1946

Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s

Years: 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 - 1946 - 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951

Events:

January 4 - In Britain, Theodore Schurch becames the last person to be executed for offences committed under the Treachery Act of 1940
January 10 - First meeting of the United Nations
January 11 - Enver Hoxha declares the people's republic of Albania with himself as dictator.
January 17 - The UN Security Council holds its first session
January 20 - Charles De Gaulle resigns from the post of French president
January 25 - The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor
January 28 - Bluenose founders on a Haitian reef
January 31 - Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
February 1 - Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.
February 2 - Kingdom of Hungary becomes a republic.
February 14 - The Bank of England is nationalized.
February 14 - ENIAC (for "Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer"), the first general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania
February 15 - Canada indicts 22 communist agents.
February 24 - Juan Peron is elected a president of Argentina
March 2 - British troops retreat from Iran – Soviet troops do not.
March 2 - Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
March 5 - In his speech in Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill talks about Iron Curtain.
March 6 - Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.
March 15 - Clement Attlee promises independence to India as soon as they can agree on constitution
March 19 - Soviet Union and Switzerland reform diplomatic relations.
March 19 - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France
April 1 - 14-meter high tsunami strikes Hilo, Hawaii - 173 dead, thousands injured.
April 1 - Singapore becomes a Crown colony
April 3 - Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed outside Manila in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
April 10 - In Japan, women vote for the first time in parliamentarian elections
April 18 - USA recognizes Josip Broz Tito's government
April 18 - Last meeting of League of Nations – its transfers its mission to United Nations.
April 29 - War crimes trial begins in Tokyo – accused include Hideki Tojo, Shegenori Togo and Hiroshi Oshima.
May 7 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with about 20 employees.
May 9 - King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Humbert II.
May 10 - Nehru elected to lead Indian Congress Party
May 20 - In Britain, the House of Commons decides to nationalize mines.
May 22 - Kingdom of Transjordan founded.
May 25 - The parliament of Transjordan makes emir Abdullah their king.
May 28 - K. Satchidanandan Malayalam poet
May 31 - Monarchism wins in Greek elections.
June 2 - Italy becomes a republic, after a plebiscite. Women vote for the first time.
June 9 - In Thailand, king Rama IX accedes the throne.
June 13 - Humbert II of Italy leaves the country – Alcide de Gasperi becomes head of state.
July 4 - After over 400 years, the Philippines achieves full independence.
July 5 - The bikini is introduced.
July 7 - Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini becomes the first American saint to be canonized.
July 21 - Bomb of Irgun Zvai Leumi explodes in Jerusalem.
August 19 - Violence between Muslims and Hindus in Calcutta – 3000 dead.
September 4 - Street violence between Muslims and Hindus in Bombay.
September 8 - Bulgaria declared a People's Republic after a referendum – King Simeon II leaves.
October 23 - United Nations' first meeting in Long Island.
November 8 - Vietnamese riot in Haiphong and clash with French troops. French cruiser Suffren opens fire. 6000 Vietnamese killed.
November 12 - Truce between Indonesian nationalist troops and Dutch army in Indonesia.
November 15 - Netherlands recognized Republic of Indonesia.
November 19 - Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden joins the United Nations
December 11 - UNICEF founded.
December 24 - France's Fourth Republic founded
December 26 - Flamingo Hotel opens in Las Vegas.
December 31 - President Harry Truman officially proclaims an end of hostilities in World War II.

Phantom rockets over Sweden
The 20mm M61 Vulcan gatling gun is invented
Devil's Island penal colony closes permanently
Female suffrage in Belgium, Romania, Yugoslavia, Argentina and Canadian province of Quebec. First female police officers in Korea and Japan.
Civil war erupts in China between Kuomintang and communists.
First Tupperware sold in department and hardware stores

Art, Culture & Fashion

1946 in film
- The Best Years of Our Lives
- Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart
- Henry V
- The Razor's Edge
- Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious starring Cary Grant
- The Big Sleep starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
1946 in literature
- The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill
- Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
- Animal Farm by George Orwell – becomes book of the year in USA
- All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
1946 in music
1946 in sports
1946 in television
- February 4 – RCA demonstrates all-electronic color television system.
- February 18 - The first Washington-New York telecast through AT&T coaxial cable is termed success by engineers and viewers.
- April 22 - CBS color television program is successfully transmitted over a 450-mile coaxial cable link from New York to Washington
- May 9 - The first variety show premieres, Hour Glass, on NBC.
- June 7 - The BBC begins broadcasting again and reshows the Mickey Mouse cartoon, that had been interrupted seven years earlier at the start of the World War II.
- June 19 - The first televised heavyweight title fight between Joe Louis and Billy Conn is broadcast from Yankee Stadium. The fight was seen by 141,000 people, the largest television audience to see a fight.
- October 2 - The first TV network soap opera, Faraway Hill, airs on the DuMont network.
- December 24 - The first church service is telecast, Grace Episcopal Church in New York, on WABD.
- ToKyo Tushin Kogyo founded, which would later become Sony
- Zoomar introduces the first professional zoom lens

Science:

Benjamin Spock – Baby and child care

Births:

January 3 - John Paul Jones, bassist from Led Zeppelin
January 5 - Diane Keaton, actress
January 6 - Syd Barrett, guitarist and singer
January 8 - Robby Krieger, musician ("The Doors")
January 11 - Naomi Judd, country music singer
January 12 - George Duke, musician
January 16 - Kabir Bedi, actor
January 16 - Ronnie Milsap, singer
January 16 - Katia Ricciarelli, opera singer
January 19 - Dolly Parton, singer, actress
January 20 - David Lynch, film director
January 24 - Michael Ontkean, actor
January 26 - Gene Siskel, film critic (+ 1999)
January 31 - Terry Kath, musician (+ 1978)
February 11 - M C Walker, CEO of Iceland Frozen Foods.
February 11 - Timothy Chambers, pediatrician.
February 14 - Gregory Hines, dancer, actor
February 20 - Jerome Geils of the J Geils band
February 20 - Brenda Blethyn, actress
February 21 - Tyne Daly, actress
February 21 - Alan Rickman, actor
February 24 - Barry Bostwick, actor
February 25 - Franz Xaver Kroetz, dramatist
March 6 - David Gilmour, musican ("Pink Floyd")
March 7 - Peter Wolf, musician ("J Geils Band")
March 12 - Lisa Minelli
March 22 - André Heller, artist
April 30 - Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, Swedish monarch (1973- )
May 7 - Thelma Houston, singer
May 9 - Candice Bergen, actress
May 10 - Donovan Leitch, musician
May 10 - Dave Mason, musician ("Traffic")
May 11 - Robert Jarvik, physicist, inventor
May 17 - Udo Lindenberg, musician
May 18 - Reggie Jackson, Baseball Hall of Famer
May 19 - André the Giant, wrestler (+ 1993)
May 20 - Cher, American singer
May 22 - George Best, footballer
May 23 - David Graham, golf champion
May 26 - Mick Ronson, guitarist (+ 1993)
June 14 - Harold Frederick Shipman, British serial killer
July 22 - Mireille Mathieu, French singer
August 3 - Jack Straw, British politician
August 19 - Bill Clinton, American president (1993-2000)
September 5 - Freddie Mercury, British singer
September 7 - Francisco Varela, biologist
September 15 - Oliver Stone, American film director
October 1 - Tim O'Brien, American author
November 5 - Herman Brood, Dutch rock 'n' roll artist
November 5 - Gram Parsons, country music/rock musician
November 24 - Ted Bundy, American serial killer

Deaths:

January 29 - Harry Hopkins, politician
February 5 - George Arliss, actor
March 23 - Gilbert N. Lewis, physical chemist.
March 24 - Alexander Alekhine, chess champion
April 1 - Noah Beery, actor
April 22 - Harlan F. Stone, Chief Justice of the United States
May 19 - Booth Tarkington, American novelist
June 1 - Ion Antonescu
June 10 - Jack Johnson, African-American boxer
July 8 - Orrick Glenday Johns, poet & playwright
August 13- H.G. Wells, science fiction writer
October 15 - Hermann Göring, prominent Nazi leader, marshall of the Third Reich, head of the Airforce (suicide)
October 16 - Artur Seuss-Inquart, Austrian Nazi leader, governor of The Netherlands during the German occupation (1940-1945) (executed)
Arlene Feynman, wife of Richard Feynman
August - Alfred Stock German chemist

Nobel Prizes