About the day » Sunday January 21, 1940Calender converter

• Jeanne Juliette Victoire Verjans, Hasselt, België († 1940)
• Fokke Wielders, Culemborg († 1998)
• Geoffrey Allan LITTLEJOHN, Gore, Southland New Zealand († 1989)
• Jacqueline Maxine Rootlieb, Artesia, Los Angeles, California (USA) († 1983)
• Karel Peter Peters († 2008)
• John Albert Weidenaar, Bozeman, Gallatin County, Montana (USA) († 2001)
• Johannes Karel May, Rotterdam († 1996)
• Huigbert BELDER, Bolnes († 2016)
• Aron de Vries, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Nederland († 1943)
• Jack Ronald Gore, Horry County, South Carolina († 1989)

• Abram Wood (79), Minersville, Beaver, Utah, United States
• Alida Catharina Molenaar, Leiden
• Aartje den Haan (73), Strijen
• Andries Veenstra (74), Gerkesklooster
• Andries Pieters Veenstra (74), Gerkesklooster, gem. Achtkarspelen, Friesland, Nederland
• Adriana Apeldoorn (69), Alkmaar
• Albertus Pool (88), Uithuizen, Groningen, Nederland
• Angie Dennis (69)
• Akke Hendriks Netters (87), Bolsward, Friesland, Nederland
• Aaltje Maria Paardenkooper (75), Linschoten

• 1939 » Friedel Lutz, German footballer
• 1939 » Paul Genevay, French sprinter
• 1939 » Steve Paxton, American dancer and choreographer
• 1939 » Viacheslav Platonov, Russian volleyball player and coach († 2005)
• 1940 » Jack Nicklaus, American golfer and sportscaster
• 1940 » Patrick Robinson, British novelist
• 1941 » Mike Medavoy, Chinese-American film producer, co-founded Orion Pictures
• 1941 » Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor
• 1941 » Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist († 2013)
• 1941 » Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince († 2013)

• 1926 » Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
• 1928 » George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer (b. 1858)
• 1931 » Felix Blumenfeld, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
• 1932 » Lytton Strachey, English writer and critic (b. 1880)
• 1933 » George Moore, Irish author, poet, and critic (b. 1852)
• 1937 » Marie Prevost, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1898)
• 1938 » Georges Méliès, French actor, director, and producer (b. 1861)
• 1945 » Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and engineer (b. 1886)
• 1948 » Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (b. 1876)
• 1950 » George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (b. 1903)

1. Jan
2. Johannes
3. Cornelis
4. Hendrik
5. Willem
6. Gerrit
7. Pieter
8. Jacob
9. Adrianus
10. Robert
11. Petrus
12. Jacobus
13. Wilhelmus
14. Gerardus
15. Dirk
16. Arie

1. Maria
2. Johanna
3. Anna
4. Cornelia
5. Elisabeth
6. Wilhelmina
7. Hendrika
8. Adriana
9. Catharina
10. Petronella
11. Geertruida
12. Jacoba
13. Annie
14. Margaretha
15. Marie
16. Helena

• Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1948 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• 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.
• The Netherlands had about 8.8 million citizens.
• February 28 » Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
• June 3 » Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the "Jewish homeland", an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
• June 14 » Seven hundred twenty-eight Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
• July 20 » Denmark leaves the League of Nations.
• August 15 » An Italian submarine torpedoes and sinks the Greek cruiserElli at Tinos harbor during peacetime, marking the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in October.
• November 16 » New York City's "Mad Bomber" George Metesky places his first bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison.

The temperature on January 21, 1940 was between -9.9 °C and -2.4 °C and averaged -5.7 °C. There was 4.1 mm of rain during 13.7 hours. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the north.