Historical Events
- Jan 20 Franklin D. Roosevelt sworn-in for an unprecedented (and never to be repeated) 4th term as US President
- Jan 27 Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz and Birkenau Concentration Camps in Poland
- Feb 5 WWII: US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manila, Philippines; month long battle ends 3 years of Japanese military occupation
- Feb 13 Allied planes begin bombing Dresden, Germany; a firestorm results and over 22,000 die
- Feb 13 USSR captures Budapest, after a 49-day battle with Nazi Germany in which 159,000 die
- Feb 19 US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines
- Feb 23 US Marines raise American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Pulitzer Prize winning photo of which by Joe Rosenthall later became iconic, inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture
- Mar 23 Battle of Okinawa: US Navy ships bomb the Japanese island of Okinawa in preparation for the Allied invasion; it would become the largest battle of the Pacific War in World War II
- Apr 25 "Elbe Day" - US and Soviet forces meet at Torgau, Germany on the Elbe River during the invasion of Germany in WWII
- Apr 26 Marshal Philippe Pétain, leader of France's Vichy collaborationist regime during World War II, arrested for treason
- Apr 27 Italian partisans capture Benito Mussolini at Dongo (Lake Como)
- Apr 29 US Army liberates 31,601 people from the Dachau Nazi concentration camp in Germany
- May 2 More than 1,000,000 German soldiers officially surrender to the Western Allies in Italy and Austria
- May 2 World War II: Battle of Berlin ends as Soviet army takes Berlin and General Weidling surrenders
- May 3 World War II: German ship "Cap Arcona" laden with prisoners sunk by Royal Air Force in East Sea, 5,800 killed - one of largest maritime losses of life
- May 7 World War II: Unconditional German surrender to the Allies signed by General Alfred Jodl at Rheims
- May 8 V-E Day: World War II ends in Europe after Germany signs an unconditional surrender
- May 9 World War II: The Soviet Union marks Victory Day
- Jun 4 US, Soviet Union, Britain and France agree to divide up occupied Germany
- Jun 26 United Nations Charter signed by 50 nations in San Francisco
- Jul 17 Potsdam Conference: Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill hold 1st post-World War II meeting
- Jul 26 Declaration of Potsdam: US, Britain and China demand the unconditional surrender of Japan during WWII
- Aug 6 Atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the US B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay"
- Aug 8 USSR establishes a communist government in North Korea
- Aug 9 US drops second atomic bomb "Fat Man" on Nagasaki, Japan, destroying part of the city
- Aug 11 Allies refuse Japan's offer to surrender on the condition that Emperor Hirohito retains his status
- Aug 14 V-J Day, Japan surrenders unconditionally to end WW II (also August 15 depending on time zone)
- Aug 16 Puyi, the last Chinese Emperor and ruler of Manchukuo is captured by Soviet troops
- Aug 17 Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta declare Indonesia (Dutch East Indies) independent from the Netherlands
- Aug 17 Korea is divided into North and South Korea along the 38th parallel
- Aug 22 Vietnam conflict begins as Ho Chi Minh leads a successful coup
- Aug 31 The Liberal Party of Australia is founded by Robert Menzies
- Sep 2 V-J Day, formal Surrender of Japan aboard USS Missouri marks the end of World War II (Japanese date, 1st September in US)
- Oct 8 Microwave oven patented by US inventor Percy Spencer
- Oct 11 Chinese civil war begins between Kuomintang government led by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong's Communist Party
- Nov 16 Founding of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
- Dec 27 International Monetary Fund formally established by 29 member countries based on ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes
- More Historical Events
1945 in Film & TV
- Jul 6 Abbott and Costello's film "The Naughty Nineties" released; features longest version of their "Who's on First?" routine
- Sep 28 "Mildred Pierce" starring Joan Crawford opens at Strand Theater, NYC; wins Academy Award for Best Actress
- Nov 29 "The Lost Weekend", based on Charles R. Jackson's novel, directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman premieres in Los Angeles (Academy Awards Best Picture 1946)
1945 in Music
- Mar 15 Billboard publishes its 1st album chart (King Cole Trio is #1)
- Jun 5 Benjamin Britten's opera "Peter Grimes" premieres in London
- Nov 26 Charlie "Bird" Parker leads recording session for the Savoy label marketed as the "greatest Jazz session ever" with Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis
Did You Know?
Did You Know?Physicist Raemer Schreiber and Lieutenant Colonel Peer de Silva arrive on the Pacific island of Tinian with the plutonium core used to assemble the Fat Man bomb used in the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9
On July 28, 1945
Rod Stewart
Tom Selleck
Bob Marley
Eric Clapton
Neil Young
Bette Midler
Harry Truman
Joan Crawford
Ray MillandWorld Leaders in 1945
Adolf Hitler
Joseph Stalin
Winston Churchill
Would You Believe?
"Elevator girl" Betty Lou Oliver survives falling 75 stories after fog causes a US bomber plane to crash into the Empire State Building, breaking the cables supporting the elevator she was operating. This remains a world record for the longest survived elevator fall
On July 28, 1945
Famous Weddings
- Jan 6 Future 41st US President George H. W. Bush (20) weds Barbara Pierce (19) at the First Presbyterian Church in Rye, New York
- Jan 29 Actress Gloria Swanson (45) weds William N. Davey
- Mar 21 Actor Humphrey Bogart (44) marries actress Lauren Bacall (20)
Famous Divorces
- Dec 21 American author and journalist "The Old Man and the Sea" Ernest Hemingway and journalist Martha Gellhorn divorce after 5 years of marriage.
- Dec 25 Actor John Wayne (38) divorces Josephine Saenz (37) after 12 years of marriage
More Weddings & Divorces
Anne Frank
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Benito Mussolini
Martin Bormann
Eduard WirthsArticles and Photos
Yalta Conference
Conference of the Big Three at Yalta (from left to right) Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph StalinFebruary 11Ancient Dresden Reduced to Rubble
The blanket bombing of Dresden in East Germany which began on this day, cost thousands of lives and remains highly controversial.February 13Bombing of Dresden
Dresden after the Allied firebombing campaign in 1945February 13Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
United States Marines raise the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, during the Battle of Iwo JimaFebruary 23Firebombing of Tokyo
The aftermath of the single deadliest air raid of World War II, the firebombing of TokyoMarch 10Battle of Okinawa
British navy vessel HMS Formidable on fire during the Battle of Okinawa after being struck by a kamikazeMarch 23From Hate And Horror To Worldwide Acclaim
Elie Wiesel, who went on to become a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was among the thousands freed from Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany on this day.April 11Death of FDR
The famous unfinished portrait of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, started by Elizabeth Shoumatoff on the day of his deathApril 12What Happened to the Body of Adolf Hitler?
There is no doubt that Adolf Hitler shot himself on this day and that his body was burned by loyal staff. But what happened to his remains is still a mystery.April 30Raising a Flag over the Reichstag
Soldiers Raqymzhan Qoshqarbaev and Georgij Bulatov raise the Soviet Union flag on the roof of the Reichstag building in BerlinMay 2Nazi Germany Surrenders
German commander Wilhelm Keitel signs the final unconditional surrender of Germany in the ruins of BerlinMay 8United Nations Charter
Preamble to the Charter of the United NationsJune 26Potsdam Conference
Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Josef Stalin in the garden of Cecilienhof Palace before meeting for the Potsdam ConferenceJuly 17Potsdam Declaration
Allied leaders in conference in the German city of Potsdam, after Germany's defeat but before Japan's surrenderJuly 26Sinking of the USS Indianapolis
A scene from the 2016 movie "USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage"July 30Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
Mushroom cloud over HiroshimaAugust 6Nuclear Bombing of Nagasaki
Mushroom cloud over NagasakiAugust 9Victory over Japan
Kissing the War Goodbye on VJ DayAugust 14Surrender of Japan
Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender to formally end World War IISeptember 2Miracle Mike!
Mike the headless chickenSeptember 10MacArthur Meets Hirohito
General Douglas MacArthur meets Japanese Emperor Hirohito on September 27, 1945September 27Elvis Comes Fifth in Talent Show
Elvis Presley made his first public appearance as a singer on this day. It did not go well: he came fifth in a local talent show. But he was only ten years old.October 3Nuremberg War Trials Bring Nazis to Justice
The Trial of Major War Criminals began on this day, the first of a five-year series of hearings at Nuremberg where WW2 Nazis were held to account.November 20
