February 15 – Clara, Lu & Em, generally regarded as the first daytime network soap opera, debuts in its morning time slot over the Blue Network of NBC Radio, having originally been a late evening program.
May 29 – The first of approximately 15,000 World War I veterans arrive in Washington, D.C. demanding the immediate payment of their military bonus, becoming known as the Bonus Army.
The Revenue Act of 1932 is enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States at 1 cent per US gallon (0.26 ¢/L) sold.
The 6.4 MwEureka earthquake affects the north coast of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Three people are injured and one killed.
June 29 – The comedy serial Vic and Sade debuts on NBC Radio.
July 30 – Walt Disney's Flowers and Trees, the first animated cartoon to be presented in full Technicolor, premieres in Los Angeles, California. It releases in theaters, along with Eugene O'Neill's experimental play Strange Interlude (starring Norma Shearer and Clark Gable), and will go on to win the first Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
August 31 – A total solar eclipse is visible from northern Canada through northeastern Vermont, New Hampshire, southwestern Maine, and the Capes of Massachusetts.
November 16 – New York City's Palace Theatre fully converts to a cinema, which is considered the final death knell of vaudeville as a popular entertainment in the United States.
^Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 178. ISBN 978-0313344237.
^Roberts, Sam (21 November 2018). "Jane Maas, a Pioneer for Women in Advertising, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
^Matt Schudel, "Mark Murphy, jazz singer of freewheeling virtuosity, dies at 83", The Washington Post, October 24, 2015.
^"Biographical Data: Walter Cunningham NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)" (PDF). NASA. July 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
^"Debbie Reynolds obituary". the Guardian. 29 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
^COLIN CANTWELL, DESIGNER OF THE X-WING AND MORE, PASSES AWAY
^MLB All-Star Ed Bressoud — who played for NY Giants and Mets before Willie Mays did it — dead at 91
^Goldstein, Richard (December 25, 2020), "K.C. Jones, Celtics Standout as Player and Coach, Dies at 88", The New York Times
^"Anna Moffo". The Independent. 17 March 2006. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
^Roberto Quercetani (1964). A World History of Track and Field Athletics, 1864-1964. Oxford University Press. p. 62.
^Brian Hanley. "Johnny Kerr". Chicago Sun-Times. May 14, 1990. 105.
^Keefer, Zak; Michael, J. (April 13, 1986). "Bobby 'Slick' Leonard, Hoosiers and Pacers icon, dies at 88". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
^Pervis Spann, WVON broadcasting legend, dies at 89
^NASA Remembers Former NASA Johnson Director George W. S. Abbey
^Josh Culbreath, Norristown native and Olympic medalist in the hurdles, dies at 88
^Los Angeles Dodgers great Maury Wills, NL MVP in 1962, dies at age 89