1940 CE

Nazi Germany conquers France in the Battle of France; the United Kingdom endures the Battle of Britain and The Blitz; the Dunkirk evacuation saves trapped Allied troops; Germany occupies Denmark and Norway in Operation Weserübung; Italy’s invasion of Greece sparks the Greco-Italian War; the Soviets carry out the Katyn massacre; the Tripartite Pact forms the Axis alliance; the 1940 Vrancea earthquake strikes Romania; and Leon Trotsky is assassinated in Mexico.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 27 – WWII: A peace resolution introduced in the Parliament of South Africa is defeated 81–59.source
March 12 – Moscow Peace Treaty: The Soviet Union and Finland sign a peace treaty in Moscow, ending the Winter War; Finns, along with the world at large, are shocked by the harsh terms.source
March 30 – WWII: Former Kuomintang member and Chinese foreign minister, Wang Jingwei, announces the creation of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China in Nanjing.source
April 27 – Mandatory Palestine and Lebanon play an association football friendly; it is Lebanon's first official match, and Mandatory Palestine's last before they become Israel in 1948.source
May 22 – WWII: The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1940, giving the government full control over all persons and property.source
With the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.source
June 28 – General Charles de Gaulle is officially recognized by Britain as the "Leader of all Free Frenchmen, wherever they may be."source
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt denounces Italy's actions with his "Stab in the Back" speech during the graduation ceremonies of the University of Virginia.source
Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania: The Soviet Union demands that its Red Army be allowed to enter Lithuania and form a pro-Soviet puppet "People's Government of Lithuania".source
Occupation of the Baltic states: The Soviet Union occupies Estonia and Latvia.source
July 3 – WWII: Attack on Mers-el-Kébir: British naval units sink or seize ships of the French fleet anchored in the Algerian ports of Mers-el-Kebir and Oran, to prevent them from falling into German hands. The following day, Vichy France breaks off diplomatic relations with Britain.source
July 21 – After rigged parliamentary elections in the three occupied countries on July 14–15, the parliaments proclaim the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republics.source
July 23 – Welles Declaration: United States Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles announces that the U.S. will not accord diplomatic recognition to the Soviet Union's occupation of the Baltic states.source
Adolf Hitler makes a peace appeal ("appeal to reason") to Britain, in an address to the Reichstag. BBC German-language broadcaster Sefton Delmer unofficially rejects it at once and Lord Halifax, the British foreign minister, flatly rejects peace terms in a broadcast reply on July 22.source
Vichy France begins with a constitutional law which only eighty members of the parliament vote against. Philippe Pétain becomes Prime Minister of France.source
August 3 – The Lithuanian SSR is annexed into the Soviet Union, followed by the Latvian SSR on August 5 and the Estonian SSR August 6, just seven weeks after their occupation. Ethnic Germans will be deported to Germany.source
August 30 – Second Vienna Award: Germany and Italy compel Romania to cede half of Transylvania to Hungary.source
September 6 – King Carol II of Romania abdicates and is succeeded by his son Michael.source
September 7 – Treaty of Craiova: Romania loses Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria.source
September 21 – 1940 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' UAP/Country Coalition Government is re-elected as a minority government, narrowly defeating the Labor Party led by John Curtin. It is the last federal election to result in a minority government until 2010.source
September 27 – WWII: Germany, Italy and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact.source
November 5 – 1940 United States presidential election: Democrat incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt decisively defeats Republican challenger Wendell Willkie, and becomes the United States' first and only third-term president.source
December 1 – Manuel Ávila Camacho takes office as President of Mexico.source
December 29 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a fireside chat to the nation, declares that the United States must become "the great arsenal of democracy."source

Conflict & Security

January 6 – WWII: Winter War – General Semyon Timoshenko takes command of all Soviet forces.source
January 7 – WWII: Winter War: Battle of Raate Road – Outnumbered Finnish troops decisively defeat Soviet forces.source
Winter War: Battle of Suomussalmi – Finnish forces destroy the Soviet 44th Rifle Division.source
February 1 – WWII: Winter War – Soviet forces launch a major assault on Finnish troops occupying the Karelian Isthmus.source
February – The last mounted charge by a British cavalry regiment is made when the Royal Scots Greys are called to quell Arab rioters in Mandatory Palestine.source
March 13 – Indian nationalist Udham Singh assassinates Sir Michael O'Dwyer (in revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre) at Caxton Hall in London, for which he is hanged on 31 July at HM Prison Pentonville.source
April 9 – WWII: Germany invades the neutral countries of Denmark and Norway in Operation Weserübung, opening the Norwegian campaign. The British Royal Navy attempts to attack elements of the German fleet off Norway. Vidkun Quisling proclaims a new collaborationist regime in Norway. The German invasion of Denmark lasts for about six hours, before that country capitulates.source
April 10 – WWII: First naval Battle of Narvik – The British Royal Navy attacks the German fleet in the Ofotfjord. At Bergen, German cruiser Königsberg is sunk by British Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua dive bombers, flying from RNAS Hatston in Orkney.source
April 12 – The Faroe Islands are occupied by British troops, following the German invasion of Denmark. This action is taken to avert a possible German occupation of the islands, with serious consequences for the course of the Battle of the Atlantic.source
April 16 – In American baseball, the Cleveland Indians, behind Bob Feller's Opening Day no-hitter, defeat the Chicago White Sox, 1–0.source
Rotterdam is subjected to savage terror bombing by the Luftwaffe; 980 are killed, and 20,000 buildings destroyed. General Henri Winkelman announces the surrender of the Dutch army (outside Zeeland) to German forces.source
Zeeland is overrun by German forces, ending the Battle of the Netherlands and beginning full German occupation of the Netherlands (Noord-Beveland surrenders on May 18, and the remaining Dutch troops are withdrawn from Zeelandic Flanders on May 19).source
June 30 – WWII: German forces land in Guernsey, marking the start of the 5-year Occupation of the Channel Islands.source
Winston Churchill tells the House of Commons of the United Kingdom: "The Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin... if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour."source
August 4 – U.S. Gen. John J. Pershing, in a nationwide radio broadcast, urges all-out aid to Britain in order to defend the Americas, while Charles Lindbergh speaks to an isolationist rally at Soldier Field in Chicago.source
August 25 – WWII: The first Bombing of Berlin is carried out, by the British Royal Air Force.source
September 7 – WWII: The Blitz – Nazi Germany begins to rain bombs on London (the first of 57 consecutive nights of strategic bombing).source
October 28 – WWII: Greco-Italian War begins when Italian troops invade Greece, meeting strong resistance from Greek troops and civilians. This action signals the start of the Balkan Campaign.source
November 2–8 – WWII: Greco-Italian War – Battle of Elaia–Kalamas in Epirus: Outnumbered Greek forces repel the Italian Army.source
November 12 – WWII: The Battle of Gabon, begun on October 27, concludes with Free French Forces taking control of the colony of Gabon and the remainder of French Equatorial Africa from the Vichy regime.source
November 20–24 – WWII: Hungary, Romania and Slovakia join the Axis powers.source
November 26–27 – Jilava Massacre: In Romania, coup leader General Ion Antonescu's Iron Guard arrests and executes over 60 of exiled King Carol II of Romania's aides, starting at a penitentiary near Bucharest. Among the dead is former minister and acclaimed historian Nicolae Iorga.source
November 27 – WWII: Battle of Cape Spartivento: The British Royal Navy and Italian Regia Marina battle to a draw.source
December 9 – WWII: Operation Compass – British forces in North Africa begin their first major offensive, with an attack on Italian forces at Sidi Barrani, Egypt.source

Exploration & Expansion

March 11 – Ed Ricketts, John Steinbeck and six others leave Monterey, California, United States, for the Gulf of California, on a marine invertebrate collecting expedition.source
June 24 – WWII: Operation Fish – British Royal Navy cruiser sails from Greenock (Scotland) in convoy for Halifax, Nova Scotia (arriving July 1), carrying a large part of the gold reserves of the United Kingdom and securities for safe keeping in Canada.source
July 5 – WWII: Operation Fish – A British convoy including HMS Batory sails from Greenock (Scotland) for Halifax, Nova Scotia, carrying gold bar and other valuables worth $1.7 billion for safe keeping in Canada, the largest movement of wealth in history.source

Religion & Belief

February 22 – In Tibet, province of Ando, 4-year-old Tenzin Gyatso is proclaimed the tulku (rebirth) of the 13th Dalai Lama.source
September 25 – Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany: German Reichskommissar Josef Terboven appoints a provisional council of state from the pro-Nazi Nasjonal Samling party, under Vidkun Quisling, as a puppet government for Norway.source
November 14 – WWII: Coventry Blitz – The city centre of Coventry, England is destroyed by 500 Luftwaffe bombers; 150,000 fire bombs, 503 tons of high explosives and 130 parachute mines level 60,000 of the city's 75,000 buildings; 568 people are killed. The city's cathedral is gutted.source

Economy & Finance

June 3 – The Weather Bureau is transferred to the United States Department of Commerce.source
September 26 – The U.S. government places an embargo on the exportation of scrap iron and steel to any country outside the Western Hemisphere excluding Britain, effective October 16.source

Technology & Infrastructure

April 12 – Opening day at Jamaica Race Course features the use of parimutuel betting equipment, a departure from bookmaking heretofore used exclusively throughout New York. Other tracks in the state follow suit later in 1940.source
May 15 – Women's stockings made of nylon are first placed on sale across the United States. Almost five million pairs are bought on this day.source
May 16 – President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt, addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress, asks for an extraordinary credit of approximately $900,000,000 to finance construction of at least 50,000 airplanes per year.source
May 25 – The Crypt of Civilization time capsule at Oglethorpe University, Brookhaven, Georgia in the United States, is sealed shut, with a projected opening date of 8113 CE.source
May 26 – The first free flight of Igor Sikorsky's Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 helicopter is made in the United States.source
May 29 – The Vought XF4U-1, prototype of the F4U Corsair U.S. fighter later used in WWII, makes its first flight.source
Winston Churchill, in his first address as Prime Minister, tells the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, "I have nothing to offer you but blood, toil, tears and sweat."source
June 16 – The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held for the first time, in Sturgis, South Dakota.source
June 30 – The Civil Aeronautics Administration is placed under the Department of Commerce.source
Appeal of 18 June: General Charles de Gaulle, de facto leader of the Free French Forces, makes his first broadcast appeal over Radio Londres from London, rallying the French Resistance, calling on all French people to continue the fight against Nazi Germany: "France has lost a battle. But France has not lost the war."source
July 1 – The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge opens for business, built with an 8 ft m girder and 190 ft m above the water, as the third-longest suspension bridge in the world.source
July 21 – The Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft enters service, so named as 1940 roughly corresponds to the year 2600 on the Japanese Imperial calendar.source
September 9 – George Stibitz first demonstrates the remote operation of a computer, in the United States.source
October 1 – The first section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the United States' first long-distance controlled-access highway, is opened.source
October 16 – The draft registration of approximately 16 million men begins in the United States.source
November 2 – German submarine U-69 is commissioned, the first Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, which will become its most numerous class, with 568 commissioned during the War.source
November 7 – In Tacoma, Washington, the 600 ft m-long center span of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (known as Galloping Gertie) collapses.source
November 25 – The de Havilland Mosquito and Martin B-26 Marauder military aircraft both make their first flights.source
December 17 – President Roosevelt, at his regular press conference, first sets forth the outline of his plan to send aid to Great Britain, which will become known as Lend-Lease.source
December – Timely Comics' Captain America Comics #1 (cover dated March 1941), first appearance of Captain America and Bucky, hits newsstands in the United States.source
Walter Knott begins construction of a California ghost town replica, which soon evolves into Knott's Berry Farm.source

Science & Discovery

February 27 – The radioactive isotope carbon-14 is discovered by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at the University of California, Berkeley.source
Plutonium is first synthesized in the laboratory, by a team led by Glenn T. Seaborg and Edwin McMillan, at the University of California, Berkeley.source
In Korea, the Hunminjeongeum (1446) is discovered, explaining the basis of the Hangul alphabet.source

Health & Medicine

Food rationing in the United Kingdom begins; it will remain in force until 1954.source
June 30 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is placed under the Federal Security Agency.source
A group of 728 Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first residents of the Auschwitz concentration camp.source
August 24 – Howard Florey and a team including Ernst Chain and Norman Heatley at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, publish their laboratory results showing the in vivo bactericidal action of penicillin. They have also purified the drug.source

Crime & Justice

February 2 – Vsevolod Meyerhold is executed in the Soviet Union on charges of treason and espionage. He is cleared of all charges fifteen years later, in the first waves of de-Stalinization.source
July 27 – Eleven British nationals, including Melville James Cox, are arrested on suspicion of spying for military intelligence by the secret police in Japan. Cox commits suicide in Tokyo on July 29, according to a report by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.source
August 20 – Leon Trotsky is attacked with an ice axe in his Mexico home by NKVD agent Ramón Mercader.source
September 12 – In Lascaux, France, 17,000-year-old cave paintings are discovered by a group of young Frenchmen hiking through Southern France. The paintings depict animals, and date to the Stone Age.source
October 9 – The Lead Singer of The Beatles, John Lennon was born.source
October 16 – Nazi Governor-General Hans Frank establishes the Warsaw Ghetto.source
November 16 – An unexploded pipe bomb is found in the Consolidated Edison office building (only in 1957 later is the culprit, former employee George Metesky, apprehended).source

Disasters & Accidents

January 29 – Three gasoline-powered trains carrying factory workers crash and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station, Yumesaki Line (Nishinari Line), Osaka, Japan, killing at least 181 people and injuring at least 92.source
April 4 – Neville Chamberlain, UK Prime Minister, in what proves to be a tragic misjudgment, declares in a major public speech that Hitler has "missed the bus".source
April 13 – WWII: Second naval Battle of Narvik – The British Royal Navy sinks all 8 defending German destroyers in the Ofotfjord.source
April 23 – The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, United States, kills 198 people.source
May 13–14 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her government are evacuated to London, using the British destroyer .source
June 1 – WWII: Rear Admiral Sir W. Frederic Wake-Walker's flagship, the destroyer Keith, is sunk by Stukas at Dunkirk.source
June 7 – King Haakon VII of Norway and his government are evacuated from Tromsø to London, on HMS Devonshire.source
July 2 – WWII: British-owned , carrying civilian internees and POWs of Italian and German origin from Liverpool to Canada, is torpedoed and sunk by off northwest Ireland, with the loss of around 865 lives.source
July 6 – WWII: British submarine is sunk.source
Battle of Cape Spada: and five destroyers sink the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni.2source
British destroyer is torpedoed and sunk by an Italian submarine.source
August 15 – Italy, without having declared war on Greece, sinks the Greek boat Elli (Έλλη).source
August 31 – WWII: Texel Disaster: Two British Royal Navy destroyers are sunk by running into a minefield off the coast of the occupied Netherlands with the loss of around 400 men, 300 of them dead.source
September 12 – The Hercules Munitions Plant in Succasunna-Kenvil, New Jersey explodes, killing 55 people.source
September 20–22 – WWII: Convoy HX 72, a North Atlantic convoy of 43 ships, is attacked by a German U-boat group (wolfpack), eleven ships of 73 tons are sunk, seven during the second night of the attack by the U-100 under the command of Joachim Schepke.source
September 30 (night to October 1) – Arsonists from the Hitler Youth destroy the Great Synagogue of Strasbourg.source
October 14 – WWII: At least 66 people are killed when a Luftwaffe bomb penetrates Balham station on the London Underground which is in use as an air-raid shelter during The Blitz on England.source
October 18–19 – WWII: Thirty-two ships are sunk from Convoy SC 7 and Convoy HX 79 by the most effective "wolfpack" of the war, including Otto Kretschmer, Günther Prien and Joachim Schepke.source
November 25 – Patria disaster: As British authorities attempt to deport Jewish refugees (originating from German-occupied Europe) from Mandatory Palestine to Mauritius, aboard the requisitioned emigrant liner at Haifa, the Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah sinks the ship with a bomb, killing around 250 refugees and crew.source
December 6 – British submarine is sunk near Taranto.source
December 25 – The German cruiser Admiral Hipper attacks a British shipping convoy (WS 5A) en route to Sierra Leone 700 miles (1,100 km) west of Cape Finisterre in Spain. Admiral Hipper sinks one ship but has to withdraw with engine trouble.source
December 29 – WWII: "Second Great Fire of London" – The Luftwaffe carries out a massive incendiary bombing raid, starting 1,500 fires. Many famous buildings, including the Guildhall and Trinity House, are either damaged or destroyed.source
British destroyers and sink an Italian submarine off Bardia.source
Ansul Fire School is founded in Marinette, Wisconsin.source

Climate & Environment

June 30 – The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is placed under the Department of the Interior.source
November 10 – 1940 Vrancea earthquake: An earthquake in Romania kills 1,000.source

Culture & Society

February 2–11 – Scheduled dates for the 1940 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, cancelled in November 1939 due to WWII (originally allocated to Sapporo, Japan).source
February 7 – Walt Disney animated feature film Pinocchio premiere.source
February 15 – Paul Creston's Saxophone Sonata is officially premiered at the Carnegie Chamber Hall by saxophonist Cecil Leeson, who had commissioned it from the composer.source
March 23 – Pakistan Movement: The Lahore Resolution, calling for greater autonomy for what will become Pakistan in British India, is drawn up by the All-India Muslim League during a three-day general session at Iqbal Park, Lahore.source
April 7 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.source
April 13 – The New York Rangers win the 1940 Stanley Cup Final in ice hockey. It will be another 54 years before their next win in 1994.source
June 24 – United States politics: The Republican Party begins its national convention in Philadelphia, and nominates Wendell Willkie as its candidate for president.source
June 26 – Soviet calendar: The Soviet Union reverts to a seven-day week for all purposes.source
June 28 – The Smith Act (Alien Registration Act) is signed into United States law, setting criminal penalties for advocating overthrow of the government by force or violence, and requiring all aliens in the U.S. to register with the federal government.source
July 20–August 4 – Scheduled dates for the 1940 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, cancelled in November 1939 due to WWII (originally allocated to Tokyo, Japan).source
July 27 – Bugs Bunny makes his debut in the Oscar-nominated cartoon short, A Wild Hare. However, it is not until 1941 that his name is adopted.source
August 31 – British film stars Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh are married at the San Ysidro Ranch in California.source
October 11 – Portuguese-born performer Carmen Miranda makes her American film debut in Down Argentine Way, one of the first films produced to promote the Good Neighbor policy.source
October 15 – Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, a satirical anti-fascist comedy film, premieres in New York City. Written, directed, produced by and starring Chaplin as his first true sound film, it is a critical and commercial success and goes on to become Chaplin's most financially successful work. Filming began in September 1939.source
October 29 – The Selective Service System lottery is held in Washington, D.C..source
November 6 – Agatha Christie's mystery novel And Then There Were None is published in book form, in the United States.source
November 9 – Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez for classical guitar and orchestra premieres in Barcelona, Spain.source
November 10 – The 2600th Anniversary Celebrations of the Japanese Empiresource
November 13 – The Walt Disney animated film Fantasia, the first commercial film shown in stereophonic sound, has its world premiere at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. It is the first box office failure for Disney, though it recoups its cost years later and becomes one of the most highly regarded of Disney's films.source
November 15 – Abbott and Costello make their film debut, in One Night in the Tropics.source
November 16 – The Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers is founded.source
November 17 – The Tartu Art Museum is established in Tartu, Estonia.source
November 25 – Woody Woodpecker makes his debut in the animated short, Knock Knock. It is not until 1941 that his current name is adopted.source
December 8 – The Chicago Bears, in what will become the most one-sided victory in National Football League history, defeat the Washington Redskins 73–0 in the 1940 NFL Championship Game.source

Births

January 24 – Joachim Gauck, German politician, 11th President of Germanysource
February 9 – J. M. Coetzee, South African writer, Nobel Prize laureatesource
February 21 – John Lewis, African-American politician, civil rights activist (d. 2020)source
April 1 – Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 2011)source
May 24 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)source
June 1 – Kip Thorne, American gravitational physicist, Nobel Prize laureatesource
June 28 – Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi founder of Grameen Bank, Nobel Prize laureatesource
July 7 – Sir Ringo Starr, English musician, singer, songwriter and actor (The Beatles)source
July 13 – Sir Patrick Stewart, English actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation)source
September 23 – Michel Temer, Brazilian politician, President of Brazil between 2016 and 2018.source
October 14 – Cliff Richard, British pop musician, actor and philanthropistsource
October 25 – Bob Knight, American basketball player and coach (d. 2023)source
November 27 – Bruce Lee, Chinese-American martial artist, actor (d. 1973)source
December 21 – Frank Zappa, American musician, composer and satirist (d. 1993)source

Deaths

February 11 – John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Scottish-born novelist, 15th Governor General of Canada (b. 1875)source
March 16 – Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)source
March 27 – Michael Joseph Savage, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1872)source
June 10 – Marcus Garvey, Jamaican-born publisher, entrepreneur and black nationalist (b. 1887)source
June 21 – John T. Thompson, United States Army officer, inventor of the Thompson gun (b. 1860)source
August 1 – Temulji Bhicaji Nariman, Indian physician and obstetrician (b. 1848)source
August 16 – Henri Desgrange, French racing cyclist and founder of the Tour de France (b. 1865)source
August 30 – J. J. Thomson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)source
September 26 – Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and cultural critic, suicide (b. 1892)source
November 3 – Manuel Azaña, 55th Prime Minister of Spain, 2nd President of Spain (b. 1880)source
November 17 – Eric Gill, English sculptor, lettering designer and writer (b. 1882)source
November 18 – Ion Inculeț, Moldavian politician, 1st President of Moldova (b. 1884)source
November 27 – Nicolae Iorga, Romanian historian and politician, 34th Prime Minister of Romania (assassinated) (b. 1871)source
December 19 – Kyösti Kallio, Finnish farmerman, banker, 8th Prime Minister of Finland and 4th President of Finland (b. 1873)source