Explore 3063 historical events from 1940–1949.
Haakon VII was King of Norway from 1905 until his death in 1957, having reigned for nearly 52 years.
King Haakon VII of Norway returns from exactly five years in exile during World War II
The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State, equ…
The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists t
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often referred by its shortened name as the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Unio…
World War II: The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fight
The United States Army is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is designated as the army of the United States in the United States Constitution. As a part …
The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Coldi
MV Goya was a Norwegian freighter used as a troop transport by Germany and sunk with a massive loss of life near the end of World War II. Completed in 1940 for the Johan Ludwig Mow…
More than 7,000 die when the German transport ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine
Trần Trọng Kim (Vietnamese: [t͡ɕən˨˩ t͡ɕawŋ͡m˧˨ʔ kim˧˧]; chữ Hán: 陳仲金, Kanji pronunciation: Chin Jūkin; Japanese: チャン・チョン・キム, romanized: Chan Chon Kimu; 1883 – December 2, 1953; co…
Historian Tran Trong Kim is appointed the Prime Minister of the Empire of Vietnam
Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain, better known as Marshal Pétain, was a French military officer who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of th…
The post-war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.
HMS Vestal was a turbine-powered Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1943 and saw service in the Pacific War against the Empire of Japan. She was crit…
World War II: HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war.
Thomas Hodge Allen is an American author and former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Maine's 1st congressional district …
Tom Allen, American lawyer and politician
The Italian Resistance, or simply La Resistenza, consisted of all the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of…
Italian resistance movement: In Turin, despite the harsh repressive measures adopted by Nazi-fascists, a great pre-insur
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: U
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: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses t
Nazi Germany conducted medical experiments on prisoners in its concentration camps mainly between 1942 and 1945. There were 15,754 documented victims, of various nationalities and …
Twenty Jewish children used in medical experiments at Neuengamme are killed in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm scho
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: Soviet forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters
Bernard Arcand was a French-Canadian anthropologist, author and communicator. He was for several decades a professor of the anthropology department of Laval University.
Bernard Arcand, Canadian anthropologist and author (died 2009)
Michael Brandon is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Dempsey on the British drama series Dempsey and Makepeace (1985–86) and narrating the American dub of the ch…
Michael Brandon, American actor and director
Olga Karlatos is a retired Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer, known primarily for performing in Italian horror cinema.
Olga Karlatos, Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer
Thein Sein is a Burmese politician and retired army general who served as the eighth president of Myanmar from 2011 to 2016. He previously served as 11th prime minister from 2007 t…
Thein Sein, Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma
Jasenovac was a concentration and extermination camp established in the village of the same name by the authorities of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia…
World War II: Prisoners at the Jasenovac concentration camp revolt
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May.…
World War II: Sachsenhausen concentration camp is liberated by soldiers of the Red Army and Polish First Army
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's designated successor, Hermann Göring, sends him a telegram asking permission to take leader
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: United States and Soviet reconnaissance troops meet in Torgau and Strehla along the River Elbe, cutting th
Liberation Day, also known as the Anniversary of Italy's Liberation, Anniversary of the Resistance, or simply 25 April, is a national holiday in Italy that commemorates the liberat…
World War II: Liberation Day (Italy): The National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy calls for a general uprising
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)