1931
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1931 was the 60th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.
Events
- March 9: "Alabama" with words by Julia Tutwiler and music by Edna Gockel Gussen was adopted as the official state song.
- March: Leon Medlock and two other guardsmen were assigned to protect the suspects in the "Scottsboro Boys" prosecution.
- March: Homewood bought 16 acres of land along Shades Creek for a future public park.
- Spring: Miss Fancy, the elephant at Avondale Park Zoo, broke her chains and barreled through trees up Red Mountain until she was caught on Overlook Road.
- May 31: The $1 million Birmingham Airport opened with day-long ceremonies and an air show.
- December 29: The 1931 Overton No. 1 Mine explosion resulted in five deaths.
- Donald Beatty led a J. P. Morgan-financed scientific expedition into the interior of the Amazon.
- The Homewood City Council established racial zoning in Rosedale.
- Robert Jemison, Jr donated a pair of swans to Avondale Park.
- The Southern Club closed.
- Thirty-six paintings by Birmingham artist Carrie Hill were exhibited at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.
- Harry M. and Nettie Buten of Merion, Pennsylvania began collecting Wedgwood.
- Robert Van de Graaff demonstrated his high-voltage generator for the American Insitute of Physics in Schenectady, New York.
Business
- Houston Brice, Sr founded the Brice Building Company.
- Torme's Associated Foods opened.
- The Liberty National Life Insurance Company purchased the Liberty National Building.
- WAPI-AM applied to the FRC for permission to boost its transmission to 50 Kilowatts.
- WBRC-AM increased its power to 5 kilowatts and moved to a "Crystal Studio" on the mezzanine of the Temple Theater.
- Joe Giattina and his Bama Cardinals ended a six-year run on Sunday afternoons on WBRC-AM.
- The Lyric Theatre closed.
- The Birmingham, Selma & Mobile Railroad shut down.
- Birmingham National Air Carnival
- George Brownell, Jr became president of Brownell Travel.
- The Birmingham Vending Company was incorporated.
- Douglas McConnell and Leslie F. McConnell founded the McConnell Sales and Engineering Corporation.
- The Sunnyland Refining Company began producing oleomargarine.
- East Lake Cemetery was sold.
- Tallulah Bankhead signed with Paramount Pictures.
- Julian Aland opened the Emily Shop at Five Points South.
Government
- January 19: Benjamin M. Miller succeeded Bibb Graves as Governor of Alabama.
- January 19: Hugh Merrill succeeded William C. Davis as Lieutenant Governor of Alabama.
- January 19: James Hawkins succeeded W. O. Downs as Jefferson County Sheriff.
- March 4: John H. Bankhead, II began serving in the U.S. Senate.
- Cooper Green was elected to the Alabama State House of Representatives.
- Charles Kennamer was appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Religion
- A group of members left First Presbyterian Church and founded the Congregational Community Church.
- Louis Pizitz succeeded Harry Berlin as president of Temple Beth-El.
- John C. Fletcher became pastor of St John's Episcopal Church for the Deaf.
- Milton Grafman was ordained as a rabbi.
- William Lantrip succeeded L. F. Stansel as pastor of Avondale Methodist Church.
- Paul Hardin was ordained an Elder in the Methodist Church.
Education
- E. E. Sechriest succeeded E. E. Smith was principal of Ensley High School.
- Brooks Dickens succeeded Mack Burley as president of Miles College.
Sports
- January 1: Coach Wallace Wade's 1930 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Washington State Cougars 24-0 in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, finishing the year with a 10-0 record and claiming a national championship.
- May 10: Art Weist hit a Birmingham Barons record three home runs in a game against Nashville. He also set records for consecutive home runs (3) and home runs in an inning (2).
- John Cortazzo set a Birmingham Barons record for being hit by pitches 15 times during the 1931 season.
- Wallace Wade left Alabama to become head coach of the Duke Blue Devils. Frank W. Thomas succeeded him as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team.
- August 6: Pitcher Satchel Paige made his debut with the Crawford Colored Giants.
- August 15: Pitcher Ivy Andrews made his debut with the New York Yankees.
- The 1931 Birmingham Barons, managed by Clyde Milan, won the Southern Association pennant.
- September 25: The 1931 Birmingham Barons beat Texas League champion Houston Buffaloes in the "Dixie Series" 4 games to 3.
- The Dunbar High School Blue Devils began their football program under coach Mule Knox.
- The Seattle Indians traded infielder Stuffy Stewart to the Knoxville Smokies.
- Langston University joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
- Pitcher Bob Adams was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent.
Individuals
- Douglas Arant began serving on the Alabama State Bar's Board of Commissioners.
- A. N. Barrentine succeeded S. D. Kilgore as Walker County Sheriff
- Hugo and Josephine Black moved in with her parents in the Sterling Foster residence.
- Scholar Harvie Branscomb began a two-year Guggenheim Fellowship.
- Bear Bryant accepted a scholarship offer from Alabama Crimson Tide football assistant coach Hank Crisp.
- Alice Chalifoux became principal harpist with the Cleveland, Ohio Orchestra.
- E. T. Leech became editor of The Pittsburgh Post
- Joseph Loveman briefly retired from Loveman, Joseph & Loeb.
- Sidney van Sheck took a job at Bechtel-McCone.
- Helen Walpole debuted on Broadway.
Births
- January 6: Don Morrison, architect
- March 7: Sonny Penhale, Mayor of Helena.
- March 20: Henry Aizenman, Holocaust survivor
- March 27: Ken Forbes, Jr, Presbyterian minister and head shop owner
- April 4: John Porter, pastor of 6th Avenue Baptist Church
- May 6: Willie Mays, Hall of Fame outfielder
- May 10: Robert Vance, federal judge
- May 25: Bill Holdefer, surgeon
- May 29: John Baumgartner, baseball player
- November 6: Gil Hill, actor and Detroit City Council president
- November 15: Sonny Smith, Auburn Tigers basketball coach
- Bobby Allgood
- Joel Bearden, dairy farmer and Shelby County Commissioner
- Ira De Ment, District Court judge
- Camille Desmarais, Episcopal priest
- Gage Bush Englund, ballerina and civic leader
- Glenn House, artist and papermaker
- Bob Moody, interior designer and artist
- Homer Smith, Alabama Crimson Tide football coach
- Richard Vigneulle, banker and pastor
Marriages
Graduations
- Educator Mildred Brown graduated from Miles Memorial Teachers College at age 16.
- Educator Delos Culp graduated as valedictorian of Isabella High School in Maplesville.
- Pathologist Joseph Cunningham completed a bachelor of arts at the Catholic University of America.
- Restaurateur John Holcomb, Jr graduated from Phillips High School.
- Librarian William Hoole completed his master's in English at Wofford College.
- Sporting goods dealer Fred Sington completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Alabama.
Deaths
- February 11: William Weir, former Birmingham Chief of Police
- May 23: W. W. Rose, architect and former mayor of Kansas City, Kansas
- August 4: Jennie Wood and Augusta Williams died after being shot during an outing on Leeds Highway.
- November 27: Sumter Bethea, real estate broker
- December 14: William Jelks, former Governor of Alabama
- December 29: George Bodeker, former Birmingham Police and founder of Bodeker's National Detective Agency.
- December 29: 5 miners were killed in the 1931 Overton No. 1 Mine explosion.
- Thomas Walter III, architect
- There were 148 homicides reported in the city during the year. See List of Birmingham homicides in 1931.
Works
- Roderick MacKenzie completed the fresco murals in the rotunda of the Alabama State Capitol.
Buildings
- Avondale United Methodist Church, new sanctuary
- Avondale Villa at Avondale Park
- Birmingham Municipal Airport
- Dr Pepper Building
- Hill Elementary School, two-room annex
- Jefferson County Courthouse at Woodrow Wilson Park
- Jefferson County Home
- McAdory High School additions
- Medical Arts Building at Five Points South, developed by the Kamram Grotto
- Pickwick Club at Five Points South, developed by the Kamram Grotto
- Railroad Reservation grade separation
- Stockham Woman's Building at Birmingham-Southern College
- Willis Rushton residence
Music
- Gene Autry recorded "Birmingham Daddy"
Context
1931 was
1931 saw the births of
Literature of 1931
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