History for Chron

German leader Adolf Hitler implored England to surrender during a speech to the Reichstag, that country’s legislature.

Hitler said he was making “one more appeal to reason in England,” according to a translation.

He further warned that “a world empire would be destroyed” if it continued to resist in the early stages of World War II.

“English statesmen apparently have no concept” of the destruction that would be brought on the island nation if Prime Minister Winston Churchill continued to resist, Hitler said.

The Australian cruiser Sydney and a group of destroyers sunk the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni in a battle off the coast of Crete.

Aussie crews reportedly picked up 250 Italian sailors from the sunken ship, which had a normal complement of 500.

The Bartolomeo Colleoni was reportedly one of fastest warships in the world and was the first cruiser reported lost in the war by Italy.

The battle pitted two cruisers armed with 6-inch main guns.

U.S. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes awarded a $1 million contract to J.A. Terteling and Sons, of Boise, to relocate two branches of the Great Northern railroad in Washington state.

The job included relocating the Nelson and Republic branch lines between Kettle Falls and Williams, and between Kettle Falls and Boyds. The work was necessary to make room for the 151-mile reservoir created by Grand Coulee Dam.