On 14 April 1935, a monstrous wall of dust rolled across the southern Great Plains of the United States, turning day to night in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and neighbouring states. Years of drought combined with ploughing of the prairie grass had left bare soil to blow away. Hundreds of thousands of people abandoned their farms during the 1930s, many migrating to California, as described in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath. The disaster led Franklin Roosevelt's government to set up the Soil Conservation Service and to promote methods such as contour ploughing and shelterbelts.
Before and after
- 16 January 1935Establishment of Rapa Nui National Park
- 31 January 1935Birth of Kenzaburō Ōe
- 26 February 1935Watson-Watt demonstrates radar at Daventry
- 1 April 1935Founding of Reserve Bank of India
- 14 April 1935Black Sunday and the Dust Bowl
- 14 May 1935Founding of Griffith Observatory
- 20 May 1935Birth of José Mujica
- 31 May 1935Founding of 20th Century Studios
- 6 July 1935Birth of Tenzin Gyatso
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The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.