On this day

March 5, 1940

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from March 5, 1940

Notable Births

Tom Butler (bishop)

1940Tom Butler, English bishop[†]

Thomas Frederick Butler is a British retired Anglican bishop. He was the ninth Anglican Bishop of Southwark. He was enthroned in Southwark Cathedral on 12 September 1998. He retired from this position on 5 March 2010. In 2014, Butler was involved in the transition process for the new Diocese of Leeds as "mentor bishop"; he remains an honorary assistant bishop of that diocese.

1940Ken Irvine, Australian rugby league player (died 1990)[†]

Kenneth John Irvine, also nicknamed "Mongo", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He holds the standing Australian record for the most tries in a first-grade career – 212. Only one other player has managed 200 tries in their Australian club career, South Sydney Rabbitohs player Alex Johnston who has scored 210 tries. Irvine is also the 2nd all-time top try-scorer for the Australian national team with 33, two behind Darren Lockyer's 35.

Graham McRae

1940Graham McRae, New Zealand race car driver (died 2021)[†]

Graham Peter McRae was a racing driver from New Zealand.

Sepp Piontek

1940Sepp Piontek, German footballer and manager[†]

Josef Emanuel Hubertus "Sepp" Piontek is a German former football player and manager.

Notable Deaths

Cai Yuanpei

1940Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher and academic (born 1868)[†]

Cai Yuanpei was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Peking University, and founder of the Academia Sinica. He was known for his critical evaluation of Chinese culture and synthesis of Chinese and Western thinking, including anarchism. He got involved in the New Culture, May Fourth Movements, and the feminist movement. His works involve aesthetic education, politics, and education reform.

Historical Events

Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

1940Six high-ranking members of the Soviet politburo, including Joseph Stalin, sign an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs, in what will become known as the Katyn massacre.[†]

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, abbreviated as Politburo, was the de facto highest executive authority in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). While elected by and formally accountable to the Central Committee, in practice the Politburo operated as the ruling body of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union from its creation in 1919 until the party's dissolution in 1991. Full members and candidate (non-voting) members held among the most powerful positions in the Soviet hierarchy, often overlapping with top state roles. Its duties, typically carried out at weekly meetings, included formulating state policy, issuing directives, and ratifying appointments.