The 1940s

1941 85 years ago

World War II: The Nazi-affiliated Ustaše is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis powers after O

The Ustaše, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945. It was formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar…

World War II: The Nazi-affiliated Ustaše is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis powers after O

1941 85 years ago

Bertrand Tavernier, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2021)

Bertrand Tavernier was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer.

Bertrand Tavernier, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2021)

1941 85 years ago

Dorothy Shea, Australian librarian (died 2024)

Dorothy Shea was an Australian librarian who was the Librarian of the Supreme Court of Tasmania from 1988 to 2016, president of the Australian Law Librarians' Association (ALLA) fr…

Dorothy Shea, Australian librarian (died 2024)

1941 85 years ago

Claudine Auger, French model and actress (died 2019)

Claudine Auger was a French actress best known for her role as a Bond girl, Dominique "Domino" Derval, in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965). She earned the title of Miss Franc…

Claudine Auger, French model and actress (died 2019)

1941 85 years ago

Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Indian archaeologist

Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti is an Indian archaeologist, Professor Emeritus of South Asian Archaeology at Cambridge University, and a Senior Fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeo…

Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Indian archaeologist

1941 85 years ago

World War II: The Axis powers invasion of Yugoslavia is completed when it signs an armistice with Germany and Italy

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and air…

World War II: The Axis powers invasion of Yugoslavia is completed when it signs an armistice with Germany and Italy

1941 85 years ago

World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and air…

World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht

1941 85 years ago

World War II: German troops enter Athens

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and air…

World War II: German troops enter Athens

1941 85 years ago

The Ustaše massacre nearly 200 Serbs in the village of Gudovac, the first massacre of their genocidal campaign against S

The Ustaše, was a Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945. It was formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar…

The Ustaše massacre nearly 200 Serbs in the village of Gudovac, the first massacre of their genocidal campaign against S

1941 85 years ago

World War II: Following the coup d'état against Iraq Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom lau

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and air…

World War II: Following the coup d'état against Iraq Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom lau

1941 85 years ago

Lee Roy Jordan, American football player

Lee Roy Jordan was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1976. He …

Lee Roy Jordan, American football player

1941 85 years ago

Lucien Aimar, French cyclist

Lucien Aimar is a French cyclist, who won the Tour de France in 1966 and the national road championship in 1968. He is now a race organizer.

Lucien Aimar, French cyclist

1941 85 years ago

John Madejski, English businessman and academic

Sir John Robert Madejski is an English businessman, with commercial interests spanning property, broadcast media, hotels, restaurants, publishing and football.

John Madejski, English businessman and academic

1941 85 years ago

Karl Barry Sharpless, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Karl Barry Sharpless is an American stereochemist. He is a two-time Nobel laureate in chemistry, known for his work on stereoselective reactions and click chemistry.

Karl Barry Sharpless, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

1941 85 years ago

At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show

California is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international borde…

At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show

1941 85 years ago

World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and air…

World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby

1941 85 years ago

World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and air…

World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy

1941 85 years ago

World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.…

World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid

1941 85 years ago

World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi

Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a German politician, convicted war criminal, and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Germany. Appointed Deputy to the Führer in 1933, Hess held tha…

World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi

1941 85 years ago

Iryna Zhylenko, Ukrainian poet and author (died 2013)

Irina (Iraida) Volodymyrivna Zhylenko, a Ukrainian poet, was the a wife of Volodymyr Drozd. She was born in Kyiv and died in August 2013 at the age of 72.

Iryna Zhylenko, Ukrainian poet and author (died 2013)

1941 85 years ago

Hanne Darboven, German painter (died 2009)

Hanne Darboven was a German conceptual artist, best known for her large-scale minimalist installations consisting of handwritten tables of numbers.

Hanne Darboven, German painter (died 2009)

1941 85 years ago

Stavros Dimas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs

Stavros Dimas is a Greek politician who was European Commissioner for the Environment from 2004 to 2009. From November 2011 to May 2012, he served in the government of Greece as Mi…

Stavros Dimas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs

1941 85 years ago

Clay Carroll, American baseball player

Clay Palmer Carroll is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1964 through 1978, most notably as a membe…

Clay Carroll, American baseball player

1941 85 years ago

Nona Gaprindashvili, Georgian chess player, Women's World Champion, 1962-1978

Nona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess Grandmaster. Noted for her aggressive style of play, she was the women's world chess champion from 1962 to 1978, and in 1978 was the first w…

Nona Gaprindashvili, Georgian chess player, Women's World Champion, 1962-1978