1931 — Two architectural landmarks in New York City are completed, the 77-story, stainless steel-capped Chrysler Building and the 102-story Empire State Building.

Also that year:

• The Austrian Credit-Anstalt (institution) collapses, beginning financial failures throughout central Europe. Economic hardship increases social and political tensions.
• Julius A. Nieuland, a chemist, produces neoprene, a synthetic rubber.
• Physicians in Denmark report that vitamin E may keep pregnant women from having miscarriages.
• The “Star-Spangled Banner” is officially made the U.S. anthem.
• Alphonse (“Scarface Al”) Capone, a Chicago gangster with a yearly income of at least $20 million, is imprisoned for income tax evasion.
• The appearance of “Dick Tracy” by Chester Gould introduces new elements — humor, gadgetry and science fiction — into comic strips.