Explore 1844 historical events from 1940–1949.
Operations Manna, Chowhound and Faust provided food to relieve a famine in the 1944–1945 German-occupied Netherlands. By May 1945, about 20,000 people in the Netherlands had died o…
World War II: Airdrops of food begin over German-occupied regions of the Netherlands
Nabiba Naftali Temu was a Kenyan long-distance runner. He became Kenya's first gold medalist when he won the 10,000 metres race at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Naftali Temu, Kenyan runner (died 2003)
Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, also known as Venkat, is an Indian former international cricketer and umpire. He was a right arm off break bowler and a lower order batter. He ca…
Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Indian cricketer and umpire
Diana Magdalene Roloff, known professionally as Diana Darvey, was a British actress, singer and dancer, best known for her appearances on The Benny Hill Show.
Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (died 2000)
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Germany during the Nazi era from 1933 until his suicide in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the N…
World War II: Adolf Hitler marries his longtime partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and designates Admiral Karl Dönitz
Dachau was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern the Nazi Part…
Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops
The Führerbunker was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1…
World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for less than 40 hours
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and air…
World War II: German radio broadcasts news of Adolf Hitler's death, falsely stating that he has "fallen at his command p
Efstratios Dimitriou, known professionally as Demetrio Stratos, was a Greek-Italian vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music researcher, best known as the co-founder, …
Demetrio Stratos, Greek-Egyptian singer-songwriter (died 1979)
Douglas Raymond "Cosmo" Clifford is an American drummer. He is best known as a founding member of Creedence Clearwater Revival for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall…
Doug Clifford, American drummer and songwriter
Stuart Alden Cook is an American retired bass guitarist, best known for being a member of the rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he is a member of the Rock and…
Stu Cook, American bass player Creedence Clearwater Revival, songwriter, and producer
Richard Charles Hoagland is an American author, former science advisor for CBS News and a proponent of various conspiracy theories about NASA, lost alien civilizations on the Moon,…
Richard C
On 1 May 1945, hundreds of people killed themselves in the town of Demmin, in the Province of Pomerania, Germany. Although death toll estimates vary, it is acknowledged to be the l…
World War II: Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. It…
World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin
During the Holocaust, death marches were massive forced transfers of prisoners from one Nazi camp to other locations, which involved walking long distances resulting in numerous de…
World War II: A death march from Dachau to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all-Nisei 522nd Field Artill
A prison ship, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. Some p…
World War II: Sinking of the prison ships Cap Arcona, Thielbek and Deutschland by the Royal Air Force in Lübeck Bay, re
Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the…
World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals Chess, K…
Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
Richard Lee Armitage was an American diplomat and government official. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Armitage served as a U.S. Navy officer in three combat tours o…
Richard Armitage, American diplomat and government official (died 2025)
Stephen Howard Davies, was a British theatre and television director.
Howard Davies, English director and producer (died 2016)
Richard Johnson is a part-owner of the V8 Supercar team Dick Johnson Racing and a former racing driver. As a driver, he was a five-time Australian Touring Car Champion and a three-…
Dick Johnson, Australian racing driver
On 4 May 1945, at 18:30 British Double Summer Time, at Lüneburg Heath, south of Hamburg, British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of the Ge…
World War II: The German surrender at Lüneburg Heath is signed, coming into effect the following day
The Prague uprising was a partially successful attempt by the Czech resistance movement to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation in May 1945, during the end of World W…
World War II: The Prague uprising begins as an attempt by the Czech resistance to free the city from German occupation
Fu-Go was an incendiary balloon weapon deployed by Japan against the United States during World War II. It consisted of a hydrogen-filled paper balloon 33 feet (10 m) in diameter…
World War II: A Fu-Go balloon bomb launched by the Japanese Army kills six people near Bly, Oregon