Date in year · 1940 · The 1940s

May 10, 1940

On May 10, 1940, world War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg. Susan Howatch, Willie John McBride, Tom Jones would arrive in the same year.

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1940

1940s

Around 1940

The year in brief

1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1940th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 940th year of the 2nd millennium, the 40th year of the 20th century, and the 1st year of the 1940s decade.

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What happened

On May 10, 1940

  1. 1940 World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.

    1939–1945 global conflict

    World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war.

  2. 1940 World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom occupies Iceland.

    British statesman and writer (1874–1965)

    Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. For some 62 of the years between 1900 and 1964, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) and represented a total of five constituencies over that time. Ideologically an adherent to economic liberalism and imperialism, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955.

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1940

The class of 1940

Others born in 1940

Susan Howatch 1940– English author and academic
Willie John McBride 1940– Northern Irish rugby player who toured with the British Lions five times
Tom Jones 1940– Welsh singer and actor
Ronald Pickup 1940– English actor (died 2021)
James L. Brooks 1940– American director, producer, and screenwriter
Susan Howatch 1940– English author and academic

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