1941
85 years ago
Ilmar Raud, Estonian chess player (born 1913)
Ilmar Raud was an Estonian chess master.
Ilmar Raud, Estonian chess player (born 1913)
The 1940s
Explore 3061 historical events from 1940–1949.
1941
85 years ago
Špiro Bocarić, Serbian painter, victim of Genocide of Serbs
Spiridon "Špiro" Bocarić was a Serb painter.
Špiro Bocarić, Serbian painter, victim of Genocide of Serbs
1941
85 years ago
Lew Fields, American actor and producer (born 1867)
Lew Fields was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager, and producer. Partnering with Joe Weber, they formed the comedy double-act of Weber and Fields. He als…
Lew Fields, American actor and producer (born 1867)
1941
85 years ago
Bohdan Lepky, Ukrainian poet and scholar (born 1872)
Bohdan Teodor Nestor Sylvestrovych Lepky was a Ukrainian writer, poet, scholar, public figure, and artist.
Bohdan Lepky, Ukrainian poet and scholar (born 1872)
1941
85 years ago
George Lyman Kittredge, American scholar and educator (born 1860)
George Lyman Kittredge was a professor of English literature at Harvard University. His scholarly edition of the works of William Shakespeare was influential in the early 20th cent…
George Lyman Kittredge, American scholar and educator (born 1860)
1941
85 years ago
José Quiñones Gonzales, Peruvian soldier and pilot (born 1914)
José Abelardo Quiñones Gonzáles was a Peruvian military aviator who posthumously became a national hero for his actions at the Battle of Zarumilla during the Ecuadorian–Peruvian Wa…
José Quiñones Gonzales, Peruvian soldier and pilot (born 1914)
1941
85 years ago
Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (born 1875)
Henri Léon Lebesgue was a French mathematician known for his theory of integration, which was a generalization of the 17th-century concept of integration—summing the area between a…
Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (born 1875)
1941
85 years ago
Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (born 1858)
Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, was a New Zealand artist and art teacher, who spent the majority of his life in Dunedin. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, he was one of the…
Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (born 1858)
1941
85 years ago
Hugo Celmiņš, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (born 1877)
Hugo Celmiņš was a Latvian politician, a public employee, agronomist, twice the Prime Minister of Latvia. Arrested and deported to the USSR after the Soviet occupation of Latvia in…
Hugo Celmiņš, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (born 1877)
1941
85 years ago
A German SS unit arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, and began the systematic execution of up to 100,000 people over the…
The Schutzstaffel was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II.
A German SS unit arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, and began the systematic execution of up to 100,000 people over the…
1941
85 years ago
Boris Kidrič and Edvard Kardelj founded the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation, the main anti-fascist Slovene civil-
Boris Kidrič was a Slovene and Yugoslav politician and revolutionary who was one of the chief organizers of the Slovene Partisans, the Slovene resistance against occupation by Nazi…
Boris Kidrič and Edvard Kardelj founded the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation, the main anti-fascist Slovene civil-
1941
85 years ago
World War II: Presaging a campaign of genocide against the Serbs of Croatia, around 190 people were massacred by members
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. Tanks and air…
World War II: Presaging a campaign of genocide against the Serbs of Croatia, around 190 people were massacred by members
1941
85 years ago
Citizen Kane, a widely acclaimed film by actor and director Orson Welles, premiered
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film directed by, produced by, and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's first feature film…
Citizen Kane, a widely acclaimed film by actor and director Orson Welles, premiered
1941
85 years ago
American entertainer Bob Hope performed his first show with the United Service Organizations, beginning a 50-year involv
Lester Townes "Bob" Hope was a British-born American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network ra…
American entertainer Bob Hope performed his first show with the United Service Organizations, beginning a 50-year involv
1941
85 years ago
World War II: German Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess (pictured) parachuted into Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with
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. Tanks and air…
World War II: German Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess (pictured) parachuted into Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with
1941
85 years ago
German engineer Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the first working programmable and fully automatic computer, to an audienc
Konrad Ernst Otto Zuse was a German civil engineer, pioneering computer scientist, inventor and businessman. His greatest achievement was the world's first programmable computer; t…
German engineer Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the first working programmable and fully automatic computer, to an audienc
1941
85 years ago
World War II: German paratroopers began the Battle of Heraklion on the island of Crete, capturing the airfield and port
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. Tanks and air…
World War II: German paratroopers began the Battle of Heraklion on the island of Crete, capturing the airfield and port
1941
85 years ago
Second World War: The German battleship Bismarck sank the British battlecruiser Hood at the Battle of the Denmark Strait
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. Tanks and air…
Second World War: The German battleship Bismarck sank the British battlecruiser Hood at the Battle of the Denmark Strait
1941
85 years ago
World War II: The German battleship Bismarck was sunk by gun and torpedo fire by the British battleships HMS Rodney and
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. Tanks and air…
World War II: The German battleship Bismarck was sunk by gun and torpedo fire by the British battleships HMS Rodney and
1941
85 years ago
German forces dropped four bombs on neutral Ireland, killing 28 people and damaging the residence of the President of Ir
During World War II, Dublin was first bombed early on the morning of 2 January 1941, when German bombs were dropped on the Terenure area. This was followed early on the following m…
German forces dropped four bombs on neutral Ireland, killing 28 people and damaging the residence of the President of Ir
1941
85 years ago
The United Kingdom completed its re-occupation of Iraq, returning Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II
The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani who had seized power in …
The United Kingdom completed its re-occupation of Iraq, returning Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II
1941
85 years ago
World War II: German forces dropped four bombs on neutral Ireland, killing 28 people and damaging Áras an Uachtaráin, th
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. Tanks and air…
World War II: German forces dropped four bombs on neutral Ireland, killing 28 people and damaging Áras an Uachtaráin, th
1941
85 years ago
World War II: In reprisal for the participation of the local population in the Battle of Crete, the German Wehrmacht des
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. Tanks and air…
World War II: In reprisal for the participation of the local population in the Battle of Crete, the German Wehrmacht des
1941
85 years ago
Second Sino-Japanese War: About 4,000 people died of asphyxiation in Chongqing when the tunnel in which they were hiding
The Second Sino-Japanese War, known in China as the War of Resistance Against Japan, was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan and its puppet states between …
Second Sino-Japanese War: About 4,000 people died of asphyxiation in Chongqing when the tunnel in which they were hiding