The following events occurred in September 1940: September 1, 1940 (Sunday) The Italians captured Buna, Kenya. Biggin Hill aerodrome in Kent was heavily damaged by a German bombing raid. The New England hurricane reached peak intensity as it passed by Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The storm did $4 million in damage and resulted in 7 fatalities. Died: Lillian Wald, 73, American nurse, humanitarian and author September 2, 1940 (Monday) U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and British Ambassador Lord Lothian exchanged notes concluding an agreement to trade old American destroyers for 99-year leases on British bases. Josef František scored his first kill, a Bf 109E. Byron Nelson won the PGA Championship. September 3, 1940 (Tuesday) Adolf Hitler fixed the date of Operation Sea Lion for September 21. Vichy France ordered the internment of anyone who posed a threat to national security. Communists were targeted in particular. Born: Eduardo Galeano, journalist, writer and novelist, in Montevideo, Uruguay (d. 2015) Joseph C. Strasser, admiral, in New Jersey September 4, 1940 (Wednesday) Hitler told a crowd at a rally in Berlin: "When the British air force drops two or three or four thousand kilograms of bombs, then we will in one night drop 150, 230, 300 or 400 thousand kilograms - we will raze their cities to the ground." With Romania in a state of near-revolution due to public anger at the Second Vienna Award, King Carol II summoned Ion Antonescu to the palace and asked him to form a government. Discussions were held with representatives of the political parties but no result was reached. The America First Committee was established by Yale Law School student R. Douglas Stuart, Jr. with the objective of keeping the United States out of the war. German submarine U-142 was commissioned. Died: George William de Carteret, 70 or 71, Jersey journalist and writer; Hans Zinsser, 61, American physician, bacteriologist and writer September 5, 1940 (Thursday) King Carol II reluctantly agreed to give full powers to Ion Antonescu, but the mood of the country remained volatile. With gunfire ringing out near the Royal Palace, Antonescu visited Carol again that evening and demanded that the king abdicate. Oil storage tanks at Thameshaven were among the day's targets of German bombers. Fires broke out at Thameshaven that could be seen from London. Born: Raquel Welch, actress and singer, in Chicago (d. 2023) Died: Charles de Broqueville, 79, 20th Prime Minister