Directory

1940 CE

A year of catastrophic upheaval in Europe as Nazi Germany conquered France, the Low Countries, and Scandinavia, while Britain stood alone against the Blitz and the evacuation at Dunkirk became a symbol of defiance.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • Germany invaded Denmark and Norway in April, occupying Denmark within hours and beginning a two-month campaign in Norway that ended with Allied withdrawal.
  • Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on May 10, replacing Neville Chamberlain as the war crisis deepened.
  • France signed an armistice with Germany on June 22, splitting the country into German-occupied northern France and the Vichy regime under Marshal Pétain in the south.
  • The Tripartite Pact was signed on September 27 by Germany, Italy, and Japan, formally establishing the Axis alliance.
  • Leon Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico City on August 20 by a Soviet agent, ending the life of one of the leading figures of the Russian Revolution.
  • The Soviet Union annexed the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in June, incorporating them as Soviet republics.
  • President Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in the November presidential election, defeating Republican nominee Wendell Willkie.
  • The United States imposed an embargo on scrap iron and steel exports to Japan in September, escalating tensions between the two nations.
  • Italy declared war on France and Britain on June 10, entering the conflict as France was on the verge of collapse.
  • General Charles de Gaulle broadcast an appeal from London on June 18, calling on the French to continue the fight against Germany and founding the Free French movement.

Conflict & Security

  • The evacuation of Dunkirk took place from May 26 to June 4, rescuing over 338,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of northern France as German forces closed in.
  • The Battle of Britain raged from July to October as the Royal Air Force defended the country against sustained bombing campaigns by the German Luftwaffe.
  • The Blitz began on September 7 when Germany shifted to bombing London and other British cities, killing tens of thousands of civilians over the following months.
  • Germany launched its invasion of France and the Low Countries on May 10, overrunning the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in rapid armored advances.
  • The Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union ended on March 13 with the Moscow Peace Treaty, in which Finland ceded territory but preserved its independence.
  • The Battle of Britain reached its climax on September 15, when the Royal Air Force inflicted heavy losses on German bomber formations, leading Hitler to postpone invasion plans.
  • Italian forces invaded Egypt from Libya in September, beginning the North African campaign that would see British forces push them back to Cyrenaica by year's end.
  • Italy invaded Greece from Albania in October, but Greek forces repelled the attack and pushed the Italians back into Albanian territory.
  • The German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee had been scuttled in Montevideo harbor in December 1939, and in 1940 the Royal Navy continued hunting German surface raiders across the Atlantic.
  • The Soviet Union launched a war against Finland in November 1939, and the conflict's conclusion in March 1940 exposed weaknesses in the Red Army that emboldened German planning.

Economy & Finance

  • The United States began a major military buildup, with Congress approving billions of dollars for defense spending and naval expansion.
  • Britain introduced extensive wartime rationing of food, clothing, and fuel as German submarines threatened Atlantic supply lines.
  • The fall of France disrupted European trade networks and financial systems, leaving Britain increasingly dependent on supplies from the United States and its empire.
  • American industrial production increased sharply as factories began converting to military production and defense orders surged.
  • Japan's expansionist policies strained its trade relations with the West, particularly after the U.S. embargo on scrap metal exports.
  • Germany exploited the economies of occupied Europe, requisitioning resources and labor from conquered territories to fuel its war machine.
  • The U.S. unemployment rate fell to about 14.6 percent as defense spending and military mobilization began to absorb workers left jobless by the Depression.
  • Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1940, raising taxes to fund the growing military buildup.
  • The British government took control of foreign exchange and trade through wartime regulations, centralizing economic management for the war effort.
  • Gold reserves flowed from Europe to the United States as nations sought a safe haven for their assets amid the war.

Technology & Infrastructure

  • The cavity magnetron, developed in Britain by John Randall and Harry Boot, revolutionized radar technology by generating high-powered microwaves for more precise detection of aircraft and ships.
  • The Tizard Mission in September brought British secret military technology, including the cavity magnetron, to the United States for joint development.
  • The Pennsylvania Turnpike, one of the first long-distance limited-access highways in the United States, opened to traffic on October 1.
  • The jeep prototype was developed for the U.S. Army, with manufacturers competing to produce a lightweight reconnaissance vehicle.
  • Germany deployed the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and other advanced fighter aircraft during the Battle of Britain, while the British relied on the Spitfire and Hurricane.
  • Nylon stockings went on sale to the public in the United States on May 15, selling millions of pairs in the first year.
  • The first successful helicopter flight in the United States was made by Igor Sikorsky in the VS-300 prototype, demonstrating practical rotary-wing flight.
  • Color television was demonstrated by CBS engineer Peter Goldmark using a mechanical color system, though commercial broadcasting remained years away.
  • The Queens-Midtown Tunnel opened in New York City in November, connecting Manhattan to Queens beneath the East River.
  • British engineers developed early airborne radar systems that gave night fighters the ability to detect German bombers in darkness.

Science & Discovery

  • Plutonium was first produced and identified by Glenn Seaborg, Edwin McMillan, Joseph Kennedy, and Arthur Wahl at the University of California, Berkeley, in December.
  • Carbon-14 was discovered by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben at Berkeley, later enabling radiocarbon dating of archaeological and geological specimens.
  • Karl Landsteiner and Alexander Wiener identified the Rh factor in human blood, a discovery critical to safe blood transfusions and understanding of hemolytic disease in newborns.
  • The Lascaux cave paintings were discovered by teenagers in September in the Dordogne region of France, revealing spectacular prehistoric art estimated to be thousands of years old.
  • Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson synthesized neptunium, the first transuranium element, at the University of California, Berkeley.
  • Albert Einstein became a citizen of the United States, while continuing his work on unified field theory at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
  • British mathematician Alan Turing and others at Bletchley Park continued breaking German Enigma codes, providing critical intelligence for the Allied war effort.
  • Grote Reber published the first radio-frequency sky map, advancing the new field of radio astronomy.
  • Research into penicillin production advanced, with Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain at Oxford demonstrating the drug's therapeutic effectiveness in animal trials.
  • The National Defense Research Committee was established in the United States in June to coordinate scientific research for military purposes.

Health & Medicine

  • Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain successfully demonstrated penicillin's ability to cure bacterial infections in mice, paving the way for human clinical trials.
  • The grueling conditions of the Blitz created widespread trauma and injuries among British civilians, overwhelming hospitals in London and other cities.
  • Wartime rationing in Britain inadvertently improved public nutrition for the poorest citizens by ensuring more equitable distribution of food.
  • The U.S. Public Health Service expanded its programs to screen military recruits, identifying widespread health deficiencies among young Americans.
  • Blood transfusion services expanded in Britain to treat war casualties, with organized blood donation drives across the country.
  • Sulfonamide drugs remained the primary antibiotic treatment available to doctors, used widely for wound infections and bacterial diseases.
  • The Selective Service Act medical examinations revealed that a significant number of American men were unfit for military service due to poor dental health, malnutrition, and other conditions.
  • Malaria control programs expanded in tropical theaters of war, with quinine remaining the standard treatment for the disease.
  • Wartime disruptions impaired public health infrastructure across occupied Europe, increasing the spread of communicable diseases.
  • The U.S. government began investing in research to mass-produce penicillin for military use, anticipating the need for antibiotics on the battlefield.

Climate & Environment

  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations stood at approximately 309 parts per million.
  • The Armistice Day Blizzard struck the upper Midwest of the United States on November 11, dropping temperatures by as much as 50 degrees Fahrenheit in hours and killing dozens of people.
  • The Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State collapsed on November 7 due to wind-induced structural resonance, becoming a famous case study in engineering failure.
  • Wartime destruction in Europe devastated forests, farmland, and wildlife habitats across the continent.
  • The Tennessee Valley Authority continued its program of dam construction, flood control, and rural electrification in the southeastern United States.
  • Severe flooding affected parts of the eastern United States in the spring, causing significant damage along river systems.
  • Timber harvesting increased in many countries to meet wartime demands for construction materials, fuel, and other supplies.
  • Agricultural output in Europe was disrupted by the war, with occupied nations experiencing shortages and redirected food supplies.
  • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was established through a reorganization of federal conservation agencies.
  • Dust Bowl conditions in the American Great Plains had largely subsided by 1940, though soil conservation programs continued to restore damaged farmland.

Culture & Society

  • The world population stood at approximately 2.31 billion people.
  • Gone with the Wind won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 12th Academy Awards ceremony held on February 29.
  • Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Academy Award, receiving Best Supporting Actress for her role in Gone with the Wind at the February ceremony.
  • Ernest Hemingway published For Whom the Bell Tolls, a novel set during the Spanish Civil War that became a bestseller.
  • Bugs Bunny made his official debut in the Warner Bros. animated short A Wild Hare, directed by Tex Avery.
  • Richard Wright published Native Son, a landmark novel exploring racial injustice and violence in Depression-era Chicago.
  • The evacuation of children from London and other British cities continued under the government's programme to protect civilians from the Blitz.
  • Charlie Chaplin released The Great Dictator, a satirical film mocking Adolf Hitler and fascism.
  • The first McDonald's restaurant was opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California.
  • The summer Olympic Games, scheduled for Tokyo and then Helsinki, were canceled due to the war.