January 1940

January 1940 was the first month of that leap year. It began on a Monday and ended after 31 days on a Wednesday

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The following events occurred in January 1940:

January 1, 1940 (Monday)

January 2, 1940 (Tuesday)

January 3, 1940 (Wednesday)
  • U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the 1940 State of the Union Address to Congress. "In previous messages to the Congress I have repeatedly warned that, whether we like it or not, the daily lives of American citizens will, of necessity, feel the shock of events on other continents. This is no longer mere theory; because it has been definitely proved to us by the facts of yesterday and today," the president said. He asked the Congress to approve increased national defense spending "based not on panic but on common sense" and "to levy sufficient additional taxes" to help pay for it.[3]
  • The pro-Nazi English socialite Unity Mitford, who was in Germany when the war began, arrived at the English port of Folkestone under heavy police guard and was brought ashore on a stretcher. Her father Lord Redesdale told a reporter that his daughter was very ill.[4][5]
  • Born: Leo de Berardinis, stage actor and theatre director, in Gioi, Italy (d. 2008)

January 4, 1940 (Thursday)

January 5, 1940 (Friday)

January 6, 1940 (Saturday)

January 7, 1940 (Sunday)
  • The Battle of Raate Road ended in Finnish victory.
  • German documents record an attack on this date by the German First Minesweeper Flotilla on an unidentified submarine near Heligoland. Since the British submarine Seahorse was on patrol at the time but never returned, it is thought to have been sunk in this attack.[9][10]
  • The British submarine Undine was attacked and badly damaged near Heligoland by three German minesweepers. Early the next day the submarine was scuttled and the crew taken prisoner.[9]

January 8, 1940 (Monday)

January 9, 1940 (Tuesday)

January 10, 1940 (Wednesday)
  • Mechelen incident: A German aircraft with an officer on board carrying plans for Fall Gelb, the German invasion of the Low Countries, crash-landed in neutral Belgium. The plans fell into the hands of Belgian intelligence.[1]

January 11, 1940 (Thursday)

January 12, 1940 (Friday)

January 13, 1940 (Saturday)

January 14, 1940 (Sunday)

January 15, 1940 (Monday)
  • The British government took over control of the country's meat industry.[17]
  • Belgium protested to Germany over the Mechelen incident.[8]
  • Born: Tommy Gilbert, professional wrestler, in Lexington, Tennessee (d. 2015)

January 16, 1940 (Tuesday)
  • Mitsumasa Yonai replaced Nobuyuki Abe as Prime Minister of Japan.
  • British Parliament met for the first time in the New Year.[18] Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain made a speech on the general war situation which concluded, "At the moment there is a lull in the operations of war, but at any time that lull may be sharply broken, and events may occur within a few weeks or even a few hours which will reshape the history of the world. We, in this country, hope, as do the peoples of every nation, that the just and lasting peace which we are seeking will not be long delayed. On the other hand, it may well be that the war is about to enter upon a more acute phase. If that should prove to be the case, we are ready for it, and in common with our Allies we will spare no effort and no sacrifice that may be necessary to secure the victory on which we are determined."[19]
  • Born: Franz Müntefering, Vice-Chancellor of Germany, in Neheim, Germany

January 17, 1940 (Wednesday)

January 18, 1940 (Thursday)

January 19, 1940 (Friday)

January 20, 1940 (Saturday)
  • The Soviets bombed Turku and Hanko, starting serious fires there.[22]
  • During the Winter Offensive in the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chinese troops captured Licheng.[23]
  • Winston Churchill gave an address over the radio referred to as the "House of Many Mansions" speech, with neutral nations its primary subject. Churchill explained that there was "no chance of a speedy end" to the war "except through united action", and asked listeners to consider what would happen if neutral nations "were with one spontaneous impulse to do their duty in accordance with the Covenant of the League, and were to stand together with the British and French Empires against aggression and wrong?" Churchill concluded, "The day will come when the joybells will ring again throughout Europe, and when victorious nations, masters not only of their foes but of themselves, will plan and build in justice, in tradition, and in freedom a house of many mansions where there will be room for all."[24]
  • London recorded a temperature of 12 degrees Fahrenheit - the city's coldest day since 1881.[25]
  • A temperature of −30.1 °C (−22.2 °F) was recorded in the Valley of the Lesse in Rochefort, Belgium - the country's coldest temperature ever.[26]
  • Born: Carol Heiss, figure skater and actor, in New York City

January 21, 1940 (Sunday)

January 22, 1940 (Monday)

January 23, 1940 (Tuesday)
  • Former South African Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog introduced a motion in the House of Assembly that "the time has arrived that the war with Germany should be ended and that peace be restored." The motion's wording was ambiguous as to whether it was advocating a general or a separate peace.[28]
  • Britain lowered the speed limit at night in populated areas to 20 miles per hour due to the sharp increase in the rate of auto accidents during blackouts.[1]
  • Oliver Stanley announced in the House of Commons that kilts would not be issued to members of Scottish regiments except to pipers and drummers, for reasons connected to the possible use of poison gas by the enemy.[29]

January 24, 1940 (Wednesday)

January 25, 1940 (Thursday)
  • France announced a new decree providing sentences of up to two years in prison and fines up to 5,000 francs for "false assertions" presented as "personal opinions" that correspond to "enemy propaganda and which, expressed publicly, indicate the marked intention of their authors to injure national defense by attacking the morale of the army and population".[31]
  • Died: John Calvin Stevens, 84, American architect

January 26, 1940 (Friday)
  • The passenger ship Durham Castle struck a mine off Cromarty, Scotland and sank.
  • The 1911 trade treaty between the United States and Japan expired.[32]
  • The Nazis warned that listening to foreign radio was punishable by death.[5]
  • Charles de Gaulle issued a memo to his superiors stating, "We began the war with five million soldiers yet our aerial forces are only now being equipped and our armoured vehicles are too weak and too few in number."[8]
  • U-boat captains were permitted from now on to make submerged attacks without warning on certain merchant vessels (though not on Spanish, Russian, Japanese or American ships) east of Scotland, in the Bristol Channel and in the English Channel.[22]
  • American actor Norman Kerry joined the French Foreign Legion.[33]

January 27, 1940 (Saturday)

January 28, 1940 (Sunday)
  • Finnish troops eliminated Soviet forces encircled in the Pieni-Kelivaara pocket on the north shore of Lake Ladoga.[1]
  • Chinese troops captured Lucheng, Shanxi.[23]
  • A new musical quiz show called Beat the Band premiered on NBC Radio. The audience sent in riddles to the house band in which the answer was always the title of a song. Listeners earned $10 if their question was used and an additional $10 if their question stumped the band.[36]
  • Born: Carlos Slim, businessman, in Mexico City, Mexico

January 29, 1940 (Monday)
  • French Prime Minister Édouard Daladier made a radio address to the people of France titled "The Nazis' Aim is Slavery". "For us, there is more to do than merely win the war," Daladier said. "We shall win it, but we must also win a victory far greater than that of arms. In this world of masters and slaves, which those madmen who rule at Berlin are seeking to forge, we must also save liberty and human dignity."[37]
  • A fire at Ajikawaguchi Station in Osaka, Japan killed almost 200 people.[14]
  • Actress Jill Esmond won a divorce from her husband Laurence Olivier. Vivien Leigh was named as co-respondent and Olivier did not contest the proceedings.[38]
  • Born: Katharine Ross, actress, in Los Angeles, California

January 30, 1940 (Tuesday)
  • Adolf Hitler gave a speech at the Berlin Sportpalast on the seventh anniversary of the Nazis taking power, his first formal address since narrowly avoiding the attempt on his life in November. The location of the speech was kept secret up until a few hours before it began. Hitler claimed that Britain and France "wanted war" and he vowed that they would "get their fight".[39]
  • Heinrich Himmler issued a statement clarifying his "procreation" order of last October 28. The "worst misunderstanding", Himmler wrote, was that the order encouraged SS men to approach the wives of serving soldiers.[40]
  • The German submarine U-15 sank in the North Sea in the Hoofden after it was accidentally rammed by the German torpedo boat Iltis.
  • The German submarine U-55 was depth charged, shelled and sunk off the Shetland Islands by Allied convoy OA-80G.
  • Born: Mitch Murray, songwriter and record producer, in Hove, England

January 31, 1940 (Wednesday)
  • Britain secretly approached neutral Italy about purchasing badly needed fighter planes for the war effort. Germany would ensure that no such deal would be made.[1]
  • Died: Candelaria of San José, 76, Venezuelan founder of the Hermanas Carmelitas de Madre Candelaria; René Schickele, 56, German-French writer, essayist and translator

References
  1. "1940". World War II Database. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  2. "Was war am 2. Januar 1940". chroniknet. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  3. Peters, Gerbhard; Woolley, John T. "Annual Message to Congress - January 3, 1940". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  4. "From the archive, 4 January 1940: Unity Mitford arrives at Folkestone". The Guardian. January 4, 1940. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  5. Mercer, Derrik, ed. (1989). Chronicle of the 20th Century. London: Chronicle Communications Ltd. p. 524. ISBN 978-0-582-03919-3.
  6. "Was war am 4. Januar 1940". chroniknet. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  7. "William Powell Wed; 'Scarlett' Sued by Mate". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. January 6, 1940. p. 1.
  8. Davidson, Edward; Manning, Dale (1999). Chronology of World War Two. London: Cassell & Co. pp. 26–27. ISBN 0-304-35309-4.
  9. Bertke, Donald A.; Kindell, Don; Smith, Gordon (2009). World War II Sea War Volume 1. Bertke Publications. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-578-02941-2.
  10. Heden, Karl E. (2006). Sunken Ships, World War II. Boston: Branden Books. pp. 225–226. ISBN 978-0-8283-2118-1.
  11. Trotter, William (1991). A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939–1940. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Algonquin Books. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-56512-249-9.
  12. "Britain Goes on Food Rationing System Today". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. January 8, 1940. p. 1.
  13. Chronology and Index of the Second World War, 1938–1945. Research Publications. 1990. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-0-88736-568-3.
  14. "1940". MusicAndHistory. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  15. "Television Introduction". North Dakota Studies. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  16. Theoharis, Athan G., ed. (1999). The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide. Phoenix, AZ: The Oryx Press. p. 365. ISBN 978-0-89774-991-6.
  17. Darrah, David (January 16, 1940). "Britain Takes Over Country's Meat Industry". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
  18. "Sittings in January 1940". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  19. "War Situation". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). January 16, 1940. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  20. "1940: Machinery of Hatred". The Holocaust Chronicle. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  21. "Ontario Brands Canada as Lax in its War Efforts". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. January 19, 1940. p. 1.
  22. Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945. London: Chatham Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8.
  23. Chen, C. Peter. "Winter Offensive". World War II Database. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  24. Churchill, Winston. "The War Situation: House Of Many Mansions". The Churchill Centre. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  25. "Now Londoners Know It Was Cold Jan. 20!". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. February 3, 1940. p. 4.
  26. "List of weather records", Wikipedia, 2022-02-08, retrieved 2022-02-09
  27. "Miss Colbert's $301,944 Pay Is Movie 'Tops'". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. January 23, 1940. p. 1.
  28. Mansergh, Nicholas (1968). Survey of British Commonwealth Affairs: Problems of Wartime Cooperation and Post-War Change, 1939–1952. Frank Cass and Company Limited. p. 33.
  29. "Kilts Banned in Battle Zone". The Examiner. Launceston: 1. January 25, 1940.
  30. Hanson, Patricia King, ed. (1993). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1931–1940. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 822. ISBN 0-520-07908-6.
  31. "French Tighten Curbs on Free Speech, Press". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. January 26, 1940. p. 2.
  32. "Chronology 1940". indiana.edu. 2002. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  33. "Norman Kerry, Actor, Joins Foreign Legion". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. January 29, 1940. p. 2.
  34. "Was war am 27. Januar 1940". chroniknet. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  35. "Canadian Parliaments Since 1867". Elections Canada. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  36. Macfarlane, Malcolm; Crossland, Ken (2009). Perry Como: A Biography and Complete Career Record. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-4766-0024-6.
  37. Whiticker, Alan J. (2009). Speeches that Reshaped the World. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-921655-63-0.
  38. "Wife Divorces Olivier, Friend of Vivien Leigh". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. January 30, 1940. p. 3.
  39. "Foes Will Get The Fight They Wanted: Hitler". Chicago Daily Tribune. Chicago: Chicago Daily Tribune. January 31, 1940. p. 1.
  40. "Himmler's Response to Complaints regarding his "Procreation Decree" of October 28, 1939 (January 30, 1940)". German History in Documents. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
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