1940
1940, a leap year, was the 69th year after the founding of the city of Birmingham.
Events
- February 29: Cooper Green was elected President of the Commission.
- Harry E. Smith resigned as Jefferson County Sheriff to enter the Army.
- Joe Shannon made his first solo flight in his J-3 Piper Cub.
- The Brother Bryan Mission was founded.
- Communist Party secretary Robert Hall's apartment at Quinlan Castle was raided by the Birmingham Police Department.
- The Brooke Hill School, now part of the Altamont School, was founded.
- The Birmingham Art Association began raising funds for a future Birmingham Museum of Art.
- Louis Werfel became rabbi of the Knesseth Israel Congregation.
- William and Eugenia Woodward Hitt were married.
Business
- Eloise Haney Smith took over full ownership of WBRC-AM.
- CBS took over 45% ownership of WAPI-AM
- The Tennessee Valley Authority took over the northern district of Alabama Power's service area.
- A. & A. Ash Jewelers moved to 201 20th Street North.
Sports
- Magic City Classic, Alabama State: 24-6
- Bear Bryant became an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University.
Works
Books
Buildings
- The American Trust Building became the headquarters of First National Bank of Birmingham
- Hueytown High School's gymnasium.
- Ed Norton sold Rickwood Field to the Cincinnati Reds.
- The Albert B. Stapp Company Service Station expanded its building.
Music
- "After Hours", recorded by Avery Parrish and the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra.
- Glenn Miller recorded a hit version of Erskine Hawkins' "Tuxedo Junction".
Film
- Gail Patrick starred in My Favorite Wife.
People
Births
- Harry Crawford, "The Flagman of Columbiana".
- C. Pat Reynolds, former Vestavia Hills mayor, restauranteur
- Jim Bennett, former Alabama Secretary of State and Labor Commissioner.
- April 29: E. B. McClain, state senator
- April 30: Pat Moore, attorney
- May 20: Shorty Long, soul singer, songwriter and producer
- June 17: Frank Fleming, sculptor
- September 21: Jim Carns, Jefferson County Commission
Awards
Graduations
- Charley Boswell, from the University of Alabama
- George M. Murray, business degree from the University of Alabama
- Margaret Walker, Master of Arts in Education from Iowa University
- Fred Shuttlesworth, from Rosedale High School
- Tom King, from Phillips High School
Deaths
- May 7: Morris Newfield, rabbi of Temple Emanu-El and social activist.
- July 2: John Abercrombie, former University of Alabama president and state senator.
- Willie Peterson, suspected murderer, died of tuberculosis at Kilby Prison.
- George Ward, former Mayor of Birmingham.
- See also: List of Birmingham homicides in 1940
Context
In 1940, the world was on the brink of full-scale world war. The war had been raging in Europe for two years. America was mobilizing. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented third term as president. In the summer of 1940, Hitler dominated Europe from the North Cape to the Pyrenees. His one remaining active enemy; Britain, under a new prime minister, Winston Churchill; vowed to continue fighting. Italy declared war on France and Britain on June 10. On June 17, Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain, a World War I hero who had become premier the day before, asked for an armistice. The armistice was signed on June 25 on terms that gave Germany control of northern France and the Atlantic coast.
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize for novels
- The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan won the Pulitzer for drama
- Abraham Lincoln: The War Years by Carl Sandburg won the Pulitzer for history
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