References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

1942 June 4 (1030 hours) American planes pull away from their attack on the Japanese First Carrier Fleet off Midway Island. They leave carriers Kaga, Akagi, and Soryu burning uncontrollably. [10] [129] Reinhard Heydrich dies of his wounds from an assassination attempt. Adolf Hitler appoints Karl Herman Frank as new protectorate of Czechoslovakia, and demands the execution of 10,000 Czechs. [10] Capitol Record Co opens for business. [1] (1700 hours) Near Midway Island, an American aerial attack by planes from the Enterprise and Yorktown against Japanese carrier Hiryu leaves it badly damaged. [10] June 5 (0900 hours) Japanese carrier Hiryu is scuttled, near Midway Island. [10] Elwood Ordnance Plant near Joliet Illinois kills 54. [1] June 6 First nylon parachute jump (Hartford Connecticut-Adeline Gray). [1] Nazis burn village of Lidice Bohemia, as reprisal of killing Heydrich. [1] June 7 (morning) The US aircraft carrier Yorktown sinks near Midway Island. [10] Losses at the Battle of Midway: US forces: 307 men, one aircraft carrier, one destroyer, 150 planes; Japanese forces: 2500-3500 men, 4 aircraft carriers, one cruiser, 322 planes. [10] [129] June 10 German troops destroy the village of Lidice in Czechoslovakia, in retribution for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. The men are killed, the women taken to internment camps, and children taken to be raised by German families. The city is burned to the ground, 400 graves are dug up, and new roads are built. [10] June 11 US and USSR sign Lend-Lease agreement during WW II. [1] June 12 Tornado kills 35 in Oklahoma City. [1] June 13 First V-2 rocket launch, Peenemünde, Germany; reached 1.3 km. [1] (evening) George Dasch, Ernest Burger, Heinrich Heinck, and Richard Quirin, all American citizens of German birth, and members of the German Nazi party, land on the beach of Long Island, New York, from a small row boat. Their mission is to sabotage industrial installations producing war material. [10] June 14 First bazooka rocket gun produced Bridgeport, Connecticut. [1] Walt Disney's "Bambi" is released. [1] June 17 First WW II American expeditionary force lands in Africa (Gold Coast). [1] June 18 Eric Nessler of France stays aloft in a glider for 38h21m. [1] June 21 129 degrees F (54 degrees C), Tirat Zevi, Israel (Asian record). [1] German General Erwin Rommel's army captures Tobruk in Libya, taking 30-35,000 prisoners. [10] June 25 British RAF staged a 1,000 bomb raid on Bremen Germany (WW II). [1] June 27 FBI captures 8 Nazi saboteurs from a submarine off New York's Long Island. [1] June 28 Dumont TV network begins (WABD New York). [1] June 30 US Mint in New Orleans ceases operation. [1] July 17 3' of rain falls on Pennsylvania, flooding kills 15. [1] Estimated 87.5 cm (34.5") of rainfall, Smethport, Pennsylvania. (state record). [1] July 18 First legal New Jersey horse race in 50 years; Garden State Park track opens. [1] Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe, first jet fighter, takes first flight. [1] July 20 Legion of Merit Medal authorized by congress. [1] Women's Army Auxiliary Corps began basic training at Fort Des Moines. [1] July 21 Eight die as coal waste heap slides in river valley near Oakwood, Virginia. [1] July 22 Gasoline rationing begins in US during WW II. [1] July 23 The Russian city of Rostov falls to German forces. [10] July 28 Nazis liquidate 10,000 Jews in Minsk Russia. [1] July 29 Eastern Boulevard in the Bronx renamed Bruckner Boulevard. [1] July 30 Franklin Roosevelt signs bill creating women's Navy auxiliary agency (WAVES). [1] German SS kills 25,000 Jews in Minsk, Belorussia. [1] August 7 First American offensive in Pacific in WW2, Guadalcanal, Solomon Is. [1] August 8 Six convicted Nazi saboteurs who landed in US executed in Washington DC. [1] August 9 British arrests Indian nationalist Mohandas K Gandhi. [1] August 13 RKO Radio Pictures premieres the Disney film Bambi in the US at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. [6] August 15 The United States 101st Airborne Division is officially activated, at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. [10] August 17 US bombers staged first independent raid on Europe attack Rouen, France. [1] August 19 The Allies launch a major raid on the French port of Dieppe. 5000 of the 6000 troops are part of the Canadian 2nd Division. Original code name of the operation is Rutter, but was changed to a different plan code-named Jubilee. Primary objectives are to see if it is possible to seize and hold a major continental port, obtain intelligence from prisoners, documents, and equipment, and to see the German reaction to major attack on the French coast. Secondary objectives are to draw the Luftwaffe into battle, show the USSR that Britain is seriously trying to help distract the Germans, and to give Canadian forces in Britain something to do. [10] (about 1310 hours) The last Allied troops are evacuated from Dieppe. At the end of the attack, 4384 Allied officer and soldiers are dead, wounded, or taken prisoner, of which 3379 are Canadian. 108 British aircraft were shot down; 46 German aircraft were lost. The British navy lost one destroyer and 13 major landing craft. [10] First American offensive in Pacific in WW2, Guadalcanal, Solomon Is. [1] August 20 Dim-out regulations implemented in San Francisco. [1] August 22 Brazil declares war on Germany. [10] August 24 The Walt Disney animated feature film Saludos Amigos world premieres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [6] August 26 7,000 Jews rounded up in Vichy Free Zone of France. [1] August 27 Soviet long-range bombers make an air raid on Berlin, from bases 1000 miles away. [10] September 7 Birth of Richard Roundtree actor (Shaft, Earthquake). [1] September 9 First bombing on continental US soil, Mount Emily Oregon (WW2). [1] September 13 German forces attack Stalingrad. [1] September 18 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation authorized for radio service. [1] September 21 The B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight. [5] October 1 Bell P-59 Airacomet fighter, first US jet, makes maiden flight. [1] October 2 Queen Mary liner slices cruiser Curacao in half, killing 338. [1] First self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction demonstrated, Chicago. [1] October 3 German scientists make the first successful test launch of an A-4 (V-2) rocket, from Peenemünde. Supersonic speed is achieved for the first time by a liquid-propelled rocket. The rocket reaches a height of 60 miles, travelling 120 miles at over 3000 MPH, landing 2.5 miles wide of the target. [10] October 12 US navy defeats Japanese in WW II Battle of Cape Esperance. [1] October 16 Cyclone in Bay of Bengal kills some 40,000 south of Calcutta India. [1] October 20 "Durham Manifesto" calls for fundamental changes in race relations. [1] October 23 During WW II, Britain launches major offensive at El Alamein, Egypt. [1] October 26 US ship Hornet sunk in Battle of Santa Cruz Islands during WW II. [1] October 28 Train crashes into bus, killing 16 and injuring 20 (Detroit Michigan). [1] October 29 16,000 Jews killed in Pinsk Russia. [1] Alaska highway completed. [1] November 1 John H Johnson publishes first issue of Negro Digest. [1] November 2 Montgomery (Br) defeats Rommel (Ger) in battle of Alamein (WW II). [1] November 3 William L Dawson elected toUS Congress from Chicago. [1] November 5 Pro-British Clandestine Radio Diego Suarez's final transmission. [1] November 7 First US President to broadcast in a foreign language-Franklin Roosevelt in French. [1] November 8 Operation Torch begins, as Allied forces land in Northern Africa. The Western Task Force with 24,500 Americans under Major General George Patton land at Fedala (15 miles north of Casablanca), Mehdia (55 miles south of Casablanca), and Safi (140 miles south of Casablanca). The Center Task Force with 18,500 Americans under Major General Lloyd Fredenall land near Oran. The Eastern Task Force with 9000 British and 9000 Americans and 2000 British Commandos under American Major General Charles Ryder land at Algiers. [10] November 11 Admiral François Darlan, senior French officer in North Africa, signs a cease-fire ending French fighting in the area. [10] Adolf Hitler launches Operation Anton, with German forces occupying the remainder of France and the island of Corsica. [10] Spain mobilizes its army along the French border. [10] November 13 Minimum draft age in the USA lowered from 21 to 18. [1] In North Africa, the British 8th Army takes Tobruk. [10] November 19 Soviet counteroffensives with one million soldiers north and south of Stalingrad break through the German and Romanian armies. [10] November 23 Soviet forces complete encircling German forces in Stalingrad, holding 250,000 Germans and Romanians in 22 divisions in a 25 by 30 mile oval. [10] Coast Guard Woman's Auxiliary (SPARS) authorized. [1] Steward Poon Lim set adrift for 133 days after his boat was torpedoed. [1] November 27 French navy at Toulon scuttles ships and subs so Nazis don't take them. [1] November 28 Nearly 500 die in a fire that destroyed Coconut Grove nightclub in Boston Massachusetts. [1] December 1 Gasoline rationed in US. [1] December 2 Scientists at the University of Chicago in the US induce a nuclear chain reaction, proving an atomic bomb to be possible. [10] December 3 Wilhelm Peterson-Berger composer, dies at age 75. [1] December 4 First US citizenship granted an alien on foreign soil (James Hoey). [1] Franklin Roosevelt orders dismantling of Works Progress Administration. [1] US bombers struck Italian mainland for first time in WWII. [1] December 5 Buck Jones Hollywood's last cowboy hero actor (Headin' East), buried. [1] Seyss-Inquart orders students in Nazi-Germany to go work. [1] West Indies chocolate/coffee drop above Netherlands. [1] December 6 Queen Wilhelmina announces Dutch Commonwealth. [1] RAF bombs Philips factory (150 die). [1] December 10 Hitler names Mussert "leader of Netherlands people". [1] North Africa: 5th German pantser army forms under Colonel-General von Arnim. [1] December 11 Australian/Dutch guerrilla troops evacuated to Timor near Australia. [1] December 12 German offensive in South Western Stalingrad. [1] December 13 Eleanor Everest Freer composer, dies at age 78. [1] Seyss-Inquart allows Dutch Nazi Anton Mussert to call himself Leader. [1] December 14 Eduard C "Edo" Fimmen Dutch trade union leader, dies at age 61. [1] December 15 Massachusetts issues first US vehicular license plate tabs. [1] December 16 Hitler orders combat against partisans in Russia and Balkan. [1] December 17 Allies in London sentence German war criminals. [1] December 20 First Japanese bombing of Calcutta. [1] Jean Gilbert [Max Winterfield] German composer, dies at age 63. [1] December 21 Leendert Round sculptor (Giraffen, Blijdorp), dies at age 63. [1] US Supreme court declares Nevada separation legal. [1] December 23 Allies air attack on Den Helder. [1] December 24 First powered flight of V-1 buzz bomb, Peenemünde, Germany. [1] French Admiral Jean Darlan is assassinated in Algiers. [10] Friedrich Klose composer, dies at age 80. [1] Jean Darlan French admiral, murdered by gaullists. [1] Konstantin Dmitrieyevich Balmont Russian poet, dies at age 75. [1] Red army occupies German airports at Tasjinskaja and Morozowsk. [1] December 25 Admiral Dalans, murderer of Bosinier de la Chapelle, sentenced to death. [1] British Colonel S W Bailey reaches Mihailovics headquarters. [1] Russian artillery/tank battle on German armies at Stalingrad. [1] Vojislav Vuckovic composer, dies at age 32. [1] December 26 Bosinier de la Chapelle French murderer of Admiral Darlan, executed at age 24. [1] December 27 First Japanese women camp (Ambarawa) goes into use. [1] December 28 Oberkommando Wehrmacht orders strategist flight out of Kaukasus. [1] Robert Sullivan becomes first pilot to fly the Atlantic 100 times. [1] December 29 Frank D Adams Canadian geologist, dies at age 83. [1] December 31 60 U boats sunk this month (330,000 ton). [1] Battle in Barents Sea. [1] Potatoes rationed in Holland. [1]