Events Date 1940 December | History by KabAstro

Dec 1 Four sets of brothers play in one NHL game when Chicago Blackhawks beat NY Rangers, 4-1; Lynn & Muzz Patrick and Neil & Mac Colville (Rangers); Max & Doug Bentley and Bob & Bill Carse (Chicago)
Dec 6 Gestapo arrest German resistance fighter/poster artist Helen Ernst

Pietro Badoglio Resigns

Dec 6 Pietro Badoglio resigns as viceroy of Ethiopia

41st Prime Minister of Italy Pietro Badoglio

Dec 7 CFL Grey Cup (Game 2), Lansdowne Park, Ottawa: Ottawa beats Toronto Balmy Beach, 12-5
Dec 7 North Africa: British counter offensive under general O'Connor
Dec 7 The first prototype Fairey Barracuda flew
Dec 8 National Football League Championship, Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Chicago Bears beat Washington Redskins, 73-0; most one-sided victory in NFL history; first NFL title game broadcast on national radio
Dec 9 British assault on Benghazi, Libya: first major allied offensive in North Africa
Dec 9 Illegal Jewish immigrants to Haifa are deported to Mauritius
Dec 9 South Australia all out for 47 v NSW, O'Reilly 5-11

Harmon 1st Draft Pick

Dec 10 1941 NFL Draft: Tom Harmon from University of Michigan first pick by Chicago Bears

American Football Player and Broadcaster Tom Harmon

Dec 10 British anti-offensive in Libya (Sidi Barrani)

Warning of German Assault

Dec 11 Russian general Georgy Zhukov warns of German assault

Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov

Dec 12 British troops conquer Sidi el-Barrani
Dec 16 British air raid on Mannheim

Louis vs. McCoy

Dec 16 Joe Louis KOs Al McCoy in 6 for heavyweight boxing title in Chicago

Boxer and World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis

Dec 17 British troops occupy Sollum, Egypt

Connie Mack Acquires Athletics

Dec 20 Connie Mack acquires controlling interest in the Athletics for $42,000

Dec 22 World War II: Himarë is captured by the Greek army.

Old Acquaintance

Dec 23 John Van Druten's play "Old Acquaintance" premieres on Broadway in NYC

Bradman's Christmas Duck

Dec 25 Cricket master batsman Don Bradman is dismissed for a Xmas Day first ball duck (0) for South Australia v Victoria in a Sheffield Shield match at the Adelaide Oval

"Pal Joey"

Dec 25 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musical "Pal Joey", starring Gene Kelly and Vivienne Segal, opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (later transferring to Shubert, and then the St. James), NYC; runs for 374 performances

"The Philadelphia Story"

Dec 26 "The Philadelphia Story" film directed by George Cukor, based on the Broadway play of the same name, starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart, is released (Academy Awards Best Actor 1941)