[Edit]

This article is about the year. For the movie, see 1941 (film) For the video game, see 1941: Counter Attack.

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January 4 - The short subject Elmer's Pet Rabbit is released, marking the second appearance of Bugs Bunny, and also the first to have his name on a title card.

January 6 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

January 8 - Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell the founder of Scouting, dies.

January 10 - Lend-Lease is introduced into the U.S. Congress.

January 19 - British troops attack Italian-held Eritrea.

January 20 - US. President Franklin D. Roosevelt begins unprecedented third term.

January 21 - World War II: Australian and British forces attack Tobruk, Libya.

January 22 - World War II: British troops capture Tobruk from the Italians.

January 23 - Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.

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February 3 - World War II: The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.

February 4 - World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.

February 11 - World War II: Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel arrives in Tripoli.

February 19 - World War II: The start of the Three Nights' Blitz over Swansea, South Wales. Over these three nights of intensive bombing, which lasted a total of 13 hours and 48 minutes, Swansea town centre was almost completely obliterated by the 896 High Explosive bombs employed by the Luftwaffe. A total of 397 casualties and 230 deaths were reported. The Three nights Blitz ended in the early hours of February 22.

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March 1 - World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact thus joining the Axis powers.

March 1 - W47NV begins operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station.

March 1 - Arthur L. Bristol becomes Rear Admiral for the U.S. Navy's Support Force, Atlantic Fleet

March 11 - World War II: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.

March 17 - In Washington, DC, the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

March 17 - British Minister of Labour, Ernest Bevin, calls for women to fill vital jobs

March 22 - Washington's Grand Coulee Dam begins to generate electricity.

March 25 - World War II: Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Vienna joins the Axis powers

March 27 - World War II: Anti-Axis coup d'etat in Yugoslavia - Prince Paul exiled; 17-year-old King Peter II assumes power.

March 27 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii and begins to study the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor.

March 29 - World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan - Off the Peloponnesus coast in the Mediterranean, British naval forces defeat those of Italy sinking five warships. Battle started on March 27.

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April 6 - World War II: Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece.

April 12 - World War II: German troops enter Belgrade.

April 13 - Soviet Union and Japan sign a neutrality pact.

April 17 - World War II: Yugoslav Royal Army capitulates.

April 18 - World War II: Prime Minister of Greece Alexandros Koryzis commits suicide as German troops approach Athens.

April 21 - World War II: Greece capitulates. Commonwealth troops and some elements of the Greek Army withdraw to Crete.

April 23 - America First Committee holds its first mass rally in New York City with Charles Lindbergh as keynote speaker.

April 27 - World War II: German troops enter Athens.

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May 1 - Breakfast cereal Cheerios is introduced as CheeriOats by General Mills May 1 - Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane premieres in New York City May 1 - The first Defense Bonds and Defense Savings Stamps go on sale in the United States to help fund the greatly increased production of military equipment. May 5 - Emperor Haile Selassie enters Addis Ababa, which had been liberated from Italian forces; this date has been since commemorated as Liberation Day in Ethiopia. May 6 - At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO Show. May 9 - World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the British Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma cryptography machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages. May 10 - World War II: The United Kingdom's House of Commons is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid. May 10 - World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland claiming to be on a peace mission. May 12 - Konrad Zuse presented the Z3, the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computer in Berlin. May 15 - World War II: First British jet aircraft, the Gloster E.28/39, is flown. May 20 - World War II: Battle of Crete - Germany launches airborne invasion of Crete. May 21 - World War II: 950 miles off the coast of Brazil, the freighter SS ''Robin Moor'' becomes the first United States ship sunk by a German U-boat. May 24 - World War II: In the North Atlantic, the German battleship Bismarck sinks the HMS ''Hood'' killing all but three crewman on what was the pride of the Royal Navy. May 26 - World War II: In the North Atlantic, Fairey Swordfish aircraft from the carrier HMS Ark Royal fatally cripple the German battleship Bismarck in torpedo attack. May 27 - World War II: President Roosevelt proclaims an "unlimited national emergency." May 27 - World War II: German battleship Bismarck is sunk in North Atlantic killing 2,300.

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June 1 - World War II: Allies evacuate Crete.

June 4 - Britain invades Iraq, the pro-Axis government there is overthrown.

June 4 - The ex-kaiser of Germany, Wilhelm II, dies in exile at Doorn, Netherlands.

June 8 - World War II: Allies invade Syria and Lebanon.

June 9 - World War II: Finland initiate mobilization and put some units under German command.

June 14 - Mass deportations by Soviet Union authorities take place in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

June 14 - All German and Italian assets in the United States are frozen.

June 16 - All German and Italian consulates in the United States are ordered closed and their staffs to leave the country by July 10th.

June 22 - World War II: Germany attacks the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa

June 22 - Italy and Romania declare war on the Soviet Union.

June 23 - Hungary and Slovakia declare war on the Soviet Union.

June 25 - World War II: Finland attack the Soviet Union to seek the opportunity of revenge in the Continuation War.

June 28 - Albania declares war on the Soviet Union.

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July 4 - Mass murder of Polish scientists and writers, committed by German troops in captured Polish city of Lwów.

July 5 - World War II: German troops reach the Dnieper River.

July 5-19 - War between Peru and Ecuador

July 7 - World War II: American forces take over the defense of Iceland from the British

July 7 - World War II: Serbia starts the first popular uprising in Europe against the Axis Powers.

July 13 - World War II - Montenegro starts the second popular uprising in Europe against the Axis Powers.

July 19 - World War II: A BBC broadcast by "Colonel Britton" calls on the people of Occupied Europe to resist the Nazis under the slogan "V for Victory".

July 26 - World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indo-China, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the seizure of all Japanese assets in the United States.

July 31 - Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS general Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question."

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August - Formation of the Political Warfare Executive in the United Kingdom

August 1 - The first jeep is produced

August 6 - 6-year-old Elaine Esposito goes to an appendix operation in Florida and lapses into a coma. She dies 1978, still in coma.

August 9 - Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet at Argentia, Newfoundland. The Atlantic Charter is created as a result.

August 12 - By one vote (203-202), the U.S. House of Representatives passes legislation extending the draft period for selectees and the National Guard from one year to 30 months.

August 18 - Adolf Hitler orders a temporary halt to Nazi Germany's systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and handicapped due to protests. However, graduates of the T-4 Euthanasia Program were then transferred to concentration camps, where they continued in their trade.

August 22 - World War II: France - German Occupation Authority announces that anyone found either working for or aiding the Free French will be sentenced to death.

August 25 - World War II: Operation Countenance - United Kingdom and Soviet forces invade Iran.

August 27 - World War II: France - Pierre Laval is shot in an assassination attempt at Versailles.

August 28 - World War II: Soviets announce the destruction of massive Dniepr River dam at Zaporozhye to prevent its capture by the Germans.

August 31 - The Great Gildersleeve debuts on NBC Radio.

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September 4 - World War II: The USS ''Greer'' becomes the first United States ship fired upon by a German submarine in the war, even though the United States is a neutral power. Tension heightens between the two nations as a result.

September 6 - Holocaust: The requirement to wear the Star of David with the word "Jew" inscribed, is extended to all Jews over the age of 6 in German-occupied areas.

September 8 - World War II: Siege of Leningrad begins - German forces begin a siege against the Soviet Union's second-largest city, Leningrad. Stalin orders the Volga Deutsche deported to Siberia.

September 11 - World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Navy to shoot on sight if any ship or convoy is threatened.

September 11 - Charles Lindbergh, at an America First Committee rally in Des Moines, Iowa, accuses "the British, the Jewish, and the Roosevelt administration" of leading the United States toward war. Widespread condemnation of Lindbergh follows.

September 12 - World War II: First snowfall reported on Russian front.

September 15 - self-government of Estonia, headed by Hjalmar Mäe, is appointed by German military administration.

September 16 - Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran is forced to resign in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran under pressure from the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.

September 27 - The first Liberty Ship, the SS Patrick Henry, is launched at Baltimore, Maryland.

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October 2 - World War II: Operation Typhoon - Germany begins an all-out offensive against Moscow.

October 7 - John Curtin becomes the 14th Prime Minister of Australia

October 8 - World War II: In their invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany reaches the Sea of Azov with the capture of Mariupol.

October 16 - World War II: Soviet Union government moves to Kuibyshev, but Stalin remains in Moscow.

October 17 - World War II: The destroyer USS Kearney is torpedoed and damaged near Iceland, killing eleven sailors - the first American military casualties of the war.

October 18 - General Hideki Tojo becomes the 40th Prime Minister of Japan.

October 21 - World War II: Germans rampage in Yugoslavia, killing thousands of civilians

October 24 - Franz von Werra disappears during a flight over North Sea

October 30 - World War II: Franklin Delano Roosevelt approves US$1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.

October 31 - After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore.

October 31 - World War II: The destroyer USS ''Reuben James'' is torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 United States Navy sailors.

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November 6 - World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin addresses the Soviet Union for only the second time during his three-decade rule (the first time was earlier that year on July 2). He states that even though 350,000 troops were killed in German attacks so far, that the Germans have lost 4.5 million soldiers (a gross exaggeration) and that Soviet victory was near.

November 10 - In a speech at the Mansion House in London, Winston Churchill promises, "...should the United States become involved in war with Japan, the British declaration will follow within the hour."

November 12 - World War II: Battle of Moscow: Temperatures around Moscow drop to −12 °C and the Soviet Union launches ski troops for the first time against the freezing German forces near the city.

November 13 - World War II: The aircraft carrier HMS ''Ark Royal'' is hit by German U-boat U-81

November 14 - World War II: HMS ''Ark Royal'' capsizes and sinks, having been torpedoed by U 81.

November 14 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - Japanese diplomat Saburo Kurusu arrives in the United States to assist Ambassador Kichisaburo Nomura in peace negotiations.

November 17 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - Joseph Grew, the United States ambassador to Japan, cables the State Department that Japan had plans to launch an attack against Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (his cable was ignored).

November 19 - World War II: The Australian war cruiser HMAS ''Sydney'' sinks off the coast of Western Australia, killing 645 sailors.

November 21 - The radio program King Biscuit Time is broadcast for the first time (it would later become the longest running daily radio broadcast in history and the most famous live blues radio program).

November 24 - World War II: The United States grants Lend-Lease to the Free French.

November 26 - US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States (this partly reversed a 1939 action by Roosevelt that changed the celebration of Thanksgiving to the third Thursday of November).

November 26 - World War II: The Hull note ultimatum is delivered to Japan by the United States.

November 26 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - A fleet of six aircraft carriers commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo leaves Hitokapu Bay for Pearl Harbor under strict radio silence.

November 27 - A group of young men stop traffic on highway US 99 south of Yreka, California, handing out fliers proclaiming the establishment of the State of Jefferson.

November 27 - World War II: Battle of Moscow - Germans reach their closest approach to Moscow. They are subsequently frozen by cold weather and attacks by the Soviets.

November 27 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - All U.S. military forces in Asia and the Pacific placed on war alert.

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December 1 - World War II: Former mayor of New York City, Fiorello LaGuardia, and the director of the Office of Civilian Defense, sign an order creating the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) as the civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (in April 1943 the CAP was placed under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Air Forces). December 1 - World War II: State of emergency declared in Malaya and the Straits Settlements. December 4 - State of Jefferson declared in Yreka, California, with judge John Childs as a governor December 7, December 8 (in Japan standard time) - Japanese Navy launches a surprise attack consisting of two full regiments on the United States fleet at Pearl Harbor, thus drawing the United States into World War II. December 8 - World War II: The United States officially declares war on Japan. December 8 - World War II: China officially declares war on Japan December 8 - World War II: The Netherlands declares war on Japan December 8 - World War II: Japan launches an invasion of Malaya. December 11 - World War II: Germany declares war on the United States. December 11 - World War II: American forces repel a Japanese landing attempt at Wake Island. December 12 - Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan. United States seizes French ship Normandie. December 13 - Sweden's low temperature record with -53° C was set in a village within Vilhelmina Municipality. December 19 - World War II: Hitler becomes Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the German Army December 23 - World War II: A second Japanese landing attempt on Wake Island is successful, and the American garrison surrenders after hours of fighting. December 25 - World War II: British and Canadians are defeated by the Japanese at Hong Kong. December 27 - World War II: Winston Churchill becomes the first British Prime Minister to address a Joint session of the U.S. Congress December 27 - World War II: British Commandos raid the Norwegian port of Vaagso, causing Hitler to reinforce the garrison and defenses December 28 - World War II: starts the Operation Anthropoid (the assassination of Heydrich in Prague).

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John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford E. Berry developed the Atanasoff-Berry Computer.

Ives and Stilwell prove that ions radiate at frequencies affected by their motion.

In Sweden, Victor Hasselblad forms the Hasselblad camera company.

The Pinnacle Commune, a Rastafarian community, is destroyed by Jamaican authorities

Indochina Communist party, led by Ho Chi Minh, combines with Nationalist party to form the Vietminh.

Meet John Doe makes its film debut.

Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer is published.

The Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA) is created and given jurisdiction over the “regulation of communications and electronic intelligence”.

Picasso paints Dora Maar au Chat

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Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) (which may or may not be a part of World War II, depending on who's telling the tale)

World War II (1939-1945)

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January 3 - Van Dyke Parks, American composer, producer, and musician

January 5 - Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese filmmaker

January 5 - Kevin Keelan, English footballer

January 7 - Iona Brown, British violinist and conductor (d. 2004)

January 7 - John E. Walker, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate

January 8 - Graham Chapman, British comedian (d. 1989)

January 9 - Joan Baez, American singer and activitist

January 12 - Long John Baldry British singer (d. 2005)

January 14 - Faye Dunaway, American actress

January 14 - Milan Kučan, Slovenian politician and statesman

January 15 - Captain Beefheart, American singer

January 18 - David Ruffin, American singer (d. 1991)

January 21 - Plácido Domingo, Spanish-born tenor

January 21 - Richie Havens, American musician

January 24 - Neil Diamond, American singer and songwriter

January 26 - Scott Glenn, American actor

January 26 - Henry Jaglom, English director

January 27 - Beatrice Tinsley, English astronomer

January 30 - Dick Cheney, Vice President of the United States

January 30 - Tineke Lagerberg, Dutch swimmer

January 31 - Dick Gephardt, American politician

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February 5 - Kaspar Villiger, Swiss Federal Councilor

February 6 - Howard Phillips, American politician

February 8 - Nick Nolte, American actor

February 10 - Michael Apted, English director

February 13 - Sigmar Polke, German painter

February 16 - Kim Jong-il, leader of North Korea

February 17 - Gene Pitney, American singer (d. 2006)

February 19 - David Gross, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

February 20 - Buffy Sainte-Marie, American singer

February 26 - Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972)

February 27 - Paddy Ashdown, British politician

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March 4 - Adrian Lyne, English director

March 4 - John Aprea, American actor

March 5 - Nona Gaprindashvili, Georgian chess player

March 6 - Willie Stargell, baseball player (d. 2001)

March 14 - Wolfgang Petersen, German film director

March 15 - Mike Love, American musician (The Beach Boys)

March 16 - Robert Guéï, military ruler of Côte d'Ivoire (d. 2002)

March 16 - Chuck Woolery, American game show host

March 18 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (d. 2006)

March 23 - Jim Trelease, American educator and author

March 26 - Richard Dawkins, British scientist

March 28 - Jim Turner, American football player

March 29 - Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr., American astrophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate

March 30 - Wasim Sajjad, President of Pakistan

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April 3 - Philippe Wynne, American musician (d. 1984)

April 8 - Peggy Lennon, American singer (The Lennon Sisters)

April 12 - Bobby Moore, English football player and World Cup winning captain (d. 1993)

April 13 - Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

April 14 - Julie Christie, British actress

April 14 - Pete Rose, baseball player

April 23 - Paavo Lipponen, Prime Minister of Finland

April 23 - Ed Stewart, English disc jockey

April 24 - John Williams, Australian guitarist

April 27 - Lee Roy Jordan, American football player

April 28 - Ann-Margret, Swedish-born actress

April 28 - K. Barry Sharpless, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate

May 5 - Alexander Ragulin, Russian hockey player (d. 2004)

May 13 - Senta Berger, Swedish actress

May 13 - Ritchie Valens, American singer (d. 1959)

May 15 - K.T. Oslin, American musician

May 19 - Bobby Burgess, American dancer and singer

May 19 - Nora Ephron, American film, producer, director, and screenwriter

May 20 - Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore

May 22 - Paul Winfield, American actor (d. 2004)

May 24 - Bob Dylan, American poet and musician

May 31 - Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

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June 5 - Martha Argerich, Argentine pianist

June 5 - Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2004)

June 6 - Neal Adams, American comic book artist

June 8 - Robert Bradford, Irish footballer and politician (d. 1981)

June 8 - Fuzzy Haskins, American musician (P-Funk)

June 10 - Mickey Jones, American actor and musician

June 24 - Bill Reardon, American politician and educator

June 27 - Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish film director (d. 1996)

July 1 - Alfred G. Gilman, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

July 1 - Myron Scholes, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate

July 11 - Tommy Vance, English disc jockey (d. 2005)

July 14 - Maulana Karenga, American author and activist

July 14 - Andreas Khol, Austrian politician

July 19 - Vikki Carr, American singer

July 27 - Bill Baxley, Alabama Politician

July 28 - Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor

July 30 - Paul Anka, Canadian-American singer and songwriter

July 31 - Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician

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August 3 - Martha Stewart, American television and magazine personality

August 6 - Lyle Berman, American poker player

August 14 - Connie Smith, American singer

August 20 - Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia (d. 2006)

August 22 - Bill Parcells, American football coach

August 28 - Joseph Shabalala, South African musician (Ladysmith Black Mambazo)

September 2 - David Bale, South African-born activist (d. 2003)

September 4 - Sushilkumar Shinde, Indian politician

September 9 - Otis Redding, American musician (d. 1967)

September 9 - Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist

September 10 - Christopher Hogwood, English conductor

September 10 - Gunpei Yokoi, Japanese computer game producer (d. 1997)

September 14 - Alberto Naranjo, Venezuelan musician

September 15 - George Saimes, American football player

September 17 - Bob Matsui, U.S. Congressman from California (d. 2005)

September 19 - Cass Elliott, American singer (d. 1974)

September 24 - Guy Hovis, American singer

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October 4 - Jackie Collins, British writer

October 4 - Anne Rice, American writer

October 5 - Eduardo Duhalde, President of Argentina

October 8 - Jesse Jackson, American clergyman and civil rights activist

October 13 - Paul Simon, American singer and composer

October 16 - Tim McCarver, baseball commentator

October 20 - Anneke Wills, British actress

October 25 - Anne Tyler, American novelist

October 28 - John Hallam, Irish actor

October 30 - Theodor W. Hänsch, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

November 5 - Art Garfunkel, American singer; famous also for his hair.

November 6 - Doug Sahm, American musician (d. 1999)

November 10 - Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer and actor (d. 1985)

November 18 - David Hemmings, English actor (d. 2003)

November 26 - G. Alan Marlatt, American psychologist

November 27 - Eddie Rabbitt, American musician (d. 1998)

November 29 - Bill Freehan, baseball player

December 9 - Beau Bridges, American actor

December 10 - Colin Kelly, American airman

December 13 - John Davidson, American singer and actor

December 18 - Prince William of Gloucester

December 23 - Tim Hardin, American musician (d.1980)

December 24 - John Levene, British actor

December 30 - Mel Renfro, American football player

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Thom Bell, American record producer

T S Krishnamurthy, Chief Election Commissioner of India

Derek Mahon, Irish poet

Peter Sarstedt, English singer and songwriter

The Armed Forces Security Agency is created and given jurisdiction over the “regulation of communications and electronic intelligence".

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January 4 - Henri Bergson, French philiosopher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (b. 1859)

January 5 - Amy Johnson, English aviator (b. 1903)

January 8 - Lord Robert Baden-Powell, English soldier and founder of the Boy Scouts (b. 1847)

January 10 - Frank Bridge, English composer (b. 1879)

January 10 - Sir John Lavery, Irish artist (b. 1856)

January 10 - Joe Penner, American comedian and actor

January 13 - James Joyce, Irish writer (b. 1882)

February 6 - Banjo Paterson, Australian poet & journalist (b. 1864)

February 9 - Aaron S. Watkins, American temperance movement leader (b. 1863)

February 11 - Rudolf Hilferding, German economist and Minister of Finance (b. 1877)

February 21 - Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1891)

February 24 - Lothar Arnauld de la Perière, German submariner (b. 1886)

February 27 - William D. Byron, U.S. Congressman (b. 1895)

February 28 - King Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)

March 6 - Gutzon Borglum, American sculptor (b. 1867)

March 8 - Sherwood Anderson, American author (b. 1876)

March 15 - Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian painter (b. 1864)

March 28 - Virginia Woolf, English writer (b. 1882)

April 13 - Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (b. 1863)

April 28 - Luisa Tetrazzini, Italian coloratura soprano (b. 1871)

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May 16 - Minnie Vautrin, American missionary and heroine of the Nanjing Massacre (b. 1887)

May 30 - Prajadhipok, Rama VII, king of Thailand (b. 1893)

June 2 - Lou Gehrig, baseball player (b. 1903)

June 4 - Wilhelm II, Last Emperor of Germany (b. 1859)

June 6 - Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-born automobile builder and race car driver (b. 1878)

June 29 - Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, and third Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1860)

July 4 - Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician (b. 1881)

July 10 - Jelly Roll Morton, American jazz musician and composer (b. 1890)

July 11 - Arthur Evans, English archaeologist (b. 1851)

July 25 - Allan Forrest, American actor

July 26 - Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician (b. 1875)

August 7 - Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)

August 13 - James Stuart Blackton, American film producer (b. 1875)

August 14 - Paul Sabatier, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)

August 30 - Peder Oluf Pedersen, Danish engineer and physicist (b. 1874)

August 31 - Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (suicide) (b. 1892)

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September 12 - Hans Spemann, German embryologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1869)

October 5 - Louis Brandeis, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1856)

October 26 - Arkady Gaidar, Russian writer (killed in combat) (b. 1904)

November 18 - Walther Nernst, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)

November 18 - Chris Watson, third Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1867)

November 21 - Henrietta Vinton Davis American elocutionist, dramatist, impersonator, public speaker (b. 1860).

November 26 - Niels Hansen Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and ceramist (b. 1861)

December 3 - Christian Sinding, Norwegian composer (b. 1856)

December 30 - El Lissitzky, Russian artist and architect (b. 1890)

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Sometime in this year, events of the Doctor Who episodes The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances take place.

Sometime in this year, in the movie Citizen Kane, Charles Foster Kane dies.

The BeeGees song "New York Mining Disaster 1941" is refers to the year.

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Physics - not awarded

Chemistry - not awarded

Medicine - not awarded

Literature - not awarded

Peace - not awarded

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List of ship launches in 1941

List of ship commissionings in 1941

List of shipwrecks in 1941