About the day » Thursday April 18, 1940Calender converter

• Irene Rosita Cohen, Enschede,Gemeente Enschede, Overijssel, Nederland († 1942)
• Doodgeboren zoon van Run, Geldrop, Noord-Brabant, Nederland († 1940)
• Donald Edward Cook, Lima, Allen Co, OH
• Arnold E. Killinger, Sebawaing, Michigan, Verenigde Staten († 2009)
• Greetje (Margreet) Sietses, Enkhuizen
• Johannes Harm Jantin Maria Wasser, Rotterdam († 1940)
• Feike van der Veen, Garijp († 1981)
• George Fransz Shamier, Balikpapan, Borneo, Indonesië
• Gertruda Josephina Maria Peters, Schinveld, Limburg, Nederland († 2023)
• Froukje Sophia Wybenga († 1947)

• Radsma (78)
• Antoni Möller (80), Emmen
• Anthonius Vrakking (86), Naarden, Noord-Holland, Nederland, Nederland
• Antoni Möller (80), Emmen,Drenthe,Niederlande
• Aart van 't Hul (69), Doornspijk
• Anthonius Vrakking (86), Naarden, Noord-Holland, Nederland
• Antje Depping (65), Riepe, Ostfriesland, Deutschland
• Amelia Fischer (87), Elmhurst
• Andrew Klahn (80), Clinton, Clinton County, Iowa, Verenigde Staten
• Adriana Gerdina Christina de Jongh (28), Nijmegen, Nederland

• 1937 » Jan Kaplický, Czech architect, designed the Selfridges Building († 2009)
• 1939 » Glen Hardin, American pianist and arranger
• 1939 » Thomas J. Moyer, American lawyer and judge († 2010)
• 1940 » Joseph L. Goldstein, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1940 » Mike Vickers, English guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
• 1941 » Michael D. Higgins, Irish sociologist and politician, 9th President of Ireland
• 1942 » Jochen Rindt, German-Austrian racing driver († 1970)
• 1942 » Michael Beloff, English lawyer and academic
• 1942 » Robert Christgau, American journalist and critic
• 1942 » Steve Blass, American baseball player and sportscaster

• 1936 » Milton Brown, American singer and bandleader (b. 1903)
• 1936 » Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1879)
• 1938 » George Bryant, American archer (b. 1878)
• 1942 » Aleksander Mitt, Estonian speed skater (b. 1903)
• 1942 » Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American heiress, sculptor and art collector, founded the Whitney Museum of American Art (b. 1875)
• 1943 » Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (b. 1884)
• 1945 » Ernie Pyle, American journalist and soldier (b. 1900)
• 1945 » John Ambrose Fleming, English physicist and engineer, invented the vacuum tube (b. 1849)
• 1947 » Jozef Tiso, Slovak priest and politician, President of Slovakia (b. 1887)
• 1951 » Óscar Carmona, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 11th President of Portugal (b. 1869)

• 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.
• 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.
• March 23 » The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All-India Muslim League.
• June 4 » World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends: British forces complete evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk in France. To rally the morale of the country, Winston Churchill delivers, only to the House of Commons, his famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech.
• July 19 » World War II: Battle of Cape Spada: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties.
• September 14 » Ip massacre: The Hungarian Army, supported by local Hungarians, kill 158 Romanian civilians in Ip, Sălaj, a village in Northern Transylvania, an act of ethnic cleansing.
• October 21 » The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.

The temperature on April 18, 1940 was between 2.6 °C and 13.0 °C and averaged 8.6 °C. There was 7.1 mm of rain during 1.4 hours. There was 3.0 hours of sunshine (21%). The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the east.