istoryworld
All Events
Adolf Hitler orders preparations to be made for Operation Barbarossa, his planned invasion of the Soviet Union
Radnor House is completely destroyed by a bomb, and the site later becomes open to the public as Radnor Gardens.
Patrick Henry, the first of the US Liberty ships, is soon followed by more than 2700 others, built at record speed
British aviator Amy Johnson is reported missing over the Thames estuary when flying on a mission for the Air Ministry
Scott FitzGerald's final and incomplete novel, The Last Tycoon, is published posthumously
Greta Garbo receives terrible reviews for Two Faced Woman, which turns out to be her last film and the beginning of a long retirement
English composer Michael Tippett completes his oratorio A Child of our Time (not performed until 1944)
Agee and Evans give a warm personal view of America in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
Bertolt Brecht's play set in the Thirty Years' War, Mother Courage, has its first performance in Zurich
Henri Matisse, recovering from an operation, develops his technique of gouaches découpées (cut-out patches of painted paper)
Greek soprano Maria Callas sings her first Tosca, in the opera house in Athens
The US army invests in a significant new vehicle, placing an order for 16,000 jeeps
Aung San and some revolutionary colleagues (the Thirty Comrades) receive military training in Japan, aiming to evict the British from Burma
Australian prime minister Robert Menzies is forced to resign after losing the confidence of his cabinet
Citizen Kane is written, directed and starred in by 26-year-old Orson Welles
John Huston, for his first film, directs Humphrey Bogart in the third screen adaptation of The Maltese Falcon
British author Rebecca West publishes an account of Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon
US author Eudora Welty publishes her first collection of stories, A Curtain of Green
The US Congress declares war on Japan and President Roosevelt endorses the order
President Roosevelt defines to Congress his concept of Four Freedoms – of speech, of worship, from want, from fear
Archibald Wavell's Allied divisions, after a rapid desert campaign, drive the Italians from the Libyan port of Tobruk
Adolf Hitler sends Erwin Rommel to save the Italians from looming disaster in north Africa
Congress passes the Lend-lease Act, enabling President Roosevelt to provide much needed help to US allies
The Italian navy, defeated off Cape Matapan, ceases to be a significant factor in the Mediterranean
The Allies recover Ethiopia from the Italians and Haile Selassie returns to his throne in Addis Ababa
