columnist, with millions of readers, also had a radio show than ran on alternatively on CBS, NBC and ABC through 1951…
Hedda Hopper
36. Who were the teams that competed during the first NFL televised game?
The Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 23-14, at Ebbets Field.
37. Who was the Time Magazine Man of the Year in 1939?
Joseph Stalin
38. Focusing on the Joad family, what John Steinbeck Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl, was released?
The Grapes of Wrath
39. On May 2, 1939, what baseball great retired with a (then) record 2,130 games-played streak?
Lou Gehrig
Trivia Team Bonus Questions:
1. What was New York Yankee player Lou Gehrig’s nickname?
The Iron Horse
2. What Horse won the Kentucky Derby in 1939?
Johnstown
3. Who was the MGM cartoon studio’s first successful (with 26 cartoon shorts) animated character?
Barney Bear
4. Al Capone was transferred out of San Fransico’s Alcatraz Federal Prison to what Los Angeles Federal Prison?
Terminal Island Federal Prison
5. Who was the Pope in 1939?
Pope Pius XI, February 6, 1922 – February 10, 1939, and Pope Pius XII, March 2, 1939 – October 9, 1958
6. Featured in the film Love Affair, what was Glen Miller’s first number one hit?
Wishing (Will Make It So)
7. Who were the 1939 NFL Champions?
Green Bay Packers
8. What was Adolf Hitler’s ‘Plan Z’?
His plan to build a German Navy that could overpower the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy within a few years.
9. Who was the American Vice-President in 1939?
John Garner (March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941)
10. What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also known as?
ALS, or motor neurone disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig’s disease
