Explore 6096 historical events from 1940–1949.
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was a German Nazi politician and military leader. He was the 4th Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel from 1929 to 1945. He was a leading member of the Nazi …
Heinrich Himmler, German commander and politician, Reich Minister of the Interior and head of the SS (born 1900)
Kitarō Nishida was a Japanese moral philosopher, philosopher of mathematics and science, and religious scholar. He was the founder of what has been called the Kyoto School of phil…
Kitaro Nishida, Japanese philosopher and academic (born 1870)
Albert Viktor Julius Joseph Michael Graf von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat who served as Ambassador to London at the outbreak of World War I.
Count Albert von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein, Austrian diplomat
Athanasios Klaras, better known by the nom de guerre Aris Velouchiotis, was a Greek journalist and politician. He was a member of the Communist Party of Greece and the most promine…
Aris Velouchiotis, Greek general (born 1905)
Florence Bascom was a pioneer American woman geologist and educator. Bascom was the second woman to earn a PhD in geology in the United States. She received her PhD in 1893 from …
Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (born 1862)
Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. was a lieutenant general in the United States Army during World War II who served in the Pacific Theater. As commanding general of Alaska Defense Command,…
Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr
Bruno Frank was a German author, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and humanist.
Bruno Frank, German author, poet, and playwright (born 1878)
Isamu Chō was a Japanese officer in the Imperial Japanese Army known for his support of ultranationalist politics and involvement in a number of attempted coup d'états in pre-Wor…
Isamu Chō, Japanese general (born 1895)
Mitsuru Ushijima was a Japanese general who served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. He was the commanding general of the 32nd Army, which fought in the Battle…
Mitsuru Ushijima, Japanese general (born 1887)
Giuseppina Tuissi, better known as Gianna was an Italian communist and partisan during World War II. She was part of the 52nd Brigata Garibaldi "Luigi Clerici". From September 1944…
Giuseppina Tuissi, Italian journalist and activist (born 1923)
Emil Dominik Josef Hácha was a Czech lawyer, serving as the president of Czechoslovakia from November 1938 to March 1939. In March 1939, after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, Hácha …
Emil Hácha, Czech lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Czechoslovakia (born 1872)
Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu was a Turkish journalist and the founder of the newspaper Cumhuriyet. He was known for his support for Turkish nationalism and his sympathies with the Nazi reg…
Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, Turkish journalist (born 1879)
John Curtin was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor …
John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1885)
Boris Grigoryevich Galerkin was a Soviet mathematician and an engineer.
Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (born 1871)
Wolfram Karl Ludwig Moritz Hermann Freiherr von Richthofen was a German World War I flying ace who rose to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall in the Luftwaffe during World War II.
Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, German field marshal (born 1895)
Alla Aleksandrovna Nazimova was a Russian-born American actress. Hailed by modern scholars as the "founding mother of Sapphic Hollywood", Nazimova was a celebrated nonconformist ar…
Alla Nazimova, Russian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (born 1879)
Ernst Bernhard Wilhelm Busch was a German Generalfeldmarschall during World War II who commanded the 16th Army and Army Group Centre.
Ernst Busch, German field marshal (born 1885)
Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction, his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters,…
Paul Valéry, French author and poet (born 1871)
Pietro Mascagni was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-…
Pietro Mascagni, Italian composer and educator (born 1863)
Richard Ira "Dick" Bong was a United States Army Air Forces officer and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. He was one of the most decorated American fighter pilots and the c…
Richard Bong, American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1920)
Robert Hampton "Hammy" Gray, was a Canadian naval officer, pilot, and recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II. He and Eugene Esmonde are the only personnel of the Royal…
Robert Hampton Gray, Canadian lieutenant and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1917)
Harry Livingston Hillman Jr. was one of the longest serving Dartmouth Track and Field Coaches from 1910–45, and an American track and field athlete who won three gold medals at the…
Harry Hillman, American runner and coach (born 1881)
Robert Hutchings Goddard was an American physicist, inventor, and engineer credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which was successfully launch…
Robert H. Goddard, American physicist and engineer (born 1882)
Stefan Jaracz was a Polish actor and theater producer. He served as the artistic director of Ateneum Theatre in Warsaw during the interwar period (1930–32), and within a short peri…
Stefan Jaracz, Polish actor and theater producer (born 1883)