Explore 1844 historical events from 1940–1949.
A levee, is an elevated ridge alongside the banks of a river, often intended to protect against flooding of the area adjoining the river. Alternatively, it is called a dike, dyke, …
A dike holding the Columbia River broke, causing a flood that destroyed Vanport, Oregon, U
Shostakovich v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. is a landmark 1948 New York Supreme Court decision that was the first case in United States copyright law to recognize the theory o…
In Shostakovich v
Anti-Jewish riots occurred on June 7–8, 1948, in the towns of Oujda and Jerada, in the French protectorate of Morocco in response to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War ensuing the declarati…
Anti-Jewish riots broke out in the French protectorate in Morocco, during which 44 people were killed and 150 injured
Bernard Mannes Baruch was an American financier and statesman.
Bernard Baruch first applies the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet U
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography.
Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to demonstrate that Peruvian natives could have set
The Texas City disaster was an industrial accident that occurred on April 16, 1947, in the port of Texas City, Texas, United States, located in Galveston Bay. It was the deadliest …
An explosion on board a freighter in port causes Texas City in the state of Texas, United States, to catch fire, killing
Operation Big Bang or British Bang was the explosive destruction of bunkers and other military installations on the island of Heligoland. The explosion used 7400 tons of surplus Wo…
The Operation Big Bang, the largest non-nuclear man-made explosion to that time, destroys bunkers and military installat
Nevada is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It is also sometimes placed in the Mountain West and Southwestern United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idah…
In Nevada, Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam
The Portella della Ginestra massacre refers to the killing of 11 people and wounding of 27 others during May Day celebrations in Sicily on 1 May 1947, in the municipality of Piana …
Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Gi
Saab Automobile AB was a car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production mo…
Saab produces its first automobile
Gerald Rafferty was a Scottish singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the lat…
Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (died 2011)
The Constitution of Japan is the supreme law of Japan. Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II, it was adopted on 3 Novem…
New post-war Japanese constitution goes into effect
The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc …
Cold War: The Truman Doctrine goes into effect, aiding Turkey and Greece
United Air Lines Flight 521 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by a Douglas DC-4 from LaGuardia Airport, New York City, United States, to Cleveland, Ohio, United States. On …
United Airlines Flight 521 crashes at LaGuardia Airport, killing 43
Ferenc Nagy was a Hungarian politician of the Smallholders Party who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1946 until his forced resignation in 1947. He was also a Speaker of th…
Ferenc Nagy, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, resigns from office after blackmail from the Hungaria
The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc …
Cold War: Marshall Plan: In a speech at Harvard University, the United States Secretary of State George Marshall calls f
George Nigel Hannington Emslie, Lord Emslie is a retired judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland. He is the son of former Lord President George Emslie, Baron Emslie, and older brot…
Nigel Emslie, Lord Emslie, Scottish lawyer and judge
Sir Richard Alan Field is a British judge of the High Court of England and Wales.
Richard Field, English lawyer and judge
Sherrie Levine is an American photographer, painter, and conceptual artist. Some of her work consists of exact photographic reproductions of the work of other photographers such as…
Sherrie Levine, American photographer
Tsutomu Wakamatsu is a Japanese former baseball player, coach, and manager for the Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball. He batted left-handed, and threw right-handed. …
Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player, coach, and manager
Pan Am Flight 121 was a scheduled Pan American World Airways flight from Karachi to Istanbul. On the evening of 18 June 1947, the Lockheed L-049 Constellation serving the flight, k…
Pan Am Flight 121 crashes in the Syrian Desert near Mayadin, Syria, killing 15 and injuring 21
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Assoc…
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player and coach
Moses Zeh Blah was a Liberian politician. He served as the 28th vice president of Liberia under President Charles Taylor and became the 23rd president of Liberia on 11 August 2003,…
Moses Blah, Liberian general and politician, 23rd President of Liberia (died 2013)
Jerzy Oskar Stuhr was a Polish film and theatre actor. Considered one of the most popular, influential and versatile Polish actors and an icon of Polish cinema, he also worked as a…
Jerzy Stuhr, Polish actor, director, and screenwriter