Timeline March 1939

Events in March 1939 11

• 1874 – 1939 Howard Carter (1874-1939) Died 2 March 1939, aged 64 Carter was a British archaeologist and Egyptologist. In 1922 he discovered the almost intact tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. He spent a decade recording its contents.
• 1939 1939 World Snooker Championship Joe Davis Title 13 Winner: Joe Davis; Runner-up: Sidney Smith. Score: 43–30.
• 1939 Election of Pope Pius XII Eugenio Pacelli becomes pope The conclave elected Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the Vatican Secretary of State, on his 63rd birthday. He took the name Pius XII. His record during the Holocaust remains a matter of debate.
• 1939 Stagecoach released John Ford's Western makes John Wayne a star John Ford's Stagecoach was the first of his Westerns filmed in Monument Valley. It turned John Wayne into a leading man. Critics credit it with making the Western a serious film genre.
• 1939 German occupation of Czechoslovakia Hitler takes the rest of the Czech lands German troops occupied Prague on 15 March, breaking the Munich Agreement. On 16 March Hitler proclaimed the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and Slovakia became a German client state. Britain and France gave up on appeasement as a result.
• 1939 Battle of Nanchang Japan captures the capital of Jiangxi Japanese forces attacked Nanchang in March and took the city within days. A Chinese counteroffensive in April failed to retake it. Holding Nanchang secured Japan's supply lines around Wuhan.
• 1939 – 2024 Brian Mulroney (1939-2024) Died 29 February 2024, aged 84 Canadian politician who was prime minister from 1984 to 1993 and negotiated the free trade agreement with the United States.
• 1939 Germany annexes the Memel Territory Lithuania cedes Klaipėda under German pressure Lithuania received a German ultimatum and handed over the Memel Territory. Hitler visited the port on 23 March. This was the last territory Germany gained before the war without fighting.
• 1939 First NCAA basketball championship Oregon wins the inaugural tournament Oregon beat Ohio State 46–33 in Evanston, Illinois, to win the first NCAA men's basketball tournament. The tournament had eight teams. It later grew into March Madness.
• 1939 Batman first appears Detective Comics #27 introduces the Bat-Man Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman, who first appeared in Detective Comics #27. The issue was cover-dated May 1939. The character became one of the most recognised fictional figures in the world.
• 1939 British guarantee to Poland Chamberlain pledges to defend Polish independence Neville Chamberlain told the House of Commons that Britain and France would support Poland if its independence were threatened. The guarantee followed the German occupation of Prague. It committed Britain to go to war when Germany invaded Poland.