Born in 1933

What things cost in 1933

1933 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED. Average retail prices are only published from 1976 on; 1933 has the CPI alone.

Who was in charge in 1933

United States

Herbert Hoover, then Franklin D. Roosevelt (President)

United Kingdom

George V (King); Ramsay MacDonald (Prime minister)

Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin (General Secretary); Mikhail Kalinin (Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Congress of Soviets); Vyacheslav Molotov (Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars)

Republic of China (1916–1949)

Wang Jingwei (Premier)

French Third Republic

Albert François Lebrun (President); Joseph Paul-Boncour, then Édouard Daladier, then Albert Sarraut, then Camille Chautemps (President of the Council of ministers)

Weimar Republic of Germany

Paul von Hindenburg (President); Kurt von Schleicher (Chancellor)

Nazi Germany

Paul von Hindenburg (President); Adolf Hitler (Chancellor)

Empire of Japan

Hirohito (Emperor); Saitō Makoto (Prime minister)

From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1901–1950) (revision 1377869146), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1933 →

Famous people born in 1933

• March 15 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 (died 2020) source
• June 22 – Dianne Feinstein, American politician (died 2023) source
• January 1 – Joe Orton, English playwright (died 1967) source
• February 18 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-born artist and musician, widow of John Lennon source
• 21 March – Michael Heseltine, British politician and businessman. source
• May 3 – James Brown, African-American soul musician (died 2006) source
• November 30 – Sam Gilliam, American artist (died 2022). source
• March 12 – Jesús Gil, Spanish right-wing politician, construction businessman and football team owner (died 2004) source
• April 29 – Willie Nelson, American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, producer, author, poet and activist source
• September 29 – Samora Machel, President of Mozambique (died 1986) source
• January 6 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian cosmonaut (died 2003) source
• 9 March – Reinhard Lettmann, bishop of the Roman Catholic Church (died 2013) source
• 15 April - Boris Strugatsky, writer (died 2012) source
• June 9 – Don Young, American politician (died 2022) source
• 14 March – Manoel Carlos, novelist source

What happened in 1933

• January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wishes of U.S. President Herbert Hoover. source
• January 1-May 31 – Defense of the Great Wall source
• 2 May – First modern "sighting" of the Loch Ness Monster. source
• 28 January – The first in a series of Grivița Workshops strikes leads to confrontations between workers and government soldiers. source
• January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. source
• February 25 – Arminda de Jesus is burned for witchcraft in Soalhães, Portugal. source
• 17 January – Alexandru Vaida-Voevod introduces the third sacrificial curve, reducing wages by 10 to 12.5 percent, which leads to widespread demonstrations. source
• 1 January – Establishment of the cooperative bus company Egged through a merger of four smaller bus cooperatives. source