Explore 5072 historical events from 1940–1949.
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was a German Nazi politician and military leader. He was the 4th Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel from 1929 to 1945. He was a leading member of the Nazi …
World War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody
Catherine Lara is a French violinist, composer, singer, and author. Over a career spanning more than five decades, she has established herself as an icon in French pop/rock music a…
Catherine Lara, French singer-songwriter and violinist
Thomasina Winifred Montgomery, professionally known as Tammi Terrell, was an American singer-songwriter, widely known as a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably …
Tammi Terrell, American soul singer-songwriter (died 1970)
Sir John Michael Brady is an emeritus professor of oncological imaging at the University of Oxford. He has been a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford, since 1985 and was elected a fore…
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Annie Dillard is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and nonfiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as…
Annie Dillard, American novelist, essayist, and poet
The Flensburg Government, also known as the Flensburg Cabinet, the Dönitz Government, or the Schwerin von Krosigk Cabinet, was the rump government of Nazi Germany during a period o…
World War II: Germany's Flensburg Government under Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British for
Combat is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed or unarmed. Combat is resorted to either as a method…
First combat mission of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator heavy bomber
The Allied Control Council (ACC) or Allied Control Authority, also referred to as the Four Powers, was the governing body of the Allied occupation zones in Germany (1945–1949/1991)…
The Allied Control Council, the military occupation governing body of Germany, formally takes power
The Second Australian Imperial Force was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Ge…
Australian Imperial Forces land in Brunei Bay to liberate Brunei
The Philippine Army is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. As of 2025, it had an estimated strength of…
World War II: Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army liberate the captured in Ilocos Sur and start the Batt
Margarita Mimi Baez Fariña was an American singer-songwriter and activist, the youngest of three daughters of mother Joan Chandos Bridge and Mexican-American physicist Albert Baez.…
Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (died 2001)
Michael John Smith, was an American engineer and astronaut. He served as the pilot of the Space Shuttle Challenger when it was destroyed during the STS-51-L mission, breaking up 73…
Michael J
Rita Coolidge is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on Billboard magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two…
Rita Coolidge, American singer-songwriter
Alexander Minto Hughes, better known as Judge Dread, was an English reggae and ska musician. He was the first white recording artist to have a reggae hit in Jamaica, and the BBC ha…
Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (died 1998)
William Brooke Joyce, nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born Nazi propaganda broadcaster during the Second World War. After moving from New York to Ireland and subsequently t…
William Joyce ("Lord Haw-Haw") is charged with treason for his pro-German propaganda broadcasting during World War II
The 1945 El Teniente mining accident, known locally as the Smoke Tragedy, is the largest mining accident in metal extraction in the history of Chile and, as of 2005, worldwide. It …
The Smoke Tragedy left 355 workers dead in the underground copper mine of El Teniente, Chile
The Battle of Okinawa , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by the United States Army and United States Marine Corps …
World War II: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the organized resistance of Imperial Japanese Army forces collapses in the
The Battle of Okinawa , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by the United States Army and United States Marine Corps …
World War II: The Battle of Okinawa comes to an end with an American flag-raising ceremony
Victory Day parades are military parades that are held on 9 May in some post-Soviet nations, primarily Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine. They are held to honor the tradition…
The first Victory Day Parade takes place on Red Square in Moscow, Soviet Union, symbolizing the victory of the Soviet Un
Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan social activist, human rights advocate, and a former actress. She gained international prominence in the 1970s through her marriage to Mick Jagger, t…
Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist
Robert Machray Ward was an American stage and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing the recurring role of fire marshal Dobbins in the American sitcom television s…
Robert Machray, American actor (died 2025)
Kurt Loder is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at Rolling Stone, during a tenure that Reason later c…
Kurt Loder, American journalist, author, and critic
The Charter of the United Nations, also referred to as the UN Charter, is the foundational treaty of the United Nations. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overa…
The United Nations Charter is signed by 50 Allied nations in San Francisco, California
The Provisional Government of National Unity was a provisional government formed by the decree of the State National Council on 28 June 1945 as a result of reshuffling the Soviet-b…
Poland's Soviet-allied Provisional Government of National Unity is formed over a month after V-E Day