Explore 6096 historical events from 1940–1949.
Dame Monica Margaret Mason is a former ballet dancer, teacher, and director of The Royal Ballet. In more than a half-century with the company, she established a reputation as a ver…
Monica Mason, South African ballerina and director
Bernard Sanders is an American politician and activist serving as the senior United States senator from Vermont, a seat he has held since 2007. He is the longest-serving independen…
Bernie Sanders, American politician
Sushilkumar Sambhaji Shinde is an Indian former police officer and politician from the state of Maharashtra. He was the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Power in the Manmohan …
Sushilkumar Shinde, Indian lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of Andhra Pradesh
David Murray Dryden was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, who created and first used the modern goaltending mask, consisting of fibreglass and a cage. From 1962 to 198…
Dave Dryden, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2022)
Syed Abid Ali was an all-rounder Indian cricketer who was a lower-order batsman and a medium-pace bowler. He played an important role in Indian cricket in the 1960s and '70s.
Syed Abid Ali, Indian cricketer
Otis Ray Redding Jr. was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul musi…
Otis Redding, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 1967)
Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie was an American computer scientist. He created, together with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the Unix operating system, C programming language, and B …
Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist, created the C programming language (died 2011)
Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, historian of science, and one of the most widely read authors of popular science of his generation. Gould …
Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist, biologist, and author (died 2002)
Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood was an English conductor, harpsichordist, and musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority o…
Christopher Hogwood, English harpsichord player and conductor, founded the Academy of Ancient Music (died 2014)
Minnijean Brown-Trickey is an American political figure who was a member of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African American teenagers who integrated Little Rock Central High…
Minnijean Brown-Trickey, Civil Rights activist and Little Rock Nine member
Tadao Ando is a Japanese architect. Self-taught, he is known for his unique integration of architecture and landscape. Architectural historian Francesco Dal Co described his work …
Tadao Ando, Japanese architect and academic, designed Piccadilly Gardens
David Clayton-Thomas was a British-Canadian musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the American band Blood, Sweat & Tears.
David Clayton-Thomas, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2026)
Ahmet Necdet Sezer is a Turkish statesman and judge who served as the president of Turkey from 2000 to 2007. Previously, he was president of the Constitutional Court of Turkey from…
Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Turkish judge and politician, 10th President of the Republic of Turkey
Gunpei Yokoi , sometimes transliterated as Gumpei Yokoi, was a Japanese toy maker and video game designer. As a long-time Nintendo employee, he was best known as the original desig…
Gunpei Yokoi, Japanese video game designer, invented Game Boy (died 1997)
Bruce Hyde was an American educator and actor. He was professor of communication studies at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. His academic work mainly focused on ontology, s…
Bruce Hyde, American actor and academic (died 2015)
Sir Ian McColl Kennedy is a British academic lawyer who has specialised in the law and ethics of health. He was appointed to chair the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority…
Ian Kennedy, English lawyer and academic
Joan Trumpauer Mulholland is an American civil rights activist who was active in the 1960s. She was one of the Freedom Riders who was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961, and…
Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, American civil rights activist
Alberto Naranjo [nah-rahn'-ho] was a Venezuelan musician. His mother, the singer Graciela Naranjo, was a radio, film and television pioneer in her homeland. Largely self-taught, Na…
Alberto Naranjo, Venezuelan drummer, composer, and bandleader (died 2020)
Alex St. Clair was an American musician.
Alex St. Clair, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2006)
Flórián György Albert was a Hungarian professional football player, manager and sports official, who was named European Footballer of the Year in 1967. Nicknamed "The Emperor", he …
Flórián Albert, Hungarian footballer and manager (died 2011)
Signe Toly Anderson was an American singer who was one of the founding members of the American rock band Jefferson Airplane.
Signe Toly Anderson, American rock singer (died 2016)
Mirosław Hermaszewski was a Polish cosmonaut, fighter plane pilot, and Polish Air Force officer. He became the first and, at the time of his death in December 2022, only Polish nat…
Mirosław Hermaszewski, Polish general, pilot and cosmonaut (died 2022)
Yuri Borisovich Norstein is a Russian animator best known for his animated shorts Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales made in collaboration with his wife, Francheska Yarbusova. S…
Yuriy Norshteyn, Russian animator, director, and screenwriter
Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov is a Russian civil servant, politician and businessman who served as the 36th Prime Minister of Russia from September 2007 to May 2008. He was Vladimir P…
Viktor Zubkov, Russian businessman and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Russia