WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1939
Find out what all happened January to September 1939

Warsaw surrenders to Nazi Germany during World War II. (28. September 1939)

World War II: The United Kingdom and France begin a naval blockade of Germany that lasts until the end of the war. This also marks the beginning of the Battle of the Atlantic. (3. September 1939)

The Irish Republican Army (IRA) begins a bombing and sabotage campaign in England. (16. January 1939)

From Prague Castle, Hitler proclaims Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate. (16. March 1939)

Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considered himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth", then announces his retirement from major league baseball. (4. July 1939)

United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that sit-down strikes violate property owners' rights and are therefore illegal. (27. February 1939)

First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft. (27. August 1939)

Faisal II becomes King of Iraq. (4. April 1939)

The 1939-40 New York World's Fair opens. (30. April 1939)

World War II: Canada declares war on Nazi Germany, joining the Allies – France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. (10. September 1939)

World War II: Canada declares war on Germany, the country's first independent declaration of war (11. September 1939)

World War II: South Africa declares war on Germany. (6. September 1939)

The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people. (24. January 1939)

Carpatho-Ukraine declares itself an independent republic, but is annexed by Hungary the next day. (15. March 1939)

The Albanian fascist leader Tefik Mborja is appointed as member of the Italian Chamber of Fasces and Corporations. (29. May 1939)

Holocaust: The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, in the United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps. (4. June 1939)

The Canadian National War Memorial is unveiled by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa. (21. May 1939)

Slovakia declares independence under German pressure. (14. March 1939)

World War II: The Estonian military boards the Polish submarine ORP Orzeł in Tallinn, sparking a diplomatic incident that the Soviet Union will later use to justify the annexation of Estonia. (14. September 1939)

The United Kingdom and Poland form a military alliance in which the UK promises to defend Poland in case of invasion by a foreign power. (25. August 1939)