At A Glance

5 January 1942 at a glance

Day of the week
5 January 1942 was a Monday.
Top Film of 1942
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1942 was Bambi.
Star sign
The star sign for 5 January is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 5 January 1942 fell in the Year of the Snake.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 5 January 1942 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 5 January

  • 1933 Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
  • 1944 The Daily Mail becomes the first major London newspaper to be published on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
  • 1945 The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland.
  • 1949 In his State of the Union address, United States President Harry S. Truman unveils his Fair Deal program.
  • 1953 The play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett receives its première in Paris.

Famous people born on 5 January

  • Suki Waterhouse, English actress, singer-songwriter, and model (born 1992)
  • Vinnie Jones, British footballer and actor (born 1965)
  • Diane Keaton, American actress, director, and businesswoman (1946–2025)
  • Bradley Cooper, American actor and producer (born 1975)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1942 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1942 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 29 January – radio programme Desert Island Discs first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme, presented by Roy Plomley; Austrian-born revue performer Vic Oliver (the Prime Minister's son-in-law) is the first castaway. The programme will still be running 80 years later.
  • 15 February – World War II: General Arthur Percival's forces surrender to the Japanese in the event known as the Fall of Singapore.
  • 10 July – the patriotic Academy Award-winning drama film Mrs. Miniver, starring Greer Garson, is released in London.

Life in 1942

Prime Minister

Winston Churchill

Monarch

George VI

Pint of Beer

3p

Loaf of Bread

2p

Average House

£650

Weekly Wage

£4.10

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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