Date in year · 1942 · The 1940s

February 24, 1942

On February 24, 1942, seven hundred ninety-one Romanian Jewish refugees and crew members are killed after the MV Struma is torpedoed by the Soviet Navy. Michael Beloff, Robert Christgau, Jochen Rindt would arrive in the same year.

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1942

1940s

Around 1942

The year in brief

1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1942nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 942nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 42nd year of the 20th century, and the 3rd year of the 1940s decade.

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What happened

On February 24, 1942

  1. 1942 Seven hundred ninety-one Romanian Jewish refugees and crew members are killed after the MV Struma is torpedoed by the Soviet Navy.

    The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after around 1850, and more especially after the establishment of Greater Romania in the aftermath of World War I. A diverse community, albeit an overwhelmingly urban one, Jews were a target of religious persecution and racism in Romanian society from the late-19th century debate over the "Jewish Question" and the Jewish residents' right to citizenship, leading to the genocide carried out in the lands of Romania as part of the Holocaust.

  2. 1942 The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm leads to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasts into the early hours of February 25.

    Anti-aircraft shelling during WWII against an imagined invader

    The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which took place from late February 24, to early February 25, 1942, over Los Angeles, California. S. entered World War II in response to the Imperial Japanese Navy's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and one day after the bombardment of Ellwood near Santa Barbara on 23 February.

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1942

The class of 1942

Others born in 1942

Michael Beloff 1942– English lawyer and academic
Robert Christgau 1942– American journalist and critic
Jochen Rindt 1942– German-Austrian racing driver (died 1970)
Javier Solana 1942– Spanish physicist and politician, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs
John Ashcroft 1942– American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
David Gergen 1942– American political consultant (died 2025)

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