Explore 3967 historical events from 1940–1949.
Melvin Joe Daniels was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sou…
Mel Daniels, American basketball player and coach (died 2015)
William Cary Edwards was a New Jersey politician who served as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1986 to 1989.
W. Cary Edwards, American politician (died 2010)
Olivier de Kersauson de Pennendreff is a French sailor and sailing champion.
Olivier de Kersauson, French sailor
William Neal Browder is an American country music singer, known professionally as T. G. Sheppard. He had 22 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, includin…
T. G. Sheppard, American country music singer-songwriter
Buchi Emecheta was a Nigerian writer, whose work includes novels, plays, autobiography, and children's books. She was best known for her 1974 novel, Second Class Citizen. Her other…
Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian author and academic (died 2017)
Paul David Wellstone was an American academic, author, and politician. He represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash near Evel…
Paul Wellstone, American academic and politician (died 2002)
Richard Davies was an English musician best known as founder, vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Supertramp. Davies was the band's only constant member and wrote or co-wrote…
Rick Davies, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (died 2025)
Peter Edward Ostling, known professionally as Peter Jason, was an American character actor. He appeared in over 250 film and television roles from his debut in 1967 through the mid…
Peter Jason, American actor (died 2025)
John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills was a Ghanaian politician and legal scholar who served as the 11th president of Ghana from 2009 until his death in 2012. He was inaugurated on 7 January…
John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (died 2012)
Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle is an American former professional baseball pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1967 through 1982. He was a relief pit…
Sparky Lyle, American baseball player and manager
Sir Anand Satyanand is a New Zealand lawyer, judge, and ombudsman who served as the 19th Governor-General of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011.
Anand Satyanand, New Zealand lawyer, judge, and politician, 19th Governor-General of New Zealand
Dino Danelli was an American drummer. Danelli was best known as an original member and the drummer in the rock group the Young Rascals. He has been called "one of the great unappre…
Dino Danelli, American drummer (died 2022)
Maria João Alexandre Barbosa Pires is a Portuguese classical pianist, widely regarded as one of the leading interpreters of the repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Maria João Pires, Portuguese pianist
Sally Vanessa Beauman was an English journalist and writer. She was the author of eight widely translated and best-selling novels.
Sally Beauman, English journalist and author (died 2016)
Betty Davis was an American singer, songwriter, and model. She was known for her controversial sexually oriented lyrics and performance style, and was the second wife of trumpeter …
Betty Davis, American singer-songwriter (died 2022)
Jean-Marie Leblanc is a French retired professional road bicycle racer who was general director of the Tour de France from 1989 to 2007, when he reached pensionable age and was suc…
Jean-Marie Leblanc, French cyclist and journalist
Barbara Gracey Thompson MBE was an English jazz saxophonist, flautist and composer. She studied clarinet, flute, piano and classical composition at the Royal College of Music, but …
Barbara Thomson, English saxophonist and composer (died 2022)
Vito D'Amato was an Italian professional footballer who played as a forward.
Vito D'Amato, Italian footballer (died 2025)
Jim Bridwell was an American rock climber and mountaineer, active from 1965 in Yosemite Valley, but later in Patagonia and Alaska. He was noted for pushing the standards of both ai…
Jim Bridwell, American rock climber and mountaineer (died 2018)
Gerald Hussey Buchanan Birrell was a British racing driver from Scotland, who was killed in a wreck during practice for a Formula Two race at Rouen-Les-Essarts.
Gerry Birrell, Scottish race car driver (died 1973)
Sir Peter James Bottomley is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1975 until 2024, last representing Worthing West.
Peter Bottomley, English politician
Frances J. de Lautour, better known as Frances de la Tour, is a British actress. A Tony Award winner and three-time Olivier Award winner, she is also known for her roles in the tel…
Frances de la Tour, English actress
Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, author and historian. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger broth…
Jonathan Dimbleby, English journalist and author
Geraldine Leigh Chaplin is an actress, whose extensive career has included multilingual roles in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German films. Born in the United States and …
Geraldine Chaplin, American actress and screenwriter