World Events and Discoveries in 1940 — Timeline

7 documented historical milestones concerning world events and discoveries in 1940.

Dated historical records

Entries below follow the dates recorded in the WWII CHRONOS archive. Each linked title opens the original historical entry, including its source reference.

1. 1940-02-21 — High-Power Cavity Magnetron Successfully Tested in Birmingham — The technological foundation for compact microwave radar.
2. 1940-02-23 — Russell Ohl Observes the p–n Junction in Silicon — A fundamental milestone for the future semiconductor industry.
3. 1940-05-15 — Nylon Stockings Go on Mass Sale — Synthetic fibres enter the mass consumer market.
4. 1940-08-27 — First Flight of the Caproni Campini N.1 Experimental Jet Aircraft — One of the earliest full-scale demonstrations of jet propulsion.
5. 1940-08-29 — Marl Plant Produces Its First Bales of Buna Synthetic Rubber — Initial annual capacity: approximately 18,000 t.
6. 1940-09-11 — Bell Labs Publicly Demonstrates Remote Computing over Telephone Lines — An early demonstration of remote access to a computing machine.
7. 1940-09-23 — American Bantam Delivers the First Prototype of the Future Jeep — 49 days elapsed from order to prototype delivery.

For wider context, explore the interactive historical timeline and compare events across theaters.