1940: On this day in history

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Home: On this Day: 1940

Famous birthdays, deaths and events of 1940

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Birthdays

January 1 - Frank Langella, American actor
January 2 - S. R. S. Varadhan, Indian-American mathematician
January 4 - Helmut Jahn, German architect
January 4 - Brian David Josephson, Welsh physicist
January 4 - Gao Xingjian, Chinese-born French novelist and dramatist
January 5 - Michael O'Donoghue, American writer (d. 1994)
January 5 - Yuri Ershov, Russian mathematician
January 5 - Athol Guy, Australian singer
January 5 - General Sir Michael Rose, UK military officer
January 6 - Van McCoy, American musician (d. 1979)
January 6 - Penny Lernoux, American journalist (d. 1989)
January 9 - Jimmy Boyd, American actor and singer
January 9 - Barbara Buczek, Polish composer (d. 1993)
January 9 - Al Downing, American singer (d. 2005)
January 9 - Ruth Dreifuss, Swiss politician
January 10 - Guy Chevrette, Quebec politician
January 10 - Ntare VI of Ankole, Omugabe of Nkole
January 10 - Yesudas, Indian playback singer and classical musician
January 13 - Edmund White, American author
January 14 - Julian Bond, American civil rights activist
January 14 - Sir Trevor Nunn, English theatre director and film director
January 14 - Ron Kostelnik, American football player (d. 1993)
January 17 - Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan runner
January 18 - Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican racing driver (d. 1971)
January 19 - Paolo Borsellino, Italian magistrate (d. 1992)
January 19 - Mike Reid, English comedian (d. 2007)
January 20 - Carol Heiss, American figure skater
January 20 - Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
January 21 - Jack Nicklaus, American golfer
January 22 - Addie "Micki" Harris, singer (Shirelles) (d. 1982)
January 22 - John Hurt, English actor
January 22 - George Seifert, American football coach
January 23 - Johnny Russell, American country singer and songwriter (d. 2001)
January 27 - James Cromwell, American actor
January 27 - Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player
January 28 - Carlos Slim Helú, Mexican businessman
January 29 - Katharine Ross, American actress
January 29 - Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver
January 31 - Kitch Christie, South African rugby union coach (d. 1998)
February 1 - Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
February 1 - Hervé Filion, Quebec harness racer
February 2 - Wayne Fontes, American football coach
February 2 - David Jason, English actor
February 3 - Fran Tarkenton, American football player
February 4 - George Romero, American director
February 4 - John Schuck, American actor
February 5 - H.R. Giger, Swiss artist
February 6 - Tom Brokaw, American news anchorman
February 6 - Jimmy Tarbuck, British comedian
February 8 - Ted Koppel, American journalist
February 9 - Brian Bennett, British musician (The Shadows)
February 9 - J. M. Coetzee, South African author
February 10 - Mary Rand, British athlete
February 12 - Richard Lynch, American actor
February 15 - John Hadl, American football player
February 15 - Hamzah Haz, Indonesian politician
February 17 - Gene Pitney, American singer (d. 2006)
February 19 - Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)
February 19 - Smokey Robinson, American singer
February 20 - Jimmy Greaves, English footballer
February 21 - John Lewis, American politician and 1960s Civil Rights Movement activist
February 21 - Peter Gethin, British racing driver
February 22 - Johnson Mlambo, South African politician
February 22 - Billy Name, American photographer
February 23 - Peter Fonda, American actor
February 24 - Pete Duel, American actor (d. 1971)
February 24 - Denis Law, Scottish footballer
February 25 - Billy Packer, American sports broadcaster
February 25 - Danny Cater, American baseball player
February 25 - Ron Santo, American baseball player
February 27 - Howard Hesseman, American actor
February 27 - Bill Hunter, Australian actor
February 28 - Mario Andretti, Italian-American race car driver and one-time F1 world champion
February 28 - Joe South, American singer
February 29 - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople,
February 29 - William H. Turner, Jr. American horse trainer
March 1 - Robert Grossman, American illustrator
March 2 - Tony Croatto, Italian-born composer (d. 2005)
March 3 - Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian writer and journalist
March 3 - Perry Ellis, fashion designer (d. 1986)
March 3 - Owen Spencer-Thomas, English broadcaster
March 4 - Volodymyr Morozov, Ukrainian flatwater canoer
March 5 - Malcolm Hebden, English actor
March 6 - Joanna Miles, American actress
March 6 - Willie Stargell, baseball player (d. 2001)
March 7 - Rudi Dutschke, German student leader (d. 1979)
March 7 - Daniel J. Travanti, American actor
March 8 - Susan Clark, Canadian actress
March 9 - Raúl Juliá, Puerto Rican actor (d. 1994)
March 10 - Chuck Norris, American actor and martial artist
March 10 - Dean Torrence, American singer (Jan and Dean)
March 11 - Alberto Cortez, Argentinian singer
March 12 - Al Jarreau, American singer
March 12 - M.A. Numminen, Finnish singer and writer
March 15 - Phil Lesh, American musician (Grateful Dead)
March 15 - Frank Dobson, British politician
March 15 - Margo Coleman, American advice columnist
March 16 - Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian film director
March 16 - Jan Pronk, Dutch politician
March 16 - Keith Rowe, English guitarist (AMM) and painter
March 17 - Mark White, American politician
March 21 - Solomon Burke, American singer
March 22 - Dave Keon, Canadian ice hockey player
March 22 - Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian/American actor (d. 1996)
March 22 - Jorge Ben Jor, Brazilian musician
March 24 - Bob Mackie, American fashion designer
March 24 - Don Jardine, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2006)
March 25 - Anita Bryant, American singer
March 26 - James Caan, American actor
March 26 - Nancy Pelosi, American politician and 60th Speaker of the House
March 27 - Janis Martin, American singer (d. 2007)
March 27 - Austin Pendleton, American actor
March 28 - Tony Barber, Australian television personality
March 29 - Ray Davis, American musician (d. 2005)
March 29 - Astrud Gilberto, Brazilian singer
March 30 - Jerry Lucas, American basketball player
March 31 - Barney Frank, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts
March 31 - Patrick Leahy, U.S. Senator from Vermont
April 1 - Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist
April 2 - Penelope Keith, English actress
April 4 - Richard Attwood, British racing driver
April 4 - Sharon Sheeley, American songwriter
April 6 - Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Mexican actor
April 8 - John Havlicek, American basketball player
April 9 - Jim Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player
April 10 - Gloria Hunniford, Northern Irish TV and radio presenter
April 12 - Herbie Hancock, American musician and composer
April 12 - John Hagee, American pastor and televangelist
April 13 - Mike Beuttler, British racing driver (d. 1988)
April 13 - J.M.G. Le Clézio, French novelist
April 13 - Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
April 15 - Jeffrey Archer, British author
April 15 - Willie Davis, American baseball player
April 15 - Woodie Fryman, American baseball player
April 15 - Robert Lacroix, French Canadian professor of economics
April 15 - Robert Walker Jr., American actor
April 16 - Margrethe II of Denmark, queen regnant
April 16 - Benoît Bouchard, French-Canadian politician
April 17 - Billy Fury, British singer (d. 1983)
April 17 - John McCririck, English television horse racing pundit
April 17 - Anja Silja, German soprano
April 18 - Joseph L. Goldstein, American scientist
April 18 - Mike Vickers, British guitarist and saxophonist (Manfred Mann)
April 19 - Genya Ravan, American vocalist (Goldie & the Gingerbreads
April 23 - Michael Copps, American Federal Government official
April 24 - Sue Grafton, American author
April 25 - Al Pacino, American actor
April 26 - Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer
April 26 - Cliff Watson, English rugby league footballer
April 30 - Burt Young, American actor
May 1 - Elsa Peretti, Italian jewelry designer
May 3 - Konrad "Conny" Plank, German record producer and musician
May 3 - Clemens Westerhof, Dutch football manager
May 4 - Robin Cook, American novelist
May 5 - Lance Henriksen, American actor and painter
May 5 - Michael Lindsay-Hogg, American film director
May 7 - Angela Carter, English novelist and journalist (d. 1992)
May 7 - Jim Connors, American Radio personality (d. 1987)
May 8 - Peter Benchley, American author (d. 2006)
May 8 - Irwin Cotler, Canadian politician
May 8 - Ricky Nelson, American singer (d. 1985)
May 8 - Toni Tennille, American singer
May 9 - James L. Brooks, American film producer and writer
May 10 - Wayne A. Downing, retired United States Army general
May 11 - Juan Downey, Chilean video artist (d. 1993)
May 13 - Bruce Chatwin, British writer (d. 1989)
May 14 - Troy Shondell, American singer
May 14 - 'H'. Jones, British Soldier (VC recipient) (d. 1982)
May 15 - Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
May 15 - Don Nelson, American basketball coach
May 17 - Alan Kay, American computer scientist
May 17 - Reynato Puno, Filipino Supreme Court Chief Justice
May 19 - Mickey Newbury, American musician
May 19 - Jan Janssen, Dutch cyclist
May 20 - Stan Mikita, Slovak-born ice hockey player
May 20 - Sadaharu Oh, Japanese baseball player
May 20 - Shorty Long, American musician (d. 1969)
May 22 - Bernard Shaw, American television journalist
May 22 - Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor
May 24 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet
May 26 - Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, French Canadian politician
May 26 - Levon Helm, American musician (The Band)
May 29 - Farooq Leghari, President of Pakistan
May 30 - Gilles Villemure, Canadian ice hockey player
May 31 - Gilbert Shelton, American underground comics illustrator
June 1 - René Auberjonois, American actor
June 1 - Kip Thorne, American physicist
June 2 - King Constantine II of Greece,
June 4 - Cliff Bennett, British singer with the Rebel Rousers
June 4 - Ludwig Schwarz, Austrian bishop
June 6 - Larry Lujack, American disc jockey
June 7 - Tom Jones, Welsh singer
June 8 - Nancy Sinatra, American singer
June 10 - Augie Auer, Meteorologist and television presenter (d. 2007)
June 10 - John Stevens, British drummer (d. 1994)
June 11 - Joey Dee, American musician (Joey Dee and the Starliters)
June 13 - Bobby Freeman, American soul singer
June 16 - Neil Goldschmidt, Governor of Oregon
June 17 - George Akerlof, American economist
June 18 - Michael Sheard, British actor (d. 2005)
June 19 - Shirley Muldowney, Racecar Driver
June 20 - Eugen Drewermann, German theologian
June 20 - John Mahoney, English actor
June 21 - Mariette Hartley, American actress
June 21 - Michael Ruse, Canadian philosopher
June 22 - Esther Rantzen, British TV presenter
June 22 - Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian filmmaker/poet
June 23 - Adam Faith, English singer and actor (d. 2003)
June 23 - Lord Irvine of Lairg, Scottish Lord Chancellor
June 23 - Wilma Rudolph, American runner (d. 1994)
June 23 - Stuart Sutcliffe, English musician (The Beatles) (d. 1962)
June 25 - A.J. Quinnell, British writer (d. 2005)
June 26 - Billy Davis, Jr.
June 28 - Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi banker
June 28 - Roderick Wright, ex-Scottish bishop (d. 2005)
June 29 - Vyacheslav Artyomov, Russian composer
June 30 - Mark Spoelstra, American folk singer (d. 2007)
July 2 - Kenneth Harry Clarke, British politician
July 3 - César Tovar, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (d. 1994)
July 3 - Lamar Alexander, American politician
July 3 - Jerzy Buzek, Prime Minister of Poland
July 3 - Fontella Bass, American soul singer
July 4 - Karolyn Grimes, American actress
July 5 - Chuck Close, American painter and photographer
July 6 - Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan
July 6 - Jeannie Seely, American singer
July 7 - Ringo Starr, English drummer and singer (The Beatles)
July 10 - Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai
July 10 - Helen Donath, American soprano
July 10 - Tom Farmer, Scottish entrepreneur
July 11 - Yvon Charbonneau, French Canadian union leader and politician
July 13 - Patrick Stewart, English actor
July 14 - Susan Howatch, English author
July 17 - Tim Brooke-Taylor, English comedian
July 18 - James Brolin, American actor
July 18 - Joe Torre, American baseball player and manager
July 20 - Tony Oliva, Cuban baseball player
July 22 - Judith Walzer Leavitt, American college professor
July 22 - Alex Trebek, Canadian game show host
July 23 - Don Imus, American talk radio host
July 24 - Stanley Hauerwas, American theologian
July 24 - Dan Hedaya, American actor
July 26 - Dobie Gray, American singer
July 26 - Mary Jo Kopechne, American aide to Robert F. Kennedy (d. 1969)
July 26 - Bobby Rousseau, Quebec ice hockey player
July 26 - Tolis Voskopoulos, Greek singer
July 27 - Pina Bausch, German dancer
July 28 - Philip Proctor, American comedian
July 30 - Pat Schroeder, American politician
July 30 - Sir Clive Sinclair, English entrepreneur and inventor
July 31 - Carol J. Clover, American academic
August 1 - Mervyn Kitchen, Former Somerset cricketer and cricket international umpire
August 3 - Lance Alworth, American football player
August 3 - Martin Sheen, American actor
August 4 - Abdurrahman Wahid, 4th President of Indonesia
August 4 - Timi Yuro, American singer (d. 2004)
August 6 - Mukhu Aliyev, Russian politician
August 6 - Louise Sorel, American actress
August 7 - Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgian politician
August 8 - Dennis Tito, American businessman and space tourist
August 8 - Dilip Sardesai, Indian cricketer (d. 2007)
August 9 - Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (d. 2008)
August 10 - Bobby Hatfield, American singer (Righteous Brothers) (d. 2003)
August 10 - Sid Waddell, Darts Commentator for the PDC
August 12 - Eddie Barlow, South African cricketer (d. 2005)
August 13 - Tony Cloninger, American baseball player
August 14 - Dash Crofts, American musician
August 15 - Gudrun Ensslin, German terrorist
August 15 - Rita Shane, American soprano
August 16 - Bruce Beresford, Australian film director
August 17 - Eduardo Mignogna, Argentinian film director (d. 2006)
August 19 - Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter
August 19 - Jill St. John, American actress
August 20 - Rubén Hinojosa, American politician
August 20 - Rex Sellers, Australian cricketer
August 22 - Valerie Harper, American actress
August 22 - Bill McCartney, American football coach
August 24 - Francine Lalonde, Quebec politician
August 25 - José Van Dam, Belgian baritone
August 26 - Don LaFontaine, American voice actor (d. 2008)
August 27 - Sonny Sharrock, American jazz guitarist (d. 1994)
August 28 - Ken Jenkins, American actor
August 28 - Roger Pingeon, French cylist
August 28 - Nik Turner, English musician (Hawkwind)
August 29 - James Brady, American White House Press Secretary and gun control activist
August 29 - Gary Gabelich, American race car driver (d. 1984)
September 2 - Jimmy Clanton, American singer
September 3 - Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist
September 3 - Pauline Collins, English actress
September 5 - Raquel Welch, American actress
September 7 - Dario Argento, Italian film director
September 8 - Quentin L. Cook, LDS apostle
September 11 - Brian de Palma, American film director
September 11 - Theodore Olson, U.S. Solicitor General
September 11 - Nong Duc Manh, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
September 11 - Robert Palmer, last CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation
September 12 - Linda Gray, American actress
September 12 - Mickey Lolich, American baseball player
September 12 - Patrick Mower, English actor
September 13 - Óscar Arias, Costa Rican politician
September 14 - Larry Brown, American basketball coach
September 15 - Merlin Olsen, American football player and actor
September 15 - Norman Spinrad, American science fiction author
September 17 - Jan Eliasson, Swedish diplomat
September 17 - Sotiris Moustakas, Greek actor (d. 2007)
September 19 - Anna Karen, South African-born British actress
September 19 - Bill Medley, American singer and songwriter (The Righteous Brothers)
September 19 - Ed Westfall, Canadian ice hockey player
September 19 - Paul Williams, American composer
September 21 - Bill Kurtis, American television journalist
September 21 - Hermann Knoflacher, Austrian civil engineer
September 22 - Anna Karina, Danish born actress
September 24 - Yves Navarre, French writer (d. 1994)
September 27 - Benoni Beheyt, Belgian cyclist
September 29 - Nicola Di Bari, Italian singer
October 2 - Gheorghe Gruia, Romanian handball player
October 3 - Alan O'Day, American singer and songwriter
October 3 - Sheila Fearn, English actress
October 3 - Jean Ratelle, Canadian ice hockey player
October 4 - Silvio Marzolini, Argentine footballer
October 4 - Alberto Vilar, Cuban-American investor and philanthropist
October 7 - Bruce Vento, American politician (d. 2000)
October 8 - Fred Cash, American singer (The Impressions)
October 9 - John Lennon, British musician and songwriter (The Beatles) (d. 1980)
October 9 - Joe Pepitone, American baseball player
October 13 - Pharoah Sanders, American saxophonist
October 14 - Perrie Mans, South African snooker player
October 14 - Cliff Richard, English singer
October 14 - Christopher Timothy, British actor
October 15 - Tommy Bishop, English rugby league player
October 15 - Peter Doherty, Australian immunologist
October 16 - Barry Corbin, American actor
October 16 - Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player (d. 2003)
October 17 - Peter Stringfellow, British nightclub owner
October 17 - Jim Smith, English footballer and manager
October 19 - Michael Gambon, Irish actor
October 20 - Kathy Kirby, British singer
October 20 - Robert Pinsky, American poet and Poet Laureate of the United States
October 21 - Geoff Boycott, English cricketer
October 21 - Manfred Mann, English musician
October 21 - Frances FitzGerald, American journalist and author
October 23 - Ellie Greenwich, American singer
October 23 - Pelé, Brazilian footballer
October 23 - Baby Jane Holzer, American art collector
October 24 - Martin Campbell, New Zealand film director
October 25 - Bobby Knight, American basketball coach
October 27 - John Gotti, American gangster (d. 2002)
October 27 - Maxine Hong Kingston, American writer
October 28 - Susan Harris, American television writer and producer
October 29 - Frida Boccara, French singer (d. 1996)
October 29 - Connie Mack, U.S. Senator from Florida
October 29 - José Ulises Macías Salcedo, Catholic bishop
October 30 - Ed Lauter, American actor
November 1 - Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, Chief Justice of India
November 1 - Barry Sadler, American singer (d. 1989)
November 2 - Jim Bakken, American football player
November 4 - Delbert McClinton, American musician
November 5 - Elke Sommer, German actress
November 5 - Ted Kulongoski, American politician
November 6 - Ruth Messinger, Manhattan Borough President and President of the American Jewish World Service
November 6 - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, LDS apostle
November 6 - Johnny Giles, Irish footballer,
November 10 - Screaming Lord Sutch, English musician and politician (d. 1999)
November 11 - Barbara Boxer, American politician
November 12 - Michel Audet, Quebec economist and politician
November 12 - Jürgen Todenhöfer, German politician
November 13 - Daniel Pilon, Canadian actor
November 15 - Ulf Pilgaard, Danish actor
November 15 - Sam Waterston, American actor
November 17 - Luke Kelly, Irish folk music singer and banjo player
November 18 - Qaboos ibn Sa’id, Sultan of Oman
November 20 - Bob Einstein, American actor and comedian
November 21 - Dr. John, American musician
November 21 - Richard Marcinko, American author
November 22 - Terry Gilliam, American-born British comedian
November 22 - Roy Thomas, American comic book writer
November 23 - Luis Tiant, Cuban baseball player
November 24 - Paul Tagliabue, retired commissioner of the National Football League
November 24 - Don Metz, American architect
November 24 - Eric Wilson, Canadian children's author.
November 25 - Reinhard Furrer, American physicist and astronaut (d. 1995)
November 25 - Joe Gibbs, American football coach
November 27 - Bruce Lee, American actor and martial artist (d. 1973)
November 28 - Bruce Channel, American singer
November 29 - Denny Doherty, Canadian singer (The Mamas and the Papas) (d. 2007)
November 29 - Chuck Mangione, American musician
December 1 - Richard Pryor, American actor
December 3 - Jeffrey R. Holland, American religious leader
December 4 - Gary Gilmore, American murderer (d. 1977)
December 5 - Boris Ignatyev, Russian footballer and manager
December 5 - Peter Pohl, Swedish writer
December 5 - Adrian Street, Welsh professional wrestler
December 6 - Lawrence Bergman, Quebec politician
December 6 - Richard Edlund, American special effects photographer
December 7 - Stan Boardman, English comedian
December 7 - Gerry Cheevers, Canadian ice hockey player
December 8 - Brant Alyea, American baseball player
December 11 - David Gates, American musician (Bread)
December 12 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
December 12 - Dionne Warwick, American singer
December 14 - Lex Gold, Scottish football administrator
December 15 - Nick Buoniconti, American football player
December 17 - Kåre Valebrokk, Norwegian journalist
December 18 - Bramwell Morrison, member of Sharon
December 19 - Phil Ochs, American folk singer (d. 1976)
December 21 - Frank Zappa, American musician (d. 1993)
December 21 - Ray Hildebrand, American singer (Paul & Paula)
December 23 - Jorma Kaukonen, American musician (Jefferson Airplane
December 23 - Robert Labine, French-Canadian politician
December 23 - Eugene Record, American singer (The Chi-Lites) (d. 2005)
December 25 - Pete Brown, English poet and lyricist
December 26 - Edward C. Prescott, American economist
December 26 - Ray Sadecki, American Major league baseball pitcher
December 26 - Phil Spector, American music producer
December 28 - Don Francisco, Chilean television host
December 30 - James Burrows, American television director
December 31 - Mani Neumeier, German musician (Guru Guru)

Deaths

January 1 - Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian writer and essayist (b. 1865)
January 5 - Humbert Wolfe, Italian-British poet (b. 1885)
January 12 - Edward Smith, English soldier
January 18 - Kazimierz Tetmajer, Polish writer (b. 1865)
January 20 - Omar Bundy, U.S. army general (b. 1861)
January 25 - Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (b. 1899)
January 27 - Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer (b. 1894)
February 1 - Philip Francis Nowlan, science fiction writer
February 4 - Nikolai Yezhov, Head of Soviet NKVD (b. 1895)
February 9 - Eugene Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (b. 1857)
February 11 - John Buchan, Governor-General of Canada (b. 1875)
February 29 - Edward Frederic Benson, English writer (b. 1867)
March 1 - Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Estonian author (b. 1878)
March 4 - Hamlin Garland, American novelist (b. 1860)
March 5 - Cai Yuanpei, Chinese educator (b. 1868)
March 10 - Mikhaïl Boulgakov, Russian writer (b. 1891)
March 16 - Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish writer
March 20 - Alfred Ploetz, German physician
March 26 - Spiridon Louis, Greek runner
March 27 - Michael Joseph Savage, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1872)
March 29 - Alexander Obolensky, Russian prince and famed Rugby Union footballer who played for England.(b. 1916)
April 9 - Mrs. Patrick Campbell, British actress (b. 1865)
April 26 - Carl Bosch, German chemist
May 7 - George Lansbury, Labour Party Leader (b. 1859)
May 14 - Emma Goldman, Lithuanian-born anarchist (b. 1869)
May 15 - Menno ter Braak, Dutch author and polemicist (b. 1902)
May 20 - Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer
May 25 - Joe De Grasse, American film director (b. 1873)
May 28 - Friedrich Karl von Hessen, (b. 1868)
June 10 - Marcus Garvey, American civil rights activist (b. 1887)
June 16 - DuBose Heyward, American writer (b. 1885)
June 17 - Arthur Harden, English chemist
June 21 - Smedley Butler, American Marine general (b. 1881)
June 29 - Paul Klee, Swiss artist (b. 1879)
July 15 - Robert Pershing Wadlow, American--at 8 ft. 11.1 in
August 8 - Johnny Dodds, American musician (b. 1892)
August 17 - Billy Fiske, American aviator (b. 1911)
August 18 - Walter P. Chrysler, American automobile executive (b. 1875)
August 21 - Leon Trotsky, Russian revolutionary (b. 1879)
August 21 - Ernest Lawrence Thayer, American poet (b. 1863)
August 21 - Hermann Obrecht, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1882)
August 22 - Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge, English physicist (b. 1851)
August 24 - Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, German television pioneer (b. 1860)
August 30 - J.J. Thomson, English physicist
August 31 - Georges Gauthier, French Canadian Roman Catholic archbishop of Montreal (b. 1871)
September 27 - Walter Benjamin, German philosopher (b. 1892)
September 27 - Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian neuroscientist
October 5 - Ballington Booth, Salvation Army Officer and co-founder of Volunteers of America (b. 1857)
October 5 - Lincoln Loy McCandless, American cattle rancher (b. 1859)
October 5 - Silvestre Revueltas, Mexican musician (b. 1889)
October 9 - Wilfred Grenfell, English medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador (b. 1865).
October 10 - Berton Churchill, Canadian actor (b. 1876)
October 11 - Lluís Companys, President of Generalitat of Catalonia (shot) (b. 1882)
October 11 - Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician and physicist (b. 1860)
October 12 - Tom Mix, American actor (b. 1880)
October 20 - Gunnar Asplund, Swedish architect (b. 1885)
October 21 - William G. Conley, Governor of West Virginia (b. 1866)
November 9 - Stephen Peter Alencastre, Portuguese Catholic prelate (b. 1876)
November 9 - Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1869)
November 17 - Eric Gill, British sculptor (b. 1882)
November 17 - Raymond Pearl, American biologist (b. 1879)
November 27 - Nicolae Iorga, Romanian writer and politician (b. 1871)
December 5 - Mordechai Frizis, Jewish Greek military officer (b. 1893)
December 5 - Jan Kubelík, Austro-Hungarian-born Czechoslovak violinist (b. 1880)
December 8 - George Exton Lloyd, Anglican Bishop and theologian (b. 1861)
December 13 - Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval, French physicist (b. 1851)
December 13 - George Regas, Greek actor (b. 1890)
December 16 - Billy Hamilton, American baseball player (b. 1866)
December 17 - Alicia Boole Stott, Irish mathematician (b. 1860)
December 21 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, American writer (b. 1896)
December 22 - Nathanael West, American writer (b. 1903)
December 25 - Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)

Events

January 5 - FM radio is demonstrated to the FCC for the first time.
January 6 - Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the city of Poznań, Warthegau.
January 8 - World War II: Britain introduces food rationing.
January 12 - World War II: Soviets bombs cities in Finland.
January 29 - Three gasoline multiple units carrying factory workers crash and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi station, Yumesaki Line (Nishinari Line), Osaka, Japan, killing at least 181 people and injuring at least 92.
February 2 - Frank Sinatra debuts with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra.
February 16 - World War II: Altmark Incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. 299 British prisoners are freed.
February 27 - Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14
February 28 - Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
February 29 - For her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award.
February 29 - Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations
February 29 - In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, because of the war, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's Consul General in San Francisco.
March 3 - Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Norrskensflamman in Luleå, Sweden.
March 5 - Members of Soviet politburo sign an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs, known also as the Katyn massacre.
March 6 - Winter War: An armistice is signed by Finland and the Soviet Union.
March 12 - Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia. Finnish troops and the remaining population is immediately evacuated.
March 13 - The Russo-Finnish Winter War ends.
March 18 - World War II: Axis Powers
March 23 - The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or the then Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All India Muslim League.
March 28 - Construction begins of the exhibition center to host the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair.
March 30 - Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking to be the capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Ching-wei.
April 7 - Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
April 8 - World War II: Great Britain and France announce that they have mined Norwegian territorial waters to prevent their use by German supply ships.
April 9 - World War II: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
April 14 - World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway in preparation for a larger force to arrive two days later.
April 15 - The Allies begin their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik which is occupied by Nazi Germany.
April 23 - The Rhythm Night Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
May 1 - The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled due to war.
May 5 - World War II: In London, a Norwegian government-in-exile is formed.
May 6 - John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
May 9 - World War II: The German submarine U-9 sinks the French coastal submarine Doris near Den Helder.
May 10 - World War II: The first German bombs of the war fall on England at Chilham and Petham, in Kent.
May 10 - World War II: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
May 10 - World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
May 10 - World War II: Invasion of Iceland by the United Kingdom.
May 13 - World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse River. Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons.
May 13 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees the Nazi invasion in the Netherlands to Great Britain. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety.
May 14 - World War II: Rotterdam is bombed by the German Luftwaffe.
May 14 - World War II: The Netherlands surrenders to Germany.
May 15 - USS Sailfish (SS-192) recomisioned, origionaly the Squalus.
May 15 - World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.
May 15 - McDonald's opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
May 17 - World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.
May 17 - World War II: the old city centre of the Dutch town of Middelburg is bombed by the German Luftwaffe, to force the surrender of the Dutch armies in Zeeland.
May 20 - Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
May 24 - Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
May 25 - World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk begins.
May 26 - World War II: Battle of Dunkirk – In France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.
May 27 - World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 97 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops.
May 28 - World War II: Belgium surrenders to Germany.
May 28 - World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik. This is the first allied infantry victory of World War II.
June 1 - The Leninist Communist Youth League of the Karelo-Finnish SSR holds its first congress.
June 3 - World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris.
June 3 - World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.
June 4 - World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends
June 7 - King Haakon VII of Norway, Crown Prince Olav and the Norwegian government leave Tromsø and go into exile in London.
June 10 - World War II: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
June 10 - World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt denounces Italy's actions with his "Stab in the Back" speech at the graduation ceremonies of the University of Virginia.
June 10 - World War II: German forces, under General Erwin Rommel, reach the English Channel.
June 10 - World War II: Canada declares war on Italy.
June 10 - World War II: Norway surrenders to German forces.
June 11 - World War II: British forces bomb Genoa and Turin in Italy.
June 11 - World War II: First attack of the Italian Air force on the island of Malta.
June 12 - World War II: 13,000 British and French troops surrender to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
June 14 - World War II: Paris falls under German occupation, and Allied forces retreat.
June 14 - A group of 728 Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first residents of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
June 16 - World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Premier of Vichy France.
June 16 - A Communist government is installed in Lithuania.
June 17 - World War II: Operation Ariel begins
June 17 - World War II: sinking of the RMS Lancastria by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France.
June 17 - World War II: the British Army's 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.
June 17 - The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.
June 18 - Appeal of June 18 by Charles de Gaulle.
June 18 - "Finest Hour" speech by Winston Churchill.
June 21 - The first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage begins at Vancouver, British Columbia.
June 22 - France is forced to sign the Second Compiègne armistice with Germany.
June 23 - World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler surveys newly defeated Paris in now occupied France.
June 24 - France and Italy sign an armistice.
June 26 - World War II: under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina.
June 28 - Romania cedes Bessarabia (current-day Moldova) to the Soviet Union.
July 2 - Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta.
July 5 - World War II: The United Kingdom and the Vichy France government break off diplomatic relations.
July 10 - World War II: Vichy France government is established.
July 10 - World War II: Battle of Britain
July 11 - World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Prime Minister of France.
July 19 - World War II: Twelve men were promoted Generalfeldmarschall by Adolf Hitler, see List of German Field Marshals.
July 19 - World War II: Battle of Cape Spada
July 19 - World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.
July 20 - Denmark leaves the League of Nations.
July 20 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Hatch Act of 1939, limiting political activity by Federal government employees.
July 23 - United States' Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles's declaration on the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic States
July 25 - General Guisan orders the Swiss Army to resist German invasion and makes surrender illegal.
July 27 - The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.
July 31 - A doodlebug train in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio collides with a multi-car freight train heading in the opposite direction, killing 43 people.
August 3 - World War II: Italy invades British Somaliland.
August 5 - World War II: Latvia is annexed by the Soviet Union.
August 7 - Alsace Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich (Germany) during World War II
August 8 - The "Aufbau Ost" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.
August 13 - World War II: Battle of Britain begins
August 16 - World War II: The Communist Party is banned in German-occupied Norway.
August 20 - In Mexico City exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramon Mercader. He dies the next day.
August 26 - Chad is the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.
September 4 - World War II: a German submarine makes the first attack against a United States ship (the USS Greer) .
September 6 - King Carol II of Romania abdicates and is succeeded by his son Michael.
September 7 - World War II: The Blitz
September 7 - Treaty of Craiova: Romania loses Southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria.
September 11 - George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.
September 11 - World War II: Buckingham Palace is damaged during a German air raid.
September 12 - Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France.
September 12 - An explosion at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Kenvil, New Jersey kills 51 people and injures over 200.
September 13 - World War II: German bombs damage Buckingham Palace.
September 15 - World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft.
September 16 - Sam Rayburn is elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He is widely regarded as the most effective Speaker of the House in American history.
September 18 - World War II: Italian troops conquer Sidi Barrani.
September 19 - Witold Pilecki is voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz in order to smuggle out information and start a resistance.
September 27 - World War II: The Tripartite Pact is signed in Berlin by Germany, Japan and Italy.
October 1 - The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic.
October 4 - Meeting between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini at the Brenner Pass.
October 7 - World War II: the McCollum memo proposes bringing the United States into the war in Europe by provoking the Japanese to attack the United States.
October 9 - World War II: Battle of Britain
October 14 - Balham tube disaster during the Blitz.
October 16 - Benjamin O. Davis Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.
October 16 - Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto is established.
October 26 - The P-51 Mustang makes its maiden flight.
October 28 - World War II: Italy invades Greece through Albania, marking Greece's entry into World War II. It is celebrated in Greece as Okhi Day (Όχι=No) Day.
October 31 - World War II: The Battle of Britain ends
November 5 - Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected to a third term as President of the United States.
November 7 - In Tacoma, Washington, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge ("Galloping Gertie") collapses in a windstorm, a mere four months after the bridge's completion.
November 10 - Walt Disney begins serving as an informer for the Los Angeles office of the FBI; his job is to report back information on Hollywood subversives.
November 11 - World War II: Battle of Taranto
November 11 - The German cruiser Atlantis captures top secret British mail, and sends it to Japan.
November 11 - Armistice Day Blizzard: An unexpected blizzard kills 144 in U.S. Midwest.
November 14 - World War II: In England, the city of Coventry is heavily bombed by German Luftwaffe bombers. Coventry Cathedral is almost completely destroyed.
November 16 - World War II: In response to Germany's leveling of Coventry, England two days before, the Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg.
November 16 - Holocaust: In occupied Poland, the Nazis close off the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world.
November 18 - World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano meet to discuss Benito Mussolini's disastrous invasion of Greece.
November 18 - New York City's Mad Bomber places his first bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison.
November 20 - World War II: Hungary, Romania and Slovakia join the Axis Powers.
November 22 - World War II: Following the Italian invasion, Greek troops advances into Albanian soil and capture Korytsa.
November 25 - First flight of the deHavilland Mosquito and Martin B-26 Marauder.
November 27 - In Romania, the ruling party Iron Guard arrests and executes over 60 of exiled King Carol II of Romania's aides, including former minister Nicolae Iorga.
November 27 - World War II: At the Battle of Cape Spartivento, the Royal Navy engages the Regia Marina in the Mediterranean Sea.
November 30 - Lucille Ball marries Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.
December 7 - The first prototype Fairey Barracuda flew
December 9 - World War II: Operation Compass
December 12 - World War II: Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield as a result of a German air raid.
December 22 - World War II: Himarë is captured by the Greek army.
December 23 - World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis (Υ-2) sinks the Italian motor ship Antonietta.
December 29 - World War II: In The Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe firebombs London, killing almost 200 civilians.
December 30 - California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.

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This page uses material from the Wikipedia article "1940".