1940
Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (born 1902)
Menno ter Braak was a Dutch modernist writer, critic, essayist, and journalist.
Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (born 1902)
The 1940s
Explore 4728 historical events from 1940–1949.
1940
Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1859)
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)
1940
Billy Minter, English footballer and manager (born 1888)
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)
1940
DuBose Heyward, American author (born 1885)
Edwin DuBose Heyward was an American author best known for his 1925 novel Porgy. He and his wife Dorothy, a playwright, adapted it as a 1927 play of the same name. The couple worke…
DuBose Heyward, American author (born 1885)
1940
Arthur Harden, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1865)
Sir Arthur Harden, FRS was a British biochemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1929 with Hans Karl August Simon von Euler-Chelpin for their investigations into the ferm…
Arthur Harden, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1865)
1940
Marcus Garvey, Jamaican journalist and activist, founded the Black Star Line (born 1887)
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)
1940
Maurice Jaubert, French composer and conductor (born 1900)
Maurice Jaubert was a prolific French composer who scored some of the most important films of the early sound era in France, including Jean Vigo’s Zero for Conduct and L'Atalante, …
Maurice Jaubert, French composer and conductor (born 1900)
1940
Smedley Butler, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1881)
Major General Smedley Darlington Butler was a United States Marine Corps officer. During his 34-year military career, he fought in the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion,…
Smedley Butler, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1881)
1940
Édouard Vuillard, French painter (born 1868)
Jean-Édouard Vuillard was a French painter, decorative artist, and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, Vuillard was a member of the avant garde artistic group Les Nabis, creating p…
Édouard Vuillard, French painter (born 1868)
1940
Monty Noble, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (born 1873)
Montague Alfred Noble was an Australian cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. A right-hand batsman, right-handed bowler who could deliver both medium pace and off…
Monty Noble, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (born 1873)
1940
Italo Balbo, Italian air marshal and politician (born 1896)
Italo Balbo was an Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of It…
Italo Balbo, Italian air marshal and politician (born 1896)
1940
Paul Klee, Swiss painter and illustrator (born 1879)
Paul Klee was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism.
Paul Klee, Swiss painter and illustrator (born 1879)
1940
Robert Wadlow, American giant, 8"11' 271 cm (born 1918)
Robert Pershing Wadlow, also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man known for being the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefu…
Robert Wadlow, American giant, 8"11' 271 cm (born 1918)
1940
George Fuller, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of New South Wales (born 1861)
Sir George Warburton Fuller was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd Premier of New South Wales, in office from 1922 to 1925 and for one day in December 1921. He previou…
George Fuller, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of New South Wales (born 1861)
1940
Albert Young, American boxer and promoter (born 1877)
Albert Young was an American welterweight boxer who competed in the early twentieth century. He won a gold medal in boxing at the 1904 Summer Olympics.
Albert Young, American boxer and promoter (born 1877)
1940
Udham Singh, Indian activist (born 1899)
Udham Singh was an Indian revolutionary belonging to Ghadar Party and HSRA, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer, the former lieutenant governor of the Punjab in British In…
Udham Singh, Indian activist (born 1899)
1940
Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and physician (born 1857)
Paul Eugen Bleuler was a Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist most notable for his influence on modern concepts of mental illness. He coined several psychiatric terms including schizo…
Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and physician (born 1857)
1940
Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Ukrainian-American general, journalist, and activist (born 1880)
Ze'ev Jabotinsky was a Zionist leader, orator, writer, and soldier. He was the founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement and its associated organizations, including the Union of …
Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Ukrainian-American general, journalist, and activist (born 1880)
1940
Johnny Dodds, American clarinet player and saxophonist (born 1892)
Johnny Dodds was an American jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist based in New Orleans, best known for his recordings under his own name and with bands such as those of Joe "King"…
Johnny Dodds, American clarinet player and saxophonist (born 1892)
1940
Nikolai Triik, Estonian painter, illustrator, and academic (born 1884)
Nikolai Voldemar Triik was an Estonian Modernist painter, graphic artist, printmaker and professor. His work displays elements of Symbolism and Expressionism.
Nikolai Triik, Estonian painter, illustrator, and academic (born 1884)
1940
Billy Fiske, American soldier and pilot (born 1911)
William Meade Lindsley Fiske III was an American combat fighter pilot and Olympic bobsledder. At the 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics, Fiske won gold as driver for the US bobsledding …
Billy Fiske, American soldier and pilot (born 1911)
1940
Walter Chrysler, American businessman, founded Chrysler (born 1875)
Walter Percy Chrysler was an American industrial pioneer in the automotive industry, automotive industry executive, and the founder and namesake of American Chrysler Corporation.
Walter Chrysler, American businessman, founded Chrysler (born 1875)
1940
Hermann Obrecht, Swiss lawyer and politician (born 1882)
Hermann Obrecht was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1935–1940).
Hermann Obrecht, Swiss lawyer and politician (born 1882)
1940
Ernest Thayer, American poet and author (born 1863)
Ernest Lawrence Thayer was an American writer and poet who wrote the poem "Casey", which is "the single most famous baseball poem ever written" according to the Baseball Almanac, a…
Ernest Thayer, American poet and author (born 1863)