Explore 4728 historical events from 1940–1949.
Major general Georgi Ivanov Kakalov is a Bulgarian former military officer who was the first Bulgarian cosmonaut. He was a member of the National Assembly of Bulgaria in 1990.
Georgi Ivanov, Bulgarian military officer, cosmonaut and politician
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001. Since being elected to the European Parliament in 2004, he served as President of…
Jerzy Buzek, Polish engineer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Poland
Michael Cole was an American actor best known for his role as Pete Cochran on the television crime drama The Mod Squad (1968–1973).
Michael Cole, American actor (died 2024)
Lance Melvin Larson was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder in four events.
Lance Larson, American swimmer (died 2024)
César Leonardo Tovar, nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1965 to 1976,…
César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (died 1994)
Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. is an American politician, academic administrator, and attorney who served as a U.S. senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican…
Lamar Alexander, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Education
Patrick James "Whitey" Stapleton was a Canadian ice hockey player. A defenceman, Stapleton played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (W…
Pat Stapleton, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2020)
Charles Thomas Close was an American painter, visual artist, and photographer who made massive-scale photorealist and abstract portraits of himself and others. Close also created p…
Chuck Close, American painter and photographer (died 2021)
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev is a Kazakh politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 a…
Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh politician, 1st President of Kazakhstan
Marilyn Jeanne Seely was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning son…
Jeannie Seely, Grammy Award-winning country music singer-songwriter and Grand Ole Opry member (died 2025)
Tan Sri Dato' Seri Siti Norma binti Yaakob was a Malaysian lawyer and judge, noted for being the first woman to become Chief Judge of Malaya. After completing her legal studies in …
Siti Norma Yaakob, Malaysian lawyer and judge
Sir Richard Starkey, known as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. He sometimes sang le…
Ringo Starr, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
Eugene Victor Wolfenstein was an American social theorist, practicing psychoanalyst, and a professor of political science at University of California, Los Angeles.
Eugene Victor Wolfenstein, American psychoanalyst and theorist (died 2010)
Meghnad Jagdishchandra Desai, Baron Desai was an Indian-born British economist and Labour politician.
Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai, Indian-English economist and politician
Helen Jeanette Donath is an American soprano with a career spanning fifty years.
Helen Donath, American soprano and actress
Brian Priestley is an English jazz writer, pianist, and arranger.
Brian Priestley, English pianist and composer
Keith Raymond Stackpole MBE was an Australian cricketer who played in 43 Test matches and six One Day Internationals between 1966 and 1974. He went on to become a cricket commentat…
Keith Stackpole, Australian cricketer (died 2025)
Joseph Benson Mauldin Jr. was an American bassist, songwriter, and audio engineer who was best known as the bassist for the early rock and roll group the Crickets. Mauldin initiall…
Joe B. Mauldin, American bass player and songwriter (died 2015)
David Braden Frohnmayer was an American attorney, politician, and academic administrator from Oregon. He was the 15th president of the University of Oregon, serving from 1994 to 20…
David B. Frohnmayer, American lawyer and politician, 12th Oregon Attorney General (died 2015)
Fontella Marie Bass was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter best known for her number-one R&B hit "Rescue Me" in 1965. She also collaborated with artists like the Art Ensemb…
Fontella Bass, American R&B and soul singer (died 2012)
Thomas Lichtenberg was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach also at Morehead State University (1979–1980), the University of Maine (1989), an…
Tom Lichtenberg, American football player and coach (died 2013)
Paul Prudhomme, also known as Gene Autry Prudhomme, was an American celebrity chef whose specialties were Creole and Cajun cuisines, which he was also credited with popularizing. H…
Paul Prudhomme, American chef and author (died 2015)
Sir Patrick Stewart is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of stage and screen, he has received various accolades, including two Olivier Awards and a Grammy…
Patrick Stewart, English actor, director, and producer
Susan Howatch is a British author. Her writing career has been distinguished by family saga-type novels that describe the lives of related characters for long periods of time. Her …
Susan Howatch, English author and academic