Explore 3967 historical events from 1940–1949.
Krzysztof Kieślowski was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for Dekalog (1989), The Double Life of Veronique (1991), and the Three Colours trilogy…
Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director and screenwriter (died 1996)
Graham Douglas McKenzie – commonly known as "Garth", after the comic strip hero – is an Australian cricketer who played for Western Australia (1960–74), Leicestershire (1969–75), T…
Graham McKenzie, Australian cricketer
Alphonso Erwin Downing is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and L…
Al Downing, American baseball player and sportscaster
Joseph Amadee Goguen was an American computer scientist. He was professor of Computer Science at the University of California and University of Oxford, and held research positions …
Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist and academic, developed the OBJ language (died 2006)
David Lloyd Johnston is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served as the 28th governor general of Canada from 2010 to 2017. Johnston was the special rapporteur appointe…
David Johnston, Canadian academic, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor General of Canada
John Dominic Boccabella is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher and first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1974 with the Chicago Cub…
John Boccabella, American baseball player
Kwame Ture was a Trinidadian and American activist who played a major role in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement. Born in Trinidad a…
Stokely Carmichael, Trinidadian-American activist (died 1998)
Peter Maclean Pollock is a retired South African cricketer. He has played a continuing role in the South Africa cricket team as a player and selector. He was voted a Wisden Cricket…
Peter Pollock, South African cricketer and author
Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played his entire career for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as "Mr. Ran…
Rod Gilbert, Canadian-American ice hockey player (died 2021)
Alfred Goodman Gilman was an American pharmacologist and biochemist. He and Martin Rodbell shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of G-proteins …
Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2015)
Nicolae Saramandu is a Romanian linguist and philologist of Aromanian ethnicity. He has been professor in several universities and vice president and later president of the Atlas L…
Nicolae Saramandu, Romanian linguist and philologist
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1965 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance, which merged with American Ball…
Twyla Tharp, American dancer and choreographer
William Franklin Guest was an American R&B/soul singer best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips along with his cousins Gladys Knight, Merald "Bubba" Knight and Edward Pat…
William Guest, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2015)
Myron Samuel Scholes is a Canadian–American financial economist. Scholes is the Frank E. Buck Professor of Finance, Emeritus, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Nobel Lau…
Myron Scholes, Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Wendell Adrian Mottley ORTT is a Trinidad and Tobago economist, politician and athlete. Mottley served as Senator and member of the House of Representatives with the Trinidad and T…
Wendell Mottley, Trinidadian sprinter, economist, and politician
Gloria Rachel Allred is an American attorney known for taking high-profile and often controversial cases, particularly those involving feminist causes. She has been inducted into t…
Gloria Allred, American lawyer and activist
Liamine Zéroual was an Algerian politician who served as the sixth president of Algeria from 31 January 1994 to 27 April 1999.
Liamine Zéroual, Algerian politician, 6th President of Algeria (died 2026)
Samuel Sharon Farr is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for California's 17th (1993–2013) and 20th congressional districts (2013–17). He is a member of the Dem…
Sam Farr, American politician
Tomaž Šalamun was a Slovenian poet who was a leading figure of postwar neo-avant-garde poetry in Central Europe and an internationally acclaimed absurdist. His more than 50 books o…
Tomaž Šalamun, Croatian-Slovenian poet and academic (died 2014)
Pavel Sedláček is a Czech rock and roll singer, songwriter and guitarist. When he was 15 played "Rock Around the Clock" on the show for amateur musicians. From 1962 he collaborated…
Pavel Sedláček, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
S. Brian Willson is a U.S. American Vietnam veteran, peace activist, and trained attorney.
Brian Willson, American soldier, lawyer, and activist
Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Nailatikau,, often referred to as Na Turaga Mai Naisogolaca, was a Fijian chief who was President of Fiji from 2009 to 2015. He had a long career in th…
Epeli Nailatikau, Fijian chief, President of Fiji (died 2026)
David Crystal is a British linguist who studies the English language.
David Crystal, British linguist, author, and academic
Reinhard Roder is a German former football player and manager.
Reinhard Roder, German footballer and manager