1946
From Freepedia
1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. (see link for calendar)
| Years: 1943 1944 1945 - 1946(MCMXLVI) - 1947 1948 1949 | ||||||||||
| Decades: 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s | ||||||||||
| Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
| ||||||||||
Contents |
Events
January
- January 4 - Theodore Schurch becomes the last person to be executed for offences committed under the Treachery Act of 1940
- January 7 - Allied recognize Austrian republic with 1937 borders - the country is divided into four occupation zones
- January 10 - First meeting of the United Nations
- January 11 - Enver Hoxha declares the people's republic of Albania with himself as prime minister.
- January 11 - Porfirio Barba-Jacob's ashes go back to Colombia.
- January 16 - Charles de Gaulle resigns as a head of a French provisional government
- January 17
- The UN Security Council holds its first session
- Senator Dennis Chavez (D-NM) calls for a vote on an FEPC bill which called for the end to discrimination in the work place. A filibuster prevents it from passing.
- January 20 - Charles De Gaulle resigns as president of France
- January 25 - The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor
- January 28 - Bluenose founders on a Haitian reef
- January 29 - CIA established
- January 31 - Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
February
- February 1 - Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.
- February 2 - Kingdom of Hungary becomes a republic.
- February 14 - The Bank of England nationalized
- February 14 - ENIAC (for "Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer"), the first general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania
- February 15 - Canada indicts 22 communist agents.
- February 24 - Juan Peron elected president of Argentina
- February 28 - In Philadelphia, strikers of General Electric and police clash
March
- March 2 - British troops withdraw from Iran according to treaty - Soviets do not.
- March 2 - Ho Chi Minh elected the President of North Vietnam
- March 4 - C.G.E. Mannerheim resigns from the post of president of Finland
- March 5 - In his speech in Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill talks about Iron Curtain.
- March 6 - Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.
- March 9 - Juho Kusti Paasikivi becomes president of Finland
- March 10 - British troops begin withdrawal from Lebanon
- March 15 - Clement Attlee promises independence to India as soon as they can agree on constitution
- March 19 - Soviet Union and Switzerland reform diplomatic relations.
- March 19 - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France
- March 22 - Transjordan gains independence
- March 29 - Gold Coast has an African majority in the parliament
April
- April 1 - 14-meter high tsunami strikes Hilo, Hawaii - 173 dead, thousands injured.
- April 1 - Formation of the Malayan Union.
- April 1 - Singapore becomes a Crown colony
- April 3 - Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed outside Manila in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
- April 7 - Syria's independence from France is officially recognised
- April 10 - In Japan, women vote for the first time in parliamentarian elections
- April 18 - USA recognizes Josip Broz Tito's government in Yugoslavia
- April 18 - Last meeting of League of Nations – it transfers its mission to United Nations and disbands itself.
- April 29 - Trial against war criminals begin in Tokyo – accused include Hideki Tojo, Shigenori Togo and Hiroshi Oshima.
May
- May 2 - Six prisoners unsuccessfully try to escape from the Alcatraz prison island
- May 7 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with about 20 employees.
- May 9 - King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates, and is succeeded by his son Humbert II.
- May 10 - Nehru elected leader of the Congress Party in India
- May 20 - In Britain, the House of Commons decides to nationalize mines.
- May 21 - Radiation accident in Los Alamos laboratory; Dr Louis Slotin saves his coworkers but receives a fatal dose of radiation. Incident is initially classified
- May 22 - Kingdom of Transjordan founded.
- May 25 - The parliament of Transjordan makes emir Abdullah their king.
- May 31 - Greece referendum supports return of monarchy
June-July
- June 2 - In a referendum Italians decide to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After this referendum the king of Italy Umberto II di Savoia was exiled. Women vote for the first time.
- June 6 - The Basketball Association of America is formed in New York City.
- June 8 - In Indonesia, Sukarno incites his supporters to fight Dutch colonial occupation
- June 9 - In Thailand, king Rama IX accedes the throne.
- June 10 - Italy declared republic
- June 13 - Humbert II of Italy leaves the country and goes into exile in Portugal; Alcide de Gasperi becomes head of state.
- June 17 - Tornado on the Detroit river - 17 dead
- July 4 - After over 425 years of Western Dominance , the Philippines achieves full independence.
- July 5 - Bikinis go on sale in Paris
- July 7 - Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American saint to be canonized.
- July 21 - Irgun bomb explodes in Jerusalem.
- July 22 - King David Hotel bombing: Irgun bombs King David Hotel in Jerusalem, headquarters of the British civil and military administration killing 90.
- July 25 - Nuclear testing: In the first underwater test of the atomic bomb, the surplus USS Saratoga is sunk near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean when the United States detonates the "Baker Day" device.
- July 25 - At Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team.
August-November
Image:Goering in Nuremberg.jpg
- August 19 - Violence between Muslims and Hindus in Calcutta – 3000 dead.
- August 25 - Ben Hogan wins PGA Championship
- September 4 - Street violence between Muslims and Hindus in Bombay.
- September 8 - Bulgaria declared a People's Republic after a referendum – King Simeon II leaves.
- September 28 - George II of Greece returns to Athens
- October 2 - Communists take over in Bulgaria
- October 13 - France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
- October 15 - Nuremberg Trials: Founder of the Gestapo and recently convicted Nazi war criminal, Hermann Göring, poisons himself hours before his scheduled execution.
- October 23 - United Nations' first meeting in Long Island.
- November 8 - Vietnamese riot in Haiphong and clash with French troops. French cruiser Suffren opens fire. 6000 Vietnamese killed.
- November 12 - Truce between Indonesian nationalist troops and Dutch army in Indonesia.
- November 12 - A branch of the Exchange National Bank in Chicago, Illinois opens the first ten drive-up teller windows.
- November 15 - Netherlands recognized Republic of Indonesia.
- November 19 - Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden joins the United Nations
- November 27 - Cold War: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appeals to the United States and the Soviet Union to end nuclear testing and to start nuclear disarmament, stating that such an action would "save humanity from the ultimate disaster."
December
- December 11 - UNICEF founded.
- December 12 - United Nations severs relations with Franco's Spain and recommends the member countries to sever diplomatic relations
- December 12 - Leon Blum founds a government of socialist parties in France
- December 19 - Martial law in Vietnam
- December 22 - Havana Conference begins between US organized crime bosses in Havana, Cuba
- December 24 - France's Fourth Republic founded
- December 26 - Flamingo Hotel opens in Las Vegas.
- December 31 - President Harry Truman officially proclaims an end of hostilities in World War II.
Unknown dates
- The 20mm M61 Vulcan gatling gun is invented.
- Devil's Island penal colony closes permanently.
- Female suffrage in Belgium, Romania, Yugoslavia, Argentina and Canadian province of Quebec. First female police officers in Korea and Japan.
- Chinese Civil War intensifies between Kuomintang and Communist Party of China.
- First Tupperware sold in department and hardware stores.
- Grantley Adams becomes the premier of Barbados.
- Alcatraz Island prison riot.
- The British government takes emergency powers to deal with the balance-of-payments crisis.
- Eva Perón tours Spain, Italy and France on behalf of Argentina, a circuit called the Rainbow Tour.
Births
January
- January 3 - John Paul Jones, English bassist (Led Zeppelin)
- January 5 - Diane Keaton, American actress
- January 6 - Syd Barrett, English guitarist and singer
- January 8 - Robby Krieger, American musician (The Doors)
- January 11 - Naomi Judd, American singer
- January 11 - John Piper, American theologian
- January 12 - George Duke, American musician
- January 14 - Harold Shipman, British serial killer
- January 16 - Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
- January 16 - Katia Ricciarelli, Italian singer
- January 18 - Joseph Deiss, Swiss Federal Councilor
- January 19 - Dolly Parton, American singer and actress
- January 20 - David Lynch, American film director
- January 21 - Johnny Oates, baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
- January 22 - Serge Savard, Canadian hockey player and executive
- January 24 - Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
- January 26 - Gene Siskel, American film critic (d. 1999)
- January 31 - Terry Kath, American musician (d. 1978)
February-March
- February 6 - Jim Turner, American politician
- February 13 - Colin Matthews, British composer
- February 14 - Bernard Dowiyogo, President of Nauru (d. 2003)
- February 14 - Gregory Hines, American dancer and actor (d. 2003)
- February 20 - Brenda Blethyn, English actress
- February 21 - Tyne Daly, American actress
- February 21 - Alan Rickman, English actor
- February 24 - Barry Bostwick, American actor
- February 25 - Franz Xaver Kroetz, German dramatist
- February 26 - Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- February 27 - José Carreras, Spanish tenor
- February 28 - Robin Cook, British politician (d. 2005)
- March 3 - Leszek Miller, Prime Minister of Poland
- March 6 - David Gilmour, English musician (Pink Floyd)
- March 7 - Peter Wolf, American musician (J Geils Band)
- March 12 - Liza Minnelli, American singer and actress
- March 15 - Bobby Bonds, baseball player and manager (d. 2003)
- March 21 - Timothy Dalton, Welsh actor
- March 31 - Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (d. 1984)
April-May
- April 4 - Dave Hill, English guitarist (Slade)
- April 7 - Colette Besson, French runner
- April 8 - Qin Bangxian, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (b. 1907)
- April 12 - Ed O'Neill, American actor
- April 16 - Margot Adler, American journalist
- April 25 - John Fox, British statistician
- April 25 - Talia Shire, American actress
- April 30 - King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden
- May 7 - Thelma Houston, American singer
- May 9 - Candice Bergen, American actress
- May 10 - Donovan Leitch, Scottish musician
- May 10 - Dave Mason, English musician (Traffic)
- May 11 - Robert Jarvik, American physicist and inventor
- May 17 - Udo Lindenberg, German musician
- May 18 - Reggie Jackson, baseball player
- May 19 - André the Giant, French professional wrestling (d. 1993)
- May 20 - Cher, American actress and singer
- May 22 - George Best, Irish footballer
- May 23 - Frederik de Groot, Dutch actor
- May 26 - Mick Ronson, American guitarist (d. 1993)
- May 28 - K. Satchidanandan Malayalam poet
- May 29 - Fernando Buesa, Basque politician (d. 2000)
June-July
- June 6 - Peter Sutcliffe, English serial killer
- June 8 - Pearlette Louisy, Governor-General of St. Lucia
- June 12 - Harry Glasper, Football historian
- June 14 - Donald Trump, American real estate magnate
- June 15 - Noddy Holder, English singer (Slade)
- June 20 - Xanana Gusmao, first President of East Timor
- June 23 - Kathy Wilkes, English philosopher
- June 24 - Ellison Onizuka, astronaut (d. 1986)
- June 29 - Egon von Furstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (d. 2004)
- July 2 - Richard Axel, English scientist
- July 4 - Ed O'Ross, American actor
- July 6 - George Walker Bush, 43rd President of the United States
- July 6 - Sylvester Stallone, American actor
- July 9 - Bon Scott, Australian singer (AC/DC) (d. 1980)
- July 13 - Cheech Marin, American actor and comedian
- July 14 - John Wood, Australian actor
- July 15 - Linda Ronstadt, American singer and songwriter
- July 16 - Ron Yary, American football player
- July 22 - Mireille Mathieu, French singer
- July 25 - Rita Marley, Jamaican singer
- July 30 - Neil Bonnett, American race car driver (d. 1994)
August
- August 3 - Jack Straw, British politician
- August 19 - Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
- August 19 - Beat Raaflaub, Swiss conductor
- August 20 - Ralf Hütter, German singer and musician (Kraftwerk)
- August 20 - N.R. Narayana Murthy, Indian businessman
- August 23 - Keith Moon, English drummer (The Who) (d. 1978)
- August 25 - Rollie Fingers, baseball player
- August 29 - Bob Beamon, American athlete
September
- September 4 - Gary Duncan, American guitarist (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
- September 4 - Greg Elmore, American drummer (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
- September 5 - Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar-born singer (Queen) (d. 1991)
- September 7 - Willie Crawford, baseball player (d. 2004)
- September 7 - Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist (d. 2001)
- September 9 - Bruce Palmer, Canadian musician (Buffalo Springfield) (d. 2004)
- September 10 - Jim Hines, American athlete
- September 10 - Don Powell, English drummer
- September 15 - Tommy Lee Jones, American actor
- September 15 - Oliver Stone, American film director
- September 21 - Moritz Leuenberger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- September 23 - Franz Fischler, Austrian politician
- September 24 - Lars Emil Johansen, Prime Minister of Greenland
- September 26 - Christine Todd Whitman, American politician
- September 30 - Héctor Lavoe, Puerto Rican singer (d. 1993)
October
- October 1 - Tim O'Brien, American author
- October 6 - Lloyd Doggett, American politician
- October 7 - Catharine MacKinnon, American feminist
- October 8 - Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian scholar
- October 9 - Tansu Ciller, Turkish politician
- October 10 - Anne Boyd, Australian musician
- October 10 - Naoto Kan, Japanese politician
- October 11 - Leona Gom, Canadian writer
- October 13 - Edwina Currie, English politician
- October 13 - Dorothy Moore, American singer
- October 14 - Kay Redfield Jamison, American psychologist
- October 15 - Marsha Hunt, American singer and novelist
- October 16 - Suzanne Somers, American actress
- October 16 - Elizabeth Witmer, Dutch-born politician
- October 17 - Vicki Hodge, English actress
- October 17 - Bob Seagren, American athlete and actor
- October 18 - Howard Shore, Canadian film composer
- October 18 - Andrea Zsadon, Hungarian soprano
- October 20 - Elfriede Jelinek, Austrian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- October 20 - Andrea Mitchell, American journalist
- October 21 - Lyn Allison, Australian politician
- October 22 - Eileen Gordon, British politician
- October 24 - Karen Silkwood, American whistleblower (d. 1974)
- October 25 - Edith Leyrer, Austrian actress
- October 26 - Pat Sajak, American game show host
- October 27 - Leslie L. Byrne, American politician
- October 27 - Ivan Reitman, Slovakian-born film director and producer
- October 27 - Carrie Snodgress, American actress (d. 2004)
- October 28 - Sharon Thesen, Canadian poet
- October 29 - Kathryn J. Whitmire, Mayor of Houston, Texas
- October 30 - Lynne Marta, American actress
- October 31 - Caroline Jackson, British politician
November
- November 1 - Dennis Muren, American special effects artist
- November 1 - Lynne Russell, American newsreader
- November 2 - Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (d. 2001)
- November 4 - Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States
- November 5 - Herman Brood, Dutch artist (d. 2001)
- November 5 - Loleatta Holloway, American singer
- November 5 - Gram Parsons, American musician
- November 6 - Sally Field, American actress
- November 7 - Diane Francis, Canadian journalist
- November 8 - Stella Chiweshe, Zimbabwe musician
- November 10 - Alaina Reed Hall, American actress
- November 11 - Corrine Brown, American politician
- November 12 - Renate Holub, German-born philosopher
- November 13 - Ohara Reiko, Japanese actess
- November 14 - Carola Dunn, English writer
- November 15 - Gwyneth Powell, English actress
- November 15 - Sandy Skoglund, American photographer
- November 17 - Petra Burka, Canadian figure skater
- November 18 - Andrea Allan, Scottish actress
- November 18 - Amanda Lear, Hong Kong singer
- November 19 - Terry Baum, American playwright
- November 20 - Greg Cook, American football player
- November 20 - Judy Woodruff, American television personality
- November 21 - Emma Cohen, Spanish actress
- November 21 - Pam Freeman, American actress
- November 21 - Chaviva Hosek, Czech-born feminist
- November 21 - Ulla Jessen, Danish actress
- November 21 - Jacky Lafon, Belgian actress
- November 21 - Marina Warner, English writer
- November 22 - Anne Wheeler, Canadian television and film director
- November 24 - Ted Bundy, American serial killer (d. 1989)
- November 25 - Marika Lindstrom, Swedish actress
- November 26 - Ottilia Borbath, Romanian actress
- November 27 - Nina Maslova, Russian actress
- November 28 - Regina Braga, Brazilian actress
- November 29 - Suzy Chaffee, American singer and actress
- November 30 - Barbara Cubin, U.S. Congresswoman from Wyoming
December
- December 2 - Gulsun Karamustafa, Turkish artist and film director
- December 2 - Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (d. 1997)
- December 3 - Marjana Lipovsek, Slovenian singer and actress
- December 3 - Joop Zoetemelk, Dutch cyclist
- December 4 - Sherry Alberoni, American actress
- December 4 - Angela Browning, British politician
- December 5 - José Carreras, Spanish tenor
- December 5 - Eva-Britt Svensson, Swedish politician
- December 6 - Chelsea Brown, American actress
- December 8 - Jacques Bourboulon, French photographer
- December 8 - Sharmila Tagore, Indian actress
- December 9 - Sonia Gandhi, Indian politician
- December 10 - Chrystos, American poet
- December 11 - Ellen Meloy, American writer (d. 2004)
- December 12 - Gloria Loring, American singer
- December 14 - Jane Birkin, English actress and singer
- December 14 - Patty Duke, American actress
- December 16 - Trevor Pinnock, English conductor and harpsichordist
- December 17 - Eugene Levy, Canadian actor and director
- December 17 - Bel Mooney, English broadcast journalist
- December 18 - Nina Skottova, Czech politician and member of the European Parliament
- December 18 - Steven Spielberg, American film director
- December 19 - Candace Pert, American nueroscientist
- December 20 - Lesley Judd, English actress and television presenter
- December 20 - Dick Wolf, American television producer
- December 21 - Carl Wilson, American musician (d. 1998)
- December 23 - Edita Gruberova, Slovakian soprano
- December 24 - Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, French pharmacist and politician and member of the European Parliament
- December 25 - Gene Lamont, baseball player and manager
- December 26 - Joyce Jillson, American astrologer (d. 2000)
- December 27 - Janet Street Porter, English broadcast journalist
- December 27 - Polly Toynbee, English journalist and writer
- December 29 - Marianne Faithfull, English singer and actress
- December 30 - Patti Smith, American poet and singer (Scandal
- December 31 - Galina Starovoitova, Russian politician
Unknown date
Deaths
- January 29 - Harry Hopkins, American politician (b. 1890)
- February 5 - George Arliss, English actor (b. 1868)
- March 4 - Bror von Blixen-Finecke, Danish big-game hunter (b. 1886)
- March 23 - Gilbert N. Lewis, American chemist (b. 1875)
- March 24 - Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player (b. 1892)
- April 1 - Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (b. 1882)
- April 3 - Alf Common, English footballer (b. 1880)
- April 22 - Harlan F. Stone, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1872)
- May 19 - Booth Tarkington, American novelist (b. 1869)
- June 1 - Ion Antonescu, Romanian prime minister and dictator (b. 1882)
- June 6 - Gerhart Hauptmann, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- June 10 - Jack Johnson, American boxer (b. 1878)
- June 14 - John Logie Baird, television pioneer (b. 1888)
- June 28 - Antoinette Perry, American actress and director
- July 8 - Orrick Glenday Johns, American writer (b. 1887)
- July 13 - Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer (b. 1864)
- July 15 - Razor Smith, English cricketer (b. 1877)
- August 13 - H.G. Wells, English writer (b. 1866)
- October 4 - Barney Oldfield, American race car driver and automobile pioneer (b. 1878)
- October 15 - Hermann Göring, Nazi leader (suicide) (b. 1893)
- October 16 - Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Austrian Nazi (executed) (b. 1892)
- November 14 - Manuel de Falla, Spanish composer (b. 1876)
- December 10 - Walter Johnson, baseball player (b. 1887)
- December 25 - W.C. Fields, American actor and comedian (b. 1880)
Nobel Prizes
- Physics - Percy Williams Bridgman
- Chemistry - James B. Sumner, John Howard Northrop, Wendell Meredith Stanley
- Medicine - Hermann Joseph Muller
- Literature - Hermann Hesse
- Peace - Emily Greene Balch, John Mott
