1940

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Millennium: 2nd millennium
Centuries: 19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades: 1910s  1920s  1930s  – 1940s –  1950s  1960s  1970s
Years: 1937 1938 1939 – 1940 – 1941 1942 1943
1940 by topic
Subject: Archaeology – Architecture – Art – Aviation – Film – Literature (Poetry) – Meteorology – Music (Country) – Rail transport – Radio – Science – Sports – Television
Countries: Australia – Canada – Ecuador – France – Germany – India – Ireland – Italy – Malaysia – New Zealand – Norway – Philippines – Singapore – South Africa– Soviet Union – UK – USA – Zimbabwe
Leaders: Sovereign states – State leaders – Religious leaders – Law
Categories: Births – Deaths – Works – Introductions – Establishments – Disestablishments – Awards

Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.

Contents:

1. Events of 1940
   • -  Jan. ^. Feb. ^. March ^. April
   • -  May ^. June ^. July  ^.  Aug.
   • -  Sept. ^. Oct. ^. Nov. ^.  Dec.
   • -  Undated ^. Ongoing
2. Births
3. Deaths
4. Nobel prizes
5. Ship events
6. See also -  Notes -  External links

Events

(Below, many events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.)

January

• January 4 – WWII – (Axis powers): Luftwaffe General Hermann Göring assumes control of all war industries in Germany.
• January 6 – WWII – Winter War: General Semyon Timoshenko takes command of all Russian forces.
• January 8 – WWII – Winter War – Battle of Suomussalmi: The Russian 44th Assault Division is destroyed by Finnish forces.
• January 8 – WWII – Food rationing begins in Great Britain.
• January 10 – WWII – Mechelen Incident: A German plane carrying secret plans for the invasion of western Europe creates a forced landing in Belgium, leading to mobilization of defense forces in the Low Countries.
• January 26 – Brisbane, Australia swelters through its hottest day ever, 43.2 degrees Celsius (109.76 Fahrenheit).
• January 27 – WWII: A peace resolution introduced in the Parliament of South Africa is defeated 81–59.
• 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.

February

• February 1 – WWII: Winter War – Russian forces launch a major assault on Finnish troops occupying the Karelian Isthmus.
• February 7 – RKO release Walt Disney's second full-length animated film, Pinocchio.
• February 20 – Tom and Jerry make their debut in Puss Gets the Boot.
• February 16 – WWII – Altmark Incident: The British destroyer Cossack pursues the German tanker Altmark into Jøssingfjord in southwestern Norway.
• February 22 - In Tibet, province of Ando, 4-year-old Tenzin Gyatso is proclaimed the tulku (rebirth) of the thirteenth Dalai Lama.
• February 27 – Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14.

March

• March – Truth or Consequences debuts on NBC Radio.
• March 2 – Cartoon character Elmer Fudd makes his debut in the animated short Elmer's Candid Camera.
• March 3 – In Sweden, a time bomb destroys the office of Norrskenflamman (a Swedish communist newspaper), killing 5.
• March 5- Katyn massacre: Members of the Soviet Politburo (Stalin, Molotov, Lazar Kaganovich, Mikhail Kalinin, Kliment Voroshilov and Lavrenty Beria) sign an order, prepared by Beria, for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs.
• March 12 – 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.
• March 18 – WWII – Axis powers: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
• March 21 – Édouard Daladier resigns as prime minister of France; Paul Reynaud succeeds him.
• March 23 – The Pakistan Resolution is rallied around by the All-India Muslim League; Muslims from every corner of India meet up around Iqbal Park, Lahore (now in modern-day Pakistan).

April

• April 5 – Neville Chamberlain, in what proves to be a tragic misjudgment, declares in a major public speech that Hitler has "missed the bus".
• April 7 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
• April 9 – WWII: Germany invades Denmark and Norway in Operation Weserübung. The British campaign in Norway is simultaneously commenced.
• April 12 – The Faroe Islands are occupied by British troops, following the taking over of Denmark by Nazi Germany. This action is taken to avert a possible German occupation of the islands, which would have had very grave consequences for the course of the Battle of the Atlantic
• April 12 – Opening day at Jamaica Racetrack features the use of pari-mutuel betting equipment, a departure from bookmaking heretofore used exclusively throughout New York state. Other NY tracks follow suit later in 1940.
• April 21 – Take It or Leave It makes it debut on CBS Radio, with Bob Hawk as host.
• April 23 – A fire at the Rhythm Night Club in Natchez, Mississippi kills 198.

May

• May 10 – WWII:
  • Battle of France begins – German forces invade Low Countries.
  • Iceland is invaded by the United Kingdom.
  • With the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.