Explore 3967 historical events from 1940–1949.
Patricia C. McKissack was a prolific African-American children's writer. She was the author of more than 100 books, including Dear America books A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of …
Patricia McKissack, American soldier, engineer, and author (died 2017)
James Ezekiel Chambers, known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, was a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician. He was considered to be one of Jamaica's most celebrated musi…
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer (died 2025)
Frederick Wallace Smith was an American business magnate and investor. He was the founder and chairman of FedEx Corporation, the world's largest express transportation company. Smi…
Frederick W. Smith, American businessman, founded FedEx (died 2025)
Ian McDiarmid is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen. Making his stage debut in Hamlet in 1972, McDiarmid joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974, and has since …
Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
Kevin Tighe is an American actor who has worked in television, film, and theater since the late 1960s. He is best known for portraying firefighter-paramedic Roy DeSoto, on the 1972…
Kevin Tighe, American actor
Sayyid Ahad Hosseini is an Iranian Azerbaijani sculptor and painter. He is sometimes regarded as a patriotic figure and national symbol of Iran.
Ahad Hosseini, Iranian Azerbaijani artist
Dimitris Sioufas was a Greek lawyer and New Democracy politician.
Dimitris Sioufas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health (died 2019)
Kevin Ayers was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1…
Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2013)
Lawrence Joseph Ellison is an American businessman. He co-founded the software company Oracle Corporation, and was its CEO from 1977 to 2014. He now serves as its CTO and executive…
Larry Ellison, American businessman, co-founded the Oracle Corporation
Jean-Bernard Pommier was a French pianist, conductor and academic teacher who made an international career. He was known for playing music by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninof…
Jean-Bernard Pommier, French pianist and conductor (died 2026)
Paula Danziger was an American children's author who wrote more than 30 books, including her 1974 debut The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, for children's and young adult audiences. At the tim…
Paula Danziger, American author (died 2004)
Robert Charles Hitchcock is an Australian sculptor. He commenced his career in 1970 and works in a wide variety of subjects and materials. Hitchcock is one of the leading portrait …
Robert Hitchcock, Australian sculptor and illustrator
Jack Canfield is an American author and motivational speaker. He is the co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which has more than 250 titles and 500 million copies in …
Jack Canfield, American author
Stewart Johnson is an American former professional basketball player. A 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) tall forward/center from Murray State University, who was born in New York City, John…
Stew Johnson, American basketball player
Bodil Malmsten was a Swedish poet and novelist.
Bodil Malmsten, Swedish author and poet (died 2016)
Edward Garvin Futch, known professionally as Eddy Raven, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active from 1962 to 2018, Raven has recorded for several record labels,…
Eddy Raven, American country music singer-songwriter
Charles B. Wang was a Chinese-American billionaire, businessman, and philanthropist, who was a co-founder and CEO of Computer Associates International, Inc.. He was a minority owne…
Charles Wang, Chinese-American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Computer Associates International (died 2018)
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was an Indian aircraft pilot and statesman who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989 for two terms. He took office after the assassination of h…
Rajiv Gandhi, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of India (died 1991)
Graig Nettles, nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Clevela…
Graig Nettles, American baseball player and manager
José Wilker Almeida was a Brazilian film, stage, and television actor and director. He gained fame in telenovelas such as Roque Santeiro (1985), but became internationally known fo…
José Wilker, Brazilian actor and director (died 2014)
Perry Gladstone Christie PC, MP is a Bahamian former politician who served as prime minister of the Bahamas from 2002 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2017. He is the second longest-servin…
Perry Christie, Bahamian politician, third Prime Minister of the Bahamas
Roger John Cashmore is the chair of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Previously he was principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, and professor of experimental physics at…
Roger Cashmore, English physicist and academic
William Alfred Goldsworthy was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played for three teams in the National Hockey League for 14 seasons between 1964 and 1978, mostly…
Bill Goldsworthy, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (died 1996)
Peter Lindsay Weir is an Australian retired film director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed films crossing various genres over forty years, such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (1…
Peter Weir, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter