1940s
decade of the Gregorian calendar (1940–1949)
The 1940s was a decade in the Anno Domini and Common Era in the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 1940 and ended on December 31, 1949. It is distinct from the decade known as the '''195st decade''' which began on January 1, 1941 and ended on December 31, 1950.
| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
| Centuries: | 19th century – 20th century – 21st century |
| Decades: | 1910s 1920s 1930s – 1940s – 1950s 1960s 1970s |
| Years: | 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 |
| Categories: | Births – Deaths – Architecture Establishments – Disestablishments |
Events
change- 1940 – Retreat at Dunkirk
- 1941; Attack on Pearl Harbor, which followed by U.S. join the war then.
- 1944 – Normandy invasion
- 1945 (August 6 and 9) – first use of the atomic bomb in warfare.
- 1945 – World War II ends
- 1945 – Start of the Cold War
- 1945-1946 – Nuremberg Trials
- 1946 – baby boom begins in the United States.
- 1947 – Independence for India and other colonies.
- 1947-1949 – Indo-Pakistani War
- 1948-1949 – Arab-Israeli War
- 1949 – Communists take power in China.
People
changeActor
change- Cary Grant, British-American actor
- Charles Boyer, French actor
- Dana Andrews, American actor
- Fred Astaire, American actor
- Fred MacMurray, American actor
- Gene Reynolds, American actor
- Humphrey Bogart, American actor
- James Stewart, American actor
- Kirk Douglas, American actor
- Lionel Barrymore, American actor
- Melvyn Douglas, American actor
- Robert Taylor, American actor
- Spencer Tracy, American actor
- Toshirō Mifune, Japanese actor
- William Holden, American actor
Actress
change- Audrey Hepburn, British-Belgian actress
- Ava Gardner, American actress
- Barbara Stanwyck, American actress
- Bibi Ferreira, Brazilian actress
- Deborah Kerr, British actress
- Donna Reed, American actress
- Doris Day, American actress
- Fay McKenzie, American actress
- Gene Tierney, American actress
- Ginger Rogers, American actress
- Gloria Swanson, American actress
- Grace Kelly, American actress
- Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress
- Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress
- Janet Leigh, American actress
- Judy Garland, American actress
- Katharine Hepburn, American actress
- Lana Turner, American actress
- Lauren Bacall, American actress
- Machiko Kyō, Japanese actress
- Mai Zetterling, Swedish actress
- Marilyn Monroe, American actress
- Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress
- Muriel Pavlow, British actress
- Olivia de Havilland, American actress
- Peggy Stewart, American actress
Composer
change- Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer
Director
changeFootballer
change- Adolfo Pedernera Argentine footballer
- Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentine-Spanish footballer
- Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer
- Stanley Matthews, English footballer
Musician
changeScientist
change- Albert Einstein, German-born American scientist
- Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist
- Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist
- Niels Bohr, Danish physicist
- Paul Dirac, English theoretical physicist
World Leaders
change- Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Communist Party of China
- José Figueres Ferrer, President of Costa Rica (until 1948)
- Adolf Hitler, Führer of Germany
- Karl Dönitz, 4th President of Germany
- Wilhelm Pieck, Leadership of East Germany
- Otto Grotewohl, Leadership of East Germany
- Theodor Heuss, President of Germany
- Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of Germany
- Mahatma Gandhi, leader of India
- Hirohito, Emperor of Japan
- Pope Pius XII, Pope in the 1930s
- Ananda Mahidol, King of Siam (until 1946)
- Rhee Syng-man, President of South Korea
- Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand
- Pridi Banomyong, Prime Minister of Thailand
- George VI, King of the United Kingdom
- Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of United Kingdom
- Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of United Kingdom
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States (until 1945)
- Harry S. Truman, President of the United States
- Joseph Stalin, leader of the USSR