At A Glance

9 August 1940 at a glance

Day of the week
9 August 1940 was a Friday.
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 9 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 9 August 1940 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 9 August 1940 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 9 August

  • 1936 Summer Olympics: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games.
  • 1942 World War II: Battle of Savo Island: Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force.
  • 1942 Dmitri Shostakovich's 7th symphony premieres in a besieged Leningrad.
  • 1944 The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.
  • 1944 World War II: Continuation War: The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, the largest offensive launched by Soviet Union against Finland during the Second World War, ends to a strategic stalemate. Both Finnish and Soviet troops at the Finnish front dig to defensive positions, and the front remains stable until the end of the war.

Famous people born on August 9

  • Gillian Anderson, American-British actress, activist and writer (born 1968)
  • Whitney Houston, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (1963–2012)
  • Melanie Griffith, American actress and producer (born 1957)
  • Bill Skarsgård, Swedish actor (born 1990)

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.

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.

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

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