October 1946
Encyclopedia
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- October - November
- December
The following events occurred in October
1946:
January 1946
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in January 1946.-January 1, 1946 :...
- February
February 1946
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in February 1946.-February 1, 1946 :...
- March
March 1946
January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in March, 1946.-March 1, 1946 :...
- April
April 1946
January – February – March - April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in April, 1946:-April 1, 1946 :...
– May
May 1946
January – February – March - April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in May, 1946:-May 1, 1946 :...
- June
June 1946
January - February - March - April – May - June - July - August - September - October - November - DecemberThe following events occurred in June, 1946:-June 1, 1946 :...
- July
July 1946
January - February - March - April – May - June - July - August - September - October - November - DecemberThe following events occurred in July 1946:-July 1, 1946 :...
- August
August 1946
January - February - March - April – May - June - July - August - September - October - November - DecemberThe following events occurred in August 1946:-August 1, 1946 :...
- September
September 1946
January - February - March - April – May - June - July - August - September - October - November - DecemberThe following events occurred in September 1946:-September 1, 1946 :...
- October - November
November 1946
January - February - March - April – May - June - July - August - September - November - November - DecemberThe following events occurred in November 1946:-November 1, 1946 :...
- December
December 1946
January - February - March - April – May - June - July - August - September - October - November — DecemberThe following events occurred in December 1946:-December 1, 1946 :...
The following events occurred in October
October
October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the...
1946:
October 1, 1946 (Tuesday)
- MensaMensa InternationalMensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
, the high IQ society, was founded in OxfordOxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, by Roland Berrill and Lionel Ware. According to the website for the American organization, "the date is now the recognized founding date for the organization", based on Berrill when the first piece of Mensa literature was printed. - The day after the verdicts were rendered in the Nuremberg TrialsNuremberg TrialsThe Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
, sentences were pronounced. Twelve of Nazi Germany's most murderous leaders were given slightly two weeks more to live, with hangings scheduled for October 15. - Kim Il Sung University was founded near PyongyangPyongyangPyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
. - Communist China's first motion picture company, the Northeast Film Studio (renamed in 1955 as the Changchun Film Studio and in 2000 as the Changchun Film Group CorporationChangchun Film Group CorporationChangchun Film Group Corporation is a Chinese film production company in Changchun, Jilin province, China. It is one of the studios transitioned from the 1940s, and has been considered one of the cornerstones of the Chinese film industry...
was established at XingshanXingshanXingshan may refer to the following locations in China:*Xingshan County , of Yichang, Hubei*Xingshan District , Hegang, Heilongjiang*Xingshan, Majiang County , town in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou...
. - The Alaskan Air CommandAlaskan Air CommandAlaskan Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force Major Command. Established in 1945 under the United States Army Air Forces, its mission was to organize and administer the air defense system of Alaska, exercise direct control of all active measures, and coordinate all passive means of...
, formerly the Eleventh U.S. Air Force was permanently headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force BaseElmendorf Air Force BaseJoint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a United States military facility adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the former United States Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.-Overview:The...
.
October 2, 1946 (Wednesday)
- Faraway HillFaraway HillFaraway Hill is the first soap opera broadcast on an American television network, running on the DuMont Television Network.-Broadcast history:...
, the first soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
ever shown on a TV network, debuted at 9:00 pm on the DuMont Television NetworkDuMont Television NetworkThe DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
(limited to New York and Washington), and ran for 12 weeks. - Born: Ron Griffiths, English singer (BadfingerBadfingerBadfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
) at SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
; and Ping ChongPing ChongPing Chong is an American contemporary theater director, choreographer, video and installation artist. He was born in Toronto and raised in the Chinatown section of New York City...
, Canadian born American playwright, in TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
October 3, 1946 (Thursday)
- In the worst civilian airplane crash up that time, all 39 people on board a Douglas DC-4Douglas DC-4The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
airliner were killed when the plane crashed into the side of a hillside in Canada. The American Overseas AirlinesAmerican Overseas AirlinesAmerican Overseas Airlines was an airline that operated between the United States and Europe between 1945 and 1950. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-Early history:...
flight from New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, with stops in between, took off from Stephenville, Newfoundland and LabradorStephenville, Newfoundland and LabradorStephenville is a Canadian town in Newfoundland and Labrador on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland....
at 3:23 p.m., and crashed ten minutes later. - The St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 8-4 to win the second game of a best-of-3 series the first National League playoffs ever played, and advanced to the 1946 World Series1946 World Series-Game 1:Sunday, October 6, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, MissouriThe Red Sox won Game 1 when Rudy York hit a home run into the left field bleachers.-Game 2:Monday, October 7, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St...
to face the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
. Both teams had finished with 96-58 records at the end of the regular season.
October 4, 1946 (Friday)
- On the eve of the Jewish Yom KippurYom KippurYom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
holiday, and a month before midterm elections, U.S. President Harry S. TrumanHarry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
announced that he had cabled British Prime Minister Clement AttleeClement AttleeClement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
to say that he endorsed immediate immigration of over 100,000 Jewish refugees into PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. Truman's rationale was that the British-mediated conference between Arabs and Jews had been adjourned until December, and that "In view of the fact that winter will come before the conference can be resumed, I believe and urge that substantial immigration into Palestine cannot await a solution." Attlee was furious at Truman's sudden public statement, and forecast that it would only increase violence in the region, while leaders of Arab nations felt that they had been betrayed, and Truman's opponents criticized the decision as a clumsy bid for Jewish voters. "It may well have been Truman's desperate political straits that led him to such a blatantly political gambit," observed one later historian. - The Nag Hammadi libraryNag Hammadi libraryThe Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali Samman...
was saved for posterity, as the Coptic Museum in CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
accepted the ancient scrolls into its permanent collection. Twelve complete manuscripts and eight pages of a 13th had been buried in a sealed jar in the 4th century AD and not unearthed again until December 1945. The text "begins at the approximate time that the Dead Sea Scrolls leave off", notes one author. - Born: Susan SarandonSusan SarandonSusan Sarandon is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her...
, American film actress, as Susan Tomalin in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; and Chuck HagelChuck HagelCharles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002...
, U.S. Senator, in North Platte, Nebraska; - Died: Barney OldfieldBarney OldfieldBerna Eli "Barney" Oldfield was an automobile racer and pioneer. He was born on a farm on the outskirts of Wauseon, Ohio. He was the first man to drive a car at 60 miles per hour on an oval...
, 68, American race car driver; Gifford PinchotGifford PinchotGifford Pinchot was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania...
, 81, American conservationist; Siegfried SeidlSiegfried SeidlDr. Siegfried Seidl was a World War II Commandant of the Theresienstadt concentration camp located in the present-day Czech Republic. He was later a convicted war criminal.Siegfried Seidl interrupted his law studies after a few semesters and took on various odd jobs...
, Nazi SS leader who exterminated undesirables in Hungary, by execution.
October 5, 1946 (Saturday)
- Per Albin HanssonPer Albin HanssonPer Albin Hansson , was a Swedish politician, chairman of the Social Democrats from 1925 and two-time Prime Minister in four governments between 1932 and 1946, governing all that period save for a short-lived crisis in the summer of 1936, which he ended by forming a coalition government with his...
, who had been Prime Minister of SwedenPrime Minister of SwedenThe Prime Minister is the head of government in the Kingdom of Sweden. Before the creation of the office of a Prime Minister in 1876, Sweden did not have a head of government separate from its head of state, namely the King, in whom the executive authority was vested...
since 1936 and had kept the Scandinavian kingdom neutral during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, conducted a meeting of his cabinet in StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, where Sweden's trade agreement with the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was approved. As he walked home from the meeting, he died from a cerebral hemmhorage.
October 6, 1946 (Sunday)
- 11 points in the Negev11 points in the Negev11 points in the Negev refers to a Jewish Agency plan for establishing eleven settlements in the Negev in 1946, prior to the establishment of the State of Israel.-History:...
: Eleven Jewish settlements were constructed simultaneously in various parts of Palestine, going up overnight in the Negev Desert. - Died: István BethlenIstván BethlenCount István Bethlen de Bethlen was a Hungarian aristocrat and statesman and served as Prime Minister from 1921 to 1931....
, 71, former Prime Minister of Hungary (1921–31), in a Soviet prison
October 7, 1946 (Monday)
- Twenty-three people, most of them teenage schoolboys, died when a Fairey FireflyFairey FireflyThe Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
airplane struck a school in ApeldoornApeldoornApeldoorn is a municipality and city in the province of Gelderland, about 60 miles south east of Amsterdam, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a regional centre and has 155,000 . The municipality of Apeldoorn, including villages like Beekbergen, Loenen and Hoenderloo, has over 155,000...
, in the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The 21 year old pilot, on his first solo flight, was flying low over his parents' house in a misguided stunt, and the left wing clipped the roof of the school gymnasium, dropping burning fuel inside. The dead included the pilot and his mother, who suffered a fatal heart attack. - By a vote of 342 to 5, the Constitution of JapanConstitution of JapanThe is the fundamental law of Japan. It was enacted on 3 May, 1947 as a new constitution for postwar Japan.-Outline:The constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights...
, as revised by the House of CouncillorsHouse of CouncillorsThe is the upper house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or designation of the prime minister, the House of Representatives...
, was approved by the House of Representatives of JapanHouse of Representatives of JapanThe is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,...
. The instrument, which provided equal rights and renounced war, went into effect on May 3, 1947, six months after it was promulgated. - Born: Catherine MacKinnon, American feminist activist, in Minneapolis
October 8, 1946 (Tuesday)
- Voters in the U.S. territory of AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
participated in the first referendum on the question of statehood. At the time, the total population was less than 85,000 people, and it took two months to tally all of the ballots. The final result of the advisory resolution was 9,630 to 6,822 in favor of Alaska someday becoming the 49th state of the United States, which would finally be attained on January 3, 1959January 1959January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – DecemberThe following events occurred in January 1959.-January 1, 1959 :...
. - Born: Dennis KucinichDennis KucinichDennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
, American politician, in Cleveland; and Hanan AshrawiHanan AshrawiHanan Daoud Khalil Ashrawi is a Palestinian legislator, activist, and scholar. She was a protégé and later colleague and close friend of Edward Said. Ashrawi was an important leader during the First Intifada, served as the official spokesperson for the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East...
, Palestinian activist, in NablusNablusNablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
October 9, 1946 (Wednesday)
- One of the most spectacular meteor showerMeteor showerA meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
s visible from Earth was seen after the planet passed through the debris left by Comet Giacobini-Zinner. A greater number of meteors (referred to as Giacobinids or DraconidsDraconidsThe October Draconids, in the past also unofficially known as the Giacobinids, are a meteor shower whose parent body is the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. A Draconid meteor shower is expected to happen in early October of 2011, and the best nights for viewing are expected to be October...
) burned up in the atmosphere than usual because of a closer approach. The comet and the Earth came within 131,000 miles of each other. - Eugene O'NeillEugene O'NeillEugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's last play, The Iceman ComethThe Iceman ComethThe Iceman Cometh is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1940 the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on 9 October 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling where it ran for 136 performances to close on 15 March 1947.-Characters:* Night Hawk-...
, premiered on Broadway. - Education Minister Tage ErlanderTage Erlanderwas a Swedish politician. He was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and Prime Minister of Sweden from 1946 to 1969...
was elected to succeed the late Prime Minister Per Hansen as the new leader of Sweden's Social Democratic party, and became the 25th Prime Minister of SwedenPrime Minister of SwedenThe Prime Minister is the head of government in the Kingdom of Sweden. Before the creation of the office of a Prime Minister in 1876, Sweden did not have a head of government separate from its head of state, namely the King, in whom the executive authority was vested...
. - George AdamskiGeorge AdamskiGeorge Adamski was a Polish-born American citizen who became widely known in ufology circles, and to some degree in popular culture, after he claimed to have photographed ships from other planets, met with friendly Nordic alien "Space Brothers", and to have taken flights with them...
saw a UFO for the first time, hovering near Mount Palomar toward San Diego, and began a career in ufologyUfologyUfology is a neologism coined to describe the collective efforts of those who study reports and associated evidence of unidentified flying objects . UFOs have been subject to various investigations over the years by governments, independent groups, and scientists...
. He claimed trips in UFOs beginning in 1952. - The brochure Communist Infiltration of the United States released by U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Eventually, 400,000 copies were distributed.
- Born: Naoto KanNaoto Kanis a Japanese politician, and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010, then-Finance Minister Kan was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and designated Prime Minister by the Diet to succeed Yukio Hatoyama. On 26 August 2011, Kan announced his resignation...
, Prime Minister of JapanPrime Minister of JapanThe is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
since 2010, in UbeUbe, Yamaguchiis a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan on the Seto Inland Sea.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 179,000 and the density of 622 persons per km². The total area is 287.69 km².The city was founded on November 1, 1921....
; Anne MatherAnne MatherAnne Mather is the pseudonym used by Mildred Grieveson , a popular British author of over 160 romance novels. She also signed novels as Caroline Fleming and Cardine Fleming....
(pen name of Mildred Griverson), English romance novelist; and Chris TarrantChris TarrantChristopher John "Chris" Tarrant, OBE is an English radio and television broadcaster, now best known for hosting the first version of the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the United Kingdom and later Ireland, as the two national versions of the show merged in 2002.Chris...
, English game show host, in Reading, BerkshireReading, BerkshireReading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
October 10, 1946 (Thursday)
- A V-2 rocketV-2 rocketThe V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
launched by the United States from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico reached an altitude of 100 miles and sent back unprecedented information about the Sun, providing the first photograph of the solar ultraviolet spectrum. In addition, a camera on board took the first photograph of the Earth from outer space. - Tsinghua UniversityTsinghua UniversityTsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
reopened in China with an enrollment of 3,000 students, more than nine years after the Army of Japan had looted the campus - The city of Centerville, located in Phelps County, was renamed Doolittle, MissouriDoolittle, MissouriDoolittle is a city in Phelps County, Missouri, United States. The population was 644 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Doolittle is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...
in honor of aviation pioneer and Medal of Honor winner Jimmy DoolittleJimmy DoolittleGeneral James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
. - Born: Ben VereenBen VereenBen Vereen is an American actor, dancer, and singer who has appeared in numerous Broadway theatre shows. Vereen graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts.- Early years :...
, African-American actor, as Benjamin Middleton in Miami; and Gene TenaceGene TenaceFury Gene Tenace , better known as Gene Tenace, is a former Italian-American professional baseball player and current coach in Major League Baseball. He was a catcher and first baseman from through . Tenace was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics from Valley High School in Lucasville, OH and...
, American MLB catcher, in Russellton, PennsylvaniaRussellton, PennsylvaniaRussellton is a census-designated place in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,440 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Russellton is located at ....
October 11, 1946 (Friday)
- Major General Lewis B. Hershey, director of the Selective Service, announced the end of the draft. Persons scheduled to report to their local draft board on or after October 16 had their inductions cancelled. The Selective Service Act expired on March 31, 1947, with no further inductions. A new draft act was signed into law on June 24, 1948.
- Daryl HallDaryl HallDaryl Hall is an American rock, R&B and soul singer, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates . Hall scored several Billboard chart hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, and is regarded as one of the best blue eyed soul singers...
, American pop singer (Hall & OatesHall & OatesHall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
), as Daryl Hohl in Pottstown, PA
October 12, 1946 (Saturday)
- Article 3 of Control Council Directive 38 was put into effect in the Soviet Zone of Germany, and remained in effect when the zone became the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. With vague language making a criminal offense for anyone to have, after May 8, 1945, "endangered or possibly endangered the peace of the German people or the peace of the world through propaganda for National Socialism or militarism or by the invention or diffusion of tendentious rumors", the law was applied to fire 520,000 former Nazi party members from jobs, and to convict more than 11,000 people between 1948 and 1964. - Born: Jack FullerJack FullerJack William Fuller is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who spent nearly forty years working in newspapers. He began his journalism career as a copyboy for the Chicago Tribune. Later he became a police reporter, a war correspondent in Vietnam, and a Washington correspondent...
, American journalist and publisher, in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... - Died: General Joseph Stillwell, 63, American military leader who commanded U.S. Army operations in ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Burma during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
October 13, 1946 (Sunday)
- French constitutional referendum, October 1946French constitutional referendum, October 1946A constitutional referendum was held in France on 13 October 1946. Voters were asked whether they approved of a new constitution proposed by the Constituent Assembly elected in June. Unlike the May referendum, which saw a previous constitutional proposal rejected, the new constitution was accepted...
: By a vote of 9,297,351 oui to 8,165,744 non, voters approved a new constitution for FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, creating that nation's "Fourth Republic"French Fourth RepublicThe French Fourth Republic was the republican government of France between 1946 and 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Republic, which was in place before World War II, and suffered many of the same problems...
, which provided for a weak, and indirectly elected President. The constitution lasted less than 12 years, and the "Fifth Republic"French Fifth RepublicThe Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
was established in 1958. - The Muslim League agreed to join the Interim Government of India, accepting five of the 12 seats on the Executive Council, reversing an earlier decision not to participate. Participation lasted less than a year, with the League creating the nation of PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
from the Muslim sections of British India. Jawaharlal NehruJawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, future Prime Minister of IndiaPrime Minister of IndiaThe Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
, continued as the Minister for External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations, while the future Prime Minister of PakistanPrime Minister of PakistanThe Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
, Liaqat Ali Khan, became the interim government's new Finance Minister. - Born: Demond WilsonDemond WilsonGrady Demond Wilson is an American actor, author, and pastor. He is best known for his role opposite Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford's long-suffering son, Lamont Sanford, in the 1970s’ NBC-TV sitcom Sanford and Son....
, American TV actor famous as Lamont Sanford on Sanford and SonSanford and SonSanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
, in Valdosta, GA; and Lacy J. DaltonLacy J. DaltonLacy J. Dalton , is an American country and western singer and songwriter, known for her gritty, powerful vocals, which a number of critics likened to a country equivalent to Bonnie Raitt . She had a number of hits in the 1980s, including "Takin' It Easy," "Crazy Blue Eyes" and "16th Avenue." ...
, American country music singer, as Jill Lynne Byrem in Bloomsburg, PA
October 14, 1946 (Monday)
- With Americans facing a shortage of meat, President Truman reluctantly ended all price controlsPrice controlsPrice controls are governmental impositions on the prices charged for goods and services in a market, usually intended to maintain the affordability of staple foods and goods, and to prevent price gouging during shortages, or, alternatively, to insure an income for providers of certain goods...
. In a nationwide radio address at 9:00 pm Eastern Time, Truman described the situation and then told his listeners, "There is only one remedy left— that is to lift controls on meat. Accordingly, the secretary of agriculture and the price administrator are removing all price controls on livestock, and food and feed products therefrom— tomorrow." With no ceiling imposed by the Office of Price AdministrationOffice of Price AdministrationThe Office of Price Administration was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA was originally to control money and rents after the outbreak of World War II.President Franklin D...
, meat prices doubled and production increased. - A truce between Dutch and Indonesian armies was signed at 6:00 pm at the residence of Sir Philip Christison with the Republic of Indonesia and the remaining colonies of the Dutch East IndiesDutch East IndiesThe Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
co-existing separately. The agreement broke down within a few months, and on July 20, 1947, the Netherlands attacked the republic. Full independence was not achieved until December 27, 1949. - The International Organization for StandardizationInternational Organization for StandardizationThe International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
(ISO) founded with the opening of a multinational conference in London. "ISO" is not an abbreviation for the organization's name in any language, and was based on the Greek word isos, meaning equal. - Born: Craig VenterCraig VenterJohn Craig Venter is an American biologist and entrepreneur, most famous for his role in being one of the first to sequence the human genome and for his role in creating the first cell with a synthetic genome in 2010. Venter founded Celera Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research and the J...
, American biologist and geneticist, in Salt Lake City; and Justin HaywardJustin HaywardJustin Hayward is an English musician, best known as singer, songwriter and guitarist in the rock band The Moody Blues.Hayward was born in Dean Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, England...
, English musician (The Moody BluesThe Moody BluesThe Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
), in SwindonSwindonSwindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
October 15, 1946 (Tuesday)
- Nuremberg TrialsNuremberg TrialsThe Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
: Hours before he was scheduled to be the first Nazi war criminal to be receive the death sentence, GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
founder Hermann Goering avoided the hangman's noose by poisoning himself. During his imprisonment, Goering had concealed, on his person, a glass vial of cyanideCyanideA cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
inside a .25 caliber brass cartridge. Suspicion originally fell upon Goering's lawyer, his wife and his barber as people who might have provided him with his means of suicide, but an investigation by the Allied powers concluded that Goering had kept the cartridge hidden even before his arrest. - 1946 World Series1946 World Series-Game 1:Sunday, October 6, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, MissouriThe Red Sox won Game 1 when Rudy York hit a home run into the left field bleachers.-Game 2:Monday, October 7, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St...
: The St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
beat the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
4-3 in the seventh game of the best-of-seven series to win the championship of major league baseball. - Born: Richard CarpenterRichard Carpenter (musician)Richard Lynn Carpenter is an American pop musician, best known as one half of the brother/sister duo The Carpenters, along with his sister Karen Carpenter. He was a producer, arranger, pianist and keyboardist, and occasional lyricist, as well as joining with Karen on harmony...
, American pop singer (The CarpentersThe CarpentersCarpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
), in New Haven
October 16, 1946 (Wednesday)
- Nuremberg TrialsNuremberg TrialsThe Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
: One by one, the nine remaining Nazi war criminals on death row were hanged in a gymnasium in the Nuremberg Palace of JusticeNuremberg Palace of JusticeNuremberg Palace of Justice is a building complex in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. It was constructed from 1909 to 1916 and houses the appellate court Nuremberg , the regional court Nuremberg-Fürth , the local court Nuremberg and the public prosecutor's office Nuremberg-Fürth...
premises. Taking the place of Hermann Goering as first in line was Joachim von RibbentropJoachim von RibbentropUlrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. He was later hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg Trials.-Early life:...
, 53, the German Foreign Minister, who dropped from the gallows at 1:16 a.m., with Master Sergeant John C. WoodsJohn C. WoodsJohn Chris Woods was an American Master Sergeant and the hangman for the Third United States Army at the Nuremberg Trials.-The executions in Nuremberg Prison:...
handled the duties as the U.S. Army's hangman. Ribbentrop was followed by Field Marshal Wilhelm KeitelWilhelm KeitelWilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
, 64; Ernst KaltenbrunnerErnst KaltenbrunnerErnst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...
, 43, Commander of the German SSSchutzstaffelThe Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
national police; Alfred RosenbergAlfred Rosenberg' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
, 53, Minister of Eastern Occupied Territories, 1941–45; Hans FrankHans FrankHans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
, 46, Governor General of Poland, 1939–45; Wilhelm FrickWilhelm FrickWilhelm Frick was a prominent German Nazi official serving as Minister of the Interior of the Third Reich. After the end of World War II, he was tried for war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials and executed...
, 69, Interior Minister 1933-43, "Protector of Bohemia and Moravia" 1943-45; Julius StreicherJulius StreicherJulius Streicher was a prominent Nazi prior to World War II. He was the founder and publisher of Der Stürmer newspaper, which became a central element of the Nazi propaganda machine...
, 61, propaganda publisher; Fritz SauckelFritz SauckelErnst Friedrich Christoph "Fritz" Sauckel was a Nazi war criminal, who organized the systematic enslavement of millions from lands occupied by Nazi Germany...
, 51, administrator of "labor deployment" for 5,000,000 workers imported from occupied territories; and General Alfred JodlAlfred JodlAlfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl was a German military commander, attaining the position of Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command during World War II, acting as deputy to Wilhelm Keitel...
, 56, Supreme Commander of Nazi armed forces. The last was Arthur Seyss-InquartArthur Seyss-InquartArthur Seyss-Inquart was a Chancellor of Austria, lawyer and later Nazi official in pre-Anschluss Austria, the Third Reich and for wartime Germany in Poland and the Netherlands...
, 54, Reichskommissar of the Netherlands 1940-44, who was dropped at 2:45 - The RMS Queen ElizabethRMS Queen ElizabethRMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. Plying with her running mate Queen Mary as a luxury liner between Southampton, UK and New York City, USA via Cherbourg, France, she was also contracted for over twenty years to carry the Royal Mail as the second half of the two...
made her first voyage as a luxury ocean liner, after having been used to carry British troops during World War II. Ironically, Sir Percy BatesPercy BatesSir Percy Elly Bates, 4th Baronet, GBE was an English shipowner.Bates was born in Wavertree, Liverpool, the second son of Sir Edward Percy Bates, 2nd Baronet. He was educated at Winchester College from 1892 to 1897 and was then apprenticed to William Johnston & Co, a Liverpool shipowners...
, who had been chairman of the Cunard LineCunard LineCunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
when the ship was first commissioned, died on the same day of its commercial debut. - Gordie HoweGordie HoweGordon "Gordie" Howe, OC is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League , and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association . Howe is often referred to as Mr...
made his National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
debut, scoring a goal for the Detroit Red WingsDetroit Red WingsThe Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
in his first game, a 3-3 tie with Toronto. Howe played in the NHL in five decades (40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s), appearing in 1,767 NHL and 419 WHA games. His final goal was scored on April 9, 1980, in his penultimate game, for the Hartford WhalersHartford WhalersThe Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
in an 8-4 playoff loss to Montreal. - Born: Suzanne SomersSuzanne SomersSuzanne Somers is an American actress, author, singer and businesswoman, known for her television roles as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company and as Carol Lambert on Step by Step....
, American TV actress (Chrissy Snow on Three's CompanyThree's CompanyThree's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
), as Suzanne Mahoney in San Bruno, CA
October 17, 1946 (Thursday)
- A Russian language translation of Strategic Position of the British Empire, a top secretTop SecretTop Secret generally refers to the highest acknowledged level of classified information.Top Secret may also refer to:- Film and television :* Top Secret , a British comedy directed by Mario Zampi...
document stolen from the War OfficeWar OfficeThe War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
, was delivered to Soviet Premier Joseph StalinJoseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. The extent of betrayal of Britain's security was not revealed until 1999, after the end of the Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. - The OPAOffice of Price AdministrationThe Office of Price Administration was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA was originally to control money and rents after the outbreak of World War II.President Franklin D...
removed all price controls on coffeeCoffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, effective immediately. - Born: Bob SeagrenBob SeagrenRobert "Bob" Seagren was an American pole vaulter, the 1968 Olympic champion.A native of Pomona, California, Bob Seagren was one of the world's top pole vaulters in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He won six National AAU and four NCAA titles indoors and outdoors. Indoors he posted eight world...
, American pole vaulter, in Pomona, CA. Seagren broke the world record four times between 1966 and 1972.
October 18, 1946 (Friday)
- The Congress of BamakoBamakoBamako is the capital of Mali and its largest city with a population of 1.8 million . Currently, it is estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and sixth fastest in the world...
opened as 800 delegates from around French West AfricaFrench West AfricaFrench West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan , French Guinea , Côte d'Ivoire , Upper Volta , Dahomey and Niger...
assembled to establish a unified movement for creating nations independent of colonial France. Rassemblement Démocratique Africain was founded at the conference as the first political party whose mission was independence. Félix Houphouët-BoignyFélix Houphouët-BoignyFélix Houphouët-Boigny , affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux, was the first President of Côte d'Ivoire. Originally a village chief, he worked as a doctor, an administrator of a plantation, and a union leader, before being elected to the French Parliament and serving in a number of...
, who would later become the President of Côte d'Ivoire, was elected the RDA's leader. - USS RangerUSS Ranger (CV-4)USS Ranger was the first ship of the United States Navy to be designed and built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier. Ranger was a relatively small ship, closer in size and displacement to the first U.S. carrier——than later ships. An island superstructure was not included in the original...
, the first American ship designed to serve as an aircraft carrierAircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, was decommissioned. The ship, which proved to be imperfect for takeoffs and landings of planes, was sold as scrap three months later. - Born: Howard ShoreHoward ShoreHoward Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
, Canadian film score composer (The Lord of the Rings film trilogy), in TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
October 19, 1946 (Saturday)
- The dismantling of the Strategic Services UnitStrategic Services UnitThe Strategic Services Unit was an intelligence agency of the United States government which existed in the immediate post-World War II period. It was created from the Secret Intelligence and Counter-Espionage branches of the wartime Office of Strategic Services.Assistant Secretary of War John J...
(SSU), an American intelligence agency created a year earlier after the dissolution of the Office of Strategic ServicesOffice of Strategic ServicesThe Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, was completed.
October 20, 1946 (Sunday)
- Partido Independista Puertoriqueño, the Puerto Rican Independence PartyPuerto Rican Independence PartyThe Puerto Rican Independence Party is a Puerto Rican political party that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from United States suzerainty....
, was founded in San Juan with Dr. Gilberto Concepción de GraciaGilberto Concepción de GraciaDr. Gilberto Concepción de Gracia was a lawyer, journalist, author, politician and founder of the Puerto Rican Independence Party.-Early years:Concepción de Gracia was born in the town of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico...
as its first President, setting as its mission "to labor for the immediate recognition of the full sovereignty of the people of Puerto Rico" in order to create "a free, independent and democratic Republic" separate from the United States. - Born: Elfriede JelinekElfriede JelinekElfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."-...
, Austrian playwright, winner of 2004 Nobel Prize in LiteratureNobel Prize in LiteratureSince 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
, in MürzzuschlagMürzzuschlagMürzzuschlag is a town in northeastern Styria, Austria, the capital of the Mürzzuschlag District. It is located on the Mürz river near the Semmering Pass, the border with the state of Lower Austria, about southwest of Vienna. The population is 8,745...
October 21, 1946 (Monday)
- Nationalist Chinese President Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
made his first visit to the island of TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. After flying over from NanjingNanjing' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, Chiang was greeted at TaipeiTaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
by the province's Governor, Chen Yi. After the Chinese Communist Party took control of the mainland in 1949, Chiang fled to Taiwan and ruled it as the Republic of ChinaRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
until his death in 1975. - Occupation of Japan: The second major land reformLand reform[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
law in Japan was passed after being drafted by the American occupying authority. After the "Law for the Special Establishment of Independent Cultivators" took effect, the percentage of Japanese farmland farmed by sharecroppers renting from landlords, dropped from 46% to 10%.
October 22, 1946 (Tuesday)
- The Soviet Army carried out the simultaneous roundup of all persons in Soviet occupied Germany who were deemed essential to the Soviet missile program, then shipped them and their families by train to the USSR. Rocket scientists at MittelwerkMittelwerkCentral Works was a World War II factory that used Mittelbau-Dora forced labor in 2 main tunnels in the Kohnstein. The underground facility produced V-2 rockets, V-1 flying bombs, and other Nazi weapons.-Mittelwerk GmbH:...
had been attending a late night party held in their honor by General Gaidukov, and then were told that they would be moving. - Corfu Channel IncidentCorfu Channel IncidentThe Corfu Channel Incident refers to three separate events involving Royal Navy ships in the Channel of Corfu which took place in 1946, and it is considered an early episode of the Cold War. During the first incident, Royal Navy ships came under fire from Albanian fortifications...
: A convoy of Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
ships was sailing through the Straits of CorfuStraits of CorfuThe Straits of Corfu or Corfu Channel is the narrow body of water along the coasts of Albania and Greece to the east separating these two countries from the Greek island of Corfu on the west...
as part of a British test of AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
's defenses, which had fired on two cruisers in May. The destroyer HMS SaumarezHMS Saumarez (G12)HMS Saumarez was an S class destroyer of the Royal Navy, completed on 1 July 1943. As a flotilla leader, her standard displacement was 20 tons heavier than other ships of her class...
struck a mineNaval mineA naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
at 2:53 pm, and destroying the , and HMS VolageHMS Volage (R41)HMS Volage was a V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy, commissioned on 26 May 1944, that served in the Arctic and the Indian Oceans during World War II...
collided with a second mine at 4:31 pm while towing the Saumarez. In all, 44 men were killed and 42 seriously injured in the explosions.
October 23, 1946 (Wednesday)
- The first United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
, with 51 members, convened in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for the first time, continuing a session that had been adjourned in London in February. U.S. President Harry Truman opened the Assembly at its temporary home in Flushing Meadows – Corona Park. - Died: Kurt DaluegeKurt DaluegeKurt Daluege was a German Nazi SS-Oberstgruppenführer and Generaloberst der Polizei as chief of the Ordnungspolizei and ruled the Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia as Deputy Protector after Reinhard Heydrich's assassination.-Early life and career:Kurt Daluege, a son of a Prussian state official,...
, 49, the Nazi SS Officer who had ordered the June 9, 1942 massacre of everyone in the village of LidiceLidiceLidice is a village in the Czech Republic just northwest of Prague. It is built on the site of a previous village of the same name which, as part of the Nazi Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was on orders from Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, completely destroyed by German forces in reprisal...
, was hanged at the Pankrác PrisonPankrác PrisonPankrác Prison, officially Prague Pankrác Remand Prison , is a prison in Prague, Czech Republic...
in CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
.
October 24, 1946 (Thursday)
- The first photograph ever taken of the Earth from outer space (an altitude of 100 km or more) was made after a V-2 rocket was fitted with a movie camera, then fired from New MexicoWhite Sands Missile RangeWhite Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in parts of five counties in southern New Mexico. The largest military installation in the United States, WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range...
to an altitude of 105 kilometres (65.2 mi). The camera was destroyed after being dropped back to Earth, but the film survived. - Stanford Research Institute was incorporated.
October 25, 1946 (Friday)
- Doctors' TrialDoctors' TrialThe Doctors' Trial was the first of 12 trials for war crimes that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone in Nuremberg, Germany after the end of World War II. These trials were held before U.S...
: With the war crimes trials of top Nazi leaders having completed, indictments were handed down against 20 Nazi physicians, two administrators and an attorney for war crimes including euthanasia murder, human experimentation and medical torture. The trials, conducted at Nuremberg, began on December 9, 1946 and lasted until July 20, 1947. - Vice-Admiral Ross T. McIntyre, who had served as the physician to the PresidentPhysician to the PresidentThe Physician to the President is the formal and official title of the physician who is director of the White House Medical Unit, a unit of the White House Military Office responsible for the medical needs of the President of the United States, Vice President, White House staff, and visitors...
for Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, revealed the details of FDR's medical history, final illness, and a minute-by-minute account of the President's death on April 12, 1945. The news was occasioned by the publication, by G.P. Putnam's Sons, of McIntyre's book White House Physician.
October 26, 1946 (Saturday)
- White House Press SecretaryWhite House Press SecretaryThe White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
Charlie RossCharlie RossCharlie Ross is an American politician and attorney who lives in Brandon, Mississippi. He served as Senator from District 20 in the Mississippi Senate until 2007. District 20 comprises parts of Madison and Rankin Counties. Charlie was first elected to the Senate in 1997 after serving as the...
announced that "for the first time in the history of White House travels, the President of the United States has his own private railroad car". The 286,520 pound, armor-plated Ferdinand MagellanFerdinand Magellan RailcarNamed after the Portuguese explorer, the Ferdinand Magellan is a former Pullman Company observation car which served as Presidential Rail Car, U.S. Number 1 from 1943 until 1958. The Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami-Dade County, Florida acquired it in 1959...
car had been owned by the Association of American RailroadsAssociation of American RailroadsThe Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...
, which provided it for presidential use after U.S. entry into World War II. The Association sold the luxurious "rolling fortress" to the federal government for ten dollars. - Born: Pat SajakPat SajakPat Sajak is a television personality, former weatherman, actor and talk show host, best known as the host of the American television game show Wheel of Fortune.-Early life:...
, American game show host (Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
), as Patrick Sajdak, in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
; Ivan RybkinIvan RybkinIvan Petrovich Rybkin is a Russian politician; was Chairman of Russia's State Duma in 1994–96 and Secretary of the Security Council in 1996–98.-Early life:...
, Russian politician, Chairman of the State Duma 1994-95, in SemigorovkaVoronezh OblastVoronezh Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on June 13, 1934.-Main rivers:*Don*Voronezh*Bityug*Khopyor-Economy:...
October 27, 1946 (Sunday)
- Bulgarian parliamentary election, 1946Bulgarian parliamentary election, 1946Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Bulgaria on 27 October 1946. The result was a victory for the Bulgarian Communist Party, which won 278 of the 465 seats. Voter turnout was 92.6%.-Results:...
: The "Fatherland FrontFatherland Front (Bulgaria)The Fatherland Front was originally a Bulgarian political resistance movement during World War II. The Zveno movement, the communist Bulgarian Workers Party, a wing of the Agrarian Union and the Bulgarian Social Democratic Workers Party, were all part of the FF...
", a set of Communist political parties, captured 366 of the 465 seats in the National Assembly of BulgariaNational Assembly of BulgariaThe National Assembly of Bulgaria is the unicameral parliament and body of the legislative of the Republic of Bulgaria.The National Assembly of Bulgaria was established in 1879 with the Constitution of Bulgaria.-Ordinary National Assembly:...
, and Georgi DimitrovGeorgi DimitrovGeorgi Dimitrov Mikhaylov , also known as Georgi Mikhaylovich Dimitrov , was a Bulgarian Communist politician...
became Prime Minister. The following year, Bulgaria became a one-party state. - For the first time in its history, VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
conducted an election in which every citizen 18 or over was eligible to vote, regardless of gender, property ownership, or ability to read. The vote, first ever by secret ballotSecret ballotThe secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
, gave Accion DemocraticoDemocratic ActionDemocratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period...
won 137 of 160 seats in the National Constituent AssemblyNational Assembly of VenezuelaThe National Assembly is the legislative branch of the Venezuelan government. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who are elected by "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vote partly by direct election in state-based voting districts, and partly on a state-based...
. - Born: Ivan ReitmanIvan ReitmanIvan Reitman, OC is a Canadian film producer and director. He is known for the comedies he has directed and produced, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.He is the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 2000.-Early life:...
, Canadian film director and producer (Ghostbusters), in KomárnoKomárnoKomárno is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Komárno was formed from part of a historical town in Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half,...
, CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
; and Leslie Byrne, first woman elected to Congress from Virginia (1993–95); in Salt Lake City, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
October 28, 1946 (Monday)
- President Truman announced his selection for the new five-member United States Atomic Energy CommissionUnited States Atomic Energy CommissionThe United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
: Sumner T. Pike, Lewis Strauss, Robert F. Bacher, William W. Waymack, and Chairman David LilienthalDavid LilienthalDavid Eli Lilienthal was an American public official who served in many different governmental roles over the course of his career...
. - Markos Vafiades announced the creation of the "Democratic ArmyDemocratic Army of GreeceThis article is based on a translation of an article from the Greek Wikipedia.The Democratic Army of Greece , often simply abbreviated to its initials DSE , was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War, 1946–1949...
", a 13,000 member guerilla force that sought to place the Greek Communist party KKE into power. - The real estate group "American Community Builders" announced the creation of a new suburb of ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, with the name of Park Forest, IllinoisPark Forest, IllinoisPark Forest is a village located south of Chicago in Cook County and Will County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 23,462...
. The first homes were opened in August 1948, and on February 1, 1949, the village was incorporated.
October 29, 1946 (Tuesday)
- Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav MolotovVyacheslav MolotovVyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
surprised the U.N. General Assembly by calling for universal disarmament and the banning of all nuclear weapons, while hinting that the United States' monopoly on the atomic bomb might have ended. - In a secret briefing Major General Lauris NorstadLauris NorstadLauris Norstad was an American General in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force.-Early life and military career:...
told President Truman that the only means of preventing the Soviet Union from invading Western Europe would be an air assault against 17 Soviet cities with atomic weapons. At the time, the U.S. had the means to assemble no more than nine bombs. - European jazz guitarist Django ReinhardtDjango ReinhardtDjango Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
arrived in the United States for the first time at the expense of Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
. Reinhardt, who flew from Paris to New York, came to the U.S. without his guitar nor anything more than the clothes that he had been wearing. - Born: Peter GreenPeter Green (musician)Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
(Greenbaum), guitarist for Fleetwood Mac, in Bethnal GreenBethnal GreenBethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
October 30, 1946 (Wednesday)
- At the RCA Research LaboratoriesSarnoff CorporationSarnoff Corporation, with headquarters in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, was a research and development company specializing in vision, video and semiconductor technology....
in Princeton, New JerseyPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, the first demonstration was made, privately, of "simultaneous color televisionColor televisionColor television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....
", which would be refined by NBC and would become the system approved in the United States for color TV broadcasting. Unlike the sequential system developed by CBS, which would have required a rotating color wheel inside of a set, the RCA process transmitted images in three colors onto the screen. - The United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
signed an agreement establishing the Caribbean CommissionCaribbean CommissionThe Caribbean Commission, originally the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission, was established on 9 March 1942 to improve the common social and economic problems of the region and deal with wartime issues. In 1946, the governments of the U.S. and U.K. invited France and the Netherlands to join,...
. The agreement entered into force on August 6, 1948, and the Commission lasted until September 15, 1961, when it was replaced by the Caribbean Organization - Born: Andrea MitchellAndrea MitchellAndrea Mitchell is an American television journalist, anchor, reporter, and commentator for NBC News based in Washington, D.C.. She is the NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, and has recently reported on the 2008 Race for the White House for NBC News broadcasts, including NBC Nightly...
, American journalist for NBC Nightly News, in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
October 31, 1946 (Thursday)
- The Indonesian rupiahIndonesian rupiahThe rupiah is the official currency of Indonesia. Issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia, the ISO 4217 currency code for the Indonesian rupiah is IDR. Informally, Indonesians also use the word "perak" in referring to rupiah...
was introduced with a radio broadcast by Vice-President Mohammad HattaMohammad Hattawas born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies . He was Indonesia's first vice president, later also serving as the country's Prime Minister. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, fought for the independence of...
, who urged his fellow Indonesians to use the money as a symbol of independence and economic development. The first attempt to create the new currency had been thwarted in January, when Dutch colonial authorities had seized control of the printing office and confiscated the original run of notes. - Born: Stephen ReaStephen ReaStephen Rea is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in high profile films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto...
, Northern Irish film actor (The Crying GameThe Crying GameThe Crying Game is a 1992 psychological thriller drama film written and directed by Neil Jordan. The film explores themes of race, gender, nationality, and sexuality against the backdrop of the Irish Troubles...
)