1939: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 20:35, 14 November 2025

Template:About year Template:Multiple image Template:Year nav Script error: No such module "Sidebar". Script error: No such module "Year in various calendars". Template:Sister project Template:Year article header This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Template:TOC limit

Events

Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix.

January

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

January 1
- Coming into effect in Nazi Germany of:
  - The Protection of Young Persons Act, passed on April 30, 1938, the Working Hours Regulations.^[1]
  - The small businesses obligation to maintain adequate accounting.^[1]
  - The Jews name change decree.^[1]
- With his traditional call to the New Year in Nazi Germany, Führer and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler addresses the members of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP).^[1]
- The Hewlett-Packard technology and scientific instruments manufacturing company is founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard, in a garage in Palo Alto, California, considered the birthplace of Silicon Valley.^[1]
- Philipp Etter takes over as President of the Swiss Confederation.^[1]
- The Third Soviet Five Year Plan is launched.^[2]
January 5 – Pioneering U.S. aviator Amelia Earhart is officially declared dead, eighteen months after her disappearance.^[3]
January 6 – Otto Hahn's discoveries in the field of nuclear fission are published in Naturwissenschaften.^[4]
January 7 – French physicist Marguerite Perey identifies francium, the last chemical element first discovered in nature.^[5]
January 14 – Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.^[6]
January 23 – "Dutch War Scare": Admiral Wilhelm Canaris of the Abwehr leaks misinformation to the effect that Germany plans to invade the Netherlands in February, with the aim of using Dutch air-fields to launch a strategic bombing offensive against Britain. The "Dutch War Scare" leads to a major change in British policies towards Europe.^[7]
January 24 – 1939 Chillán earthquake: An earthquake in Chile kills an estimated 30,000 people and razes about Template:Convert of land.^[8]
January 25 – Refik Saydam forms the new (11th) government of Turkey.
January 26
- Spanish Civil War: Spanish Nationalist troops, aided by Italy, take Barcelona.
- In Paris, French Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet, in response to rumours (which are true) that he is seeking to end the French alliance system in Eastern Europe, gives a speech highlighting his government's commitment to the cordon sanitaire.
January 27 – Adolf Hitler orders Plan Z, a 5-year naval expansion programme intended to provide for a huge German fleet capable of crushing the British Royal Navy by 1944. The Kriegsmarine is given the first priority on the allotment of German economic resources.^[9]
January 30 – Hitler gives a speech before the Reichstag calling for an "export battle" to increase German foreign exchange holdings. The same speech also sees "Hitler's prophecy", where he warns that if "Jewish financiers" start a war against Germany, "the result will be the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe".^[10]

February

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

February 6
- British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain states in the House of Commons that any German attack on France will be automatically considered an attack on Britain.
- In a response to Georges Bonnet's speech of January 26, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, referring to Bonnet's alleged statement of December 6, 1938, accepting Eastern Europe as being in Germany's exclusive sphere of influence, protests that all French security commitments in that region are "now off limits".
February 10 – Pope Pius XI, the head of the Roman Catholic Church since 1922, dies of a heart attack.
February 18 – The Golden Gate International Exposition opens in San Francisco.^[11]
February 27 – The United Kingdom and France recognize Franco's government in Spain.^[12]

March

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

March – The 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine ends.
March 1 – An Imperial Japanese Army ammunition dump explosion on the outskirts of Osaka kills 94.
March 2 – Pope Pius XII (Cardinal Pacelli) succeeds Pope Pius XI to become the 260th pope, holding office until 1958.^[13]
March 3 – In Durban, South Africa the Timeless Test begins between England and South Africa, the longest game of cricket ever played. It is abandoned 12 days later, when the English team has to catch their ship home.
March 13 – Adolf Hitler advises Jozef Tiso to declare Slovakia's independence, in order to prevent its partition by Hungary and Poland.
March 14 – The Slovak provincial assembly proclaims independence; priest Jozef Tiso becomes president of the independent Slovak government.
March 15 – German troops occupy the remaining part of Bohemia and Moravia; Czechoslovakia ceases to exist. The Ruthenian region of Czechoslovakia declares independence as Carpatho-Ukraine.
March 16
- Hungary invades Carpatho-Ukraine; final resistance ends on March 18.
- British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain gives a speech in Birmingham, stating that Britain will oppose any effort at world domination on the part of Germany.
March 17 – The nationalist governments of Spain and Portugal sign the Iberian Pact in Lisbon, pledging mutual defence of the Iberian Peninsula and neutrality in the event of a general European war.
March 20
- 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania, requiring return of the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) to Germany.
- At an emergency meeting in London to deal with the Romanian crisis, French Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet suggests to Lord Halifax that the ideal state for saving Romania from a German attack is Poland.
March 22 – Following the March 20 ultimatum, Nazi Germany is granted the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory, Memelland) by Lithuania; on the following day German forces occupy the territory.
March 23 – The Slovak–Hungarian War begins.
March 26 – Final offensive of the Spanish Civil War launched by the Nationalists.
March 28
- General Francisco Franco assumes power in Madrid, remaining in power until his death in 1975.
- American adventurer Richard Halliburton delivers a last message from a Chinese junk, before he disappears on a voyage across the Pacific Ocean. In 1945, some wreckage identified as a rudder, and believed to belong to the junk, washes ashore in San Diego, California.
March 31 – Neville Chamberlain gives a speech in the House of Commons, offering the British "guarantee" of the independence of Poland.

April

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

April 1 – The Spanish Civil War comes to an end when the last of the Republican forces surrender.
April 3
- Adolf Hitler orders the German military to start planning for Fall Weiß, the codename for the invasion of Poland.^[14]
- Refik Saydam forms the new government in Turkey (12th government; Refik Saydam has served twice as a prime minister).
April 4
- The Slovak–Hungarian War ends, with Slovakia ceding eastern territories to Hungary.
- Polish Foreign Minister Colonel Józef Beck, in London, signs a treaty designed to bilateralize Neville Chamberlain's "Polish Guarantee" of March 31.
- Faisal II becomes King of Iraq aged three, following the death of his father, Ghazi, in an automobile incident.^[15]
April 7
- Italian invasion of Albania begins; King Zog flees into exile, initially in Greece, with his wife and Crown Prince Skander (born April 5).
- Joseph Lyons, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, dies in office from a heart attack at the age of 59. He is briefly replaced by his deputy Earle Page, who serves as the 11th Prime Minister, until a UAP leadership election is held to replace Lyons.
April 9 – African-American singer Marian Anderson performs before 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after having been denied the use both of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution, and of a public high school by the federally controlled District of Columbia. First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt resigns from the DAR because of their decision.
April 11 – Hungary leaves the League of Nations.
April 14 – At a meeting in Paris, French Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet meets with Soviet Ambassador Jakob Suritz, and suggests that a "peace front" comprising France, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, Poland and Romania would deter Germany from war.
April 18
- The Soviet Union proposes a "peace front" to resist aggression.
- Robert Menzies is elected leader of the United Australia Party, and consequently becomes the 12th Prime Minister of Australia, defeating former Prime Minister Billy Hughes. However, he will not be sworn in until April 26, due to Earle Page and his Country Party refusing to serve under him.
April 25 – The Federal Security Agency (FSA) is founded in the United States, along with the Civilian Conservation Corps and Public Health Service.
April 28 – In a speech before the Reichstag, Adolf Hitler renounces the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish declaration of non-aggression.
April 30 – The 1939 New York World's Fair opens.

May

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

May 3 – Vyacheslav Molotov succeeds Maxim Litvinov, as Soviet Foreign Commissar.
May 6 – German anti-Nazi Carl Friedrich Goerdeler tells the British government that the German and Soviet governments are secretly beginning a rapprochement, with the aim of dividing Eastern Europe between them. Goerdeler also informs the British of German economic problems which he states threaten the survival of the Nazi regime, and advises that if a firm stand is made for Poland, then Hitler will be deterred from war.
May 9 – Spain leaves the League of Nations.
May 14 – Lina Medina, a 5-year-old Peruvian girl, gives birth to a baby boy, becoming the youngest confirmed mother in medical history.^[16]
May 17
- King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom arrive in Quebec City, to begin the first-ever tour of Canada by Canada's monarch.
- The British government issues the White Paper of 1939, sharply restricting Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine.
- Sweden, Norway, and Finland refuse Germany's offer of non-aggression pacts.^[17]
May 18 – The Hòa Hảo religious sect is established in Vietnam, by Huỳnh Phú Sổ.
May 20 – Pan American Airways begins transatlantic mail service with the inaugural flight of its Boeing 314 flying boat Yankee Clipper from Port Washington, New York, to Marseille.^[18]
May 22 – Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.^[19]
May 23 – The White Paper of 1939 is ratified by the British government, acting as the governing policy for Mandatory Palestine from 1939 to 1948.^[20]
May 24 – The first issue of Fashizmi is published in Tirana, Albania.
May 29 – Albanian fascist leader Tefik Mborja is appointed as member of the Italian Chamber of Fasces and Corporations.

June

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

File:Phutthamonthon Buddha.gif

June 24: Siam is renamed "Thailand".

June 3 – The Soviet government offers its definition of what constitutes "aggression", upon which the projected Anglo-Soviet-French alliance will come into effect. French Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet accepts the Soviet definition of aggression at once. The British reject the Soviet definition, especially the concept of "indirect aggression", which they feel is too loose a definition, and phrased in such a manner as to imply the Soviet right of inference in the internal affairs of Eastern European nations.
June 4 – The St. Louis, a ship carrying 907 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida; only a few passengers have been allowed to enter Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, many of its passengers later die in Nazi death camps during The Holocaust.^[21]
June 14 – Tientsin Incident: The Japanese blockade the British concession in Tianjin, China, beginning a crisis which almost causes an Anglo-Japanese war in the summer of 1939.
June 17 – In the last public execution in France, murderer Eugen Weidmann is guillotined.^[22]
June 23 – Talks are completed in Ankara between French Ambassador René Massigli and Turkish Foreign Minister Şükrü Saracoğlu, resolving the Hatay dispute in Turkey's favor. Turkey annexes Hatay.
June 24 – The government of Siam changes the country's name to Thailand, which means 'Free Land'.^[23]
June 29 – The Ford 9N tractor, with the Ferguson hydraulic three-point hitch, is first demonstrated at Dearborn, Michigan.^[24]

July

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

July 4 – The Neuengamme concentration camp becomes autonomous.
July 6 – The last remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed by the Nazis.
July 8 – The Pan American Airways Boeing 314 flying boat Yankee Clipper inaugurates the world's first heavier-than-air North Atlantic air passenger service, between the United States (Port Washington, New York) and Britain.
July 23 – Mahatma Gandhi writes a personal letter to Adolf Hitler from India, addressing him as "My friend", requesting him to prevent any possible war.
July 27 – The first recorded snow falls in Auckland, New Zealand, since records began in 1853.

August

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

August 2 – The Einstein–Szilard letter is signed by Albert Einstein, advising President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt of the potential use of uranium to construct an atomic bomb. It is delivered on October 11 and leads to the first meeting on October 21 of the Advisory Committee on Uranium.^[25]
August 4 – Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain dismisses the Parliament of the United Kingdom until October 3.
August 19 – Adolf Hitler, after evaluating the pace of non-aggression negotiations with the Soviet Union, orders the Kriegsmarine to begin the opening operations for Fall Weiß, the invasion of Poland. The Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., along with the Script error: No such module "WPSHIPS utilities".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., as well as dozens of U-boats, cast off for their advance positions. Hitler spends the next few days worrying that the Russians will not come to terms in time for the rest of the invasion plans to unfold as scheduled.^[26]
August 20 – Armored forces under the command of Soviet General Georgy Zhukov deliver a decisive defeat to Imperial Japanese Army forces in the Japanese-Soviet border war in Inner Mongolia.
August 23 – The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact is signed between Germany and the Soviet Union, a neutrality treaty that also agrees to division of spheres of influence (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, eastern Poland and Bessarabia (modern-day Moldova), north-east province of Romania to the Soviet Union; Lithuania and western Poland to Germany). Its annex reassigns Lithuania to the Soviet Union.
August 24 – As details of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact become public, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain recalls the Parliament of the United Kingdom several weeks early. In a burst of legislation, the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 gives full authority to defence regulations, the British Royal Navy is to be put on a war footing, all military leave is to be cancelled, military reserve forces are to be called up, especially coast defence, radar and anti-aircraft units, and Civil Defence workers are placed on alert. In addition, the last British and French private citizens in Germany are advised to return home by their respective Governments.
August 25
- The German Foreign Ministry cuts off all telegraph and telephone communication with the outside world, in accordance with the plan for Fall Weiß. At approximately 1830 Central European time, Adolf Hitler postpones Fall Weiß for 5 days, after receiving a message from Benito Mussolini that he will not honor the Pact of Steel if Germany attacks Poland, and because Chamberlain's government has not fallen as a result of the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Some units already in their forward positions (the attack is scheduled for 0430 the next day) do not get the word in time and attack various targets along the border. This same day, Neville Chamberlain gives Edward Rydz-Śmigły his "ironclad guarantee" of assistance if Poland is attacked by Germany.
- 1939 Coventry bombing: An Irish Republican Army bomb explodes in the centre of Coventry, England, killing 5 people.
August 26
- The first televised Major League Baseball games are shown on experimental station W2XBS in the United States: a double-header between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.
- The Kriegsmarine orders all German-flagged merchant ships to head to German ports immediately, in anticipation of the invasion of Poland.
August 27 – A Heinkel He 178, the first turbojet-powered aircraft, flies for the first time, with Captain Erich Warsitz in command.
August 28 – French ocean liner Template:SS heads into New York Harbor, where she will be interned on September 3, and cut up for scrap, beginning in 1946.
August 30 – Poland begins a mobilization against Nazi Germany.
August 31 – Operation Himmler: Nazi German troops posing as Poles stage a series of false flag operations on the border (including the Gleiwitz incident), giving a pretext for the invasion of Poland.

September

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

File:Zniszczenia1939 0.jpg

September 1: Wieluń destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing.

File:Armia Czerwona, Wehrmacht 22.09.1939 wspólna parada.jpg

Common parade of Wehrmacht and Red Army in Brest at the end of the Invasion of Poland. At the center Major General Heinz Guderian and Brigadier Semyon Krivoshein.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{Events by month|1939}}
 {{About year|1939|the 1989 film|1939 (film)}}
+{{Multiple image
+| image_style       = border:none;b
+| perrow            = 3/3
+| image1            = Danzig Police at Polish Border (1939-09-01).jpg
+| image2            = Молотов и Риббентроп.jpg
+| image3            = A Finnish Maxim M-32 machine gun nest during the Winter War.jpg
+| image4            = MNRA soldiers 1939.jpg
+| image5            = Italian army 2 (cropped).PNG
+| image6            = Gone With the Wind Atlanta premiere 1939.jpg
+| total_width       = 350
+| footer            = From top to bottom, left to right: The [[Invasion of Poland]] by [[Nazi Germany]] on September 1 triggers [[World War II]] as Britain and France declare war; the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] between Germany and the [[Soviet Union]] establishes a non-aggression treaty with secret plans to divide Eastern Europe; the [[Winter War]] breaks out as the Soviet Union invades [[Finland]], leading to fierce resistance and heavy losses on both sides; the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]] see Soviet and Mongolian forces decisively defeat the Japanese in Manchuria, halting Japanese expansion into Siberia; the [[Italian invasion of Albania]] results in the swift occupation of the country, expanding Mussolini’s influence in the Balkans; and the release of [[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]] becomes a cultural milestone, later recognized as one of the most iconic and successful films in cinema history.
+}}
 {{Year nav|1939}}
 {{C20 year in topic}}
-[[File:Herd St Post Office (4420435469).jpg|thumb|The year 1939]]
 {{Year article header|1939}} This year also marks the start of the [[World War II|Second World War]], the largest and deadliest conflict in human history.
 {{TOC limit|2}}
@@ Line 15: / Line 26: @@
 * [[January 1]]
 ** Coming into effect in [[Nazi Germany]] of:
-*** The [[Protection of Young Persons Act (Germany)|Protection of Young Persons Act]], passed on April 30, 1938, the Working Hours Regulations.<ref name= ":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.was-war-wann.de/1900/1930/januar-1939.html|title=Januar 1939 Ereignisse}}</ref>
+*** The [[Protection of Young Persons Act (Germany)|Protection of Young Persons Act]], passed on April 30, 1938, the Working Hours Regulations.<ref name= ":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.was-war-wann.de/1900/1930/januar-1939.html|title=Januar 1939 Ereignisse|website=www.was-war-wann.de}}</ref>
 *** The [[small businesses]] obligation to maintain adequate [[accounting]].<ref name= ":0" />
 *** The [[Jews]] name change decree.<ref name= ":0" />
@@ Line 37: / Line 48: @@
 ===February===
 {{main|February 1939}}
-[[File:Alyssamcpherson.jpg|thumb|150px|right| [[February 21]]: [[Golden Gate International Exposition]] opens.]]
 * [[February 6]]
 ** British Prime Minister [[Neville Chamberlain]] states in the House of Commons that any German attack on France will be automatically considered an attack on Britain.
 ** In a response to [[Georges Bonnet]]'s speech of January 26, German Foreign Minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]], referring to Bonnet's alleged statement of December 6, 1938, accepting Eastern Europe as being in Germany's exclusive [[sphere of influence]], protests that all French security commitments in that region are "now off limits".
+* [[February 10]] &ndash; [[Pope Pius XI]], the head of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] since 1922, dies of a heart attack.
 * [[February 18]] &ndash; The [[Golden Gate International Exposition]] opens in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite book|author1=California. Board of State Harbor Commissioners for San Francisco Harbor|title=Report|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rZPVAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA35|year=1936|pages=35}}</ref>
 * [[February 27]] &ndash; The United Kingdom and France recognize [[Francisco Franco|Franco]]'s government in Spain.<ref>{{cite book|author=Juan Lalaguna|title=A Traveller's History of Spain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yb4kpN7SZUkC|year=1999|publisher=Interlink Books|isbn=978-1-56656-324-6|page=259}}</ref>
@@ Line 49: / Line 60: @@
 * [[March]] &ndash; The [[1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine]] ends.
 * [[March 1]] &ndash; An [[Imperial Japanese Army]] ammunition dump explosion on the outskirts of [[Osaka]] kills 94.
-* [[March 2]] &ndash; [[Pope Pius XII]] (Cardinal Pacelli) succeeds [[Pope Pius XI]] to become the 260th pope, holding office until 1958.
+* [[March 2]] &ndash; [[Pope Pius XII]] (Cardinal Pacelli) succeeds [[Pope Pius XI]] to become the 260th pope, holding office until 1958.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pius XII Becomes Pope {{!}} EBSCO Research Starters |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/pius-xii-becomes-pope |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=www.ebsco.com |language=en}}</ref>
 * [[March 3]] &ndash; In [[Durban]], South Africa the [[Timeless Test]] begins between England and South Africa, the longest game of cricket ever played. It is abandoned 12 days later, when the English team has to catch their ship home.
 * [[March 13]] &ndash; [[Adolf Hitler]] advises [[Jozef Tiso]] to declare Slovakia's independence, in order to prevent its partition by Hungary and Poland.
@@ Line 73: / Line 84: @@
 * [[April 1]] &ndash; The [[Spanish Civil War]] comes to an end when the last of the Republican forces surrender.
 * [[April 3]]
-** [[Adolf Hitler]] orders the German military to start planning for ''[[Fall Weiss (1939)|Fall Weiß]]'', the codename for the invasion of Poland.
+** [[Adolf Hitler]] orders the German military to start planning for ''[[Fall Weiss|Fall Weiß]]'', the codename for the invasion of Poland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nuremberg - Document Viewer - Orders for planning the invasion of Poland ("Fall Weiss") and the annexation of Danzig, without a declaration of war, and a note on the policy to limit the war to Poland and avoid conflict with France, England, and Russia |url=https://nuremberg.law.harvard.edu/documents/1802-orders-for-planning-the-invasion?mode=text |access-date=2025-09-23 |website=nuremberg.law.harvard.edu}}</ref>
 ** [[Refik Saydam]] forms the new government in [[Turkey]] (12th government; Refik Saydam has served twice as a prime minister).
 * [[April 4]]
@@ Line 113: / Line 124: @@
 [[File:Phutthamonthon Buddha.gif|thumb|160px|right| [[June 24]]: Siam is renamed "[[Thailand]]".]]
 * [[June 3]] &ndash; The Soviet government offers its definition of what constitutes "aggression", upon which the projected Anglo-Soviet-French alliance will come into effect. French Foreign Minister [[Georges Bonnet]] accepts the Soviet definition of aggression at once. The British reject the Soviet definition, especially the concept of "indirect aggression", which they feel is too loose a definition, and phrased in such a manner as to imply the Soviet right of inference in the internal affairs of Eastern European nations.
-* [[June 4]] &ndash; The [[MS St. Louis|''St. Louis'']], a ship carrying a cargo of 907 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in [[Florida]], only a few passengers had been allowed to enter [[Cuba]]. Forced to return to Europe, many of its passengers later die in [[Nazism|Nazi]] [[death camps]] during [[The Holocaust]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://activehistory.ca/?s=Netherlands+&submit=Search|title=Remembering the Voyage of the St. Louis|last=Madokoro|first=Laura|website=Active History |date=August 9, 2021 }}</ref>
+* [[June 4]] &ndash; The [[MS St. Louis|''St. Louis'']], a ship carrying 907 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in [[Florida]]; only a few passengers have been allowed to enter [[Cuba]]. Forced to return to Europe, many of its passengers later die in [[Nazism|Nazi]] [[death camps]] during [[The Holocaust]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://activehistory.ca/?s=Netherlands+&submit=Search|title=Remembering the Voyage of the St. Louis|last=Madokoro|first=Laura|website=Active History |date=August 9, 2021 }}</ref>
 * [[June 14]] &ndash; [[Tientsin Incident]]: The Japanese blockade the British concession in [[Tianjin]], China, beginning a crisis which almost causes an Anglo-Japanese war in the summer of 1939.
 * [[June 17]] &ndash; In the last public [[Guillotine|execution]] in France, murderer [[Eugen Weidmann]] is guillotined.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/06/17/eighty-years-since-versailles-execution-gave-public-guillotines-the-chop|title=Eighty years since Versailles execution stopped public guillotine spectacles|date=17 June 2019|author1=Vincent Coste|author2=Alastair Jamieson|website=Euronews|access-date=11 July 2024}}</ref>
@@ Line 132: / Line 143: @@
 * [[August 2]] &ndash; The [[Einstein–Szilard letter]] is signed by [[Albert Einstein]], advising [[President of the United States]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] of the potential use of [[uranium]] to construct an [[atomic bomb]]. It is delivered on October 11 and leads to the first meeting on October 21 of the Advisory Committee on Uranium.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lanouette|first1=William|last2=Silard|first2=Bela|title=Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilárd: The Man Behind The Bomb|location=New York|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|year=1992|isbn=978-0-684-19011-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/geniusinshadowsa00lano}}</ref>
 * [[August 4]] &ndash; Prime Minister [[Neville Chamberlain]] dismisses the Parliament of the United Kingdom until October 3.
-* [[August 19]] &ndash; [[Adolf Hitler]], after evaluating the pace of [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|non-aggression negotiations with the Soviet Union]], orders the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' to begin the opening operations for ''[[Fall Weiss (1939)|Fall Weiß]]'', the invasion of Poland. The {{Ship|German pocket battleship|Admiral Graf Spee}}, along with the {{Ship|German pocket battleship|Deutschland}}, as well as dozens of U-boats, cast off for their advance positions. Hitler spends the next few days worrying that the Russians will not come to terms in time for the rest of the invasion plans to unfold as scheduled.<ref name=Shirer>{{cite book|last=Shirer|first=William L.|author-link=William L. Shirer|date=2011|title=[[The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich]]|location=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=9781451651683}}</ref>
+* [[August 19]] &ndash; [[Adolf Hitler]], after evaluating the pace of [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|non-aggression negotiations with the Soviet Union]], orders the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' to begin the opening operations for ''[[Fall Weiss|Fall Weiß]]'', the invasion of Poland. The {{Ship|German pocket battleship|Admiral Graf Spee}}, along with the {{Ship|German pocket battleship|Deutschland}}, as well as dozens of U-boats, cast off for their advance positions. Hitler spends the next few days worrying that the Russians will not come to terms in time for the rest of the invasion plans to unfold as scheduled.<ref name=Shirer>{{cite book|last=Shirer|first=William L.|author-link=William L. Shirer|date=2011|title=[[The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich]]|location=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=9781451651683}}</ref>
 * [[August 20]] &ndash; Armored forces under the command of Soviet General [[Georgy Zhukov]] deliver a decisive defeat to [[Imperial Japanese Army]] forces in the Japanese-Soviet border war in [[Inner Mongolia]].
 * [[August 23]] &ndash; The [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] is signed between Germany and the Soviet Union, a neutrality treaty that also agrees to division of spheres of influence (Finland, [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], eastern Poland and Bessarabia (modern-day [[Moldova]]), north-east province of [[Romania]] to the [[Soviet Union]]; [[Lithuania]] and western Poland to Germany). Its annex reassigns Lithuania to the Soviet Union.
 * [[August 24]] &ndash; As details of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact become public, British Prime Minister [[Neville Chamberlain]] recalls the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] several weeks early. In a burst of legislation, the [[Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939]] gives full authority to defence regulations, the British [[Royal Navy]] is to be put on a war footing, all military leave is to be cancelled, [[military reserve force]]s are to be called up, especially coast defence, radar and anti-aircraft units, and [[Civil Defence]] workers are placed on alert. In addition, the last British and French private citizens in Germany are advised to return home by their respective Governments.
 * [[August 25]]
-** The German Foreign Ministry cuts off all telegraph and telephone communication with the outside world, in accordance with the plan for ''[[Fall Weiss (1939)|Fall Weiß]]''. At approximately 1830 Central European time, Adolf Hitler postpones ''Fall Weiß'' for 5 days, after receiving a message from [[Benito Mussolini]] that he will not honor the Pact of Steel if Germany attacks Poland, and because Chamberlain's government has not fallen as a result of the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Some units already in their forward positions (the attack is scheduled for 0430 the next day) do not get the word in time and attack various targets along the border. This same day, [[Neville Chamberlain]] gives [[Edward Rydz-Śmigły]] his "ironclad guarantee" of assistance if Poland is attacked by Germany.
+** The German Foreign Ministry cuts off all telegraph and telephone communication with the outside world, in accordance with the plan for ''[[Fall Weiss|Fall Weiß]]''. At approximately 1830 Central European time, Adolf Hitler postpones ''Fall Weiß'' for 5 days, after receiving a message from [[Benito Mussolini]] that he will not honor the Pact of Steel if Germany attacks Poland, and because Chamberlain's government has not fallen as a result of the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Some units already in their forward positions (the attack is scheduled for 0430 the next day) do not get the word in time and attack various targets along the border. This same day, [[Neville Chamberlain]] gives [[Edward Rydz-Śmigły]] his "ironclad guarantee" of assistance if Poland is attacked by Germany.
 ** [[1939 Coventry bombing]]: An [[Irish Republican Army (1922–69)|Irish Republican Army]] bomb explodes in the centre of [[Coventry]], England, killing 5 people.
 * [[August 26]]
@@ Line 152: / Line 163: @@
 [[File:Armia Czerwona, Wehrmacht 22.09.1939 wspólna parada.jpg|160px|right|thumb|Common parade of Wehrmacht and Red Army in Brest at the end of the Invasion of Poland. At the center Major General [[Heinz Guderian]] and Brigadier [[Semyon Krivoshein]].]]
 * [[September 1]] &ndash; Beginning of WWII:
-** Opening shots of [[World War II]] and [[invasion of Poland]]: At 4:45 Central European Time, under cover of darkness, the German WWI-era battleship [[German battleship Schleswig-Holstein|''Schleswig-Holstein'']] quietly slips her moorings at her wharf in Danzig Harbor, drifts into the center of the channel, and commences firing on a Polish military installation on [[Westerplatte]] at the northeastern mouth of the port of the internationalized [[Free City of Danzig]], beginning the [[Battle of Westerplatte]] and [[Battle of Danzig Bay]]. Polish soldiers defended there for 7 days. Five minutes previously, the [[bombing of Wieluń]] in the western part of Poland had commenced, beginning the [[Battle of the Border]]. Shock-troops of the German [[Wehrmacht]] begin crossing the border into Poland.
+** Opening shots of [[World War II]] and [[invasion of Poland]]: At 4:45 Central European Time, under cover of darkness, the German WWI-era battleship [[German battleship Schleswig-Holstein|''Schleswig-Holstein'']] quietly slips her moorings at her wharf in Danzig Harbor, drifts into the center of the channel, and commences firing on a Polish military installation on [[Westerplatte]] at the northeastern mouth of the port of the internationalized [[Free City of Danzig]], beginning the [[Battle of Westerplatte]] and [[Battle of Danzig Bay]]. Polish soldiers defend there for 7 days. Five minutes previously, the [[bombing of Wieluń]] in the western part of Poland had commenced, beginning the [[Battle of the Border]]. Shock-troops of the German [[Wehrmacht]] begin crossing the border into Poland.
 ** The [[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|Reichstag]] passes a statement, stating that [[Adolf Hitler]]'s second-in-command [[Reichsmarschall]] [[Hermann Göring]] should be appointed as Hitler's successor as [[Führer]], should Hitler die during the war. [[Rudolf Hess]] is to be appointed in Göring's place, should anything befall Göring.
 ** Britain and France deliver ultimatums to Germany. Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland declare their neutrality. U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] states that "every effort" would be made by his administration to stay out of the war.<ref>{{cite news|date=1939-09-01|title=F.D. Vows To Keep U.S. Out of War|journal=[[Brooklyn Eagle]]|pages=1, 8}}</ref> Italy is advised that Germany does not expect to need its military support at present.<ref name=Shirer/>
@@ Line 175: / Line 186: @@
 [[File:Polish kid in the ruins of Warsaw September 1939.jpg|thumb|160px|September: [[Siege of Warsaw (1939)|Siege of Warsaw]].]]
 * [[September 9]] &ndash; WWII: Troops of the Polish [[Poznań Army]] under the command of [[Tadeusz Kutrzeba|General Kutrzeba]] open the [[Battle of the Bzura]], the largest and best organized counter-attack mounted by the Polish forces in the [[Invasion of Poland|campaign of 1939.]] For the first few days all goes well, and the Germans are forced to retreat; but quick reaction by mechanized units and the ''Luftwaffe'' soon take their toll, and the operation bogs down.
-* [[September 10]] &ndash; WWII: Canada declares war on [[Nazi Germany|Germany]], the only declaration of war by Canada.
+* [[September 10]] &ndash; WWII: [[Canadian declaration of war on Germany]].
 * [[September 13]]&ndash;[[September 14|14]] &ndash; WWII: [[Zambrów massacre]] &ndash; German [[Wehrmacht]] soldiers shoot more than 200 Polish prisoners of war.
 * [[September 15]] &ndash; WWII: Diverse elements of the German Wehrmacht surround [[Warsaw]], and demand its surrender. The Poles refuse, and the [[Siege of Warsaw (1939)|siege]] begins in earnest.
@@ Line 277: / Line 288: @@
 * [[January 24]] &ndash; [[Ray Stevens]], American musician ("[[Everything is Beautiful]]")
 * [[January 29]] &ndash; [[Germaine Greer]], Australian feminist writer<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephen Pollard|title=Ten Days that Changed the Nation: The Making of Modern Britain|publisher=Simon & Schuster| year=2009|page=200}}</ref>
-*[[January 31]] &ndash; [[Jerry Brudos]], American serial killer and rapist (d. 2006)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.geni.com/people/Jerome-Jerry-Brudos/6000000006578975589 | title=Jerome "Jerry" Henry Brudos | date=April 27, 2022 }}</ref>
 * [[February 1]] &ndash; [[Ekaterina Maximova]], Russian ballerina (d. [[2009]])<ref>{{cite news|title=Ekaterina Maximova, Ballerina, Dies at 70|author=Weber, Bruce|date=29 April 2009|access-date=29 April 2009|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/arts/dance/29maximova.html}}</ref>
 * [[February 3]]
@@ Line 304: / Line 314: @@
 * [[March 2]] – [[Takako Shimazu|Takako, Princess Suga]]<ref>{{cite book | last = Steinberg | first = S. H. | title = The statesman's year-book : statistical and historical annual of the states of the world for the year 1967-1968 | publisher = Macmillan St. Martin's Press | location = London New York | year = 1967 | isbn = 9780230270961 | page=1199}}</ref>
 * [[March 5]]
-** [[Samantha Eggar]], English actress<ref>{{cite book|author=James Monaco|title=The Encyclopedia of Film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA1968|year=1991|publisher=Perigee Books|isbn=978-0-399-51604-7|pages=3}}</ref>
+** [[Samantha Eggar]], English actress (d. [[2025]])<ref>{{cite book|author=James Monaco|title=The Encyclopedia of Film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kqcYAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA1968|year=1991|publisher=Perigee Books|isbn=978-0-399-51604-7|pages=3}}</ref>
 ** [[Chögyam Trungpa]], Buddhist meditation master (d. [[1987]])
 * [[March 8]] – [[Lidiya Skoblikova]], Russian speed-skater<ref>{{cite book|script-title=ru:Всё об олимпийских играх|trans-title=All About Olympic Games|first=Boris|last=Khavin|publisher=[[Fizkultura i sport (publisher)|Fizkultura i sport]]|edition = 2nd|year=1979|location=Moscow|language=Russian|page=580}}</ref>
@@ Line 311: / Line 321: @@
 * [[March 14]] – [[Glauber Rocha]], Brazilian film director, actor and screenwriter (d. [[1981]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Glauber Rocha|title=From hunger to dream|publisher=Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires|year=2004|isbn=9789879767795|page=393}}</ref>
 * [[March 17]] – [[Giovanni Trapattoni]], Italian footballer and manager<ref>{{cite book|author=Giovanni Trapattoni|title=Coaching High Performance Soccer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bye2IP2_ZogC&pg=PT2|date=May 2000|publisher=Reedswain|isbn=978-1-890946-37-1|pages=2|access-date=February 27, 2020|archive-date=July 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724114833/https://books.google.com/books?id=Bye2IP2_ZogC&pg=PT2|url-status=live}}</ref>
-* [[March 20]] – [[Brian Mulroney]], 18th [[Prime Minister of Canada]] (d. [[2024]])<ref>{{cite book|title=Canada Today: Canada D'aujourd'hui|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dcm724yuZ7oC&pg=PP14|year=1984|publisher=Canadian Embassy|pages=14|access-date=October 17, 2019|archive-date=July 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724113923/https://books.google.com/books?id=dcm724yuZ7oC&pg=PP14|url-status=live}}</ref>
+* [[March 20]]
+** [[Thanmanpillai Kanagasabai]], Sri Lankan politician, MP (2004–2010) (d. [[2025]])
+** [[Brian Mulroney]], 18th [[Prime Minister of Canada]] (d. [[2024]])<ref>{{cite book|title=Canada Today: Canada D'aujourd'hui|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dcm724yuZ7oC&pg=PP14|year=1984|publisher=Canadian Embassy|pages=14|access-date=October 17, 2019|archive-date=July 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724113923/https://books.google.com/books?id=dcm724yuZ7oC&pg=PP14|url-status=live}}</ref>
 * [[March 25]] – [[D. C. Fontana]], American television writer (d. [[2019]])<ref>{{cite web|title=D.C. Fontana, First Female 'Star Trek' Writer, Dies at 80|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/arts/dc-fontana-star-trek.html|date=December 3, 2019|author=Liam Stack|website=New York Times|access-date=August 29, 2022}}</ref>
 * [[March 29]] – [[Terence Hill]], Italian actor<ref>{{cite web |author=Brennan, Sandra |title=Terence Hill |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/32352/Terence-Hill/biography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226032713/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/32352/Terence-Hill/biography|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 December 2014|department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2014 |access-date=11 May 2015}}</ref>
@@ Line 492: / Line 504: @@
 * [[October 8]] – [[Paul Hogan]], Australian actor and comedian
 * [[October 9]]
-** [[Carmen Salinas]], Mexican actress and politician (d. [[2021]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/entretenimiento/2021/12/10/carmen-salinas-fallecio-a-los-82-anos-de-edad/|title=Carmen Salinas falleció a los 82 años de edad|first=10 de Diciembre|last=de 2021|website=infobae|date=December 10, 2021 }}</ref>
+** [[Carmen Salinas]], Mexican actress and politician (d. [[2021]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.infobae.com/america/entretenimiento/2021/12/10/carmen-salinas-fallecio-a-los-82-anos-de-edad/|title=Carmen Salinas falleció a los 82 años de edad|first=|last=|website=infobae|date=December 10, 2021 }}</ref>
 ** [[John Pilger]], Australian-born journalist<ref>{{cite book|author=Europa Publications|title=International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=phhhHT64kIMC&pg=PA444|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-1-85743-179-7|pages=444}}</ref> (d. [[2023]])
 * [[October 11]] – [[Maria Bueno]], Brazilian tennis player (d. [[2018]])<ref>{{cite news |title=Maria Bueno, Brazilian tennis star, dies aged 78 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jun/09/maria-bueno-brazilian-tennis-star-dies-aged-78 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=9 June 2018 |access-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180611050209/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jun/09/maria-bueno-brazilian-tennis-star-dies-aged-78 |url-status=live }}</ref>
@@ Line 518: / Line 530: @@
 [[File:Emil Constantinescu.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Emil Constantinescu]]]]
 [[File:Tina Turner 50th Anniversary Tour.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Tina Turner]]]]
-[[File:Abdullah Badawi official 2009.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Abdullah Ahmad Badawi]]]]
 * [[November 1]] &ndash; [[Barbara Bosson]], American actress (d. [[2023]])
 * [[November 6]]
@@ Line 537: / Line 548: @@
 * [[November 26]]
 ** [[Abdullah Ahmad Badawi]], 5th [[Prime Minister of Malaysia]] (d. [[2025]])
-** [[Shettima Mustafa]], Nigerian politician (d. 2022)<ref>[https://dailytrust.com/buhari-mourns-ex-minister-shettima-mustapha/ Buhari Mourns Ex-Minister, Shettima Mustapha]</ref>
+** [[Shettima Mustafa]], Nigerian politician (d. 2022)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailytrust.com/buhari-mourns-ex-minister-shettima-mustapha/|title=Buhari mourns ex-minister, Shettima Mustapha|website=Daily Trust}}</ref>
 ** [[Tina Turner]], American born Swiss singer and actress (d. [[2023]])<ref>{{cite book | last = Welch | first = Chris | title = The Tina Turner experience | publisher = Virgin | location = London | year = 1994 | isbn = 9780863698163 | page=29}}</ref>
 * [[November 27]]
@@ Line 562: / Line 573: @@
 === Date unknown ===
+*[[Eliyahu Leon Levi]], Israeli Rabbi (d. [[2015]])
 *[[Astratijs Roškovs]],  Lithuanian-Russian-Latvian footballer
-*[[Eliyahu Leon Levi]], Israeli Rabbi
 == Deaths ==
@@ Line 586: / Line 597: @@
 === February ===
-[[File:Papst Pius XI. 1JS.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Pope Pius XI]]]]
+[[File:Pius XI, by Nicola Perscheid (retouched).jpg|thumb|100px|[[Pope Pius XI]]]]
-[[File:Henri Jaspar.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Henri Jaspar]]]]
+[[File:Henri Jaspar 1921.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Henri Jaspar]]]]
 * [[February 1]] &ndash; [[Lawrence Marston]], American actor, playwright, and film director (b. [[1857]])
 * [[February 3]] &ndash; [[Janez Frančišek Gnidovec]], Yugoslav [[Roman Catholic]] priest and venerable (b. [[1873]])
@@ Line 667: / Line 678: @@
 * [[May 13]] – [[Victor Bernau]], Norwegian actor, director (b. [[1890]])
 * [[May 14]]
-** [[Jesse Price]], American politician and member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1914 to 1919 (b. [[1863]])
+** [[Jesse Price (politician)|Jesse Price]], American politician and member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1914 to 1919 (b. [[1863]])
 * [[May 19]] &ndash; [[Ahmet Ağaoğlu]], Turkish politician, author and writer (b. [[1869]])
 * [[May 20]]
@@ Line 695: / Line 706: @@
 * [[June 25]] &ndash; [[Richard Seaman]], British motor racing driver (b. [[1913]])<ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Times]] |date=1939-06-27 |title=Obituary: Mr Richard Seaman |page=16|url=https://www.thetimes.com/archive/article/1939-06-27/16/9.html|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
 * [[June 26]] &ndash; [[Ford Madox Ford]], British writer (b. [[1873]])<ref>{{cite book|author1=August Nemo|author2=Camille Flammarion|title=Essential Novelists - Ford Madox Ford: The Redefinition of Modern Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UZugDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT3|date=3 July 2019|publisher=Tacet Books|isbn=978-85-7777-331-2|pages=3}}</ref>
-* [[June 27]] &ndash; [[Margaret Campbell]], American actress (b. [[1883]])
+* [[June 27]] &ndash; [[Margaret Campbell (actress)|Margaret Campbell]], American actress (b. [[1883]])
 * [[June 28]] &ndash; [[Bobby Vernon]], American actor (b. [[1898]])
 * [[June 30]] &ndash; [[Eduardo Lopez Bustamante]], Venezuelan poet, lawyer and journalist (b. [[1881]])
@@ Line 815: / Line 826: @@
 * [[November 15]]
 **[[Platon Ivanovich Ivanov]], Soviet-born Finnish civil servant (b. [[1863]])
-* [[November 16]] &ndash; [[Henry, Duke of Parma]] (d. [[1873]])
 * [[November 17]] &ndash; [[Aurelio Mosquera]], Ecuadorian politician, 25th [[President of Ecuador]] (b. [[1883]])
 * [[November 21]] &ndash; [[Émile Guépratte]], French admiral (b. [[1856]])<ref>{{cite book|title=Keesing's Contemporary Archives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MeMJAQAAMAAJ|year=1937|publisher=Keesing's Limited|page=3841}}</ref>

1939: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 20:35, 14 November 2025

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May–June

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September

October

November

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