Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

Decades: 1890s - 1900s - 1910s - 1920s - 1930s - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s

Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

The most important events

• 1940 - Retreat at Dunkerque
• 1944 - Normandy invasion
• 1945 (August 6 and 9) - first use of the atomic bomb in warfare
• 1945 - World War II ends
• 1945 - Start of the Cold War
• 1945-1946 - Nuremburg Trials
• 1946 - baby boom begins
• 1947 - Independence for India and other colonies
• 1947-1949 - Indo-Pakistani War
• 1948-1949 - Arab-Israeli War
• 1949 - Communists take power in China

Important people

• Adolf Hitler, German politican
• Pope Pius XII, Pope in the 1930s
• George VI, British king
• Joseph Stalin, leader of the USSR
• Mahatma Gandhi, leader of India
• Hirohito, Emperor of Japan
• Mao Zedong, leader of the Communist Party of China
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States of America (until 1945)
• Harry S. Truman, President of the USA

1940s

1940au | 1940'erne | 1940er | 1940. aastad | 1940s | Años 1940 | 1940-aj jaroj | Années 1940 | 1940년대 | Anni 1940 | שנות ה-40 | Decennium 195 | XX amžiaus 5-as dešimtmetis | 1940-1949 | 1940年代 | 1940-årene | Lata 40. XX wieku | Década de 1940 | Anii 1940 | 40. roky 20. storočia | 1940. | 1940-luku | 1940-talet | 1940年代