Explore the major historical events, famous births, and notable deaths that occurred in the year 1941. This year saw 267 significant events. 45 notable figures were born. 6 notable figures passed away.
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech during his State of the Union address, outlining freedom of speech and worship and freedom from want and fear [1] [2]
New Fourth Army Incident: Chinese Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-shek fire on the surrounded Communist New Fourth Army at Maolin, Anhui Province, killing or capturing about 7,000 troops
Duke Ellington and his Orchestra first record "Take the 'A' Train" written by Billy Strayhorn, at RCA Studio in Hollywood, California; it goes on to become his signature tune
Future CIA Director William J. Casey (27) weds Sophia Kurz
American Actress Hattie McDaniel (45) weds real estate salesman James Lloyd Crawford; divorced 1945
American actress Doris Day (19) weds trombonist Albert Jorden
Youngest Mitford sister Deborah Mitford marries Andrew Cavendish, son of the Duke of Devonshire in London
A tradition begins with the first organ at a baseball stadium (Chicago Cubs)
"Citizen Kane," directed by Orson Welles and starring himself, Joseph Cotten, and Dorothy Comingore, premieres at the Palace Theater in New York City
Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (23) weds Ethel Arnold
The army of the Ethiopian Empire was the principal land warfare force of the Ethiopian Empire and had naval and air force branches in the 20th century.
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (né Dzhugashvili; 18 December [O.S. 6 December] 1878 – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian-born Soviet revolutionary and politician who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his…
German battleship Bismarck sinks British battlecruiser HMS Hood; 1,416 die, 3 survive
American basketball coach Red Auerbach (23) weds Dorothy "Dot" Lewis (21) in Washington, D.C., until her death in 2000
The history of Estonia forms a part of the history of Europe. Human settlement in what is now Estonia became possible 13,000–11,000 years ago, after the ice from the last glacial era had melted, and...
American stage and screen actress Tallulah Bankhead (39) divorces American actor John Emery (36) in Reno, Nevada after less than 4 years of marriage
Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany and its allies invade the Soviet Union during World War II, the largest military operation in history
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802, which forbids racial discrimination in the defense industry
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, usually applied to attacks on Jews.
Bulova Watch Company pays $9 for 1st ever television commercial, which airs during a broadcast of Brooklyn Dodgers-Philadelphia Phillies baseball game
British PM Winston Churchill launches his "V for Victory" campaign
Tom and Jerry (also known as Tom & Jerry) is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
"I Love Lucy" actress Vivan Vance (32) weds actor Philip Ober (39)
Jews living in Germany are required to wear a yellow Star of David
Siege of Leningrad by German, Finnish, and eventually Spanish troops begins during World War II; battle lasts over 28 months as Soviets repel the invasion; well over a million lives are lost
Belgium King Leopold secretly marries Lilian Baels
Stanley Frank Musial (born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American professional baseball player.
"The Maltese Falcon," based on Dashiell Hammett's 1929 novel of the same name, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor, premieres in New York City
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945.
NFL halfback Red Grange (38) weds flight attendant Margaret Hazelberg
Dumbo is a 1941 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures.
"How Green Was My Valley," based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn, directed by John Ford, and starring Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O'Hara, premieres in New York (Best Picture 1942)
Writer and veterinary surgeon James Herriot (25) weds Joan Catherine Danbury
Entertainer Milton Berle (33) marries actress Joyce Matthews (21) for the first time (divorced 1947, remarried 1949)
The Imperial Japanese Navy, with 353 planes, attacks the US fleet at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, killing 2,403 people
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers.
Maureen O'Hara was an Irish and American actress who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s.
World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales
American National Collegiate Football Rules Committee announces a new rule permitting free substitution of players
Resistance fighters Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves and Jan Doornik meet for the first time at a cafe in Montparnasse, Paris, to set up a second network of the French Resistance
British Australian troops conquer Bardia, Libya
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro.
Joseph Kesselring's "Arsenic & Old Lace" premieres in NYC
Princess Irene Brigade established in Congleton
World War II: A counter-offensive is launched by the British against the Italians in East Africa
British offensive in Eritrea
Béla Bartók's 6th String Quartet, premieres in NYC
The Holocaust saw the persecution of Jews in the Tsardom of Bulgaria and their deportation and annihilation in the Bulgarian-occupied regions of Yugoslavia and Greece between 1941 and 1944, arranged...
The British capture of Tobruk was a battle fought between 21 and 22 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first offensive of the Western Desert Force (WDF) in the Western Desert Campaign of...
1st mass killing of Jews in Romania during three days of riots, between 115 and 130 people are murdered
British troops march into Abyssinia
French-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (German: Unternehmen Marita), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II.
Australian troops conquer Derna, Libya
Anti-German demonstration in Haarlem, Netherlands
US Supreme Court upheld Federal Wage & Hour law, sets minimum wages & maximum hours
British tanks occupy Maus, Libya
Dutch Premier De Geer returns from Lisbon to Netherlands
Auke Adema wins 6th official Dutch 11 Cities Skating Race (9:19)
Radio presenter and National Socialist Max Blokzijl begins Nazi propaganda on Dutch national radio (executed for it in 1946)
British troops conquer El Agheila
1st highway post office makes 1st trip, Washington, D.C. to Harrisonburg, Virginia
First injection of penicillin into a patient by British physician Charles Fletcher at Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, England
Nazi leaders attack Dutch Jewish Council
Reflections in a Golden Eye is a 1941 novel by American author Carson McCullers. It first appeared in Harper's Bazaar in 1940, serialized in the October–November issues.
Nazi police attacked & driven away from Koco, Amsterdam (by young Jews)
1st transport of Jews to concentration camps leave Plotsk Poland
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet, (13 April 1892 – 5 April 1984), commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press and often within the RAF as "Butcher" or "Butch"...
Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized.
43 Geuzen resistance fighter trial opens in the Hague
Boston Bruins set NHL record of 23-game unbeaten streak (15-0-8)
2 fighters unable to continued slugfest, referee declares double KO
British-Italian dogfight above Albania
Nashville (NASH-vil) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, located on the Cumberland River.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers.
18 Geuzen resistance fighters sentenced to death in The Hague
3rd largest snowfall then in NYC history (18.1")
1st baseball player drafted into WW II (Hugh Mulcahy, Phillies)
Lee MacPhail, Dodger GM predicts all players will wear batting helmets
German occupiers confiscate AVRO studios in Netherlands
Fons de Boungne and Corneil Dombret found AGRA (Amis du Grand Reich Allemand (Friends of the Greater German Reich)) in Begium
Nazi occupiers of Holland forbid Jewish owned companies
Blizzard in North Dakota kills 151 people
Blizzard hits North Dakota & Minnesota killing 60
Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra record "Green Eyes" and "Maria Elena", with vocals by Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly, in New York City
Exhibition "Planning and Construction in the East" opens in Berlin to showcase Generalplan Ost (plan for the East) German rural settlements after planned deportation of millions of Slavs [1]
Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water.
British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (Somali: Maxmiyadda Dhulka Soomaalida), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in the territory of modern Somaliland.
Carolina Paprika Mills in Dillon, South Carolina, incorporated
The Battle of Cape Matapan was a naval battle during the Second World War between the Allies, represented by the navies of the United Kingdom and Australia, and the Royal Italian Navy, from 27 to 29...
German counter offensive in North Africa
Ground broken for Union Square Garage, San Francisco
German occupier disallows Dutch scouting association
Benghazi () (lit. 'Son of [the] Ghazi') is the second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023.
The San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) is the primary public transit system for San Francisco, California.
Beginning of operation Bestrafung - German bombers attack Belgrade (17,000 die)
General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor, (21 August 1889 – 17 June 1981) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the First and Second World Wars, and commanded the Western Desert Force in...
LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Dorothy Kirby wins comfortably by 16 strokes ahead of Helen Sigel
German troops conquer Libyan county Cyrenaica
Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Boston Bruins defeat Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 for a 4-0 series sweep
Tobruk ( tə-BRUUK, toh-BRUUK; Arabic: طبرق, romanized: Ṭubruq; Italian: Tobruch) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt.
1st massive German raid in Paris, 3,600 Jews rounded up
1st helicopter flight of 1 hr duration, Stratford, Ct
Little Theater at Adelphi Strand, London closes
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. Located within the geo-political region of the Middle East, it is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, Turkey to the north, Iran to...
The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (German: Unternehmen Marita), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II.
Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it...
Greek Army surrenders to Germany; British RAF evacuates the Greek King George II to Egypt
The occupation of Greece by the Axis powers began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Italy, in their ongoing war that was initiated in October...
The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (German: Unternehmen Marita), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II.
The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (German: Unternehmen Marita), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II.
FCC approves regular scheduled commercial TV broadcasts to begin July 1
MLB baseball player Ted Williams' batting average hits lowest point of the season at .308; finishes over .400
German air raid on Liverpool, England
World War II in the Netherlands can be broken down into four periods: September 1939 to May 1940: After the war broke out, the Netherlands declared neutrality.
The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (HSK 2), known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German Hilfskreuzer or merchant or commerce raider of the...
1st German Messerschmidt 109F shot down above England
Alexandria is a major city in Egypt. Lying at the western edge of the Nile River Delta, it extends about 40 km (25 mi) along the country's northern coast.
3,600 Parisian Jews arrested
1st British turbojet flies
First US radio performance of Robert Russell Bennett's "Symphony in D for the Dodgers"
Pennsylvania declares legal holiday to honor Philadelphia A's baseball club manager Connie Mack
The Italian colonial empire (Italian: Impero coloniale italiano), sometimes known as the Italian Empire (Impero italiano), was a colonial empire that existed between 1882 and 1960.
Germany occupiers in Holland forbid bicycle taxis
Archer's "Christian Calendar & Gregorian Reform" published
German airforce occupies airport at Maleme, Crete
British troops attack Baghdad
German athlete Rudolf Harbig runs world record 1,000m in 2:21.5 at Dresden, Germany
5,000 drown in a storm at Ganges Delta region in India
The Bismarck class was a pair of fast battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine shortly before the outbreak of World War II.
FDR declares state of emergency after a German U-boat sinks the American flagged SS Robin Moor
1st night game at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C. (NY Yankees pip the Senators 6-5)
1st anti semitic measures in Serbia
-June 1) 32.0 cm rain falls on Burlington Kansas (state record)
12.59" (31.98 cm) rainfall, in Burlington, Kansas (state 24-hr record)
Attack on telephone exchange in Schiphol
Republic of Croatia orders all Jews to wear a star with the letter Z
German ammunition depot at medieval Smederovo Fortress, near Belgrade, Serbia explodes; kills close to 2,000
1st US Navy vessel constructed as mine layer, USS Terror (CM-5) launched from the Philadelphia Navy Yard
British and French troops overthrow the pro-German Syrian government
Archbishop De Young bans priests cooperating with Rijks radio
Jews, or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They traditionally adhere to Judaism.
1st US federally owned airport opened Washington, D.C.
Romania orders Jewish evacuation of Darabani
A battleship is a large, heavily armored warship with a main battery consisting of large guns, designed to serve as a capital ship.
Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital city in the world.
June Uprising in Lithuania begins, resulting in the collapse of the Soviet occupation, but replaced with invading German forces shortly after
Germany occupies Telz, Lithuania
Entire Jewish male population of Gorzhdy, Lithuania, exterminated
-26] Soviet counterattack at Rovno, Ukraine
Lithuanian fascists massacre 2,300 Jews in Kovno
Bialystok Poland falls to Germany
German and Romanian soldiers kill 11,000 Jews in Kishinev
Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) declare Ukraine independent
German occupiers disband political parties
Nazis execute 5,000 Jews in and around Kovono, Lithuania over the course of a week [1]
All Jews living in Baltic States are obligated to wear a Jewish Star
Dutch-American Physicist Abraham Pais is awarded his Ph.D in the Netherlands five days before a Nazi deadline banning Jews from receiving degrees
Continuation War: Finland invades East Karelia as hostilities with the Soviet Union resume following the German invasion in June
Eddie Mayo (LA-Pacific Coast League) spits in face of umpire Ray Snyder
6,000 Lithuanian Jews are exterminated at Viszalsyan Camp by German Einsatzgruppen SS with the assistance of local collaborators
°F (38°C) highest temperature ever recorded in Seattle, Washington
Joe DiMaggio goes 3 for 4, hitting in his 56th consecutive game
Nazi SS drowns 40 Jews in Dvina River, Belorussia
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division.
Jewish Torahs are burned in Ukraine
41-year-old pitcher Lefty Grove wins his 300th and final MLB career game as the Boston Red Sox defeat the Cleveland Indians 10-6 at Fenway Park in Boston
First group of the Dutch Volunteer Legion departs from Den Haag Central train station in The Hague for the Eastern Front to fight on the side of Germany [1]
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County.
German occupiers forbid the political parties SDAP, VDB, ARP, RKSP, CHU, and SGP in the Netherlands
U-boats sink and damage 21 allied ships this month (80,521 tons)
Luftwaffe bombs German 23rd Infantry Division
German 11th Army surrounds 20 Soviet divisions at Oeman
Gas (petroleum) sales limited in US
Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Mickey Owen becomes the first MLB player to catch three foul pop-ups in one inning (third) in an 11-6 win against the NY Giants
MLB Detroit Tigers pitcher Al Benton collects two sacrifices in an inning, an MLB record, and wins 11-2 against the Cleveland Indians
Chișinău is the capital and largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre.
Twenty divisions of the Soviet 6th and 12th Armies surrender at Uman
The Red Army evacuates Smolensk, Russia, as the German Army advances
Kovno Lithuanian Jews are herded into the Slobodka Ghetto
HMS Mercury, the Royal Navy Signals School and Combined Signals School, opens at Leydene near Petersfield, England
German raider attacks Dutch SS Kota Nopan
German concentration camp Amersfoort opens
Jews originated from the Israelites and Hebrews of historical Israel and Judah, two related kingdoms that emerged in the Levant during the Iron Age.
Nazi troops reach Lenningrad
The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, also known as the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia or the Allied invasion of Iran, was the joint invasion of the officially neutral Imperial State of Iran by the...
8th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Chicago Bears 37, All-Stars 13 (98,203)
German Einsatzkommando kills 1,469 Jewish children in Russia
Lonnie Warneke ( WOR-nə-kee; March 28, 1909 – June 23, 1976), nicknamed "the Arkansas Hummingbird", was an American Major League Baseball player, Major League umpire, county judge, and businessman...
Fibber McGee and Molly (1935–1959) was a longtime American husband-and-wife team radio comedy program. The situation comedy was a staple of the NBC Red Network from 1936 on, after originating on NBC...
Academy copyrights Oscar statuette
Auschwitz, also known as Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World...
New York Yankees clinch their third straight AL pennant, beating the Red Sox 6-3; the earliest date in baseball history a team captures a pennant
All Jews over age 6 in German territories are ordered to wear a star
Entire Jewish community of Meretsch, Lithuania, is exterminated
First German ship captured by US ship (Busko) in WWII
Nazis kill 800 Jewish women at Shkudvil, Lithuania
British signal officer Bill Hudson lands in Montenegro
General de Gaulle forms a government in exile in London
Bomb explodes in German headquarters at Hotel Continental in Kiev
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays.
Phillies lose club-record 111th game
Approximately 33,771 Jews are shot to death or buried alive at Babi Yar ravine near Kiev, Ukraine, by Nazi troops over two days
The Empire of Japan launched a surprise military strike on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the time, the U.S.
German army occupies Bryansk, USSR
German army occupies Vyazma, USSR
Auschwitz, also known as Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World...
Coup in Panama declares Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango as the new president
RAF bombs Piraeus to prevent German heavy armor from advancing
The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km (370 mi) sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October...
Nazis kill 11,000 Jewish children and old people, in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine; additional murders continue on the 14th [1]
1st mass deportation of Kowno, Lodz, Minsk & Riga
During the later stages of World War II and the post-war period, Reichsdeutsche (German citizens) and Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans living outside the Nazi state) fled and were expelled from various...
Germany advances within 60 miles (96 km) of Moscow
This is a timeline of events that stretched over the period of World War II in 1941, marked also by the beginning of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front.
Richard Gustavovich Sorge was a German-Russian journalist and Soviet military intelligence officer who was active before and during World War II and worked undercover as a German journalist in both...
First woman jockey in North America, Anna Lee Wiley, in Mexico
Nazi occupiers begin two-day systematic murder of over 2,700 inhabitants of Kragujevac, Serbia in retribution for uprising in which 10 German soldiers were killed
Nazi occupiers murder over 2,000 inhabitants of Kragujevac, Serbia in second day of retribution campaign for uprising in which 10 German soldiers were killed; total Serbian deaths estimated at over 2,700
16,000 Jews massacred in Odessa, Ukraine
Chicago Daily Tribune editorialize there will not be war with Japan
A clothing factory fire in Huddersfield, England, kills 49
Einsatz Gruppe kills 15,000 Jews of Rovno Ukraine
British air attacks on Berlin, Mannheim & Ruhrgebied
The Party of Labour of Albania (Albanian: Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1944–1991).
Clemens Augustinus Emmanuel Joseph Pius Anthonius Hubertus Marie Graf von Galen (16 March 1878 – 22 March 1946), better known as Clemens August Graf von Galen, was a German count, Bishop of Münster,...
Czech premier General Eliasj arrested by Nazis
Alma Heflin becomes the first female test pilot for commercial aircraft at Piper Corporation, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
HMS Ark Royal (pennant number 91) was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that operated during the Second World War. Designed in 1934 to fit the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, Ark...
The Cow Palace (originally the California State Livestock Pavilion) is an indoor arena and events center located in Daly City, California, situated on the city's northern border with neighboring San...
German troops conquer Kertsh (probably)
Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60, nicknamed the Leningrad Symphony, was begun in Leningrad, completed in the city of Samara (then known as Kuybyshev) in December 1941, and...
Adm Nomura & Kurusu hands over Japanese last diplomatic note
German troops occupy Rostov-on-Don, Southern Russia
The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (HSK 2), known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German Hilfskreuzer or merchant or commerce raider of the...
German troops conquer Klin, NW of Moscow
"Life Certificates" issued to some Jews of Vilna, the rest are exterminated
The Anti-Comintern Pact, officially the Agreement against the Communist International was an anti-communist pact concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan on 25 November 1936 and...
The siege of Tobruk () took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War.
SS Lurline passenger ship sends a radio signal reporting the sighting of a Japanese war fleet
-year-old Nyack-Tarrytown ferry makes its final run
British cruiser HMS Dorsetshire forces the crew of the German submarine supply ship MV Python to scuttle the vessel in the South Atlantic, 1,150 miles west of South Africa
New York Giants name Mel Ott as player-manager; replaces another future Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Terry, who heads Giants' farm system
Adolf Hitler views occupied Poltava in Ukraine
Nazi ordinance places Jews of Poland outside protection of courts
Sullivan's Travels is a 1941 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Preston Sturges.
The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a naval engagement in World War II, as part of the war in the Pacific, that took place on 10 December 1941 in the South China Sea off the east coast of...
1st Japanese midget submarine (No. 20) attacked by a US ship (USS Ward)
Chełmno, or Kulmhof, was the first of Nazi Germany's extermination camps and was situated 50 km (31 mi) north of Łódź, near the village of Chełmno nad Nerem.
After the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese in 1941, several Americans, civilian and military, evaded capture or escaped imprisonment. This occurred on several islands in the archipelago.
British battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse (Force Z) sunk following Japanese aerial attacks off Malaya. 840 men die
The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies.
European reservists on Java mobilize
German occupiers forbid National Front and Netherland Union
1st NFL division playoff, Bears beat Packers 33-14
Gas/electrical use restricted in Holland
Before the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories.
Portuguese Timor was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day Timor-Leste from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies
44 surviving crewmen of German U-434 surrender to the HMS Blankney after scuttling their wounded submarine. Two are lost.
Free France under adm Muselier occupies St-Pierre et Miquelon
A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player intentionally dropping the ball onto the ground and then kicking it either (different sports have different...
William McGarvey Dudley (December 24, 1921 – February 4, 2010), nicknamed "Bullet Bill", was an American professional football halfback, safety and return specialist who played in the National...
The Battle of Wake Island was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on Wake Island.
The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II.
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September [O.S. 12 September] 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Soviet composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in...
State of siege goes into effect in Bohemia and Moravia
The Bronx ( BRONKS) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York.
Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animator and artist, known for japanese animator and artist, was born on 1941-01-05.
Chuck McKinley athlete, known for american tennis player, was born on 1941-01-05. Charles Robert McKinley Jr. (January 5, 1941 – August 11, 1986) was an American former world no.
Joan Baez, American musician, known for american contemporary folk musician, was born on 1941-01-09. Joan Chandos Baez is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist.
Faye Dunaway, American actress, known for american actress, was born on 1941-01-14. Dorothy Faye Dunaway is an American actress.
Plácido Domingo, Spanish musician, known for spanish tenor and conductor, was born on 1941-01-21. José Plácido Domingo Embil is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator.
Neil Diamond, American musician, known for american singer-songwriter, was born on 1941-01-24. Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter.
Joan A. Steitz is born
Carol Mann is born
Fran Tarkenton, American athlete, known for american football player, was born on 1941-02-03.
Mario Andretti, South African athlete, known for american racing driver, was born on 1941-02-28.
Chuck Norris, American martial artist and actor, known for american martial artist and actor, was born on 1941-03-10. Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor.
Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian film director and screenwriter, known for italian film director and screenwriter, was born on 1941-03-16.
Nancy Pelosi is born
Jerry Lucas, American athlete, known for american basketball player and author, was born on 1941-03-30. Jerry Ray Lucas is an American former basketball player.
Herbie Hancock, American musician, known for american jazz pianist and composer, was born on 1941-04-12. Herbert Jeffrey Hancock is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer.
Julie Christie, British actress, known for british actress, was born on 1941-04-14. Julie Frances Christie is a British actress.
Pete Rose athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1941-04-14. Peter Edward Rose Sr.
Margrethe II is born
Al Pacino, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1941-04-25. Alfredo James Pacino is an American actor.
Alan Kay, American computer scientist, known for american computer scientist, was born on 1941-05-17.
Nora Ephron, American writer, journalist and filmmaker, known for american writer, journalist and filmmaker, was born on 1941-05-19.
Aldrich Ames, American cia analyst and soviet spy, known for american cia analyst and soviet spy, was born on 1941-05-26.
Charlie Watts, English musician, known for british drummer, was born on 1941-06-02.
Spalding Gray, American actor and writer, known for american actor and writer, was born on 1941-06-05. Spalding Rockwell Gray (June 5, 1941 – c. January 11, 2004) was an American actor and writer.
Tom Jones is born
George Akerlof, American economist, known for american economist, was born on 1941-06-17.
Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and statesman, known for bangladeshi economist and statesman, was born on 1941-06-28.
Nursultan Nazarbayev is born
Ringo Starr, English musician and actor, known for english musician and actor, was born on 1941-07-07.
Patrick Stewart, English actor, known for english actor, was born on 1941-07-13. Sir Patrick Stewart is an English actor.
Joe Torre athlete, known for american baseball player, manager, and executive, was born on 1941-07-18. Joseph Paul Torre Jr.
Martin Sheen, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1941-08-03. Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez, known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor.
Otis Redding musician, known for american singer and songwriter, was born on 1941-09-09. Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter.
Cass Elliot, American singer, known for american singer, was born on 1941-09-19. Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally by the stage name Cass Elliot, was an…
Jack Brisco, American professional wrestler and amateur wrestler, known for american professional wrestler and amateur wrestler, was born on 1941-09-21.
Michel Temer is born
Anne Rice, American author, known for american author, was born on 1941-10-04. Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic…
Cliff Richard, New Zealand musician, known for british singer and actor, was born on 1941-10-14. Sir Cliff Richard is a British singer and actor.
Doug Sahm, American musician, known for american musician, was born on 1941-11-06.
Dr. John musician, known for american singer-songwriter and pianist, was born on 1941-11-20. Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr.
Joe Gibbs, American athlete, known for american race team owner and football coach, was born on 1941-11-25. Joe Jackson Gibbs is a former football coach and an American auto racing team owner.
Dionne Warwick, American musician, known for american singer, was born on 1941-12-12.
Anthony Fauci, American immunologist, known for american immunologist, was born on 1941-12-24.
Dick Cheney is born
Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer, known for british fashion designer, was born on 1941-04-08.
Robert Baden-Powell, British soldier and founder of the scout association, known for british soldier and founder of the scout association, died on 1941-01-08.
James Joyce, Irish novelist and poet, known for irish novelist and poet, died on 1941-01-13. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic.
Frederick Banting, Canadian medical scientist and doctor, known for canadian medical scientist and doctor, died on 1941-02-21.
Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer, known for american astronomer, died on 1941-04-13.
Lou Gehrig, American baseball player, known for american baseball player, died on 1941-06-02.
Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, intellectual and statesman, known for polish pianist, composer, intellectual and statesman, died on 1941-06-29.
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech during his State of the Union address, outlining freedom of speech and worship and freedom from want and fear [1] [2]
New Fourth Army Incident: Chinese Kuomintang forces under orders from Chiang Kai-shek fire on the surrounded Communist New Fourth Army at Maolin, Anhui Province, killing or capturing about 7,000 troops
Duke Ellington and his Orchestra first record "Take the 'A' Train" written by Billy Strayhorn, at RCA Studio in Hollywood, California; it goes on to become his signature tune
Future CIA Director William J. Casey (27) weds Sophia Kurz
American Actress Hattie McDaniel (45) weds real estate salesman James Lloyd Crawford; divorced 1945
American actress Doris Day (19) weds trombonist Albert Jorden
Youngest Mitford sister Deborah Mitford marries Andrew Cavendish, son of the Duke of Devonshire in London
A tradition begins with the first organ at a baseball stadium (Chicago Cubs)
"Citizen Kane," directed by Orson Welles and starring himself, Joseph Cotten, and Dorothy Comingore, premieres at the Palace Theater in New York City
Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (23) weds Ethel Arnold
The army of the Ethiopian Empire was the principal land warfare force of the Ethiopian Empire and had naval and air force branches in the 20th century.
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (né Dzhugashvili; 18 December [O.S. 6 December] 1878 – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian-born Soviet revolutionary and politician who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his…
German battleship Bismarck sinks British battlecruiser HMS Hood; 1,416 die, 3 survive
American basketball coach Red Auerbach (23) weds Dorothy "Dot" Lewis (21) in Washington, D.C., until her death in 2000
The history of Estonia forms a part of the history of Europe. Human settlement in what is now Estonia became possible 13,000–11,000 years ago, after the ice from the last glacial era had melted, and...
American stage and screen actress Tallulah Bankhead (39) divorces American actor John Emery (36) in Reno, Nevada after less than 4 years of marriage
Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany and its allies invade the Soviet Union during World War II, the largest military operation in history
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802, which forbids racial discrimination in the defense industry
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, usually applied to attacks on Jews.
Bulova Watch Company pays $9 for 1st ever television commercial, which airs during a broadcast of Brooklyn Dodgers-Philadelphia Phillies baseball game
British PM Winston Churchill launches his "V for Victory" campaign
Tom and Jerry (also known as Tom & Jerry) is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
"I Love Lucy" actress Vivan Vance (32) weds actor Philip Ober (39)
Jews living in Germany are required to wear a yellow Star of David
Siege of Leningrad by German, Finnish, and eventually Spanish troops begins during World War II; battle lasts over 28 months as Soviets repel the invasion; well over a million lives are lost
Belgium King Leopold secretly marries Lilian Baels
Stanley Frank Musial (born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American professional baseball player.
"The Maltese Falcon," based on Dashiell Hammett's 1929 novel of the same name, directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor, premieres in New York City
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945.
NFL halfback Red Grange (38) weds flight attendant Margaret Hazelberg
Dumbo is a 1941 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures.
"How Green Was My Valley," based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn, directed by John Ford, and starring Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O'Hara, premieres in New York (Best Picture 1942)
Writer and veterinary surgeon James Herriot (25) weds Joan Catherine Danbury
Entertainer Milton Berle (33) marries actress Joyce Matthews (21) for the first time (divorced 1947, remarried 1949)
The Imperial Japanese Navy, with 353 planes, attacks the US fleet at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, killing 2,403 people
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers.
Maureen O'Hara was an Irish and American actress who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s.
World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales
American National Collegiate Football Rules Committee announces a new rule permitting free substitution of players
Resistance fighters Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves and Jan Doornik meet for the first time at a cafe in Montparnasse, Paris, to set up a second network of the French Resistance
British Australian troops conquer Bardia, Libya
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro.
Joseph Kesselring's "Arsenic & Old Lace" premieres in NYC
Princess Irene Brigade established in Congleton
World War II: A counter-offensive is launched by the British against the Italians in East Africa
British offensive in Eritrea
Béla Bartók's 6th String Quartet, premieres in NYC
The Holocaust saw the persecution of Jews in the Tsardom of Bulgaria and their deportation and annihilation in the Bulgarian-occupied regions of Yugoslavia and Greece between 1941 and 1944, arranged...
The British capture of Tobruk was a battle fought between 21 and 22 January 1941, as part of Operation Compass, the first offensive of the Western Desert Force (WDF) in the Western Desert Campaign of...
1st mass killing of Jews in Romania during three days of riots, between 115 and 130 people are murdered
British troops march into Abyssinia
French-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (German: Unternehmen Marita), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II.
Australian troops conquer Derna, Libya
Anti-German demonstration in Haarlem, Netherlands
US Supreme Court upheld Federal Wage & Hour law, sets minimum wages & maximum hours
British tanks occupy Maus, Libya
Dutch Premier De Geer returns from Lisbon to Netherlands
Auke Adema wins 6th official Dutch 11 Cities Skating Race (9:19)
Radio presenter and National Socialist Max Blokzijl begins Nazi propaganda on Dutch national radio (executed for it in 1946)
British troops conquer El Agheila
1st highway post office makes 1st trip, Washington, D.C. to Harrisonburg, Virginia
First injection of penicillin into a patient by British physician Charles Fletcher at Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, England
Nazi leaders attack Dutch Jewish Council
Reflections in a Golden Eye is a 1941 novel by American author Carson McCullers. It first appeared in Harper's Bazaar in 1940, serialized in the October–November issues.
Nazi police attacked & driven away from Koco, Amsterdam (by young Jews)
1st transport of Jews to concentration camps leave Plotsk Poland
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet, (13 April 1892 – 5 April 1984), commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press and often within the RAF as "Butcher" or "Butch"...
Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized.
43 Geuzen resistance fighter trial opens in the Hague
Boston Bruins set NHL record of 23-game unbeaten streak (15-0-8)
2 fighters unable to continued slugfest, referee declares double KO
British-Italian dogfight above Albania
Nashville (NASH-vil) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, located on the Cumberland River.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers.
18 Geuzen resistance fighters sentenced to death in The Hague
3rd largest snowfall then in NYC history (18.1")
1st baseball player drafted into WW II (Hugh Mulcahy, Phillies)
Lee MacPhail, Dodger GM predicts all players will wear batting helmets
German occupiers confiscate AVRO studios in Netherlands
Fons de Boungne and Corneil Dombret found AGRA (Amis du Grand Reich Allemand (Friends of the Greater German Reich)) in Begium
Nazi occupiers of Holland forbid Jewish owned companies
Blizzard in North Dakota kills 151 people
Blizzard hits North Dakota & Minnesota killing 60
Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra record "Green Eyes" and "Maria Elena", with vocals by Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly, in New York City
Exhibition "Planning and Construction in the East" opens in Berlin to showcase Generalplan Ost (plan for the East) German rural settlements after planned deportation of millions of Slavs [1]
Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water.
British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (Somali: Maxmiyadda Dhulka Soomaalida), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in the territory of modern Somaliland.
Carolina Paprika Mills in Dillon, South Carolina, incorporated
The Battle of Cape Matapan was a naval battle during the Second World War between the Allies, represented by the navies of the United Kingdom and Australia, and the Royal Italian Navy, from 27 to 29...
German counter offensive in North Africa
Ground broken for Union Square Garage, San Francisco
German occupier disallows Dutch scouting association
Benghazi () (lit. 'Son of [the] Ghazi') is the second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023.
The San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) is the primary public transit system for San Francisco, California.
Beginning of operation Bestrafung - German bombers attack Belgrade (17,000 die)
General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor, (21 August 1889 – 17 June 1981) was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the First and Second World Wars, and commanded the Western Desert Force in...
LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Dorothy Kirby wins comfortably by 16 strokes ahead of Helen Sigel
German troops conquer Libyan county Cyrenaica
Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Boston Bruins defeat Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 for a 4-0 series sweep
Tobruk ( tə-BRUUK, toh-BRUUK; Arabic: طبرق, romanized: Ṭubruq; Italian: Tobruch) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt.
1st massive German raid in Paris, 3,600 Jews rounded up
1st helicopter flight of 1 hr duration, Stratford, Ct
Little Theater at Adelphi Strand, London closes
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. Located within the geo-political region of the Middle East, it is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, Turkey to the north, Iran to...
The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (German: Unternehmen Marita), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II.
Nazi Germany, officially the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it...
Greek Army surrenders to Germany; British RAF evacuates the Greek King George II to Egypt
The occupation of Greece by the Axis powers began in April 1941 after Nazi Germany invaded the Kingdom of Greece in order to assist its ally, Italy, in their ongoing war that was initiated in October...
The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (German: Unternehmen Marita), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II.
The German invasion of Greece or Operation Marita (German: Unternehmen Marita), were the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II.
FCC approves regular scheduled commercial TV broadcasts to begin July 1
MLB baseball player Ted Williams' batting average hits lowest point of the season at .308; finishes over .400
German air raid on Liverpool, England
World War II in the Netherlands can be broken down into four periods: September 1939 to May 1940: After the war broke out, the Netherlands declared neutrality.
The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (HSK 2), known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German Hilfskreuzer or merchant or commerce raider of the...
1st German Messerschmidt 109F shot down above England
Alexandria is a major city in Egypt. Lying at the western edge of the Nile River Delta, it extends about 40 km (25 mi) along the country's northern coast.
3,600 Parisian Jews arrested
1st British turbojet flies
First US radio performance of Robert Russell Bennett's "Symphony in D for the Dodgers"
Pennsylvania declares legal holiday to honor Philadelphia A's baseball club manager Connie Mack
The Italian colonial empire (Italian: Impero coloniale italiano), sometimes known as the Italian Empire (Impero italiano), was a colonial empire that existed between 1882 and 1960.
Germany occupiers in Holland forbid bicycle taxis
Archer's "Christian Calendar & Gregorian Reform" published
German airforce occupies airport at Maleme, Crete
British troops attack Baghdad
German athlete Rudolf Harbig runs world record 1,000m in 2:21.5 at Dresden, Germany
5,000 drown in a storm at Ganges Delta region in India
The Bismarck class was a pair of fast battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine shortly before the outbreak of World War II.
FDR declares state of emergency after a German U-boat sinks the American flagged SS Robin Moor
1st night game at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C. (NY Yankees pip the Senators 6-5)
1st anti semitic measures in Serbia
-June 1) 32.0 cm rain falls on Burlington Kansas (state record)
12.59" (31.98 cm) rainfall, in Burlington, Kansas (state 24-hr record)
Attack on telephone exchange in Schiphol
Republic of Croatia orders all Jews to wear a star with the letter Z
German ammunition depot at medieval Smederovo Fortress, near Belgrade, Serbia explodes; kills close to 2,000
1st US Navy vessel constructed as mine layer, USS Terror (CM-5) launched from the Philadelphia Navy Yard
British and French troops overthrow the pro-German Syrian government
Archbishop De Young bans priests cooperating with Rijks radio
Jews, or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They traditionally adhere to Judaism.
1st US federally owned airport opened Washington, D.C.
Romania orders Jewish evacuation of Darabani
A battleship is a large, heavily armored warship with a main battery consisting of large guns, designed to serve as a capital ship.
Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital city in the world.
June Uprising in Lithuania begins, resulting in the collapse of the Soviet occupation, but replaced with invading German forces shortly after
Germany occupies Telz, Lithuania
Entire Jewish male population of Gorzhdy, Lithuania, exterminated
-26] Soviet counterattack at Rovno, Ukraine
Lithuanian fascists massacre 2,300 Jews in Kovno
Bialystok Poland falls to Germany
German and Romanian soldiers kill 11,000 Jews in Kishinev
Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) declare Ukraine independent
German occupiers disband political parties
Nazis execute 5,000 Jews in and around Kovono, Lithuania over the course of a week [1]
All Jews living in Baltic States are obligated to wear a Jewish Star
Dutch-American Physicist Abraham Pais is awarded his Ph.D in the Netherlands five days before a Nazi deadline banning Jews from receiving degrees
Continuation War: Finland invades East Karelia as hostilities with the Soviet Union resume following the German invasion in June
Eddie Mayo (LA-Pacific Coast League) spits in face of umpire Ray Snyder
6,000 Lithuanian Jews are exterminated at Viszalsyan Camp by German Einsatzgruppen SS with the assistance of local collaborators
°F (38°C) highest temperature ever recorded in Seattle, Washington
Joe DiMaggio goes 3 for 4, hitting in his 56th consecutive game
Nazi SS drowns 40 Jews in Dvina River, Belorussia
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division.
Jewish Torahs are burned in Ukraine
41-year-old pitcher Lefty Grove wins his 300th and final MLB career game as the Boston Red Sox defeat the Cleveland Indians 10-6 at Fenway Park in Boston
First group of the Dutch Volunteer Legion departs from Den Haag Central train station in The Hague for the Eastern Front to fight on the side of Germany [1]
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County.
German occupiers forbid the political parties SDAP, VDB, ARP, RKSP, CHU, and SGP in the Netherlands
U-boats sink and damage 21 allied ships this month (80,521 tons)
Luftwaffe bombs German 23rd Infantry Division
German 11th Army surrounds 20 Soviet divisions at Oeman
Gas (petroleum) sales limited in US
Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Mickey Owen becomes the first MLB player to catch three foul pop-ups in one inning (third) in an 11-6 win against the NY Giants
MLB Detroit Tigers pitcher Al Benton collects two sacrifices in an inning, an MLB record, and wins 11-2 against the Cleveland Indians
Chișinău is the capital and largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre.
Twenty divisions of the Soviet 6th and 12th Armies surrender at Uman
The Red Army evacuates Smolensk, Russia, as the German Army advances
Kovno Lithuanian Jews are herded into the Slobodka Ghetto
HMS Mercury, the Royal Navy Signals School and Combined Signals School, opens at Leydene near Petersfield, England
German raider attacks Dutch SS Kota Nopan
German concentration camp Amersfoort opens
Jews originated from the Israelites and Hebrews of historical Israel and Judah, two related kingdoms that emerged in the Levant during the Iron Age.
Nazi troops reach Lenningrad
The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, also known as the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia or the Allied invasion of Iran, was the joint invasion of the officially neutral Imperial State of Iran by the...
8th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Chicago Bears 37, All-Stars 13 (98,203)
German Einsatzkommando kills 1,469 Jewish children in Russia
Lonnie Warneke ( WOR-nə-kee; March 28, 1909 – June 23, 1976), nicknamed "the Arkansas Hummingbird", was an American Major League Baseball player, Major League umpire, county judge, and businessman...
Fibber McGee and Molly (1935–1959) was a longtime American husband-and-wife team radio comedy program. The situation comedy was a staple of the NBC Red Network from 1936 on, after originating on NBC...
Academy copyrights Oscar statuette
Auschwitz, also known as Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World...
New York Yankees clinch their third straight AL pennant, beating the Red Sox 6-3; the earliest date in baseball history a team captures a pennant
All Jews over age 6 in German territories are ordered to wear a star
Entire Jewish community of Meretsch, Lithuania, is exterminated
First German ship captured by US ship (Busko) in WWII
Nazis kill 800 Jewish women at Shkudvil, Lithuania
British signal officer Bill Hudson lands in Montenegro
General de Gaulle forms a government in exile in London
Bomb explodes in German headquarters at Hotel Continental in Kiev
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays.
Phillies lose club-record 111th game
Approximately 33,771 Jews are shot to death or buried alive at Babi Yar ravine near Kiev, Ukraine, by Nazi troops over two days
The Empire of Japan launched a surprise military strike on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the time, the U.S.
German army occupies Bryansk, USSR
German army occupies Vyazma, USSR
Auschwitz, also known as Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World...
Coup in Panama declares Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango as the new president
RAF bombs Piraeus to prevent German heavy armor from advancing
The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km (370 mi) sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October...
Nazis kill 11,000 Jewish children and old people, in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine; additional murders continue on the 14th [1]
1st mass deportation of Kowno, Lodz, Minsk & Riga
During the later stages of World War II and the post-war period, Reichsdeutsche (German citizens) and Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans living outside the Nazi state) fled and were expelled from various...
Germany advances within 60 miles (96 km) of Moscow
This is a timeline of events that stretched over the period of World War II in 1941, marked also by the beginning of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front.
Richard Gustavovich Sorge was a German-Russian journalist and Soviet military intelligence officer who was active before and during World War II and worked undercover as a German journalist in both...
First woman jockey in North America, Anna Lee Wiley, in Mexico
Nazi occupiers begin two-day systematic murder of over 2,700 inhabitants of Kragujevac, Serbia in retribution for uprising in which 10 German soldiers were killed
Nazi occupiers murder over 2,000 inhabitants of Kragujevac, Serbia in second day of retribution campaign for uprising in which 10 German soldiers were killed; total Serbian deaths estimated at over 2,700
16,000 Jews massacred in Odessa, Ukraine
Chicago Daily Tribune editorialize there will not be war with Japan
A clothing factory fire in Huddersfield, England, kills 49
Einsatz Gruppe kills 15,000 Jews of Rovno Ukraine
British air attacks on Berlin, Mannheim & Ruhrgebied
The Party of Labour of Albania (Albanian: Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1944–1991).
Clemens Augustinus Emmanuel Joseph Pius Anthonius Hubertus Marie Graf von Galen (16 March 1878 – 22 March 1946), better known as Clemens August Graf von Galen, was a German count, Bishop of Münster,...
Czech premier General Eliasj arrested by Nazis
Alma Heflin becomes the first female test pilot for commercial aircraft at Piper Corporation, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
HMS Ark Royal (pennant number 91) was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that operated during the Second World War. Designed in 1934 to fit the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, Ark...
The Cow Palace (originally the California State Livestock Pavilion) is an indoor arena and events center located in Daly City, California, situated on the city's northern border with neighboring San...
German troops conquer Kertsh (probably)
Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60, nicknamed the Leningrad Symphony, was begun in Leningrad, completed in the city of Samara (then known as Kuybyshev) in December 1941, and...
Adm Nomura & Kurusu hands over Japanese last diplomatic note
German troops occupy Rostov-on-Don, Southern Russia
The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (HSK 2), known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 16 and to the Royal Navy as Raider-C, was a converted German Hilfskreuzer or merchant or commerce raider of the...
German troops conquer Klin, NW of Moscow
"Life Certificates" issued to some Jews of Vilna, the rest are exterminated
The Anti-Comintern Pact, officially the Agreement against the Communist International was an anti-communist pact concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan on 25 November 1936 and...
The siege of Tobruk () took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War.
SS Lurline passenger ship sends a radio signal reporting the sighting of a Japanese war fleet
-year-old Nyack-Tarrytown ferry makes its final run
British cruiser HMS Dorsetshire forces the crew of the German submarine supply ship MV Python to scuttle the vessel in the South Atlantic, 1,150 miles west of South Africa
New York Giants name Mel Ott as player-manager; replaces another future Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Terry, who heads Giants' farm system
Adolf Hitler views occupied Poltava in Ukraine
Nazi ordinance places Jews of Poland outside protection of courts
Sullivan's Travels is a 1941 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Preston Sturges.
The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a naval engagement in World War II, as part of the war in the Pacific, that took place on 10 December 1941 in the South China Sea off the east coast of...
1st Japanese midget submarine (No. 20) attacked by a US ship (USS Ward)
Chełmno, or Kulmhof, was the first of Nazi Germany's extermination camps and was situated 50 km (31 mi) north of Łódź, near the village of Chełmno nad Nerem.
After the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese in 1941, several Americans, civilian and military, evaded capture or escaped imprisonment. This occurred on several islands in the archipelago.
British battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse (Force Z) sunk following Japanese aerial attacks off Malaya. 840 men die
The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies.
European reservists on Java mobilize
German occupiers forbid National Front and Netherland Union
1st NFL division playoff, Bears beat Packers 33-14
Gas/electrical use restricted in Holland
Before the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories.
Portuguese Timor was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day Timor-Leste from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies
44 surviving crewmen of German U-434 surrender to the HMS Blankney after scuttling their wounded submarine. Two are lost.
Free France under adm Muselier occupies St-Pierre et Miquelon
A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player intentionally dropping the ball onto the ground and then kicking it either (different sports have different...
William McGarvey Dudley (December 24, 1921 – February 4, 2010), nicknamed "Bullet Bill", was an American professional football halfback, safety and return specialist who played in the National...
The Battle of Wake Island was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on Wake Island.
The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II.
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (25 September [O.S. 12 September] 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Soviet composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in...
State of siege goes into effect in Bohemia and Moravia
The Bronx ( BRONKS) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York.
Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animator and artist, known for japanese animator and artist, was born on 1941-01-05.
Chuck McKinley athlete, known for american tennis player, was born on 1941-01-05. Charles Robert McKinley Jr. (January 5, 1941 – August 11, 1986) was an American former world no.
Joan Baez, American musician, known for american contemporary folk musician, was born on 1941-01-09. Joan Chandos Baez is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist.
Faye Dunaway, American actress, known for american actress, was born on 1941-01-14. Dorothy Faye Dunaway is an American actress.
Plácido Domingo, Spanish musician, known for spanish tenor and conductor, was born on 1941-01-21. José Plácido Domingo Embil is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator.
Neil Diamond, American musician, known for american singer-songwriter, was born on 1941-01-24. Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter.
Joan A. Steitz is born
Carol Mann is born
Fran Tarkenton, American athlete, known for american football player, was born on 1941-02-03.
Mario Andretti, South African athlete, known for american racing driver, was born on 1941-02-28.
Chuck Norris, American martial artist and actor, known for american martial artist and actor, was born on 1941-03-10. Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor.
Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian film director and screenwriter, known for italian film director and screenwriter, was born on 1941-03-16.
Nancy Pelosi is born
Jerry Lucas, American athlete, known for american basketball player and author, was born on 1941-03-30. Jerry Ray Lucas is an American former basketball player.
Herbie Hancock, American musician, known for american jazz pianist and composer, was born on 1941-04-12. Herbert Jeffrey Hancock is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer.
Julie Christie, British actress, known for british actress, was born on 1941-04-14. Julie Frances Christie is a British actress.
Pete Rose athlete, known for american baseball player, was born on 1941-04-14. Peter Edward Rose Sr.
Margrethe II is born
Al Pacino, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1941-04-25. Alfredo James Pacino is an American actor.
Alan Kay, American computer scientist, known for american computer scientist, was born on 1941-05-17.
Nora Ephron, American writer, journalist and filmmaker, known for american writer, journalist and filmmaker, was born on 1941-05-19.
Aldrich Ames, American cia analyst and soviet spy, known for american cia analyst and soviet spy, was born on 1941-05-26.
Charlie Watts, English musician, known for british drummer, was born on 1941-06-02.
Spalding Gray, American actor and writer, known for american actor and writer, was born on 1941-06-05. Spalding Rockwell Gray (June 5, 1941 – c. January 11, 2004) was an American actor and writer.
Tom Jones is born
George Akerlof, American economist, known for american economist, was born on 1941-06-17.
Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and statesman, known for bangladeshi economist and statesman, was born on 1941-06-28.
Nursultan Nazarbayev is born
Ringo Starr, English musician and actor, known for english musician and actor, was born on 1941-07-07.
Patrick Stewart, English actor, known for english actor, was born on 1941-07-13. Sir Patrick Stewart is an English actor.
Joe Torre athlete, known for american baseball player, manager, and executive, was born on 1941-07-18. Joseph Paul Torre Jr.
Martin Sheen, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1941-08-03. Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez, known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor.
Otis Redding musician, known for american singer and songwriter, was born on 1941-09-09. Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter.
Cass Elliot, American singer, known for american singer, was born on 1941-09-19. Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally by the stage name Cass Elliot, was an…
Jack Brisco, American professional wrestler and amateur wrestler, known for american professional wrestler and amateur wrestler, was born on 1941-09-21.
Michel Temer is born
Anne Rice, American author, known for american author, was born on 1941-10-04. Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic…
Cliff Richard, New Zealand musician, known for british singer and actor, was born on 1941-10-14. Sir Cliff Richard is a British singer and actor.
Doug Sahm, American musician, known for american musician, was born on 1941-11-06.
Dr. John musician, known for american singer-songwriter and pianist, was born on 1941-11-20. Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr.
Joe Gibbs, American athlete, known for american race team owner and football coach, was born on 1941-11-25. Joe Jackson Gibbs is a former football coach and an American auto racing team owner.
Dionne Warwick, American musician, known for american singer, was born on 1941-12-12.
Anthony Fauci, American immunologist, known for american immunologist, was born on 1941-12-24.
Dick Cheney is born
Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer, known for british fashion designer, was born on 1941-04-08.
Robert Baden-Powell, British soldier and founder of the scout association, known for british soldier and founder of the scout association, died on 1941-01-08.
James Joyce, Irish novelist and poet, known for irish novelist and poet, died on 1941-01-13. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic.
Frederick Banting, Canadian medical scientist and doctor, known for canadian medical scientist and doctor, died on 1941-02-21.
Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer, known for american astronomer, died on 1941-04-13.
Lou Gehrig, American baseball player, known for american baseball player, died on 1941-06-02.
Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, intellectual and statesman, known for polish pianist, composer, intellectual and statesman, died on 1941-06-29.