Important People

Mahatma Gandhi

There were many important people in the 1930s. There were famous criminals like Bonnie and Clyde, and there were peaceful protesters like Gandhi. Gandhi was an important figure in the 1930s. In April, 1930, Gandhi led his followers to the Arabian Sea to make salt. The British had put a rule in place not allowing the people to make their own salt, they had to buy it from the British. To protest this rule, Gandhi took his followers all the way to the Arabian Sea to make their own salt instead of buying it. After the 240 mile march, nearly 60,000 people were arrested, including Gandhi (History Channel).

Franklin D. Roosevelt

FDR was elected president in the heart of the Great Depression. He helped the American people regain hope. He was elected to the first of his four terms in 1932 (“Franklin D. Roosevelt”). He worked very hard to get relief to the unemployed and to reopen banks and businesses. After he was re-elected in 1936, he worked to tax the wealthy more heavily, take more control over banks and public utilities, and worked even harder to help the unemployed (“Franklin D. Roosevelt”). He did a great job as president during an era of severe economic depression.

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was the first female pilot to fly over the Atlantic Ocean. She was also the first woman to fly over the Atlantic and Pacific. Throughout her career, she acquired a lot of records in height and distance. She is most remembered for disappearing while trying to fly around the world. While she tried to circumnavigate the globe from the equator in 1937, she mysteriously disappeared (“Amelia Earhart Biography”). The most recent evidence of her disappearance was a piece of her plane identified in October of 2014, found on a small uninhabited island in the Pacific (“Amelia Earhart Biography”).

John Dillinger

John Dillinger was a bank robber during the 30s. He was the FBI's most wanted for a time. Dillinger is famous for escaping the Crown Point County Jail with only a wooden gun. After he escaped, he went to Chicago to meet with his girlfriend, Evelyn Frechette. During his criminal career, he gang robbed 24 banks and 4 police stations. John Dillinger was shot and killed in a shootout on July 22nd, 1934. "The events of that night were the beginning of the end of the Gangster Era," said the FBI's report on Dillinger.