At A Glance

20 May 1940 at a glance

Day of the week
20 May 1940 was a Monday.
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 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 May 1940 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 May 1940 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 20 May

  • 1932 Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
  • 1940 The Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
  • 1941 World War II: Battle of Crete: German paratroops invade Crete.
  • 1943 The Luttra Woman, a bog body from the Early Neolithic period (radiocarbon-dated c. 3928–3651 BC), is discovered near Luttra, Sweden.
  • 1948 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.

Famous people born on May 20

  • Enes Kanter Freedom, Turkish basketball player (born 1992)
  • Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, English journalist and author (born 1964)
  • Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (born 1946)
  • Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer (born 1968)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

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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