Date in year · 1942 · The 1940s

May 26, 1942

On May 26, 1942, world War II: The Battle of Gazala begins, in present-day Libya. 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 May 26, 1942

  1. 1942 World War II: The Battle of Gazala begins, in present-day Libya.

    1942 battle during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II

    The Battle of Gazala, also the Gazala Offensive was fought near the village of Gazala during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops consisting of German and Italian units fought the British Eighth Army composed mainly of British Commonwealth, Indian and Free French troops.

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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