Explore 3061 historical events from 1940–1949.
Chris Hani was a South African military commander, politician and revolutionary. He served as the leader of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and chief of staff of uMkhonto …
Chris Hani, South African politician (died 1993)
Hans-Joachim Walde was a West German track and field athlete. He competed in the decathlon at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 1964 and a silver in 1968.
Hans-Joachim Walde, German decathlete (died 2013)
Charlotte Bingham was an English novelist who wrote over 30 mainly historical romance novels and also wrote for many television programmes including Upstairs, Downstairs; Play for…
Charlotte Bingham, English author and screenwriter (died 2025)
Michael Robert Willesee, was an Australian award-winning news and current affairs television journalist, interviewer and presenter. Willesee worked at the Australian Broadcasting C…
Mike Willesee, Australian journalist and producer (died 2019)
Robert Duane Ballard is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is noted for his work in underwater archaeology and m…
Robert Ballard, American lieutenant and oceanographer
Ronald Thomas Harris is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 476 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Oakland Seals, Atl…
Ron Harris, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Frank Zane is a retired American professional bodybuilder and author. Known as "the Chemist", Zane is a three-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won the competition every year from 19…
Frank Zane, American professional bodybuilder and author
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri was an Iraqi politician, military officer and field marshal. He served as Vice Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council until the 2003 invasion of…
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Iraqi field marshal and politician (died 2020)
Geneviève Bujold is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Awa…
Geneviève Bujold, Canadian actress
Andraé Edward Crouch was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian a…
Andraé Crouch, American singer-songwriter, producer and pastor (died 2015)
Dame Julia Stretton Higgins is a British polymer scientist. Since 1976, she has been based at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, where she is emerit…
Julia Higgins, English chemist and academic
John Eekelaar FBA is a South African-born legal scholar who specialised in family law during his academic career at the University of Oxford. A Rhodes Scholar and recipient of the …
John Eekelaar, South African-English lawyer and scholar
Claude Moine, known professionally as Eddy Mitchell, is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires. He took the name Ed…
Eddy Mitchell, French singer-songwriter
Stefan Meller was a Polish diplomat and academician. He served as foreign minister of Poland from 31 October 2005, to 9 May 2006, in the cabinet of Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz.
Stefan Meller, French-Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2008)
Prince Michael of Kent is a member of the British royal family who is 53rd in line to the British throne as of 2026. The younger son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Ma…
Prince Michael of Kent
Peter Rowan is an American bluegrass musician and composer. He plays guitar, fiddle, dobro, banjo, bass, piano and mandolin. He has a wide vocal range and yodels. He was inducted i…
Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. After campaigning as a right-wing populist, Fox was electe…
Vicente Fox, Mexican businessman and politician, 35th President of Mexico
Kevin Stephen Johnson is an Australian singer-songwriter. Popular in the 1970s, his biggest hit is "Rock and Roll ", which peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singl…
Kevin Johnson, Australian singer-songwriter
Harold Clifton Lanier is an American former infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Known as a brainy, defense-first player, he won National League Manager of …
Hal Lanier, American baseball player, coach, and manager
Floyd Douglas Little was an American professional football player who was a halfback for the Denver Broncos, initially in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National …
Floyd Little, American football player and coach (died 2021)
Matthias Bamert is a Swiss conductor and composer.
Matthias Bamert, Swiss composer and conductor
Johannes Löhr was a German professional football player and manager.
Hannes Löhr, German footballer, coach, and manager (died 2016)
Ian Craig Leslie OAM is an Indonesian-born Australian television journalist and corporate communicator.
Ian Leslie, Indonesian-Australian journalist and television host
Carmen Joan Duncan was an Australian actress and activist, with a career locally and internationally that spanned over 50 years. She was nominated for an AFI/AACTA Award for Best A…
Carmen Duncan, Australian actress (died 2019)