* 1937 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and musician

* 1937 – Peter Maivia, Samoan wrestler ( d. 1982 )

* 1937 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor

* 1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.

* 1856 – William Martin Conway, English art critic and mountaineer ( d. 1937 )

* 1937 – Igor Volk, Soviet astronaut

* 1937 – The Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage ; over 90 % would vote in the affirmative.

* 1876 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist ( d. 1937 )

* 1937 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer ( d. 2007 )

* 1937 – Tommy Sands, American actor and singer

* 1937 – Baden Powell de Aquino, Brazilian guitarist ( d. 2000 )

* 1937 – Barbara Windsor, English actress

* 1845 – André Bessette, Canadian pastor and saint ( d. 1937 )

* 1937 – The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, the effect of which is to render marijuana and all its by-products illegal.

* 1937 – Billy Cannon, American football player

* 1937 – Garth Hudson, Canadian musician, composer, and producer ( The Band )

* 1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution " Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH " to the constitutive congress of KPH ( Croatian Communist Party ) in woods near Samobor.

* 1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French politician ( d. 1937 )

* 1937 – Al D ' Amato, American politician

* 1937 – Steven Berkoff, English actor

* 1937 – Roland Burris, American politician

* 1937 – Duncan Sharpe, Pakistani cricketer

* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica ( or Gernika in Basque ), Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe.

* 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanjing – Japanese troops under the command of Lt. Gen. Asaka Yasuhiko launch an assault on the Chinese city of Nanjing.

* 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanjing – Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese.

* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.

In the Chinese language, this term is used to denote the Battle of Lugou Bridge started on July 7, 1937, marking the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

* 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Lugou Bridge – Japanese forces invade Beijing, China.

* 1937 – End of the Battle of Brunete in the Spanish Civil War.

* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The Battle of Guadalajara begins.

* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republican forces defeat the Italians at the Battle of Guadalajara.

The Battle of Shanghai in 1937 resulted in the occupation of the Chinese administered parts of Shanghai outside of the International Settlement and the French Concession.

* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Peña Blanca is taken ; the end of the Battle of El Mazuco.

* 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The start of the Battle of El Mazuco.

* 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Eighth Route Army gains a minor, but morale-boosting victory in the Battle of Pingxingguan.

A Chinese machine gun nest in the Battle of Shanghai, 1937.

*, was a heavy cruiser commissioned in 1937 and lost in the Battle of Savo Island in 1942

A famous " Battle of the Bands " or " cutting contest " happened when the Benny Goodman Orchestra challenged Chick Webb in 1937.

The Battle of Nanking () began after the fall of Shanghai on October 9, 1937, and ended with the fall of the capital city of Nanking on December 13, 1937 to Japanese troops, a few days after the Republic of China Government had evacuated the city and relocated to Wuhan.

In addition, Pete is featured in the following Mickey Mouse cartoons: The Barn Dance ( 1928 ), The Barnyard Battle ( 1929 ), The Cactus Kid ( 1930 ), The Chain Gang ( 1930 ), Traffic Troubles ( 1931 ), The Mad Dog ( 1932 ), Barnyard Olympics ( 1932 ), Mickey in Arabia ( 1932 ), The Klondike Kid ( 1932 ), Mickey's Good Deed ( 1932 ), Building a Building ( 1933 ), The Mail Pilot ( 1933 ), Mickey's Gala Premier ( 1933 ), Shanghaied ( 1934 ), The Dognapper ( 1934 ), Two-Gun Mickey ( 1934 ), Mickey's Service Station ( 1935 ), Moving Day ( 1936 ), The Worm Turns ( 1937 ), Mickey's Amateurs ( 1937 ) and Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip ( 1940 ).

After promotion to rear admiral in 1937, he commanded Cruiser Division Seven on a diplomatic cruise to South America and then became Commander of Cruisers, Battle Force, in 1939.

Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff ( sometimes referred to as von Ludendorff ) ( 9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937 ) was a German general, victor of Liège and of the Battle of Tannenberg.

He had a highly publicized confrontation with Ford security forces on May 26, 1937, also known as the Battle of the Overpass.

In 1937, Hongqiao was the site of the so-called ' Oyama Incident ' in which a Japanese lieutenant was shot dead by Chinese Peace Preservation Corps soldiers in the lead-up to the Battle of Shanghai.

The zipper beat the button in 1937 in the " Battle of the Fly ", after French fashion designers raved over zippers in men's trousers.