Explore 6096 historical events from 1940–1949.
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder is an Italian composer and record producer. Dubbed the "Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His wo…
Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
Clifford H. Watson was an English professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 1960s and 1970s. He played for the St Helens in the Rugby Football League Champio…
Cliff Watson, English rugby league player (died 2018)
California is a U.S. state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, and Nevada and Arizona to the east; it also shares an intern…
California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
Henri Guisan was a Swiss military officer who held the office of General of the Swiss Armed Forces during the Second World War. He was the fourth and the most recent person to be a…
General Henri Guisan orders the Swiss Army to resist German invasion and makes surrender illegal.
A Wild Hare is a 1940 American animated comedy short film directed by Tex Avery, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures as part of the Merrie Melodi…
The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.
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: Italian forces begin the invasion of British Somaliland.
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 Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the we…
Estonia is annexed by the Soviet Union.
Adrian Tan Cheng Bock is a Singaporean former politician and physician who has served as the secretary-general of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) between 2019 and 2021 and chair…
Tan Cheng Bock, Singaporean doctor and politician
George Rufus Adams was an American jazz musician who played tenor saxophone, flute and bass clarinet. He is best known for his work with Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Roy Haynes and i…
George Adams, American musician (died 1992)
Jeroen Godfried Marie Brouwers was a Dutch writer.
Jeroen Brouwers, Dutch journalist and writer (died 2022)
Michael Arthur Cleary AO is an Australian former rugby union and rugby league footballer of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and a politician. He represented Australia in both rugby cod…
Michael Cleary, Australian rugby player and politician
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 German Luftwaffe launches an air operation, codenamed Adlertag, during the Battle of Britain in an…
The Kingdom of Italy was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 18 June 1946, when the monarchy wa…
An Italian submarine torpedoes and sinks the Greek cruiser Elli at Tinos harbor during peacetime, marking the most…
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 Hardest Day air battle, part of the Battle of Britain, takes place. At that point, it is the largest…
Lev Davidovich Trotsky, better known as Leon Trotsky, was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician and political theorist. He was a key figure in the 1905 Revolution, the October…
In Mexico City, exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He…
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: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes the fourth of his famous wartime speeches, containing the…
Ülo Õun was an Estonian sculptor whose career began in the late 1960s and came to prominence in the 1970s. Õun mainly worked as a portrait and figural sculptor and was known for hi…
Ülo Õun, Estonian sculptor (died 1988)
Gerald Tommaso DeLouise, known professionally as Burt Young, was an American actor. He played Rocky Balboa's brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino in the Rocky film series,…
Burt Young, American actor and painter (died 2023)
David Hamilton Koch was an American businessman, political activist, philanthropist, and chemical engineer. In 1970, he joined the family business: Koch Industries, the second-larg…
David Koch, American engineer, businessman, and philanthropist (died 2019)
The Eighth Route Army, also known as the 18th Group Army, was a field army nominally under the banner of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China, established…
World War II: The Eighth Route Army launches the Hundred Regiments Offensive, a successful campaign to disrupt…
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 first Bombing of Berlin by the British Royal Air Force.
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: Chad becomes the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué,…
On August 31, 1940, Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 19, a new Douglas DC-3, was flying from Washington, D.C. to Detroit with a stopover in Pittsburgh. While the aircraft was f…
Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia. The CAB investigation of the accident is…