Events from the year 1940 in Denmark.

Incumbents

* Monarch –

Christian X Christian X (; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 until his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, holding the title as a result of the personal union between Denmark and independent Ice ...

* Prime minister –

Thorvald Stauning Thorvald August Marinus Stauning (; 26 October 1873 in Copenhagen – 3 May 1942) was the first Social Democrats (Denmark), social democratic prime minister of Denmark. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his d ...

Events

*9 April –

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung ( , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (, "Weser Day"), Ge ...

takes place, beginning the

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself Neutral countries in World War II, neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from Military occupation, occupying the country soon after the outbreak of ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. * 16 April – Princess Margrethe, the future Queen Margrethe II, is born to Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Ingrid of Sweden.

Sports

Badminton

* 7 November – Lillerød Badminton Club is founded in

Lillerød Lillerød (sometimes named ''Allerød'') is a Danish town, seat of the Allerød Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. Its population 1 January 2025 was of 16,756.Kjøbenhavns Boldklub Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (known simply as KB) was a Danish professional multi-sports club based in Copenhagen. The club was founded on 26 April 1876 on the grassy fields in outer Copenhagen which later became Fælledparken. Tennis has been played s ...

wins their eighth Danish football championship by winning the 1939–40 Danish Championship League.

Births

JanuaryMarch

* 12 January Helle-Vibeke Erichsen, artist and illustrator (died

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

) * 14 February

Eva Sørensen Eva Sørensen (February 14, 1940 - December 31, 2019) was a prolific Danish sculptor and ceramist whose granite and marble works are exhibited in museums and public spaces across Denmark. She died in Verbania in Italy. Life and work Born in Hern ...

, sculptor and ceramist (died

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

) * 17 February

Julius Paulsen Julius Paulsen (22 October 1860 in Odense – 17 February 1940 in Copenhagen) was a Danish painter. From 1879 to 1882 he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts where he was later a professor. He had strong connections with several of th ...

, painter (born

1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...

) * 25 February –

Thue Christiansen Thue Christiansen (25 February 1940 – 26 June 2022) was a Greenlandic teacher, visual artist, and politician. Christiansen is best known as the designer of the current flag of Greenland, which was adopted on 21 June 1985. A trained teacher, Chr ...

, greenlandic politician (died

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

) * 29 March –

Allan Botschinsky Allan Botschinsky (29 March 1940 – 26 November 2020) was a Danish jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist, composer, arranger, conductor, producer, and record label owner. Biography Botschinsky was born in Copenhagen, and had a background in classical ...

, jazz trumpeter (died

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

)

AprilJune

* 16 April – Princess Margrethe, the future Queen Margrethe II * 21 April Erik Hagens, painter and illustrator

OctoberDecember

* 24 October

Jørgen Boberg Jørgen Boberg (24 October 1940 – 24 August 2009) was a self-taught Surrealist Danish painter and illustrator. Biography Born in Roskilde, Boberg was a self-taught artist. After first exhibiting at the Artists Autumn Exhibition (''Kunstneres Eft ...

, painter and illustrator (died

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

) * 3 December –

Palle Jacobsen Palle Jacobsen (3 December 1940 – 22 January 2009) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer and instructor with the Royal Danish Ballet and ballet master at the Pantomime Theatre in the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen.2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

)

Deaths

JanuaryMarch

* 28 January – Heinrich Dohm, painter of portraits, genre works and religious paintings (born

1875 Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third C ...

) * 13 March –

Gustav Frederik Holm Gustav Frederik Holm (6 August 1849 – 13 March 1940) was a Danish naval officer and Arctic explorer born in Copenhagen. Career He was made commander in the Royal Danish Navy, navy in 1899, was chief of the hydrographic bureau from 1899 to ...

, Arctic explorer, naval officer (born

1849 Events January–March * January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series (France), Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps. * January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisc ...

) * 28 March

Henrik Grønvold Henrik Grønvold (6 September 1858 – 23 March 1940) was a Denmark, Danish naturalist and artist, known for his illustrations of birds. Grønvold was among the last natural history illustrators to publish lithographs. Background Henrik Grønvol ...

, painter (born

1858 Events January–March * January 9 ** Revolt of Rajab Ali: British forces finally defeat Rajab Ali Khan of Chittagong. ** Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide. * January 14 – Orsini affair: Pi ...

) * 25 May –

Marie Krøyer Marie Triepcke Krøyer Alfvén (11 June 1867 – 25 May 1940) commonly known as Marie Krøyer, was a Danish Painting, painter. She is remembered principally as the wife of Peder Severin Krøyer, one of the most successful members of the artists' ...

, painter (born

1867 There were only 354 days this year in the newly purchased territory of Alaska. When the territory transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States, the calendric transition from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar was made with only 1 ...

)

JulySeptember

* 27 July

Gerda Wegener Gerda Marie Fredrikke Wegener ( Gottlieb; 15 March 1885 – 28 July 1940) was a Danish illustrator and painter. Wegener is known for her fashion illustrations and later her paintings that pushed the boundaries of her time concerning gender and l ...

, painter (born

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

)

OctoberDecember

* 10 December –

Christian Schrøder Christian Schrøder (13 July 1869 – 10 December 1940) was a Danish film actor, screenwriter and director. He was also a captain in the reserve. He appeared in 30 films between 1912 and 1940, mostly farce and comedy. He was born in Midde ...

, film actor (born

1869 Events January * January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan. * January 5 – Scotland's second oldest professional football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded. * January 20 – Elizabe ...

) * 19 December – Charlotte Norrie, nurse and women's rights activist (born

1855 Events January–March * January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city.' * January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru. * January 23 ** The first bridge over the Mississippi River o ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1940 in Denmark

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Years of the 20th century in Denmark 1940s in Denmark 1940 in Europe