On this day

July 5, 1943

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

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Headlines from July 5, 1943

Notable Births

Curt Blefary

1943Curt Blefary, American baseball player and coach (died 2001)[†]

Curtis Leroy "Clank" Blefary was an American professional baseball left fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1968), Houston Astros (1969), New York Yankees (1970–1971), Oakland Athletics (1971–1972) and the San Diego Padres (1972). A native of Brooklyn, New York, he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

1943Mark Cox, English tennis player, coach and sportscaster[†]

Mark Cox is a former tennis player from England, who played professional and amateur tennis in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was ranked as high as world No. 12 on the ATP rankings, achieving that ranking in October 1977.

Robbie Robertson

1943Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (died 2023)[†]

Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson was a Canadian musician, composer, and producer. Robertson was the onetime lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band. He was also the guitarist and primary songwriter of The Band from its inception until his 1976 departure. In his later solo career, Robertson released six albums.

Notable Deaths

Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski

1943Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski, Polish actor (born 1880)[†]

Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski was a Polish stage and film actor. He was a legendary figure in Polish cinema who had appeared in the earliest Polish films in 1902. Junosza-Stępowski was killed while trying to protect his wife from members of the Polish Home Army, who had discovered she was an informer for the Gestapo.

Karin Swanström

1943Karin Swanström, Swedish actress, director, and producer (born 1873)[†]

Karin Swanström was a Swedish actress, producer and director.

Historical Events

Allies of World War II

1943World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).[†]

The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Big Four" – the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China.

Soviet Union

1943World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.[†]

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.