Category Archives: 1940s

Battle of Singapore begins with Japanese amphibious assault 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 8 1942)

1940s, World War II


Video: '129- German Army Surrounded: You Did Nazi That Coming! - WW2 - February 13, 1942' (Battle of Singapore at 2:34)

(Sunday, February 8, 1942, shortly before 8:30 p.m. MALT; during the Fall of Singapore, part of the Malayan campaign, the Pacific War and the Second World War) — The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, began tonight when the first wave of Japanese troops from the 5th Division and 18th Division began crossing the Johor Strait towards the island city-state nicknamed Britain’s “Gibraltar of the East.” Continue reading Battle of Singapore begins with Japanese amphibious assault 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 8 1942) →

‘A String of Pearls’ by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 7 1942)

1940s, Popular Music 1940s

(Saturday, February 7, 1942) — “A String of Pearls” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra peaked at #1 on today’s Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart for two non-consecutive weeks (Feb. 7/21, 1942). Continue reading ‘A String of Pearls’ by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra peaks at #1 in USA 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 7 1942) →

Nazi officials formalize plans for ‘Final Solution to the Jewish question’ at Wannsee Conference 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 20 1942)

1940s, The Holocaust, World War II


Video: 'The House of the Wannsee Conference'

(Tuesday, January 20, 1942, approximately noon-1:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time; during The Holocaust, part of World War II) — 15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered today at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of what they called the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question,” an attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe, an estimated 11 million persons. Continue reading Nazi officials formalize plans for ‘Final Solution to the Jewish question’ at Wannsee Conference 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 20 1942) →

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially approves project to make first atomic weapons 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 19 1942)

1940s, U.S. Presidents, World War II


Video: 'The Birth of the Manhattan Project - WW2 Special'

(Monday, January 19, 1942; during World War II) — Responding to a Nov. 27, 1941, recommendation by Vannevar Bush that “an atomic bomb WAS feasible,” U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, spurred on by the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, replied today with a brief handwritten note, “V. B. OK — returned — I think you had best keep this in your own safe FDR.” Continue reading U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially approves project to make first atomic weapons 80 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 19 1942) →

251 people killed as German sub torpedoes Canadian ocean liner off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 19 1942)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Sinking Of The Rms Lady Hawkins'

(Monday, January 19, 1942, 7:43 a.m. EST; during the Battle of the Atlantic, part of World War II) — German submarine U-66 sank the Canadian ocean liner RMS Lady Hawkins this morning off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, killing 251 people. Continue reading 251 people killed as German sub torpedoes Canadian ocean liner off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 19 1942) →

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill becomes first head of state to cross Atlantic Ocean by plane 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 17 1942)

1940s, Movies 1940s, U.S. Presidents, World War II


Video: 'Mr Churchill Comes Home (1942)'

(Saturday, January 17, 1942, shortly before 10:00 a.m. British Summer Time; during World War II) — British Prime Minister Winston Churchill became the first head of state to cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane when he landed this morning in Plymouth, England, after an eighteen-hour flight from Bermuda following the Arcadia Conference with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Continue reading British Prime Minister Winston Churchill becomes first head of state to cross Atlantic Ocean by plane 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 17 1942) →

Actress Carole Lombard, 33, killed in plane crash near Las Vegas 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 16 1942)

1940s, Movies 1940s, World War II


Video: 'Carole Lombard Paramount Death Report Footage'

(Friday, January 16, 1942, 7:20 p.m. PST) — Academy Award nominated actress Carole Lombard, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies, and 21 other people, including Lombard’s mother, were killed tonight when TWA Flight 3 crashed into a mountain near Las Vegas. Continue reading Actress Carole Lombard, 33, killed in plane crash near Las Vegas 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 16 1942) →

FDR outlines vast offensive war plan in annual State of Union Address 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 6 1942)

1940s, World War II


Video: '1942 State of the Union Address'

(Tuesday, January 6, 1942, 12:30 p.m. EST, during World War II) — A breathtaking mammoth arms production, American forces fighting on many fronts and an eventual hard-hitting attack upon the enemy’s own territory were woven into a unified war plan presented today by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the annual State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress. Continue reading FDR outlines vast offensive war plan in annual State of Union Address 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 6 1942) →

Japanese forces capture Manila, Cavite naval base and Clark Field air­base 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 2 1942)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Japanese Invasion of the Philippines 1941' (Jan. 2, 1942, at 2:18)

(Friday, January 2, 1942, Japanese imperial forces marched into Manila from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Philippine Standard Time; during the Philippines campaign (1941–1942), part of the Pacific Theater of World War II) — Japanese forces captured Manila, capital of the Philippines with its 600,000 population, the nearby Cavite naval base and Clark Field air­base today, forcing U.S. and Philippine forces under U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the United States armed forces in the Far East, to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula. Continue reading Japanese forces capture Manila, Cavite naval base and Clark Field air­base 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 2 1942) →

Churchill warns of dark days but holds victory is certain in unprecedented address to U.S. lawmakers 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 26 1941)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'Mr Churchill Addresses Congress - SOUND'

(Friday, December 26, 1941, 12:30 p.m. EST; during the Arcadia Conference and World War II) — Winston Churchill, the first wartime Prime Minister of Great Britain ever to address the Congress of the United States, told American lawmakers today that while “we are able to beat the life out of the savage Nazi,” at least 18 months would be required to turn the tide of the war and warned that “many disappointments and unpleasant surprises await us.” Continue reading Churchill warns of dark days but holds victory is certain in unprecedented address to U.S. lawmakers 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 26 1941) →