Year by year · 20th century

1939

1939 in world history: 29 events, 14 births, 18 deaths, 4 states founded and 7 that came to an end. 710 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 27 February

    Britain and France recognise Franco's government

    With Barcelona fallen, Britain and France recognised the Nationalist regime as Spain's government a month before the Civil War ended. Franco ruled Spain until his death in 1975.

  2. 1 April

    Franco declares the Spanish Civil War over

    With the last Republican forces surrendered, Francisco Franco announced the end of the war. His victory began a dictatorship that would last until his death in 1975.

  3. 7 April

    Italy invades Albania

    Mussolini's forces landed at Durrës and other ports, and within days King Zog had fled. Albania was joined to the Italian crown, and the invasion later served as a base for Italy's attack on Greece.

    Greece

  4. 22 May · Treaty

    Pact of Steel

    The Pact of Steel was a military and political alliance between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, signed in Berlin on 22 May 1939 by the foreign ministers Galeazzo Ciano and Joachim von Ribbentrop.

  5. 23 August

    Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression pact

    Ribbentrop and Molotov signed a pact in Moscow whose secret protocol divided eastern Europe into spheres of influence. It cleared the way for Germany's invasion of Poland a week later.

    Soviet UnionMoscow

  6. 27 August

    The Heinkel He 178 makes the first jet-powered flight

    Test pilot Erich Warsitz flew the Heinkel He 178 at Rostock-Marienehe, the first flight of an aircraft powered by a turbojet. Days later Germany invaded Poland.

  7. 31 August

    SS men stage a fake Polish attack at Gleiwitz

    SS operatives seized the German radio station at Gleiwitz and broadcast an anti-German message, posing as Polish raiders. Hitler used such incidents to justify invading Poland the next morning.

  8. 1 September

    Germany invades Poland

    German forces crossed into Poland at dawn without a declaration of war. Britain and France declared war two days later, and the Second World War had begun.

    Second World War

  9. 3 September

    Britain and France declare war on Germany

    When Germany ignored ultimatums to withdraw from Poland, Britain and France declared war. Neville Chamberlain announced it to the nation in a sombre radio broadcast.

  10. 10 September

    Canada declares war on Germany

    A week after Britain, Canada's parliament declared war on Germany in its own right. More than a million Canadians served in the Second World War.

    Second World WarCanada

  11. 23 September

    Sigmund Freud dies in London

    Freud, who had fled Nazi-occupied Vienna the year before, died aged 83 after his doctor gave him lethal doses of morphine at his request. His theories of the unconscious reshaped twentieth-century thought.

    Sigmund FreudLondonVienna

  12. 11 October

    Roosevelt receives Einstein's warning about atomic bombs

    The economist Alexander Sachs delivered to Franklin Roosevelt a letter signed by Albert Einstein, warning that Germany might build a uranium bomb. Roosevelt set up an advisory committee that led eventually to the Manhattan Project.

  13. 26 November

    The Red Army shells Mainila to create a pretext for war

    The Red Army shelled the Soviet border village of Mainila near Beloostrov, and the Soviet Union claimed that the fire came from Finland. The false flag operation gave it a casus belli for launching the Winter War four days later.

    Winter WarRed Army

  14. 30 November

    The Soviet Union invades Finland

    Soviet forces attacked Finland, starting the Winter War. Fierce Finnish resistance inflicted heavy losses before Finland ceded territory in March 1940, and the Red Army's poor showing was noted in Berlin.

    Soviet UnionFinland

  15. 13 December

    British cruisers fight the Graf Spee at the River Plate

    Three British cruisers engaged the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee off the River Plate estuary. Damaged, she took refuge in Montevideo, and four days later her captain scuttled her.

  16. 15 December

    Gone with the Wind premieres in Atlanta

    The film of Margaret Mitchell's novel premiered at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta. It won eight competitive Academy Awards, and allowing for inflation it remains the highest-grossing film ever.

    Theatre

  17. 17 December

    The Graf Spee is scuttled off Montevideo

    Believing a superior British force waited outside, Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the Admiral Graf Spee in the River Plate. He took his own life three days later.

  18. Treaty

    Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact

    The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was the non-aggression treaty signed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in Moscow on 23 August 1939.

  19. Battle

    Battles of Khalkhin Gol

    The Battles of Khalkhin Gol, known in Japan as the Nomonhan Incident, were fought from May to September 1939 on the Khalkhin Gol river on the border between Mongolia and Japanese-controlled Manchukuo.

  20. Treaty

    Cvetković–Maček Agreement

    The Cvetković–Maček Agreement was a political settlement reached on 26 August 1939 between the Yugoslav prime minister Dragiša Cvetković and Vladko Maček, leader of the Croatian Peasant Party, with the backing of the regent Prince Paul.

ProfileState655 states with a known seat in 1939Open the atlas at 1939 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1939 14

Died in 1939 18

States founded 4

States that came to an end 7

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1939. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1939
MLA
“1939.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1939. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1939.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1939.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1939’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1939 (Accessed: ).