What Happened in 1946

Significant Events

  • Jan 10 UN General Assembly meets for 1st time in London
  • Jan 17 United Nations Security Council holds its 1st meeting
  • Jan 22 US President Harry Truman sets up the Central Intelligence Agency
  • Feb 24 General Juan Perón first elected President of Argentina
  • Mar 2 Ho Chi Minh elected President of North Vietnam
  • Mar 5 Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech in Fulton, Missouri, popularizes the term and draws attention to the division of Europe
  • Mar 28 Cold War: The United States State Department releases the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
  • May 22 First US rocket (WAC Corporal) to reach edge of space fired from White Sands Missile Range New Mexico
  • Aug 16 Direct Action Day: Widespread riots erupt in Calcutta between Muslims and Hindus over whether Pakistan should be a separate state, killing over 4,000 and leaving 100,000 homeless
  • Sep 30 22 Nazi leaders found guilty of war crimes at Nuremberg
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1946 in Film & TV

  • May 16 "Annie Get Your Gun" musical by Irving Berlin, Dorothy and Herbert Fields opens at Imperial Theater NYC, starring Ethel Merman and featuring "There's no Business Like Show Business"
  • Jul 25 At Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team
  • Aug 23 "The Big Sleep" directed by Howard Hawks and starring Humphrey Bogart (Philip Marlowe) and Lauren Bacall first premieres
  • Dec 20 Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life" film premieres in New York, directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore

1946 in Music

  • May 16 "Annie Get Your Gun" musical by Irving Berlin, Dorothy and Herbert Fields opens at Imperial Theater NYC, starring Ethel Merman and featuring "There's no Business Like Show Business"
  • Oct 18 Aaron Copland's 3rd Symphony premieres
  • Dec 11 Hank Williams begins to record on Sterling label

1946 in Sport

  • Feb 19 Giants outfielder Danny Gardella is 1st major leaguer to announce he is jumping to the "outlaw" Mexican League
  • Nov 11 New York Knicks' 1st game at Madison Square Garden, lose 78-68 to Chicago Stags

Did You Know?

World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 116 of 156 captured U-boats

On February 11, 1946

Famous People Born in 1946

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World Leaders in 1946

Famous People in 1946

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Famous Divorces

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Famous Deaths

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Articles on Events in 1946