Category Archives: 1942

Caltech Students Hold Drag Beauty Contest

Posted on May 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 15, 1942: In a typical publicity stunt, someone from showman Earl Carroll’s operation offered to select Caltech’s beauty queen. Nobody told them that the campus was all-male (oooh girls can’t be engineers!). So the young men decided to have … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Education, Film, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Suicide, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Caltech Students Hold Drag Beauty Contest

Battle of the Coral Sea, 1942

Posted on May 9, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 9, 1942: Allied forces fight the first what would be six major aircraft carrier battles with the Japanese, the next being the Battle of Midway. On the jump, a war map by Times artist Charles Owens, whom you may … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, LAPD, Obituaries, Stage, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Battle of the Coral Sea, 1942

Times Wins Pulitzer for Public Service

Posted on May 4, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 5, 1942: The Times wins a Pulitzer Prize for public service. The prize was awarded after The Times fought contempt of court charges for publishing editorials on pending cases. The dispute began in 1938 when a group from the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

For Mother’s Day – The Victory Bra

Posted on May 3, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 3, 1942: No, really. There was such a thing.

Posted in 1942, Fashion, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Snake Killer Dies on Gallows

Posted on May 2, 2012 by lmharnisch

May 2, 1942: Major Raymond Lisenba, better known as Robert S. “Rattlesnake” James, becomes the 214th and last person to be executed by hanging in California. James was hanged because the murder of his wife occurred in 1935, before the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Men 45-64 Register With Draft Boards

Posted on April 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 26, 1942: Men between the ages of 45 and 64 form a line a block long outside the draft board at 329 W. 2nd St. to comply with a new registration order. The men would be called upon to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Comics, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

State OKs Women Wearing Pants to Work

Posted on April 21, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 21, 1942: It took the approval of State Public Works Director Frank W. Clark, but women are wearing pants to work! The fashion iconoclasts are Olive Faisy and Lorena Hermance, telephone operators at the State Building. They were joined … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Fashion, World War II | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Doolittle Raiders Bomb Tokyo

Posted on April 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 18, 1942:  The Doolittle Raiders, flying from the carrier Hornet, bomb Tokyo. According to DoolittleRaider.com, the  five surviving crew members are scheduled to attend the 70th reunion, which is being held through April 20 at the National Museum of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, African Americans, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Labor, Streetcars, Tom Treanor | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Internment of Japanese Farmers Causes Food Shortage

Posted on April 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 16, 1942: If you send all the Japanese farmers to internment camps, there’s no one to grow strawberries, tomatoes, carrots, green peas and onions. Oops. Charlotte LeNordtestifies that she killed her foster mother Celeste Frank — who read palms … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Guards Shoot at Car Refusing to Halt Outside Army Camp; Man Near Death

Posted on April 5, 2012 by lmharnisch

April 5, 1942: Sentries fire at a car that refused to stop on a street leading to the Army camp in Alondra Park.  Ralph W. Spaulding, 26, was hospitalized after being shot in the head. Bessie Edwards, who suffered a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Fashion, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Explosion in Caltech Secret Project Kills 1, Injures 6

Posted on March 28, 2012 by lmharnisch

March 28, 1942: A fiery explosion during a secret experiment at the Kellogg Radiation Laboratory kills Raymond L. Robey and injures six others. Robey was thrown 50 feet by the force of the explosion, which scorched the four-story building, The … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Abortion, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Hollywood | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Housewife Writes Pulitzer-Nominated Novel While Raising Family, Remodeling Kitchen

Posted on March 22, 2012 by lmharnisch

March 22, 1942: Until this morning, I had never heard of Nellise Child (and I dare say most people haven’t) but I was immediately enchanted with her story: A former reporter (her husband didn’t want her to work), she raises … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Books and Authors, Stage | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Manzanar Internment Camp Rising Rapidly in Owens Valley

Posted on March 20, 2012 by lmharnisch

March 20, 1942: A crew of 400 carpenters working 10-hour shifts is hurriedly building the internment camp at Manzanar for “10,000 alien and American-born Japanese from Los Angeles and other Southern California cities,” The Times says. “Manzanar is the former … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

FBI Arrests Buddhist Priests in Japanese Roundup

Posted on March 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

  March 14, 1942: The FBI leads arrests of Buddhist priests, teachers, photographers, housewives, gardeners and businessmen in the continuing roundup of “enemy aliens.” Among the arrested was the Rev. Hiroshi Izumi of the Japanese Congregational Church in Santa Barbara. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , | 1 Comment

UCLA Provost Calls for a Return to Basics in Education

Posted on February 25, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 25, 1942: UCLA Provost Earle Hedrick (d. 1943) describes the prevailing disdain for the “three Rs” as “the Pearl Harbor” of American education. Charging that American education is ruled by an elite clique, Hedrick says: “I propose that we … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Education, Film, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Times Editorial Praises Japanese Evacuation

Posted on February 21, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 21, 1942: The Times editorial page praises the Japanese evacuation while scolding the government for its slow response. I think this is my favorite quote: … it is important to remember in case any situations of the kind arise … Continue reading →

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Japanese Evacuation: Images of Executive Order 9066

Posted on February 19, 2012 by lmharnisch

Scott Harrison, my colleague on The Times photo desk, has posted a gallery of images from the evacuation of Japanese Americans in 1942. He plans to add to these photos, so check back for more.

Posted in 1942, Photography, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

GIs Want More Form in Women’s Uniforms — Olive Drab Too Drab!

Posted on February 18, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 18, 1942: Pvt. Fred A. Ranker of the 3rd Coast Artillery begins a campaign against what he considers women’s unflattering uniforms. On his first pass since Pearl Harbor, Ranker dashed to Hollywood Boulevard. “Instead of the usual beauty parade, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Fashion, Hollywood, World War II | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Bowling for Victory! Keglers vs. the Axis!

Posted on February 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 16, 1942: America’s 16 million bowlers are being asked to help promote physical fitness and mental alertness for the nation’s fighting men in their war against the Axis, and to provide relaxation for defense workers!  No effort will be … Continue reading →

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Lawmakers Urge Roosevelt to Order Immediate Evacuation of All Japanese

Posted on February 14, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 14, 1942:  West Coast legislators abandon plans to register “enemy aliens,” a process that would allow them to remain in defense zones. Instead, the congressmen ask President Roosevelt to order the “immediate evacuation” of “all persons of Japanese lineage.” … Continue reading →

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