1940 in television

The year 1940 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1940.

Events

• January – The FCC has public hearings concerning television.
• February 25 – The first ice hockey game is televised in the United States, the New York Rangers vs Montreal Canadiens, from Madison Square Garden on W2XBS-TV.
• February 28 – The first basketball game is televised, from Madison Square Garden: Fordham University vs the University of Pittsburgh.
• March 10 – The Metropolitan Opera broadcast for the first time from NBC studios at Rockefeller Center an abridged performance of the first act of Pagliacci, along with excerpts from four other operas.
• March 15 – RCA reduces the price of television sets.
• May 21 – Bell Telephone Laboratories transmits a 441-line video signal, with a bandwidth of 2.7 MHz, by coaxial cable from New York to Philadelphia and back.
• June – W2XBS in New York (NBC) covers the Republican National Convention from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for 33 hours, during a five-day period. The signal is transmitted via coaxial cable.
• August 29 – Peter Carl Goldmark of CBS announces his invention of a color television system.
• September 3 – CBS resumes its television transmissions with the first demonstration of high definition color TV, by W2XAB, transmitting from the Chrysler Building.

Debuts

• February 21 - NBC News with Lowell Thomas, a simulcast of Lowell Thomas’ daily radio newscast, debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940).[1]
• March 27- The Esso Television Reporter debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940). [2]
• July 8 - Boxing from Jamaica Arena debuts on W2XBS (NBC) (1940-42).^[1]

Television shows

Programs ending during 1940

Births

• January 19 – Mike Reid, English actor and comedian (died 2007)
• January 22 – John Hurt, English actor (died 2017)
• January 27 – James Cromwell, actor
• January 31 - Stuart Margolin, actor, The Rockford Files
• February 2 – David Jason, English actor
• February 6 - Tom Brokaw, journalist
• February 12 – Ralph Bates, English actor (died 1991)
• February 22 – Judy Cornwell, English actress
• February 27 – Howard Hesseman, actor, WKRP in Cincinnati, Head of the Class
• March 7 – Daniel J. Travanti, actor, Hill Street Blues
• March 10 – Chuck Norris, actor, Walker, Texas Ranger
• March 26 - James Caan, actor, Las Vegas
• April 17 – Chuck Menville, American television animator and writer (died 1992)
• April 25 - Al Pacino, actor
• May 5 – Lance Henriksen, actor
• May 10 - Taurean Blacque, actor, Hill Street Blues
• June 1 – René Auberjonois, actor, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (died 2019)
• June 14 - Jack Bannon, actor, Lou Grant
• June 20 – John Mahoney, English-born actor, Frasier (died 2018)
• June 21 – Mariette Hartley, actress
• July 3 - Michael Cole, actor, The Mod Squad
• July 7 - Ringo Starr, English singer-songwriter, The Beatles
• July 13 – Patrick Stewart, English actor, Star Trek: The Next Generation
• July 18 – James Brolin, actor, Marcus Welby, M.D.
• July 22 – Alex Trebek, game show host, Jeopardy!
• July 23 - Don Imus, American radio/television host, Imus in the Morning (died 2019)
• August 3 – Martin Sheen, actor, The West Wing
• August 19 – Jill St. John, actress
• August 23 - Richard Sanders, actor, WKRP in Cincinnati
• August 28 - Ken Jenkins, actor, Scrubs
• September 5 – Raquel Welch, actress
• September 12 – Linda Gray, actress, Dallas
• October 9 - John Lennon, English musician, The Beatles (died 1980)
• October 19 – Michael Gambon, Irish-born British actor
• November 13 - Daniel Pilon, Cuban-born actor, Dallas
• November 15 - Sam Waterston, actor, Law & Order
• December 11 – Donna Mills, actress, Knots Landing
• December 21 – Arvi Lind, Finnish newsreader

References