At A Glance

20 August 1940 at a glance

Day of the week
20 August 1940 was a Tuesday.
Top Film of 1940
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1940 was Pinocchio.
Bestselling Novel of 1940
“How Green Was My Valley” by Richard Llewellyn was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1940.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 August 1940 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 August 1940 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 20 August

  • 1940 World War II: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes the fourth of his famous wartime speeches, containing the line "Never was so much owed by so many to so few".
  • 1940 World War II: The Eighth Route Army launches the Hundred Regiments Offensive, a successful campaign to disrupt Japanese war infrastructure and logistics in occupied northern China.
  • 1944 World War II: The Battle of Romania begins with a major Soviet Union offensive.
  • 1948 Soviet Consul General in New York, Jacob M. Lomakin is expelled by the United States, due to the Kasenkina Case.
  • 1949 Hungary adopts the Hungarian Constitution of 1949 and becomes a People's Republic.

Famous people born on August 20

  • Andrew Garfield, American-English actor (born 1983)
  • Amy Adams, American actress (born 1974)
  • Demi Lovato, American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1992)
  • Ke Huy Quan, Vietnamese-American actor (born 1971)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1940 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1940 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • February 7 – RKO release Walt Disney's second full-length animated film, Pinocchio.
  • February 10 – Tom and Jerry make their debut in Puss Gets the Boot.
  • May 15 – The very first McDonald's restaurant opens in San Bernardino, California.
More events of 1940 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in the US in 1940

President

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Gas (per gallon)

$0.18

Loaf of Bread

$0.08

Average House

$2,938

Weekly Wage

$25

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.

Dolly Parton19 January 1946Singer-songwriterView their day →Donald Trump14 June 1946President of the United StatesView their day →Sylvester Stallone6 July 1946Actor & filmmakerView their day →Robert De Niro17 August 1943ActorView their day →Mitch McConnell20 February 1942Politician & lawyerView their day →George W. Bush6 July 1946President of the United StatesView their day →Michael Douglas25 September 1944Actor & producerView their day →Arnold Schwarzenegger30 July 1947Actor & bodybuilderView their day →

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

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