1944
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
Decades: 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
Years: 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 - 1944 - 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
Events
- In Sweden, the law of 1864 that criminalizes homosexuality is abolished.
- Swedish author of children's books Astrid Lindgren publishes her first book Pippi Longstocking
- In Sweden, Erik Wallenberg and Ruben Rausing invent a way to package milk in paper and start the company Tetra Pak.
- January 4 - World War II: The Battle of Monte Cassino begins
- January 5 - The London Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper.
- January 20 - World War II: The Royal Air Force drops 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin.
- January 22 - World War II: Allies begin the assault on Anzio, Italy
- January 27 - World War II: The two year Siege of Leningrad is lifted
- January 30 - World War II:United States troops invade Majuro, Marshall Islands
- January 31 - World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
- June 5 - Rome falls to the Allies, becoming the first Axis capital to fall.
- June 6 - D-Day; Allied invasion of Normandy begins.
- June 9 - Stalin launches an offensive against Finland with the intent of defeating Finland before pushing for Berlin.
- June 17 - Iceland declares full independence from Denmark.
- July 20 - Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt. See Claus von Stauffenberg
- July - Finland beats off the Soviet attack, but loses territory. (End of Continuation War)
- September 17 - Start of Operation Market Garden
- October 5 - Canadian Air Force pilots shoot down the first German Jet fighter over France
- October 20 - Belgrade is liberated by Yugoslav Partisans and the Red Army
- November 7- Franklin D. Roosevelt defeats Thomas E. Dewey in the U.S. presidential election
- December 26 -
- The play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams was first publicly performed.
- American troops repulse German forces at Bastogne
- December 30 - King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving his throne vacant
- December 31 - World War II: Hungary declares war on Germany
Art, Culture & Fashion
- 1944 in literature
- An American Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal
- Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
- 1944 in music
- January 18 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for the first time hosts a jazz concert; the performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
Births
- January 6 - Bonnie Franklin, actress
- January 16 - Jim Stafford, singer
- January 23 - Rutger Hauer, actor
- February 10 - Vernor Vinge (science fiction novelist)
- January 12 - Joe Frazier, boxing champion
- January 23 - Rutger Hauer, actor
- January 24 - Neil Diamond, singer
- January 26 - Angela Davis, feminist and activist
- February 11 -
- Bert Greene golfer.
- Buddhadev Dasgupta, film director.
- Michael G Oxley, American politician.
- April 7 - Gerhard Schroeder, German Bundeskanzler (chancellor) since 1998
- May 14 - George Lucas, film director and producer
- May 20 - Joe Cocker, British singer
- May 20 - Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer
- July 21 - Paul Wellstone, U.S. Senator: A Democrat from Minnesota
- August 8 - Peter Weir, film director
- October 9 - John Entwistle, bassist, The Who
- December 17 - Jack L. Chalker science fiction novelist
- Rem Koolhaas, Dutch architect
Deaths
- February 11 - Carl Meinhof, German linguist
- February 11 - Ivan Sollertinski, friend of Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich.
- July 31 - Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French pilot and writer
- August 8 - Chaim Soutine, painter
- November 2 - Thomas Midgley, chemist and inventor
- Heath Robinson, British cartoonist and illustrator
- Physics - Isidor Isaac Rabi
- Chemistry - Otto Hahn
- Medicine - Joseph Erlanger, Herbert Spencer Gasser
- Literature - Johannes Vilhelm Jensen
- Peace - International Committee of the Red Cross.