| January 3 | WPG-AM in Atlantic City New Jersey consolidates with WBIL and WOV as "new" WOV |
| January 5 | FCC hears 1st transmission of FM radio with clear, static-free signal |
| January 5 | Finnish offensive at Suomossalmi against Russia |
| January 8 | Britain's 1st WW II rationing (bacon, butter and sugar) |
| January 9 | 2 German officers make emergency landing in Belgium |
| January 9 | J Thurber and E Nugent's "Male Animal," premieres in New York City |
| January 11 | Sergei Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet premieres in Leningrad |
| January 14 | Commissioner Kenesaw Landis gives free agency to 91 Detroit Tigers |
| January 14 | NFL Pro Bowl: Green Bay beats NFL All-Stars 16-7 |
| January 15 | German U-Boot torpedoes Dutch trade ship Arendskerk (Eagle's Church) |
| January 21 | Foreign correspondents in Netherlands under censorship |
| January 22 | 1st radio broadcast of "Road to Happiness" on CBS |
| January 23 | Pianist Ignaz Paderewski becomes premier of Polish government in exile |
| January 25 | Nazi decrees establishment of Jewish ghetto in Lodz Poland |
| January 26 | Nazi's forbid Polish Jews to travel on trains |
| January 27 | -17 degrees F (-27 degrees C), CCC Camp F-16, Georgia (state record) |
| January 30 | Benjamin Britten's "Lesson Illuminations" premieres in London |
| January 30 | Cor Jongert wins 6th Dutch 11 Cities Skating Race |
| January 30 | Hassett's second 122 of the game for Vic can't stop a NSW win |
| January 31 | 40 U boats sunk this month (111,000 ton) |
| January 31 | C Turney and J Horwin's "My Dear Children," premieres in New York City |
| February 1 | Russia begins new offensive against Finland |
| February 2 | Frank Sinatra's singing debut in Indianapolis, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra |
| February 5 | General Winckelman replaces General Reijnders as Dutch supreme commander |
| February 5 | Glenn Miller and his Orchestra record "Tuxedo Junction" |
| February 7 | British railroads nationalized |
| February 7 | Walt Disney's 2nd feature-length movie, "Pinocchio," premieres (New York City) |
| February 8 | Lewis and Hamilton's musical "Two for the Show," premieres in New York City |
| February 8 | Lodtz, 1st large ghetto established by Nazis in Poland |
| February 9 | Joe Louis beats Arturo Godoy in 15 for heavyweight boxing title |
| February 10 | "In The Mood" by Glenn Miller hits #1 |
| February 10 | Tom and Jerry created by Hanna and Barbera debut by MGM |
| February 10 | U.S. Female Figure Skating championship won by Joan Tozzer |
| February 10 | U.S. Male Figure Skating championship won by Eugene Turner |
| February 13 | Bradman scores 209* in 161 minutes for South Australia at the WACA |
| February 14 | British merchant vessel fleet is armed |
| February 16 | British search plane finds German Altmark off Norway |
| February 17 | Bradman scores 135 in a non-Shield match for SA vs. West Australia |
| February 17 | British destroyers board German Altmark off Norway |
| February 20 | Larry Clinton and his Orchestra record "Limehouse Blues" |
| February 22 | Finnish troops vacate Koivisto island |
| February 22 | German air force sinks 2 German destroyers, killing 578 |
| February 23 | Russian troops conquer Lasi Island |
| February 23 | Walt Disney's animated movie "Pinocchio," released |
| February 24 | Frances Langford records "When You Wish Upon a Star" |
| February 25 | 1st televised (W2XBS, New York City) hockey game (Rangers vs. Canadians) |
| February 26 | U.S. Air Defense Command forms at Mitchel Field, LI, New York |
| February 28 | 1st televised basketball game (University of Pittsburgh beats Fordham University, 50-37) |
| February 28 | Richard Wright's "Native Son" published |
| February 28 | U.S. population at 131,669,275 |
| February 29 | 45 U boats sunk this month (170,000 ton) |
| February 29 | Frederic from G and S "Pirates of Penzance" finally released by pirate |
| February 29 | "Gone with the Wind," wins 8 Oscars |
| February 29 | Hattie McDaniel becomes 1st black woman to win an Oscar |
| March 1 | 12th Academy Awards - "Gone with the Wind," R Donat and V Leigh win |
| March 1 | Richard Wright's novel "Native Son" is published |
| March 2 | 1st intercollegiate track meet telecast, MSG, New York City |
| March 2 | Soviet armies conquer Tuppura Island Finland |
| March 3 | Artie Shaw records "Frenesi" on RCA Victor label |
| March 6 | 1st U.S. telecast from an airplane, New York City |
| March 7 | Mont Canadiens lose record tying NHL 15th straight game at home |
| March 7 | Ray Steele beats B. Nagurski in St. Louis, to become wrestling champ |
| March 10 | 1st U.S. opera telecast, W2XBS, New York City, I Pagliacci |
| March 12 | Finland surrenders to Russia during WW II, gives Karelische Isthmus |
| March 13 | Finland-Russian cease fire signed, Finland gives up Karelische |
| March 14 | 27 killed, 15 injured when truck full of migrant workers collides with a train outside McAllen, Texas |
| March 15 | Goering says 100-200 church bells enough for Germany, smelt the rest |
| March 16 | German air raid on British fleet base Scapa Flow |
| March 18 | Mussolini joins Hitler in Germany's war against France and Britain |
| March 19 | Failed British air raid on German base at Sylt |
| March 19 | French government of Daladier, falls |
| March 20 | Paul Reynoud becomes French premier |
| March 23 | 1st radio broadcast of "Truth or Consequences" on CBS |
| March 23 | All-India-Moslem League calls for a Moslem homeland |
| March 26 | Ernest Hemingway and Benjamin Glazer premiere in New York City |
| March 27 | Himmler orders building of Auschwitz concentration camp, at Katowice |
| March 29 | Joe Louis KOs Johnny Paycheck in 2 to retain heavyweight boxing title |
| March 30 | 2nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana U beats Kansas 60-42 |
| March 31 | Karelo-Finnish SSR becomes 12th Soviet republic (until 1956) |
| April 4 | R Rodgers/Lorenz Hart's "Higher and Higher," premieres in New York City |
| April 7 | 7th Golf Masters Championship: Jimmy Demaret wins, shooting a 280 |
| April 7 | Booker T. Washington, 1st black to appear on U.S. stamp |
| April 8 | Germany battle cruisers sink British aircraft carrier Glorious |
| April 9 | German cruiser Blucher torpedoed and capsizes in Oslofjord, 1,000 die |
| April 9 | Germany invades Norway and Denmark during WW II, Denmark surrenders |
| April 10 | Vidkun Quisling forms Norwegian "national government" |
| April 12 | Italy annexes Albania |
| April 12 | NFL cuts clipping penalty from 25 yards to 15 yards |
| April 13 | 2nd battle of Narvik-8 German destroyers, destroyed |
| April 13 | Cornelious Warmerdam became 1st man to pole vault 15 ft |
| April 13 | Stanley Cup: New York Rangers beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 2 |
| April 14 | Allied troops land in Norway |
| April 14 | RCA demonstrated its new electron microscope in Philadelphia |
| April 15 | British troops land at Narvik, Norway |
| April 16 | 1st televised baseball game, WGN-TV, (White Sox vs Cubs exhibition) |
| April 16 | Cleveland Indian Bob Feller hurls an opening day no-hitter vs Chic, 1-0 |
| April 16 | Heitor Villa-Lobos' opera "Izaht," premieres in Rio de Janeiro |
| April 19 | 44th Boston Marathon won by Gerard Cote of Canada in 2:28:28.6 |
| April 19 | Dutch prime minister De Geer declares state of siege |
| April 19 | "Lake Shore Ltd" derails speed killing 34 near Little Falls NY |
| April 20 | 1st electron microscope demonstrated (RCA), Philadelphia, Pa |
| April 21 | 1st $64 Question, "Take It or Leave It," on CBS Radio |
| April 21 | Netherlands beats Belgium 4-2 in soccer |
| April 22 | Rear Admiral Joseph Taussig testifies before U.S. Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan is inevitable |
| April 23 | Dance hall fires kills 198 (Natchez Miss) |
| April 23 | New York Yankees dedicate a plaque to Jacob Rupert |
| April 27 | Himmler orders establishment of Auschwitz Concentration Camp |
| April 28 | Glenn Miller records "Pennsylvania 6-5000" |
| April 28 | Rudolf Hess becomes commandant of concentration camp Auschwitz |
| April 29 | 1st radio broadcast of "Young Dr. Malone" on CBS |
| April 29 | Norwegian King Haakon and government flees to England |
| April 29 | Robert Sherwood's "There Shall be No Night," premieres in New York City |
| April 30 | Brooklyn Dodger Tex Carleton no-hits Cincinnati Reds, 3-0 |
| May 1 | The 1940 Olympics are cancelled |
| May 4 | 21 "not neutral" nazis and communists arrested in Netherlands |
| May 4 | 66th Kentucky Derby: Carroll Bierman aboard Gallahadion wins in 2:05 |
| May 5 | Norwegian government in exile forms in London |
| May 6 | Pulitzer prize awarded to John Steinbeck (Grapes of Wrath) |
| May 7 | Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Britain |
| May 10 | British Local Defense Volunteers (Home Guard) forms |
| May 10 | Dutch torpedo boat Johan van Galen sinks |
| May 10 | Dutch-Indies Governor Van Starkenborch proclaims end to state of siege |
| May 10 | French marines stationed on Aruba |
| May 10 | French troops arrive in Zealand/Brabant Netherlands |
| May 10 | Nazi armies attack Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg |
| May 10 | Winston Churchill succeeds Neville Chamberlain as British PM |
| May 11 | 66th Preakness: Fred A Smith aboard Bimelech wins in 1:58.6 |
| May 11 | New York World's Fair reopens |
| May 12 | French mariners occupy St. Maarten |
| May 12 | German tanks conquer Moerdijkbrug |
| May 12 | Nazi blitz conquest of France began by crossing Muese River |
| May 13 | British bomb factory at Breda |
| May 13 | Churchill says "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" |
| May 13 | Dutch Queen Wilhelmina flees to England |
| May 13 | German breakthrough at Grebbelinie |
| May 14 | Admiral Furstner departs to England |
| May 14 | Boston's Jimmie Foxx HR goes over Comiskey Park's left field roof |
| May 14 | German breakthrough at Sedan |
| May 14 | Lord Beaverbrook appointed British minister of aircraft production |
| May 14 | Nazi bombs Rotterdam (600-900 dead), Netherlands surrender to Germany |
| May 15 | 1st nylon stockings sold in U.S. |
| May 15 | 1st successful helicopter flight in US: Vought-Sikorsky US-300 |
| May 15 | German armour division moves into Northern France |
| May 15 | German troops occupy Amsterdam, General Winkelman surrenders |
| May 15 | Nazi's capture General Dutch Persbureau (ANP) |
| May 15 | Premier Winston Churchill flies to Paris |
| May 16 | Nazi's forbid non-professional auto workers |
| May 16 | Premier Winston Churchill returns to London from Paris |
| May 17 | Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium and begins invasion of France |
| May 17 | Nazi's bombs Middelburg/B IJzerdrat begins illegal defiance |
| May 18 | German troops conquer Brussels |
| May 19 | Amsterdam time becomes MET (Middle European Time) |
| May 19 | French counter attack at Peronne under General De Gaulle |
| May 20 | General Guderians tanks reach The Channel (British expeditionary army) |
| May 20 | Igor Sikorsky unveils his helicopter invention |
| May 20 | Soccer team HZVV forms in Hoogeveen |
| May 20 | Trailing 7-1 in 9th to Pitts, Phils win 8-7 |
| May 21 | Allied counter attack at Atrecht North-France |
| May 21 | AVRO-chairman Willem Vogt fires all Jewish employees |
| May 21 | Reynaud forms French government |
| May 22 | Dutch Premier De Geer begins working with nazis |
| May 22 | Premier Winston Churchill flies to Paris |
| May 23 | 1st great dogfight between Spitfires |
| May 24 | 1st night game at New York's Polo Grounds (Giants 8, Braves 1) |
| May 24 | 1st night game at St. Louis Sportsman Park (Indians 3, Browns 2) |
| May 24 | Dutch army demobilizes |
| May 24 | Dutch Queen Wilhelmina speaks on BBC radio |
| May 24 | German tanks reach Atrecht France |
| May 24 | Hitler affirms General von Rundstedts "Stopbevel" |
| May 24 | New York Giants rip Boston Bees 8-1 in 1st night game at Polo Grounds |
| May 25 | German troops conquer Boulogne |
| May 25 | Golden Gate International Expo reopens |
| May 26 | Operation Dynamo begins evacuating defeated Allied troops from Dunkirk |
| May 27 | British and French begin evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo) |
| May 28 | Belgium surrenders to Germany, King Leopold III gives himself up |
| May 28 | British-French troops capture Narvik Norway |
| May 28 | Irving Berlin's musical "Louisiana Purchase," premieres in New York City |
| May 29 | Adolf Kiefer swims world record 100 yards backstroke (58.8 sec) |
| May 29 | Arthur Seyss-Inquart installed as Reich commissar of Hague, Netherlands |
| May 29 | In WW II, Germans capture Ostend and Ypres in Belgium and Lille in France |
| May 31 | General-major Bernard Montgomery leaves Duinkerken |
| May 31 | Premier Winston Churchill flies to Paris |
| June 1 | Coffee and tea rationed in Holland |
| June 1 | General-major Bernard Montgomery returns to London |
| June 1 | Nazi occupiers kick Jews out of Dutch air guard |
| June 2 | Heavy German bombing on Dunkirk beach |
| June 3 | Last British/French troop leave Dunkirk |
| June 4 | 1st night game at Forbes Field (Pirates 14, Braves 2) |
| June 4 | 1st NL night game at Sportsman's Park (Dodgers 10, Cardinals 1) |
| June 4 | British complete miracle of Dunkirk by evacuating 300,000 troops |
| June 4 | German forces enter Paris |
| June 4 | The synthetic rubber tire unveiled |
| June 4 | Winston Churchill says "We shall fight on the seas and oceans" |
| June 5 | 1st synthetic rubber tire exhibited Akron Oh |
| June 5 | Battle of France begins in WW II |
| June 5 | General De Gaulle becomes under minister of Defense |
| June 5 | General Von Bock starts German offensive in Somme |
| June 5 | Governor of Suriname and Netherlands Antilles refuse entry to Jewish refugees |
| June 5 | Netherlands rations petroleum |
| June 7 | British/French troops evacuate Narvik |
| June 8 | 72nd Belmont: Fred A Smith aboard Bimelech wins in 2:29.6 |
| June 8 | Discovery of element 93, neptunium, announced |
| June 8 | Last British troops leave Narvik, Norway |
| June 9 | 44th U.S. Golf Open: Lawson Little shoots a 287 at Canterbury Golf Club Ohio |
| June 9 | General Charles de Gaulle's 1st meeting with Winston Churchill |
| June 9 | Norway surrenders to Germany during WW II |
| June 10 | French government moves to Bordeaux |
| June 10 | German "Dutch Q-ship Atlantis" sinks Norwegian tanker |
| June 10 | German 5th Armour division occupies Rouen |
| June 10 | Italy declares war on France and Britain during WW II |
| June 11 | Italy declares war on allies/raids Malta |
| June 11 | Premier Winston Churchill flies to Orleans |
| June 13 | Paris evacuates before German advance |
| June 14 | Auschwitz concentration camp opens, 3 million killed there |
| June 14 | German forces occupied Paris during WW II |
| June 14 | German U-47 sinks airship Balmoral |
| June 15 | 38 Italians Fiat bombers bomb Luc-and-Province |
| June 15 | Bread and flour rationed in Holland |
| June 15 | France surrenders to Hitler, German troops occupy Paris |
| June 15 | Soviet Army occupies Lithuania |
| June 16 | Communist government installed in Lithuania |
| June 16 | General De Gaulle arrives in Bordeaux |
| June 17 | France asks Germany for terms of surrender in WW II |
| June 17 | General De Gaulle departs Bordeaux for London |
| June 17 | Germany occupiers ration bread in Holland |
| June 17 | U.S.S.R. occupies Estonia |
| June 18 | General Charles de Gaulle on BBC tells French to defy nazi occupiers |
| June 18 | German occupiers slaughter cattle, pigs and chickens |
| June 18 | Winston Churchill urges perseverance so that future generations would remember that "this was their finest hour" |
| June 19 | "Brenda Starr," 1st cartoon strip by a woman, appears in Chicago |
| June 19 | German 7th Armour division under General-Major Rommel occupies Cherbourg |
| June 19 | Goering orders seizure of Dutch horses, car, buses and ships |
| June 20 | Joe Louis TKOs Arturo Godoy in 8 for heavyweight boxing title |
| June 21 | German occupiers disband Dutch States-General/Council of State |
| June 22 | France falls to Nazi Germany; armistice signed, France disarms |
| June 22 | SS rounds up 31 German/Polish/Dutch Jews in Roermond, Netherlands |
| June 23 | Marcel Louette seeks opposition group "White Brigade" on Antwerp |
| June 24 | France signs an armistice with Italy during WW II |
| June 25 | Adolf Hitler views Eiffel tower and grave of Napoleon in France |
| June 26 | End of U.S.S.R. experimental calendar; Gregorian readopted 6/27 |
| June 27 | Soviet Army attacks Romania |
| June 27 | U.S.S.R. returns to Gregorian calendar |
| June 28 | "Quiz Kids?" premieres on radio |
| June 28 | Romania cedes Bessarabia to Soviet Union |
| June 29 | Anjer (Carnation) Day-anniversary of Prince Bernhard |
| June 29 | Batman Comics, mobsters rubbed out a circus highwire team known as the Flying Graysons, leaving their son Dick (Robin) an orphan |
| June 29 | U.S. passes Alien Registration Act requiring Aliens to register |
| June 30 | 58 U-boats (284,000 ton) sunk this month |
| June 30 | "Brenda Starr" cartoon strip, by Dale Messick, 1st appears |
| June 30 | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forms |
| July 1 | Australia refuses entry to Dutch Jewish refugees |
| July 2 | Dutch Prime Minister Colijn publishes "Borders of 2 Worlds" (German victory) |
| July 2 | Hitler orders invasion of England |
| July 2 | Lake Washington (Seattle) Floating bridge dedicated |
| July 3 | ARP-leader/ex-premier Colijn argues cooperation with Germany |
| July 3 | British Royal Navy sinks French fleet in North Africa |
| July 3 | German occupiers forbids using Dutch royal names |
| July 4 | British destroys French battle fleet at Oran, Algeria, 1267 die |
| July 4 | German occupiers forbids anti-nazis speeches |
| July 5 | Diplomatic relations broken between Britain and Vichy government in France |
| July 9 | 8th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 4-0 at Sportsman's Park, St. Louis |
| July 9 | German Evangelist Church protests against euthanasia pogroms |
| July 9 | RAF bombs Germany |
| July 10 | Battle of Britain began as Nazi forces attacked by air, 114 days |
| July 10 | German planes attack British ships in the Canal |
| July 11 | British and German dogfight above Lyme Bay |
| July 14 | Due to beanball wars, Spalding advertises batting helmet with earflaps |
| July 14 | Lithuania becomes Lithuanian SSR |
| July 15 | 1st betatron placed in operation, Urbana, Ilinois |
| July 15 | Nazi occupiers seize library of IISG Amsterdam |
| July 16 | NSB'er Woudenberg appointed as NVV-trustee |
| July 18 | 1st successful helicopter flight, Stratford, Connecticut |
| July 18 | British government signs Bruma law under Japanese pressure |
| July 18 | Democratic Convention nominates Franklin D. Roosevelt for a 3rd term |
| July 19 | Hitler orders Great Britain to surrenders |
| July 19 | Nazi occupiers imprison 231 prominent Dutch citizens in Buchenwald |
| July 19 | Nazi occupiers in Netherlands forbid anti-nazi films |
| July 20 | Billboard publishes its 1st singles record chart (#1 is "I'll Never Smile Again" by Tommy Dorsey) |
| July 20 | Germany occupiers forbid Dutch Communist Party (CPN) in Netherlands |
| July 20 | Nazi collaborator Rost of Tonningen appointed director of Marxist |
| July 21 | Soviet Union annexes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania |
| July 21 | VARA-management accepts Rost of Tonningens demands |
| July 22 | Dutch prime minister De Geer meets Hitler seeking peace talks |
| July 23 | "Blitz" all-night air raid by German bombers on London begins |
| July 24 | 1st illegal "Newsletter of Pieter It Hen" publishes in Netherlands |
| July 24 | Linthorst Homan, de Quay and Einthoven forms Dutch Union |
| July 25 | John Sigmund begins swimming for 89 hours 46 minutes in the Mississippi River |
| July 27 | Billboard magazine starts publishing bestseller charts |
| July 27 | Bugs Bunny debuts in "Wild Hare" |
| July 28 | Radio Orange, London begins |
| July 28 | Yankee Charlie Keller hits 3 home runs to beat White Sox 10-9 |
| July 29 | Urk soccer team forms |
| July 31 | 38 U boats sinks this month (196,000 ton) |
| July 31 | Riech's commissar Seyss-Inquart bans homosexuals |
| August 2 | Clermont-Ferrand sentences General Charles de Gaulle to death |
| August 2 | KL-House of saxon and commandos focus on Gross Rosen, Silesia |
| August 3 | German occupiers forbid ritual slaughters and English and French movies |
| August 3 | Italian troops invade British Somalia |
| August 3 | Lithuanian SSR is accepted into U.S.S.R. |
| August 3 | Seaplane Clare makes 1st British passagiersvlucht to the U.S. |
| August 5 | "Acquaintance" blows-up Zandvoortse synagouge |
| August 5 | St. Louis Brown John Whitehead no-hits Detroit Tigers, 4-0 in 6 innings |
| August 6 | Estonia is annexed into Soviet empire |
| August 7 | Churchill recognizes De Gaulle government in exile |
| August 7 | Largest amount paid for a stamp ($45,000 for 1 cent 1856 British Guiana) |
| August 8 | 31 German aircraft shot down over England |
| August 8 | Battle of Britain began as Germany launches air attacks |
| August 10 | Prince Bernhard Fund forms |
| August 11 | 38 German aircrafts shot down above England |
| August 11 | German air raid on British harbors Portland/Weymouth |
| August 12 | Luftwaffe bombs British radar stations, loses 31 aircrafts |
| August 12 | Netherlands starts rationing textile |
| August 13 | Germany air attack on South England (Battle of Britain begins) |
| August 13 | Goering's "Adler Tag" 45-48 German aircrafts shotdown over South-Engld |
| August 14 | Dutch Premier De Geer vacations in Switzerland |
| August 15 | 1st edition of Jewish Weekly newspaper in Amsterdam (under Nazi) |
| August 15 | Heavy dogfights above England: 75 German aircrafts damaged |
| August 16 | 45 German aircrafts shot down over England |
| August 17 | Franklin D. Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister William M. King agree to joint defense commission |
| August 17 | Hitler orders total blockade of Great Britain |
| August 18 | 71 German aircrafts shot down above England |
| August 20 | 1st Polish squadrons fight along in the Battle of Britain |
| August 20 | British Prime Minister Churchill says of Royal Air Force, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" |
| August 20 | Leon Trotsky, revolutionary, icepicked by Frank Jackson, dies Aug 21 |
| August 23 | German Luftwaffe begins night bombing on London |
| August 23 | Queen Wilhelmina fires premier De Geer |
| August 24 | Luftwaffe bombs London |
| August 24 | Red Sox left fielder Ted Williams pitches the last 2 innings in a 12-1 loss to Detroit Tigers, Williams allows 3 hits and 1 run |
| August 25 | 1st (British) night bombing of Germany (Berlin) |
| August 25 | 1st parachute wedding |
| August 25 | Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia incorporated into Soviet Union |
| August 26 | RKC soccer team forms in Waalwijk |
| August 27 | Caproni-Campini CC-2, experimental jet plane, maiden flight (Milan) |
| August 28 | French colonies Cameroon/Congo-Brazzaville support General De Gaulle |
| August 29 | 7th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Green Bay 45, All-Stars 28 (84,567) |
| August 31 | 1st edition pf illegal opposition newspaper Free Netherlands |
| August 31 | 56 U-boats sunk this month (268,000 ton) |
| August 31 | Fighter Command loses 39/Luftwaffe 41 airplanes |
| August 31 | German occupiers in Netherlands begin soap ration |
| August 31 | U.S. National Guard assembles |
| September 1 | General George Marshall sworn in as chief of staff of U.S. army |
| September 2 | 23rd PGA Championship: Byron Nelson at Hershey CC Hershey Pa |
| September 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park dedicated |
| September 3 | 1st showing of color TV |
| September 3 | 39.4 CM rainfall at Sapulpa Oklahoma (state record) |
| September 3 | Hitler orders invasion in England on Sept 21 (Operation-Seelowe) |
| September 3 | Netherlands government in exile of Gerbrandy forms London |
| September 3 | Sicherheits police bans Free masons, Rotary and Red Cross |
| September 3 | U.S. gives Britain 50 destroyers in exchange for Newfoundland base lease |
| September 4 | Gerbrandy becomes premier of Dutch government in exile |
| September 4 | Mussert sends telegram, that Hitler has captured the Dutch |
| September 4 | Nazi collaborator Mussert puts the fate of Netherlands in Hitler's hands |
| September 6 | Crown prince Michael succeeds Carol II as king of Romania |
| September 6 | Generalissimo Gamelin arrested in France |
| September 7 | 54th U.S. Womens Tennis: Alice Marble beats Helen Hull Jacobs (62 63) |
| September 7 | 60th U.S. Mens Tennis: McNeill beats Robert Riggs (46 68 63 63 75) |
| September 7 | German Air Force blitz London for 1st of 57 consecutive nights |
| September 7 | Luftwaffe loses 41 bombers above England |
| September 9 | 28 German aircraft shot down above England |
| September 9 | 60th U.S. Mens Tennis: W D McNeill beats Robert L Riggs (46 68 63 63 75) |
| September 11 | 54th Postmaster General: Frank C. Walker of Pennsylvania takes office |
| September 11 | Anton Mussert establishes Dutch SS |
| September 11 | Hitler begins operation-Seelowe (invasion England) |
| September 12 | 4 teens, following their dog down a hole near Lascaux France discover 17,000-year-old drawings now known as Lascaux Cave Paintings |
| September 12 | 49 die and 200 injured when Hercules Powder Co plant explodes (NJ) |
| September 12 | Italian troops enter Egypt |
| September 13 | Italian troops under Marshal Graziani attack Egypt |
| September 14 | Congress passes 1st peace-time draft law |
| September 14 | German bomb hits shelter in Chelsea; 100s die |
| September 15 | 3rd American Football League plays 1st game (Milw 14, Columbus 2) |
| September 15 | Chicago Tribune sponsors Ted Lyons Day (White Sox pitcher) |
| September 15 | Luftwaffe bombs Bristol Aeroplane Company |
| September 15 | Prime Minister Winston Churchill visits #11 Fighter Group |
| September 15 | Tide turns in Battle of Britain in WW II, RAF beats Luftwaffe |
| September 16 | Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Selective Training and Service Act (1st peacetime draft) |
| September 16 | Leo Durocher suspended from Ebbetts Field for "inciting a riot" |
| September 16 | Luftwaffe attacks center of London |
| September 16 | Samuel T. Rayburn of Texas elected speaker of House |
| September 16 | St. Louis Browns Johnny Lucadello is 2nd to HR from each side of plate |
| September 17 | Hitler begins invasion of England (operation Seelowe) |
| September 17 | Nazis deprive Jews of possessions |
| September 18 | 19 German aircrafts shot down above England |
| September 18 | Elmer Harris' "Johnny Belinda," premieres in New York City |
| September 18 | Italian troops conquer Sidi Barrani |
| September 19 | Nazi decree forbids gentile woman to work in Jewish homes |
| September 23 | Dutch nazi collaborator Mussert's 1st meeting with Hitler |
| September 23 | French/British assault on French fleet in Dakar, flees |
| September 24 | Jimmy Foxx hits his 500th career HR |
| September 24 | Luftwaffe bombs Spitfire-factory in Southampton |
| September 25 | German High Commissioner in Norway sets up Vidkun Quisling government |
| September 25 | Luftwaffe bombs Spitfire-factory in Southampton |
| September 26 | Airplane manufacturer in Woolston bombed, 30 killed |
| September 26 | Japanese troops attack French Indo-China |
| September 27 | 55 German aircraft shot down above England |
| September 27 | Black leaders protest discrimination in U.S. Armed Forces |
| September 27 | Floyd Giebells, 1st game, 2-0 pennant clinching beating Bob Feller |
| September 27 | Nazi-Germany, Italy and Japan sign 10 year formal alliance (Axis) |
| September 27 | Yankees, lose to A's and eliminated from pennant for 1st time since 1935 |
| September 28 | Bud Brennan, a fan at Memorial Stadium, races out of stands and attempts to tackle Tom Harmon at 3-yard line, Harmon easily evades Brennan |
| September 28 | Michigan's Tom Harmon runs 72, 86 and 94 yard touchdowns |
| September 28 | Nazi occupiers present "New Dutch Culture" in German |
| September 29 | 1st U.S. merchant ship "Booker T Washington" commanded by a black captain (Hugh Mulzac), launched at Wilmington Delaware |
| September 29 | "Double or Nothing," a radio quiz show, 1st heard on Mutual Radio Net |
| September 29 | "Strike Up Band," opens |
| September 30 | 47 German aircrafts shot down above England |
| September 30 | 59 U-boats sunk this month (295,000 tons) |
| October 1 | Pennsylvania Turnpike, pioneer toll thruway, opens |
| October 2 | 17 German aircrafts shot down above England |
| October 2 | British Council receives British Charter |
| October 2 | British liner Empress loaded with refugees for Canada, sunk |
| October 3 | France Vichy government proclaims end to Jewish status |
| October 3 | Reds beat Tigers ending NL's 10-game World Series losing streak |
| October 3 | U.S. forms parachute troops |
| October 4 | 12 German aircraft shot down above England |
| October 4 | Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini confer at Brenner Pass in Alps |
| October 4 | French Vichy-regime proclaims end of "Statut of the Juifs" |
| October 4 | Wrestling returns to Madison Square Garden after 12 year lay off |
| October 6 | Zoological Gardens opens on Sloat and Skyline in SF |
| October 7 | Reds Bucky Walters is 1st pitcher in 14 years to homer in World Series |
| October 8 | Cincinnati Reds beat Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 3, in 37th World Series |
| October 8 | German troops occupies Romania |
| October 12 | Hitler begins operation-Seelowe (invasion of England) |
| October 15 | Heavy German air raid on London, 400 killed |
| October 15 | London's Waterloo Station bombed by Germans |
| October 16 | Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr named 1st black general in regular army |
| October 16 | Lottery for 1st U.S. WW II draftees held; #158 drawn 1st |
| October 16 | Warsaw Ghetto forms |
| October 17 | German occupiers issue identity cards |
| October 18 | Kaufman and Harts "George Washington Slept Here," premieres in New York City |
| October 20 | Cheese rationed in Netherlands |
| October 20 | Greenhouse rationing begins in Netherlands |
| October 21 | RAF drops 1st anti-nazi pamphlets on Netherlands |
| October 24 | 40 hour work week goes into effect (Fair Labor Standards of 1938) |
| October 24 | Hitler meets Marshal Petain |
| October 24 | Japan eliminates U.S. terms (strike, play ball) from baseball |
| October 24 | Protestant churches protest against dismissal of Jew civil servants |
| October 25 | Benjamin O. Davis became 1st Black general in U.S. Army |
| October 25 | Col Bo Davis attains rank of Brigadier General |
| October 25 | Duke, Latouche and Felter's musical premieres in New York City |
| October 25 | U.S. Army General Benjamin Davis becomes 1st black general |
| October 28 | Greece successfully resists Italy's attack |
| October 28 | Meeting between Hitler and Mussolini in Florence |
| October 29 | Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson drew 1st number-158-in 1st peacetime military draft in U.S. history |
| October 30 | Cole Porters musical "Panama hattie," premieres in New York City |
| October 31 | 63 U boats sunk this month (325,000 ton) |
| October 31 | Battle of Britain: Germany and Britair control of English Channel, ends |
| October 31 | Deadline for Warsaw Jews to move into Warsaw Ghetto |
| November 1 | 1st U.S. air raid shelter, Fleetwood, Pa |
| November 1 | Dutch "Curfew" forms (12 AM - 4 AM) |
| November 4 | Eggs and cake rationed in Netherlands |
| November 5 | Dutch submarine departs Dundee |
| November 5 | President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) wins unprecedented 3rd term beating Wendell Willkie (R) |
| November 5 | Walter Johnson, won 416 games for Washington Senators, loses Maryland congressional race (R) |
| November 6 | Franklin D. Roosevelt re-elected president |
| November 7 | Stravinsky's Symfonie in C premieres in Chicago |
| November 7 | Tacoma Narrows (Galloping Gertie) Bridge collapses, Wash |
| November 8 | RAF bombs Munich |
| November 9 | Germany invades Norway and Denmark in WW II |
| November 10 | Pittsburgh and Philadelphia play a penalty free NFL game |
| November 11 | 1,000s Paris students lay reath at Grave of Unknown Soldier |
| November 11 | Blizzard strikes midwestern U.S. killing over 100 |
| November 11 | British air attack destroys half of Italian fleet |
| November 11 | Willys unveiled its General Purpose vehicle - Jeep |
| November 12 | Blizzard strikes midwest, 154 die (69 on boat on Great Lakes) |
| November 13 | Walt Disney's "Fantasia" released |
| November 14 | During WW II, German planes destroy most of Coventry, England |
| November 15 | 1st 75,000 men called to armed forces duty during peacetime |
| November 15 | 1st black to sign hockey contract-Arthur Dorrington and AC Seagulls |
| November 15 | New York Midtown tunnel linking Manhattan and Queens opens to traffic |
| November 17 | Green Bay Packers become 1st NFL team to travel by plane |
| November 18 | George Matesky Mad Bomber's 1st time-bomb |
| November 19 | Belgian King Leopold III visits Adolf Hitler |
| November 19 | German air raid on Birmingham fails |
| November 20 | German air raid on Birmingham fails |
| November 20 | Hungary joins 3 Power pact |
| November 21 | Nazi occupiers forbid building schools in Netherlands |
| November 22 | 500 students in Delft demonstrate against nazis |
| November 23 | 1st edition of illegal "The Truth" publishes |
| November 23 | Romania signs Driemogendheden pact |
| November 25 | Patria, carrying illegal immigrants, sinks in port of Haifa, 200 die |
| November 25 | University of Michigan retires Tom Harmon's #98 |
| November 25 | Woody Woodpecker debuts with release of Walter Lantz's "Knock Knock" |
| November 26 | Leidse students strike |
| November 26 | Nazi Germany began walling off the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw |
| November 27 | 6th Heisman Trophy Award: Tom Harmon, Michigan (HB) |
| November 27 | Nazis signs Technical Hague court Delft |
| November 28 | Cleveringa arrested by nazis |
| November 30 | 32 U boats sunk this month (147,000 ton) |
| November 30 | Lucille Ball weds Desi Arnaz |
| December 6 | Gestapo arrest German resistance fighter/poster artist Helen Ernst |
| December 6 | Pietro Badoglio resigns as viceroy of Ethiopia |
| December 7 | North Africa: British counter offensive under general O'Connor |
| December 8 | 1st NFL championship on national radio; Bears beat Redskins 73-0 |
| December 9 | British assault on Banghazi Libya |
| December 9 | British troops 1st major offensive in No Africa (Libya) during WW II |
| December 9 | Illeagal Jewish immigrants to Haifa are deported to Mauritius |
| December 9 | South Australia all out for 47 vs. NSW, O'Reilly 5-11 |
| December 10 | British anti-offensive in Libya (Sidi Barrani) |
| December 11 | Russian general Zhukov warns of German assault |
| December 12 | British troops conquer Sidi el-Barrani |
| December 16 | British air raid on Mannheim |
| December 16 | Joe Louis KOs Al McCoy in 6 for heavyweight boxing title in Chicago |
| December 17 | British troops occupies Sollum |
| December 20 | Connie Mack acquires controlling interest in the Athletics for $42,000 |
| December 23 | John Van Druten's "Old Acquaintance," premieres in New York City |
| December 25 | Bradman out 1st ball for SA vs. Victoria before 6213 |
| December 25 | Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Harts "Pal Joey," premieres in New York City |
| December 26 | 1st-class debut of Arthur Morris, who scores 148 |
| December 26 | JA Fields/J Chodorov's "My Sister Eileen," premieres in New York City |
| December 28 | Arthur Morris scores 111 in 2nd innings of 1st game after 148 |
| December 29 | Germany begins dropping incendiary bombs on London (WW II) |
| December 29 | NFL Pro Bowl: Chi Bears beats NFL All-Stars 28-14 |
| December 30 | California's 1st freeway, (Arroyo Seco Parkway), opens |
| December 31 | 37 U boats sunk this month (213,000 ton) |
