August is the eighth month of the year (between July and September) in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere.
August symbols: The birthstones of August are the peridot and sardonyx. Its birth flower is the gladiolus or poppy, meaning beauty, strength of character, love, marriage and family. The zodiac signs for the month of August are Leo (until August 22) and Virgo (from August 23 onwards).
Historical Events for August, 1940
Day of Week 3rd » World War II: Kingdom of Italy named Italian forces begin the Italian conquest of British Somaliland named invasion of British Somaliland.
Day of Week 5th » World War II: The Soviet Union formally Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 1940-1941: The first Soviet occupation called annexes Latvia.
Day of Week 6th » Estonia was illegally annexed by the Soviet Union.
Day of Week 7th » World War II: Alsace-Lorraine is annexed by the Third Reich.
Day of Week 8th » The "Aufbau Ost (1940) e.g Aufbau Ost" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.
Day of Week 15th » An Kingdom of Italy known as Italian submarine torpedoes and sinks the Greek cruiser Elli (1912) known as Greek cruiser 'Elli' at Tinos harbor during peacetime, marking the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in
Day of Week 19th » First flight of the North American B-25 Mitchell e.g B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
Day of Week 20th » In Mexico City, Mexico exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He dies the next day.
20th » World War II: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom e.g 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".
Day of Week 30th » The Second Vienna Award reassigns the territory of Northern Transylvania from Romania to Hungary.
Day of Week 31st » Lovettsville Air Disaster called Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia. The Civil Aeronautics Authority e.g CAB investigation of the accident is the first investigation to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce a
Famous Birthdays on August in 1940
1st » Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire
1st » Ram Loevy, Israeli director and screenwriter
1st » Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded the Cendant called Cendant Corporation
2nd » Beko Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian physician and activist (d. 2006)
2nd » Will Tura, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist