June 16, 1940

1940Māris Čaklais, Latvian poet, writer, and journalist (died 2003)^[†]

Māris Čaklais was a Latvian poet, writer, and journalist.

1940Neil Goldschmidt, American lawyer and politician, 33rd Governor of Oregon (died 2024)^[†]

Neil Edward Goldschmidt was an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades, including mayor of Portland, Oregon, the United States Secretary of Transportation under President Jimmy Carter and governor of Oregon. At one time, Goldschmidt was considered the most powerful and influential figure in Oregon's politics; in 2004, Goldschmidt's career and legacy were irreparably damaged by revelations of the ongoing sexual abuse of a young teenage girl which began in 1973, during his first term as mayor of Portland.

1940World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français).^[†]

World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

1940The Soviet Union occupies Lithuania, which will eventually become the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR).^[†]

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), commonly referred to as the Soviet Union or Russia, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by area, extending across eleven time zones and sharing borders with twelve countries, and the third-most populous country. An overall successor to the Russian Empire, it was nominally organized as a federal union of national republics, the largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR. In practice, its government and economy were highly centralized. As a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), it was the flagship communist state. Its capital and largest city was Moscow.