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President Harding dies suddenly. He is succeeded by his vice president, Calvin Coolidge.
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Aviator Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight ever, flying thirty-four hours from New York to Paris.
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Stock market crash precipitates the Great Depression. The crisis began on October 24 and on October 29 the market experienced the greatest crash in its history.
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With the Great Depression casting a shadow over the 1932 election, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president over incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover.
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Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, repealing Prohibition.
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President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, which established benefits for the elderly, the blind, the handicapped, dependent women and children, and the unemployed.
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He is the first and only president elected to a third term.
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Japanese planes launched a surprise attack against the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Naval forces were severely diminished by the unexpected attack and more than 2,300 Americans were killed.
