2 December 1939

New York City’s LaGuardia Airport opens.

LaGuardia Airport is one of the major airports serving the New York City area. It is located in the northern part of the borough of Queens, approximately eight miles (13 km) from Manhattan. The airport is named after Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a former mayor of New York City.

History: LaGuardia Airport opened in 1939 and has since undergone numerous expansions and renovations. It was initially named New York Municipal Airport and later renamed in honor of Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia in 1953.

Location: The airport is situated on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, providing views of the Manhattan skyline. Its proximity to the city makes it a convenient choice for travelers.

Terminals: LaGuardia Airport has four terminals: Terminal A, Terminal B (which is further divided into four concourses – B, C, D, and A), Terminal C, and Terminal D. Each terminal serves different airlines and destinations. Terminal B has undergone significant redevelopment to modernize and expand its facilities.

Airlines and Destinations: LaGuardia Airport is a hub for several major airlines and serves as a focus city for others. It offers a wide range of domestic flights, connecting New York City to various destinations across the United States.

Facilities: The airport provides a variety of services and amenities, including dining options, shops, lounges, and transportation services. Ground transportation options include taxis, car rentals, buses, and the New York City subway system.

Runways: LaGuardia Airport has two main runways and several taxiways to accommodate the high volume of air traffic. The runways have undergone upgrades to enhance safety and efficiency.

Redevelopment Project: LaGuardia is undergoing a major redevelopment project aimed at transforming and modernizing the airport. The new facilities are designed to improve the overall passenger experience, enhance security, and increase the airport’s capacity.

Challenges: LaGuardia Airport has faced challenges related to its aging infrastructure, capacity constraints, and the need for modernization. The ongoing redevelopment project addresses these issues and aims to position LaGuardia as a world-class airport.

1 September 1939

J. Robert Oppenheimer and his student Hartland Snyder publish the Oppenheimer–Snyder model, proving for the first time in contemporary physics how black holes could develop.

J. Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and one of the key figures in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. He was born on April 22, 1904, and he passed away on February 18, 1967. Oppenheimer is often referred to as the “father of the atomic bomb” due to his leadership of the Manhattan Project, which ultimately led to the successful creation of the first atomic bombs.

Oppenheimer’s contributions to physics extended beyond his work on nuclear weapons. He made significant contributions to various fields, including quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and astrophysics. In fact, his interests also extended to the study of black holes, which are fascinating and mysterious objects in the universe.

Black holes are regions in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from them. The concept of black holes emerged from Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. However, it was Oppenheimer and his collaborator, Hartland Snyder, who made a crucial contribution to the understanding of black holes.

In 1939, Oppenheimer and Snyder published a paper titled “On Continued Gravitational Contraction,” in which they explored the gravitational collapse of massive stars. They showed that if a massive star’s core exhausts its nuclear fuel, the core would collapse under its own gravitational pull, leading to the formation of a singularity—a point of infinite density—and an event horizon—the boundary beyond which nothing can escape. This theoretical prediction laid the groundwork for our modern understanding of black holes.

Oppenheimer’s work on black holes, while not as widely known as his contributions to nuclear physics, significantly impacted the field of astrophysics and led to further exploration and research into these enigmatic cosmic objects. His insights into the gravitational collapse of massive stars and the formation of black holes have been instrumental in advancing our understanding of the universe’s most extreme and fascinating phenomena.

24 June 1939

Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country’s third prime minister.

The country we now know as Thailand was historically known as Siam until 1939. The renaming of Siam to Thailand was primarily driven by a desire to promote national identity and unity.

The word “Siam” was an exonym given by outsiders, and it did not reflect how the people of the region referred to their own country. In the Thai language, the country has always been referred to as “Prathet Thai,” which means “land of the free.”

During the early 20th century, there was a growing movement among Thai intellectuals and political leaders to assert a sense of nationalism and modernize the country. As part of this movement, the government decided to change the name of the country to Thailand.

The name “Thailand” carries significant meaning. “Thai” means “free” or “freedom,” while “land” refers to the nation’s territory. The new name was seen as a symbol of independence and unity, reflecting the aspirations of the Thai people to preserve their sovereignty and establish a strong national identity.

The decision to change the name from Siam to Thailand was not universally accepted or uncontroversial at the time. Some argued that Siam was a historically significant name with cultural and traditional roots. However, the change eventually became widely recognized and accepted, and the country has been officially known as Thailand since 1939.