At A Glance

20 June 1940 at a glance

Day of the week
20 June 1940 was a Thursday.
Top Film of 1940
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1940 was Pinocchio.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 June is Gemini.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 June 1940 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for June is Pearl.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 June 1940 was Full Moon.

On this day: 20 June

  • 1942 The Holocaust: Kazimierz Piechowski and three others, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, steal an SS staff car and escape from the Auschwitz concentration camp.
  • 1944 World War II: The Battle of the Philippine Sea concludes with a decisive U.S. naval victory. The lopsided naval air battle is also known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot".
  • 1944 World War II: During the Continuation War, the Soviet Union demands unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses.
  • 1944 The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space.
  • 1945 The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip.

Famous people born on 20 June

  • Nicole Kidman, American-Australian actress (born 1967)
  • John Goodman, American actor (born 1952)
  • Lionel Richie, American singer, songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor (born 1949)
  • Frank Lampard, English footballer (born 1978)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1940 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1940 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 3–9 March – RMS Queen Elizabeth makes her maiden voyage from Clydebank to New York.
  • 9 April – British campaign in Norway commences following Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of neutral Denmark and Norway.
  • 26 May – 4 June – The Dunkirk evacuation of British Expeditionary Force takes place. 300,000 troops are evacuated from France to England.

Life in 1940

Prime Minister

Winston Churchill

Monarch

George VI

Pint of Beer

3p

Loaf of Bread

2p

Average House

£675

Weekly Wage

£3.50

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1940s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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