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Months in 1940: January March April May June July August September October November December

Historical Events

Results 1 - 35 of 35

1st - Russia begins new offensive against Finland
2nd - Frank Sinatra's singing debut in Indianapolis (Tommy Dorsey Orch)
5th - Gen Winckelman replaces Gen Reijnders as Dutch supreme commander
5th - Glenn Miller & his Orchestra record "Tuxedo Junction"
7th - British railroads nationalized
7th - Walt Disney's 2nd feature-length movie, "Pinocchio," premieres (NYC)
8th - Lewis & Hamilton's musical "Two for the Show," premieres in NYC
8th - Lodtz, 1st large ghetto established by Nazis in Poland
9th - Joe Louis beats Arturo Godoy in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
10th - "In The Mood" by Glenn Miller hits #1
10th - Tom & Jerry created by Hanna & Barbera debut by MGM
10th - US female Figure Skating championship won by Joan Tozzer
10th - US male Figure Skating championship won by Eugene Turner
13th - Bradman scores 209* in 161 minutes for South Aust at the WACA
14th - British merchant vessel fleet is armed
16th - British search plane finds German Altmark off Norway
17th - Bradman scores 135 in a non-Shield match for SA v West Australia
17th - British destroyers board German Altmark off Norway
20th - Larry Clinton & his Orchestra record "Limehouse Blues"
22nd - Finnish troops vacate Koivisto island
22nd - German air force sinks 2 German destroyers, killing 578
23rd - Russian troops conquer Lasi Island
23rd - Walt Disney's animated movie "Pinocchio," released
24th - Frances Langford records "When You Wish Upon a Star"
25th - 1st televised (W2XBS, NYC) hockey game (Rangers vs Canadians)
26th - US Air Defense Command forms at Mitchel Field, LI, NY
27th - Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14
28th - 1st televised basketball game (U of Pitts beats Fordham U, 50-37)
28th - Richard Wright's "Native Son" published
28th - US population at 131,669,275 (12,865,518 blacks (9.8%))
29th - 45 U boats sunk this month (170,000 ton)
29th - Frederic from G & S "Pirates of Penzance" finally released by pirate
29th - "Gone with the Wind," wins 8 Oscars
29th - Hattie McDaniel becomes 1st black woman to win an Oscar
29th - Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations

Famous Birthdays

Results 1 - 68 of 68

1st - Bibi Besch, Vienna Austria, actress (Star Trek 2, Beast Within)
1st - Herve Filion, sulky driver (1969 Canadian Sports Hall of Fame)
2nd - Alan "Tea" Caddy, rock guitarist (Tornados-Globetrotter)
2nd - Martina Arroyo, NYC, soprano
2nd - Thomas M[ichael] Disch, US, sci-fi author (Genocides, 102 H-Bombs)
2nd - David Jason, English actor
2nd - Wayne Fontes, American football coach
3rd - Fran Tarkenton, Richmond Va, NFL QB (NY Giants, Minn Vikings)
3rd - Jim Hartz, newscaster (NBC-TV, Innovations)
4th - George A Romero, actor/director (Creepshow, Martin, 2 Evil Eyes)
5th - H R Giger, artist, special effects designer, (Alien)
6th - Jimmy Tarbuck, English comic/golfer
6th - Tom Brokaw, Yankton SD, news anchor (NBC Nightly News 1982- )
7th - Gary Bond, England, actor (Outback, Zulu, Anne of Thousand Days)
8th - Averil Cameron, British(?) historian
8th - Talib Rasul Hakim, composer
8th - Ted Koppel, Lancashire England, American journalist (ABC Nightline)
9th - Brian Bennett, London, rock drummer (Shadows)
9th - Smokey Robinson, rocker (& Miracles-Tears of Clown)
10th - Hamish Imlach, folk singer/comic
10th - Jimmy Merchant, rocker
10th - Mary Rand-Bignal-Toomey, England, long jumper (Olympic-gold-1964)
10th - Peter Middleton, CEO (Lloyd's)
11th - Bobby "Boris" Pickett, rocker (Monster Mash)
11th - Calvin Fowler, Pitts, basketball player (Olympic-gold-1968)
12th - Hank Brown, (Rep-R-CO, 1981-88)
12th - Richard Lynch, American actor
14th - Porpoise, 1st born in captivity in US (Marineland, Fla)
15th - John Hadl, American football player
15th - Hamzah Haz, Indonesian politician
16th - Karoli Ruth Needles, painter
17th - Dennis Gamsy, cricketer (S African bat in 2 Tests v Australia 1970)
19th - Bobby Rogers, US vocalist (Miracles-You Really Got a Hold on Me)
19th - Carlin Glynn, US actress (Continental Divide)
19th - William "Smokey" Robinson, Det, vocalist (& Miracles-Being With You)
19th - Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)
20th - Barbara Laine Ellis, singer
20th - Christoph Eschenbach, Breslau, Germany, pianist/conductor
20th - Jimmy Greaves, British broadcaster/soccer player
20th - RA Weiss, director (Institute of Cancer Research)
20th - V Payne, British headmistress (Malvern Girls' College)
21st - John Lewis, (Rep-D-Georgia)
21st - Peter McEnery, England, actor (Game is Over, Moonspinners)
21st - Peter Gethin, British racing driver
22nd - Chet Walker, NBA all-star forward (Chicago Bulls)
22nd - Johnson P Mlambo, South African leader (Pan-African Congress)
22nd - Julian Chagrin, London, mime/actor (Golddiggers)
22nd - Billy Name, American photographer
23rd - Jermyn P Brooks, CEO (Price Waterhouse Europe)
23rd - Peter Fonda, actor (Easy Rider, Lilith, Wild Angels, Trip)
24th - Denis Law, British(?) soccer player
24th - Jimmy Ellis, WBA heavyweight boxing champ (1968-70)
24th - Theo Bosch, Dutch humanist/architect (Nieuwmarkt, Amsterdam)
24th - Pete Duel, American actor (d. 1971)
24th - Denis Law, Scottish footballer
25th - Billy Packer, Wellsville NY, basketball sportscaster (CBS)
25th - George Paul, CEO (Norwich Union Insurance Group)
25th - Hector MacKenzie, trade unionist
25th - Jud Taylor, actor (Dr Gerson-Dr Kildare)
25th - Ron Santo, shortstop (Cubs, 1st baseball player to veto his trade)
27th - Barbara Kelly, CEO (Scottish Consumer Council)
27th - Howard Hesseman, Salem Or, actor (Dr Johnny Fever-WKRP, Head of Class)
27th - Bill Hunter, Australian actor
28th - Joe South, Atlanta, guitarist/songwriter/singer (Games People Play)
28th - Mario Andretti, race-car driver (1969 Indianapolis 500)
28th - Joe South, American singer
29th - Gretchen Christopher, British(?) pop singer
29th - Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople

Famous Deaths

Results 1 - 8 of 8

1st - Philip Francis Nowlan, science fiction writer, creator of Buck Rogers character (b. 1888)
4th - Nikolai Yezhov, Head of Soviet NKVD (b. 1895)
7th - Francis Ford, cricketer (5 Tests for Engld v Australia 1894-95), dies
9th - Eugene Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (b. 1857)
11th - John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Gov-Gen of Canada (1935-40), dies
27th - Peter Behrens, German architect, dies
28th - Johan C Braakensiek, Dutch political cartoonist, dies at 81
29th - Edward Frederic Benson, novelist, dies