October 1940

[October 1], 1940 (Tuesday)

• The Wait for Me, Daddy photo was taken of The British Columbia Regiment by Claude P. Dettloff in New Westminster, Canada.
• Albert Einstein received his final American citizenship papers.
• The Pennsylvania Turnpike, the world's first long-distance controlled-access highway, opened to the public.
• Born:
• *Laura Bergt, Alaska Native activist and model, in Candle, Alaska
• *Richard Corben, illustrator and comic book artist, in Anderson, Missouri

  [October 2], 1940 (Wednesday)

• The Italian submarine Berillo was scuttled after it was attacked by British destroyers in the Mediterranean Sea.
• German submarine U-144 was commissioned.
• Born: Prince Muhammad bin Talal of Jordan, in Amman

  [October 3], 1940 (Thursday)

• Vichy France passed antisemitic legislation excluding Jews from most public and private occupations.
• Neville Chamberlain stepped down as Lord President of the Council due to failing health.
• Warsaw's Jews were directed to move into the Warsaw ghetto.
• Born: Jean Ratelle, ice hockey player, at Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec, Canada

  [October 4], 1940 (Friday)

• Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met at the Brenner Pass to discuss a strategy that included the possibility of Francoist Spain entering the war on their side. Mussolini had already decided to attack Greece and hinted at his intention by speaking scornfully of the attitude of the "double-dealing" Greek government, but Hitler brushed such talk aside and said that the Axis powers should avoid any initiative that was not "absolutely useful." Hitler did not reveal his intention to attack the Soviet Union.
• The Italian merchant ship Antonietta Costa collided with an unidentified vessel near Bari. It is believed that this was the British submarine Rainbow which sank.
• Herbert Morrison became UK Home Secretary.
• Fritzie Zivic beat Henry Armstrong for the world welterweight boxing title at Madison Square Garden.
• The biographical film Knute Rockne, All American starring Pat O'Brien and Ronald Reagan premiered in South Bend, Indiana.
• Born: Steve Swallow, jazz bassist and composer, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey

  [October 5], 1940 (Saturday)

• Richard Peirse replaced Charles Portal as Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command in the British Royal Air Force.
• Died: Ballington Booth, 83, Officer of the Salvation Army and co-founder of Volunteers of America; Lincoln Loy McCandless, 81, American industrialist and politician; Silvestre Revueltas, 40, Mexican composer, violinist and conductor

  [October 6], 1940 (Sunday)

• Mussolini made a surprise inspection of armed forces in northern Italy as the Fascist press predicted that "something big" was coming soon.
• Born: Sukumari, film actress, in Nagercoil, British India

  [October 7], 1940 (Monday)

• The Royal Air Force conducted its heaviest raid on Berlin to date.
• The No. 80 Wing was formed, the RAF's first electronic warfare unit.
• The McCollum memo was sent by Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum, suggesting that the United States provoke Japan into committing an act of war.

  [October 8], 1940 (Tuesday)

• A large number of German troops entered Romania to train the Romanian Army and protect the country's oil fields. Romania was now effectively under German occupation.
• Charles de Gaulle arrived in Douala, French Cameroons.
• The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series, edging the Detroit Tigers 2-1 in the seventh and decisive game.
• German submarine U-107 was commissioned.
• The John Ford-directed drama film The Long Voyage Home starring John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell and Ian Hunter premiered at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City.
• Died: Josef František,, 26, Czech fighter pilot

  [October 9], 1940 (Wednesday)

• Winston Churchill was elected head of the Conservative Party following the retirement of Neville Chamberlain.
• The Nazi administration in the occupied Netherlands banned Jews and half-Jews from public employment.
• Born: John Lennon, singer and songwriter, in Liverpool, England
• Died: Wilfred Grenfell, 75, English medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador

  [October 10], 1940 (Thursday)

• Hitler inaugurated an emergency program called the Luftschutz-Sofortprogramm to build protective shelters for the civilian population and essential personnel. Aiming to build 6,000 bunkers across 92 cities, it was the largest public works program in history.
• Fulgencio Batista became the 9th President of Cuba.
• Born: Stanley Mouse, artist, in Fresno, California
• Died: Berton Churchill, 63, Canadian actor

  [October 11], 1940 (Friday)

• The British battleship Revenge and six destroyers bombarded Cherbourg.
• Philippe Pétain gave a radio address suggesting to the French people that they reconsider their historic view of who was friend and who was foe among the European nations.
• The Technicolor musical film Down Argentine Way was released, introducing Carmen Miranda to the American public and making a star out of Betty Grable.
• Died: Santōka Taneda, 57, Japanese poet

  [October 12], 1940 (Saturday)

• The Battle of Cape Passero was fought southeast of Sicily. The Royal Navy clashed with several Italian ships which attacked them after a convoy mission to Malta, resulting in British victory.
• German submarine U-98 was commissioned.
• Died: Tom Mix, 60, American film actor

  [October 13], 1940 (Sunday)

• 14-year old Princess Elizabeth made her first public speech, a radio address to the children of the British Commonwealth. Her ten-year-old sister Princess Margaret joined in at the end.
• Vichy France abolished departmental councils.
• Born: Pharoah Sanders, jazz saxophonist, in Little Rock, Arkansas

  [October 14], 1940 (Monday)

• The Nationality Act of 1940 was signed into law in the United States.
• A German bomb exploded on the road above Balham station in south London, creating a large crater which a double-decker bus drove into during blackout conditions. A total of 66 people were killed and pictures of the bus in the crater were published around the world.
• King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited Neville Chamberlain on his deathbed.
• With the United States presidential election three weeks away, Charles Lindbergh made a radio speech attacking the Roosevelt Administration's record and appealing for the election of leaders "whose promises we can trust, who know where they are taking us, and who tell us where we are going." Lindbergh did not directly endorse Wendell Willkie or even mention him by name, but his position was unmistakable.
• Born: Cliff Richard, pop singer and actor, in Lucknow, United Provinces, British India

  [October 15], 1940 (Tuesday)

• The British submarine Triad was shelled and sunk south of Cape Colonne by the Italian submarine Enrico Toti.
• The Charlie Chaplin satirical film The Great Dictator premiered in New York City.
• Born: Peter C. Doherty, veterinary surgeon and Nobel laureate, in Brisbane, Australia
• Died: Lluís Companys, 58, President of Catalonia

  [October 16], 1940 (Wednesday)

• Vichy France outlawed the manufacture, export or movement of war materiel in French territory for the duration of the war.
• The Machita incident began in southern Arizona when U.S. officials raided an O'odham tribe that refused to enlist for the draft.
• Two Air Raid Precautions rescue workers were jailed for one year each at the Old Bailey for looting after they took £16 they found in a bombed-out house.
• Ramón Serrano Suñer was made Foreign Minister of Spain.
• German submarine U-145 was commissioned.
• Draft registration began in the United States.
• Born: Dave DeBusschere, basketball player, in Detroit, Michigan ; Ivan Della Mea, novelist, journalist, folk musician and political activist, in Lucca, Italy

  [October 17], 1940 (Thursday)

• Nissho Inoue was amnestied and released from prison despite receiving a life sentence in 1934 for his role in the League of Blood Incident.
• Born: Baron von Raschke, professional wrestler, in Omaha, Nebraska
• Died: George Davis, 70, American baseball player and manager; Florence Scovel Shinn, 69, American artist, illustrator and spiritual teacher

  [October 18], 1940 (Friday)

• Allied convoy SC 7 was intercepted by a U-boat wolfpack in the Western Approaches. 20 of the 35 cargo vessels were sunk in the ensuing battle.
• The British government reopened the Burma Road.
• Vichy France officially published its antisemitic laws.
• The Italian submarine Durbo was scuttled east of Gibraltar after being attacked by the British destroyers Firedrake and Wrestler.

  [October 19], 1940 (Saturday)

• North Atlantic convoy HX 79 lost 12 ships out of 49 from a U-boat attack.
• British destroyer Venetia struck a mine and sank in the Thames Estuary.
• The Hawaiian Air Force was established at Fort Shafter, Territory of Hawaii.
• "Only Forever" by Bing Crosby hit #1 on the Billboard singles chart.
• Born: Michael Gambon, Irish-born English actor, in Cabra, Dublin

  [October 20], 1940 (Sunday)

• Italian planes attacked oilfields in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
• The Italian submarine Lafolè was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea by three British destroyers.
• Heinrich Himmler went to Madrid and had a meeting with Francisco Franco.
• Born: Robert Pinsky, poet, essayist, literary critic and translator, in Long Branch, New Jersey

  [October 21], 1940 (Monday)

• Winston Churchill made a radio broadcast directed to the people of France. In a French-language address he appealed to them not to hinder Britain in the war against Germany, saying that "we are persevering steadfastly and in good heart in the cause of European freedom and fair dealing for the common people of all countries for which, with you, we draw the sword... Remember, we shall never stop, never weary, and never give in, and that our whole people and empire have bowed themselves to the task of cleansing Europe from the Nazi pestilence and saving the world from the new Dark Ages."
• The Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls was published.
• Born: Geoffrey Boycott, cricketer, in Fitzwilliam, West Yorkshire, England; Manfred Mann, rock musician, in Johannesburg, Union of South Africa