Events Date 1940 April | History by KabAstro

Philippine Grammar and Dictionary

Apr 1 Filipino President Quezon officially authorizes the printing and publication of the grammar and dictionary prepared by the Institute of the National Language.

2nd President of the Philippines Manuel L. Quezon

Walk With Music

Apr 4 Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer's musical "Walk With Music", opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC; runs for 50 performances

Songwriter, Pianst, and Singer Hoagy Carmichael

Higher & Higher

Apr 4 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musical "Higher & Higher" premieres in NYC

Apr 5 99th Grand National: 25/1 shot Bogskar ridden by Royal Air Force sergeant Mervyn Jones wins by 4 lengths from MacMoffat; last true Aintree GN before a 5-year break due to World War II

7th US Masters

Apr 7 7th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jimmy Demaret wins the first of his 3 Masters titles, 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Lloyd Mangrum

Booker T. Washington Stamp

Apr 7 US Post Office issues first postage stamp of African American educator Booker T. Washington

Apr 8 German battle cruisers sink British aircraft carrier Glorious
Apr 9 German cruiser Blucher torpedoed and capsizes in Oslofjord, 1,000 die
Apr 9 Nazi Germany invades Denmark and Norway, and Denmark surrenders after a six-hour battle

Quisling Forms Government

Apr 10 Vidkun Quisling forms Norwegian "national government"

Prime Minister of Norway and Nazi Collaborator Vidkun Quisling

Apr 12 Italy annexes Albania
Apr 12 NFL cuts clipping penalty from 25 yards to 15 yards
Apr 13 American athlete Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam, using a bamboo pole, becomes 1st man to pole vault 15 ft, at University of California, Berkeley
Apr 13 Second battle of Narvik; 3 German destroyers and one U-boat sunk by the Royal Navy, 5 more German destroyers scuttled
Apr 13 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario: New York Rangers beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 for 4-2 series victory; Rangers last Cup win for 54 years
Apr 14 Allied troops land in Norway
Apr 14 RCA demonstrated its new electron microscope in Philadelphia
Apr 15 44th Boston Marathon won by Gérard Côté of Canada in 2:28:28.6; first of 4 wins in the event
Apr 15 British troops land at Narvik, Norway

Only Opening Day No-Hitter

Apr 16 Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller hurls the first and only Opening Day no-hitter in MLB history; beats Chicago WSWhite Sox, 1-0 at Comiskey Park

Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher Bob Feller

Apr 16 Heitor Villa-Lobos' opera "Izaht" premieres in Rio de Janeiro
Apr 19 "Lake Shore Ltd" derails speed killing 34 near Little Falls, New York
Apr 19 Dutch prime minister De Geer declares state of siege
Apr 20 1st electron microscope demonstrated (RCA), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [1]
Apr 21 1st $64 Question, "Take It or Leave It," on CBS Radio
Apr 22 Rear Admiral Joseph Taussig testifies before US Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan is inevitable
Apr 23 Dance hall fires kills 198 in Natchez, Mississippi
Apr 23 NY Yankees dedicate a plaque to Jacob Rupert

Establishment of Auschwitz

Apr 27 Himmler orders establishment of Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Leading Nazi and Reichsführer of the SS Heinrich Himmler

Pennsylvania 6-5000

Apr 28 Glenn Miller records "Pennsylvania 6-5000"

Big Band Leader and Jazz Composer Glenn Miller

Apr 28 SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel) Rudolf Höss (not Hess, different Nazi) becomes commandant of concentration camp Auschwitz
Apr 29 1st radio broadcast of "Young Dr Malone" on CBS
Apr 29 Norwegian King Haakon & government flee to Britain
Apr 29 Robert Sherwood's play "There Shall be No Night" premieres in NYC
Apr 30 Air New Zealand then known as TEAL makes its inaugural flight with a flight from Auckland to Sydney. Later becomes 1st airline in the world to boil hot water in-flight to offer customers hot tea and coffee.
Apr 30 Brooklyn Dodger Tex Carleton no-hits Cincinnati Reds, 3-0