World Events and Discoveries in 1938 — Timeline
10 documented historical milestones concerning world events and discoveries in 1938.
Dated historical records
Entries below follow the dates recorded in the WWII CHRONOS archive. Each linked title opens the original historical entry, including its source reference.
- — Creation of SNCF — Unification of France's Main Railways — The state received 51% of the new company's capital.
- — Dammam No. 7 Strikes Oil in Commercial Quantities — The commercial discovery that launched Saudi Arabia's oil era.
- — Mexico Nationalises the Oil Industry — One of the most significant nationalisations of natural resources in the twentieth century.
- — Nestlé Launches Nescafé — Industrial instant-coffee technology reaches the mass market.
- — Discovery of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) — A new polymer with exceptional chemical resistance and very low friction.
- — Technical Design of the Uglich and Rybinsk Hydroelectric Complexes Approved — Uglich HPP design capacity: 110 MW with two generating units.
- — Foundation Stone Laid for Volkswagen's Main Plant — A project for one of the largest mass-production automobile factories of its time.
- — Mallard Sets the World Steam Locomotive Speed Record — Maximum speed: approximately 203 km/h.
- — Chester Carlson Produces the First Xerographic Image — The technological basis for future mass dry-copying of documents.
- — Orson Welles's 'The War of the Worlds' Radio Broadcast — The radio drama demonstrated both the power and the risks of realistic audio journalism.
For wider context, explore the interactive historical timeline and compare events across theaters.