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In the year 1940
435 Notable deaths
Madeleine Astor
American socialite and titanic survivor (1893-1940).
Born June 19th, 1893 in Brooklyn.
Died March 27th, 1940 at 46 years old in Palm Beach (coronary artery disease).
Paul Klee
German-swiss artist (1879–1940).
Born February 18th, 1879 in Münchenbuchsee. [ref]
Died June 29th, 1940 at 61 years old in Muralto (scleroderma). [ref]
Walter Benjamin
German literary critic, philosopher and social critic (1892-1940).
Born July 15th, 1892 in Berlin. [ref]
Died September 26th, 1940 at 48 years old in Portbou (opioid overdose). [ref]
Nikolai Yezhov
Nkvd director under joseph stalin (1895-1940).
Born May 1st, 1895 in Saint Petersburg.
Died February 4th, 1940 at 44 years old in Moscow (ballistic trauma).
K. B. Hedgewar
Founding leader of the rashtriya swayamsevak sangh.
Born April 1st, 1889 in Nagpur.
Died June 21st, 1940 at 51 years old in Nagpur.
Mikhail Bulgakov
Russian-ukrainian author.
Born May 15th, 1891 in Kyiv. [ref]
Died March 10th, 1940 at 48 years old in Moscow (kidney failure). [ref]
Eric Gill
English sculptor, typeface designer, and printmaker (1882–1940).
Born February 22nd, 1882 in Brighton.
Died November 17th, 1940 at 58 years old in London Borough of Hillingdon (lung cancer).
Tom Mix
American film actor (1880-1940).
Born January 6th, 1880 in Pennsylvania.
Died October 12th, 1940 at 60 years old in Florence (traffic collision).
Prince Wilhelm of Prussia
Prussian prince (1906-1940).
Born July 4th, 1906 in Potsdam.
Died May 26th, 1940 at 33 years old in Nivelles.
Ze'ev Jabotinsky
Russian jewish poet, founder of revisionist zionist movement (1880–1940).
Born October 21st, 1880 in Odesa.
Died August 4th, 1940 at 59 years old in Hunter (cardiovascular disease). [ref]
Deaths 11 to 20 of 435
Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forget life, to be at peace. Oscar Wilde