Microsoft Store

1940 - What happened in 1940 ?


January 1940


Friday 05:

FM radio is demonstrated to the FCC for the first time.


Saturday 06:

Mass execution of Poles, committed by Germans in the city of Poznan, Warthegau.


Friday 12:

World War II: Russia bombs cities in Finland.




February 1940


Wednesday 07:

Pinocchio, an Academy Award-winning animated feature based on the story Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, was first released by Walt Disney Productions.


Friday 16:

Altmark Incident: The German tanker Altmark, with 299 British prisoners, was boarded in neutral Norwegian waters by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack and the prisoners set free, a breach of Norwegian neutrality at the beginning of World War II.


Friday 23:

The animated movie Pinocchio is released.


Wednesday 28:

Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).


Thursday 29:

Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations




March 1940


Tuesday 05:

Members of Soviet politbiuro sign an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POW, known also as Katyn massacre.


Wednesday 13:

Winter War ended.


Monday 18:

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.


Saturday 23:

The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or the then Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All India Muslim League.


Saturday 30:

Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking to be the capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Ching-wei.




April 1940


Tuesday 09:

World War II: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.


Sunday 14:

Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway, occupying key points, preparatory to a larger force arriving two days later.


Monday 15:

The Allies start their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik which was occupied by Nazi Germany.


Tuesday 23:

A fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi kills 198 people.


Thursday 25:

The Faroese flag Merkið is made the official flag for the Faroe Islands.




May 1940


Wednesday 01:

The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled due to war.


Thursday 09:

World War II: The German submarine U-9 sinks French coastal submarine Doris near Den Helder.


Monday 13:

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees the Nazi invasion in the Netherlands to Britain. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety.


Tuesday 14:

World War II: The Netherlands surrender to Germany.


Wednesday 15:

World War II: German troops occupy Amsterdam and invade Northern France.




June 1940


Monday 03:

World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German tactical victory and with Allied forces in full evacuation.


Tuesday 04:

The Destroyer War Badge for Kriegsmarine was instituted.


Saturday 22:

France forced to sign armistice with Nazi Germany.


Sunday 23:

World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler surveys newly defeated Paris in now occupied France.


Wednesday 26:

World War II: Under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and northern part of Bukovina.




July 1940


Wednesday 10:

The German Luftwaffe begin to hit British convoys in the English Channel thus starting the battle (this start date is contested, though).


Thursday 11:

World War II: Vichy France regime formally established. Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Prime Minister of France.


Friday 19:

World War II: Battle of Cape Spada between the Royal Navy and the Regia Marina; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualities.


Saturday 20:

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill limiting political activity by Federal employees, the Hatch Act.


Saturday 27:

Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare.




August 1940


Saturday 03:

Second World War: Italy invades British Somaliland.


Tuesday 13:

The Luftwaffe launches a series of attacks on British fighter bases and radar installations.


Tuesday 20:

Exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded in Mexico City by an assassin's ice-ax. He will die the next day.


Friday 23:

World War II: The Germans start bombing London.


Monday 26:

Chad is the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.




September 1940


Saturday 07:

Treaty of Craiova: Romania loses Southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria.


Wednesday 11:

George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.


Thursday 12:

The Hercules Munitions Plant in Kenvil, New Jersey explodes, killing 55 people.


Monday 16:

Sam Rayburn elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.


Tuesday 24:

Baseball: Jimmie Foxx becomes the second member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.




October 1940


Monday 07:

Germany invades Romania.


Wednesday 09:

During a nighttime air raid by the German Luftwaffe, St. Paul's Cathedral is pierced by a bomb.


Tuesday 15:

The Great Dictator, a satiric social commentary film by and starring Charlie Chaplin, is released.


Wednesday 16:

1940 - Warsaw Ghetto established


Thursday 31:

The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Great Britain.




November 1940


Tuesday 05:

U.S. presidential election, 1940: Democrat incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Republican challenger Wendell Willkie and becomes the United States' first third-term president.


Saturday 09:

Premiere of Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez in Barcelona, Spain.


Monday 11:

Armistice Day Blizzard: An unexpected blizzard kills 144 in U.S. Midwest.


Wednesday 27:

In Romania, General Ion Antonescu's Iron Guard arrests and executes over 60 of exiled king Carol II of Romania's aides, including former minister and acclaimed historian Nicolae Iorga. Mediterranean Sea: battle of Cape Spartivento between the Royal Navy and the Regia Marina


Saturday 30:

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are married in Greenwich, Connecticut.




December 1940


Monday 09:

British Army attacks Italian forces in North Africa


Sunday 29:

Battle of Britain: Luftwaffe firebombs London, killing almost 3000 civilians


Monday 30:

California opens its first freeway: the Arroyo Seco Parkway.



powered by: Theiapolis Cinema
Search by Date:
YearMonthDay
  • History Forum
    Come and discuss about History, Civilizations, Historical Events and Figures
  • History Web-Ring
    A community of sites, blogs and forums dedicated to History. Do not hesitate to submit your site.