Explore 6096 historical events from 1940–1949.
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: The German occupation of Paris begins
The Hercules Powder plant disaster was an explosion at an armaments factory owned by the Hercules Powder Company in the Kenvil section of Roxbury, New Jersey, on 12 September 1940.…
The Hercules Powder plant disaster in the United States kills 51 people and injures over 200.
The Ip massacre was the mass killing of around 150 ethnic Romanians by the Royal Hungarian Army on 14 September 1940, in Ipp,, Northern Transylvania, and in nearby locations and su…
Ip massacre: The Hungarian Army, supported by local Hungarians, kill 158 Romanian civilians in Ip, Sălaj, a village in…
Witold Pilecki, known by the codenames Roman Jezierski, Tomasz Serafiński, Druh and Witold, was a Polish World War II cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader.
World War II: Witold Pilecki is voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp to gather and smuggle…
The Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Lithuania before midnight of 14 June 1940. The Soviets, using a formal pretext, demanded that an unspecified number of Soviet soldiers be al…
The Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Lithuania, resulting in Lithuanian loss of independence
Tarnów is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. I…
Seven hundred and twenty-eight Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first inmates of the Auschwitz concentr
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: Operation Aerial begins: Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany's takeover of Paris and
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: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français)
Balham is an interchange station in south-west London. It is located in central Balham in the London Borough of Wandsworth for London Underground and National Rail services.
World War II: The Balham underground station disaster kills sixty-six people during the London Blitz.
Lluís Companys i Jover was a Catalan politician from Spain who served as president of Catalonia from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War.
President Lluís Companys of Catalonia is executed by the Francoist government.
Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. was a career officer in the United States Army. One of the few black officers in an era when American society was largely segregated, in 1940 he was promo…
Benjamin O. Davis Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.
Benoît Bouchard is a Canadian public official and former politician.
Benoît Bouchard, Canadian academic and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Transport
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. It…
The Soviet Union occupies Lithuania, which will eventually become the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR)
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: RMS Lancastria is attacked and sunk by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France
The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Euroz…
The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union
The Appeal of 18 June was the first speech made by Charles de Gaulle after his arrival in London in 1940 following the Battle of France. Broadcast to France by the radio services o…
Appeal of 18 June by Charles de Gaulle
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: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France
David Anthony Jerome Holford was a West Indian cricketer who played in 24 Test matches between 1966 and 1977.
David Holford, Barbadian cricketer (died 2022)
Fotis Constantine Kafatos was a Greek biologist. Between 2007 and 2010, he was the founding president of the European Research Council (ERC). He chaired the ERC Scientific Council …
Fotis Kafatos, Greek biologist, founding president of the European Research Council (ERC) (died 2017)
Margrethe II is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 year…
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Joan Snyder is an American painter from New York. She is a MacArthur Fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow (1974).
Joan Snyder, American painter
Sir Eric Dancer is a British businessman and formerly Lord-Lieutenant of Devon.
Eric Dancer, English businessman and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Devon
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: France is forced to sign the Second Compiègne armistice with Germany, in the same railroad car in which th
The city of Paris has notable examples of architecture from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. It was the birthplace of the Gothic style, and has important monuments of the Fren…
Adolf Hitler goes on a three-hour tour of the architecture of Paris with architect Albert Speer and sculptor Arno Breker