What Happened in May 1943

Historical Events

  • May 1 1st edition of illegal "The Free Artist" appears in Amsterdam

69th Kentucky Derby

May 1 69th Kentucky Derby: Johnny Longden wins aboard heavy favourite Count Fleet in the 'street car Derby'

  • May 1 Food rationing begins in the United States during World War II
  • May 1 German plane sinks the British ship SS Erinpura in the Mediterranean with the loss of 799 lives
  • May 1 German Wehrmacht deployed in order to break Dutch strikes
  • May 1 SS General Hanns Albin Rauter announces that all Jews will be 'removed' from the occupied Netherlands
  • May 2 German troops vacate Jefna, Tunisia

Pulitzer to Upton Sinclair

May 3 Pulitzer prize awarded to Upton Sinclair for his novel "Dragon's Teeth" about the Nazi rise to power

  • May 3 Strike against obligatory labor camps ends, after 200 killed
  • May 3 US 1st armour division occupies Mateur Tunisia
  • May 4 NL Ford Frick demonstrates revised balata ball to reporters by bouncing it on his office carpet ball proves to be 50% livelier
  • May 5 Postmaster General Frank C Walker invents Postal Zone System
  • May 6 British 1st army opens assault on Tunis
  • May 7 British 11th Hussars occupy Tunis
  • May 7 Dutch men 18-35 obliged to report to labor camps

George Washington Carver Launched

May 7 Liberty Ship George Washington Carver, named after scientist, launched

  • May 7 US 1st Armour division occupies Ferryville, Tunisia
  • May 7 US 9th Infantry division occupies Bizerta/Bensert, Tunisia
  • May 8 68th Preakness: Johnny Longden aboard Count Fleet wins in 1:57.4
  • May 8 Admiral Cunningham of British fleet: "Sink, burn & destroy; let nothing pass"
  • May 9 5th German Panzer army surrenders in Tunisia
  • May 9 Rotschild-Haddassh University Hospital opens

Hermann Goering Division Surrenders

May 11 German Luftwaffe armoured Hermann Göring division in Tunisia surrenders - its commander Colonel Joseph Schmid escapes

  • May 11 US 7th div lands on Attu, Aleutian, (1st US territory recaptured)
  • May 12 Axis forces in North Africa surrender

Churchill's US Visit

May 12 British premier Winston Churchill arrives in USA

  • May 12 German troops in Tunisia, North Africa, surrender
  • May 13 German & Italian forces in Africa surrender
  • May 13 German occupiers attempt to confiscate all radios in the Netherlands
  • May 14 Australian Hospital Ship Centaur sinks off the coast of Queensland after being struck by torpedo fired by Japanese submarine; 268 of 332 medical personnel and civilian crew aboard die
  • May 15 Halifax bombers sinks U-463

Stalin Dissolves Comintern

May 15 Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International) to avoid upsetting his Western allies with claims he was trying to foment revolution globally

Dambusters Raid

May 16 Operation Chastise: No. 617 Squadron RAF begins the famous Dambusters Raid, bombing the Möhne and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley with bouncing bombs

Liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto

May 16 SS General Jürgen Stroop orders the burning of the Warsaw Ghetto, ending a month of Jewish resistance. 13,000 Jews have died, about half burnt alive or suffocated, German casualties less than 300

Howard Hughes Crash

May 17 Millionaire Howard Hughes crashes into Lake Mead, while test flying his Sikorsky S-43, killing CAA inspector Ceco Cline and Richard Felt

  • May 17 The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School to develop the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer).
  • May 17 World War II: the Dambuster Raids by No. 617 Squadron RAF on German dams
  • May 18 Allied bombers attack Pantelleria, an Italian island 100 km southwest of Sicily
  • May 19 Berlin is declared "Judenrien" (free of Jews)
  • May 19 Churchill pledges Britain's full support to US against Japan
  • May 20 French, British and US victory parade in Tunis, Tunisia
  • May 21 Fastest 9 inning AL baseball night game (89 mins), Chicago White Sox beat visiting Washington Senators, 1-0
  • May 22 RAF scatters 1st copies of "The Flying Hollander"
  • May 23 -24] 826 Allied bombers attack Dortmund

Dr Faustus

May 23 Thomas Mann begins writing his novel Dr Faustus

  • May 24 Final entry in the Stroop Report, detailing the destruction of the Jewish Warsaw Ghetto, compiled by Nazi officers, later used as evidence in the Nuremberg trials

German U-boats Stopped

May 24 German Admiral Donitz stops U-boat operations in the Atlantic Ocean - turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic

  • May 24 U-441 shoots Sunderland seaplane down over Gulf of Biskaje

Sorry, Wrong Number

May 25 Agnes Moorehead appears in "Sorry, Wrong Number" on the radio program "Suspense", her most successful appearance

  • May 25 Riot at Mobile, Alabama, shipyard over upgrading 12 black workers
  • May 25 Trident conference in Washington, D.C. (operation plan '43 against Japan)
  • May 26 British PM Winston Churchill and US General George C. Marshall fly from the US to North Africa
  • May 26 Edwin Barclay of Liberia becomes first president of a black country to visit US
  • May 26 Jews riot against Germany in Amsterdam
  • May 27 French resistance under Jean Moulin meets secretly in Paris

Algiers Allied Planning Conference

May 29 Algiers Allied Planning Conference between Winston Churchill, George Marshall and General Dwight D. Eisenhower finalizes the plan for the Italian Campaign

  • May 29 Meat and cheese rationed in US

De Gaulle Arrives in Algiers

May 30 French General Charles De Gaulle arrives in Algiers

  • May 30 US troops reconquer Attu Aleutians
  • May 31 "Archie" comic strip 1st broadcast on radio
  • May 31 42 U-boats sunk by the Allies this month
  • May 31 Cards Mort Cooper pitches 1st of back-to-back one-hitters
1943 History

Famous Birthdays

  • May 1 Joy Harmon, American actress (Cool Hand Luke), born in St Louis, Missouri
  • May 1 Odilon Polleunis, Belgian soccer striker (22 caps; Sint-Truiden, RWD Molenbeek, KSK Tongerenborn), born in Sint-Truiden, Belgium (d. 2023)
  • May 2 Regina Carrol, American actress (Jessi's Girl), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1992)
  • May 3 Gregory Bowen, Welsh big band jazz and session trumpet player (James Bond films), born in Llangennech, South Wales
  • May 3 Jim Risch, American politician (Senator-R-Idaho 2009-), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • May 3 John Costello, British military historian, born in Greenock, Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1995)
  • May 4 Mihail Chemiakin, Russian painter, born in Moscow
  • May 4 Stella Parton, American singer ("A Woman's Touch"), sister of Dolly Parton, born in Sevierville, Tennessee
  • May 5 Andy Roxburgh, Scottish football player, coach and manager, born in Glasgow, Scotland
  • May 5 Billie Moore, American Basketball HOF coach (NCAA National C'ship California State-Fullerton Titans 1970, UCLA Bruins 1978), born in Humansville, Missouri (d. 2022)

Michael Palin (80 years old)

May 5 English comedian (Monty Python, Fish Called Wanda), born in Sheffield, Yorkshire

  • May 5 Raphael [Miguel Rafael Martos Sánchez], Spanish pop and ballad singer, born in Linares, Spain

Andreas Baader (1943-1977)

May 6 German left-wing militant and leader of the Red Army Faction, born in Munich, Germany

  • May 6 James Turrell, American artist (Roden crater), born in Los Angeles, California
  • May 7 Peter Carey, Australian author (True History of the Kelly Gang), born in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria
  • May 7 Peter Horak, Czech stuntman (Star Trek: Voyager: Throw Momma from the Train), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2017)
  • May 7 Rick West [Westwood], British rock guitarist (Brian Poole & Tremeloes, 1961-2012 & 2019-21), born in Dagenham, Essex, England
  • May 8 Danny Whitten, American rock guitarist and songwriter (Crazy Horse; Rod Stewart - "I Don't Want To Talk About It"), born in Columbus, Georgia (d. 1972)
  • May 8 Paul Samwell-Smith, British blues-rock bassist, and record producer (The Yardbirds, 1963-66 "For Your Love"), born in Richmond, Surrey, England
  • May 9 Bruce Milner, American pop-rock pianist and organ player (Every Mother's Son - "Come On Down to My Boat"), and dentist, born in New York
  • May 9 Emile Ardolino, American Emmy and Academy Award-winning director (He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'; Dirty Dancing; Sister Act), born in Queens, New York (d. 1993)
  • May 9 John Hugen Tobler, British rock music journalist and record company executive (ZigZag Magazine co-founder), born in England
  • May 9 Maurice Foster, West Indian cricket batsman (14 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 125; Jamaica), born in St. Mary, Jamaica
  • May 10 Andrzej Badeński, Polish athlete (400 metres) (d. 2008)
  • May 10 Bruce Raymond, British jockey, born in Hatfield
  • May 10 David Clennon, American actor
  • May 10 James Earl Chaney, US civil rights activist
  • May 10 Judith Jamison, American dancer and choreographer (artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • May 10 Richard Darman, American economist and civil servant, boern in Charlotte North Carolina (d. 2008)
  • May 11 Arnie Satin [Silver], American pop-rock singer (The Dovells - "Bristol Stomp"; "You Can't Sit Down"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • May 11 George Edwards, American composer, and educator, born in Wellesley, Massachusetts (d. 2011)
  • May 11 Juliet Harmer, English actress (Adam Adamant Lives!), born in England
  • May 11 Les Chadwick, British bassist (Gerry and the Pacemakers - "Ferry Cross The Mersey"), born in Liverpool. England
  • May 11 Nancy Greene Raine OC OBC OD, Canadian alpine skier (Olympic gold giant slalom 1968; World C'ship gold giant slalom, combined 1968) and senator (BC), born in Ottawa, Ontario
  • May 12 David Walker, American rock guitarist (Gary Lewis & Playboys - "This Diamond Ring"), born in Montgomery Alabama
  • May 12 Linda Dano, American actress (Felicia Gallant-Another World), born in Los Angeles, California
  • May 13 Eve Babitz, American artist and author (Eve's Hollywood; Slow Days, Fast Company; I Used To Be Charming), born in Hollywood, California (d. 2021)
  • May 13 Mary Wells, American pop singer ("My Guy"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1992)
  • May 14 (John) "Jack" Bruce, Scottish bassist and singer-songwriter (Cream - "Sunshine of Your Love"; "White Room"), born in Bishopbriggs, Scotland (d. 2014)
  • May 14 Alan Mollohan, American politician (Rep-D-WV, 1983-2011), born in Fairmont, West Virginia
  • May 14 Derek "Lek" Leckenby, British rock guitarist (Herman's Hermits), born in Leeds, England (d. 1994)
  • May 14 Elizabeth Ray, American beauty queen, "secretary" and US Congressman Wayne Hays' lover, born in Marshall, North Carolina
  • May 14 Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Icelandic politician (President of Iceland, 1996-2016; Minister of Finance, 1988-91), born in Ísafjörður, Iceland
  • May 14 Tania León, Cuban-American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer (Haiku; Scourge of the Hyacinths), conductor, arts advisor, and educator, born in Havana, Cuba
  • May 15 Harve Brosten, American comedy writer (All In The Family, 1975-77), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • May 16 Dan Coats, American politician (Rep-R-IN, 1981-89, Sen-R-IN 1989-99, 2011-17, Director of National Intelligence 2017-19), born in Jackson, Michigan
  • May 16 Jon Jost, director (All the Vermeers in NY)
  • May 17 Johnny Warren, Australian Footballer (d. 2004)
  • May 17 Rui Rodrigues, Portuguese soccer centre-back (12 caps; Académica, Benfica, Vitória Guimarães), born in Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique (d.2024)
  • May 18 James Reiher 'Deuce', American professional wrestler, born in Fiji
  • May 18 Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka, Fijian-born American professional wrestler, born in Suva, British Fiji (d. 2017)
  • May 20 Al Bano [Albano Carrisi], Italian-Albanian pop singer, actor, and winemaker, born in Cellino San Marco, Italy
  • May 20 Deryck Murray, cricket wicket-keeper (West Indian 1963-80)
  • May 20 Iain Vallance [Baron Vallance of Tummel], CEO (British Telecom)
  • May 20 Justin Cartwright, British novelist (In Every Face I Meet), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 2018)
  • May 20 Martin Honeysett, British cartoonist (Punch, Private Eye), born in Hereford (d. 2015)
  • May 20 Tison Street, American violinist and composer (Jewel Tree), born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • May 21 Hilton Valentine, British rock guitarist (Animals - "House of the Rising Sun"), born in North Shields, Northumberland, England (d. 2021)
  • May 21 John Dalton, British rock bass player (The Kinks, 1969-76 -"Lola"; "Celluloid Heroes"), born in Enfield, Middlesex, England
  • May 21 Vincent Crane [Cheesman], British rock Hammond organist, and songwriter (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - "Fire"), born in Reading, Berkshire, England (d. 1989)
  • May 22 Betty Williams, Northern Irish political activist (Nobel Peace Prize 1976), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2020)
  • May 22 Edgar Marín, Costa Rican soccer striker (32 caps; Saprissa, Oakland Clippers, Kansas City Spurs), born in Pueblo Nuevo, Costa Rica (d. 2023)
  • May 22 Gesine Schwan, German politician (Social Democratic Party of Germany) and professor, born in Berlin

Tommy John (80 years old)

May 22 American baseball pitcher (Yankee/Dodger), born in Terre Haute, Indiana

  • May 23 Lars-Åke Nilsson, Swedish diplomat, born in Lund, Sweden (d. 1996)
  • May 23 Peter Kenilorea, PM Solomon Islands
  • May 23 Vicky Moscholiou, Greek pop singer (Hathike to feggari - The Moon is Lost; Ximeromata - Daybreaks), born in Metaxourgeio, Athens, Greece (d. 2005)
  • May 24 Gary Burghoff, American Emmy Award-winning actor (M*A*S*H (the film); M*A*S*H, 1972-79 - "Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly), born in Bristol, Connecticut
  • May 25 Jessi Colter [Miriam Johnson], American country singer ("I'm Not Lisa"), born in Phoenix, Arizona
  • May 25 John "Poli" Palmer, British rocker (Family), born in Evesham, Worcestershire
  • May 25 Leslie Uggams, American singer and actress (Leslie Uggams Show; Roots), born in New York City
  • May 25 Wynand Charl Malan, South African lawyer and politician, born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
  • May 26 Erica Terpstra, Dutch swimmer (Olympic silver 4×100m medley relay, bronze 4×100m freestyle relay 1964) and politician (VVD), born in The Hague, Netherlands
  • May 26 John "Poli" Palmer, British Progressive rock keyboardist, and vibraphone player (Family -"In My Own Time"), born in Worcester, England
  • May 27 Bruce Weitz, American actor (Hill Street Blues - "Det. Mick Belker"; Death of a Centerfold), born in Norwalk, Connecticut
  • May 27 Cilla Black [Priscilla White], British pop singer ("Anyone Who Had a Heart"), and TV personality (Blind Date), born in Liverpool, England (d. 2015)
  • May 28 Dennis Riley, American composer (Masques (for wind quintet)), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1999)
  • May 28 Elena Souliotis, Greek operatic soprano, born in Athens, Greece (d. 2004)
  • May 28 Liz Edgar, horse show jumper
  • May 28 Ray Mitchell, governor (Albany Prison, England)
  • May 28 Tony Mansfield [Anthony Bookbinder], British rock drummer (Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas - "Little Children"), born in Salford, Lancashire, England
  • May 29 E. Thomas Coleman, American politician (Rep-R-MO, 1976-93), born in Kansas City, Missouri
  • May 29 Robert W. Edgar, American businessman and politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 7th district), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2013)
  • May 30 Francesco Rizzo, Italian soccer midfielder (2 caps; Cagliari, ACF Fiorentina, Bologna FC, Genoa CFC), born in Rovito, Italy (d. 2022)

Gale Sayers (1943-2020)

May 30 American College and Pro Football Hall of Fame halfback, 4X Pro Bowl, 2X NFL rushing leader (Chicago Bears), and source for the TV movie "Brian's Song", born in Wichita, Kansas [1]

  • May 30 Leon Burtnett, American college football coach (Purdue University 1982-86; Big Ten Coach of the Year 1984), born in Fresno, California (d. 2021)

Joe Namath (80 years old)

May 31 American Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Super Bowl 1969; Super Bowl MVP 1969; Pro Bowl 1972; NY Jets), born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania

  • May 31 Sharon Gless, American actress (Chris Cagney-Cagney & Lacey), born in Los Angeles, California
  • May 31 Wayne Carson, American country musician and songwriter ("Always On My Mind"), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2015)
Born in 1943

Famous Deaths

  • May 1 Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian Christian leader who founded the evangelical Brunstad Christian Church, dies at 71
  • May 3 Leslie Heward, English composer, dies at 45
  • May 5 Andy Minder, American jockey (Kentucky Derby 1907), dies from a heart attack at 62
  • May 5 Gordon Hewart, British judge "Not only must Justice be done; it must also be seen to be done" (Lord Chief Justice 1922-40), dies at 73

Mordecai Anielewicz (1919-1943)

May 8 Jewish commander of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, suspected to have committed suicide at 24 rather than surrender to Nazi troops that had surrounded his command bunker

  • May 10 Andre Bertulot, Belgian resistance fighter, hanged
  • May 10 Arnaud/Armand Fraiteur, Belgian resistance fighter, hanged
  • May 10 Maurice-Albert Raskin, Belgian resistance fighter, hanged
  • May 11 Szmul Zygielbojm, Jewish-Polish socialist politician (Bund) and activist, commits suicide to protest Allied indifference to the Holocaust during WWII at 48
  • May 12 Albert Stoessel, American violinist, conductor, composer, and educator, dies of a heart attack on the podium at 48
  • May 14 Henri La Fontaine, Belgian international lawyer (1st Socialist to win Nobel Peace Prize 1913), dies at 89
  • May 16 Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist (b. 1865)
  • May 17 Montagu Love, actor (Wind), dies at 65
  • May 19 Kristjan Raud, Estonian painter and one of the founders of the Estonian National Museum, dies at 77
  • May 22 Helen Herron Taft, American First lady (1909-13) wife of President William Howard Taft, planted Washington's cherry trees, dies at 81
  • May 24 Vladimir I Nemirovitch-Dantshenko, Russian playwright, dies at 84
  • May 25 Nils Dardel, Swedish post-impressionist painter, dies at 54
  • May 26 Edsel Ford, American President of Ford Motor Company (1919-1943) and son of Henry Ford, dies of stomach cancer aged 49
  • May 29 Hermann Hans Wetzler, German-American composer, dies at 72