Important Events in 1943
- 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
- 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 in 1943
George Marshall
Time Person
of the YearJennifer Jones
Oscar for Best ActressPaul Lukas
Oscar for Best Actor
World Leaders in 1943
Adolf Hitler
Dictator of Nazi GermanyFranklin D. Roosevelt
32nd US PresidentJoseph Stalin
Soviet General SecretaryWinston Churchill
Soldier, Author and British Prime Minister
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 in 1943
- Feb 14 Walmart founder Sam Walton (24) weds Helen Robson (23)
- Feb 15 Model Bettie Page (19) weds high school sweetheart Billy Neal in Gallatin, Tennessee
- Feb 18 Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (Chilean general/dictator) marries Lucia Hiriart
Famous Divorces in 1943
- 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
1943 in Articles and Photos
Casablanca Conference
Henri Giraud, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill at the Casablanca Conference
January 14, 1943Siege of Leningrad
Two young girls help assemble Soviet submachine guns during the Siege of Leningrad
January 18, 1943Nazi General Friedrich Paulus Surrenders
German field marshal Friedrich Paulus, the highest-ranking German officer to surrender during World War II
January 31, 1943We Can Do It!
American wartime propaganda poster produced by J. Howard Miller in 1943 for Westinghouse Electric
February 15, 1943Poon Lim's 133 Day South Atlantic Odyssey
Poon Lim and his raft, photo made on request of the US Navy for its Survival Training.
April 5, 1943Zoot Suit Riots
A man in a zoot suit is inspected after being arrested by the LAPD in 1943
June 3, 1943Death Railway Completed
'Bridge over the River Kwai' drawn by Leo Rawlings in 1943 depicting construction by POWs of the Burma Railway
October 17, 1943