This day in history. Read about what happened today. A short and interesting account of historical events and facts about this day as well as any other day of the year. Find historical birthdays, deaths, tragedies, war events, disasters and sports events.

This year in history
In the year 1942

	January 8th	English physicist, Stephen Hawking, was born was born in Oxford. He is one of the most famous scientists of the later part of the 20th century and early 21st century. At the age of 21 he was diagnosed with a type of motor neurone disease and was rendered quadriplegic.
	January 8th	Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, was born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
	January 11th	In the course of Second World War, Japanese forces, captured Kuala Lumpur which was under British rule at the time.
	February 9th	Allied forces secured Guadalcanal, after the withdrawal of Japanese forces.
	February 15th	During the course of the second world war the British colony of Singapore surrendered to the Japanese army.
	February 24th	The radio program, Voice of America, began broadcasting. It is the official international radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government.
	February 28th	The naval battle of Sunda Strait took place during the course of the second world war between allied naval vessels and the Imperial Japanese navy. The allies suffered a major defeat in the engagement.
	March 2nd	American musician, Lou Reed, was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was one of the leading members of the rock group, The Velvet Underground, which during the 1960s helped shape the rock music movement.
	March 7th	American businessman, Michael Eisner, was born in New York. He was the CEO of the Walt Disney Company from September 22, 1984 to September 30, 2005. He is widely credited for turning the company back into profitability after it had been struggling for almost 2 decades.
	March 9th	British musician, John Cale, was born in Garnant, Wales. He is most known for having been one of the founding members of the Velvet Underground band, one of the most prolific and influential rock music groups in history.
	March 17th	American serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, was born in Chicago. He was one of the worst serial killers of modern times, who murdered more than 33 boys and was known as the killer clown because he would often entertain children in a clown suit and makeup. He was arrested in 1978 and was executed by lethal injection in 1994.
	March 20th	Nazzi troops murdered over 3000 Jews in the town of Rohatyn, western Ukraine. The entire 'operation' was conducted within the span of one night.
	March 25th	American singer, Aretha Franklin, was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
	April 3rd	American singer, Wayne Newton, was born in Roanoke, Virginia. His name is synonymous to that of the city of Las Vegas, where he has performed over 25 thousand concerts.
	April 24th	American singer, actress, and director, Barbra Streisand, was born in Brooklyn, New York.
	May 19th	American computer programmer, Gary Kildall, was born in Seattle, Washington. He was a pioneer in the creation of operating systems and many of his concepts were implemented in various still existing operating systems.
	May 30th	Aproximately one thousand British bomber planes launched an attack on the city of Cologne, Germany.
	June 7th	The Battle of Midway ended with a crushing defeat for Japan. It is considered as one of the most important battles of the Pacific front.
	June 16th	Italian motorcyclist, Giacomo Agostini, was born in Lombardy. He is widely considered as the greatest cycle racing driver in history.
	June 18th	British musician, Paul McCartney, was born in Liverpool, England. He is both known for having been part of the legendary band, The Beatles, as well as for having had one of the most successful solo careers in the history of popular music. According to the Guiness Book of records he is the most successful musician in popular music history.
	June 21st	During the course of the 2nd World War German forces captured the city of Tobruk from the British.
	June 24th	British musician, Mick Fleetwood, was born in Cornwall. He is best-known for his role as the drummer with the rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac.
	July 13th	American actor, Harrison Ford, was born in Chicago, Illinois. He is most known for his performances in the Star Wars film series, as well as the Indiana Jones of Raiders trilogy. The combined gross of the movies he has participated in, rank him as number 2 money making actor of all time, behind fellow actor Tom Hanks.
	July 14th	Spanish politician, Javier Solana, was born in Madrid, Spain.
	July 28th	Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issued order No. 227, following the German invasion and advance into mainland Russia, which stipulated that all those who retreated or left their positions without orders to do so should be immediately killed.
	August 7th	During the course of the Second World War the battle of Guadalcanal began. The battle, which was actually a campaign, lasted well over six months and was one of the most decisive campaigns of the Second World War.
	August 21st	During the course of the Second World War, the Battle of Stalingrad began. It lasted until February 2, 1943. It was the turning point of the Second World War and was one of the bloodiest battles in history.
	September 21st	The B-29 Super fortress bomber airplane made its debut appearance. It was the primary bomber aircraft of the U.S. during the bombing campaign against Japan during the final months of World War II. The most well known B-29 was the Enola Gay, which was the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 1945, and the Bockscar, which dropped another on Nagasaki three days after Hiroshima.
	September 22nd	American lawyer, David Stern, was born in New York City. He has been the commissioner of the American National Basketball Association (NBA) since 1984. He is largely credited for elevating the NBA to true greatness after the near bankruptcy condition it was in when he was appointed commissioner.
	October 26th	British actor, Bob Hoskins, was born in in Suffolk.
	November 1st	American magazine publisher, Larry Flynt, was born in Kentucky. He is the founder and publisher of Hustler magazine and the hustler porn empire.
	November 10th	Germany invaded Vichy France.
	November 13th	American and Japanese ships engaged in a fierce naval engagement during the Battle of Guadalcanal.
	November 15th	The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ended bringing victory to the Allies. It was one of the most decisive battles of the pacific front during World War II.
	November 17th	American film director, Martin Scorsese, was born in New York.
	November 18th	American actress, Linda Evans, was born in Connecticut. She is most known for her roles in the television series The Big Valley (as Audra Barkley) and Dynasty (as Krystle Carrington).
	November 19th	During the Battle of Stalingrad the forces of the Soviet Union begin a series of counter attacks on the Garman forces marking what is considered the turning point of the war in the Russian front.
	November 19th	American fashion designer, Calvin Klein, was born in New York.
	November 27th	American mucisian, Jimi Hendrix, was born in Seattle, Washington. He is considered as one of the most influential musicians in the history of rock music.
	November 28th	A fire at a nightclub in Boston, Massachusetts killed 491 people.
	December 2nd	A team led by Enrico Fermi initiated the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. This was the critical step that would lead to the eventual creation of the atomic bomb.
	December 30th	American actor, Fred Ward, was born in San Diego, California. He is most known for his participation in the films, Escape from Alcatraz and The Right Stuff. Before becoming an actor he was a boxer, and also worked as a lumberjack in Alaska.

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