September 17, 1940

1940Jan Eliasson, Swedish politician and diplomat, 4th Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations^[†]

Jan Kenneth Eliasson is a Swedish diplomat who was Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations from July 2012 to December 2016. A member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Eliasson served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 24 April to 6 October 2006. Eliasson was appointed as Governing Board Chair of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in April 2017 and assumed his role as of 1 June 2017.

1940Peter Lever, English cricketer (died 2025)^[†]

Peter Lever was an English cricketer, who played in seventeen Tests and ten ODIs for England from 1970 to 1975. A fast-medium opening bowler, he took 41 wickets and was a handy lower-order batsman with a top score of 88 not out. Towards the end of his career, during a Test match against New Zealand, he almost killed the New Zealand Test debutant Ewen Chatfield with a bouncer.

1940Gilberto Parlotti, Italian motorcycle racer (died 1972)^[†]

Gilberto Parlotti was an Italian professional motorcycle racer competing in the FIM World Championship between 1969 and 1972. He competed for the Benelli, Derbi, Morbidelli and Tomos factories.

1940World War II: Due to setbacks in the Battle of Britain and approaching autumn weather, Hitler postpones Operation Sea Lion.^[†]

The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. It takes its name from the speech given by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June, 1940: "What General Weygand called the 'Battle of France' is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."