Explore 3063 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. World War II …
World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 227. In response to alarming German advances, all those who…
Robert Thomas Christgau is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest profess…
Robert Christgau, American journalist and critic
Frew Donald McMillan is a former professional tennis player from South Africa who won five grand slam doubles titles including three Wimbledons with Bob Hewitt. All together, he wo…
Frew McMillan, South African tennis player
David James Fletcher Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral, is a British Conservative politician who served as a member of the Cabinet during the Thatcher and Major ministries, and was appoin…
David Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral, English politician, Secretary of State for Wales
John Konrads was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won the 1500 m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In his career, he set 26 individual world…
John Konrads, Australian swimmer (died 2021)
Alan Price is an English musician who first found prominence as the original keyboardist of the English rock band the Animals. He left the band in 1965 to form the Alan Price Set; …
Alan Price, English keyboard player, singer, and composer
Giorgio Agamben is an Italian philosopher whose work spans political theory, ontology, aesthetics, and literature. He is best known for developing the concepts of the state of exce…
Giorgio Agamben, Italian philosopher and academic
Věra Čáslavská was a Czechoslovak artistic gymnast and Czech sports official. She won a total of 22 international titles between 1959 and 1968 including seven Olympic gold medals, …
Věra Čáslavská, Czech gymnast and coach (died 2016)
Tammy Wynette was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bri…
Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1998)
John David Ashcroft is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and former politician who served as the 79th United States attorney general under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. A…
John Ashcroft, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
David Richmond Gergen was an American political commentator and longtime presidential adviser who served during the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, an…
David Gergen, American political consultant (died 2025)
Ezekiel "Danny" Ongais was an American racing driver.
Danny Ongais, American race car driver (died 2022)
Roger William Brown was an American professional basketball player and councilman.
Roger Brown, American basketball player (died 1997)
Theodore John Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, was an American mathematician and domestic terrorist. A mathematics prodigy, he abandoned his academic career in 1969 to pursu…
Ted Kaczynski, American academic and mathematician turned anarchist and serial murderer (Unabomber) (died 2023)
Barbara Parkins is a Canadian-American former actress, singer, dancer and photographer.
Barbara Parkins, Canadian actress
Richard Oakes was a Mohawk American Indian activist and academic. He spurred American Indian studies in university curricula and is credited for helping to change US federal govern…
Richard Oakes, Native American civil rights activist (died 1972)
James A. Calhoun is an American former college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His t…
Jim Calhoun, American basketball player and coach
Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, commonly referred to by his initials JK, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the 10th and 12th Vice President of Indonesia from 2004 to …
Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian businessman and politician, 10th Vice President of Indonesia
Charles Edmund Lazar Horman was an American journalist and documentary filmmaker. He was executed in Chile in the days following the 1973 Chilean coup d'état led by General Augusto…
Charles Horman, American journalist and documentary filmmaker (died 1973)
Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr., better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments a…
Taj Mahal, American blues singer-songwriter and musician
Carlos Norman Hathcock II was a United States Marine Corps (USMC) sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills. His record and the extraordinary details of the missions he un…
Carlos Hathcock, American sergeant and sniper (died 1999)
Gabriel Liiceanu is a Romanian philosopher.
Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic
Aron "Ali" Bacher is a former South African Test cricket captain and an administrator of the United Cricket Board of South Africa.
Ali Bacher, South African cricketer and manager
Hannu Olavi Mikkola was a Finnish champion world rally driver. He was a seven-time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times.
Hannu Mikkola, Finnish race car driver (died 2021)