The temperature on August 29, 1939 was between 11.7 °C and 23.5 °C and averaged 17.9 °C. There was 0.1 mm of rain. There was 10.2 hours of sunshine (74%). The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the north-northwest. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from June 24, 1937 to July 25, 1939 the cabinet Colijn IV, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from July 25, 1939 to August 10, 1939 the cabinet Colijn V, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from August 10, 1939 to September 3, 1940 the cabinet De Geer II, with Jonkheer mr. D.J. de Geer (CHU) as prime minister.
April 10 » Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A.'s "Big Book", is first published.
August 2 » Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.
August 31 » Nazi Germany mounts a false flag attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day, thus starting World War II in Europe.
September 4 » World War II: William J. Murphy commands the first Royal Air Force attack on Germany.
September 10 » World War II: Canada declares war on Germany, joining the Allies: Poland, France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.
November 17 » Nine Czech students are executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. All Czech universities are shut down and more than 1,200 students sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students' Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic.
Day of death October 8, 1940
The temperature on October 8, 1940 was between 4.9 °C and 14.9 °C and averaged 9.9 °C. There was 0.1 mm of rain. There was 8.3 hours of sunshine (74%). The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the south. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from August 10, 1939 to September 3, 1940 the cabinet De Geer II, with Jonkheer mr. D.J. de Geer (CHU) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from September 3, 1940 to July 27, 1941 the cabinet Gerbrandy I, with Prof. dr. P.S. Gerbrandy (ARP) as prime minister.
March 5 » Six high-ranking members of 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.
May 24 » Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
June 12 » World War II: Thirteen thousand British and French troops surrender to Major General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
October 14 » World War II: The Balham underground station disaster kills sixty-six people during the London Blitz.
November 16 » The Holocaust: In occupied Poland, the Nazis close off the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world.
November 20 » World War II: Hungary becomes a signatory of the Tripartite Pact, officially joining the Axis powers.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I6140.php : accessed January 26, 2026), "Arnoldus Jacobus Retief Dreyer b4c2d4e1f8g5h5 (1939-1940)".
Copy warning
Genealogical publications are copyright protected. Although data is often retrieved from public archives, the searching, interpreting, collecting, selecting and sorting of the data results in a unique product. Copyright protected work may not simply be copied or republished.
Please stick to the following rules
Request permission to copy data or at least inform the author, chances are that the author gives permission, often the contact also leads to more exchange of data.
Do not use this data until you have checked it, preferably at the source (the archives).
State from whom you have copied the data and ideally also his/her original source.