The 1940s

1941 85 years ago

The Tighina Agreement, a treaty regarding administration issues of the Transnistria Governorate, is signed between…

The Tighina Agreement was an agreement between Nazi Germany and Romania about administration, economy and security issues of the Transnistria Governorate that entered into force on…

The Tighina Agreement, a treaty regarding administration issues of the Transnistria Governorate, is signed between…

1941 85 years ago

World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica.

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, with many eng…

World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica.

1941 85 years ago

Rod Thorn, American basketball player, coach, and executive

Rodney King Thorn is an American basketball executive and a former professional player, coach and Olympic Committee Chairman with a career spanning over 50 years. In 2018, Thorn wa…

Rod Thorn, American basketball player, coach, and executive

1941 85 years ago

Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, English academic and politician (died 2018)

Patricia Lesley Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, PC, DL was a historian and a Labour member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom.

Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, English academic and politician (died 2018)

1941 85 years ago

Rudolf Adler, Czech filmmaker: 88

Rudolf Adler was a Czech film director, screenwriter and film educator.

Rudolf Adler, Czech filmmaker: 88

1941 85 years ago

Uta Frith, German developmental psychologist

Dame Uta Frith is a German-British developmental psychologist and emeritus professor in cognitive development at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College Londo…

Uta Frith, German developmental psychologist

1941 85 years ago

The Holocaust: Karl Fritzsch, deputy camp commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, experiments with the use of…

The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered ar…

The Holocaust: Karl Fritzsch, deputy camp commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, experiments with the use of…

1941 85 years ago

World War II: A German submarine makes the first attack of the war against a United States warship, the USS Greer.

USS Greer (DD–145) was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy, the first ship named for Rear Admiral James A. Greer (1833–1904). In what became known as the "Greer inci…

World War II: A German submarine makes the first attack of the war against a United States warship, the USS Greer.

1941 85 years ago

World War II: German forces begin the Siege of Leningrad.

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, with many eng…

World War II: German forces begin the Siege of Leningrad.

1941 85 years ago

Charles Lindbergh makes his Des Moines speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of conspiring for…

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris, a distance of 3,600 m…

Charles Lindbergh makes his Des Moines speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of conspiring for…

1941 85 years ago

World War II: Soviet forces enter Tehran during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.

The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, also known as the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia or the Allied invasion of Iran, was the joint invasion of the officially neutral Imperial State…

World War II: Soviet forces enter Tehran during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran.

1941 85 years ago

Vladimir Voronin, Moldovan economist and politician, 3rd President of Moldova

Vladimir Voronin is a Moldovan politician. He was the third President of Moldova from 2001 until 2009 and has been the leader of the Party of Communists of Moldova (PCRM) since 199…

Vladimir Voronin, Moldovan economist and politician, 3rd President of Moldova

1941 85 years ago

Aldrich Ames, American CIA officer and criminal (died 2026)

Aldrich Hazen Ames was an American counterintelligence officer with the Central Intelligence Agency who was convicted of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia in 1994.

Aldrich Ames, American CIA officer and criminal (died 2026)

1941 85 years ago

Jim Dobbin, Scottish microbiologist and politician (died 2014)

James Dobbin was a British politician and microbiologist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Heywood and Middleton from 1997 until his death in 2014.

Jim Dobbin, Scottish microbiologist and politician (died 2014)

1941 85 years ago

The Holocaust in Lithuania: Lithuanian Nazis and local police begin a mass execution of 403 Jews in Nemenčinė.

The Holocaust resulted in the near total eradication of Lithuanian (Litvaks) and Polish Jews[a] in Generalbezirk Litauen of the Reichskommissariat Ostland in the Nazi-controlled Li…

The Holocaust in Lithuania: Lithuanian Nazis and local police begin a mass execution of 403 Jews in Nemenčinė.

1941 85 years ago

The Holocaust in Ukraine: On the Jewish New Year Day, the German SS murders 6,000 Jews in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Those…

The Holocaust saw the systematic mass murder of Jews in the Reichskommissariat Ukraine, the General Government, the Crimean General Government and some areas which were located to …

The Holocaust in Ukraine: On the Jewish New Year Day, the German SS murders 6,000 Jews in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Those…

1941 85 years ago

The SS Patrick Henry is launched, becoming the first of more than 2,700 Liberty ships.

SS Patrick Henry was the first Liberty ship launched. It was built by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at their Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland. She was n…

The SS Patrick Henry is launched, becoming the first of more than 2,700 Liberty ships.

1941 85 years ago

Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat…

Theodore Samuel Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for…

Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat…

1941 85 years ago

During World War II, German forces, with the aid of local Ukrainian collaborators, begin the two-day Babi Yar massacre.

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, with many eng…

During World War II, German forces, with the aid of local Ukrainian collaborators, begin the two-day Babi Yar massacre.

1941 85 years ago

Cliff Drysdale, South African tennis player and sportscaster

Eric Clifford Drysdale is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a tennis commentator.

Cliff Drysdale, South African tennis player and sportscaster

1941 85 years ago

Imants Kalniņš, Latvian composer

Imants Kalniņš is a Latvian composer, musician and politician. Having studied classical and choral music, he has written seven symphonies, several operas, oratorios, cantatas, choi…

Imants Kalniņš, Latvian composer

1941 85 years ago

Beth Howland, American actress and singer (died 2015)

Elizabeth Howland was an American actress known for her work on stage and television. She was best known for playing waitress Vera Gorman in the sitcom Alice.

Beth Howland, American actress and singer (died 2015)

1941 85 years ago

Doug Scott, English mountaineer and author (died 2020)

Douglas Keith Scott was an English mountaineer and climbing author, noted for being on the team that made the first ascent of the south-west face of Mount Everest on 24 September 1…

Doug Scott, English mountaineer and author (died 2020)

1941 85 years ago

World War II: The Babi Yar massacre comes to an end.

Babi Yar or Babyn Yar is a ravine in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during its campaign against the Soviet Union in World W…

World War II: The Babi Yar massacre comes to an end.