What Happened in 1942

Loss of HMS Curacoa

On 2 October 1942, she was escorting the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary carrying nearly 20,000 American troops of the 29th Infantry Division to join... Read more

"Now, Voyager" Is Released

Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name... Read more

Michael Crichton Is Born

John Michael Crichton (October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, producer, director, screenwriter, and medical school graduate,... Read more

Second Battle of El Alamein

The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The battle lasted from 23 October to 5... Read more

U.S. Army Corps B-34 Bomber Strikes American Airlines Flight 28

American Airlines Flight 28 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight that crashed on October 23, 1942 in Chino Canyon, near Palm Springs,... Read more

Anne Frank and her Family and the Pels Family are Joined by Fritz Pfeffer at the Achterhuis

On 13 July, the Franks were joined by the van Pels family: Hermann, Auguste, and 16-year-old Peter, and then in November by Fritz Pfeffer, a... Read more

"The Palm Beach Story" Is Released

The Palm Beach Story is a 1942 romantic screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea,... Read more

Operation Uranus

Operation Uranus (Russian: Операция «Уран», romanised: Operatsiya Uran) was the codename of the Soviet strategic operation in World War II which... Read more

Joe Biden is born

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. (pronounced /ˈdʒoʊzɨf rɒbɨˈnɛt ˈbaɪdən/; born November 20, 1942), is the 47th and Vice President of the United... Read more

U.S. Army Engineers Open The Alcan Highway

On November 21, 1942, U.S. Army engineers, working closely with their Canadian counterparts, completed an emergency war measure with the opening of... Read more

Operation Mars

Operation Mars was the operation codename for the Rzhev offensive operation part of the Rzhev-Vyazma strategic offensive operation (08.01-20.04.42)... Read more

"Casablanca" Opens

The film Casablanca opened in New York City on November 26, 1942, as Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF) secured their hold on North Africa during... Read more

Jimi Hendrix is Born

James Marshall Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is... Read more

Fire at Cocoanut Grove Nightclub kills 492 people

"NOTHING SHORT OF APPALLING" -- SAYS SUN EDITOR WHO SAW FIRE. NO FLAMES AT START OF HOLOCAUST, BUT SMOKE WAS EXTREMELY DENSE -- NO CRIES OR... Read more

First Self-Sustained Nuclear Chain Reaction Achieved

At 3:25 P.M. on December 2, 1942, the Atomic Age began inside an enormous tent on a squash court under the stands of the University of Chicago's... Read more

Frank Sinkwich Wins Heisman Trophy

Frank was in a Marine uniform when he accepted his Trophy. He still holds the Orange Bowl total offense record-382 yards rushing and passing. He... Read more

Seacliff Asylum Fire

At about 9.45 pm on Tuesday 8 December, 1942, fire broke out in Ward 5. This ward was a two-storeyed wooden building which had been added onto the... Read more

Operation Winter Storm

Operation Winter Storm (German: Unternehmen Wintergewitter) was a German offensive in World War II undertaken between 12–23 December 1942, in which... Read more

Knights of Columbus Hostel Fire

The most deadly structural fire in what is now Canada consumed the Knights of Columbus hostel in St John's, Nfld, on 12 December 1942. An arsonist... Read more

Soviet Union Launches Operation Little Saturn

The first stage — an attempt to cut off the German Army Group A in the Caucasus — had to be rapidly revised when General Erich von Manstein... Read more