The 1940s

1946 80 years ago

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on April 29, 1946, to t…

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government

1946 80 years ago

Tim Curry, English actor and singer

Timothy James Curry is an Emmy Award-winning English actor and singer. He is famous for playing many villainous roles and rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical fi…

Tim Curry, English actor and singer

1946 80 years ago

Sandro Chia, Italian painter and sculptor

Sandro Chia is an Italian painter and sculptor. In the late 1970s and early 1980s he was, with Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Nicola De Maria, and Mimmo Paladino, a principal mem…

Sandro Chia, Italian painter and sculptor

1946 80 years ago

Steven L

Steven Logan Bennett was a United States Air Force pilot who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Vietnam War.

Steven L

1946 80 years ago

Paul Davies, English physicist and author

Paul Charles William Davies is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, a professor in Arizona State University and director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Scie…

Paul Davies, English physicist and author

1946 80 years ago

King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Umberto II

Victor Emmanuel III was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941…

King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Umberto II

1946 80 years ago

First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground

The V-2 rocket, with the development name Aggregat-4 (A4), was the world's first practical, modern ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was…

First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground

1946 80 years ago

Physicist Louis Slotin is fatally irradiated in a criticality incident during an experiment with the demon core at Los A

Louis Alexander Slotin was a Canadian physicist and chemist who took part in the Manhattan Project. Born and raised in the North End of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Slotin earned both his B…

Physicist Louis Slotin is fatally irradiated in a criticality incident during an experiment with the demon core at Los A

1946 80 years ago

The Emirate of Transjordan becomes independent from the United Kingdom as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan after rat

The Emirate of Transjordan, officially the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate under the League of Nations mandate established on 11 April 1921, which remained as s…

The Emirate of Transjordan becomes independent from the United Kingdom as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan after rat

1946 80 years ago

Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic

An institutional referendum was held by universal suffrage in the Kingdom of Italy on 2 June 1946, a key event of contemporary Italian history. Until 1946, Italy was a kingdom rule…

Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic

1946 80 years ago

Archy Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, Scottish lawyer and politician

Archibald Johnstone Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope,, is a British Liberal Democrat politician.

Archy Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, Scottish lawyer and politician

1946 80 years ago

Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, English economist and academic

Nicholas Herbert Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford,, is a British economist, banker, and academic. He is the IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of the Grantham …

Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, English economist and academic

1946 80 years ago

Blair Brown, American actress

Bonnie Blair Brown is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play Copenhagen on Broadway, the leading actres…

Blair Brown, American actress

1946 80 years ago

Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (died 2014)

Carlton Alex Sherwood was an American journalist who produced the anti-John Kerry film Stolen Honor. Sherwood served on two news teams which were responsible for the award of the P…

Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (died 2014)

1946 80 years ago

A fire in the La Salle Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, kills 61 people

The La Salle Hotel was a historic hotel located on the northwest corner of La Salle Street and Madison Street in the Chicago Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States…

A fire in the La Salle Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, kills 61 people

1946 80 years ago

The United Kingdom's BBC returns to broadcasting its television service, which has been off air for seven years because

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster that serves as the primary national public broadcasting company of the United Kingdom, headquarte…

The United Kingdom's BBC returns to broadcasting its television service, which has been off air for seven years because

1946 80 years ago

R

Raymond Carlos Nakai is a Native American flutist of Navajo and Ute heritage. Nakai played brass instruments in high school and college, and auditioned for the Armed Forces School …

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1946 80 years ago

Louise Harel, Canadian lawyer and politician

Louise Harel is a Quebec politician. In 2005 she served as interim leader of the Parti Québécois following the resignation of Bernard Landry. She was also interim leader of the opp…

Louise Harel, Canadian lawyer and politician

1946 80 years ago

John Waters, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

John Samuel Waters Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including Multiple Maniacs (1970), …

John Waters, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

1946 80 years ago

Doug Christie, Canadian lawyer and activist (died 2013)

Douglas Hewson Christie, Jr. was a Canadian lawyer and political activist based in Victoria, British Columbia, who was known nationally for his defence of clients such as Holocaust…

Doug Christie, Canadian lawyer and activist (died 2013)

1946 80 years ago

Phil Robertson, American hunter and television personality (died 2025)

Phil Alexander Robertson was an American professional hunter, businessman and television personality who was the founder of hunting products company Duck Commander. A reality telev…

Phil Robertson, American hunter and television personality (died 2025)

1946 80 years ago

Talia Shire, American actress

Talia Rose Shire is an American actress and member of the Coppola family. She is best known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather trilogy and Adrian Pennino Balboa in t…

Talia Shire, American actress

1946 80 years ago

Peter Sutherland, Irish lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Ireland (died 2018)

Peter Denis Sutherland was an Irish businessman, barrister and Fine Gael politician who served as UN Special Representative for International Migration from 2006 to 2017. He was kn…

Peter Sutherland, Irish lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Ireland (died 2018)

1946 80 years ago

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian colonel, lawyer, and politician (died 2022)

Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky was a Russian right-wing populist politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) from its creation in 1992 unti…

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian colonel, lawyer, and politician (died 2022)