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Johnny Dodds

Johnny Dodds

Johnny Dodds (April 12, 1892 – August 8, 1940) was a jazz clarinetist, and older brother of drummer Baby Dodds. Baby Dodds Born Waveland, Mississippi, he moved to New Orleans in his youth, studied clarinet with Lorenzo Tio. Played with bands of Frankie Duson, Kid Ory, and Joe "King" Oliver. Dodds went to Chicago, Illinois, played with Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, whom he first recorded with in 1923. After break up of Oliver band in 1924, Dodds replaced Alcide Nunez as house clarinetist and bandleader of Kelly's Stables. He recorded with numerous small groups in Chicago, most notably with Louis Armstrong's Hot 5 and Hot 7, and Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers. Dodds was noted for his professionalism and virtuosity as a musician, and his heartfelt heavily blues laden style. He was an important influence on later clarinetists, notably Benny Goodman. Dodds died in Chicago in 1940.

External links

- [http://www.redhotjazz.com/jdodds.html Johnny Dodds on redhotjazz.com]
- [http://personal.eunet.fi/pp/renko/dodds.htm A short biography] Dodds, Johnny Dodds, Johnny Dodds, Johnny Dodds, Johnny Dodds, Johnny Dodds, Johnny

April 12

April 12 is the 102nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (103rd in leap years). There are 263 days remaining.

Events

- 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire
- 1606 - The Union Jack is adopted as the national flag of Great Britain.
- 1633 - The formal interrogation by the Inquisition of Galileo Galilei begins.
- 1861 - American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Fort Pillow massacre -- Confederate forces under General Nathan Bedford Forrest kill most of the African American soldiers who had surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee
- 1865 - American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.
- 1877 - The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
- 1923 - Kandersteg International Scout Centre came into existence.
- 1926 - By a vote of 45 to 41, the United States Senate unseats Iowa Senator Smith W. Brookhart and seats Daniel F. Steck, after Brookhart had already served for over one year.
- 1937 - Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at the British Thomson-Houston factory in Rugby, England
- 1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies, and Harry S. Truman is inaugurated as the 33rd President of the United States.
- 1946 - Syria gains independence from France.
- 1954 - Bill Haley and His Comets record "Rock Around the Clock" in New York City. Initially unsuccessful, the recording would help launch the Rock and Roll revolution a year later.
- 1955 - The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
- 1961 - Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man to fly in space.
- 1968 - Nerve gas accident at Skull Valley, Utah.
- 1975 - Khmer Rouge troops capture Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
- 1980 - Terry Fox began his trans-Canada marathon to raise money for cancer research (Marathon of Hope) by dipping his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean at St. John's, Newfoundland, aiming to dip it again in the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver, British Columbia.
- 1981 - The first launch of a Space Shuttle: Columbia launches on the STS-1 mission.
- 1984- LiSARS is created
- 1989 - TV Show Fast Forward starts on The ATN-7 Network (Australia).
- 1990 - Christian Bernard, F.R.C., becomes Imperator of AMORC.
- 1992 - Euro Disneyland opens in Marne-la-Vallee, France.
- 1994 - Canter & Siegel post the first commercial mass Usenet spam.
- 1998 - Catastrophical earthquake in Slovenia in Posočje 5,6 on the Richter scale.
- 2002 - Coup d'Etat against Hugo Chávez in Venezuela.
- 2005 - In Canada, a motion by the opposition Conservative Party to kill legislation opening the door for legalized same sex marriage is defeated 164-132.

Births

599 BC to 1899

- 599 BC - Mahavira, Indian founder of Jainism (d. 527 BC)
- 812 - Muhammad at-Taqi, Arabian Shia Imam (d. 835)
- 1484 - Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect (d. 1546)
- 1500 - Joachim Camerarius, German classical scholar (d. 1574)
- 1526 - Muretus, French humanist (d. 1585)
- 1550 - Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English politician (d. 1604)
- 1577 - King Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)
- 1713 - Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French writer (d. 1796)
- 1722 - Pietro Nardini, Italian composer (d. 1793)
- 1724 - Lyman Hall, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1790)
- 1726 - Charles Burney, English music historian (d. 1814)
- 1748 - Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (d. 1836)
- 1777 - Henry Clay, American statesman and five-time Presidential candidate (d. 1852)
- 1799 - Henri Druey, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1855)
- 1823 - Alexandr Ostrovsky, Russian dramatist (d. 1886)
- 1839 - Nikolai Przhevalsky, Russian explorer (d. 1888)
- 1856 - William Martin Conway, English art critic and mountaineer (d. 1937)
- 1869 - Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)
- 1884 - Otto Meyerhof, German-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1951)
- 1887 - Harold Lockwood, American silent film actor (d. 1918)
- 1888 - Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet pianist (d. 1964)
- 1892 - Johnny Dodds, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1940)
- 1893 - Robert Harron, American actor (d. 1920)
- 1898 - Lily Pons, American soprano (d. 1976)

1900 to 1999

- 1902 - Louis Beel, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
- 1903 - Sally Rand, American dancer and actress (d. 1979)
- 1903 - Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
- 1907 - Felix de Weldon, Austrian-born sculptor (d. 2003)
- 1908 - Lionel Hampton, American musician (d. 2002)
- 1912 - Walt Gorney, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1916 - Beverly Cleary, American writer
- 1917 - Helen Forrest, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1922 - Tiny Tim, American musician (d. 1996)
- 1923 - Ann Miller, American actress and dancer (d. 2004)
- 1928 - Hardy Krüger, German actor
- 1928 - Jean-François Paillard, French conductor
- 1932 - Dennis Banks, American activist
- 1932 - Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan Politician (assassinated) (d. 2005)
- 1933 - Montserrat Caballé, Catalan soprano
- 1939 - Alan Ayckbourn, English writer
- 1940 - Herbie Hancock, American pianist and composer
- 1941 - Bobby Moore, English footballer (d. 1993)
- 1944 - John Kay, German-born musician (Steppenwolf)
- 1946 - Ed O'Neill, American actor
- 1947 - Tom Clancy, American author
- 1947 - David Letterman, American talk show host
- 1948 - Jeremy Beadle, British television presenter
- 1948 - Joschka Fischer, Foreign Minister of Germany
- 1948 - Sandra "Lois" Reeves, American singer (Martha & the Vandellas)
- 1949 - Scott Turow, American writer
- 1950 - David Cassidy, American singer and actor
- 1950 - Kari Palaste, Finnish architect
- 1952 - Ralph Wiley, American sports journalist (d. 2004)
- 1954 - Pat Travers, Canadian musician
- 1956 - Andy Garcia, Cuban-born actor
- 1956 - Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer, pianist, and actor
- 1957 - Vince Gill, American musician
- 1961 - Lisa Gerrard, Australian singer and film composer
- 1962 - Art Alexakis, American musician (Everclear)
- 1964 - Amy Ray, American musician (Indigo Girls)
- 1970 - Nick Hexum, American musician (311)
- 1971 - Nicholas Brendon, actor
- 1971 - Shannen Doherty, American actress
- 1978 - Guy Berryman, British musician (Coldplay)
- 1978 - Riley Smith, American actor
- 1979 - Claire Danes, American actress
- 1979 - Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer
- 1982 - Deen, Bosnian singer
- 1985 - Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)

Deaths

65 to 1899

- 65 - Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher, statesman and dramatist
- 238 - Gordian I, Roman Emperor (suicide)
- 238 - Gordian II, heir to the Roman Empire (killed in battle)
- 1443 - Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1550 - Claude, Duke of Guise, French soldier (b. 1496)
- 1555 - Juana of Castile, queen of Philip I of Castile (b. 1479)
- 1687 - Ambrose Dixon, Virginia Colony pioneer
- 1704 - Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and writer (b. 1627)
- 1748 - William Kent, English architect
- 1782 - Metastasio, Italian poet and librettist (b. 1698)
- 1788 - Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-born composer (b. 1719)
- 1795 - Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710)
- 1814 - Charles Burney, English music historian (b. 1726)
- 1850 - Adoniram Judson, American Baptist missionary (b. 1788)

1900 to 1999

- 1912 - Clara Barton, American nurse and Red Cross advocate (b. 1821)
- 1938 - Feodor Chaliapin, Russian bass (b. 1873)
- 1945 - Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)
- 1962 - Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, Indian politician and engineer (b. 1861)
- 1971 - Igor Tamm, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
- 1975 - Josephine Baker, American dancer (b. 1906)
- 1980 - Clark McConachy, New Zealand billiards and snooker player (b. 1895)
- 1980 - William R. Tolbert, Jr., President of Liberia (b. 1913)
- 1981 - Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)
- 1986 - Valentin Kataev, Russian writer (b. 1897)
- 1988 - Alan Paton, South African novelist (b. 1903)
- 1989 - Gerald Flood, British actor (b. 1927)
- 1989 - Abbie Hoffman, American radical leader (b. 1936)
- 1989 - Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)
- 1997 - George Wald, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1903)
- 1999 - Boxcar Willie, American singer (b. 1931)

2000 onwards

- 2003 - Cecil H. Green, American manufacturer (b. 1900)

Holidays and observances

- The Roman holiday of Cerealia begins.
- Yuri's Night, an international celebration of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin.
- Easter, 1998

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/12 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.tnl.net/when/4/12 Today in History: April 12] ---- From "Lines in Praise of a Date Made Praiseworthy Solely by Something Very Nice That Happened to It", by Ogden Nash: :"As through the calendar I delve :I pause to rejoice in April twelve. :Yea, be I in sickness or be I in health :My favorite date is April twealth. :..." ---- April 11 - April 13 - March 12 - May 12 -- listing of all days ko:4월 12일 ms:12 April ja:4月12日 simple:April 12 th:12 เมษายน

August 8

August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining.

Events

- 1509 - The Emperor Krishnadeva Raya is crowned in the town of Chittoor in the present-day state of Andhra Pradesh, India. His accession marks the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire after a period of internal strife.
- 1585 - John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in quest for the Northwest Passage.
- 1588 - Battle of Gravelines ends - Defeated by the English during an invasion attempt, the surviving parts of the Spanish Armada begin to sail home. Only 67 of the original 130 ships will later reach Spain and most of these will be in poor condition.
- 1605 - The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.
- 1647 - Battle of Dangan Hill - Irish forces are defeated by British Parliamentary forces.
- 1786 - Mont Blanc is climbed for the first time by Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat.
- 1839 - Beta Theta Pi was founded in Oxford, OH.
- 1844 - During a meeting held in Nauvoo, the Quorum of Twelve, headed by Brigham Young, is created as the leading body of the Mormon Church.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (Davis will refuse the request upon receipt).
- 1876 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
- 1911 - Public Law 62-5 sets the number of representatives in the United States House of Representatives at 435. The law will take effect in 1913.
- 1918 - World War I: Battle of Amiens - Canadian troops, backed by Australians, begin a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines. German General Erich Ludendorff will later call this the "black day of the German army."
- 1929 - The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight (will end on August 29).
- 1930 - Betty Boop premieres in the animated film "Dizzy Dishes".
- 1938 - The Mauthausen concentration camp opens.
- 1942 - World War II: In Washington, DC, six German would-be saboteurs are executed (two others cooperate and receive life imprisonment instead).
- 1942- Quit India resolution was passed by the Bombay session of the AICC, which leads to the start of a historical civil disobedience movement across India
- 1945 - World War II - The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria with more than 1 million troops. Japan surrenders on August 15
- 1945 - The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States, and that nation becomes the third to join the new international organization.
- 1949 - Bhutan becomes independent
- 1962 - Elizabeth Ann Duncan becomes the last woman to be executed in the United States prior to the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1977. She and the two men she hired to murder her pregnant daughter-in-law in 1958 die in San Quentin's gas chamber.
- 1963 - Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.
- 1967 - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded.
- 1968 - Jurō Wada, a doctor at the Sapporo Medical School, successfully performs Japan's first heart transplant.
- 1969 - An iconic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:AbbeyRoad.jpg picture] of the Beatles is taken to be used on their album Abbey Road.
- 1972 - Richard Nixon accepts the nomination as candidate for the presidency at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida and chooses Maryland Govenor Spiro Agnew to be his running mate.
- 1973 - U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew goes on television to denounce accusations he had taken kickbacks from contractors while governor of Maryland. He calls the charges as "damned lies" and vows not to resign. (See also October 10)
- 1973 - Kim Dae-Jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped from a Tokyo hotel.
- 1974 - Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation (effective the next day, August 9).
- 1976 - Boston, the self-titled debut album for the rock band Boston is released. It sells over 17 million copies and becomes the #1 best-selling debut album in history.
- 1978 - Odie makes his first appearance in the cartoon strip Garfield
- 1988 - General Ne Win, ruler of Burma since 1962, suddenly resigns.
- 1988 - Chicago's Wrigley Field installs lights and attempts to play first game at night.
- 1989 - STS-28: The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
- 1991 - Collapse of Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built
- 1999 - The series finale of Mystery Science Theater 3000 airs on the Sci-Fi Channel.
- 2000 - Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor.

Births

- 1079 - Emperor Horikawa of Japan (d. 1107)
- 1602 - Gilles de Roberval, French mathematician (d. 1675)
- 1605 - Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, colonial Governor of Maryland (d. 1675)
- 1646 - Godfrey Kneller, German-born painter (d. 1723)
- 1673 - John Ker, Scottish spy (d. 1726)
- 1693 - Laurent Belissen, French composer (d. 1762)
- 1694 - Francis Hutcheson, Irish philosopher (d. 1746)
- 1720 - Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish politician (d. 1796)
- 1814 - Esther Morris, suffragist and the first U. S. woman judge (d. 1902)
- 1839 - Nelson Miles, U.S. general (d. 1925)
- 1866 - Matthew Henson, Arctic explorer (d. 1955)
- 1875 - Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (d. 1955)
- 1879 - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1919)
- 1880 - Earle Page, eleventh Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1961)
- 1891 - Adolf Busch, German violinist (d. 1952)
- 1892 - Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Spanish footballer (d. 1922)
- 1896 - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American author (d. 1953)
- 1901 - Ernest O. Lawrence, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1902 - Paul Dirac, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
- 1905 - André Jolivet, French composer (d. 1974)
- 1907 - Benny Carter, American musician and arranger (d. 2003)
- 1908 - Arthur Goldberg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1980)
- 1910 - Sylvia Sidney, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1911 - Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (d. 2002)
- 1915 - James "Jumbo" Elliott, American track coach (d. 1981)
- 1919 - Dino De Laurentiis, Italian film producer
- 1920 - Leo Chiosso, Italian lyricist
- 1921 - William Asher, American film producer
- 1921 - John Herbert Chapman, British physicist
- 1921 - Webb Pierce, American singer (d. 1991)
- 1921 - Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian medical scientist
- 1921 - Esther Williams, American actress and swimmer
- 1922 - Rory Calhoun, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1922 - Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-born fashion designer (d. 1985)
- 1925 - Alija Izetbegovic, President of Bosnia-Herzegovina (d. 2003)
- 1927 - Johnny Temple, baseball player (d. 1994)
- 1929 - Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (d. 2004)
- 1931 - Sir Roger Penrose, British physicist
- 1932 - Mel Tillis, American singer
- 1936 - Donald P. Bellisario, American television producer
- 1936 - Keith Barron, English actor
- 1937 - Dustin Hoffman, American actor
- 1938 - Connie Stevens, American singer and actress
- 1939 - Alexander Watson, American ambassador and diplomat
- 1944 - Peter Weir, Australian film director
- 1944 - Uli Derickson, Czech-born flight attendant
- 1944 - Brooke Bundy, American actress
- 1949 - Keith Carradine, American actor
- 1951 - Mamoru Oshii, Japanese film director
- 1952 -Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author
- 1952 - Robin Quivers, American radio personality
- 1953 - Don Most American actor
- 1954 - Nigel Mansell, English race car driver
- 1955 - Herbert Prohaska, Austrian footballer
- 1956 - Branscombe Richmond, American actor
- 1958 - Deborah Norville, American reporter and television host
- 1961 - The Edge, Irish guitarist (U2)
- 1966 - Chris Eubank, English boxer
- 1973 - Scott Stapp, American singer (Creed)
- 1974 - Ulises De la Cruz, Ecuadoran footballer
- 1976 - J.C. Chasez, American singer (
- NSYNC)
- 1976 - Drew Lachey, American singer
- 1978 - Louis Saha, French footballer
- 1979 - Richard Harwood, British cellist
- 1980 - Sabine Klaschka, German tennis player
- 1980 - Pat Noonan, American soccer player
- 1981 - Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer and songwriter
- 1981 - Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
- 1988 - Princess Beatrice of York

Deaths

- 869 - Lothair II of Lotharingia (b. 825)
- 1445 - Oswald von Wolkenstein, Austrian composer
- 1553 - Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)
- 1588 - Alonso Sánchez Coello, Spanish painter
- 1604 - Horio Tadauji, Japanese warlord (b. 1578)
- 1684 - George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer (b. 1622)
- 1694 - Antoine Arnauld, French philosopher and mathematician (b. 1612)
- 1759 - Carl Heinrich Graun, German composer
- 1828 - Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish naturalist (b. 1743)
- 1879 - Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1797)
- 1887 - Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and soldier (b. 1808)
- 1898 - Eugène Boudin, French painter (b. 1824)
- 1902 - James Tissot, French artist (b. 1836)
- 1911 - William P. Frye, American politician (b. 1830)
- 1933 - Adolf Loos, Austrian architect (b. 1870)
- 1940 - Johnny Dodds, American musician (b. 1892)
- 1944 - Chaim Soutine, Russian painter (b. 1894)
- 1965 - Shirley Jackson, American author (b. 1916)
- 1972 - Andrea Feldman, American actor (b. 1948)
- 1975 - Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1928)
- 1985 - Louise Brooks, American actress (b. 1906)
- 1987 - Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician (b. 1903)
- 1991 - James Irwin, astronaut (b. 1930)
- 1995 - Joan Croydon, theatre actress who made one movie (The Bad Seed) (b. 1923)
- 1996 - Nevill Mott, English physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics (b. 1905)
- 1997 - Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist (b. 1915)
- 2004 - Fay Wray, American actress (b. 1907)
- 2005 - Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (b. 1922)
- 2005 - John H. Johnson, African-American publisher; billionaire (b. 1918)
- 2005 - Gene Mauch, American athlete and manager (b. 1925)
- 2005 - Monica Sjoo, Swedish artist (cancer)
- 2005 - Ilse Werner, German actress (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances

- Taiwan: Father's Day. (In Mandarin, Ba Ba means father and 8-8, or August 8).
- Sweden - Namesday of Queen Silvia, an Official Flag Day.

Religious observances

- Roman Catholic Church: Memorial of St Dominic de Guzman, priest, (1170-1221).

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/8 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050808.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- August 7 - August 9 - July 8 - September 8 -- listing of all days ko:8월 8일 ms:8 Ogos ja:8月8日 simple:August 8 th:8 สิงหาคม

1940

1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar).

March-April

- March 3 - In Sweden, a time bomb destroys the office of Norrskenflamman newspaper of Swedish communists - 5 dead
- March 5- Members of Soviet politburo: Stalin, Molotov, Lazar Kaganovich, Mikhail Kalinin, Kliment Voroshilov and Lavrenty Beria himself, signed prepared by Beria order of execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POW, known also as Katyn massacre.
- March 12 - Soviet Union and Finland sign a peace treaty in Moscow ending the Winter War. Finns, and the World opinion, shocked by the harsh terms.
- March 18 - World War II: Axis powers - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
- March 21 Édouard Daladier resigns as prime minister of France. He is replaced by Paul Reynaud.
- April 4 - Prime minister of Greece, Aleksandros Korizis, shoots himself - initial official explanation is "heart attack"
- April 7 - Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
- April 9 - World War II: Germany invades Denmark and Norway in operation Weserübung. The British campaign in Norway is simultaneously commenced.
- April 12 - The Faroe Islands were occupied by British troops following the invasion of Denmark by Nazi Germany. This action was taken to avert a possible German occupation of the islands, which would have had very grave consequences for the course of the Battle of the Atlantic.
- April 23 - Rhythm Night Club burns in Natchez, Mississippi - 198 dead

June

- June 4 - World War II: Dunkirk evacuation ends - British forces complete evacuating 300,000 troops from Dunkirk in France.
- June 9 - World War II: The British Commandos are created.
- June 10 - World War II: Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
- June 10 - World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt denounces Italy's actions with [ftp://webstorage2.mcpa.virginia.edu/library/nara/fdr/audiovisual/speeches/fdr_1940_0610.mp3 "Stab in the Back"] speech from the graduation ceremonies of the University of Virginia.
- June 10 - World War II: German forces, under General Erwin Rommel, reach the English Channel.
- June 10 - World War II: Canada declares war on Italy.
- June 10 - World War II: Norway surrenders to German forces.
- June 12 - World War II: 13,000 British and French troops surrender to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at St. Valery-en-Caux.
- June 14 - World War II: Paris falls under German occupation.
- June 14 - World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Naval Expansion Act into law which aims to increase the United States Navy's tonnage by 11 %.
- June 14 - Holocaust: A group of 728 Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first residents of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
- June 17 - The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.
- June 17 - World War II: Operation Ariel begins - Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany's takeover of Paris and most of the nation.
- June 17 - World War II: Luftwaffe Junkers 88 bomber sinks British ship RMS Lancastria, that was evacuating troops from near Saint-Nazaire, France. Death toll is over 2500. Wartime censorship prevents the story going public.
- June 23 - World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler surveys newly defeated Paris in now occupied France.[http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/blhitler38.htm]

July-August

France
- July 5 - World War II: The United Kingdom and the Vichy France government break off diplomatic relations.
- July 10 - World War II: Vichy France government established. French national assembly votes full powers to Marshal Philippe Pétain
- July 10 - Tom Wintringham opens his own training school in Osterley Park for British Home Guard volunteers
- July 10 - World War II: Battle of Britain. Luftwaffe, the Air Force of Germany, in preparation for Operation Sealion begins to hit British convoys in the English Channel thus starting the battle (this start date is contested, though).
- July 14 - World War II: Andrew George Latta McNaughton takes command 7th Army Corps consisting of British, Canadian and New Zealand troops.
- July 21 - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are proclaimed to be "independent" Socialist republics.
- August 3 - Lithuania is officially incorporated in the Soviet Union as the Lithuanian SSR.
- August 5 - Latvia is officially incorporated in the Soviet Union as the Latvian SSR.
- August 6 - Estonia is officially incorporated in the Soviet Union as the Estonian SSR.
- August 20 - Ramón Mercader assassinates exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Mexico City with an ice-ax. Trotsky dies the next day.

September-October

Mexico City
- September 4 - World War II: The USS Greer becomes the first United States ship fired upon by a German submarine in the war, even though the United States is a neutral power. Tension heightens between the two nations as a result.
- September - U.S. Army 45th Infantry Division activated and ordered into federal service for one year to engage in a training program in Ft. Sill and Louisiana prior to serving in World War II.
- September 7 - Treaty of Craiova: Romania loses Southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria.
- September 7 - World War II: The Blitz - Nazi Germany begins to rain bombs on London. This will be the first of 57 consecutive nights of strategic bombing.
- September 12 - The Hercules Munitions Plant in Kenvil, New Jersey explodes, killing 55 people.
- October 9 - World War II: Battle of Britain - During a nighttime air raid by the German Luftwaffe, St. Paul's Cathedral is pierced by a bomb; Musician John Lennon is born during an air-raid in Liverpool, England.
- October 15 - First release of The Great Dictator, directed by Charlie Chaplin who is cast as fascist dictator Adenoid Hynkel, clearly modeled on Führer Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany.
- October 28 - World War II: Italy invades Greece.
- October 31 - World War II: Battle of Britain ends - The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Britain.

November

- November 1 - French children discover Lascaux caves
- November 5 - U.S. presidential election, 1940: Democrat incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Republican challenger Wendell Willkie and becomes the United States' first third-term president.
- November 7 - In Washington, the middle section of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses in a windstorm, a mere four months after the bridge's completion (it opened to traffic on July 1, 1940 as the third-longest suspension bridge in the world).
- November 9 - Premiere of Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez in Barcelona, Spain.
- November 11 - World War II: Battle of Taranto - The Royal Navy launches the first aircraft carrier strike in history, on the Italian fleet at Taranto.
- November 11 - World War II: The German Hilfskreuzer (cruiser) Atlantis captures top secret British mail, and sends it to Japan
- November 11 - Armistice Day Blizzard: An unexpected blizzard kills 144 in U.S. Midwest.
- November 14 - World War II: In England, the city of Coventry is destroyed by 500 German Luftwaffe bombers (150,000 fire bombs, 503 tons of high explosives, 130 parachute mines leveled 60,000 of the city's 75,000 buildings; 568 people were killed).
- November 16 - World War II: In response to Germany leveling Coventry two days before, the Royal Air Force begins to bomb Hamburg (by war's end, 50,000 Hamburg residents died from Allied attacks).
- November 16 - Unexploded pipe bomb founded in Consolidated Edison office building (only years later the culprit, George Metesky, is apprehended
- November 18 - World War II: German leader Adolf Hitler and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano meet to discuss Benito Mussolini's disastrous invasion of Greece.
- November 20 - World War II: Hungary, Romania and Slovakia join the Axis Powers.
- November 27 - In Romania, coup leader General Ion Antonescu's Iron Guard arrests and executes over 60 of exiled king Carol II of Romania's aides. Among the dead is former minister and acclaimed historian Nicolae Iorga.
- November 27 - World War II: Royal Navy and Regia Marina fight the Battle of Cape Spartivento.

December

- December 30 - California's first modern freeway, the future California State Route 110, is opened to traffic in Pasadena, California, as the Arroyo Seco Parkway. It is now called the Pasadena Freeway.

Unknown Date

- Guilin, China, acquires current name.

Ongoing Events

- Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
- World War II (1939 - 1945).

Births

January-February

- January 4 - Brian David Josephson, Welsh physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- January 4 - Gao Xingjian, Chinese-born writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- January 6 - Penny Lernoux, American journalist and author (d. 1989)
- January 14 - Julian Bond, American civil rights activist
- January 20 - Carol Heiss, American figure skater
- January 22 - John Hurt, English actor
- February 2 - David Jason, English actor
- February 3 - Fran Tarkenton, American football player
- February 4 - George Romero, American film writer, producer, and director
- February 5 - H.R. Giger, Swiss artist
- February 6 - Tom Brokaw, American television news reporter
- February 6 - Jimmy Tarbuck, English comedian
- February 8 - Ted Koppel, American journalist
- February 8 - Joe South, American singer and songwriter
- February 9 - J. M. Coetzee, South African writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- February 12 - Richard Lynch, American actor
- February 19 - Smokey Robinson, American musician
- February 20 - Jimmy Greaves, English footballer
- February 21 - James Wong, Hong Kong composer (d. 2004)
- February 23 - Peter Fonda, American actor
- February 24 - Denis Law, Scottish footballer
- February 25 - Ron Santo, baseball player
- February 28 - Mario Andretti, American race car driver
- February 29 - Edward Frederic Benson, American writer

March-April

- March 3 - Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian writer and journalist.
- March 6 - Willie Stargell, baseball player (d. 2001)
- March 7 - Rudi Dutschke, German student leader (d. 1979)
- March 9 - Raúl Juliá, Puerto Rican actor (d. 1994)
- March 10 - Chuck Norris, American actor and martial artist
- March 12 - Al Jarreau, American singer
- March 15 - Phil Lesh, American musician (Grateful Dead)
- March 16 - Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian writer and film director
- March 16 - Chuck Woolery, American game show host
- March 17 - Mark White, Governor of Texas
- March 22 - Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian actor (d. 1996)
- March 25 - Anita Bryant, American entertainer
- March 26 - Spiridon Louis, Greek runner
- March 27 - Cale Yarborough, American race car driver
- March 29 - Ray Davis, American musician (P-Funk)
- March 30 - Astrud Gilberto, Brazilian-born singer
- April 1 - Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- April 2 - Penelope Keith, English actress
- April 12 - Herbie Hancock, American musician
- April 16 - Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
- April 18 - Joseph L. Goldstein, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- April 20 - George Takei, American actor
- April 25 - Al Pacino, American actor
- April 26 - Giorgio Moroder, Austrian film composer

May-July

- May 1 - Elsa Peretti, Italian jewelry designer
- May 8 - Ricky Nelson, American singer (d. 1985)
- May 9 - James L. Brooks, American film producer and writer
- May 11 - Juan Downey, Chilean-born video artist (d. 1993)
- May 17 - Alan Kay, American computer scientist
- May 20 - Stan Mikita, Slovakian-born hockey player
- May 20 - Sadaharu Oh, Japanese baseball player
- May 22 - Bernard Shaw, American journalist and television news reporter
- May 24 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
- May 29 - Farooq Leghari, President of Pakistan
- June - Carole Ann Ford, British actress
- June 1 - René Auberjonois, American actor
- June 2 - King Constantine II of Greece
- June 16 - Neil Goldschmidt, Governor of Oregon
- June 17 - George Akerlof, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- June 20 - John Mahoney, English-born actor
- June 21 - Mariette Hartley, American actress
- June 23 - Adam Faith, English singer and actor (d. 2003)
- June 23 - Lord Irvine of Lairg, Lord Chancellor of England
- June 23 - Wilma Rudolph, American athelete (d. 1994)
- June 25 - A.J. Quinnell, English writer (d. 2005)
- July 3 - César Tovar, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (d. 1994)
- July 7 - Ringo Starr, English drummer (The Beatles)
- July 10 - Gene Alley, baseball player
- July 10 - Helen Donath, American soprano
- July 13 - Patrick Stewart, English actor
- July 18 - Joe Torre, baseball player and manager
- July 22 - Alex Trebek, Canadian game show host
- July 24 - Stanley Hauerwas, American theologian
- July 26 - Mary Jo Kopechne, American aide to Robert F. Kennedy (d. 1969)
- July 27 - Bharati Mukherjee, Indian-born novelist

August-December

- August 3 - Martin Sheen, American actor
- August 7 - Jean-Luc Dehaene, Prime Minister of Belgium
- August 9 - Beverlee McKinsey, American actress
- August 10 - Bobby Hatfield, American singer (Righteous Brothers) (d. 2003)
- August 20 - Rubén Hinojosa, American politician
- August 25 - José Van Dam, Belgian bass-baritone
- September 5 - Raquel Welch, American actress
- September 10 - David Mann, American artist (d. 2004)
- September 12 - Mickey Lolich, baseball player
- September 14 - Larry Brown, American basketball coach
- September 13 - Óscar Arias, Costa Rican politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- October 9 - John Lennon, English musician and singer (The Beatles) (d. 1980)
- October 13 - Pharaoh Sanders, American saxophonist
- October 14 - Cliff Richard, English singer
- October 15 - Peter Doherty, Australian immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- October 19 - Michael Gambon, Irish actor
- October 23 - Pelé, Brazilian footballer
- October 25 - Bobby Knight, American basketball coach
- November 1 - Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, Chief Justice of India
- November 15 - Sam Waterston, American actor
- November 21 - Richard Marcinko, U.S. Navy SEAL team member and author
- November 25 - Joe Gibbs, American football coach
- November 27 - Bruce Lee, American martial artist and actor (d. 1973)
- December 1 - Richard Pryor, American actor and comedian (d. 2005)
- December 4 - Gary Gilmore, American murderer
- December 5 - Peter Pohl, Swedish writer
- December 12 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
- December 12 - Dionne Warwick, American singer
- December 21 - Frank Zappa, American musician, composer, and satirist (d. 1993)
- December 22 - Noel Jones, British Ambassador to Kazakhstan (d. 1995)
- December 26 - Edward C. Prescott, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate

Deaths

- January 4 - Flora Finch, English-born actress and comedienne (b. 1869)
- January 18 - Kazimierz Tetmajer, Polish poet and writer (b. 1865)
- January 27 - Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer (b. 1894)
- February 11 - John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Governor General of Canada (b. 1875)
- March 10 - Mikhaïl Boulgakov, Russian writer (b. 1891)
- March 16 - Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
- March 20 - Alfred Ploetz, German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. 1860)
- March 31 - Tinsley Lindley, English footballer (b. 1865)
- April 26 - Carl Bosch, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
- May 15 - Menno ter Braak, Dutch writer (b. 1902)
- May 20 - Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
- May 25 - Joe De Grasse, Canadian film director (b. 1873)
- May 28 - Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse (b. 1868)
- June 10 - Marcus Garvey, Jamaican-born publisher, entrepreneur, and black nationalist (b. 1887)
- June 17 - Arthur Harden, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- June 21 - Smedley Butler, U.S. general (b. 1881)
- June 29 - Paul Klee, Swiss artist (b. 1879)
- July 4 - Robert Pershing Wadlow, tallest man in the world (infection) (b. 1918)
- August 8 - Johnny Dodds, American jazz clarinettist (b. 1892)
- August 18 - Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (b. 1875)
- August 21 - Leon Trotsky, Russian revolutionary (b. 1879)
- August 22 - Mary Vaux Walcott, American artist and naturalist (b. 1860)
- August 30 - J.J. Thomson, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
- September 27 - Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian neuroscientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1857)
- October 10 - Berton Churchill, Canadian actor (b. 1876)
- November 9 - Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1869)
- December 5 - Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist (b. 1880)
- December 19 - Kyösti Kallio, President of Finland (b. 1873)
- December 21 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, American writer (b. 1896)
- December 25 - Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)

Date unknown

- December - Raymond Pearl, American biologist (b. 1879)

Nobel Prizes

- Physics - not awarded
- Chemistry - not awarded
- Physiology or Medicine - not awarded
- Literature - not awarded
- Peace - not awarded
- ko:1940년 ms:1940 ja:1940年 simple:1940 th:พ.ศ. 2483

List of jazz clarinetists

Alphabetical listing of jazz clarinetists:
- Achille Baquet
- George Baquet
- Emile Barnes
- Paul Barnes
- Sidney Bechet, (1897-1959)
- Barney Bigard, (1906-1980)
- Acker Bilk, (born 1929)
- Don Byron
- Tony Coe
- Dunstan Coulber
- Eric Dolphy, (1928-1964)
- Paquito D'Rivera
- Eddie Daniels
- Kenny Davern
- Buddy DeFranco
- Big Eye Louis Nelson Deslile
- Johnny Dodds, (1892-1940)
- Jimmy Dorsey, (1904-1957)
- Billy Drewes
- Pete Fountain, (born 1930)
- Jimmy Giuffre
- Benny Goodman, (1909-1986)
- Edmond Hall
- Jimmy Hamilton
- Woody Herman
- Leonard Hochman
- Peanuts Hucko
- Dink Johnson, (1892-1954)
- Theo Jörgensmann
- Eckard Koltermann
- Jürgen Kupke
- George Lewis (1900-1969)
- Ted Lewis (1891-1971)
- Joe Maneri
- Stan McDonald
- Jan Morks
- Joe Muranyi
- Don Murray, (1904-1929)
- Theo Nabicht
- Jimmy Noone, (1895-1944)
- Billy Novick
- Alcide Nunez, (1884-1934)
- Ken Peplowski
- Alphonse Picou, (1878-1961)
- Perry Robinson
- Pee Wee Russell
- Louis Sclavis
- Tony Scott (jazz clarinetist), (born 1921)
- Artie Shaw, (born 1910)
- Harry Shields, (1899-1971)
- Larry Shields, (1893-1953)
- Omer Simeon, (1902-1959)
- Harry Skoler
- Monty Sunshine
- Wilber Sweatman, (1882-1961)
- Brad Terry
- Frank Teschemacher, (1906-32)
- Gebhard Ullmann
- Bob Wilbur
- Sammy Rimington
- Lester Young See also: List of jazz musicians Clarinetists

List of jazz drummers

Jazz musicians who play drums include the following drummers:
- Rashied Ali
- Carl Allen
- Louis Barbarin
- Paul Barbarin
- Joey Baron
- Louie Bellson
- Gregg Bendian
- Ignacio Berroa
- Jim Black
- Ed Blackwell
- Brian Blade
- Art Blakey
- Terry Bozzio
- Guillermo E. Brown
- Big Sid Catlett
- Gary Chaffee
- Dennis Chambers
- Denis Charles
- Kenny Clarke
- Gerald Cleaver
- Jimmy Cobb
- Billy Cobham
- Cozy Cole
- Andrew Cyrille
- Alan Dawson
- Jack DeJohnette
- Whit Dickey
- Baby Dodds
- Bill Elgart
- Donald Edwards
- Peter Erskine
- Al Foster
- Panama Francis
- Steve Gadd
- Alvester Garnett
- Billy Gladstone
- Paul Goldberg
- Bobby Graham
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