Explore 5072 historical events from 1940–1949.
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
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
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
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)
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
Mildred Elizabeth Gillars was an American broadcaster employed by Nazi Germany to disseminate Axis propaganda during World War II. Following her capture in post-war Berlin, Gillars…
World War II: Axis Sally delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops
The Prague offensive was the last major military operation of World War II in Europe. The offensive was fought on the Eastern Front from 6 May to 11 May 1945. Fought concurrently w…
World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, begins
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…
End of the Prague uprising, celebrated now as a national holiday in the Czech Republic
The Halifax VE-Day riots, 7–8 May 1945, in Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, began as a celebration of the World War II victory in Europe. This rapidly evolved into a rampage by …
The Halifax riot starts when thousands of civilians and servicemen rampage through Halifax, Nova Scotia
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
Sylvain Simard is a politician and academic based in the Canadian province of Quebec. He represented Richelieu in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2012, and was a cabin…
Sylvain Simard, Canadian academic and politician
Martin Harcourt Chivers was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. He began his career with his hometown club Southampton where he had a successful six years a…
Martin Chivers, English footballer and manager (died 2026)
Terence Joseph Willesee is an Australian retired journalist and television and radio presenter.
Terry Willesee, Australian journalist and television host
Hugh Colin Hopper was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands.
Hugh Hopper, English bass guitarist (died 2009)
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: the Channel Islands are liberated from Nazi occupation
The Battle of Poljana took place outside of Poljana, near the town of Prevalje in Yugoslavia between the Yugoslav Army and a column of 30,000 retreating Axis soldiers, which consis…
World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia
The Levant Crisis, also known as the Damascus Crisis, the Syrian Crisis, or the Levant Confrontation, was a military confrontation that took place between British and French forces…
Beginning of the Levant Crisis between Britain and France in Syria
Syrians are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultu…
Syrian demonstrators in Damascus are fired upon by French troops injuring twelve, leading to the Levant Crisis