At A Glance

31 July 1940 at a glance

Day of the week
31 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 31 July is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 July 1940 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for July is Ruby.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 July 1940 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 31 July

  • 1938 Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).
  • 1938 Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.
  • 1941 The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question."
  • 1941 World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.
  • 1945 Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.

Famous people born on 31 July

  • J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer (born 1965)
  • Mark Cuban, American businessman and television personality (born 1958)
  • Emilia Fox, English actress (born 1974)
  • Wesley Snipes, American actor and producer (born 1962)

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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