January 1940 calendar

January 1940
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Learn the most interesting events and historical facts that happened in January 1940.
The US president was Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat), the UK Prime Minister was Neville Chamberlain (Conservative), Pope Pius XII was leading the Catholic Church.

But much more happened on January 1940: find out below

history

Historical Events

Which were the important events of January 1940?


Events

  • 03 Jan 1940 WPG-AM in Atlantic City, New Jersey consolidates with WBIL andWOV as new WOV
  • 04 Jan 1940 WWII: Axis powers: Luftwaffe General Hermann Göring assumes control of most war industries in Germany.
  • 05 Jan 1940 FCC hears 1st transmission of FM radio with clear, static-free signal
  • 06 Jan 1940 WWII: Winter War: General Semyon Timoshenko takes command of all Russian forces.
  • 08 Jan 1940 World War II: Britain introduces food rationing.
  • 09 Jan 1940 WWII British submarine is sunk.
  • 10 Jan 1940 WWII: Mechelen Incident: A German plane carrying secret plans for the invasion of western Europe makes a forced landing in Belgium, leading to mobilization of defense forces in the Low Countries.
  • 14 Jan 1940 Commissioner Kenesaw Landis gives free agency to 91 Detroit Tigers.
  • 21 Jan 1940 Foreign correspondents in the Netherlands under censorship
  • 22 Jan 1940 1st radio broadcast of Road to Happiness on CBS
  • 23 Jan 1940 Pianist Ignaz Paderewski becomes premier of Polish government in exile.
  • 26 Jan 1940 Brisbane, Australia swelters through its hottest day ever, 43.2 degrees Celsius (109.76 Fahrenheit).
  • 27 Jan 1940 -17 degrees F (-27 degrees C), CCC Camp F-16, Georgia, USA (state record).
  • 29 Jan 1940 Three trains on the Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station. 181 people are killed.
  • 30 Jan 1940 Cor Jongert wins 6th Dutch 11 Cities Skating Race.
  • 31 Jan 1940 40 U-boats sunk this month

Famous Birthday

  • John Hurt

    British actor whose TV roles as the celebrated homosexual, Quentin Crisp, in "The Naked Civil Servant" and Caligula in "I, Claudius," are...

  • James Cromwell

    American actor and producer.

  • Olga Georges-Picot

    French noted family, the daughter of an ambassador born in China.

  • See more

Famous Deaths

vinyl songs

Music charts

Which were the top hits in January 1940?
Unlimited, ad-free streaming of over a million songs, 30 day Free Trial


Top #1 songs in the USA

  1. - The Last Time I Saw Paris

Movies

Which were the most popular Movies released in that month?
Watch popular movies, TV series and live events, start your 30-day free trial

The Shop Around the Corner

The Shop Around the Corner

Release year: 1940

Directed by: Ernst Lubitsch

Starring: Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Frank Morgan, Joseph Schildkraut

Country: United States of America

The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath

Release year: 1940

Directed by: John Ford

Starring: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin

Country: United States of America

His Girl Friday

His Girl Friday

Release year: 1940

Directed by: Howard Hawks

Starring: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart

Country: United States of America

Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Release year: 1940

Directed by: John Cromwell

Starring: Raymond Massey, Gene Lockhart, Ruth Gordon, Mary Howard

The Stars Look Down

The Stars Look Down

Release year: 1940

Directed by: Carol Reed

Starring: Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood, Edward Rigby, Emlyn Williams