Timeline May 1932

Events in May 1932 10

• 1852 – 1932 Lady Gregory (1852-1932) Died 22 May 1932, aged 80 The Irish dramatist and folklorist co-founded the Abbey Theatre with W. B. Yeats.
• 1857 – 1932 Paul Doumer (1857-1932) Died 7 May 1932, aged 75 The President of France was shot in Paris by the Russian émigré Paul Gorguloff and died the next day. He had previously served as Governor-General of French Indochina.
• 1932 Kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby Aviator's infant son abducted from the family home Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of Charles Lindbergh, was taken from the family home in Hopewell, New Jersey. His body was found near the house on 12 May. The case led Congress to make kidnapping across state lines a federal crime.
• 1932 Bonus Army expelled from Washington Troops clear camps of protesting veterans Thousands of First World War veterans camped in Washington to demand early payment of their service bonuses. On 28 July, army troops under Douglas MacArthur drove them out and burned their camps. The episode badly damaged Herbert Hoover's reputation.
• 1932 May 15 Incident Japanese Prime Minister Inukai assassinated Young Japanese naval officers assassinated Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi in Tokyo during an attempted coup. His death ended party government in pre-war Japan and strengthened the military's hold on politics.
• 1932 Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic First woman to fly the Atlantic alone Amelia Earhart took off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, and landed in a pasture near Derry, Northern Ireland, about 15 hours later. She was the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic.
• 1932 Engelbert Dollfuss becomes Chancellor of Austria Christian Social leader takes office Engelbert Dollfuss became Chancellor of Austria with a majority of one seat. He later suspended parliament and set up an authoritarian corporate state.
• 1932 Afsluitdijk completed Dam closes off the Zuiderzee The last gap in the Afsluitdijk was closed, sealing the Zuiderzee off from the North Sea and turning it into the freshwater IJsselmeer. The dam was central to Dutch land reclamation and flood defence.
• 1932 The Afsluitdijk Taming the Zuiderzee The 32-km Afsluitdijk is completed, closing off the Zuiderzee to create the freshwater IJsselmeer and vast new polders — a landmark of Dutch hydraulic engineering.
• 1932 – 2026 Paul R. Ehrlich (1932-2026) Died 13 March 2026, aged 93 American biologist whose warnings about population growth shaped environmental debate for decades. He shared the Crafoord Prize in 1990.