WORLD HISTORY · 1946 日本語
Events of 1946Showa 21 (Japan) · Year of the Dog
What happened in 1946?
In 1946, Emperor Showa (Hirohito) renounced his divinity, and Japan held its first postwar general election with both men and women voting. In October, Japan's postwar constitution was enacted, and abroad Churchill gave his "Iron Curtain" speech.
- Emperor renounces divine statusAsia
- First UN General Assembly opens in LondonEurope
- Occupation authorities hand draft constitution to JapanAsia
- Churchill delivers "Iron Curtain" speechNorth America
- Japan holds first postwar election with women votingAsia
- Philippines gains independence from United StatesAsia
- Nuremberg trials concludeEurope
- Constitution of Japan enactedAsia
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
1946 at a glance
| Japanese era | Showa 21 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Dog |
| Age of people born in 1946 | Turn 80 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 1945 (Showa 20) ／ 1947 (Showa 22) |
| Events | 120 |
| AP World History | Unit 8 (Cold War and Decolonization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 8 |
Famous people born in 1946
Our birthday pages list 845 people born in 1946. Here are some of them.
- Donald TrumpBorn June 14 · turns 80 this year · American businessman, television personality, and politician who serves as both…
- Dolly PartonBorn January 19 · turns 80 this year · Country music singer-songwriter and actress known for Jolene, 9 to 5, and I Wil…
- Diane KeatonBorn January 5 · turns 80 this year · American actress and director who won an Academy Award for Annie Hall and appea…
- Sylvester StalloneBorn July 6 · turns 80 this year · American actor, writer, and director famous for creating and starring in the Ro…
- Steven SpielbergBorn December 18 · turns 80 this year · American filmmaker behind Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, and Savi…
- Freddie MercuryBorn September 5 · turns 80 this year · Lead singer and songwriter of the British rock band Queen, famous for "Bohemian…
- George W. BushBorn July 6 · turns 80 this year · 43rd president of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009, and earlier gov…
- CherBorn May 20 · turns 80 this year · American singer and actress whose hits span six decades, from "I Got You Babe"…
- Bill ClintonBorn August 19 · turns 80 this year · American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from…
- David LynchBorn January 20 · turns 80 this year · American filmmaker and artist known for dreamlike works such as Blue Velvet, Mu…
- Alan RickmanBorn February 21 · turns 80 this year · British actor known for playing Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Severus Snape in th…
- Liza MinnelliBorn March 12 · turns 80 this year · American singer and actress who won an Oscar for Cabaret and is one of the few…
Show 28 more
- Al GreenBorn April 13 · turns 80 this year · American soul singer famous for Let's Stay Together who later became a pastor a…
- Candice BergenBorn May 9 · turns 80 this year · American actress who won five Emmy Awards playing TV news anchor Murphy Brown.
- Reggie JacksonBorn May 18 · turns 80 this year · American Hall of Fame baseball slugger nicknamed "Mr. October" for his powerful…
- Linda RonstadtBorn July 15 · turns 80 this year · American singer whose versatile voice produced hits like "You're No Good" and "…
- Tommy Lee JonesBorn September 15 · turns 80 this year · American actor who won an Academy Award for The Fugitive and starred in Men in…
- Pat SajakBorn October 26 · turns 80 this year · American television host who led the game show Wheel of Fortune for 41 years al…
- Eugene LevyBorn December 17 · turns 80 this year · Canadian comic actor and writer known for SCTV, the American Pie films, and Sch…
- Jimmy BuffettBorn December 25 · turns 80 this year · American singer-songwriter and entrepreneur known for the laid-back island hit…
- Naoto KanBorn October 10 · turns 80 this year
- Tim CurryBorn April 19 · turns 80 this year
- Ted BundyBorn November 24 · turns 80 this year
- Susan SarandonBorn October 4 · turns 80 this year
- Sally FieldBorn November 6 · turns 80 this year
- Claude SteeleBorn January 1 · turns 80 this year
- RivellinoBorn January 1 · turns 80 this year
- John Paul JonesBorn January 3 · turns 80 this year
- Michalis KritikopoulosBorn January 3 · turns 80 this year
- Arthur ConleyBorn January 4 · turns 80 this year
- Syd BarrettBorn January 6 · turns 80 this year
- Jann WennerBorn January 7 · turns 80 this year
- Michele ElliottBorn January 7 · turns 80 this year
- Miguel Ángel Félix GallardoBorn January 8 · turns 80 this year
- Robby KriegerBorn January 8 · turns 80 this year
- Mogens LykketoftBorn January 9 · turns 80 this year
- Mohammad Ishaq KhanBorn January 9 · turns 80 this year
- John PiperBorn January 11 · turns 80 this year
- Naomi JuddBorn January 11 · turns 80 this year
- Tony KayeBorn January 11 · turns 80 this year
Events of 1946 (timeline · 120)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf suffers a concussion during a freak racing accident; he dies from the injury the following day. The annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.
The first day of a three-day "disastrous" tornado outbreak across the south-central United States leaves 41 people dead and at least 412 others injured.
Andrei Zhdanov, Chairman of the Finnish Allied Commission, submits to the Finnish War Criminal Court an interrogation report by General Erich Buschenhagen, a German prisoner of war, on the contacts between Finnish and German military personnel before the Continuation War and a copy of Hitler's Barbarossa plan.
The first General Assembly of the United Nations assembles in the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster. Fifty-one nations are represented.
The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People's Republic of Albania with himself as head of state.
General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
Creation of the Central Intelligence Group, forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.
In Iran, Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people's Republic of Mahabad at Chahar Cheragh Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad; he becomes the new president and Haji Baba Sheikh becomes the prime minister.
The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1 relating to Military Staff Committee is adopted.
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam introduces the đồng to replace the French Indochinese piastre at par.
Cold War: Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling that of the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
The Parliament of Hungary abolishes the monarchy after nine centuries, and proclaims the Hungarian Republic.
The People's Republic of Korea is dissolved in the North and replaced by the communist-controlled Provisional People's Committee of North Korea.
The New Testament of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first significant challenge to the Authorized King James Version, is published.
African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the civil rights movement and partially inspires Orson Welles' film Touch of Evil.
World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.
ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour, from where the action spreads throughout the Provinces of British India, involving 78 ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors
The "Long Telegram", proposing how the United States should deal with the Soviet Union, arrives from the US embassy in Moscow.
Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, is elected to his first term as President of Argentina.
The sixth President of Finland, Gustaf Mannerheim, submits his resignation for health reasons.
Cold War: Winston Churchill delivers his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College, Missouri.
Bolton Wanderers stadium disaster at Burnden Park, Bolton, England, kills 33 and injures hundreds more.
Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.
French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion become overseas départements of France.
The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933.
A British Cabinet Mission arrives in India to discuss and plan for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership.
Cold War: The United States Department of State releases the Acheson–Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
The Malayan Union is established. Protests from locals led to the establishment of the Federation of Malaya two years later.
The 8.6 Mw Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly in Hilo, Hawaii.
Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
Greek judge and archeologist Panagiotis Poulitsas is appointed Prime Minister of Greece in the midst of the Greek Civil War.
A Fleet Air Arm Vickers Wellington crashes into a residential area in Rabat, Malta during a training exercise, killing all four crew members and 16 civilians on the ground.
The Soviet Union annexes East Prussia as the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.
Jackie Robinson makes his regular season debut for the Montreal Royals of the International League, to make them the first integrated modern professional baseball team.
The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
The U.S. Weather Bureau records that a tornado which struck Timber Lake, South Dakota was 4 miles (6.4 km), among the widest tornadoes on record.
Manuel Roxas is elected the last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convenes and indicts former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders for war crimes.
In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Five people are killed in the riot.
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Estonian schoolgirls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial which preceded the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn.
First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
Physicist Louis Slotin is fatally irradiated in a criticality incident during an experiment with the demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The start of a two-day tornado outbreak across the Central United States that spawned at least 15 significant tornadoes.
The Emirate of Transjordan becomes independent from the United Kingdom as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan after ratifying the Treaty of London and making their Amir, Abdullah I, their King.
Ion Antonescu, "Conducator" ("Leader") of Romania during World War II, is executed.
Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King Umberto II of Italy is exiled.
The United Kingdom's BBC returns to broadcasting its television service, which has been off air for seven years because of World War II.
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, a Socialist, calls for a Direct Action Day against the Portuguese in Goa.
The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake strikes Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
In the Canadian Citizenship Act, the Parliament of Canada establishes the definition of Canadian citizenship.
After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
Howard Hughes nearly dies when his XF-11 reconnaissance aircraft prototype crashes in a Beverly Hills neighborhood.
The State of North Borneo, now Sabah, Malaysia, is annexed by the United Kingdom.
King David Hotel bombing: A Zionist underground organisation, the Irgun, bombs the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, site of the civil administration and military headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, resulting in 91 deaths.
Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.
Santa Claus Land, the world's first themed amusement park, opens in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States.
An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
The government of the Soviet Union presented a note to its Turkish counterparts which refuted the latter's sovereignty over the Turkish Straits, thus beginning the Turkish Straits crisis.
First flight of the nuclear capable Convair B-36, heaviest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft at the time.
Mass riots in Kolkata begin; more than 4,000 people would be killed in 72 hours.
Ordinance No. 46 of the British Military Government constitutes the German Länder (states) of Hanover and Schleswig-Holstein.
The Workers' Party of North Korea, predecessor of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, is founded at a congress held in Pyongyang, North Korea.
The Interim Government of India is formed, headed by Jawaharlal Nehru as vice president with the powers of a Prime Minister.
United States Secretary of State James F. Byrnes announces that the U.S. will follow a policy of economic reconstruction in postwar Germany.
The Council of Europe is founded following a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich.
The first Cannes Film Festival is held, having been delayed for seven years due to World War II.
Six days after a referendum, King Christian X of Denmark annuls the declaration of independence of the Faroe Islands.
The top-secret Clifford-Elsey Report on the Soviet Union is delivered to President Truman.
An American Overseas Airlines Douglas DC-4 crashes near Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, killing 39.
Nuremberg trials: Ten defendants found guilty by the International Military Tribunal are executed by hanging.
Over twenty-two hundred engineers and technicians from eastern Germany are forced to relocate to the Soviet Union, along with their families and equipment.
A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake in the Peruvian Andes mountains kills at least 1,400 people.
Indonesian National Revolution: 96 Indonesian including I Gusti Ngurah Rai were killed during the Battle of Margarana with Dutch forces.
A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia kills 119 people, the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.
The Constituent Assembly of India meets for the first time to write the Constitution of India.
The subsequent Nuremberg trials begin with the Doctors' Trial, prosecuting physicians and officers alleged to be involved in Nazi human experimentation and mass murder under the guise of euthanasia.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 13 relating to acceptance of Siam (now Thailand) to the United Nations is adopted.
An earthquake in Nankaidō, Japan causes a tsunami which kills at least one thousand people and destroys 36,000 homes.
It's a Wonderful Life premieres at the Globe Theatre in New York to mixed reviews.
An 8.1 Mw earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kills over 1,300 people and destroys over 38,000 homes.
The first European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union's F-1 nuclear reactor.
President Harry S. Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 1946 in the Japanese calendar?
1946 was Showa 21 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1946?
1946 is the Year of the Dog.
How old is someone born in 1946?
They turn 80 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 1946?
In 1946, Emperor Showa (Hirohito) renounced his divinity, and Japan held its first postwar general election with both men and women voting. In October, Japan's postwar constitution was enacted, and abroad Churchill gave his "Iron Curtain" speech.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.