Timeline August 1939

Events in August 1939 14

• 1939 Roald Dahl is commissioned into the King's African Rifles Dar es Salaam, as war approached He commanded a platoon of Askari troops rounding up Germans living in the territory.
• 1939 US Championships 1939 Men: Bobby Riggs · Women: Alice Marble
• 1939 Einstein–Szilárd letter Roosevelt is warned about atomic bombs Albert Einstein signed a letter drafted by Leó Szilárd warning President Roosevelt that Germany might develop extremely powerful uranium bombs. Alexander Sachs delivered it to Roosevelt on 11 October. In response, Roosevelt set up the Advisory Committee on Uranium.
• 1939 The letter to Roosevelt Signed at Szilard's urging Leo Szilard drafted the warning that Germany might build an atomic bomb and Einstein signed it on 2 August 1939. It reached Roosevelt in October and led to the Uranium Committee and eventually the Manhattan Project. Einstein had no security clearance and no part in the work that followed.
• 1939 – 2015 Wes Craven (1939-2015) Died 30 August 2015, aged 76 Wes Craven was an American filmmaker who directed influential horror films including A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream franchise. His work helped define the slasher genre and shaped horror cinema for decades. Craven often used his films to explore social and psychological themes beneath their genre trappings.
• 1939 The Wizard of Oz premieres MGM's Technicolor musical opens in Hollywood The Wizard of Oz premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre and starred Judy Garland as Dorothy. The film introduced the song Over the Rainbow, which won an Academy Award. Television broadcasts later made it one of the most watched films ever.
• 1939 – 2019 Ginger Baker (1939-2019) Died 6 October 2019, aged 80 Ginger Baker was an English drummer best known as a member of the rock supergroup Cream alongside Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce. His powerful, jazz-influenced style made him one of the most influential rock drummers of his generation. He died in England after years of declining health.
• 1939 – 2019 Valerie Harper (1939-2019) Died 30 August 2019, aged 80 Valerie Harper was an American actress best known for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off Rhoda, winning four Emmy Awards. She continued acting and advocacy after a 2013 terminal brain cancer diagnosis. She died in Los Angeles.
• 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact signed Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree not to attack each other Foreign ministers Joachim von Ribbentrop and Vyacheslav Molotov signed a non-aggression treaty in Moscow. A secret protocol divided Poland, the Baltic states, Finland and Bessarabia into German and Soviet spheres of influence. The pact left Germany free to invade Poland a week later.
• 1939 IRA bombing in Coventry A bicycle bomb kills five in a city centre street A bomb left in a bicycle basket exploded in Broadgate, Coventry, during the IRA's S-Plan campaign in Britain. Five people died and dozens were injured. Two Irishmen were hanged for the attack in 1940.
• 1939 First flight of the Heinkel He 178 The world's first turbojet aircraft flies Erich Warsitz flew the Heinkel He 178 from Rostock-Marienehe, the first flight of an aircraft powered by a turbojet. The engine was designed by Hans von Ohain. The flight took place days before the invasion of Poland.
• 1939 Heinkel He 178 makes the first jet flight Rostock, Germany Test pilot Erich Warsitz flies the Heinkel He 178, the first aircraft powered by a turbojet, days before the outbreak of the Second World War.
• 1939 The Heinkel He 178 flies Combustion without pistons Hans von Ohain's turbojet lifts the He 178 off a runway at Rostock, the first flight by a jet aircraft. It is the same idea Barber patented in 1791: compress, burn continuously, extract work from the exhaust. Within twenty years it has taken long-distance travel away from the piston engine entirely.
• 1939 – 2004 John Peel (1939-2004) Died 25 October 2004, aged 65 Peel was a British radio broadcaster renowned for championing new and underground music on BBC Radio 1 across four decades. His influential sessions helped launch the careers of countless artists.