In the year 1940
393 Notable deaths
Paul Klee
Swiss artist (1879-1940).
Born December 18th, 1879 in Münchenbuchsee. [ref]
Died June 29th, 1940 at 60 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).
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).
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]
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.
Tom Mix
American actor (1880-1940).
Born January 6th, 1880 in Pennsylvania. [ref]
Died October 12th, 1940 at 60 years old in Florence (traffic collision). [ref]
Eric Gill
English sculptor, typeface designer, and printmaker (1882-1940).
Born February 22nd, 1882 in Brighton. [ref]
Died November 17th, 1940 at 58 years old in London Borough of Hillingdon (lung cancer). [ref]
Prince Wilhelm of Prussia
Prussian prince (1906-1940).
Born July 4th, 1906 in Potsdam.
Died May 26th, 1940 at 33 years old in Nivelles.
Walter Chrysler
American automotive industry executive.
Born April 2nd, 1875 in Kansas. [ref]
Died August 18th, 1940 at 65 years old in Kings Point. [ref]
Deaths 11 to 20 of 393
That’s what literature is. It’s the people who went before us, tapping out messages from the past, from beyond the grave, trying to tell us about life and death! Listen to them! Connie Willis