1940
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2008-07-13T07:28:03Z
Footballfan190
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/* Births */
{{year nav|1940}}
{{C20YearInTopicX}}
Year '''1940''' ('''[[Roman numerals|MCMXL]]''') was a [[leap year starting on Monday]] (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the [[Gregorian calendar]].
{{C20YearTOCship}}
== Events of 1940 ==
: ''(Below, many events of [[World War II]] have the "[[World War II|WWII]]" prefix.)''
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===January===
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* [[January 4]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Axis powers]] - [[Luftwaffe]] General [[Hermann Goering]] assumes control of all war industries in [[Germany]].
* [[January 6]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Winter War]] - General [[Semyon Timoshenko]] takes command of all Russian forces.
* [[January 8]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Winter War]] - Russian 44th Assault Division destroyed by Finnish forces in [[Battle of Suomussalmi]].
* [[January 26]] - [[Australia]] - Brisbane swelters through its hottest day ever, 43.2 degrees Celsius.
* [[January 27]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[South Africa]] - A peace resolution introduced in [[Parliament of South Africa|Parliament]] is defeated by 81 votes to 59.
* [[January 29]] - Three gasoline multiple units carrying factory workers crash and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi station, [[Yumesaki Line]] ([[Nishinari]] Line), [[Osaka]], [[Japan]], killing at least 181 people and injuring at least 92.
===February===
* [[February 1]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Winter War]] - Russian forces launch major assault on Finnish troops which occupy the [[Karelian Isthmus]].
* [[February 7]] - [[RKO]] releases [[Walt Disney]]'s second full-length [[animated film]], ''[[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]''.
* [[February 16]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: In the [[Altmark Incident]] [[Armed Forces of the United Kingdom|British]] destroyer ''[[HMS Cossack|Cossack]]'' pursues [[Germany|German]] tanker ''[[German tanker Altmark|Altmark]]'' into [[Jøssingfjord]] in southwestern [[Norway]].
* [[February 27]] - [[Martin Kamen]] and [[Sam Ruben]] discovered [[carbon-14]]
===March===
* [[March 2]] - [[Elmer Fudd]] makes his debut in the short ''[[Elmer's Candid Camera]]''.
* [[March 3]] - In Sweden, a [[Time bomb (explosive)|time bomb]] destroys the office of ''[[Norrskenflamman]]'' newspaper of [[Sweden|Swedish]] [[communism|communists]] - 5 dead.
* [[March 5]]- Members of Soviet politburo: [[Stalin]], [[Molotov]], [[Lazar Kaganovich]], [[Mikhail Kalinin]], [[Kliment Voroshilov]] and [[Lavrenty Beria]], signed an order, prepared by Beria, for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs. The action is known as the [[Katyn massacre]].
* [[March 12]] - [[Soviet Union]] and [[Finland]] sign a peace treaty in [[Moscow]] ending the [[Winter War]]. Finns, along with the world at large, were shocked by the harsh terms.
* [[March 18]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Axis powers]] - [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Benito Mussolini]] meet at [[Brenner Pass]] in the [[Alps]] and agree to form an alliance against [[France]] and the [[United Kingdom]].
* [[March 21]] - [[Édouard Daladier]] resigns as prime minister of France. He is replaced by [[Paul Reynaud]].
* [[March 23]] - The ''[[Pakistan Resolution]]'' is rallied by the [[All-India Muslim League]]: [[Muslims]] from every corner of [[India]] meet up around [[Iqbal Park]], [[Lahore]] (now in modern-day [[Pakistan]]).
===April===
* [[April 5]] - [[Neville Chamberlain]], in what will prove to be a tragic lapse of judgment, declares in a major public speech that [[Hitler]] has "missed the bus".
* [[April 7]] - [[Booker T. Washington]] becomes the first [[African American]] to be depicted on a [[United States]] [[postage stamp]].
* [[April 9]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Germany]] invades [[Denmark]] and [[Norway]] in operation ''[[Weserübung]].'' The [[British campaign in Norway]] is simultaneously commenced.
* [[April 12]] - The [[Faroe Islands]] were occupied by British troops following the invasion of [[Denmark]] by [[Nazi Germany]]. This action was taken to avert a possible German occupation of the islands, which would have had very grave consequences for the course of the [[Battle of the Atlantic]].
* [[April 15]] - Opening day at Jamaica Racetrack features the use of pari-mutuel betting equipment, a departure from bookmaking heretofore used exclusively throughout New York state. Other NY tracks follow suit later in 1940.
* [[April 21]] - ''[[Take It or Leave It]]'' makes it debut on [[CBS Radio]], with [[Bob Hawk]] as host.
* [[April 23]] - Rhythm Night Club burns in [[Natchez, Mississippi]]: 198 dead.
===May===
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* [[May 10]] - [[World War II|WWII]]:
**[[Battle of France]] begins - [[Germany|German]] forces invade [[Low Countries]].
**[[Invasion of Iceland]] by the [[United Kingdom]].
**With the resignation of [[Neville Chamberlain]], [[Winston Churchill]] becomes [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]].
[[Image:Churchill portrait NYP 45063.jpg|thumb|right|[[May 10]]:Winston Churchill]].
* [[May 13]]
**[[Winston Churchill]], in his first address as Prime Minister, tells the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]], "I have nothing to offer you but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."
**[[World War II|WWII]]: German armies open 60-mile wide breach in [[Maginot Line]] at [[Sedan, France|Sedan]].
* [[May 14]]
**[[Queen Wilhelmina]] of the [[Netherlands]] and her government flee to [[London]]; [[Rotterdam]] subjected to savage terror bombing by the [[Luftwaffe]] - 980 killed, 20,000 buildings destroyed.
**Recruitment begins in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] for a home defence force - the [[Local Defence Volunteers]], later known as the Home Guard.
* [[May 15]]
**[[World War II|WWII]]: [[Royal Netherlands Army|Dutch army]] surrenders.
* [[May 16]] - U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], addressing a joint session of [[United States Congress|Congress]], asks for an extraordinary credit of approximately $900 million to finance construction of at least 50,000 airplanes per year.
* [[May 17]] - [[Brussels]] falls to [[Germany|German]] forces; [[Belgium|Belgian]] government flees to [[Ostend]].
* [[May 18]] - Marshal [[Henri Petain]] named vice-premier of [[France]].
* [[May 19]] - General [[Maxime Weygand]] replaces [[Maurice Gamelin]] as commander-in-chief of all [[France|French]] forces.
* [[May 20]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Germany|German]] forces, under General [[Erwin Rommel]], reach the [[English Channel]]. [[Holocaust]]: concentration and death camp, [[Auschwitz-Birkenau]] opens in [[Poland]].
* [[May 22]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] passes Emergency Powers Act giving the government full control over all persons and property.
* [[May 26]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Dunkirk evacuation]] of [[British Expeditionary Force]] starts.
* [[May 28]]
**[[World War II|WWII]]: [[King Leopold III]] orders the [[Belgium|Belgian]] forces to cease fighting. Leaders of the Belgian government on French territory declare Leopold deposed.
**[[Winston Churchill]] warns the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] to, "... prepare itself for hard and heavy tidings."
* [[May 29]] - First flight of the Vought XF4U-1, the prototype of the [[F4U Corsair]] U.S. fighter later used in [[World War II|WWII]].
===June===
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* [[June 3]]
** [[Holocaust]]: [[Franz Rademacher]] proposes the [[Madagascar Plan]].
** [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Paris]] is bombed by the [[Luftwaffe]] for the first time.
* [[June 4]]
**[[Dunkirk evacuation]] ends - [[United Kingdom|British]] forces complete evacuating 300,000 troops from [[Dunkirk, France|Dunkirk]] in [[France]].
**[[Winston Churchill]] tells the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]], "We shall not flag or fail. We shall fight on the beaches...on the landing grounds...in the fields and the streets...We shall never surrender."
* [[June 9]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: The [[British Commandos]] are created.
* [[June 10]] - [[World War II|WWII]]
**[[Italy]] declares war on [[France]] and the [[United Kingdom]].
**U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] denounces Italy's actions with [ftp://webstorage2.mcpa.virginia.edu/library/nara/fdr/audiovisual/speeches/fdr_1940_0610.mp3 "Stab in the Back"] speech from the graduation ceremonies of the [[University of Virginia]].
**[[Canada]] declares war on [[Italy]].
**[[Norway]] surrenders to [[Germany|German]] forces.
**French government flees to [[Tours]].
* [[June 12]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: 13,000 [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[France|French]] troops surrender to [[Field Marshal]] [[Erwin Rommel]] at [[St. Valery-en-Caux]].
* [[June 13]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Paris]] is declared an [[open city]].
* [[June 14]] - [[World War II|WWII]]:
**French government flees to [[Bordeaux]].
**[[Paris]] falls under [[Germany|German]] occupation.
**U.S. President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] signs the [[Naval Expansion Act]] into law which aims to increase the [[United States Navy]]'s tonnage by 11 %.
**[[Holocaust]]: A group of 728 [[Poland|Polish]] political prisoners from [[Tarnów]] become the first residents of the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]].
* [[June 15]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Verdun]] falls to [[Germany|German]] forces.
* [[June 16]] : The [[Sturgis Motorcycle Rally]] is held for the first time in [[Sturgis, South Dakota]].
* [[June 17]]
**[[Philippe Petain]] becomes [[Prime Minister]] of [[France]] and immediately asks [[Germany]] for peace terms.
**Soviet Army enters [[Baltic state]]s of [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]].
**[[Operation Ariel]] begins - [[Allies|Allied]] troops start to evacuate [[France]], following [[Germany]]'s takeover of [[Paris]] and most of the nation.
**[[Luftwaffe]] [[Junkers 88]] bomber sinks British ship ''[[RMS Lancastria]]'', that was evacuating troops from near [[Saint-Nazaire]], [[France]]. Death toll is over 2500. Wartime censorship prevents the story going public.
* [[June 18]]
**[[Winston Churchill]] speaks to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]: "... the [[Battle of France]] is over. The [[Battle of Britain]] is about to begin."
**General [[Charles de Gaulle]] broadcasts from [[London]], calling on all French people to continue the fight against [[Nazi]] [[Germany]]: "France has lost a battle. But France has not lost the war."
* [[June 21]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Vichy France]] and Germany sign armistice at [[Compiegne]] in the same wagon-lit railroad car used by Marshal [[Ferdinand Foch]] to accept the surrender of Germany in [[1918]].
* [[June 23]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Germany|German]] leader [[Adolf Hitler]] surveys newly defeated [[Paris]] in now occupied [[France]].[http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/blhitler38.htm]
* [[June 24]]
**U.S. politics: [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] begins its national convention in [[Philadelphia]] and nominates [[Wendell Willkie]] as its candidate for president.
**[[World War II|WWII]]: [[Vichy France]] signs armistice terms with [[Italy]].
* [[June 28]] - General [[Charles DeGaulle]] is officially recognized by [[United Kingdom|Britain]] as "Leader of all [[Free French]]men, wherever they may be."
* [[June 30]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Germany|German]] forces land in [[Guernsey]] marking the start of the 5-year [[Occupation of the Channel Islands]].
===July===
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* [[July 3]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: British naval units sink or seize ships of the French fleet anchored in the [[Algeria]]n ports of [[Oran]] and Mers-el-Kebir. The following day, [[Vichy France]] breaks off diplomatic relations with [[United Kingdom|Britain]].
* [[July 10]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Vichy France]] begins with a constitutional law where only [[The Vichy 80|80 members of the parliament]] voted against.
* [[July 15]] - U.S. politics: [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] begins its national convention in [[Chicago]] and nominates [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] for an unprecedented third term as president.
* [[July 19]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Adolf Hitler]] makes peace appeal to [[United Kingdom|Britain]] in an address to the [[Reichstag (institution)|Reichstag]]. [[Lord Halifax]], British foreign minister, flatly rejects peace terms in a broadcast reply on [[July 22]].
* [[July 21]] - [[Estonian SSR]], [[Latvian SSR]] and [[Lithuanian SSR]] are proclaimed.
===August===
* [[August 3]] - [[Lithuanian SSR]], [[Latvian SSR]] ([[August 5]]) and [[Estonian SSR]] ([[August 6]]) are incorporated into the [[Soviet Union]].
* [[August 4]] - Gen. [[John J. Pershing]], in a nationwide radio broadcast, urges all-out aid to [[United Kingdom|Britain]] in order to defend the Americas, while [[Charles Lindbergh]] speaks to an [[isolationist]] rally at [[Soldier Field]] in [[Chicago]].
* [[August 8]] - [[Wilhelm Keitel]] signs the "[[Aufbau Ost (1940)|Aufbau Ost]]" directive.
* [[August 20]]
**[[Winston Churchill]] pays tribute in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] to the [[Royal Air Force]]: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
**[[Leon Trotsky]] assassinated in [[Mexico]] by [[Ramón Mercader]], a Soviet agent, with an [[ice axe]].
* [[August 26]] - [[Chad]] is the first French colony to proclaim its support for the Allies.
===September===
* September - [[45th Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. Army 45th Infantry Division]] (previously a [[National Guard Division]] in [[Arizona]], [[Colorado]], [[New Mexico]], and [[Oklahoma]]), activated and ordered into federal service for one year to engage in a training program in [[Ft. Sill]] and [[Louisiana]] prior to serving in [[World War II]].
* [[September 2]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: Agreement between [[United States|America]] and [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]] announced. Fifty U.S. destroyers needed for escort work transferred to Great Britain. In return, America gains 99-year leases on British bases in the [[North Atlantic]], [[West Indies]] and [[Bermuda]].
* [[September 7]]
**[[Treaty of Craiova]]: [[Romania]] loses [[Southern Dobrudja]] to [[Bulgaria]].
**[[World War II|WWII]]: [[The Blitz]] - [[Nazi Germany]] begins to rain bombs on [[London]]. This will be the first of 57 consecutive nights of [[strategic bombing]].
* [[September 12]]
**[[Lascaux]], [[France]] - 17,000-year-old [[cave painting]]s are discovered by a group of young Frenchmen hiking through Southern France. The paintings depict animals and date to the [[Stone Age]].
**The [[Hercules Munitions Plant]] in [[Succasunna-Kenvil, New Jersey|Kenvil, New Jersey]] explodes, killing 55 people.
* [[September 16]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Selective Training and Service Act of 1940]] signed into law by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], creating the first peacetime draft in [[U.S.]] history.
* [[September 26]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[United States|U.S.]] imposes a total [[embargo]] on all shipments of scrap metal to [[Japan]].
* [[September 27]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Germany]], [[Italy]] and [[Japan]] sign [[Tripartite Pact]].
===October===
* [[October 16]] - Draft registration of approximately 16 million men begins in the [[United States]].
* [[October 28]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Italy|Italian]] troops invaded [[Greece]] meeting strong resistance from Greek troops and civilians. This action signals the beginning of the [[Balkans Campaign]].
* [[October 29]] - [[Selective Service System]] lottery held in [[Washington, D.C.]].
===November===
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* [[November 5]] - [[U.S. presidential election, 1940]]: [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] incumbent [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]] defeats [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] challenger [[Wendell Willkie]] and becomes the [[United States]]' first third-term president.
* [[November 7]] - In [[Washington]], the middle section of the [[Tacoma Narrows Bridge]] collapses in a windstorm, a mere four months after the bridge's completion (it opened to traffic on [[July 1]], 1940 as the third-longest [[suspension bridge]] in the world).
* [[November 9]] - Premiere of [[Joaquin Rodrigo]]'s ''[[Concierto de Aranjuez]]'' in [[Barcelona]], [[Spain]].
* [[November 10]] - [[Earthquake]] in [[Bucharest]], [[Romania]] - 1,000 dead.
* [[November 11]] - [[World War II|WWII]]:
**[[Battle of Taranto]] - The [[Royal Navy]] launches the first [[aircraft carrier]] strike in history, on the [[Italy|Italian]] fleet at [[Taranto]].
**The [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Cruiser (warship)|Hilfskreuzer]] (cruiser) ''[[Atlantis auxiliary cruiser|Atlantis]]'' captures [[top secret]] [[United Kingdom|British]] mail, and sends it to [[Japan]].
**[[Armistice Day Blizzard]]: An unexpected [[blizzard]] kills 144 in [[U.S. Midwest]].
* [[November 13]] - [[Walt Disney]]'s ''[[Fantasia (film)|Fantasia]]'' is released. It is the first box office failure for Disney, though it will eventually recoup its cost years later, and become one of the most highly regarded of Disney's films.
* [[November 14]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: In [[England]], the city of [[Coventry]] is destroyed by 500 [[Germany|German]] [[Luftwaffe]] bombers (150,000 [[fire bomb]]s, 503 tons of high explosives, 130 parachute mines leveled 60,000 of the city's 75,000 buildings; 568 people were killed).
* [[November 16]]
**[[World War II|WWII]]: In response to [[Germany]] leveling [[Coventry]] two days before, the [[Royal Air Force]] begins to bomb [[Hamburg]] (by war's end, 50,000 Hamburg residents died from [[Allied]] attacks).
**Unexploded [[pipe bomb]] found in [[Consolidated Edison]] office building. (Only years later is the culprit, [[George Metesky]], apprehended.)
**The [[Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers]] is founded.
* [[November 18]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Germany|German]] leader [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Italy|Italian]] Foreign Minister [[Galeazzo Ciano]] meet to discuss [[Benito Mussolini]]'s disastrous invasion of [[Greece]].
* [[November 20]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: [[Hungary]], [[Romania]] and [[Slovakia]] join the [[Axis Powers]].
* [[November 27]]
**In [[Romania]], coup leader General [[Ion Antonescu]]'s Iron Guard arrests and executes over 60 of exiled king [[Carol II of Romania]]'s aides. Among the dead is former minister and acclaimed historian [[Nicolae Iorga]].
**[[World War II|WWII]]: [[Royal Navy]] and [[Regia Marina]] fight the [[Battle of Cape Spartivento]].
===December===
*[[December 8]] - The [[Chicago Bears]], in what will become the most one-sided victory in [[National Football League]] history, defeat the [[Washington Redskins]] 73-0 in the 1940 NFL Championship Game.
*[[December 12]] & [[December 15]] - [[World War II|WWII]]: The "[[Sheffield Blitz]]". The [[Sheffield|City of Sheffield]] is badly damaged by German air-raids.
* [[December 14]] - [[Plutonium]] first isolated chemically in the laboratory.
* [[December 23]] - [[Winston Churchill]], in a broadcast address to the people of [[Italy]], squarely blames [[Benito Mussolini]] for leading his nation to war against the British contrary to Italy's historic friendship with them.
* [[December 26]] - The film version of ''[[The Philadelphia Story]]'', starring [[Katharine Hepburn]], [[Cary Grant]], [[James Stewart (actor)|James Stewart]] and [[Ruth Hussey]], premieres at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in [[New York City]].
* [[December 29]]
**[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], in a [[fireside chat]] to the nation, declares that the [[United States]] must become, "... the great arsenal of democracy."
**[[World War II|WWII]]: "Second Great Fire of London"; [[Luftwaffe]] carries out massive incendiary bombing raid starting 1500 fires. Many famous buildings, including the [[Guildhall]] and Trinity House, are either damaged or destroyed.
* [[December 30]] - [[California]]'s first modern [[freeway]], the future [[California State Route 110|State Route 110]], is opened to traffic in [[Pasadena, California]], as the [[Arroyo Seco Parkway]]. It is now called the Pasadena Freeway.
===Undated===
* [[Guilin]], [[China]], acquires the current name.
* [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]], province of [[Amdo]]: five-year-old [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama|Tenzin Gyatso]] was proclaimed the ''[[tulku]]'' ([[rebirth]]) of the thirteenth [[Dalai Lama]].
* [[Korea]] ''The Hunmin Jeong-eum Haerye'' (1446) was discovered, explaining the basis of Hangul.
* ''[[Truth or Consequences]]'' debuts on [[NBC]] Radio.
===Ongoing===
* [[Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)|Sino-Japanese War]] ([[1937]]-[[1945]])
*[[World War II]] ([[1939]] - [[1945]]).
== Births ==
{{Year in other calendars|japanese=[[Shōwa]] 15}}
===January-February===
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*[[January 4]]- [[Brian David Josephson]], Welsh physicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]] laureate
-[[Gao Xingjian]], Chinese-born writer, [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]] laureate
*[[January 6]] - [[Penny Lernoux]], American journalist and author (d. [[1989]])
*[[January 9]] - [[Miguel Ángel Rodríguez]], a Costa Rican politician, lawyer, economist, and businessman.
*[[January 14]] - [[Julian Bond]], American civil rights activist
*[[January 19]] - [[Mike Reid]], English actor (d. [[2007]])
*[[January 20]] - [[Carol Heiss]], American figure skater
*[[January 21]] - [[Jack Nicklaus]], American golfer
*[[January 22]] - [[John Hurt]], English actor
*[[January 27]] - [[James Cromwell]], American actor
*[[January 31]] - [[Kitch Christie]], South African rugby coach (d. [[1998]])
*[[February 2]] - [[David Jason]], English actor
*[[February 3]] - [[Fran Tarkenton]], American football player
*[[February 4]] - [[George Romero]], American film writer, producer, and director
*[[February 5]] - [[H.R. Giger]], Swiss artist
*[[February 6]]
**[[Tom Brokaw]], American television news reporter
**[[Jimmy Tarbuck]], English comedian
*[[February 8]]
**[[Ted Koppel]], American journalist
**[[Joe South]], American singer and songwriter
*[[February 9]] - [[J. M. Coetzee]], South African writer, [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]] laureate
*[[February 12]] - [[Richard Lynch]], American actor
*[[February 17]] - [[Gene Pitney]], American singer (d. [[2006]])
*[[February 19]] - [[Smokey Robinson]], American musician
*[[February 20]] - [[Jimmy Greaves]], English footballer
*[[February 21]] - [[Wong Jim|James Wong]], Hong Kong composer (d. [[2004]])
*[[February 22]]
**[[Johnson Mlambo]], South African politician
**[[Billy Name]], American photographer and [[Warhol]] archivist
*[[February 23]] - [[Peter Fonda]], American actor
*[[February 24]] - [[Denis Law]], Scottish footballer
*[[February 25]] - [[Ron Santo]], American baseball player
*[[February 28]] - [[Mario Andretti]], American race car driver
*[[February 29]] - [[Edward Frederic Benson]], American writer
===March-April===
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*[[March 3]] - [[Germán Castro Caycedo]], Colombian writer and journalist
*[[March 3]] - [[Owen Spencer-Thomas]], English broadcaster, journalist and clergyman
*[[March 6]] - [[Willie Stargell]], baseball player (d. [[2001]])
*[[March 7]] - [[Rudi Dutschke]], German student leader (d. [[1979]])
*[[March 9]] - [[Raúl Juliá]], Puerto Rican actor (d. [[1994]])
*[[March 10]] - [[Chuck Norris]], American actor and martial artist
*[[March 12]] - [[Al Jarreau]], American singer
*[[March 15]] - [[Phil Lesh]], American musician ([[Grateful Dead]])
*[[March 16]]
**[[Bernardo Bertolucci]], Italian writer and film director
**[[Jan Pronk]], Dutch politician and diplomat
*[[March 17]] - [[Mark White]], Governor of Texas
*[[March 22]] - [[Haing S. Ngor]], Cambodian actor (d. [[1996]])
*[[March 25]] - [[Anita Bryant]], American entertainer
*[[March 26]] -
**[[James Caan]], American actor
**[[Nancy Pelosi]], Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
*[[March 27]]
**[[Austin Pendleton]], American actor
**[[Cale Yarborough]], American race car driver
*[[March 29]] - [[Ray Davis (musician)|Ray Davis]], American musician ([[P-Funk]])
*[[March 30]] - [[Astrud Gilberto]], Brazilian-born singer
*[[April 1]] - [[Wangari Maathai]], Kenyan environmentalist, recipient of the [[Nobel Peace Prize]]
*[[April 2]] - [[Penelope Keith]], English actress
*[[April 12]]
**[[Herbie Hancock]], American musician
**[[John Hagee]], American [[televangelist]]
*[[April 16]] - Queen [[Margrethe II of Denmark]]
*[[April 18]] - [[Joseph L. Goldstein]], American scientist, recipient of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]]
*[[April 25]] - [[Al Pacino]], American actor
*[[April 26]] - [[Giorgio Moroder]], Italian film composer
===May-June===
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*[[May 1]] - [[Elsa Peretti]], Italian jewelry designer
*[[May 7]] - [[Jim Connors]], Legendary Radio personality (d. [[1987]])
*[[May 8]]
**[[Peter Benchley]], American author (d. [[2006]])
**[[Angela Carter]], English author and editor (d. [[1992]])
**[[Ricky Nelson]], American singer (d. [[1985]])
*[[May 8]] - [[Toni Tennille]], American singer
*[[May 9]] - [[James L. Brooks]], American film producer and writer
*[[May 11]] - [[Juan Downey]], Chilean-born video artist (d. [[1993]])
*[[May 14]] - [['H'. Jones]], British soldier (VC recipient) (d. [[1982]])
*[[May 15]] - [[Don Nelson]], American basketball player and coach
*[[May 17]]
** [[Alan Kay]], American computer scientist
** [[Reynato Puno]], Filipino [[Supreme Court of the Philippines|Supreme Court]] Chief Justice
*[[May 18]] - [[Lenny Lipton]], American inventor
*[[May 20]]
**[[Stan Mikita]], Slovakian-born hockey player
**[[Sadaharu Oh]], Japanese baseball player
*[[May 22]] - [[Bernard Shaw (journalist)|Bernard Shaw]], American journalist and television news reporter
*[[May 24]] - [[Joseph Brodsky]], Russian-born poet, [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]] laureate (d. [[1996]])
*[[May 29]] - [[Farooq Leghari]], [[President of Pakistan]]
*[[June 1]] - [[Rene Auberjonois (actor)|René Auberjonois]], American actor
*[[June 2]] - King [[Constantine II of Greece]]
*[[June 4]] - [[Ludwig Schwarz]], Austrian bishop
*[[June 6]] - [[Richard Paul]], American actor (d. [[1998]])
*[[June 7]] - [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]], Welsh singer
*[[June 8]] - [[Carole Ann Ford]], British actress
*[[June 8]] - [[Nancy Sinatra]], American singer
*[[June 16]] - [[Neil Goldschmidt]], Governor of Oregon
*[[June 17]] - [[George Akerlof]], American economist, [[Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel Prize]] laureate
*[[June 20]] - [[John Mahoney]], English-born actor
*[[June 21]] - [[Mariette Hartley]], American actress
*[[June 22]]
**[[Abbas Kiarostami]], Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film producer
**[[Esther Rantzen]], British broadcaster
*[[June 23]]
**[[Adam Faith]], English singer and actor (d. [[2003]])
**[[Lord Irvine of Lairg]], [[Lord Chancellor|Lord Chancellor of England]]
**[[Wilma Rudolph]], American athlete (d. [[1994]])
*[[June 25]] - [[A.J. Quinnell]], English writer (d. [[2005]])
*[[June 29]] - [[Vyacheslav Artyomov]], Russian composer
===July-August===
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*[[July 3]] - [[César Tovar]], Venezuelan [[Major League Baseball]] player (d. [[1994]])
*[[July 7]] - [[Ringo Starr]], British drummer ([[The Beatles]])
*[[July 10]]
**[[Gene Alley]], baseball player
**[[Tom Farmer]], Scottish entrepreneur
**[[Helen Donath]], American soprano
*[[July 13]] - [[Patrick Stewart]], English actor
*[[July 17]]
**[[Tim Brooke-Taylor]], English comedian
**[[Verne Lundquist]], American sportscaster
*[[July 18]]
**[[Joe Torre]], baseball player and manager
**[[James Brolin]], American actor and director
*[[July 22]]
**[[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]], American musician
**[[Alex Trebek]], Canadian game show host
*[[July 24]] - [[Stanley Hauerwas]], American theologian
*[[July 26]] - [[Mary Jo Kopechne]], American aide to [[Ted Kennedy]] (d. [[1969]])
*[[July 27]] - [[Bharati Mukherjee]], Indian-born novelist
*[[July 31]] - [[Roy Walker]], comedian and TV presenter of ITV's Catchphrase (1986-1999)
*[[August 3]] - [[Martin Sheen]], American actor
*[[August 7]] - [[Jean-Luc Dehaene]], [[Prime Minister of Belgium]]
*[[August 8]] - [[Dilip Sardesai]], former Indian Test cricketer (d. [[2007]])
*[[August 9]] - [[Beverlee McKinsey]], American actress
*[[August 10]] - [[Bobby Hatfield]], American singer ([[Righteous Brothers]]) (d. [[2003]])
*[[August 19]] - [[Jill St. John]], American actress
*[[August 20]]
**[[Musa Geshaev]], Chechen poet and historian
**[[Rubén Hinojosa]], American politician
*[[August 22]] - [[Valerie Harper]], American actress
*[[August 25]] - [[José Van Dam]], Belgian bass-baritone
*[[August 28]] - [[Tom Baker (American actor)|Tom Baker]], American actor (d. [[1982]])
*[[August 29]]
**[[Johnny Paris]], American musician ([[Johnny and the Hurricanes]]) (d. [[2006]])
**[[Bennie Maupin]], American musician
===September-October===
*[[September 5]] - [[Raquel Welch]], American actress
*[[September 10]] - [[David Mann (painter)|David Mann]], American artist (d. [[2004]])
*[[September 12]]
**[[Skip Hinnant]], American actor
**[[Mickey Lolich]], baseball player
*[[September 13]] - [[Óscar Arias]], Costa Rican politician, recipient of the [[Nobel Peace Prize]]
*[[September 14]] - [[Larry Brown (basketball)|Larry Brown]], American basketball coach
*[[September 23]] - [[Mohammad-Reza Shajarian]], Iranian traditional singer and undisputed Master
*[[September 24]] - [[Michiko Suganuma]], [[Urushi]] [[japanese lacquer]] artist
*[[October 9]] - [[John Lennon]], British musician and singer ([[The Beatles]]) (d. [[1980]])
*[[October 13]] - [[Pharoah Sanders]], American saxophonist
*[[October 14]] - [[Cliff Richard]], English singer
*[[October 15]] - [[Peter Doherty]], Australian immunologist, recipient of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]]
*[[October 19]] - [[Michael Gambon]], Irish actor
*[[October 20]] - [[Robert Pinsky]], [[Poet Laureate of the United States]]
*[[October 21]]
**Manfred Mann ([[Manfred Lubowitz]]), South African musician ([[Manfred Mann]] bands)
**[[Geoffrey Boycott]], English cricketer
*[[October 23]] - [[Pelé]], Brazilian footballer
*[[October 25]] - [[Bobby Knight]], American basketball coach
*[[October 27]] - [[John Gotti]], American gangster (d. [[2002]])
===November-December===
*[[November 1]] - [[Ramesh Chandra Lahoti]], [[Chief Justice of India]]
*[[November 15]] - [[Sam Waterston]], American actor
*[[November 17]] - [[Luke Kelly]],Irish Ballad Singer from The Dubliners
*[[November 21]] - [[Richard Marcinko]], U.S. Navy SEAL team member and author
*[[November 25]] - [[Joe Gibbs]], American football coach
*[[November 27]] - [[Bruce Lee]], Chinese American martial artist and actor (d. [[1973]])
*[[November 29]] - [[Chuck Mangione]], famous American [[flugelhorn]] player
*[[December 1]] - [[Richard Pryor]], American actor and comedian (d. [[2005]])
*[[December 4]] - [[Freddy Cannon]], American singer
*[[December 4]] - [[Gary Gilmore]], American murderer (d. [[1977]])
*[[December 5]] - [[Peter Pohl]], Swedish writer
*[[December 12]]
**[[Sharad Pawar]], Indian politician
**[[Dionne Warwick]], American singer
*[[December 21]] - [[Frank Zappa]], American musician, composer, and satirist (d. [[1993]])
*[[December 22]] - [[Noel Jones]], British ambassador to Kazakhstan (d. [[1995]])
*[[December 23]] - [[Jorma Kaukonen]], American musician ([[Jefferson Airplane]], [[Hot Tuna]])
*[[December 23]] - [[Robert Labine]], former mayor of old city of [[Gatineau, Quebec]]
*[[December 26]] - [[Edward C. Prescott]], American economist, [[Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel Prize]] laureate
===Unknown dates===
*[[Seamus Deane]], Irish poet and novelist
* [[António Roseiro]] Founder and President of [[VITAE]]
==Deaths==
===January - June===
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*[[January 4]] - [[Flora Finch]], English-born actress and comedian (b. [[1869]])
*[[January 18]] - [[Kazimierz Tetmajer]], Polish poet and writer (b. [[1865]])
*[[January 27]] - [[Isaac Babel]], Ukrainian writer (b. [[1894]])
*[[Fusajiro Yamauchi]], Japanese business executive
*[[February 11]] - [[John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir]], [[Governor General of Canada]] (b. [[1875]])
*[[February 26]] - [[Michael Hainisch]], second [[President of Austria]] (b. [[1858]])
*[[March 5]] - [[Cai Yuanpei]], Chinese edjaucator (b. [[1868]])
*[[March 10]] - [[Mikhaïl Boulgakov]], Russian writer (b. [[1891]])
*[[March 16]] - [[Selma Lagerlöf]], Swedish writer, [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1858]])
*[[March 20]] - [[Alfred Ploetz]], German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. [[1860]])
*[[March 26]] - [[Spiridon Louis]], Greek runner
*[[March 31]] - [[Tinsley Lindley]], English footballer (b. [[1865]])
*[[April 26]] - [[Carl Bosch]], German chemist, [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1874]])
*[[May 14]] - [[Emma Goldman]], Lithuanian-born anarchist (b. [[1869]])
*[[May 15]] - [[Menno ter Braak]], Dutch writer (b. [[1902]])
*[[May 20]] - [[Verner von Heidenstam]], Swedish writer, [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1859]])
*[[May 25]] - [[Joe De Grasse]], Canadian film director (b. [[1873]])
*[[May 28]] - [[Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse]] (b. [[1868]])
*[[June 10]] - [[Marcus Garvey]], Jamaican-born publisher, entrepreneur, and black nationalist (b. [[1887]])
*[[June 11]] - [[Alfred S. Alschuler]], American [[architect]] (b. [[1876]])
*[[June 17]] - [[Arthur Harden]], English chemist, [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1865]])
*[[June 21]] - [[Smedley Butler]], U.S. general (b. [[1881]])
*[[June 29]] - [[Paul Klee]], Swiss artist (b. [[1879]])
===July - December=== <!--DEATHS-->
*[[July 4]] - [[Robert Pershing Wadlow]], tallest man ever (infection) (b. [[1918]])
*[[August 8]] - [[Johnny Dodds]], American jazz clarinetist (b. [[1892]])
*[[August 18]] - [[Walter Chrysler]], American automobile pioneer (b. [[1875]])
*[[August 21]] - [[Leon Trotsky]], Russian revolutionary (b. [[1879]])
*[[August 21]] - [[Hermann Obrecht]], Swiss Federal Councillor (b. [[1882]])
*[[August 22]] - [[Mary Vaux Walcott]], American artist and naturalist (b. [[1860]])
*[[August 30]] - [[J.J. Thomson]], English physicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1856]])
*[[September 5]] - [[Charles de Broqueville]], [[Prime Minister of Belgium]] (b. [[1860]])
*[[September 27]] - [[Julius Wagner-Jauregg]], Austrian neuroscientist, recipient of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] (b. [[1857]])
{{C20YearTOCright}}
*[[October 5]] - [[Ballington Booth]], American co-founder of Volunteers of America (b. [[1857]])
*[[October 9]] - [[Wilfred Grenfell]], English medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador (b. [[1865]])
*[[October 10]] - [[Berton Churchill]], Canadian actor (b. [[1876]])
*[[November 9]] - [[Neville Chamberlain]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] (b. [[1869]])
*[[November 9]] - [[John Henry Kirby]], Texas legislator and American businessman (b. [[1860]])
*[[November 17]] - [[Eric Gill]], British sculptor and writer (b. [[1882]])
*[[November 17]] - [[Raymond Pearl]], American biologist (b. [[1879]])
*[[December 5]] - [[Jan Kubelík]], Czech violinist (b. [[1880]])
*[[December 15]] or [[December 16]] - [[Billy Hamilton (baseball player)|Billy Hamilton]], Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (b. [[1866]])
*[[December 19]] - [[Kyösti Kallio]], [[President of Finland]] (b. [[1873]])
*[[December 21]] - [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]], American writer (b. [[1896]])
*[[December 25]] - [[Agnes Ayres]], American actress (b. [[1898]])
==Nobel prizes==
* [[Nobel Prize/Physics|Physics]] - not awarded
* [[Nobel Prize/Chemistry|Chemistry]] - not awarded
* [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Physiology or Medicine]] - not awarded
* [[Nobel Prize in literature|Literature]] - not awarded
* [[Nobel Prize/Peace|Peace]] - not awarded
==Ship events==
* [[List of ship launches in 1940]]
* [[List of ship commissionings in 1940]]
* [[List of ship decommissionings in 1940]]
* [[List of shipwrecks in 1940]]
==Notes==
<references/>
==External links==
*[http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s2/Time/1940/1940fr.html The 1930s Timeline: 1940] — from American Studies Programs at The University of Virginia
*[http://www.coinpage.com/1940-pictures.html 1940 Coin Pictures]
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