What Happened In October 1940 In History

Historical Events for October, 1940

• 1st » The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic.
• 4th » Meeting between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini at the Brenner Pass.
• 7th » 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.
• 14th » Balham tube station World War II named Balham underground station disaster in London, England, occurs during the Nazi Luftwaffe The Blitz called air raids on Great Britain.
• 15th » The President of Catalonia, Lluís Companys, is executed by the Spanish dictatorship of Francisco Franco, making him the only European president to have been executed.
• 16th » The Holocaust e.g Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto is established.
• 21st » The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' is published.
• 25th » Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.
• 26th » The P-51 Mustang makes its maiden flight.
• 31st » World War II: The Battle of Britain ends the United Kingdom prevents a possible Nazi Germany e.g German invasion.

Famous Birthdays on October in 1940

• 1st » Marc Savoy, American accordion player, created the Cajun accordion
• 2nd » Gheorghe Gruia, Romanian-Mexican handball player and coach
• 2nd » Pantelis Voulgaris, Greek actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 3rd » Sheila Fearn, English actress
• 3rd » Jean Ratelle, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 4th » Vic Hadfield, Canadian ice hockey player
• 4th » Silvio Marzolini, Argentinian footballer
• 4th » Steve Swallow, American bass player and composer
• 4th » Alberto Vilar, American businessman and philanthropist
• 5th » Rein Aun, Estonian decathlete (d. 1995)
• 5th » Thom Christopher, American actor
• 5th » John Byrne Cooke, American author and photographer
• 5th » Milena Dravić, Serbian actress
• 6th » Jan Keizer (referee) known as Jan Keizer, Dutch footballer and referee
• 6th » Ellen Travolta, American actress
• 7th » Bruce Vento, American politician (d. 2000)
• 8th » Fred Cash, American singer (The Impressions (American band) known as The Impressions)
• 9th » Gordon J. Humphrey, American pilot and politician
• 9th » John Lennon, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Beatles, The Quarrymen, Plastic Ono Band, and The Dirty Mac) (d. 1980)
• 9th » Joe Pepitone, American baseball player
• 10th » Winston Churchill (1940–2010) known as Winston Churchill, English politician (d. 2010)
• 11th » Pouri Banayi, Iranian actress
• 13th » Chris Farlowe, English singer (Colosseum (band) known as Colosseum)
• 13th » Pharoah Sanders, American saxophonist
• 14th » Perrie Mans, South African snooker player
• 14th » Cliff Richard, English singer-songwriter and actor
• 14th » Christopher Timothy, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter
• 15th » Tommy Bishop, English rugby player
• 15th » Peter C. Doherty, Australian surgeon, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine named Nobel Prize laureate
• 16th » Barry Corbin, American actor
• 16th » Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player and coach (d. 2003)
• 16th » Ivan Della Mea, Italian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist (d. 2009)
• 17th » Stephen Kovacevich, American pianist and conductor
• 17th » Jim Smith (footballer) or Jim Smith, English footballer and manager
• 17th » Peter Stringfellow, English businessman
• 18th » Cynthia Weil, American songwriter
• 19th » Larry Chance, American singer-songwriter (The Earls)
• 19th » Michael Gambon, Irish-English actor and singer
• 19th » Rosny Smarth, Haitian politician, 8th Prime Minister of Haiti
• 20th » Kathy Kirby, English singer (d. 2011)
• 20th » Robert Pinsky, American poet and critic
• 21st » Geoffrey Boycott, English cricketer and sportscaster
• 21st » Frances FitzGerald (journalist) or Frances FitzGerald, American journalist and author
• 21st » Marita Petersen, Faroese educator and politician, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2001)
• 21st » Rhoda Gemignani, American actress
• 23rd » Pelé, Brazilian footballer
• 23rd » Ellie Greenwich, American singer-songwriter and producer (The Raindrops) (d. 2009)
• 23rd » Jane Holzer, American model, actress, producer, and art collector
• 24th » Martin Campbell, New Zealand director and producer
• 24th » Rafał Piszcz, Polish canoe racer (d. 2012)
• 25th » Jimmy Herman, Canadian actor (d. 2013)
• 25th » Bob Knight, American basketball player and coach
• 26th » Eddie Henderson (musician) called Eddie Henderson, American trumpet player
• 26th » John Horgan (academic) or John Horgan, Irish academic and politician
• 27th » John Gotti, American mobster (d. 2002)
• 27th » Maxine Hong Kingston, American author
• 28th » Susan Harris, American screenwriter and producer
• 29th » Frida Boccara, Moroccan-French singer (d. 1996)
• 29th » David Brigati, American singer (Joey Dee and the Starliters and The Rascals)
• 29th » Connie Mack III, American politician
• 29th » José Ulises Macías Salcedo, Mexican archbishop
• 29th » Jack Shepherd (actor) named Jack Shepherd, English actor, director, and playwright
• 29th » Galen Weston, English-Canadian businessman and philanthropist
• 30th » Ed Lauter, American actor (d. 2013)
• 31st » Craig Rodwell, gay rights pioneer (d. 1993)

Famous Deaths for October 1940

• 5th » Ballington Booth, English-American co-founder of the Volunteers of America (b. 1857)
• 5th » Lincoln Loy McCandless, American politician (b. 1859)
• 5th » Silvestre Revueltas, Mexican violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1889)
• 9th » Wilfred Grenfell, English-American missionary (b. 1865)
• 10th » Berton Churchill, Canadian-American actor and singer (b. 1876)
• 11th » Lluís Companys, Spanish lawyer and politician, 123rd President of Catalonia (b. 1882)
• 11th » Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician and physicist (b. 1860)
• 12th » Tom Mix, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
• 20th » Gunnar Asplund, Swedish architect, co-designed Skogskyrkogården (b. 1885)
• 21st » William G. Conley, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 18th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1866)
• 29th » Phan Bội Châu, Vietnamese poet and activist (b. 1867)

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