1942 in the United States explained
Events from the year 1942 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
Events
January
- January 1
- Sales of new cars are banned to save steel.
- WWII
The United States and Philippines troops fight the Battle of Bataan.
Japanese forces invade Burma.
-
- January 25 - WWII: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.[1]
- January 26 - WWII: The first American forces arrive in Europe, landing in Northern Ireland.
February
Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
-
- February 9 - WWII: The ocean liner catches fire while being converted into the troopship USS Lafayette at pier 88 in New York City. In the early hours of February 10 she capsizes.
- February 18 - WWII: More than 200 American sailors die in Newfoundland when the runs aground near Chambers Cove and the runs aground at Lawn Point.
- February 19 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066 allowing the United States military to define areas as exclusionary zones. These zones affect the Japanese on the West Coast, and Germans and Italians primarily on the East Coast.
- February 20 - Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace.
- February 22 - WWII: President Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as American defense of the nation collapses.
- February 23 - WWII: The Japanese submarine I-17 fires 17 high-explosive shells toward an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California, causing little damage.
- February 24 - The Voice of America begins broadcasting.
- February 25 - Battle of Los Angeles: Over 1,400 AA shells are fired at an unidentified, slow-moving object in the skies over Los Angeles. The appearance of the object triggers an immediate wartime blackout over most of Southern California, with thousands of air raid wardens being deployed throughout the city. In total there are 6 deaths. Despite the several hour barrage no planes are downed.
- February 26 – The 14th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Bob Hope is held at Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, with John Ford's How Green Was My Valley winning Outstanding Motion Picture along with four other awards, including a third Best Director win for Ford. The two aforementioned awards are currently considered controversial due to the retroactive high regard placed on Orson Welles' also-nominated Citizen Kane.
March
April
- April 3 - WWII: Japanese forces begin an all-out assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.
May
June
July
August
- August 7 - WWII: Battle of Guadalcanal begins - The United States Marine Corps initiates the first American offensive of the war with a landing on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
- August 8 – WWII: In Washington, D.C., six German would-be saboteurs are executed (two others are cooperative and receive life imprisonment instead).
- August 13 – Walt Disney's fifth feature film, Bambi, is released. Although the initial box office gross is lackluster (due to the loss of most of the European film market during World War II), it eventually becomes a financial success through various reissues over the next several decades. Due to continued financial losses, Disney spends the majority of the rest of the 1940s producing a string of package films, with Bambi being the last singular project he will release until Cinderella eight years later.
- August 15 - WWII: The American tanker SS Ohio reaches Malta as part of the convoy of Operation Pedestal.
- August 16 – The U.S. Navy blimp L-8 (Flight 101) comes ashore near San Francisco, eventually coming down in Daly City (the crew is missing).
September
October
November
December
Ongoing
Unknown
Births
January
- January 1
- January 2
- Dennis Hastert, American politician
- Hugh Shelton, American military leader, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff[6]
- January 3 – Donna Axum, American beauty pageant winner and model (d. 2018)
- January 4 – Jim Downing, race car driver and inventor
- January 5 – Charlie Rose, American television anchor and talk show host
- January 7
- January 9
- January 11
- January 17 – Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, African-American boxer, activist, and philanthropist (d. 2016)
- January 18 – Ruby Winters, American singer (d. 2016)
- January 20 – Linda Moulton Howe, American journalist and producer
- January 24
- January 25 – Carl Eller, American football player
- January 27
- January 30 – Marty Balin, American singer, songwriter, and musician (d. 2018)
February
- February 2 - Ed Bogas, American musician and composer
- February 5 - Roger Staubach, American football player
- February 9 - Carole King, American singer and composer
- February 11
- February 12 - Larry L. Taylor, American Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2024)[7]
- February 13
- February 14 - Michael Bloomberg, American businessman
- February 15 - Sherry Jackson, American actress
- February 19 - Paul Krause, American football player
- February 20 - Mitch McConnell, American politician, United States Senator (R-KY)
- February 24 - Joe Lieberman, American politician, Senator for Connecticut (1989–2013) (d. 2024)[8]
- February 25 - Karen Grassle, American actress
- February 27 - Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2021)
March
- March 2
- March 5 – Mike Resnick, American science fiction author (d. 2020)
- March 7
- March 8 – Dick Allen, American baseball player (d. 2020)
- March 10 – Bob Berry, American football player (d. 2023)
- March 12 – Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player (d. 2020)
- March 13
- March 15 – The Iron Sheik, Iranian-American wrestler (d. 2023)
- March 17 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (d. 1994)
- March 22 – Patricia A. Goldman, American women's rights activist (d. 2023)
- March 25 – Aretha Franklin, African-American singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist (d. 2018)
- March 28
- March 29
April
- April 1
- April 2 - Leon Russell, singer-songwriter, keyboard player and guitarist (d. 2016)
- April 5 - Peter Magowan, American businessman (d. 2019)
- April 6 - Barry Levinson, American film producer and director
- April 8 - Douglas Trumbull, American film director (d. 2022)
- April 15 - Kenneth Lay, American businessman (d. 2006)
- April 17 - Buster Williams, American jazz bassist
- April 18 - Seymour Stein, American entrepreneur and music executive (d. 2023)
- April 21 - Brendan Malone, American basketball coach (d. 2023)
- April 23 - Sandra Dee, American actress (d. 2005)
- April 24
- Rege Ludwig, polo instructor and coach
- Barbra Streisand, American singer, actress, composer, and film director
- April 25 - Jon Kyl, U.S. Senator from Arizona from 1995 to 2013
- April 26 - Bobby Rydell, American singer (d. 2022)
- April 27
May
- May 1
- May 5 – Tammy Wynette, American country singer (d. 1998)
- May 6 – David Friesen, bassist
- May 10
- May 14 – Byron Dorgan, American politician
- May 17 – Taj Mahal, African-American singer and guitarist
- May 19 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist and microcomputer entrepreneur (d. 1994)
- May 20 – Carlos Hathcock, American Marine sniper (d. 1999)
- May 21 – Robert C. Springer, American astronaut and test pilot
- May 22
- May 27
- Priscilla McLean, American composer, performer, video artist, writer, and music reviewer
- Lee Baca, American law enforcement official and convicted felon
- May 28 – Stanley B. Prusiner, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- May 29 – Kevin Conway, American actor and director (d. 2020)
- May 31 – Happy Hairston, American basketball player (d. 2001)
June
- June 3 - Curtis Mayfield, African-American musician (d. 1999)
- June 8
- June 18
- Roger Ebert, film critic (d. 2013)
- Carl Radle, bass guitarist (d. 1980)
- June 19 - Bob Kasten, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin from 1981 to 1993
- June 20
- June 22 - George Banks, American spree killer
- June 24 - Michele Lee, American actress and singer
- June 26
- June 27 - Bruce Johnston, American singer and songwriter
- June 28 Jim Kolbe, American businessman and politician (d. 2022)
- Dorie Ladner, African-American civil rights activist (d. 2024)
- Frank Zane, American professional bodybuilder and author
July
- July 1 – Andraé Crouch, American gospel singer (d. 2015)
- July 4
- July 5 – Louise Shaffer, American actress, script writer, and author
- July 7 – Thomas D. Pollard, American educator, cell biologist and biophysicist
- July 8 – Phil Gramm, American politician
- July 9 – Richard Roundtree, African-American actor (d. 2023)
- July 12 – Steve Young, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
- July 13
- July 16 – John Purdin, American baseball player (d. 2010)
- July 18 – Bobby Susser, American songwriter and producer (d. 2020)
- July 19 – Frederick Kantor, American physicist (d. 2020)
- July 24 – Chris Sarandon, American actor
- July 27 – Dennis Ralston, American tennis player (d. 2020)
- July 29 – Tony Sirico, American actor (d. 2022)
August
- August 1 – Jerry Garcia, American musician (d. 1995)
- August 7
- Tobin Bell, American film and television actor
- Jane Fortune, American author, journalist, and philanthropist (d. 2018)
- Garrison Keillor, American writer and radio host
- Jack DeJohnette, American drummer, pianist, and composer
- August 10 – Speedy Duncan, American football player (d. 2021)[9]
- August 11 – Otis Taylor, American football player (d. 2023)[10]
- August 16 – Barbara George, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
- August 19 – Fred Thompson, American politician and actor (d. 2015)
- August 20 – Isaac Hayes, African-American singer and actor (d. 2008)
- August 23 – Nancy Richey, American tennis player
- August 24 – Max Cleland, American politician (d. 2021)
- August 27 – Daryl Dragon, American musician (d. 2019)
- August 29 – Sterling Morrison, American musician (d. 1995)
September
- September 1 – C. J. Cherryh, American fiction writer
- September 2 – Robert Shapiro, American lawyer and entrepreneur
- September 3 – Al Jardine, American musician
- September 6
- Carol Wayne, American television and film actress (d. 1985)
- Mel McDaniel, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
- September 7 – Robert Godwin, murder victim (d. 2017)
- September 17 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (d. 2012)
- September 18 – Meredith Tax, American feminist writer and political activist (d. 2022)
- September 19 – Freda Payne, American singer and actress
- September 22
- September 29
- September 30 – Frankie Lymon, American singer (d. 1968)
October
- October 1 – Jerry Martini, American musician
- October 7
- October 10 – Janis Hansen, American singer and author (d. 2017)
- October 13
- October 18 – Eli Noyes, American animator (d. 2024)[12]
- October 19 – Andrew Vachss, American author and attorney
- October 20 – Earl Hindman, American actor (d. 2003)
-
- Judy Sheindlin, American retired judge turned television personality (Judge Judy)
- October 22
- October 23 – Michael Crichton, American author (d. 2008)
- October 24
- October 25 – Gloria Katz, American screenwriter and film producer (d. 2018)
- October 29
- James Orange, African-American pastor and civil rights activist (d. 2008)
- Bob Ross, American painter, art instructor and television host (d. 1995)
- October 31 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor and voice-over artist (d. 2018)
November
- November 1
- November 2
- November 7 – Tom Peters, American writer
- November 10 – Robert F. Engle, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- November 17
- Bob Gaudio, American rock singer-songwriter
- Martin Scorsese, American film director
- November 18
- November 20
- November 21 – Al Matthews, African-American actor and singer (d. 2018)
- November 23 – Susan Anspach, American actress (d. 2018)
- November 26 – Olivia Cole, American actress (d. 2018)
- November 27 – Jimi Hendrix, African-American rock singer-songwriter (d. 1970)
- November 28
- November 29 – Ann Dunham, anthropologist and mother of Barack Obama (d. 1995)
December
- December 1 – John Clauser, American quantum physicist, Nobel Prize laureate[18]
-
- William "Red" Dawson, American football player and coach
- Al Hunt, American columnist
- Steve Tensi, American football player (d. 2024)[19]
- December 6 – Chelsea Brown, American actress (d. 2017)
- December 7
- December 8 – Bob Love, African-American basketball player (d. 2024)[20]
- December 9 – Dick Butkus, American football player (d. 2023)
- December 13 – Betty-Jean Maycock, American gymnast[21]
- December 17 – Paul Butterfield, American musician (d. 1987)
- December 19 – Gene Okerlund, American wrestling announcer (d. 2019)
- December 21 – Carla Thomas, American singer
- December 27
- December 29 – Gifford Pinchot III, American management consultant
- December 30
Deaths
- January 3 - Charles Mann Hamilton, politician (b. 1874)
- January 4
- January 6 - John Bernard Flannagan, sculptor, suicide (b. 1895)
- January 16 - Carole Lombard, film actress, air crash (b. 1908)
- January 18 - James P. Parker, U.S. Navy commodore (b. 1855)
- January 18 - Mason Patrick, Chief of United States Air Service, American Expeditionary Forces 1918 (b. 1863)
- February 9 - Anna Elizabeth Klumpke, portrait and genre painter (b. 1856)
- February 12 - Grant Wood, painter (b. 1892)
- February 18 - Albert Payson Terhune, journalist and author (b. 1872)
- March 16 - Rachel Field, author and poet (born 1894)[25]
- March 26 - Carolyn Wells, prolific novelist and poet (b. 1862)[26]
- April 18 - Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art (b. 1875)
- April 27 - Arthur L. Bristol, U.S. Navy admiral (b. 1886)
- May 29 - John Barrymore, actor (b. 1882)
- June 4 - killed in action at the Battle of Midway
- William Abercrombie, U.S. Navy officer and aviator (b. 1914)
- Edgar R. Bassett, U.S. Navy officer (b. 1914)
- Robert Boyd Brazier, US Navy aviation radioman, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1916)
- John Clarence Butler, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1921)
- Harold John Ellison, U.S. Navy officer (b. 1917)
- Eugene A. Greene, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1921)
- John William Haas, US Navy pilot, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1907)
- Patrick H. Hart, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1915)
- Lofton R. Henderson, U.S. Marine Corps aviator and commanding officer of Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 241 (VMSB-241) (b. 1903)
- Ernest Lenard Hilbert, US Navy aviator, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1920)
- Curtis W. Howard, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1917)
- Charles Kleinsmith, US Navy Chief Petty officer and sailor, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1904)
- Eugene E. Lindsey, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1905)
- Lance Edward Massey, US Navy pilot, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1909)
- Walter Harold Mosley, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1916)
- Carl A. Osberg, US Navy pilot, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1920)
- Floyd B. Parks, US Marine Corps officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1911)
- Oswald A. Powers, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1915)
- David John Roche, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1918)
- Richard Wayne Suesens, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1915)
- John C. Waldron, U.S. Navy aviator and commander of Torpedo Squadron 8 (b. 1900)
- Frederick T. Weber, US Navy aviator, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1916)
- Osborne B. Wiseman, US Navy aviator, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1915)
- Virginia Lee Corbin, silent film actress (b. 1910)
- Royal R. Ingersoll II, US Navy officer, killed in action at the Battle of Midway (b. 1913)
- June 19 - Frank Irons, Olympic field athlete (b. 1886)
- June 23 - William Couper, sculptor (b. 1853)
- June 30 - William Henry Jackson, explorer and photographer (b. 1843)
- July 30 - Jimmy Blanton, African American jazz double bassist (b. 1918)
- August 3 - James Cruze, actor and director (b. 1884)
- August 30 - John Willard, playwright and actor (b. 1885)
- September 7 - Cecilia Beaux, portrait painter (b. 1855)
- October 5 - Dorothea Klumpke, astronomer (b. 1861)
- November 4 - Eleanor Stackhouse Atkinson, novelist and textbook and children's writer (b. 1863)
- November 30 - Anthony M. Rud, writer (b. 1893)
- December 5 - Richard Tucker, film actor (b. 1884)
- December 6 - Amos Rusie, baseball player (b. 1871)
- December 7 - Orland Steen Loomis, Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1893)
- December 8 - Albert Kahn, architect (b. 1869 in Germany)
- December 12
- December 13 - Robert Robinson Taylor, first accredited African American architect (b. 1868)
- December 21 - Franz Boas, anthropologist (b. 1858 in Germany)
- December 27 - William G. Morgan, inventor of volleyball (b. 1870)
See also
Notes and References
- News: Glass . Andrew . January 25, 2016 . Thailand declares war on United States and Britain, Jan. 25, 1942 . Politico . September 25, 2023.
- Web site: 8th Air Force during WWII in the ETO: Facts, statistics, history and useful information . 2009-10-24 . 2011-07-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716193024/http://www.taphilo.com/history/8thaf/index.shtml . dead .
- Book: Bowers, Peter M.. Peter M. Bowers
. Peter M. Bowers. Boeing Aircraft since 1916. London. Putnam. 1989. 0-85177-804-6. 322.
- Book: Muggenthaler, August Karl . German Raiders of WWII . Prentice-Hall . 1977 . 0-13-354027-8 . 241–242.
- Web site: Points. Wednesday Breakfast Links . says. Figures. 2012-11-29. Coffee Rationed. 2020-06-16. The National WWII Museum Blog. en-US.
- News: Biography of Henry Hugh Shelton . Associated Press. 1994-09-21 . 27 October 2011.
- https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/taylor/ Captain Larry L. Taylor
- Web site: Joseph Lieberman American politician . Encyclopedia Britannica . 2 July 2020 . en.
- https://washingtonfootballwire.usatoday.com/2021/12/11/former-washington-redskin-leslie-speedy-duncan-1942-2021/ Former Washington cornerback Leslie 'Speedy' Duncan dies at 79
- News: Otis Taylor, Star Receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, Dies at 80. Sandomir. Richard. The New York Times. March 10, 2023. March 11, 2023.
- https://apnews.com/article/jerry-grote-obit-d82036576ba1375e881cba68b0e6537a Jerry Grote, catcher for 1969 New York Mets, dies at 81
- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/eli-noyes-dead-pioneering-stop-motion-animator-1235859948/ Eli Noyes, Pioneer in Clay and Sand Stop Animation, Dies at 81
- News: Maggie Blye, actress – obituary. 29 June 2016. The Telegraph. May 19, 2016.
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56019589 Hustler founder and free-speech activist Larry Flynt dies aged 78
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?next_url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.washingtonpost.com%2flocal%2fobituaries%2fyolanda-lopez-dead%2f2021%2f09%2f07%2f8a5babc6-0feb-11ec-bc8a-8d9a5b534194_story.html Yolanda López, artist who elevated Latina life, dies at 78
- https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/ty-fahner-former-illinois-attorney-general-obit/ Ty Fahner, former Illinois Attorney General and Mayer Brown law firm chair, dies at 81
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/08/22/writer-michael-malone-dead/ Michael Malone, wide-ranging novelist and TV writer, dies at 79
- The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022. 2022-10-04. Nobel Prize. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 2022-10-06.
- https://www.denverpost.com/2024/03/19/broncos-quarterback-steve-tensi-dies/ Former Broncos quarterback Steve Tensi dies at 81
- https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/bob-love-chicago-bulls-basketball-obit/ Bob Love, Chicago Bulls basketball legend, dies at 81
- Web site: Olympedia – Betty Jean Maycock . www.olympedia.org . 31 August 2021.
- https://www.packers.com/news/undersized-ken-bowman-who-played-big-in-super-bowl-i-and-the-ice-bowl-dies Undersized Ken Bowman, who played big in Super Bowl I and the Ice Bowl, dies
- Web site: Bob Hayes. IOC. 27 November 2020.
- Web site: Johnson, Michael P., 1942- . . 23 November 2015.
- Book: Fordyce, Rachel. Field, Rachel (Lyman). D.L.. Kirkpatrick. Twentieth-century Children's Writers. London. Macmillan. 1978. 978-0-33323-414-3. 445.
- Web site: Carolyn Wells American writer . Encyclopedia Britannica . 22 January 2020 . en.
