istoryworld
All Events
Warsaw falls, after a brave resistance, whereupon Germany and Russia carve up Poland
Nazi murder squads (Einsatzgruppen) kill Poland's elite
A German U-boat sinks the British battleship Royal Oak at anchor in Scapa Flow
Adolf Hitler orders the 'mercy killing' of all those with specified categories of infirmity, beginning with newborn babies and young children
Soviet troops cross the borders of Finland, beginning the brief Russo-Finnish War, in keeping with the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Phoney War, Bore War, drôle de guerre and Sitzkrieg are comments on the lack of military action from any side so far
The Finns win spectacular victories in counter-attacks against the Russian invaders, destroying four Soviet divisions
The German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled after a battle with Allied ships near the river Plate
The USSR is expelled from the League of Nations because of the Soviet invasion of Finland
T.S. Eliot gives cats a poetic character in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
All Saints, along with Petersham Vicarage, the village hall and (later) Elm Lodge, is requisitioned by Anti-Aircraft Command and plays a key role in operational research on Radar throughout the Second World War
Elm Lodge, requisitioned by Anti Aircraft Command, along with All Saints, Petersham vicarage and the village institute, plays a key role in wartime operational research on Radar
Grey Court House (now called Newman House) is used first as a nursery school and then as a unit within Greycourt Secondary School
German bombers attack the barracks at Aldershot, in the first aerial raid of what becomes the Battle of Britain
American Ballet Theatre, directed by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, begins its first season in New York
English potter Bernard Leach publishes an influential manual, A Potter's Book
Mohammed Ali Jinnah puts forward the concept of independent Muslim states within India
Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen design an 'organic chair' for mass production in moulded plywood and aluminium
The Conservative Colorados recover power in Paraguay and reimpose military rule
Richard Addinsell writes the Warsaw Concerto as music for the film Dangerous Moonlight
British biologists Ernst Chain and Howard Florey develop penicillin as a safe and useful antibacterial drug
German novelist Thomas Mann takes US citizenship and in 1941 moves to California
US author Richard Wright publishes Native Son, his semi-autobiographical novel about racial equality
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby star together in Road to Singapore, the first of a long series of 'Road' films
Gene Kelly makes his name on Broadway in the Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey
