istoryworld
All Events
The US jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker acquires the nickname 'Yardbird', or simply 'Bird'
De Valera declares that Eire will be neutral in any forthcoming European war
Hungary aligns itself with the Axis powers, signing Germany and Japan's Anti-Comintern Pact
Hitler's armies smash their way into Czechoslovakia and enter Prague, against all his previous promises
The recent fate of Czechoslovakia prompts France and Britain to guarantee the security of Poland
Stalin appoints Vyacheslav Molotov as People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs for the USSR
A Franco-British military mission arrives in Moscow to persuade Stalin to join a pact in defence of Poland
Helped by the results of Polish cryptographers, Bletchley Park begins to gain invaluable access to German military secrets
An incident on the border between Japanese Manchukuo and Soviet territory sparks a four-month war with the USSR that brings heavy Japanese losses
German-born US physicist Albert Einstein writes to President Roosevelt, warning of the potential of an atomic bomb
Ribbentrop flies to Moscow to sign a Nonaggression Pact with Molotov, depriving Britain and France of an ally
A secret protocol, attached to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, divides Poland and the Baltic states between Germany and Russia
The He-178, designed by Hans von Ohain, becomes the first jet engine to fly, with a test flight lasting five minutes
Adolf Hitler launches a massive attack on Poland, with tanks crossing the border and air raids on Warsaw
Spain and Portugal declare that they will maintain their neutrality in the European war that now seems inevitable
George Marshall becomes US Army chief of staff, a post he retains to the end of World War II
Britain and France, receiving no answer from Hitler to their ultimatum over his attack on Poland, declare war on Germany
French troops rush to defend France's border with Germany, along the heavily fortified Maginot Line
A British Expeditionary Force (BEF) of about 150,000 infantry crosses the Channel to help defend France's border with Belgium
In spite of the Axis agreement of 1936, Mussolini declines to bring Italy into the war on Hitler's side
Alan Turing joins the code-breaking team working on Enigma at Bletchley Park
Jan Smuts defeats J.B.M. Hertzog in a vote on neutrality, and takes Hertzog's place as South African premier
Jan Smuts brings South Africa into the war in support of Britain
A German U-boat sinks the British aircraft carrier Courageous off the coast of Ireland
Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark jointly declare their neutrality
