What Happened in 1940 — Events, Births & Deaths

Winter War: Battle of Raate Road: The Finnish 9th Division finally defeat the numerically superior Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road.

World War II: Britain introduces food rationing.

Three trains on the Nishinari Line; present Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station. One hundred and eighty-one people are killed.

The second full-length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres.

The Soviet Union begins mass deportations of Polish citizens from occupied eastern Poland to Siberia.

Paul Creston's Saxophone Sonata is officially premiered at the Carnegie Chamber Hall by saxophonist Cecil Leeson, who had commissioned it, and the composer.

World War II: Altmark incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. A total of 299 British prisoners are freed.

Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14.

For her performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award.

Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations.

In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's consul general in San Francisco.

Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Flamman in Luleå, Sweden.

Six high-ranking members of the Soviet politburo, including Joseph Stalin, sign an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs, in what will become known as the Katyn massacre.

Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia.

The most destructive train accident in Finnish history kills 39 and injures 69 people in Turenki, Janakkala.

The Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union officially ends after the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty.

World War II: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.

The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All-India Muslim League.

Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei.

The Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party elects Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal as General Secretary, marking the beginning of his 44-year-long tenure as de facto leader of Mongolia.

World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.

Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.

World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway, preceding a larger force which will arrive two days later.

The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.

World War II: Norwegian campaign: Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to German forces after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms.

John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.

World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.

World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.

World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom occupies Iceland.

World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins, as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons.

World War II: Rotterdam, Netherlands, is bombed by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany despite a ceasefire, killing about 900 people and destroying the historic city center.

USS Sailfish is recommissioned. It was originally the USS Squalus.

World War II: The Battle of the Netherlands: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.

Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald's restaurant.

World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.

The Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.

Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.

Acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, NKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrates an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Coyoacán, Mexico.

World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne.

World War II: Operation Dynamo: In northern France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France. The Battle of Dunkirk begins simultaneously as Allied defenders fight to slow down the German offensive.

World War II: The Siege of Calais ends with the surrender of the British and French garrison.

World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops; two survive.

World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.

World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first Allied infantry victory of the War.

World War II: During the Battle of France, the Luftwaffe bombs Paris.

Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the "Jewish homeland", an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.

World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends: The British Armed Forces completes evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk in France. To rally the morale of the country, Winston Churchill delivers, only to the House of Commons, his famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech.

King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav and the Norwegian government leave Tromsø and go into exile in London. They return exactly five years later.

World War II: The completion of Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied forces from Narvik at the end of the Norwegian campaign.

World War II: Fascist Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom, beginning an invasion of southern France.

World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt denounces Italy's actions in his "Stab in the Back" speech at the graduation ceremonies of the University of Virginia.

World War II: Military resistance to the German occupation of Norway ends.

World War II: The Siege of Malta begins with a series of Italian air raids.

World War II: Thirteen thousand British and French troops surrender to General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.

World War II: The German occupation of Paris begins.

The Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Lithuania, resulting in Lithuanian loss of independence.

Seven hundred and twenty-eight Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

World War II: Operation Aerial begins: Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany's takeover of Paris and most of the nation.

World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français).

The Soviet Union occupies Lithuania, which will eventually become the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).

World War II: RMS Lancastria is attacked and sunk by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France. At least 3,000 are killed in Britain's worst maritime disaster.

World War II: The British Army's 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya from Italian forces.

The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.

World War II: Appeal of 18 June by Charles de Gaulle.

World War II: The "Finest Hour" speech is delivered by Winston Churchill.

World War II: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France.

World War II: France is forced to sign the Second Compiègne armistice with Germany, in the same railroad car in which the Germans signed the Armistice in 1918.

Henry Larsen begins the first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

World War II: Operation Collar, the first British Commando raid on occupied France, by No 11 Independent Company.

World War II: The French armistice with Nazi Germany comes into effect.

World War II: Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Romania requiring it to cede Bessarabia and the northern part of Bukovina.

Romania cedes Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union after facing an ultimatum.

World War II: The Royal Navy attacks the French naval squadron in Algeria, to ensure that it will not fall under German control. Of the four French battleships present, one is sunk, two are damaged, and one escapes back to France.

World War II: Foreign relations of Vichy France are severed with the United Kingdom.

Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge is formally opened.

World War II: The Vichy government is established in France.

World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of the French State.

World War II: Battle of Cape Spada: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties.

Field Marshal Ceremony: First occasion in World War II that Adolf Hitler appoints field marshals due to military achievements.

World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.

Denmark leaves the League of Nations.

California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.

The United States' Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles issues a declaration on the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

General Henri Guisan orders the Swiss Army to resist German invasion and makes surrender illegal.

The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.

World War II: Italian forces begin the invasion of British Somaliland.

World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.

Estonia is annexed by the Soviet Union.

The "Aufbau Ost" directive for the mobilization of German forces for the invasion of the Soviet Union is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.

World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches an air operation, codenamed Adlertag, during the Battle of Britain in an attempt to destroy the British Royal Air Force.

World War II: The Hardest Day air battle, part of the Battle of Britain, takes place. At that point, it is the largest aerial engagement in history with heavy losses sustained on both sides.

First flight of the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.

In Mexico City, exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He dies the next day.

World War II: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes the fourth of his famous wartime speeches, containing the line "Never was so much owed by so many to so few".

World War II: The Eighth Route Army launches the Hundred Regiments Offensive, a successful campaign to disrupt Japanese war infrastructure and logistics in occupied northern China.

World War II: The first Bombing of Berlin by the British Royal Air Force.

World War II: Chad becomes the first French colony to join the Allies under the administration of Félix Éboué, France's first black colonial governor.

The Second Vienna Award reassigns the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary.

Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia. The CAB investigation of the accident is the first investigation to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce act of 1938.

King Carol II of Romania abdicates and is succeeded by his son Michael. General Ion Antonescu becomes the Conducător of Romania.

Romania returns Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria under the Treaty of Craiova.

World War II: The German Luftwaffe begins the Blitz, bombing London and other British cities for over 50 consecutive nights.

George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.

Treznea Massacre in Transylvania.

Ip massacre: The Hungarian Army, supported by local Hungarians, kill 158 Romanian civilians in Ip, Sălaj, a village in Northern Transylvania, an act of ethnic cleansing.

World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Luftwaffe launches its largest and most concentrated attack of the entire campaign.

World War II: Italian troops conquer Sidi Barrani.

World War II: Due to setbacks in the Battle of Britain and approaching autumn weather, Hitler postpones Operation Sea Lion.

World War II: Witold Pilecki is voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp to gather and smuggle out information for the resistance movement.

World War II: The Tripartite Pact is signed in Berlin by Germany, Japan and Italy.

Two Avro Ansons collide in mid-air over New South Wales, Australia, remain locked together, then land safely.

World War II: The McCollum memo proposes bringing the United States into the war in Europe by provoking the Japanese to attack the United States.

World War II: The Balham underground station disaster kills sixty-six people during the London Blitz.

President Lluís Companys of Catalonia is executed by the Francoist government.

Holocaust in Poland: The Warsaw Ghetto is established.

The body of Communist propagandist Willi Münzenberg is found in South France, starting a never-resolved mystery.

The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.

Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco meet at Hendaye to discuss the possibility of Spain entering the Second World War.

Benjamin O. Davis Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.

World War II: Greece rejects Italy's ultimatum. Italy invades Greece through Albania a few hours later.

World War II: The Battle of Britain ends, causing Germany to abandon Operation Sea Lion.

World War II: First day of Battle of Elaia–Kalamas between the Greeks and the Italians.

World War II: The British armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay is sunk by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer.

Franklin D. Roosevelt is the first and only President of the United States to be elected to a third term.

In Tacoma, Washington, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses in a windstorm, a mere four months after the bridge's completion.

Greco-Italian War: The Italian invasion of Greece fails as outnumbered Greek units repulse the Italians in the Battle of Elaia–Kalamas.

Warsaw is awarded the Virtuti Militari by the Polish government-in-exile.

The 1940 Vrancea earthquake strikes Romania killing an estimated 1,000 and injuring approximately 4,000 more.

World War II: In the Battle of Taranto, the Royal Navy launches the first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack in history.

World War II: The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis captures top secret British mail from the Automedon, and sends it to Japan.

Walt Disney's animated musical film Fantasia is first released at New York's Broadway Theatre, on the first night of a roadshow.

World War II: In England, Coventry is heavily bombed by German Luftwaffe bombers. Coventry Cathedral is almost completely destroyed.

World War II: In response to the leveling of Coventry by the German Luftwaffe two days before, the Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg.

The Holocaust: In occupied Poland, the Nazis close off the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world.

New York City's "Mad Bomber" George Metesky places his first bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison.

The Tartu Art Museum is established in Tartu, Estonia.

World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano meet to discuss Benito Mussolini's disastrous Italian invasion of Greece.

World War II: Hungary becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers.

World War II: Following the initial Italian invasion, Greek troops counterattack into Italian-occupied Albania and capture Korytsa.

World War II: Romania becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers.

World War II: The First Slovak Republic becomes a signatory to the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers.

In Romania, the ruling Iron Guard fascist party assassinates over 60 of arrested King Carol II of Romania's aides and other political dissidents.

World War II: At the Battle of Cape Spartivento, the Royal Navy engages the Regia Marina in the Mediterranean Sea.

World War II: Signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of 1940 between the Empire of Japan and the newly formed Wang Jingwei-led Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China. This treaty was considered so unfair to China that it was compared to the Twenty-One Demands.

World War II: Operation Compass: British and Indian troops under the command of Major-General Richard O'Connor attack Italian forces near Sidi Barrani in Egypt.

Plutonium (specifically Pu-238) is first isolated at Berkeley, California.

Risto Ryti, the Prime Minister of Finland, is elected President of the Republic of Finland in a presidential election, which is exceptionally held by the 1937 electoral college.

Captain America Comics #1, containing the first appearance of the superhero Captain America, is published.

World War II: Himara is captured by the Greek army.

World War II: in the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, England, killing almost 200 civilians.