1940 Nostalgia: When We Were Kids

January
2nd	General Eurico Gaspar Dutra elected president of Brazil
3rd	Communist demonstrations in Athens - preliminary of the Greek Civil War
4th	By a vote of 65 to 7, the United States Senate approves the entry of the United States into the United Nations
5th	FM radio is demonstrated to the FCC in the USA for the first time
6th	Mass execution of Poles, by Nazis in the Poznan, Warthegau
8th	Rationing begins in Britain
19th	TV Actor Mike Reid was born in Hackney, London
21st	General George S. Patton dies from injuries sustained in a car accident on December 9
21st	American golfer, Jack Nicklaus was born
22nd	Actor John Hurt born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire
27th	Twenty-eight nations sign an agreement creating the World Bank

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February
1st	Russian forces launch major assault on Finnish troops which occupy the Karelian Isthmus
1st	Philip Francis Nowlan, science fiction writer and creator of the "Buck Rogers" character died (b. 1888)
2nd	Actor, David Jason is born in London
2nd	Frank Sinatra debuts with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra.
6th	Comedian Jimmy Tarbuck born in Liverpool
7th	RKO releases Walt Disney's second full-length animated film, Pinocchio
9th	J. M. Coetzee, South African writer and Nobel Prize laureate is born
17th	Singer Gene Pitney is born in Connecticut, USA(d. 2006)
19th	Soul legend, Smokey Robinson is born in Detroit, Michigan, U.S
20th	Footballer Jimmy Greaves born in Poplar, London
23rd	Peter Fonda, actor and star of Easy Rider is born
24th	Footballer, Denis Law is born in Aberdeen, Scotland
27th	Scientists Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discovered carbon-14
28th	Racing driver, Mario Andretti is born in the Italian city Montona d'Istria
29th	For her role as "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress).

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March
2nd	Elmer Fudd makes his debut in the short Elmer's Candid Camera.
3rd	In Sweden, a time bomb destroys the office of Norrskenflamman newspaper of Swedish communists - 5 dead.
5th	Members of Soviet politburo: Stalin, Molotov, Lazar Kaganovich, Mikhail Kalinin, Kliment Voroshilov and Lavrenty Beria, signed an order, prepared by Beria, for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs. The action is known as the Katyn massacre.
10th	Hollywood tough guy and martial artist Chuck Norris is born in Oklahoma, United States
12th	American singer and jazz legend Al Jarreau is born
12th	Finland signs a peace treaty with Soviets.
15th	Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh born in Berkeley, California, USA
16th	Germans bomb Scapa Flow naval base near Scotland.
18th	Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
21st	Édouard Daladier resigns as prime minister of France. He is replaced by Paul Reynaud.
22nd	Cambodian actor Haing S. Ngor, best remembered for his role in The Killing Fields is born (d. 1996)
26th	Actor James Caan born in New York

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April
2nd	Star of The Good Life and To The Manor Born, Penelope Keith is born
5th	Neville Chamberlain, in what will prove to be a tragic lapse of judgment, declares in a major public speech that Hitler has "missed the bus"
7th	Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp
9th	Nazis invade Denmark and Norway
12th	The Faroe Islands were occupied by British troops following the invasion of Denmark by Nazi Germany. This action was 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
12th	Award-winning American jazz pianist and composer, Herbie Hancock is born
18th	Joseph L. Goldstein, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is born
25th	Hollywood legend, Al Pacino is born in New York
26th	Giorgio Moroder, record producer and film composer is born in Ortisei, Italy

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May
8th	American singer Ricky Nelson is born (d. 1985)
10th	With the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
10th	Nazis invade France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
13th	German armies open 60-mile wide breach in Maginot Line at Sedan
14th	Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and her government flee to London; Rotterdam subjected to savage terror bombing by the Luftwaffe - 980 killed, 20,000 buildings destroyed
14th	Recruitment begins in Britain for a home defence force - the Local Defence Volunteers, later known as the Home Guard
15th	Holland surrenders to the Nazis.
17th	Brussels falls to German forces; Belgian government flees to Ostend
20th	German forces, under General Erwin Rommel, reach the English Channel
20th	Concentration and death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau opens in Poland
26th	Evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk begins.
28th	King Leopold III orders the Belgian forces to cease fighting. Leaders of the Belgian government on French territory declare Leopold deposed.

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June
3rd	Paris is bombed by the Luftwaffe for the first time
3rd	British forces complete evacuating 300,000 troops from Dunkirk in France
4th	Winston Churchill tells the House of Commons, "We shall not flag or fail. We shall fight on the beaches...on the landing grounds...in the fields and the streets...We shall never surrender."
7th	The legendary singer Tom Jones born in Pontypridd, Wales
8th	Nancy Sinatra born in New Jersey, USA
10th	Norway surrenders to the Nazis
10th	Italy declares war on Britain and France.
12th	13,000 British and French troops surrender to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at St. Valery-en-Caux.
14th	A group of 728 Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first residents of the Auschwitz concentration camp
14th	German forces enter Paris
16th	Marshal Pétain becomes French Prime Minister.
16th	The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held for the first time in Sturgis, South Dakota, USA
17th	Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany's takeover of Paris and most of the nation
17th	Luftwaffe Junkers 88 bomber sinks British ship RMS Lancastria, that was evacuating troops from near Saint-Nazaire, France. Death toll is over 2500. Wartime censorship prevents the story going public
18th	Winston Churchill tells the House of Commons: "... the Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin."
18th	Soviets begin occupation of the Baltic States.
18th	Hitler and Mussolini meet in Munich.
22nd	France signs an armistice with the Nazis
22nd	Broadcaster and presenter of "That's Life!" Esther Rantzen born
23rd	Singer and actor, Adam Faith born (d. 2003)
23rd	Adolf Hitler takes a tour of occupied Paris
28th	Britain recognizes General Charles de Gaulle as the Free French leader
30th	German forces land in Guernsey marking the start of the 5-year Occupation of the Channel Islands

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July
1st	German U-boats attack merchant ships in the Atlantic
3rd	British naval units sink or seize ships of the French fleet anchored in the Algerian ports of Oran and Mers-el-Kebir. The following day, Vichy France breaks off diplomatic relations with Britain
5th	French Vichy government breaks off relations with Britain
7th	Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr born in Liverpool
10th	The German Air Force, the Luftwaffe launches The Battle of Britain
13th	Patrick Stewart (Famous for much more than being Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek) is born in Yorkshire, England
17th	Comedian and "Goodies" star, Tim Brooke-Taylor, is born in Buxton, Derbyshire
19th	Adolf Hitler makes peace appeal to Britain in an address to the Reichstag. Lord Halifax, British foreign minister, flatly rejects peace terms in a broadcast reply on July 22.
22nd	George Clinton, Funk legend is born in North Carolina, United States
23rd	Soviets take Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
31st	Roy Walker, comedian and TV presenter of ITV's Catchphrase (1986-1999) is born in Belfast, Northern Ireland

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August
3rd	Italians begin occupation of British Somaliland in East Africa.
3rd	Actor, Martin Sheen is born in Ohio, USA
3rd	Lithuanian SSR, Latvian SSR (August 5) and Estonian SSR (August 6) are incorporated into the Soviet Union.
13th	German bombing offensive against airfields and factories in England.
15th	Air battles and daylight raids over Britain.
17th	Hitler declares a blockade of the British Isles
20th	Winston Churchill pays tribute in the House of Commons to the Royal Air Force: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
20th	Ramon Mercader assassinates exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Mexico City with an ice-pick. Trotsky dies the next day.
23rd	First German air raids on Central London.
25th	First British air raid on Berlin
26th	Chad is the first French colony to proclaim its support for the Allies

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September
3rd	Hitler plans Operation Sealion (the invasion of Britain)
5th	American film star Raquel Welch was born in Chicago, USA
7th	Nazi Germany begins to rain bombs on London as The Blitz begins. This will be the first of 57 consecutive nights of strategic bombing
12th	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
13th	Italians invade Egypt.
15th	Massive German air raids on London, Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester.
16th	United States military conscription bill passed.
21st	Scheduled start date of the 1940 Summer Olympics in Japan. The event was cancelled because of the war.
26th	U.S. imposes a total embargo on all shipments of scrap metal to Japan
27th	Tripartite (Axis) Pact signed by Germany, Italy and Japan.

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October
7th	German troops enter Romania
9th	Beatles legend, John Lennon born in Liverpool (d. 1980)
12th	Germans postpone Operation Sealion until Spring of 1941.
14th	Cliff Richard, born in Lucknow, United Provinces, British India
19th	Actor, Michael Gambon was born in Dublin, Ireland
21st	English cricketer, Geoffrey Boycott born in Yorkshire
21st	South African musician, Manfred Mann (Manfred Lubowitz) born
23rd	Brazilian footballing Legend, Pelé is born
27th	American gangster, John Gotti born in Missouri, USA (d. 2002)
28th	Italian troops invaded Greece meeting strong resistance from Greek troops and civilians. This action signals the beginning of the Balkans Campaign.

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November
5th	US President Roosevelt re-elected for a record third term in office
9th	Neville Chamberlain, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom died from bowel cancer aged 71 (b. 1869)
10th	An earthquake in Bucharest, Romania leaves 1,000 dead
11th	Battle of Taranto - The Royal Navy launches the first aircraft carrier strike in history, on the Italian fleet at Taranto
13th	Walt Disney's Fantasia is released. It is the first box office failure for Disney, though it will eventually recoup its cost years later, and become one of the most highly regarded of Disney's films
15th	Coventry is virtually destroyed in German bombing campaign
16th	In response to Germany leveling Coventry two days before, the Royal Air Force begins to bomb Hamburg (by war's end, 50,000 Hamburg residents died from Allied attacks)
20th	Hungary joins the Axis Powers.
22nd	Greeks defeat the Italian 9th Army.
23rd	Romania joins the Axis Powers.
27th	In Romania, coup leader General Ion Antonescu's Iron Guard arrests and executes over 60 of exiled king Carol II of Romania's aides. Among the dead is former minister and acclaimed historian Nicolae Iorga.
27th	Chinese American Martial Arts Master Bruce Lee was born in San Francisco, USA
27th	Royal Navy and Regia Marina fight the Battle of Cape Spartivento.

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December
1st	Comedian, Richard Pryor born in Illinois, USA (d. 2005)
4th	Infamous murderer, Gary Gilmore born (d. 1977)
9th	British begin a western desert offensive in North Africa against the Italians
12th	R&B Singer Dionne Warwick born in New Jersey, USA
12th	The "Sheffield Blitz". The City of Sheffield is badly damaged by German air-raids
14th	Plutonium first isolated chemically in the laboratory
21st	American musician, composer, and satirist, Frank Zappa was born in Maryland, USA (d. 1993)
21st	Great American writer, F. Scott Fitzgerald dies (b. 1896)
29th	Massive German air raid on London.
30th	California opens its first freeway the Arroyo Seco Parkway.