1941
2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: World War II; Years
Centuries: | 19th century - 20th century - 21st century |
Decades: | 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s |
Years: | 1938 1939 1940 - 1941 - 1942 1943 1944 |
Year 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
Events
-
- (Below, many events of World War II have the "World War II" prefix.)
January
- 1 January - Thailand Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram decrees January 1 as the official start of the Thai solar calendar new year (thus the previous year that began 1 April had only nine months).
- 4 January - The short subject Elmer's Pet Rabbit is released, marking the second appearance of Bugs Bunny, and also the first to have his name on a title card.
- 6 January
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.
- Keel of USS Missouri (BB-63) is laid at New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn.
- 8 January - Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell the founder of Scouting, dies.
- 10 January - Lend-Lease is introduced into the U.S. Congress.
- 15 January - John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford E. Berry describe the workings of the Atanasoff–Berry Computer in print.
- 19 January - World War II: British troops attack Italian-held Eritrea.
- 20 January - Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes swears in U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt for his third term.
- 21 January - World War II: Australian and British forces attack Tobruk, Libya.
- 22 January - World War II: British troops capture Tobruk from the Italians.
- 23 January - Aviator Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
- 27 January - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbour - U.S. Ambassador to Japan Joseph C. Grew passes on to Washington a rumor overheard at a diplomatic reception about a planned surprise attack upon Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.
February
- 3 February - World War II: The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.
- 4 February - World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
- 7 February - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbour - General Walter C. Short becomes Commanding General, Hawaiian Command.
- 9 February - Winston Churchill, in a worldwide broadcast, pleads with the U.S. to show its support by sending arms to the British: "Give us the tools, and we will finish the job."
- 11 February - World War II: Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel arrives in Tripoli.
- 14 February - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbour - Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura begins his duties as Japanese ambassador to the United States.
- 19 February - World War II: 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
- 23 February: Glenn T. Seaborg isolates and discovers plutonium.
March
- March - Captain America Comics #1 issues the first Captain America & Bucky comic.
- 1 March - World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact thus joining the Axis powers.
- 1 March
- W47NV begins operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station.
- Arthur L. Bristol becomes Rear Admiral for the U.S. Navy's Support Force, Atlantic Fleet
- 4 March - World War II: British Commandos carry out a successful raid on the Lofoten Islands off the north coast of Norway.
- 11 March
- 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.
- Kinsmen Club of Brantford is chartered.
- 17 March
- In Washington, DC, the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- British Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin, calls for women to fill vital jobs.
- 22 March - Washington's Grand Coulee Dam begins to generate electricity.
- 25 March - World War II: Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Vienna joins the Axis powers
- 27 March - World War II:
- Anti-Axis coup d'état in Yugoslavia - Prince Paul exiled; 17-year-old King Peter II assumes power.
- Attack on Pearl Harbour - Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii and begins to study the United States fleet at Pearl Harbour.
- World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan starts off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean, British naval forces defeat those of Italy sinking five warships. Battle ends on 29 March.
- 30 March - All German, Italian, and Danish ships anchored in United States waters are taken into "protective custody".
April
- 6 April - World War II: Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece.
- 9 April - The U.S. acquires full military defense rights in Greenland.
- 10 April - World War II: U.S. destroyer Niblack, while picking up survivors from a sunken Dutch freighter, drops depth charges on a German U-Boat - the first "shot in anger" fired by America against Germany.
- 12 April - World War II: German troops enter Belgrade.
- 13 April - Soviet Union and Japan sign a neutrality pact.
- 15 April - World War II: The U.S. begins shipping Lend-Lease aid to China.
- 17 April - World War II: Yugoslav Royal Army capitulates.
- 18 April - World War II: Prime Minister of Greece Alexandros Koryzis commits suicide as German troops approach Athens.
- 21 April - World War II: Greece capitulates. Commonwealth troops and some elements of the Greek Army withdraw to Crete.
- 23 April - America First Committee holds its first mass rally in New York City with Charles Lindbergh as keynote speaker.
- 25 April - Franklin D. Roosevelt, at his regular press conference, criticizes Charles Lindbergh by comparing him to the Copperheads of the Civil War period. In response, Lindbergh resigns his commission in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve on 28 April.
- 27 April - World War II: German troops enter Athens.
May
- 1 May
- Breakfast cereal Cheerios is introduced as CheeriOats by General Mills.
- Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane premieres in New York City
- The first Defense Bonds and Defense Savings Stamps go on sale in the United States to help fund the greatly increased production of military equipment.
- 5 May - World War II: Emperor Haile Selassie enters Addis Ababa, which had been liberated from Italian forces; this date has been since commemorated as Liberation Day in Ethiopia.
- 6 May - At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO Show.
- 9 May - 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.
- 10 May - World War II:
- The United Kingdom's House of Commons is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
- Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland claiming to be on a peace mission.
- 12 May - Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computer in Berlin.
- 15 May
- First British jet aircraft, the Gloster E.28/39, is flown.
- Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak begins, lasting until 17 July.
- 20 May - World War II: The Battle of Crete begins as Germany launches an airborne invasion of Crete.
- 21 May - World War II: 950 miles off the coast of Brazil, the freighter SS Robin Moor becomes the first United States ship sunk by a German U-boat.
- 24 May - World War II: In the North Atlantic, the German battleship Bismarck sinks the HMS Hood killing all but three crewman on what was the pride of the Royal Navy.
- 26 May - World War II: In the North Atlantic, Fairey Swordfish aircraft from the carrier HMS Ark Royal fatally cripple the German battleship Bismarck in torpedo attack.
- 27 May - World War II:
- President Roosevelt proclaims an "unlimited national emergency."
- German battleship Bismarck is sunk in North Atlantic killing 2,300.
June
- 4 June - The ex-kaiser of Germany, Wilhelm II, dies in exile at Doorn, Netherlands.
- 5 June - Four thousand Chongqing residents are asphyxiated in a bomb shelter during the Bombing of Chongqing.
- 8 June - World War II: British and Free French forces invade Syria.
- 8 June - A Serbian ammunition plant explodes at Smederevo, outskirt of Belgrade, Serbia, killing 1,500.
- 13 June - TASS, the official Soviet news agency, denies reports of tension between Germany and the Soviet Union.
- 14 June
- Mass deportations by Soviet Union authorities take place in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
- All German and Italian assets in the United States are frozen.
- 16 June - All German and Italian consulates in the United States are ordered closed and their staffs to leave the country by July 10.
- 22 June - World War II:
- Germany attacks the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa
- Italy and Romania declare war on the Soviet Union.
- Winston Churchill promises all possible British assistance to the Soviet Union in a worldwide broadcast: "Any man or state who fights against Nazidom will have our aid. Any man or state who marches with Hitler is our foe."
- First Sisak Partisan Brigade, first anti-fascist armed unit in occupied Europe founded by partisans near Sisak, Croatia.
- 23 June - World War II: Hungary and Slovakia declare war on the Soviet Union.
- 25 June - World War II: Finland attacks the Soviet Union to seek the opportunity of revenge in the Continuation War.
- 28 June - World War II: Albania declares war on the Soviet Union.
July
- July - The British army's SAS (Special Air Service) formed.
- 2 July - World War II: Japan calls up one million men for military service.
- 3 July - World War II: Joseph Stalin, in his first address since the German invasion, calls upon the Soviet people to carry out a " scorched earth" policy of resistance to the bitter end.
- 4 July - Mass murder of Polish scientists and writers, committed by German troops in captured Polish city of Lwów.
- 5 July
- World War II: German troops reach the Dnieper River.
- War breaks out between Peru and Ecuador, lasts until 19 July.
- 7 July - World War II:
- 13 July - World War II: Montenegro starts the second popular uprising in Europe against the Axis Powers.
- 14 July - World War II: Vichy France signs armistice terms ending all fighting in Syria and Lebanon.
- 19 July - World War II: A BBC broadcast by "Colonel Britton" calls on the people of Occupied Europe to resist the Nazis under the slogan "V for Victory".
- 26 July - World War II:
- In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indo-China, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the United States.
- General Douglas MacArthur is named commander of all U.S. forces in the Philippines; the Philippines Army ordered nationalized by President Roosevelt.
- 30 July - World War II: U.S. gunboat Tutuila attacked by Japanese aircraft while anchored in the Yangtze River at Chungking. Japan apologizes for the incident the following day.
- 31 July - World War II: Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS general Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question."
August
- August - Formation of the Political Warfare Executive in the United Kingdom
- 1 August - The first Jeep is produced
- 6 August - Six-year-old Elaine Esposito goes to an appendix operation in Florida and lapses into a coma. She dies 1978, still in coma.
- 9 August - Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet at Argentia, Dominion of Newfoundland. The Atlantic Charter is created as a result.
- 12 August - By one vote (203-202), the U.S. House of Representatives passes legislation extending the draft period for selectees and the National Guard from one year to 30 months.
- 16 August - HMS Mercury, Royal Navy Signals School and Combined Signals School Opens at Leydene, near Petersfield, Hampshire, England.
- 18 August - Adolf Hitler orders a temporary halt to Nazi Germany's systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and handicapped due to protests. However, graduates of the T-4 Euthanasia Program were then transferred to concentration camps, where they continued in their trade.
- 22 August - World War II: France - German Occupation Authority announces that anyone found either working for or aiding the Free French will be sentenced to death.
- 24 August - World War II: A Luftwaffe bomb hits an Estonian steamer with 3500 Soviet-mobilized Estonian men on board, killing 598 of them.
- 25 August - World War II: Operation Countenance begins with United Kingdom and Soviet forces invading Iran.
- 27 August - World War II: France - Pierre Laval is shot in an assassination attempt at Versailles.
- 28 August - World War II: Soviets announce the destruction of massive Dnieper River dam at Zaporozhye to prevent its capture by the Germans.
- 31 August - The Great Gildersleeve debuts on NBC Radio.
September
- 4 September - 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.
- 6 September - Holocaust: The requirement to wear the Star of David with the word "Jew" inscribed, is extended to all Jews over the age of 6 in German-occupied areas.
- 8 September - World War II: Siege of Leningrad begins - German forces begin a siege against the Soviet Union's second-largest city, Leningrad. Stalin orders the Volga Deutsche deported to Siberia.
- 11 September - World War II:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Navy to shoot on sight if any ship or convoy is threatened.
- Charles Lindbergh, at an America First Committee rally in Des Moines, Iowa, accuses "the British, the Jewish, and the Roosevelt administration" of leading the United States toward war. Widespread condemnation of Lindbergh follows.
- 12 September - World War II: First snowfall reported on Russian front.
- 15 September - Self-government of Estonia, headed by Hjalmar Mäe, is appointed by German military administration.
- 16 September - Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran is forced to resign in favour of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran under pressure from the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.
- 27 September - The first Liberty Ship, the SS Patrick Henry, is launched at Baltimore, Maryland.
October
- 2 October - World War II: Operation Typhoon begins as Germany begins an all-out offensive against Moscow.
- 7 October - John Curtin becomes the 14th Prime Minister of Australia
- 8 October - World War II: In their invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany reaches the Sea of Azov with the capture of Mariupol.
- 16 October - World War II: The Soviet Union government moves to Kuibyshev, but Stalin remains in Moscow.
- 17 October - World War II: The destroyer USS Kearny is torpedoed and damaged near Iceland, killing eleven sailors - the first American military casualties of the war.
- 18 October - General Hideki Tojo becomes the 40th Prime Minister of Japan.
- 21 October - World War II: The Germans rampage in Yugoslavia, killing thousands of civilians
- 23 October - Walt Disney's feature-length cartoon Dumbo is released.
- 24 October - Franz von Werra disappears during a flight over North Sea
- 30 October - World War II: Franklin Delano Roosevelt approves US$1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
- 31 October
- After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore.
- World War II: The destroyer USS Reuben James is torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 United States Navy sailors.
November
- 6 November - World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin addresses the Soviet Union for only the second time during his three-decade rule (the first time was earlier that year on 2 July). He states that even though 350,000 troops were killed in German attacks so far, that the Germans have lost 4.5 million soldiers (a gross exaggeration) and that Soviet victory was near.
- 7 November - World War II: The Soviet hospital Ship Armenia sunk by German planes while evacuating refugees, wounded military and staff of several Crimean hospitals. It is estimated that over 5,000 people died in the sinking.
- 10 November - In a speech at the Mansion House in London, Winston Churchill promises, "...should the United States become involved in war with Japan, the British declaration will follow within the hour."
- 12 November - World War II: As Battle of Moscow begins, temperatures around Moscow drop to −12 ° C and the Soviet Union launches ski troops for the first time against the freezing German forces near the city.
- 13 November - World War II: The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal is hit by German U-boat U-81
- 14 November - World War II:
- HMS Ark Royal capsizes and sinks, having been torpedoed by U-81.
- Attack on Pearl Harbour - Japanese diplomat Saburo Kurusu arrives in the United States to assist Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura in peace negotiations.
- 17 November - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbour - Joseph Grew, the United States ambassador to Japan, cables to Washington a warning that Japan may strike suddenly and unexpectedly at any time.
- 19 November - World War II: The Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney sinks off the coast of Western Australia, killing 645 sailors.
- 21 November - The radio program King Biscuit Time is broadcast for the first time (it would later become the longest running daily radio broadcast in history and the most famous live blues radio program).
- 24 November - World War II: The United States grants Lend-Lease to the Free French.
- 25 November - Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi, Pakistani author, Spiritual Leader and founder of International Spiritual Movement Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam
- 26 November
- US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States (this partly reversed a 1939 action by Roosevelt that changed the celebration of Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November).
- The Hull note ultimatum is delivered to Japan by the United States.
- World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbour - A fleet of six aircraft carriers commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo leaves Hitokapu Bay for Pearl Harbour under strict radio silence.
- 27 November
- A group of young men stop traffic on highway US 99 south of Yreka, California, handing out fliers proclaiming the establishment of the State of Jefferson.
- World War II: Germans reach their closest approach to Moscow. They are subsequently frozen by cold weather and attacks by the Soviets.
- World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbour - All U.S. military forces in Asia and the Pacific are placed on war alert.
December
- 1 December - World War II:
- Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City and Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, signed Administrative Order 9 creating the Civil Air Patrol under the authority of the United States Army Air Force.
- State of emergency declared in Malaya and the Straits Settlements.
- 2 December - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbour - The code message "Climb Mount Niitaka" is transmitted to the Japanese task force, indicating that negotiations have broken down and that the attack is to be carried out according to plan.
- 4 December - State of Jefferson declared in Yreka, California, with judge John Childs as a governor
- 6 December - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbour - Franklin D. Roosevelt makes a personal peace appeal to Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
- 7 December, ( 8 December, Japan standard time) - Japanese Navy launches a surprise attack on the United States fleet at Pearl Harbour, thus drawing the United States into World War II.
- 8 December - World War II:
- The United States officially declares war on Japan.
- China officially declares war on Japan
- The Netherlands declares war on Japan
- Japan launches invasions in Hong Kong, Malaya, Manila, and Singapore.
- Japan launches invasions in the Philippines.
- 10 December - World War II: The British battleships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are sunk by Japanese aircraft in the South China Sea north of Singapore.
- 11 December - World War II:
- Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. The U.S. responds in kind.
- American forces repel a Japanese landing attempt at Wake Island.
- 12 December - World War II
- Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States.
- India declares war on Japan.
- United States seizes French ship Normandie.
- 13 December - Sweden's low temperature record of -53°C was set in a village within Vilhelmina Municipality.
- 19 December - World War II: Hitler becomes Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the German Army
- 23 December - World War II: A second Japanese landing attempt on Wake Island is successful, and the American garrison surrenders after a full night and morning of fighting.
- 25 December - World War II: British and Canadians are defeated by the Japanese at Hong Kong.
- 26 December - World War II: Winston Churchill becomes the first British Prime Minister to address a Joint session of the U.S. Congress
- 27 December - World War II: British Commandos raid the Norwegian port of Vaagso, causing Hitler to reinforce the garrison and defenses, drawing vital troops away from other areas.
- 28 December - World War II: Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Heydrich in Prague.
Undated
- The Valley of Geysers is discovered in Russia.
- Results of the Ives–Stilwell experiment are published, showing that ions radiate at frequencies affected by their motion.
- In Sweden, Victor Hasselblad forms the Hasselblad camera company.
- Indochina Communist party, led by Ho Chi Minh, combines with Nationalist party to form the Vietminh.
Ongoing
- Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945).
- World War II (1939-1945).
Births
Gregorian calendar | 1941 MCMXLI |
Ab urbe condita | 2694 |
Armenian calendar | 1390 ԹՎ ՌՅՂ |
Bahá'í calendar | 97 – 98 |
Berber calendar | 2891 |
Buddhist calendar | 2485 |
Burmese calendar | 1303 |
Byzantine calendar | 7449 – 7450 |
Chinese calendar | 庚辰年十二月初四日 (4577/4637-12-4) — to — 辛巳年十一月十四日(4578/4638-11-14) |
Coptic calendar | 1657 – 1658 |
Ethiopian calendar | 1933 – 1934 |
Hebrew calendar | 5701 – 5702 |
Hindu calendars | |
- Vikram Samvat | 1996 – 1997 |
- Shaka Samvat | 1863 – 1864 |
- Kali Yuga | 5042 – 5043 |
Holocene calendar | 11941 |
Iranian calendar | 1319 – 1320 |
Islamic calendar | 1359 – 1360 |
Japanese calendar | Shōwa 16 (昭和16年) |
Korean calendar | 4274 |
Thai solar calendar | 2484 |
January
- 3 January - Van Dyke Parks, American composer, producer, and musician
- 4 January
- John Bennett Perry, American actor
- Maureen Reagan, American actress.
- 5 January
- Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese filmmaker
- Kevin Keelan, English footballer
- 7 January
- Iona Brown, British violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
- Manfred Schellscheidt, German American soccer coach
- John E. Walker, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 8 January - Graham Chapman, British comedian (d. 1989)
- 9 January - Joan Baez, American singer and activitist
- 11 January - Dave Edwards, American musician (d. 2000)
- 12 January - Long John Baldry, British singer (d. 2005)
- 14 January
- Faye Dunaway, American actress
- Milan Kučan, Slovenian politician and statesman
- David Johnston, retired Australian newsreader
- 15 January - Captain Beefheart, American singer
- 18 January - David Ruffin, American singer (d. 1991)
- 21 January
- Plácido Domingo, Spanish-born tenor
- Richie Havens, American musician
- 24 January
- Neil Diamond, American singer and songwriter
- Aaron Neville, American singer
- 26 January
- Scott Glenn, American actor
- Henry Jaglom, English film director
- 27 January - Beatrice Tinsley, English astronomer
- 30 January
- Dick Cheney, Vice President of the United States
- Tineke Lagerberg, Dutch swimmer
- 31 January - Dick Gephardt, American politician
February
- 1 February - Jerry Spinelli, American children's author
- 5 February
- David Selby, American actor
- Kaspar Villiger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 6 February - Howard Phillips, American politician
- 7 February - Peter Foxhall, Australian evangelist
- 8 February - Nick Nolte, American actor
- 10 February - Michael Apted, English film director
- 13 February - Sigmar Polke, German painter
- 19 February - David Gross, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 20 February - Buffy Sainte-Marie, American singer
- 26 February - Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972)
- 27 February - Paddy Ashdown, British politician
March
- 4 March
- Adrian Lyne, English film director
- John Aprea, American actor
- 5 March - Nona Gaprindashvili, Georgian chess player
- 6 March - Willie Stargell, baseball player (d. 2001)
- 13 March - Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian prominent poet and writer of prose.(d. 2008)
- 14 March - Wolfgang Petersen, German film director
- 15 March - Mike Love, American musician ( The Beach Boys)
- 16 March
- Robert Guéï, military ruler of Côte d'Ivoire (d. 2002)
- Chuck Woolery, American game show host
- 18 March - Wilson Pickett, American singer (d. 2006)
- 23 March - Jim Trelease, American educator and author
- 26 March - Richard Dawkins, British scientist
- 28 March - Jim Turner, American football player
- 29 March - Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr., American astrophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 30 March - Wasim Sajjad, President of Pakistan
April
- 3 April - Philippe Wynne, American musician (d. 1984)
- 8 April - Peggy Lennon, American singer ( The Lennon Sisters)
- 9 April - Kaye Adams, American country singer
- 12 April - Bobby Moore, English football player and World Cup winning captain (d. 1993)
- 13 April - Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 14 April - Julie Christie, British actress
- 14 April - Pete Rose, baseball player
- 23 April
- Paavo Lipponen, Prime Minister of Finland
- Ed Stewart, English disc jockey
- 24 April - John Williams, Australian guitarist
- 27 April - Lee Roy Jordan, American football player
- 28 April
- Ann-Margret, Swedish-born actress
- K. Barry Sharpless, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- Iryna Zhylenko, Ukrainian poet
May
- 5 May - Alexander Ragulin, Russian hockey player (d. 2004)
- 11 May - Eric Burdon, English singer ( The Animals)
- 13 May
- Senta Berger, Swedish actress
- Ritchie Valens, American singer (d. 1959)
- 15 May - K.T. Oslin, American musician
- 19 May
- Bobby Burgess, American dancer and singer
- Nora Ephron, American film, producer, director, and screenwriter
- 20 May - Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore
- 22 May - Paul Winfield, American actor (d. 2004)
- 24 May - Bob Dylan, American poet and musician
- 26 May - John Kaufman, Sculptor
- 31 May - Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
June
- 4 June - Erkin Koray, Turkish musician
- 5 June
- Martha Argerich, Argentine pianist
- Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 6 June - Neal Adams, American comic book artist
- 8 June
- Robert Bradford, Irish footballer and politician (d. 1981)
- Fuzzy Haskins, American musician ( P-Funk)
- 9 June
- Jon Lord, organist of Deep Purple, the "Lord of the Hammond organ"
- 10 June - Mickey Jones, American actor and musician
- 12 June - Marv Albert, American sports announcer
- 21 June
- Joe Flaherty, American-Canadian actor
- Valeri Zolotukhin, Soviet/Russian actor
- 19 June - Conchita Carpio-Morales, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
- 22 June - Michael Lerner, American actor
- 24 June - Bill Reardon, American politician and educator
- 27 June - Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish film director (d. 1996)
- 28 June - Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist (d. 2006)
July
- 1 July
- Alfred G. Gilman, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Myron Scholes, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 6 July - Harold Leighton Weller, American conductor
- 7 July - Bill Oddie, English comedian and ornithologist
- 10 July - Jackie Lane, British actress
- 11 July - Tommy Vance, English disc jockey (d. 2005)
- 12 July - Benny Parsons, American race car driver (d. 2007)
14 July
-
- Maulana Karenga, American author and activist
- Andreas Khol, Austrian politician
- 19 July - Vikki Carr, American singer
- 27 July - Bill Baxley, Alabama politician
- 28 July - Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor
- 29 July
- Jennifer Dunn, American politician (d. 2007)
- David Warner, English actor
- 30 July - Paul Anka, Canadian-American singer and songwriter
- 31 July - Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician
August
- 3 August - Martha Stewart, American television and magazine personality
- 6 August - Lyle Berman, American poker player
- 14 August - Connie Smith, American singer
- 20 August - Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia (d. 2006)
- 22 August - Bill Parcells, American football coach
- 28 August - Joseph Shabalala, South African musician (Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
September
- 2 September
- David Bale, South African-born activist (d. 2003)
- John Thompson, American basketball coach
- 4 September - Sushilkumar Shinde, Indian politician
- 9 September
- Otis Redding, American musician (d. 1967)
- Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist
- 10 September
- Christopher Hogwood, English conductor and harpsichordist
- Gunpei Yokoi, Japanese computer game producer (d. 1997)
- 14 September - Alberto Naranjo, Venezuelan musician
- 15 September
- George Saimes, American football player
- Mirosław Hermaszewski, First Polish Cosmonaut in Space
- 17 September - Bob Matsui, U.S. Congressman from California (d. 2005)
- 19 September - Cass Elliott, American singer (d. 1974)
- 20 September - Dale Chihuly, American Glass Sculptor
- 24 September - Guy Hovis, American singer
- 27 September - Gay Kayler Ashcroft, Australian country music singer
October
- 2 October - Zareh Baronian, Archimandrite, Dr., theologian, Armenian Church, Bucarest
- 4 October
- Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine
- Jackie Collins, British writer
- Anne Rice, American writer
- 5 October - Eduardo Duhalde, President of Argentina
- 8 October - Jesse Jackson, American clergyman and civil rights activist
- 9 October - Trent Lott, former United States Senate Minority Leader and United States Senate Majority Leader
- 10 October - Peter Coyote, American actor
- 13 October - Paul Simon, American singer and composer
- 16 October - Tim McCarver, baseball commentator
- 20 October - Anneke Wills, British actress
- 23 October - Mel Winkler, American actor
- 25 October
- Helen Reddy, Australian singer and actress
- Anne Tyler, American novelist
- 28 October
- John Hallam, Irish actor
- Hank Marvin, British guitarist, singer and songwriter
- 27 October - Gerd Brantenberg, Norwegian feminist author and gay rights activist
- 30 October - Theodor W. Hänsch, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
November
- 1 November - Nigel Dempster, British journalist, author, broadcaster and diarist (d. 2007)
- 5 November - Art Garfunkel, American singer.
- 6 November - Doug Sahm, American musician (d. 1999)
- 18 November - David Hemmings, English actor (d. 2003)
- 23 November - Derek Mahon, Irish poet
- 25 November - Gohar Shahi, Spiritual Leader of Pakistan (d. 2001)
- 26 November - G. Alan Marlatt, American psychologist
- 27 November - Eddie Rabbitt, American musician (d. 1998)
- 29 November - Bill Freehan, baseball player
December
- 9 December - Beau Bridges, American actor
- 10 December
- Colin Kelly, American airman
- Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer and actor (d. 1985)
- 13 December - John Davidson, American singer and actor
- 18 December - Prince William of Gloucester
- 19 December - Lee Myung Bak, the 17th president of South Korea
- 23 December - Ron Bushy, musician, Iron Butterfly
- 23 December - Tim Hardin, American musician (d. 1980)
- 24 December - John Levene, British actor
- 30 December - Mel Renfro, American football player
- 31 December - Sir Alex Ferguson, Manager of Manchester United
Deaths
January-February
- 4 January - Henri Bergson, French philiosopher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (b. 1859)
- 5 January - Amy Johnson, English aviator (b. 1903)
- 8 January - Lord Robert Baden-Powell, English soldier and founder of the Boy Scouts (b. 1847)
- 10 January
- 13 January - James Joyce, Irish writer (b. 1882)
- 6 February - Banjo Paterson, Australian poet & journalist (b. 1864)
- 9 February - Aaron S. Watkins, American temperance movement leader (b. 1863)
- 11 February - Rudolf Hilferding, German economist and Minister of Finance (b. 1877)
- 21 February - Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1891)
- 24 February - Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, German submariner (b. 1886)
- 27 February - William D. Byron, U.S. Congressman (b. 1895)
- 28 February - King Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)
March-July
- 6 March - Gutzon Borglum, American sculptor (b. 1867)
- 8 March - Sherwood Anderson, American author (b. 1876)
- 15 March - Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian painter (b. 1864)
- 28 March
- Virginia Woolf, English writer (b. 1882)
- Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara, Indian police commissioner (b. 1887)
- 13 April - Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (b. 1863)
- 16 April - Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, Bt, GCB, GBE, FBA, a British civil servant, industrialist, economist, statistician and banker (b.1880)
- 24 April - Karin Boye, Swedish poetess (suicide) (b. 1900)
- 28 April - Luisa Tetrazzini, Italian coloratura soprano (b. 1871)
- 16 May - Minnie Vautrin, American missionary and heroine of the Nanjing Massacre (b. 1887)
- 30 May - Prajadhipok, Rama VII, king of Thailand (b. 1893)
- 2 June - Lou Gehrig, baseball player (b. 1903)
- 4 June - Wilhelm II, Last Emperor of Germany (b. 1859)
- 6 June - Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-born automobile builder and race car driver (b. 1878)
- 29 June - Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, and third Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1860)
- 4 July - Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (b. 1881)
- 10 July - Jelly Roll Morton, American jazz musician and composer (b. 1890)
- 11 July - Arthur Evans, English archaeologist (b. 1851)
- 25 July - Allan Forrest, American actor (b. 1885)
- 26 July - Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician (b. 1875)
August-December
- 7 August - Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
- 13 August - James Stuart Blackton, American film producer (b. 1875)
- 14 August - Paul Sabatier, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
- 30 August - Peder Oluf Pedersen, Danish engineer and physicist (b. 1874)
- 31 August - Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (suicide) (b. 1892)
- 12 September - Hans Spemann, German embryologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1869)
- 5 October - Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1856)
- 8 October - Valentine O'Hara, author and authority on Russia and the Baltic States (b. 1875)
- 26 October - Arkady Gaidar, Russian writer (b. 1904)
- 29 October - Harvey Hendrick, American baseball player (b. 1897)
- 18 November
- 21 November - Henrietta Vinton Davis, American elocutionist, dramatist, impersonator, public speaker (b. 1860)
- 26 November - Niels Hansen Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and ceramist (b. 1861)
- 3 December - Christian Sinding, Norwegian composer (b. 1856)
- 7 December - Pearl Harbour Attack, Japanese Surprise Attack On Naval Base In Hawaii) (b. 1884)
- 7 December - Isaac Campbell Kidd, American admiral (died in the attack on Pearl Harbour) (b. 1884)
- 12 December - Cesar Basa, Filipino pilot (b. 1915)
- 30 December - El Lissitzky, Russian artist and architect (b. 1890)
Nobel prizes
- Physics - not awarded
- Chemistry - not awarded
- Medicine - not awarded
- Literature - not awarded
- Peace - not awarded
Ship events
- List of ship launches in 1941
- List of ship commissionings in 1941
- List of shipwrecks in 1941