Explore 5072 historical events from 1940–1949.
David John Duckham MBE was an English rugby union player. He played 36 games for England, in three tests on the 1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand and for Barbarians F.C. in th…
David Duckham, English rugby player (died 2023)
Robert Xavier Rodríguez is an American classical composer, best known for his eight operas and his works for children.
Robert Xavier Rodríguez, American classical composer
Jaime Jorge Guzmán Errázuriz was a Chilean constitutional law professor, politician, and founding member of the conservative Independent Democratic Union party. In the 1960s, he st…
Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and politician (died 1991)
Gilda Susan Radner was an American actress and comedian.
Gilda Radner, American actress and comedian (died 1989)
Ernesto Pérez Balladares González-Revilla, nicknamed El Toro, is a Panamanian politician who was the President of Panama between 1994 and 1999.
Ernesto Pérez Balladares, Panamanian politician, 33rd President of Panama
Prince Egon von Fürstenberg was a socialite, banker, fashion and interior designer, and a member of the former German princely family of Fürstenberg.
Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (died 2004)
Erkki Sakari Tuomioja is a Finnish politician and has previously been a member of the Finnish Parliament. From 2000 to 2007 and 2011 to 2015, he served as the minister for foreign …
Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish sergeant and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs
B. Kojo Laing or Bernard Kojo Laing was a Ghanaian novelist and poet, whose writing is characterised by its hybridity, whereby he uses Ghanaian Pidgin English and vernacular langua…
Kojo Laing, Ghanaian novelist and poet (died 2017)
Richard Axel is an American molecular biologist and university professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Inst…
Richard Axel, American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
Michael Antony Aston was an English archaeologist who specialised in Early Medieval landscape archaeology. Over the course of his career, he lectured at both the University of Bris…
Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (died 2013)
Ronald Arthur Silver was an American actor, director, producer, radio host, and activist. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was award…
Ron Silver, American actor, director, and political activist (died 2009)
Johnny Lee is an American country music singer. His 1980 single "Lookin' for Love" became a crossover hit, spending three weeks at number 1 on the Billboard country singles chart w…
Johnny Lee, American singer and guitarist
Leszek Cezary Miller is a Polish politician who served as prime minister of Poland from 2001 to 2004. He served a single term in the European Parliament from 2019 to 2024.
Leszek Miller, Polish political scientist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Poland
Michael Shea was an American fantasy, horror, and science fiction author. His novel Nifft the Lean won the World Fantasy Award, as did his novella Growlimb.
Michael Shea, American author (died 2014)
Ronald Lawrence Kovic is an American anti-war activist, author, and United States Marine Corps sergeant who was wounded and paralyzed in the Vietnam War. His best selling 1976 memo…
Ron Kovic, American author and activist
Michael Robert Milken is an American financier. He is known for his role in the development of the market for high-yield bonds, which led to his reputation as the "Junk Bond King",…
Michael Milken, American businessman and philanthropist
Pierre Marc Johnson is a Canadian lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985, making him the province's shortest-servin…
Pierre-Marc Johnson, Canadian lawyer, physician, and politician, 24th Premier of Quebec
Sir Paul Brierley Smith is an English fashion designer, best known for his eponymous luxury brand. Founded by Smith in 1970, it has since expanded to 130 stores in more than 60 cou…
Paul Smith, English fashion designer
Gerardus "Gerard" 't Hooft is a Dutch theoretical physicist and professor emeritus at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics with his thesis…
Gerard 't Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov was a Russian choreographer, founder, Chief Choreographer and Artistic Director of Moscow National Academic Theater of Dance Gzhel and Moscow Ballet…
Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (died 2013)
George Walker Bush is an American former politician, businessman, and former United States Air Force officer who was the 43rd president of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2…
George W. Bush, American businessman and politician, 43rd President of the United States
John Frederick Dryer is an American actor, radio host, and former professional football player who played as a defensive end in the National Football League for 13 years with the N…
Fred Dryer, American football player and actor
Peter Albert David Singer is an Australian moral philosopher who is Emeritus Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. Singer's work specialises in applied ethi…
Peter Singer, Australian philosopher and academic
Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone is an American actor, painter, and filmmaker. In a film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received numerous accolades, including a Go…
Sylvester Stallone, American actor, director, and screenwriter