At A Glance

17 December 1940 at a glance

Day of the week
17 December 1940 was a Tuesday.
Top Film of 1940
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1940 was Pinocchio.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 December 1940 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 December 1940 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 17 December

  • 1935 Douglas DC-3: The twin-engine airliner makes its maiden flight from Santa Monica.
  • 1938 Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.
  • 1939 World War II: Battle of the River Plate: The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo.
  • 1943 All Chinese are again permitted to become citizens of the United States upon the repeal of the Act of 1882 and the introduction of the Magnuson Act.
  • 1945 Kurdistan flag day, the flag of Kurdistan is raised for the first time in Mahabad in eastern Kurdistan.

Famous people born on 17 December

  • Sarah Paulson, American actress (born 1974)
  • Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress (born 1975)
  • Bill Pullman, American actor (born 1953)
  • Pope Francis, Argentinian Pope of the Catholic Church (1936–2025)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1940 in Ireland

A selection from Wikipedia's '1940 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.

  • 17 January – The Enid (Captain Wibe) of neutral Norway sailing from Steinkjer to Dublin, 10 miles north of Shetland, went to assist SS Polzella which had been torpedoed by German submarine U-25 which then shelled and sank Enid.
  • 7 February – The Munster (Captain R. Paisley) was mined and sunk in the Irish Sea while entering Liverpool.
  • 3 March – Flooding of Poulaphouca Reservoir was begun by damming the River Liffey at Poulaphouca as part of the Electricity Supply Board project to build Ireland's second hydroelectricity generating station, together with an improved water supply for Dublin.
More events of 1940 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Famous Faces Born in the 1940s

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

Michael Gambon19 October 1940ActorView their day →Brenda Fricker17 February 1945ActressView their day →Gerry Adams6 October 1948Republican politicianView their day →Phil Lynott20 August 1949Rock musicianView their day →Sinéad Cusack18 February 1948ActressView their day →Rory Gallagher2 March 1948GuitaristView their day →Fionnula Flanagan10 December 1941ActressView their day →Gilbert O'Sullivan1 December 1946Singer-songwriterView their day →

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

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