Explore 6096 historical events from 1940–1949.
Willie Gillis, Jr. is a fictional character created by Norman Rockwell for a series of World War II paintings that appeared on the covers of 11 issues of The Saturday Evening Post …
Norman Rockwell's Willie Gillis character debuts on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country located at the southern end of Central America in North America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to th…
A coup in Panama declares Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango the new president.
World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia started with the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. Under the pressure of the Yugoslav Partisan movement, part of the Macedonian communis…
Beginning of the National Liberation War of Macedonia.
Robert David Simon was an American television correspondent for CBS News. He covered crises, war, and unrest in 67 countries during his career. Simon reported the withdrawal of Ame…
Bob Simon, American journalist (died 2015)
Dame Margaret June Clark, FAAN FLSW was a British nurse and academic who was Professor Emeritus of Community Nursing, at Swansea University in Wales.
June Clark, Welsh nurse and educator
Louis Joseph Ignarro is an American pharmacologist. For demonstrating the signaling properties of nitric oxide, he was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicin…
Louis Ignarro, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
William Dawbney Nordhaus is an American economist. He was a Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, best known for his work in economic modeling and climate change, and…
William Nordhaus, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Toyo Ito is a Japanese architect known for creating conceptual architecture, in which he seeks to simultaneously express the physical and virtual worlds. He is a leading exponent …
Toyo Ito, Japanese architect, designed the Torre Realia BCN and Hotel Porta Fira
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, with many eng…
World War II: The USS Kearny becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to be torpedoed by a U-boat.
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, with many eng…
World War II: Thousands of civilians in German-occupied Serbia are murdered in the Kragujevac massacre.
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, with many eng…
World War II: The Kragujevac massacre against Serbian men and boys takes place.
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, with many eng…
World War II: French resistance member Guy Môquet and 29 other hostages are executed by the Germans in retaliation for…
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered ar…
The Holocaust: Nazi Germany prohibits Jews from emigrating, including in its occupied territories.
Alexander Valentinovich Zakharov is a Soviet and Russian chief scientist and astronomer serving at the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI).
Alexander V
Walter Stacy Keach Jr. is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and is a prominen…
Stacy Keach, American actor
Irène Schweizer was a Swiss jazz and free improvising pianist.
Irène Schweizer, Swiss jazz pianist (died 2024)
Charles Robert Watts was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
Charlie Watts, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (died 2021)
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered ar…
The Holocaust: In the Kaunas Ghetto, over 10,000 Jews are shot by German occupiers at the Ninth Fort, a massacre known…
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving US president and the…
President Roosevelt approves $1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Allied nations.
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered ar…
Holocaust: Fifteen hundred Jews from Pidhaytsi are sent by Nazis to Bełżec extermination camp.
David Lyle Boren was an American lawyer and politician from Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms…
David Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma (died 2025)
Paavo Tapio Lipponen is a Finnish politician and former reporter. He was prime minister of Finland from 1995 to 2003, and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Finland from 19…
Paavo Lipponen, Finnish journalist and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Finland
Kenneth Graham Ross is an Australian playwright, screenwriter, and lyricist best known for writing the 1978 stage play Breaker Morant, that was based on the life of Australian sold…
Kenneth G
Martha Argerich is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest living pianists.
Martha Argerich, Argentinian pianist