January 10 – WWII: The last German air-raid on the English port of Liverpool destroys the home of William Patrick Hitler, Adolf Hitler's nephew. William Hitler is in the United States and later joins the navy to fight against his uncle.
February 9 – WWII: The ocean linerSS Normandie catches fire while being converted into the troopship USS Lafayette at pier 88 in New York City. In the early hours of February 10 she capsizes.
February 18 – WWII: More than 200 American sailors die in Newfoundland when the USS Truxtun runs aground near Chambers Cove and the USS Pollux runs aground at Lawn Point.
February 25 – Battle of Los Angeles: Over 1,400 AA shells are fired at an unidentified, slow-moving object in the skies over Los Angeles. The appearance of the object triggers an immediate wartime blackout over most of Southern California, with thousands of air raid wardens being deployed throughout the city. In total there are 6 deaths. Despite the several hour barrage no planes are downed.
March 27 – Capitol Records, the first record label on the United States' West Coast of note, is founded by Jonny Mercer, Buddy DeSylvia, and Glenn E. Wallichis.
July 19 – WWII – Battle of the Atlantic: German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz orders the last U-boats to withdraw from their United States Atlantic coast positions, in response to an effective American convoy system.
August 8 – WWII: In Washington, D.C., six German would-be saboteurs are executed (two others are cooperative and receive life imprisonment instead).
August 13 – Walt Disney's fifth feature film, Bambi, is released. Although the initial box office gross is lackluster (due to the loss of most of the European film market during World War II), it eventually becomes a financial success through various reissues over the next several decades. Due to continued financial losses, Disney spends the majority of the rest of the 1940s producing a string of package films, with Bambi being the last singular project he will release until Cinderella eight years later.
November 21 – The completion of the Alaska Highway (also known as the Alcan Highway) is celebrated (however, the "highway" is not usable by general vehicles until 1943).
December 22 – In Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, an avalanche kills 26, including Vulcan Crucible Steel Co heir-apparent Samuel A. Stafford Sr., when two 100 ton boulders fall on a bus filled with wartime steel workers on their way home.
^Glass, Andrew (January 25, 2016). "Thailand declares war on United States and Britain, Jan. 25, 1942". Politico. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
^"8th Air Force during WWII in the ETO: Facts, statistics, history and useful information". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
^Bowers, Peter M. (1989). Boeing Aircraft since 1916. London: Putnam. p. 322. ISBN 0-85177-804-6.
^Muggenthaler, August Karl (1977). German Raiders of WWII. Prentice-Hall. pp. 241–242. ISBN 0-13-354027-8.
^Points, Wednesday Breakfast Links |; says, Figures (2012-11-29). "Coffee Rationed". The National WWII Museum Blog. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
^"Joseph Lieberman | American politician". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
^Former Washington cornerback Leslie 'Speedy' Duncan dies at 79
^Sandomir, Richard (March 10, 2023). "Otis Taylor, Star Receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
^"Maggie Blye, actress – obituary". The Telegraph. May 19, 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
^Hustler founder and free-speech activist Larry Flynt dies aged 78
^Yolanda López, artist who elevated Latina life, dies at 78
^Michael Malone, wide-ranging novelist and TV writer, dies at 79