1931

March 1 - The Cotton Carnival is first celebrated in Memphis, Tennessee, showing what life was like in the Old South.

March 3  - "The Star Spangled Banner" is officially declared the national anthem of the U.S.

March 18 - The first electric shavers go on sale in the U.S..

April 14 - The first Pan American Day is observed in the U.S.

May 1 - The Empire State Building is completed and dedicated.

May 22 - The first sale of canned rattlesnake meat occurs in Arcadia, Florida.

June 23 - Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take the first single plane, around-the-world flight.

July 27 - A swarm of grasshoppers descends over Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, destroying thousands of acres of crops.

December 10 - The first U.S. woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is Jane Addams of Chicago, Illinois.