At A Glance

20 May 1940 at a glance

Day of the week
20 May 1940 was a Monday.
Top Film of 1940
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1940 was Pinocchio.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 May 1940 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 May 1940 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 20 May

  • 1932 Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
  • 1940 The Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
  • 1941 World War II: Battle of Crete: German paratroops invade Crete.
  • 1943 The Luttra Woman, a bog body from the Early Neolithic period (radiocarbon-dated c. 3928–3651 BC), is discovered near Luttra, Sweden.
  • 1948 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.

Famous people born on 20 May

  • Enes Kanter Freedom, Turkish basketball player (born 1992)
  • Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, English journalist and author (born 1964)
  • Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (born 1946)
  • Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer (born 1968)

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.
More events of 1940 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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.

Tim Curry19 April 1946ActorView their day →Charles III14 November 1948King of the United KingdomView their day →Freddie Mercury5 September 1946Singer & songwriterView their day →Paul McCartney18 June 1942Musician & member of the BeatlesView their day →David Bowie8 January 1947Musician & actorView their day →John Lennon9 October 1940MusicianView their day →Jeffrey Archer15 April 1940Author & politicianView their day →George Harrison25 February 1943Musician & member of the BeatlesView their day →

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

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