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)
The 1940s
Explore 5072 historical events from 1940–1949.
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)
1940
Oliver Lodge, English physicist and academic (born 1851)
Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge was an English physicist and electrical engineer whose investigations into electromagnetic radiation (EMR) contributed to the development of radio. He ident…
Oliver Lodge, English physicist and academic (born 1851)
1940
Prince Jean, Duke of Guise (born 1874)
Jean d'Orléans was Orléanist pretender to the defunct French throne as Jean III. He used the courtesy title of Duke of Guise.
Prince Jean, Duke of Guise (born 1874)
1940
Georges Gauthier, Canadian archbishop (born 1871)
Georges Gauthier was a French Canadian archbishop of Montreal and the first rector of the Université de Montréal.
Georges Gauthier, Canadian archbishop (born 1871)
1940
DeLancey W. Gill, American painter (born 1859)
DeLancey Walker Gill was an American drafter, landscape painter, and photographer. Gill first became noted for his landscape illustrations and watercolors, featuring subjects such …
DeLancey W. Gill, American painter (born 1859)
1940
Leon Trotsky, Russian theorist and politician, founded the Red Army (born 1879)
Lev Davidovich Trotsky, better known as Leon Trotsky, was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician and political theorist. He was a key figure in the 1905 Revolution, the October…
Leon Trotsky, Russian theorist and politician, founded the Red Army (born 1879)
1940
Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, Maltese lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Malta (born 1861)
Gerald Paul Joseph Cajetan Carmel Antony Martin Strickland, 6th Count della Catena, 1st Baron Strickland,, usually known between 1897 and January 1928 as Sir Gerald Strickland, was…
Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, Maltese lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Malta (born 1861)
1940
Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, Polish-German technician and inventor, invented the Nipkow disk (born 1860)
Paul Julius Gottlieb Nipkow was a German electrical engineer and inventor. He invented the Nipkow disk, which laid the foundation of television, since his disk was a fundamental co…
Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, Polish-German technician and inventor, invented the Nipkow disk (born 1860)
1940
J. J. Thomson, English physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1856)
Sir Joseph John Thomson was a British physicist. He received the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics "in recognition of the great merits of his theoretical and experimental investigations …
J. J. Thomson, English physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1856)
1940
George William de Carteret, French-English journalist and author (born 1869)
George William de Carteret was a Norman language journalist and writer from Jersey.
George William de Carteret, French-English journalist and author (born 1869)
1940
Thomas Harte (Irish republican) (born 1915)
Thomas Harte was the first of seven Irish Republican Army (IRA) members executed by Irish forces in Mountjoy Prison and Portlaoise Prison prisons between 1940 and 1944.
Thomas Harte (Irish republican) (born 1915)
1940
Patrick McGrath (Irish republican) (born 1894)
Patrick MacGrath was born into an old Dublin republican family and took part in the 1916 Rising, as did two of his brothers. He was sent to Frongoch Internment Camp after the 1916…
Patrick McGrath (Irish republican) (born 1894)
1940
José Félix Estigarribia, Paraguayan soldier and politician, President of Paraguay (born 1888)
José Félix Estigarribia Insaurralde was a Paraguayan military officer and politician who served as the 34th President of Paraguay from 1939 until his death in a plane crash on 7 Se…
José Félix Estigarribia, Paraguayan soldier and politician, President of Paraguay (born 1888)
1940
Hemmo Kallio, Finnish actor (born 1863)
Herman "Hemmo" Kallio was a Finnish stage and film actor and playwright.
Hemmo Kallio, Finnish actor (born 1863)
1940
Issy Smith, British-Australian soldier and Jewish recipient of the Victoria Cross (born 1890)
Issy Smith was a British-Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to eligible forces of the Com…
Issy Smith, British-Australian soldier and Jewish recipient of the Victoria Cross (born 1890)
1940
Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, English-Scottish politician, 8th Governor of Queensland (born 1860)
Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington,, was a British politician and colonial administrator who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901,…
Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, English-Scottish politician, 8th Governor of Queensland (born 1860)
1940
William B. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician, 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (born…
William Brockman Bankhead was an American politician who served as the 42nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940, representing Alabama's 10th and…
William B. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician, 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (born…
1940
Hale Holden, American businessman (born 1869)
Hale Holden was president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) from 1914 to 1918 and 1920 to 1929, and chairman of the board of directors for Southern Pacific Rail…
Hale Holden, American businessman (born 1869)
1940
Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and critic (born 1892)
Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish myst…
Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and critic (born 1892)
1940
Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian physician and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1857)
Julius Wagner-Jauregg was an Austrian physician who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1927, and is the first psychiatrist to have done so. His Nobel award was "for h…
Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian physician and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1857)
1940
World War II: A squad of 250 Norwegian volunteers defending Hegra Fortress surrendered to a superior Nazi force after a
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: A squad of 250 Norwegian volunteers defending Hegra Fortress surrendered to a superior Nazi force after a
1940
A three-day debate began in the House of Commons that resulted in British prime minister Neville Chamberlain being repla
The Norway Debate, sometimes called the Narvik Debate, was a momentous debate in the British House of Commons from 7 to 9 May 1940, during the Second World War. The official title …
A three-day debate began in the House of Commons that resulted in British prime minister Neville Chamberlain being repla
1940
Franz Rademacher, a Nazi official, proposed that the island of Madagascar be made available as a destination for the res
Franz Rademacher was a German lawyer and diplomat. As an official in the Nazi government of the Third Reich during World War II, he was known for initiating action on the Madagasca…
Franz Rademacher, a Nazi official, proposed that the island of Madagascar be made available as a destination for the res