On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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N Floyd on stay at U S secret air base and trip with Royce to Australia
Sir G S Bajpai says India will fight if equipment is adequate
RAF bombs northern France, Augsburg, Netherlands and other points; German air opposition reptd slight; Germans raid Eng southwest coast towns and other points; Brit estimate of German strength held in western Eur by air offensive; map
debate; defeated, Sen
1942Michael Beloff, English lawyer and academic[†]
Michael Jacob Beloff, KC is an English barrister and arbitrator. A member of Blackstone Chambers, he practises in a number of areas including human rights, administrative law and sports law.
1942Robert Christgau, American journalist and critic[†]
Robert Thomas Christgau is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became an early proponent of musical movements such as hip hop, riot grrrl, and the import of African popular music in the West. He was the chief music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice for 37 years, during which time he created and oversaw the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. He has also covered popular music for Esquire, Creem, Newsday, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, Blender, and MSN Music; he was a visiting arts teacher at New York University. CNN senior writer Jamie Allen has called Christgau "the E. F. Hutton of the music world—when he talks, people listen."
1942Jochen Rindt, German-Austrian racing driver (died 1970)[†]
Karl Jochen Rindt was a racing driver, who competed under the Austrian flag in Formula One from 1964 to 1970. Rindt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1970 with Lotus, and remains the only driver to have won the World Drivers' Championship posthumously, following his death at the Italian Grand Prix; he won six Grands Prix across seven seasons. In endurance racing, Rindt won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965 with NART.
1942Aleksander Mitt, Estonian speed skater (born 1903)[†]
Aleksander Mitt was an Estonian speed skater who competed at the 1928 and 1936 Winter Olympics.
1942Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American heiress, sculptor and art collector, founded the Whitney Museum of American Art (born 1875)[†]
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was an American sculptor, art patron and collector, and founder in 1931 of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. She was a prominent social figure and hostess, who was born into the wealthy Vanderbilt family and married into the Whitney family.
1942World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed.[†]
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.
1942Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.[†]
Pierre Jean Marie Laval was a French politician and convicted Nazi collaborator. He served as Prime Minister of France three times: 1931–1932 and 1935–1936 during the Third Republic, and 1942–1944 during Vichy France. After the war, Laval was tried as a Nazi collaborator and executed for treason.