1930s

The 1930s were marked by the Great Depression and the rise of authoritarian regimes worldwide.

The first all-talking, all-color films were made in 1930. Classic films Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz were released by the end of the decade. Pearl S. Buck published The Good Earth in 1931, winning the 1938 Nobel Prize in Literature. J. R. R. Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937, and Animals of the Bible won the first Caldecott Medal in 1938. 

Konrad Zuse creates the Z1, the first electrical binary programmable computer in 1938. On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland and World War II began.