Year by year · 20th century

1946

1946 in world history: 23 events, 14 births, 32 deaths, 1 work, 19 states founded and 30 that came to an end. 710 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 10 January

    First UN General Assembly meets in London

    Delegates from 51 nations gathered at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, for the first session of the United Nations General Assembly. The UN later moved its headquarters to New York.

    United NationsNew YorkLondon

  2. 11 January

    Albania proclaimed a People's Republic

    Albania's assembly abolished the monarchy and declared a People's Republic under communist leader Enver Hoxha. His regime became one of the most isolated and repressive in Europe.

  3. 17 January

    UN Security Council meets for the first time

    The United Nations Security Council held its first session at Church House, Westminster. Its five permanent members, each with a veto, were the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and China.

    United NationsUnited StatesSoviet Union

  4. 1 February

    Trygve Lie becomes the first UN Secretary-General

    The General Assembly appointed Norway's foreign minister Trygve Lie as the first Secretary-General of the United Nations. He served until 1952, resigning after Soviet opposition over the Korean War.

    United NationsNorway

  5. 14 February

    ENIAC is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania

    The US Army publicly revealed ENIAC, the first programmable general-purpose electronic computer. With nearly 18,000 vacuum tubes, it could perform 5,000 additions a second.

  6. 24 February

    Juan Perón elected President of Argentina

    The former labour minister won the presidency with strong support from trade unions. With his wife Eva, he built the populist Peronist movement that still shapes Argentine politics.

    Argentina

  7. 5 March

    Churchill warns of an 'iron curtain' across Europe

    Speaking at Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill declared that an iron curtain had descended across the continent from the Baltic to the Adriatic. The speech popularised the phrase and the Cold War divide.

  8. 17 April

    Last French troops leave Syria

    The withdrawal of the final French forces completed Syria's independence after a quarter-century of mandate rule. The day is still marked in Syria as Evacuation Day.

  9. 4 July

    The Philippines gains independence from the United States

    The Philippines became a sovereign republic after nearly half a century of American rule, as promised by the 1934 Tydings-McDuffie Act. For decades 4 July was celebrated as its Independence Day.

    United StatesPhilippines

  10. 5 July

    Louis Réard unveils the bikini at a Paris swimming pool

    Engineer and designer Louis Réard presented his two-piece swimsuit at the Piscine Molitor, modelled by dancer Micheline Bernardini. He named it after Bikini Atoll, where atomic tests had just begun.

    Paris

  11. 16 October

    Ten Nazi leaders are hanged at Nuremberg

    Ten men sentenced by the International Military Tribunal, including Ribbentrop, Keitel and Streicher, were hanged in Nuremberg prison's gymnasium. Göring had taken poison the night before.

    Nuremberg

  12. 31 December

    Truman proclaims the end of hostilities in the Second World War

    President Truman formally proclaimed the cessation of hostilities, more than a year after Japan's surrender. The legal state of war with Germany and Japan ended later, with peace treaties.

    Second World War

  13. Event

    Monnet Plan

    The Monnet Plan was France's first plan for reconstruction and modernisation, drawn up by Jean Monnet's planning commission and adopted in 1946.

  14. Revolution

    East Sumatra revolution

    The East Sumatra revolution was an uprising in March 1946 in which armed youth groups and leftist militias attacked the Malay and Simalungun aristocracies of eastern Sumatra.

  15. Treaty

    Washington Agreement (1946)

    The Washington Agreement of May 1946 settled Allied claims against Switzerland arising from its wartime dealings with Nazi Germany.

ProfileState655 states with a known seat in 1946Open the atlas at 1946 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Born in 1946 14

Died in 1946 32

Show all 32

Works 1

States founded 19

States that came to an end 30

Great speeches

Churchill: An Iron Curtain Has DescendedWinston Churchill

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1946. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1946
MLA
“1946.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1946. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1946.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1946.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1946’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1946 (Accessed: ).