Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss survived a motion of no confidence by a single vote. A few hours after the death of Ignaz Seipel, Dollfuss appointed a successor to his seat who voted in favour of the government on the confidence motion to cause an 81–81 tie. If Seipel had lived a few more hours, his seat would have been vacant due to illness and the Dollfuss government would have fallen.[6]
The government of Paraguay ordered a battalion of newly recruited troops into the disputed Gran Chaco region following reports that Bolivian soldiers had attacked Paraguayan outposts there.[7]
Tommy Hampson won gold in the 800-metre Olympic race with a time of 1 minute 49.8 seconds, a new world record.[8]
19 countries of the Americas warned Bolivia and Paraguay that they would not recognize the validity of territorial acquisition taken by force of arms in the Gran Chaco region.[9]
An editorial by Benito Mussolini was published in Il Popolo d'Italia titled "Political and Social Doctrine", in which he wrote that "Fascism does not believe either in the possibility or usefulness of perpetual peace and rejects pacifism as cowardice and renunciation of struggle. Only war carries human energy to the highest tension and prints the seal of nobility on the peoples which have the virtues to confront it."[11]
Died: After being shot and killed by two Barrow Gang members after they refused to put away their alcohol, Deputy Sheriff Eugene Capell Moore, 31, became the first of the nine lawmen the gang would kill.[14][15][16]
A telegram sent from New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt to New York City mayor Jimmy Walker was publicized, in which Roosevelt "requested" that Walker appear before him on August 11 so that the mayor "may be heard" in respect to corruption charges filed against him by the Hofstadter Committee led by Samuel Seabury.[17]
Walter Lowenfels filed a plagiarism suit against the authors, publishers and producers of the George Gershwin musical Of Thee I Sing, claiming it was stolen from his own play USA with Music.[5]
In an effort to put a stop to street rioting, the German government passed an emergency decree making political terrorism punishable by death. Anyone who seriously wounded a police officer or soldier now faced a minimum prison term of ten years, and all shootings and attacks on police carried prison sentences even if no one was injured. Special courts would be established in frequent trouble spots to expedite the new laws.[21]
U.S. President Herbert Hoover began his re-election campaign with a speech in which he broke from the Republican Party's official platform by saying that Prohibition laws should be forsaken at the federal level and left as a matter for the individual states to decide.[23]
At a public hearing regarding the corruption charges against New York City mayor Jimmy Walker, the mayor himself appeared and pleaded with Governor Roosevelt for the chance to meet his accusers face to face, which would have resulted in a long parade of witnesses given that the Hofstadter Committee investigation had lasted 14 months. Roosevelt ruled only that Walker could present any witnesses or evidence contributing to the governor's investigation of the case.[24]
Adolf Hitler held meetings with Chancellor Franz von Papen and President Paul von Hindenburg in Berlin. Von Papen offered Hitler the position of vice-chancellor, but Hitler refused the post and demanded to Hindenburg that he be made full chancellor. Hindenburg rejected this demand and so Hitler left as the leader of the opposition.[26]
Guglielmo Marconi announced he had made another advance in radio communication by "bending" ultra-short radio waves that could transmit through obstacles.[28]
The closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles were held.[30] The United States dominated the final medal count with 41 gold medals and 103 overall.
British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award for India, which would allow Muslim, European and Sikh voters to elect their candidates by voting in separate communal electorates.[32]
The first concert exclusively dedicated to the music of George Gershwin was staged at Lewisohn Stadium in New York in the presence of the composer. Cuban Overture was performed for the first time.[5]
The Austrian Assembly approved the loan from the League of Nations despite the unpopular provision forbidding it from entering into a union with Germany until 1952.[33]
The Hindu nationalist press in India blasted the Communal Award, with The Advance calling it "a gross injustice to Bengal and its Hindus", and "a thorough betrayal of sense and statesmanship."[34]
Auguste Piccard and assistant Max Cosyns ascended more than 10 miles (16 km) above the earth inside a metal ball attached to a balloon, a new flight altitude record. The historic ascent took off from Dübendorf, Switzerland and landed near Pozzolengo, Italy about twelve hours later.[35]
Scottish pilot Jim Mollison completed the first solo east–west crossing of the North Atlantic, landing in New Brunswick 30 hours and 10 minutes after taking off from Portmarnock, Ireland.[36]
Died:Johann Schober, 57, three-time Chancellor of Austria
Franklin D. Roosevelt made the first road speech of his presidential campaign in Columbus, Ohio. Roosevelt outlined a seven-point plan to revive the economy which included federal control of the stock market and more rigid supervision of national banks.[37]
In the Soviet Union, a bridge under construction over the Oka River in Nizhny Novgorod collapsed, killing 13 workers.[38]
Five Nazis were sentenced to death for killing a communist in Potempa, Upper Silesia, the first such sentences under the new emergency law aimed at stamping out political violence. Police had to push back angry crowds that tried to storm the courthouse after the sentence was read.[41]
BBC Television broadcast its first experimental television programme.[42]
German General Kurt von Schleicher declared in an interview, "Unless Germany is given full equality and security with her neighbours in the near future, she will refuse to participate further in the disarmament conference." Germany sent a memorandum to France the same day stating that if France did not disarm or allow Germany to rearm, then Germany would take matters into its own hands and defy the restrictions on the country's armaments outlined in the Treaty of Versailles.[52]
^"4 Die, Many Injured as Ritz Tower Blast Rocks Park Avenue". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 1, 1932. p. 1.
^Hashagen, Paul (2002). Fire Department, City of New York: The Bravest; An Illustrated History 1865–2002. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company. p. 171. ISBN978-1-56311-832-6.
^Official Red Book of United States Coins. Western Publishing Company. 1948. p. 109.
^ abcd"1932". Music And History. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
^Tucker, Spencer C. (2010). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. p. 1852. ISBN978-1-85109-672-5.
^Egan, Leo (August 12, 1932). "Hoover Conversion to Wets to Aid Him in Industrial Areas". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 1.
^Boettiger, John (August 12, 1932). "Walker Pleads with Governor in Own Defense". Chicago Daily Tribune. pp. 1, 2.
^"Forbes and Ruth Chatterton Get Nevada Divorce". Chicago Daily Tribune. August 13, 1932. p. 3.
^Domarus, Max (1990). The Complete Hitler: Speeches and Proclamations. Wauconda, Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. pp. 151–153.
^"Texas Hurricane History"(PDF). National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
^"Marconi Finds Way to "Bend" Short Waves". Chicago Daily Tribune. August 14, 1932. p. 9.
^Knopf, Robert (1999). The Theater and Cinema of Buster Keaton. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 190. ISBN0-691-00441-2.
^Pegler, Westbrook (August 15, 1932). "Curtain! 100,000 See Last Act in Olympic Games". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 17.
^"Donald Crisp, English Actor, Weds Screen Writer". Chicago Daily Tribune. August 16, 1932. p. 4.
^Indian History, 26th Edition. Allied Publishers. 2010. p. C-256. ISBN978-81-8424-568-4.