1938

Events

Dated Events

• Real World: February 12. German troops enter Austria.

• Real World: March 3. In Saudi Arabia, oil is discovered.

• Real World: March 12. Germany occupies and annexes Austria- this becomes known as the Anschluss.

• DC (Pre-Crisis Earth-2), DC (Generations): June. Superman makes his debut. (Action Comics #1, Superman & Batman: Generations II (back cover))

• Real World: June 25. Dr. Douglas Hyde becomes the first president of Ireland.

• Real World: June 28. A meteorite strikes Earth near Chicora, Pennsylvania.

• Real World: July 3. Veterans from both sides of the American Civil War meet for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

• Real World: September 21. Long Island, New York, is struck by a powerful hurricane that kills 600 people.

• Real World: September 29. British, French and Italian leaders agree to Germany's demands of ownership over the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. Returning to England after signing the so-called Munich Agreement, U.K. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declares "peace in our time."

• Real World: October 1. German troops enter Sudetenland.

• Watchmen: October 13 Hooded Justice stops a supermarket robbery, and inspires Hollis Mason to become the first Nite Owl. Nite Owl fights at Gotham Opera House. (Watchmen; Watchmen: The Film Companion)

• Real World: November 9. Nazi soldiers and sympathizers attack and wreck Jewish businesses in Germany, in what becomes known as Kristallnacht.

• Real World: December 23. A coelacanth is caught by fishermen off the coast of South Africa, near the Chalumma River. The fish was previously believed to be extinct.

Undated Events

• Amalgam: A "space rocket" lands with an alien corpse and a chunk of a mysterious element wedged in its hull. The craft is claimed and studied by the U.S. Army. (Super-Soldier #1)

• DC (Elseworlds): Superman battles an armada of invading Martians. (Superman: War of the Worlds)

• Doctor Who, Doctor Who (Expanded Universe): Adolf Hitler acquires the Validium Arrow, and the Nemesis passes over Earth again, foreshadowing Germany's annexation of Austria. ("Silver Nemesis")

• Gargoyles, Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles: Jade, Turquesa and Yama are born. (Ask Greg)

• Indiana Jones: Indiana Jones gets the Cross of Coronado back from the clutches of Panama Hat. He then comes into conflict with the Nazis, who abduct his father in their efforts to find the Holy Grail. (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

New Fictional Works

Notable Books

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis.

Notable Films

The Adventures of Robin Hood, A Christmas Carol, Dick Tracy Returns (serial), The Dybbuk, J'Accuse, The Lone Ranger (serial), Red Barry (serial), The Saint in New York, Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror, Tarzan and the Green Goddess, Tarzan's Revenge.

Notable Radio Programs

Broadcast of Orson Welles' adaptation of The War of the Worlds.

Notable Comic Books

Detective Comics #20 (first Crimson Avenger), Action Comics #1 (first Superman).

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