The world in 1938, a Brit’s last Wimbledon final

The last time a British man made it to the final of Wimbledon, the war _ World War II _ hadn’t yet begun. It was 1938 when Bunny Austin lost the championship in straight sets to Don Budge. And around the world:

_ Bands of Nazis began roaming the streets of Germany and Austria, looting and burning synagogues, Jewish-owned stores and houses in a pogrom that became known as “Kristallnacht,” or “Night of the Broken Glass.”

_ The Queen Elizabeth ocean liner was christened at Clydebank, Scotland, by the British queen consort for whom the ship was named.

_ Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling at New York's Yankee Stadium.

_ Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” opened on Broadway.

_ British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain arrived in London after concluding the Munich agreement allowing Nazi Germany’s annexation of the Sudetenland. His phrase “peace in our time” becomes synonymous with “appeasement.” War breaks out one year later

_ Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

_ The Oscar for best picture went to “The Life of Emile Zola,” directed by William Dieterle.

_ Du Pont announced a name for its new synthetic yarn: “nylon.”

_ Pilot Douglas “Wrong-Way” Corrigan arrived in Ireland after leaving New York with the announced intention of flying to California.

_ A hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage and claiming some 700 lives.

_ Orson Welles’s radio dramatization of H. G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” airs.

_ Seabiscuit beat War Admiral in match race of the century at Pimlico.

_ Time Magazine’s Man of the Year was Adolf Hitler.

On Sunday, Andy Murray will try to beat Roger Federer in the Wimbledon men’s final and become a champion: His countryman Fred Perry was the last British man to win Wimbledon. In 1936.

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