The following events occurred in January 1934:
January 1, 1934 (Monday) A flood in Montrose, California killed at least 45 people. The International Telecommunication Union was established. The National Council for Civil Liberties was established in the UK by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith. The Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring went into effect in Nazi Germany. Fiorello H. La Guardia took office as Mayor of New York City. In New Zealand, radio station 3YL Christchurch was launched. Born: George D. Behrakis, philanthropist, in Lowell, Massachusetts; Alan Berg, American attorney and talk show host, in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1984) Died: Winston and Weston Doty, 20, twin child actors (drowned in Montrose flood)
January 2, 1934 (Tuesday) The Warka Vase was found at Uruk, as a collection of fragments, by German Assyriologists in their sixth excavation season. Cuban President Ramón Grau signed a decree setting April 22 as the date for the election of a constitutional assembly. Grau also said that he would not be continuing in the presidency beyond May 20.
January 3, 1934 (Wednesday) U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the 1934 State of the Union Address, the first time the address had been given in January. In the address he outlined the present state of the New Deal and his visions for its future. An explosion at a mine in Osek, Czechoslovakia, resulted in the collapse of a tower, starting a fire and burying 144 people underground. Died: Victor Spencer, 1st Viscount Churchill, 69, British peer and courtier
January 4, 1934 (Thursday) The Henschel Hs 121 aircraft made its maiden flight. A new station building was opened at Leigh-on-Sea railway station, UK. A bomb was thrown at the Yugoslavian consulate in Klagenfurt, Austria, damaging the building and blowing out windows of nearby buildings but not causing any injuries. Officials suspected Austrian Nazis were to blame due to recent articles in a government newspaper alleging that the Nazis promised to give Carinthia to Yugoslavia in the event of a German annexation of Austria. Born: Rudolf Schuster, President of Slovakia 1999–2004, in Košice
January 5, 1934 (Friday) A huge fire broke out at Fenway Park in Boston, doing $220,000 in damage. The British cargo ship Paris ran aground in the Tsugaru Strait in Japan near Omasake. The drama film Eight Girls in a Boat was released. Born: Eddy Pieters Graafland, Dutch footballer; in Amsterdam (d. 2020) Phil Ramone, recording engineer, record producer and musician, in South Africa (d. 2013)
January 6, 1934 (Saturday) Reich Bishop of Germany Ludwig Müller issued a sweeping decree giving himself the power to dismiss pastors and church officials who opposed the government. The Norwegian cargo ship SS Torlak sprung a leak and was abandoned in the Norwegian Sea. Torlak}}). All crew were rescued by the Queen's Cross, which had been towing the ship to the United Kingdom for scrapping. Torlak was towed into Bodø, Nordland by another Norwegian ship SS Hadsel. where she was beached. Died: Herbert Chapman, 55, English footballer and manager
January 7, 1934 (Sunday) Pastors in hundreds of German churches disclaimed allegiance to Bishop Müller. A statement from Martin Niemöller on behalf of the opposition said that Müller's "contradictory attitude has made it impossible to retain confidence in him ... When bishops err we must not follow ... We must obey God before man." The Flash Gordon comic strip was first published, in the United States. The Curtiss XF13C-1, prototype of the monoplane version of the Curtiss XF13C, made its first flight. Born: Jean Corbeil, politician, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (d. 2002); Charles Jenkins Sr., athlete, in New York City; Joseph Naso, serial killer, in Rochester, New York; Tassos Papadopoulos, politician, in Nicosia, Cyprus (d. 2008)
January 8, 1934 (Monday) The U.S. Supreme Court decided Home Building & Loan Ass'n v. Blaisdell. Born: Jacques Anquetil, French cyclist, five times Tour de France winner, in Mont-Saint-Aignan (d. 1987)
January 9, 1934 (Tuesday) Three people died and 15 were injured in London traffic accidents due to thick fog. The gilded bronze sculpture of Prometheus, created by Paul Manship, was dedicated at Rockefeller Center in New York City. SEPU (Sociedad Española de Precios Únicos, S.A.) was founded in Barcelona, Spain. The New York Artists Union picketed the Whitney Museum of American Art with placards targeting the director, Juliana Force. Born: Bart Starr, American football player and coach, in Montgomery, Alabama (d. 2019) Died: Alexandre Stavisky, 47, French financier and embezzler, committed suicide