Explore 3060 historical events from 1940–1949.
John Treadwell Nichols was an American novelist. He wrote the New Mexico Trilogy - The Milagro Beanfield War (1974), The Magic Journey (1978), and The Nirvana Blues (1981) - as wel…
John Nichols, American novelist (died 2023)
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, OMRI was an Italian banker and economist who served as Italy's Minister of Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008. He previously served as a member of the Ex…
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian economist and politician, Italian Minister of Finance (died 2010)
Daniel G. "Dan" Hedaya is an American actor best-known for his supporting roles in films such as Blood Simple, The Addams Family, Clueless, The Usual Suspects, A Night at the Roxbu…
Dan Hedaya, American actor
Richard Ballantine was a cycling writer, journalist and cycling advocate. Born in America, the son of Ian and Betty Ballantine of Ballantine Books, and educated at the Browning Sch…
Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (died 2013)
Dobie Gray was an American singer and songwriter. Gray's music spanned multiple genres, including soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included "The 'In' Crowd" i…
Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2011)
Brian Stanley Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a member of the Cabinet from 1994 to 1997 and a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to…
Brian Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, Northern Irish-British academic and politician, Secretary of State for Transport…
Joseph Jean-Paul Robert Rousseau was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1960 to 1974, most notably for the Montreal…
Bobby Rousseau, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2025)
Philippine "Pina" Bausch was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as Tanztheater. Bausch's approach …
Pina Bausch, German dancer and choreographer (died 2009)
Betty Wright Harris is an American chemist. She is known for her work on the chemistry of explosives completed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She patented a spot test for detec…
Betty Harris, American chemist
Bernard Lafayette Jr. was an American civil rights activist, organizer and Baptist minister, who was a leader in the civil rights movement. He played a leading role in early organi…
Bernard Lafayette, American civil rights movement activist (died 2026)
Solita Garduño Collás-Monsod, popularly known as Mareng Winnie, is a Filipino economist, broadcaster, columnist, radio host, and public intellectual. She had been the 5th Director-…
Winnie Monsod, Filipina economist and political commentator
Patricia Nell Scott "Pat" Schroeder was an American politician who represented Colorado's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997…
Patricia Schroeder, American lawyer and politician (died 2023)
Sir Clive Marles Sinclair was an English entrepreneur and inventor, best known for being a pioneer in the computing industry and also as the founder of several companies that devel…
Clive Sinclair, English businessman, founded Sinclair Radionics and Sinclair Research (died 2021)
James Enos Clyburn is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 6th congressional district. First elected in 1992, Clyburn is serving his 17th …
Jim Clyburn, American politician, former House Majority Whip
Tony D'Arcy was an Irish Republican militant and activist. A senior leader in the Irish Republican Army (IRA), he died on 16 April 1940 after a 52-day hunger strike, at the age o…
Tony D'Arcy, Irish Republican died while on hunger strike (born 1908)
Jack McNeela was an Irish republican and a senior member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) from Ballycroy, County Mayo, Ireland. McNeela was one of 22 Irish republicans who died o…
Jack McNeela, Irish Republican Army, died on hunger strike
Carl Bosch was a German chemist and engineer and Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. He was a pioneer in the field of high-pressure industrial chemistry and founder of IG Farben, at one p…
Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1874)
Ernest Edward Mills Joyce AM was a Royal Naval seaman and explorer who participated in four Antarctic expeditions during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, in the early 20th …
Ernest Joyce, English explorer (born 1875)
George Lansbury was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour governmen…
George Lansbury, English journalist and politician (born 1859)
Emma Goldman was a Russian-born anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North Ame…
Emma Goldman, Lithuanian author and activist (born 1869)
Menno ter Braak was a Dutch modernist writer, critic, essayist, and journalist.
Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (born 1902)
Carl Gustaf Verner von Heidenstam was a Swedish poet, novelist and laureate of the 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1912. His poems and p…
Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1859)
William James Minter, was a footballer, trainer, manager and assistant secretary at Tottenham Hotspur. He scored 101 goals for Tottenham, and was for a time the top scorer for the …
Billy Minter, English footballer and manager (born 1888)
Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities Le…
Marcus Garvey, Jamaican journalist and activist, founded the Black Star Line (born 1887)