70 years ago…

was a very significant year. It was the year of the World’s Fair in New York City.
Lou Gehrig retired from baseball with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known since then as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Nuclear fission was first accomplished.
Hewlett Packard was formed.
The first Minneapolis Aquatennial occured.
Gandhi began his famous fast.

Hitler invaded Poland, beginning World War II in Europe. The St. Louis, a ship carrying a cargo of 907 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida after already having been turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, many of its passengers later die in Nazi death camps during the Holocaust.

Siam became Thailand.
La Guardia airport opened in New York City.
CBS television began transmitting.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown, NY

A lot of well-known people were born in 1939:
Bobby Hull, Sal Mineo, Phil Everly, Ray Stevens, Mike Farrell, Paula Prentiss, Neil Sedaka, Marvin Gaye, Francis Ford Coppola, David Frost, Lee Majors, Judy Collins, Dixie Carter, Al Unser, Jackie Stewart, Carl Yastrzemski, Frankie Avalon, Melinda Dillon, Lee Harvey Oswald, Ralph Lauren, John Cleese, Grace Slick, Russell Means, Yaphet Kotto, Tina Turner, John Amos… oh… and me.

1939 is considered THE big year for movies… the list is rather astonishing:
Gone with the Wind
Wizard of Oz
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Four Feathers
Wuthering Heights
Bachelor Mother
Destry Rides Again
Goodbye
Gunga Din
Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Women
Beau Geste
The Young Mr. Lincoln
Stagecoach
Of Mice and Men
Only Angels Have Wings
Ninotchka
Juarez
Love Affair
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Another Thin Man
Babes in Arms
Drums Along the Mohawk
Each Dawn I Die
Golden Boy
Intermezzo
Jessie James
The Little Princess
Love Affair

Aside from all those famous movies (now classics)…
Batman and Captain Marvel (SHAZAM) were created. A hell of a year!