At A Glance

17 July 1940 at a glance

Day of the week
17 July 1940 was a Wednesday.
Top Film of 1940
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1940 was Pinocchio.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 July is Cancer.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 July 1940 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for July is Ruby.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 July 1940 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 17 July

  • 1919 The form of government in the Republic of Finland is officially confirmed with the enactment of the Constitution of Finland. For this reason, July 17 is known as the Day of Democracy (Kansanvallan päivä) in Finland.
  • 1936 Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war.
  • 1938 Douglas Corrigan takes off from Brooklyn to fly the "wrong way" to Ireland and becomes known as "Wrong Way" Corrigan.
  • 1945 World War II: The main three leaders of the Allied nations, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin, hold the Potsdam Conference in the German city of Potsdam to decide the future of a defeated Germany.
  • 1954 First Indochina War: Viet Minh troops successfully ambush the armoured French column 'G.M. 42' in the Battle of Chu Dreh Pass in the Central Highlands. It is the last battle of the war.

Famous people born on 17 July

  • Brett Goldstein, British actor, comedian and writer (born 1980)
  • Billie Lourd, American actress (born 1992)
  • Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor and producer (1935–2024)
  • Queen Camilla, Queen Consort of King Charles III of the United Kingdom (born 1947)

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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