The 1940s

1942

Roberto Arlt, Argentinian author and playwright (born 1900)

Roberto Arlt was an Argentine novelist, storyteller, playwright, and journalist.

Roberto Arlt, Argentinian author and playwright (born 1900)

1942

Karl Pärsimägi, Estonian painter (born 1902)

Karl Pärsimägi was an Estonian Fauvist painter. He was murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp after being arrested in Paris.

Karl Pärsimägi, Estonian painter (born 1902)

1942

Hermann Brauneck, German physician and SA general (born 1894)

Hermann Max-Gustav Brauneck was a German naval officer, physician and member of the paramilitary Sturmabteilung who rose to the rank of SA-Obergruppenführer. He held several high-l…

Hermann Brauneck, German physician and SA general (born 1894)

1942

Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (born 1853)

Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, commonly known as simply Sir Flinders Petrie, was an English Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preser…

Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (born 1853)

1942

Francis Younghusband, British Army Officer, explorer and spiritual writer (born 1863)

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband was a British Army officer, explorer and spiritual writer. He is remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia; esp…

Francis Younghusband, British Army Officer, explorer and spiritual writer (born 1863)

1942

Richard Willstätter, German-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1872)

Richard Martin Willstätter FRS(For) HFRSE was a German organic chemist whose study of the structure of plant pigments, chlorophyll included, won him the 1915 Nobel Prize for Chemis…

Richard Willstätter, German-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1872)

1942

Alberto Franchetti, Italian composer and educator (born 1860)

Alberto Franchetti was an Italian composer and racing driver, best known for the 1902 opera Germania.

Alberto Franchetti, Italian composer and educator (born 1860)

1942

Edith Stein, German nun and saint (born 1891)

Edith Stein was a German philosopher who converted to Catholicism and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She was murdered in the gas chamber at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentrati…

Edith Stein, German nun and saint (born 1891)

1942

Mahadev Desai, Indian activist and author (born 1892)

Mahadev Haribhai Desai was an Indian independence activist, scholar and writer best remembered as Mahatma Gandhi's personal secretary. He has variously been described as "Gandhi's …

Mahadev Desai, Indian activist and author (born 1892)

1942

Erwin Schulhoff, Austro-Czech composer and pianist (born 1894)

Erwin Schulhoff was an Austro-Czech composer and pianist. He was one of the figures in the generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by …

Erwin Schulhoff, Austro-Czech composer and pianist (born 1894)

1942

Harald Kaarmann, Estonian footballer (born 1901)

Harald Kaarmann was an Estonian footballer and bandy player.

Harald Kaarmann, Estonian footballer (born 1901)

1942

Heinrich Rauchinger, Kraków-born painter (born 1858)

Heinrich Rauchinger (Polish name Henryk, pronounced /xɛnrɨk/, 1858–1942) was a Kraków-born history painter and portrait painter.

Heinrich Rauchinger, Kraków-born painter (born 1858)

1942

István Horthy, Hungarian admiral and pilot (born 1904)

István Horthy de Nagybánya was a Hungarian politician and fighter pilot during World War II. He was briefly Vice-Regent of Hungary in 1942, and was the eldest son of Hungarian rege…

István Horthy, Hungarian admiral and pilot (born 1904)

1942

Michel Fokine, Russian dancer and choreographer (born 1880)

Michael Fokine was a Russian choreographer and dancer. He is considered the founder of modern ballet.

Michel Fokine, Russian dancer and choreographer (born 1880)

1942

Prince George, Duke of Kent (born 1902)

Prince George, Duke of Kent, was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary, and a younger brother of Kings Edward VIII and George VI. He …

Prince George, Duke of Kent (born 1902)

1942

Tom Williams (Irish republican), Executed Irish Republican (born 1923)

Thomas Joseph Williams was a volunteer in C Company, 2nd Battalion of the Belfast Brigade in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) from the Bombay Street area of Belfast, Northern Irelan…

Tom Williams (Irish republican), Executed Irish Republican (born 1923)

1942

James Juvenal, American rower (born 1874)

James Benner Juvenal was an American rower, born in Philadelphia, who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics and in the 1904 Summer Olympics.

James Juvenal, American rower (born 1874)

1942

Will James, Canadian-American author and illustrator (born 1892)

William Roderick James was a Canadian-American artist and writer of the American West. He is known for writing Smoky the Cowhorse, for which he won the 1927 Newbery Medal, and nume…

Will James, Canadian-American author and illustrator (born 1892)

1942

Séraphine Louis, French painter (born 1864)

Séraphine Louis, known as Séraphine de Senlis, was a French painter and artist. Self-taught, she was inspired by her religious faith and by stained-glass church windows and other r…

Séraphine Louis, French painter (born 1864)

1942

François de Labouchère, French soldier and pilot (born 1917)

François de Labouchere, born at Saint-Jean-le-Vieux (Ain) on 18 September 1917 and killed in air-to-air combat on 5 September 1942, was a French pilot of the Second World War.

François de Labouchère, French soldier and pilot (born 1917)

1942

Cecilia Beaux, American painter and academic (born 1855)

Eliza Cecilia Beaux was an American artist and the first woman to teach art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Known for her elegant and sensitive portraits of friends, …

Cecilia Beaux, American painter and academic (born 1855)

1942

Rıza Nur, Turkish surgeon and politician (born 1879)

Rıza Nur was a Turkish surgeon, politician and writer. He was prominent in the years immediately after the First World War, where he served as a cabinet minister but was subsequent…

Rıza Nur, Turkish surgeon and politician (born 1879)

1942

Adele Kurzweil, Austrian Holocaust victim (born 1925)

Adele "Dele" Kurzweil was an Austrian girl of Jewish origin who was tracked down by Nazi Germany and murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp at arrival. Her fate became widely kno…

Adele Kurzweil, Austrian Holocaust victim (born 1925)

1942

Valentine Baker, Welsh co-founder of the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company (born 1888)

Captain Valentine Henry Baker MC AFC, nicknamed "Bake", served in all three of the British Armed Forces during the First World War. After the war he became a civilian flight instru…

Valentine Baker, Welsh co-founder of the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company (born 1888)