On This Day

What Happened in 1943

Historical Events

  • Jan 13 Adolf Hitler declares "Total War" against the Allies
  • Jan 18 Soviets announce they have broken the long Siege of Leningrad by Nazi Germany by opening a narrow land corridor, though the siege would not be fully lifted until a year later
  • Jan 31 Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to Soviet troops at Stalingrad
  • Feb 2 German 6th Army surrenders after Battle of Stalingrad in a major turning point in Europe during World War II
  • Feb 9 Japanese troops evacuate Guadalcanal, ending the epic World War II battle on the Solomon Islands in the Pacific
  • Mar 3 Battle of the Bismarck Sea: Australian and American air forces devastate Japanese navy convoy
  • Mar 14 World War II: Kraków Ghetto is "liquidated"
  • May 12 Axis forces in North Africa surrender
  • May 16 Operation Chastise: No. 617 Squadron RAF begins the famous Dambusters Raid, bombing the Möhne and Eder dams in the Ruhr valley with bouncing bombs
  • Jun 3 A mob of 60 from the Los Angeles Naval Reserve Armory beat up everyone perceived to be Hispanic, starting the week-long Zoot Suit Riots
  • Jul 12 World War II: Battle of Prokhorovka - Russians defeat German forces in one of the largest ever tank battles
  • Jul 13 Greatest tank battle in history ends with Russia's defeat of Germany at Kursk, almost 6,000 tanks take part, 2,900 lost by Germany
  • Jul 24 Operation Gomorrah: RAF begins bombing Hamburg (till 3rd August), creating a firestorm and killing 42,600 people
  • Jul 25 Benito Mussolini dismissed as Italian Premier and arrested on the authority of King Victor Emmanuel III
  • Jul 28 Operation Gomorrah: RAF bombing over Hamburg causes a firestorm that kills 42,600 German civilians
  • Oct 13 Italy declares war on former Axis partner Germany
  • Oct 17 Burma railway completed, built by Allied POWs and Asian laborers for use of the Japanese army
  • Oct 19 Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, is isolated by researchers at Rutgers University in Pistcaway, New Jersey
  • Dec 24 US President FDR appoints General Eisenhower Supreme Commander of the Allied forces
  • Dec 28 All Kalmyk inhabitants of the Republic of Kalmukkie deported by the Soviet Union to Central Asia and Siberia. Many die en route.
  • More Historical Events

1943 in Film & TV

  • Jul 21 "Stormy Weather", directed by Andrew L. Stone, starring Bill Robinson, Lena Horne and Fats Waller (singing "Ain't Misbehavin'") premieres in the US

1943 in Sport

  • Dec 4 Commissioner Landis announces any baseball club may sign Negroes

Did You Know?

Bicycle Day - Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann deliberately takes LSD for the first time

On April 19, 1943

Famous People Born in 1943

More Famous Birthdays

Famous People in 1943

World Leaders in 1943

Would You Believe?

World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt travels from Miami to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill, becoming the first American president to travel overseas by airplane

On January 14, 1943

Famous Weddings

Famous Divorces

  • Jun 29 Actor Jackie Coogan (28) divorces actress Flower Parry after almost 2 years of marriage
  • Jul 7 Heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey (48) divorces broadway singer Hannah Williams (32) after 10 years of marriage

More Weddings & Divorces

Famous People Who Died in 1943

More Famous Deaths

Articles and Photos



Search the largest, most accurate site for today in history.