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Nicholas Stryk

Nicholas Stryk

Nicholas John Stryk (born December 17, 1896 in western Ukraine; died 1950) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Liberal-Progressive from 1941 to 1945, and again from 1949 until 1950. Stryk was born to an Austrian family living in western Ukraine, and came to Canada in 1899. He was educated in Manitoba, and worked as a school teacher for twenty-six years. In 1921, he became a Notary Public and Commissioner. He sought election to the Canadian House of Commons in the federal election of 1935 as a Liberal-Progressive, but finished third in Springfield against official Liberal candidate John Mouat Turner. He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1941 provincial election, defeating CCF incumbent Herbert Sulkers by almost one thousand votes in the constituency of St. Clements. He served as a government backbencher in the parliament which followed. Stryk sought re-election in the 1945 provincial election, but lost to CCF candidate Wilbert Doneleyko by 220 votes. Donelyko was later expelled from the CCF caucus for promoting anti-NATO views, and Stryk defeated him without difficulty in the 1949 election to return to the legislature. He again served as a government backbencher, and died the following year. Stryk, Nicholas Stryk, Nicholas Stryk, Nicholas

December 17

December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 14 days remaining.

Events

- 283 - St Gaius becomes Pope.
- 384 - St Siricius becomes Pope.
- 1586 - The reign of Emperor Go-Yozei, the 107th imperial ruler of Japan, begins.
- 1637 - The Shimabara Rebellion breaks out in Japan.
- 1777 - France becomes the first nation to recognize the United States.
- 1843 - "A Christmas Carol", a fictional short story by Charles Dickens, is first published.
- 1862 - General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
- 1903 - First powered flight, by the Wright Brothers.
- 1919 - Uruguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1935 - First flight of the Douglas DC-3 airplane.
- 1939 - German battleship Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo four days after the Battle of the River Plate.
- 1941 - German siege of Sevastopol begins
- 1944 - Western Defense Command issues proclamation ending requirement of Japanese internment.
- 1944 - In what became known as the Malmédy massacre, around 80 American POW are executed by Waffen-SS troops of Jochen Peiper’s Kampfgruppe.
- 1961 - India seizes Goa from Portugal
- 1961 - A fire at a circus in Niteroi, Brazil kills 323 people.
- 1967 - Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1908) disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria
- 1969 - The U.S. Air Force announces that its UFO investigations have found no evidence of extraterrestrial spacecraft.
- 1969 - SALT I talks begin
- 1970 - My Lai trial begins
- 1970 - Coastal cities events Mass riots in the coastal cities of Poland ended in massacre of shipyard workers in Gdynia
- 1973 - The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses.
- 1978 - The Workers Party of Jamaica is founded by Trevor Munroe.
- 1981 - U.S. army officer James Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy
- 1983 - A fire at a night club in Madrid kills 82.
- 1989 - The first episode of The Simpsons airs on the Fox network
- 1989 - Brazil holds its first free election in 25 years.
- 1989 - Full-scale street manifestations and riots in Timisoara ignite the Romanian Revolution
- 1997 - A chartered Yakovlev-42 from Ukraine crashes into the mountains near Katerini, Greece killing 70
- 1998 - Claudia Benton is murdered in her West University, Texas home by Angel Maturino Resendiz. She is his fifth murder victim in his fourth incident.
- 2002 - A peace accord is signed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 2003 - First supersonic flight by Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne
- 2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the third and final film in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, opens in theaters.

Births

- 1239 - Kujo Yoritsugu, Japanese shogun (d. 1256)
- 1267 - Emperor Go-Uda of Japan (d. 1324)
- 1619 - Prince Rupert, Royalist commander in the English Civil War (d. 1682)
- 1632 - Anthony Wood, English antiqurian (d. 1695)
- 1685 - Thomas Tickell, English writer (d. 1740)
- 1706 - Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1749)
- 1734 - Maria I of Portugal, Portuguese queen (d. 1816)
- 1749 - Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer (d. 1801)
- 1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, German Composer (d. 1827)
- 1778 - Humphry Davy, English chemist (d. 1829)
- 1787 - Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist (d. 1869)
- 1796 - Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian novelist (d. 1865)
- 1799 - Titian Peale, American artist (d. 1885)
- 1807 - John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet and abolitionist (d. 1892)
- 1830 - Jules de Goncourt, French publisher (d. 1870)
- 1853 - Herbert Beerbohm Tree, English actor (d. 1917)
- 1853 - Emile Roux, French physician (d. 1933)
- 1859 - Paul César Helleu, French artist (d. 1927)
- 1872 - Mistinguett, French actress and singer (d. 1956)
- 1873 - Ford Madox Ford, English writer (d. 1939)
- 1874 - William Lyon Mackenzie King, tenth Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1950)
- 1887 - Josef Lada, Czech painter (d. 1957)
- 1888 - King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (d. 1934)
- 1892 - Sam Barry, American basketball coach (d. 1950)
- 1893 - Erwin Piscator, German film director (d. 1966)
- 1894 - Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (d. 1979)
- 1901 - Lee Strasberg, Austrian-born actor and director (d. 1982)
- 1903 - Erskine Caldwell, American author (d. 1987)
- 1903 - Ray Noble, English musician
- 1906 - Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier (d. 2002)
- 1908 - Willard Frank Libby, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
- 1911 - André Claveau, French singer (d. 2003)
- 1916 - Penelope Fitzgerald, English writer (d. 2000)
- 1929 - Jacqueline Hill, British actress (d. 1993)
- 1929 - William Safire, American columnist
- 1930 - Bob Guccione, American magazine publisher
- 1930 - Bob Mathias, American athlete
- 1930 - Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor
- 1938 - Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian musician
- 1938 - Peter Snell, New Zealand athlete
- 1939 - Eddie Kendricks, American musician (d. 1992)
- 1941 - Gene Clark, American musician (d. 1991)
- 1942 - Paul Butterfield, American musician (d. 1987)
- 1943 - Ron Geesin, Scottish musician
- 1943 - Lauren Hutton, American model and actress
- 1944 - Jack L. Chalker, Canadian novelist
- 1944 - Bernard Hill, English actor
- 1945 - Elvin Hayes, American basketball player
- 1945 - Ernie Hudson, American actor
- 1949 - Paul Rodgers, British singer (Free)
- 1951 - Ken Hitchcock, Canadian hockey coach
- 1955 - Brad Davis, American basketball player
- 1966 - Kristiina Ojuland, Estonian politician
- 1968 - Paul Tracy, Canadian race car driver
- 1970 - Joshua Seth, American voice actor and hypnotist
- 1971 - Antoine Rigaudeau, French basketball player
- 1971 - Alan Khan, South African Radio DJ and breakfast TV host on am2day
- 1973 - Paula Radcliffe, English runner
- 1975 - Nick Dinsmore, American professional wrestler
- 1975 - Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-born actress and model
- 1979 - J M McDermott, American Fantasy Novelist
- 1981 - Alexander R. Scott, American artist

Deaths

- 1187 - Pope Gregory VIII
- 1195 - Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut (b. 1150)
- 1273 - Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, Persian poet and mystic (b. 1207)
- 1663 - Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba (b. 1583)
- 1721 - Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough, English statesman (b. 1640)
- 1763 - Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony (b. 1722)
- 1812 - Kaspar Hauser, German foundling (b. 1812)
- 1830 - Simón Bolívar, Latin American politician and activist (b. 1783)
- 1897 - Alphonse Daudet, French writer (b. 1840)
- 1907 - William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish-born physicist (b. 1824)
- 1909 - King Léopold II of Belgium (b. 1835)
- 1917 - Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician (b. 1836)
- 1957 - Dorothy L. Sayers, English writer (b. 1893)
- 1964 - Victor Franz Hess, Austrian-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
- 1987 - Irving Allen, American producer (b. 1916)
- 1987 - Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian novelist (b. 1903)
- 1992 - Dana Andrews, American actor (b. 1909)
- 1998 - Claudia Benton, Peruvian child psychologist (b. 1959)
- 1999 - Grover Washington Jr., American musician (b. 1943)
- 2003 - Ed Devereaux, Australian actor (b. 1925)
- 2003 - Otto Graham, American football player (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances

- National Day in Bhutan (1907)
- Roman Empire - Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn, began.
- Wright Brothers Day-US (by Presidential Proclamation)

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/17 BBC: On This Day] ---- December 16 - December 18 - November 17 - January 17 -- listing of all days ko:12월 17일 ms:17 Disember ja:12月17日 simple:December 17 th:17 ธันวาคม

1896

1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar).

Events

January - April

- January 4 - Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
- January 5 - An Austrian newspaper reports that Wilhelm Röntgen discovered a type of radiation later known as X-rays.
- January 12 - H.L. Smith takes the first X-ray photograph.
- January 18 - The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time.
- February 1 - The opera La bohème premieres (Turin).
- February 1 - Walter Arnold, of Kent, England, is fined for speeding in excess of the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph
- February 11 - Oscar Wilde's play Salomé premieres in Paris.
- March 1 - With the Battle of Adowa, Ethiopia defends its independence from Italy.
- April 3 - First edition of Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport is published.
- April 6 - Opening ceremonies of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games.

May - August

- May 8 - Cricket: Against Warwickshire, Yorkshire sets a still-standing County Championship record when they accumulate an innings total of 887.
- May 18 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Plessy v Ferguson, introducing the "separate but equal" doctrine.
- May 26 - Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- May 27 - The costliest and third deadliest tornado in U.S. history levels a mile wide swath of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, incurring $2.9 billion (1997 USD) in damages, killing more than 255 and injuring over 1,000 people.
- June 12 - J.T. Hearne sets a record for the earliest date of taking 100 wickets. It is equalled by Charlie Parker in 1931.
- June 15 - ? Earthquake and tsunami in Sanriku, Japan, kills 27.000
- July 9 - William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of gold speech.
- July 11 - Wilfrid Laurier becomes Canada's seventh prime minister.
- August 16 - Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in the Klondike.
- August 27 - The shortest war in the world - 9.02 - 9.40 between Britain and Zanzibar

September - December

- October 3 - Dalton brothers try to rob two banks but only Emmet Dalton survives the shootout
- October 5 - After a long siege, Brazilian government troops take Canudos in north Brazil, crushing Antonio Conselheiro and his followers
- November - William McKinley defeats William Jennings Bryan in the U.S. presidential election.
- November 6 - Hale Johnson runs as vice-presidential candidate for Prohibition Party.
- November 16 - Cherry Sisters perform in Olympia Music Hall in New York City. At first audience is stunned but then begins to answer with catcalls...
- December 30 - Jose Rizal, Filipino scholar and poet, executed in the Philippines

Unknown dates

- Nepalese archaeologists rediscover the great stone pillar of Ashoka at Lumbini, using Fa Xian's records.
- Pontifical University of Maynooth is established by decree of the Vatican
- France establishes an administrative post in Abengourou, Côte d'Ivoire.
- Formation of the New York Telephone Company
- The great Realignment of the Republican Party of the United States of America

Births

- January 2 - Dziga Vertov, Russian filmmaker (d. 1954)
- January 4 - Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
- January 4 - André Masson, French artist (d. 1987)
- January 12 - Rex Ingram, Irish director and actor (d. 1950)
- January 14 - Martin Niemöller, German theologian and pacifist (d. 1984)
- January 14 - John Dos Passos, American author (d. 1970)
- January 20 - George Burns, American comedian (d. 1996)
- January 23 - Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (d. 1985)
- February 18 - André Breton, French writer (d. 1966)
- February 28 - Philip Showalter Hench, Americah physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1965)
- February 29 - Morarji Desai, Indian politician (d. 1995)
- March 1 - Dimitri Mitropoulos, Greek conductor, pianist, and composer (d. 1960)
- March 20 - Wilfrid Reid "Wop" May, Canadian World War I pilot (d. 1952)
- March 29 - Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician (d. 1962)
- April 15 - Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov, Russian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
- April 30 - Gary Davis, American musician (d. 1972)
- May 30 - Howard Hawks, American director (d. 1977)
- June 7 - Robert S. Mulliken, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
- June 7 - Douglas Campbell, American World War I flying ace (d. 1990)
- June 19 - Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor (d. 1986)
- July 2 - Quirino Cristiani, Argentine animated film director (d. 1984)
- July 16 - Trygve Lie, first United Nations Secretary General (d. 1968)
- August 9 - Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist (d. 1980)
- August 15 - Gerty Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1957)
- August 18 - Jack Pickford, American actor (d. 1933)
- August 30 - Raymond Massey, Canadian-born actor (d. 1983)
- September 24 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, American writer (d. 1940)
- October 1 - Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1951)
- October 12 - Eugenio Montale, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- October 28 - Howard Hanson, American composer (d. 1981)
- October 31 - Ethel Waters, American singer and actress (d. 1977)
- November 8 - Bucky Harris, baseball player (d. 1977)
- November 10 - Jimmy Dykes, baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
- November 13 - Nobusuke Kishi, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1987)
- November 14 - Mamie Eisenhower, First Lady of the United States of America (d. 1979)
- November 16 - Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists (d. 1980)
- November 17 - Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist (d. 1934)
- December 5 - Carl Ferdinand Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1984)
- December 6 - Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (d. 1983)
- December 14 - Jimmy Doolittle, American World War II general (d. 1993)
- December 21 - Leroy Robertson, American composer (d. 1971)

Deaths

- January 4 - Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German Old Catholic bishop (b. 1821)
- January 8 - Paul Verlaine, French lyric poet (b. 1844)
- April 30 - Hamilton Disston, Floridan developer (b. 1844)
- May 20 - Clara Schumann, German composer (b. 1819)
- August 10 - Otto Lilienthal, German aviation pioneer (b. 1848)
- August 17 - Bridget Driscoll, world's first automobile fatality
- October 11 - Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer (b. 1824)
- October 11 - Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1829)
- October 23 - ? Columbus Delano, American statesman (b. 1809)
- December 10 - Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor of dynamite and creator of the Nobel Prize (b. 1833)
- December 30 - José Rizal, national hero of the Philippines (b. 1861)

Marriages

- February 20 - W.W. Denslow & Ann Waters Holden
- April 6 - Benjamin Harrison & Mary Scott Lord Dimmick
- April 8 - Jeanne Calment & Fernand Calment
- June 5 - Valborg Borchsenius & Johannes Norden Guldbrandsen
- June 26 - Jennette Lee & Gerald Stanley Lee
- July 22 - Queen Maud & King Haakon VII
- September 1 - W.S. Weatherwax & Anna L. Wallis
- October 15 - Lewis J. Selznick & Florence Flossie Sachs
- October 24 - King Victor Emmanuel III & Helen Petrovic-Njegos
- October 26 - Charles Fort & Anna Filing
- November 4 - Roberto Vittiglio & Wilhelmine Westphal
- December 1 - Neel Doff & Fernand Brouez Category:1896 ko:1896년 simple:1896 th:พ.ศ. 2439

Ukraine

Ukraine (Ukrainian: Україна, Ukrayina, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the northeast, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest and the Black Sea to the south. The territory of present-day Ukraine was a key centre of East Slavic culture in the Middle Ages, before being divided between a variety of powers, notably Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Austria, Romania and the Ottoman Empire. A brief period of independence following the Russian Revolution of 1917 was ended by Ukraine's absorption into the Soviet Union and the republic's present borders were only established in 1954. It became independent once more following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Name

Etymology
There are three main versions of the Slavic etymology for the name, all of them ultimately stem from the slavic root
- kraj- with the meaning 'cut'. Opinions vary as to the immediate derivation.
- By one theory the name is directly translated as 'borderland, frontier' (cf. Russian окраина/okraina 'outskirts' or Serbo-Croatian Krajina; this would be a semantic parallel to -mark in Denmark, cf. Marches).
- Another one associates it with the Ukrainian word країна/krajina 'country' (cf. also Belarusian краіна/kraina; these words can be compared to Polish kraj 'country'; this is also one of the meanings of Ukrainian and Russian край/kraj).
- Still another one derives the name directly from the Ukrainian verb краяти/krajaty, meaning 'to cut', indicating the land the Rus' (or Ruthenians or Ukrainians) carved out for themselves.

Ukraine or the Ukraine?

The country is often referred to in English with the definite article, as the Ukraine. This usage is now deprecated by many media organizations (compare "the Lebanon" and "the Sudan") and partly because of the implication that Ukraine is merely a region rather than an independent state. There was, however, no change in Ukrainian or Russian usage with Ukraine's independence, as there are no articles, definite or indefinite, in either language. However there is a parallel concerning the usage of the preposition na or v with Ukraine, both in Ukrainian and in Russian. Traditional usage is na Ukrayini (loosely, "at Ukraine"), but recently Ukrainian authorities have been using v Ukrayini ("in Ukraine"), as this preposition is used with most other country names. While in Ukrainian the newly introduced usage of v Ukrayini took hold, the usage in Russian varies. Russian language media from within Ukraine are increasingly using this form. However, the media in Russia mostly uses traditional na Ukraine, maintaining that it remains a proper usage and questioning the authority of the Ukrainian government over the Russian language. (See also Kiev or Kyiv for a similar debate).
History
Human settlement in the territory of Ukraine has been documented into distant prehistory. The late neolithic Trypillian culture flourished from ca. 4500 BC to 3000 BC. In antiquity, the southern and eastern parts of modern Ukraine were populated by Iranian nomads called Scythians. The Scythian Kingdom existed in Ukraine between 700 BC and 200 BC. In the third century, the Goths arrived, calling their country Oium, and formed the Chernyakhov culture before moving on and defeating the Roman empire. In the 7th century Ukraine was the core of the state of the Bulgars (often referred to as Great Bulgaria) who had their capital in the city of Phanagoria. The majority of the Bulgar tribes migrated in several directions at the end of the seventh century and the remains of their state was swept by the Khazars, a Turkic semi-nomadic people from Central Asia which later adopted Judaism. The Khazars founded the independent Khazar kingdom in the southeastern part of today's Europe, near the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. In addition to western Kazakhstan, the Khazar kingdom also included territory in what is now eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, southern Russia, and Crimea. During the tenth and eleventh centuries the territory of Ukraine became the center of important state in Europe— Kievan Rus laying the foundation for national identity of Ukrainians, as well as other East Slavic nations, through subsequent centuries. Its capital was Kiev, the capital of modern Ukraine, ruled by Askold and Dir in the late 800s. According to the Primary Chronicle the Kievan Rus' elite initially consisted of Varangians, or Vikings, from present-day Scandinavia. The Varangians later became assimilated into the local population of Rus' and gave the Rus' its first powerful dynasty, the Rurik Dynasty. Rurik Dynasty Rurik Dynasty For the etymology of the terms Rus and Russia, see Etymology of Rus and derivatives. Kiev and Kievian Rus' were the seat of the Grand Prince of the Rurik Dynasty. The ruler of Kiev was also in effect the ruler of all the Rus' principalities. Kievan Rus' was fragmentated after Mstislav the Great's death in 1125. The term "Rus'" was originally applied to the inhabitants of all Rus' principalities, today comprising Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. After the fall of Kiev, and until the eighteenth century, the term "Rus" was self-applied by the members of all three East Slavic nations, but the latinized version, "Ruthenian", was used to designate inhabitants of Ukraine only; while the ancestors of modern Russians were usually referred to as Muscovites or Muscovite Russians by the name of their state that Poland called Muscovy. Kievan Rus' became weakened by internal quarrels and was destroyed by Mongol and Tatar invasions. On Ukrainian territory, the state of Kievan Rus' was succeeded by the principalities of Halych and Volodymyr-Volynskyi, which were merged into the state of Halych-Volynia. In the mid 14th century it was subjugated by Kazimierz IV of Poland, and after the 1386 marriage of Lithuania's Grand Duke Jagiello to Poland's Queen Jadwiga, was ruled by the Lithuanians as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed in 1569 Union of Lublin, significant part of Ukraine was moved under the Polish administration, as it was transferred to the Polish Crown. Under the cultural pressure of polonization much of the Ukrainian (or rather Ruthenian) upper class converted to Catholicism as such transitions was beneficial for achieving the political influence within the state, e.g. one of the Wiśniowiecki's even became king of Poland. At the same time the common people (peasants) retained their old ways (including the Orthodox religion), which led to the increasing social tensions, visible in such events as the 1596 Union of Brest, created by Zygmunt III, who attempted to bring the Orthodox population closer to Catholicism. This move failed to achieve its goals. The new "intermediate" religion was unnecessary for the upper class, much of whom turned directly towards Catholicism. Thus, the Ukrainian commoners were deprived of their native protectors and turned for the protection to the Cossacks who remained fiercely Orthodox at all times. In the mid of the 17th century, a Cossack state, the Zaporizhian Sich, was established by Ukrainians and others fleeing Polish serfdom which formally belonged to Poland. Located in central Ukraine, it was an autonomous military state, initially allied with the Commonwealth. However the suppression of the Ukrainian free farmers by the Polish nobility, further imposition of serfdom and the suppression of the Orthodox church pushed the allegiances of Cossacks away from Poland. Their aspiration was to have a representation in Polish Seim, recognition of Orthodox traditions, which was vehemantly denied by Polish kings. They turned toward Orthodox Russia, which was one reason for the later downfall of the Polish-Lithuanian state. In 1648 Bohdan Khmelnytsky organized the largest of the Cossacks upprising, against the Commonwealth and the Polish king Jan II Kazimierz. This uprising finally led to a partition of Ukraine between Poland and Russia. Left-Bank Ukraine was eventually integrated into Russia as the Cossack Hetmanate, as a consequence of the Treaty of Pereyaslav in 1667. After the partitions of Poland by Prussia, Austria, and Russia at the end of the eighteenth century, Western Ukraine (Galicia) was taken over by Austria, while the rest of Ukraine was progressively incorporated into the Russian Empire. The treaty of Pereyaslav was abolished and Ukrainians never received the freedoms they were hoping for from Tsarist Russia. Ukrainians played an important role in the frequent wars between East European monarchies and the Ottoman Empire, they rised to the highest offices of Russian state (e.g., Aleksey Razumovsky, Alexander Bezborodko, Ivan Paskevich), and dominated the Russian Orthodox Church (e.g., Stephen Yavorsky, Feofan Prokopovich, Dimitry of Rostov). During the first world war austro-hungarian authorities in territory of Galicia subject to repression Ukrainians, sympathizing Russia. Over twenty thousand supporters of Russia are arrested and placed in the Austrian concentration camp in Talerhof, Stiria, and in fortress Terezien, Czechia. Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, Ukraine was briefly independent in two states, then united by cruel war, in 1920. In the period when the independent Ukrainian government was headed nationalist leader Simon Petlura (1919), there were numerous Jewish pogroms. By 1922 Ukraine was split between Poland and the Soviet Union. Also in 1922, most of Central and Eastern Ukraine became a constituent republic of the USSR as the Ukrainian SSR. In 20s years the communist leaders realized a policy of Ukrainization (коренизация), introduction of the Ukrainian language and culture in Russian-speaking Ukrainian cities. To satisfy the state's need for increased food supplies, the Soviet industrialization program called for the collectivization of agriculture, which had a profound effect on Ukraine, the nation's breadbasket (see Collectivization in the USSR). In the late 1920s and early 1930s the state compounded the peasants' lands and animals into collective farms and state farms. Although the program was designed to affect all peasants, the plan met particularly heavy resistance from the wealthiest peasants, the kulaks, and a desperate struggle of the peasantry against the authorities ensued. The idea of collective farming was foreign to Ukrainian farmers where emphasis was always made on individual achievements. Peasants slaughtered their cows and pigs rather than turn them over to the collective farms, especially in Ukraine, with the result that livestock resources remained below the 1929 level for years afterward. The state in turn forcibly collectivized reluctant peasants and deported kulaks and active rebels to Siberia. Within the collective farms, the authorities in many instances exacted such high levels of procurements that starvation was widespread. In some places, famine was allowed to run its course; and millions of peasants in Ukraine starved to death in a famine, called the Holodomor in Ukrainian. An estimated 3-6 million people died in this horrible manmade famine ([http://rg-new.w-m.ru/Anons/arc_2003/0917/5.shtm]) similar to the Russian famine of 1921. The disaster also has captured many regions of southern Russia. During World War II, some elements of the Ukrainian nationalist underground fought both Nazi and Soviet forces, while others collaborated with the Nazis. In 1941 the German invaders and their Axis allies initially advanced against desperate but unsuccessful efforts of the Red Army. In the encirclement battle of Kiev, the city was acclaimed by the Soviets as a "Hero City", for the fierce resistance of the Red Army and of the local population. More than 660,000 Soviet troops were taken captive. Initially, the Germans were received as "liberators" by many Ukrainians. However, German rule in the occupied territories eventually aided the Soviet cause. Nazi administrators of conquered Soviet territories made little attempt to exploit the population's dissatisfaction with Soviet political and economic policies. Instead, the Nazis preserved the collective-farm system, systematically carried out genocidal policies against Jews, and deported others (mainly Ukrainians) to work in Germany. Under these circumstances, the great majority of the Soviet people fought and worked on their country's behalf, thus ensuring the regime's survival. Total civilian losses during the war and German occupation in Ukraine are estimated between five and eight million, including over half a million Jews shot and killed by the Einsatzgruppen, often with the help of Ukrainian collaborators. Of the estimated eleven million Soviet troops who fell in battle against the Nazis, about a quarter (2.7 million) were ethnic Ukrainians. Ukraine is distinguished as one of the first nations to fight the Axis powers in Carpatho-Ukraine, and one that saw some of the greatest bloodshed during the war. After the Second World War, the borders of then-Soviet Ukraine were extended to the West (as stipulated in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, see also Curzon line), uniting most Ukrainians under one political state. The expellation of the Poles began in 1942-1943 with the massacres of Wolynia, where more than 40.000 people where killed by Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Over one million Poles were expelled from Ukraine. In 1954, Crimea was transferred from the RSFSR to Ukraine. This decision of Nikita Khrushchev, intended to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Treaty of Pereyaslav, seen in Soviet historiography as the 'union of two fraternal peoples', led to tensions between Russia and Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Independence was achieved in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Ukraine was a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Government and Politics
Commonwealth of Independent States Commonwealth of Independent States Ukraine is a democracy under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The President of Ukraine (elected by popular vote) nominates the Prime Minister, who must be confirmed by the 450-seat parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. The President (on advice and consent of the Prime Minister) appoints members of the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as heads of all central agencies and regional and district administrations. Laws, acts of the parliament and the Cabinet, presidential edicts, and acts of the Crimean parliament (Autonomous Republic of Crimea) may be nullified by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, when they are found to violate the Constitution of Ukraine. Other normative acts are subject to judicial review. The Supreme Court of Ukraine is the main body in the system of courts of general jurisdiction. Local self-government is officially guaranteed. Local councils and city mayors are popularly elected and exercise control over local budgets. In practice, the scope of local self-government is limited. Ukraine has a large number of political parties, many of which have tiny memberships and are unknown to the general public. Small parties often join in multi-party coalitions (electoral blocks) for the purpose of participating in parliamentary elections. See also:
- Ukrainian presidential election, 2004
- Foreign relations of Ukraine
Subdivisions
Ukraine is subdivided into twenty-four oblasts (provinces) and one autonomous republic (Crimea). Additionally, two cities have a special legal status. See also regions of Ukraine.
Geography
regions of Ukraine The Ukrainian landscape consists mostly of fertile plains, or steppes, and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as the Dnieper, Seversky Donets, Dniester and the Southern Buh as they flow south into the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. To the southwest the delta of the Danube forms the border with Romania. The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west, of which the highest is the Hora Hoverla at 2,061 m, and those in the Crimean peninsula, in the extreme south along the coast. Ukraine has a mostly temperate continental climate, though a more mediterranean climate is found on the southern Crimean coast. Precipitation is disproportionately distributed; it is highest in the west and north and lesser in the east and southeast. Winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland. Summers are warm across the greater part of the country, but generally hot in the south.
Economy
Precipitation Precipitation Precipitation Formerly an important agricultural and industrial region of the Soviet Union, Ukraine now depends on Russia for most energy supplies, especially natural gas, although lately it has been trying to diversify its sources. The lack of significant structural reform has made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. After 1991 the government liberalised most prices and erected a legal framework for privatisation, but widespread resistance to reform within the government soon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output by 1999 had fallen to less than 40% of the 1991 level. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. The current government has pledged to reduce the number of government agencies, streamline the regulatory process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs, and enact a comprehensive tax overhaul. Reforms in the more politically sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatisation are still lagging. Outside institutions—particularly the IMF—have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms and have threatened to withdraw financial support. The GDP in 2000 showed strong export-based growth of 6%—the first growth since independence—and industrial production grew 12.9%. The economy continued to expand in 2001, as real GDP rose 9% and industrial output grew by over 14%. Growth was undergirded by strong domestic demand and growing consumer and investor confidence. Rapid economic growth in 2002 - 2004 is largely attributed to a surge in steel exports to China.
Demographics
2004 2004 Ethnic Ukrainians make up 77.8% of the population. The minorities include significant groups of ethnic Russians (17.3%), Belarusians (0.6%), Moldavians (0.5%), Crimean Tatars (0.5%), Bulgarians (0.4%), Hungarians (0.3%), Romanians (0.3%), Poles (0.3%), Jews (0.2%), Armenians (0.2%), Greeks (0.2%) and Tatars (0.2%) [http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/nationality/]. The industrial regions in the east and south-east are the most heavily populated, and about 67.2% of the population lives in urban areas. Ukrainian is the only official state language. Russian, which was the official language in the Soviet Union, is still used by many people, especially in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian is considered to be a native language by 67.5% of the population and Russian by 29.6% (according to the 2001 census). It is sometimes difficult to determine the extent of the two language, since many people use a mixed language (Surzhyk) containing elements of both, while thinking they speak Russian or Ukrainian. Standard literary Ukrainian is mainly spoken in western and central Ukraine. In western Ukraine, Ukrainian is also the dominant language in cities (e.g. Lviv). In central Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian are both equally used in cities (including Kiev), while Ukrainian is the dominant language in rural communities. In eastern Ukraine mainly Russian and Surzhyk are used. In the Autonomous Republic of Crimea practically all of the population speaks Russian and Ukrainain is virtually unused. Both languages are official within the autonomous republic. The share of students receiving their education in Russian has significantly declined from 41% in 1995 to 24% in 2004, in favour of Ukrainian-language education. Still, many urban Ukrainian schools are de facto Russian-speaking, especially in the east and south. Russian continues to be the language of international communication for many Ukrainians and is generally understood throughout the country.
Religion
de facto The dominant religion in Ukraine is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which is currently split between three Church bodies. The distant second is the Eastern Rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which practices similar Liturgical rite to Eastern Orthodoxy, but is in communion with the Catholic see and recognizes the primacy of the Roman Pope as head of the Church. There are also smaller Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim communities.
Culture

- List of famous Ukrainians
- Music of Ukraine
- Ivan Kupala
- Sports in Ukraine
Miscellaneous topics

- Chernobyl accident
- Communications in Ukraine
- List of cities in Ukraine
- List of newspapers in Ukraine
- Military of Ukraine
- Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)
- Scouting in Ukraine
- Tourism in Ukraine
- Transportation in Ukraine
- Ukraine at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Ukrainian cuisine
- 2005 Eurovision Song Contest
References

- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/up.html CIA World Factbook - Ukraine]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1102303.stm Country profile: Ukraine], BBC's Country Profile on Ukraine.
- [http://www.economist.com/countries/Ukraine/index.cfm Country Briefings: Ukraine], by The Economist
- [http://eb.eiu.com/index.asp?layout=oneclick&country_id=980000298 Executive Briefing: Ukraine], by Economist Intelligence Unit.
- [http://www.guardian.co.uk/ukraine Special Report: Ukraine], ongoing coverage by Guardian Unlimited
- [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3211.htm Background Note: Ukraine], the U.S. Department of State website
- [http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/european/ukraine/ua.html Ukraine], Portals to the World, Internet resources selected by Library of Congress subject experts
- [http://www.wumag.kiev.ua/index2.php?param=pgs20031/4 "Ukraine: Briefly about Her Past and Present"], in Welcome to Ukraine, 2003, 1]
External links

- [http://www.president.gov.ua/en/ Official presidential site of Ukraine]
- [http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en Government Portal of Ukraine] - Official governmental portal
- [http://www.rada.gov.ua Verkhovna Rada]—Official parliamentary site (in Ukrainian)
- [http://www.archives.gov.ua/Eng/ Archives of Ukraine]
- [http://www.ukrtelecom.ua/en/offers/web_cam/ Web cam shots for selected cities across Ukraine]
- [http://www.infoukes.com Infoukes]—General info on Ukraine's History and Politics
- [http://myukraine.info My Ukraine]—General info on Ukraine's culture and geography.
- [http://www.kyivpost.com Kyiv Post]—Kyiv News in English
- [http://www.ukraina.at Ukraina.at]—Ukraine Fanpage from Mr. Bartosch (in German)
- [http://pages.prodigy.net/l.hodges/ukraine.htm Ukrainian Language, Culture and Travel Page]
- [http://guide.kyiv.ru/ Kiev and Ukraine Travel Guide ]
- [http://www.skrobach.com/ Information about Independent Ukraine] Category:Black Sea countries zh-min-nan:Ukrayina als:Ukraine ko:우크라이나 ms:Ukraine ja:ウクライナ simple:Ukraine th:ประเทศยูเครน fiu-vro:Ukraina

Manitoba

Manitoba is one of Canada's provinces. It is the fifth Canadian province (created by the government in 1870). Its population as of July 1, 2005 (Statistics Canada) was 1,177,556 (Manitobans). It is the easternmost of the three Prairie Provinces. The name is Ojibwa, meaning "straits of the spirit". Its capital and largest city (containing over one half the provincial population) is Winnipeg. Other important cities and towns include Brandon, Thompson, Dauphin, Swan River, Churchill, The Pas, Selkirk, Portage la Prairie, Flin Flon, Steinbach, Morden, and Winkler.

Geography

Manitoba is located in the longitudinal centre of Canada, although it is considered part of Western Canada. It borders Saskatchewan to the west, Ontario to the east, Nunavut to the north, and the American states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. The province has a coast with Hudson Bay, and contains the very large Lakes Winnipeg, Manitoba (its namesake), and Winnipegosis. Important watercourses include the Red River, Assiniboine River, Nelson River, Winnipeg River, Hayes River and Churchill River. It is generally flat and low-lying though there are some hilly areas in the province. Baldy Mountain is the highest point at 831m (2,727 feet) and the Hudson Bay coast the lowest at sea level. Other upland areas include Riding Mountain, the Pembina Hills, and the Canadian Shield regions to the east. The climate in Manitoba is typical of its mid continent location and northerly latitude. In general, temperatures and precipitation decrease from south to north. Summers are generally warm to hot and winters very cold. Both spring and autumn are contracted seasons. As Manitoba is far removed from the moderating influences of both mountain ranges and large bodies of water (all of Manitoba's lakes freeze during the winter months), and because of its generally flat landscape, it is exposed to numerous weather systems throughout the year including prolonged cold spells in the winter months when arctic high pressure air masses settle over the province. This has resulted in the capital of the province being nicknamed "Winterpeg". In the summer months the climate is often influenced by low pressure air masses originating in the Gulf of Mexico resulting in hot and humid conditions and frequent thunderstorms. Only the southern parts of the province support extensive agriculture. The northern reaches of the province range through coniferous forests, muskeg, and up to tundra in the far north. There is approximately 24,000 square miles of untouched boreal forest on the eastern side of Lake Winnipeg. This area is renowned by naturalists and sportsmen for its pristine wilderness. tundra.]]

History

Manitoba was settled by members of the Ojibwa and Assiniboine tribes. The first European to reach present-day Manitoba was Sir Thomas Button, who visited the Nelson River in 1612. Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de la Vérendrye, visited the Red River Valley in the 1730s as part of opening the area for French exploration and exploitation. An important French-Canadian population (Franco-Manitobains) still lives in Manitoba, especially in the Saint-Boniface district of Winnipeg. The territory was won by Britain in 1763 as part of the French and Indian War, and became part of Rupert's Land, the immense monopoly territory of the Hudson's Bay Company. Hudson's Bay Company The founding of the first agricultural community in 1811 by Lord Selkirk, near modern Winnipeg, resulted in conflict between the white colonists and the Métis who lived near there. Twenty colonists, including the governor, were killed by the Métis in the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. When Rupert's Land was ceded to Canada in 1869 and incorporated into the Northwest Territories, a lack of attention to Métis concerns led their leader Louis Riel to establish a provisional government, The Red River Rebellion. Negotiations between this government and the Canadian government resulted in the creation of the province of Manitoba and its entry into Confederation in 1870. Originally the province was only 1/18 of its current size and square in shape - it was known as the "postage stamp province." It grew progressively, absorbing land from the Northwest Territories until it attained its current size by reaching 60°N in 1912.

Demographics

Ethnic origin :Note: the percentages do not necesarily add up to 100% as multiple responses are allowed.
- 22.8% Canadian
- 22.0% English
- 18.1% German
- 17.7% Scottish
- 14.2% Ukrainian
- 13.0% Irish
- 12.6% French
- 9.9% North American Indian
- 6.6% Polish
- 5.1% Métis Ethnic origins with less than 3% of the responses are not listed. [http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo26h.htm Source] Manitoba is home to the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland.[http://www.gov.mb.ca/finance/budget05/advantage/culture.html] There are about 26,000 people with Icelandic ancestry living in Manitoba.[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/ETO/Table1.cfm?Lang=E&T=501&GV=1&GID=46] About 35% of the Icelandic-Canadian population lives in Manitoba.[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/highlight/ETO/Table1.cfm?Lang=E&T=501&GV=1&GID=0] Religious groups
- 43.0% Protestant
- 29.3% Roman Catholic
- 4.0% Christian not included elsewhere
- 1.4% Christian Orthodox
- 1.1% Jewish
- 18.6% No religious affiliation Religions that make up less than 1% are not listed. [http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo30b.htm Source]

Famous Manitobans

- Randy Bachman, musician, (The Guess Who) & Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO)
- Ashleigh Banfield, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044752/ TV actress], TV host
- Cordell Barker, Oscar nominated animator The Cat Came Back
- Brenda Barrie, novelist and poet
- Burton Cummings, musician, (The Guess Who)
- Len Cariou, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0137230/ actor]
- Bill Cody, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168565/ actor]
- Richard Condie, Oscar nominated animator The Big Snit
- Dionisio, Ma-Anne, lead role of Kim in Miss Saigon in Toronto and in Sydney, Australia
- Deanna Durbin, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002052/ actress]
- Marcel Dzama, [http://www.richardhellergallery.com/dynamic/artist_bio.asp?ArtistID=3 artist]
- Brendan Fehr, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0270451/ actor], star of the television series Roswell
- Ken Finkleman, director, writer and actor
- Terry Fox, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1745181/ cancer activist] and national hero
- Aaron Funk, musician
- Joanna Gleason, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0322306/ actress]
- Monty Hall, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0355937/ TV celebrity], television game show host
- Bob Hunter, co-founder of Greenpeace
- Doug Henning, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377392/ magician]
- Terry Jacks, singer
- Chantal Kreviazuk, musician & [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0471092/ actress]
- Mimi Kuzyk, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0476906/ tv actress]
- Kyle McCulloch, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567143/ actor], writer for South Park
- Todd MacCulloch, basketball player
- Gisele MacKenzie, singer
- Mary MacLane, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533695/ writer]
- Guy Maddin, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534665/ director]
- Joan Mitchell, painter, first wife of Alan Greenspan
- Bob Nolan, musician
- Anna Paquin, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/ actress]
- Fred Penner, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0672094/ children's entertainer], musician
- Frank Pickersgill, SOE agent in World War II executed by the Nazis
- Douglas Rain, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0706937/ actor]
- Brad Roberts, musician, [http://www.crashtestdummies.com/ Crash Test Dummies]
- Gabrielle Roy, author
- Ray St. Germain, musician
- John K. Samson, singer-songwriter (The Weakerthans)
- Terry Sawchuk, NHL goalie
- Remy Shand, musician
- Al Simmons, musician, children's entertainer
- Alexander Steen, NHL
- David Steinberg, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0825731/ actor, comedian]
- Sir William Stephenson (aka Intrepid), spy, man on whom the character of James Bond is based
- Nia Vardalos, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0889522/ actress and writer]
- Catherine Wreford, [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1671908/ stage actress], wife of Jeff Goldblum
- Maiko Watson, musician, founding member of girl-group Sugar Jones, wife of Remy Shand

Map

image:manmap.PNG

External links

- [http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/docs/manitoba/index.htm The Manitoba School Question]
- [http://www.mhs.mb.ca The Manitoba Historical Society] Category:Manitoba zh-min-nan:Manitoba ko:매니토바 주 ja:マニトバ州 simple:Manitoba

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba is the legislative branch of government in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies. The Manitoba Legislative Building is located in central Winnipeg, at the meeting point of the Wolseley and Fort Rouge constituencies. The current Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba is George Hickes of the New Democratic Party. New Democratic Party

Members

There is currently one vacancy. John Loewen, previously the Progressive Conservative member for Fort Whyte, resigned from the assembly on September 26, 2005 to seek the Liberal Party of Canada's nomination in the federal riding of Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia.

Party standings

centre centre Seating Plan
Manitoba Category:Politics of Manitoba

1941

:For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January-February

- January 6 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.
- January 10 - Lend-Lease is introduced into the U.S. Congress.
- January 19 - British troops attack Italian-held Eritrea.
- January 21 - World War II: Australian and British forces attack Tobruk, Libya.
- January 22 - World War II: British troops capture Tobruk from the Italians.
- January 23 - Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
- February 3 - World War II: The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.
- February 4 - World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
- February 11 - World War II: Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel arrives in Tripoli.
- February 19 - The start of the "three nights' Blitz" over Swansea, South Wales. Over these three nights of intensive bombing, which lasted a total of 13 hours and 48 minutes, Swansea town centre was almost completely obliterated by the 896 High Explosive bombs employed by the Luftwaffe. A total of 397 casualties and 230 deaths were reported. The Three nights Blitz ended in the early hours of February 22.

March

- March 1 - World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact thus joining the Axis powers.
- March 1 - W47NV begins operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station.
- March 1 - Arthur L. Bristol becomes Rear Admiral for the U.S. Navy's Support Force, Atlantic Fleet
- March 11 - World War II: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
- March 17 - In Washington, DC, the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- March 17 - British Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin, calls for women to fill vital jobs
- March 22 - Washington's Grand Coulee Dam begins to generate electricity.
- March 25 - World War II: Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Vienna joins the Axis powers
- March 27 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii and begins to study the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor.
- March 29 - World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan - Off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean, British naval forces defeat those of Italy sinking five warships. Battle started on March 27.

April

- April 6 - World War II: Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece.
- April 17 - World War II: Yugoslav Royal Army capitulates.
- April 21 - World War II: Greece capitulates. British troops withdraw to Crete.
- April 27 - World War II: German troops enter Athens.
- April - Russia and Japan sign a neutrality pact.

May

neutrality pact
- May 1 - Breakfast cereal Cheerios is introduced as CheeriOats by General Mills
- May 1 - Orson Welles' film, Citizen Kane, premieres in New York City
- May 5 - Emperor Haile Selassie enters Addis Ababa, which had been liberated from Italian forces; this date has been since commemorated as Liberation Day in Ethiopia.
- May 6 - At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO Show.
- May 9 - World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the British Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma cryptography machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.
- May 10 - World War II: The United Kingdom's House of Commons is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
- May 10 - World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland claiming to be on a peace mission.
- May 20 - World War II: Battle of Crete - Germany launches airborne invasion of Crete.
- May 21 - World War II: 950 miles off the coast of Brazil, the freighter SS Robin Moor becomes the first