Explore 4728 historical events from 1940–1949.
Clay Palmer Carroll is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1964 through 1978, most notably as a membe…
Clay Carroll, American baseball player
Nona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess Grandmaster. Noted for her aggressive style of play, she was the women's world chess champion from 1962 to 1978, and in 1978 was the first w…
Nona Gaprindashvili, Georgian chess player, Women's World Champion, 1962-1978
George Frederick Will is an American libertarian conservative writer and political commentator. He writes columns for The Washington Post on a regular basis and provides commentary…
George Will, American journalist and author
William Westwood Lockyer is an American politician and lawyer from the state of California. A Democrat, he served in both houses of the state legislature, having been a member of t…
Bill Lockyer, American academic and politician, 30th Attorney General of California
Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the countr…
World War II: Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa
The Lithuanian Activist Front was a Lithuanian underground resistance organization established in 1940 after the Soviets occupied Lithuania. Its goal was to free Lithuania and rega…
The Lithuanian Activist Front declares independence from the Soviet Union and forms the Provisional Government of Lithua
The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a F…
World War II: The Continuation War between the Soviet Union and Finland, supported by Nazi Germany, began
The bombing of Kassa took place on 26 June 1941, when still unidentified aircraft conducted an airstrike on the city of Kassa, then part of Hungary, today Košice in Slovakia. This …
World War II: Soviet planes bomb Kassa, Hungary (now Košice, Slovakia), giving Hungary the impetus to declare war the ne
The Kingdom of Romania, under the rule of King Carol II, initially maintained neutrality in World War II. However, fascist political forces, especially the Iron Guard, rose in popu…
Romanian authorities launch one of the most violent pogroms in Jewish history in the city of Iași, resulting in the murd
James Anthony Traficant Jr. was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. A staunch economic populist known …
James Traficant, American lawyer and politician (died 2014)
Dorothy Hyman is an English retired sprinter. She competed at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m events, winning three medals. She also won individ…
Dorothy Hyman, English sprinter
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the original lineup of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is…
Eric Burdon, English musician
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 troops capture the city of Białystok during Operation Barbarossa
Crimes against the Polish nation committed by Nazi Germany and Axis collaborationist forces during the invasion of Poland, along with auxiliary battalions during the subsequent occ…
Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian…
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. World War II …
World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German-occupied Riga is burnt with 300…
Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3…
World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper river.
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. World War II …
World War II: The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk.
Ian Ritchie Redpath MBE was an Australian international cricketer who played in 66 Test matches and five One Day Internationals between 1964 and 1976. Greg Chappell said he was one…
Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer and coach (died 2024)
Senta Verhoeven is an Austrian-German actress. She received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film, and television; her awards include three Bambi Awards, two Romys…
Senta Berger, Austrian actress
Richard Steven Valenzuela, better known by his stage name Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano …
Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1959)
Jack Edward Jackson, also known by his pen name Jaxon, was an American cartoonist, illustrator, historian, and writer. He co-founded Rip Off Press, and some consider him to be the …
Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded the Rip Off Press (died 2006)
The Northern Rhodesian Labour Party was a political party in Northern Rhodesia. It was founded by Roy Welensky of the Rhodesian Railway Workers' Union originally to support white R…
The Northern Rhodesian Labour Party holds its first congress in Nkana.
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. World War II …
World War II: Montenegrins begin the Trinaestojulski ustanak (Thirteenth of July Uprising), a popular revolt against…
Joseph Paul DiMaggio, nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major…
Joe DiMaggio hits safely for the 56th consecutive game, a streak that still stands as an MLB record.