1945 in the United States on:
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Events from the year 1945 in the United States. World War II ended during this year following the surrender of Nazi Germany, Germany in May and that of Empire of Japan, Japan in September.
*January – United States Army, American troops cross the Siegfried Line into Belgium.
* January 6
** Naval lieutenant George H. W. Bush, future President of the United States, and future First Lady Barbara Bush, Barbara Pierce marry in Rye, New York.
** Pepe Le Pew makes his debut as the first major Looney Tunes character, in "Odor-able Kitty"
* January 20 – Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated to an unprecedented fourth term as President of the United States. No president before, or since, reaches a third term in office. Harry S. Truman is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.
* January 24 – Nine Office of Strategic Services, OSS men and Associated Press war correspondent Joseph Morton (correspondent), Joseph Morton are summarily executed by the Germans at Mauthausen concentration camp, contrary to the Geneva Convention.
* January 30 – Raid at Cabanatuan: 121 American soldiers and 800 Filipino guerrillas free 813 American Prisoner of War, POWs from the Japanese-held camp at Cabanatuan City, Philippines.
* January 31 – Eddie Slovik is executed by firing squad for desertion, the first American soldier since the American Civil War, and last to date to be executed for this offense.
* April 1 – World War II, WW II: Battle of Okinawa – U.S. troops land on Okinawa.
* April 4 – The Holocaust: American troops liberate their first Nazi concentration camp, Ohrdruf concentration camp, Ohrdruf death camp in Germany.
* April 7 – The only flight of the German ramming unit known as the Sonderkommando Elbe takes place, resulting in the loss of some 24 B-17 Flying Fortress, B-17s and B-24 Liberator, B-24s of the United States Eighth Air Force.
* April 12 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies suddenly at Warm Springs, Georgia; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes the 33rd President.
* April 18 – The American war correspondent Ernie Pyle is killed by Japanese machine gun fire on the island of Ie Shima off Okinawa.
* April 19 – Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Carousel (musical), Carousel,'' a musical play based on Ferenc Molnár's ''Liliom,'' opens on Broadway theatre, Broadway and becomes their second long-running stage classic.
* April 25
**WW II: Elbe Day – United States and Soviet Union, Soviet troops link up at the Elbe River, cutting Germany in two.
**Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.
* April 27 – U.S. Ordnance troops find the coffins of 18th-century Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian kings Frederick Wilhelm I and Frederick the Great, in addition to President of Germany, German President Paul Von Hindenburg and his wife.
* August 6 – World War II, WW II: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Atomic bombing of Hiroshima – United States Boeing B-29 Superfortress ''Enola Gay'' drops a uranium-235 atomic bomb, codenamed "Little Boy", on the Japanese city of Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. local time, resulting in between 90,000 and 146,000 deaths.
* August 7 – President Harry Truman announces the successful bombing of Hiroshima with the nuclear weapon, atomic bomb, while returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the U.S. Navy heavy cruiser in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
* August 8 – The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States Senate, and this nation becomes the third one to join the new international organization.
* August 9 – Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Atomic bombing of Nagasaki: United States Boeing B-29 Superfortress, B-29 ''Bockscar'' drops a plutonium-239 atomic bomb, codenamed "Fat Man", on the Japanese city of Nagasaki at 11:02 a.m. local time, resulting in between 39,000 and 80,000 deaths.
* August 14 (August 15 in Japan) – Emperor Hirohito announces Japan's surrender on the radio. The United States calls this day V-J Day (Victory over Japan). This ends the period of Japanese expansionism and begins the period of Occupied Japan.
* August 17 – The United States and the U.S.S.R. split up the Korean Peninsula making North Korea and South Korea
* August 31 – A team at American Cyanamid's Lederle Laboratories, Pearl River, New York, led by Yellapragada Subbarow, announces they have obtained folic acid in a pure crystalline form.
* January 1 – Diahnne Abbott, American actress and singer
* January 3 – Stephen Stills, American rock singer, songwriter (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
* January 4 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2005
* January 6
** Allen Appel, American author, illustrator, and photographer
** Barry Lopez, American author (d. 2020 in the United States, 2020)
* January 7
** Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player (d. 1990 in the United States, 1990)
** Tom Reed (American football), Tom Reed, American football player and coach (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* January 10 – Steven P. Perskie, American politician, judge
* January 12 – Steven Hoffenberg, American businessman and fraudster (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* January 15 – Vince Foster, American deputy White House counsel during the first term of President Bill Clinton (d. 1993)
* January 20
** Dave Boswell (baseball), Dave Boswell, American baseball player (d. 2012 in the United States, 2012)
** Robert Olen Butler, American writer
** Susan Rothenberg, American painter (d. 2020 in the United States, 2020)
* January 22 – Jophery Brown, American baseball player, actor and stuntman (d. 2014 in the United States, 2014)
* January 25 – Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress
* January 28
** Frank Doubleday (actor), Frank Doubleday, actor (d. 2018 in the United States, 2018)
** Karen Lynn Gorney, actress (''Saturday Night Fever'')
** Chuck Pyle, country-folk singer-songwriter (d. 2015 in the United States, 2015)
** John Perkins (author), John Perkins, author and activist
* January 29 – Tom Selleck, American actor (''Magnum, P.I.'')
* January 30 – Michael Dorris, American author (d. 1997)
* January 31 – Joseph Kosuth, American artist
* February 3 – Bob Griese, American football player
* February 5 – Sarah Weddington, American attorney and law professor (d. 2021)
* February 9 – Mia Farrow, American actress
* February 12 – David D. Friedman, American economist
* February 15 – Douglas Hofstadter, American cognitive scientist
* February 17 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer and choreographer (d. 2012 in the United States, 2012)
* February 19 – Michael Nader, American actor (d. 2021)
* February 20 – Henry Polic II, American actor (d. 2013)
* February 22 – Oliver (singer), Oliver, American singer ("Good Morning Starshine") (d. 2000)
* February 24 – Barry Bostwick, American actor
* February 25 – Roy Saari, American swimmer (d. 2008)
* February 26 – Mitch Ryder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* February 27 – Carl Anderson (singer), Carl Anderson, American singer, actor (''Jesus Christ Superstar'') (d. 2004)
* February 28 – Bubba Smith, American football player, actor (d. 2011)
* March 1 – Dirk Benedict, American actor
* March 2 – Joy Garrett, American actor and vocalist (d. 1993 in the United States, 1993)
* March 3 – Hattie Winston, American actress
* March 4 – Gary Williams, American basketball coach
* March 7 – Arthur Lee (musician), Arthur Lee, American musician (d. 2006)
* March 8
** Jim Chapman (congressman), Jim Chapman, American politician
** Micky Dolenz, American actor, director and rock musician (The Monkees)
* March 9 – Dennis Rader, American serial killer
* March 12 – Sammy Gravano, American mobster
* March 14
** Michael Martin Murphey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
** Walter Parazaider, American saxophonist (Chicago (band), Chicago)
* March 18 – Chuck E. Weiss, American songwriter and vocalist (d. 2021)
* March 20 – Pat Riley, American basketball coach
* March 21 – Charles Greene (athlete), Charles Greene, American Olympic athlete
* March 22 – Sheila Frahm, American politician
* March 24 – Curtis Hanson, American film director, screenwriter (d. 2016)
* March 29 – Walt Frazier, African-American basketball player
* March 31
** Edwin Catmull, American computer scientist
** Gabe Kaplan, American actor, comedian, and professional poker player
* April 2
** Linda Hunt, actress
** Richard Taruskin, musicologist (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* April 9 – Peter Gammons, baseball sportswriter
* April 10 – Shirley Walker, composer and conductor for film and television (d. 2006 in the United States, 2006)
* April 13
** Tony Dow, actor, producer, and director (''Leave It to Beaver'')
** Lowell George, rock musician (Little Feat) (d. 1979 in the United States, 1979)
** Bob Kalsu, American football player (d. 1970 in the United States, 1970)
* April 16 – John Andrew Barnes III, soldier (d. 1967 in the United States, 1967)
* April 20
** Bobby Jameson, singer, songwriter (d. 2015 in the United States, 2015)
** Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach
* April 24
** Doug Clifford, drummer
** Bob Lunn, golfer
* April 25 – Stu Cook, bassist
* April 27 – August Wilson, playwright (d. 2005 in the United States, 2005)
* April 29 – Tammi Terrell, African-American soul singer (d. 1970 in the United States, 1970)
* April 30
** Ray Miller (baseball manager), Ray Miller, baseball manager (d. 2021 in the United States, 2021)
** Michael J. Smith, astronaut (d. 1986 in the United States, 1986)
* May 1 – Rita Coolidge, American pop singer
* May 2 – James Vaupel, American scientist
* May 3 – Jeffrey C. Hall, American geneticist and chronobiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2017
* May 5
** Chuck Holmes (entrepreneur), Chuck Holmes, American adult film producer (d. 2000)
** Kurt Loder, American film critic, author and television personality
* May 6
** Jimmie Dale Gilmore, American musician
** Bob Seger, American rock singer ("Old Time Rock and Roll")
* May 8 – Keith Jarrett, American musician
* May 21 – Richard Hatch (actor), Richard Hatch, American actor (''Battlestar Galactica'') (d. 2017)
* May 22 – Victoria Wyndham, American actress (''Another World (TV series), Another World'')
* May 23 – Lauren Chapin, American child actress, evangelist
* May 24 – Priscilla Wagner, American actress, businesswoman and wife of singer Elvis Presley
* May 28
** Patch Adams, American physician, comedian, social activist, clown and author
** John Fogerty, American rock singer (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
** Gary Stewart (singer), Gary Stewart, American singer (d. 2003 in the United States, 2003)
* May 30
** Andrea Bronfman, American philanthropist (d. 2006)
** Gladys Horton, American singer (The Marvelettes) (d. 2011)
* May 31 – Blackberri, American singer-songwriter and community activist (d. 2021 in the United States, 2021)
* June 1 – Frederica von Stade, American mezzo-soprano
* June 2 – Jon Peters, American film producer
* June 3 – Hale Irwin, American professional golfer
* June 4 – Anthony Braxton, American composer, musical instrumentalist
* June 5
** John Carlos, American athlete
** Don Reid (singer), Don Reid, American country singer (The Statler Brothers)
* June 6 – David Dukes, American actor (d. 2000)
* June 7 – Billy Butler (singer), Billy Butler, American singer, songwriter (d. 2015)
* June 8 – Steven Fromholz, American singer, songwriter (d. 2014)
* June 11 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress, television personality and author (''Maude (TV series), Maude'')
* June 13 – Rodney P. Rempt, American admiral
* June 16 – Chip Damiani, American drummer (The Remains (band), The Remains) (d. 2014)
* June 17
** Frank Ashmore, American actor
** Art Bell, American radio talk show host (''Coast to Coast AM'') (d. 2018)
* June 19 – Greil Marcus, American music journalist, cultural critic
* June 23 – Jim Fouratt, American gay activist, entertainer
* June 24 – George Pataki, List of Governors of New York, Governor of New York
* June 25
** Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, American politician
** Carly Simon, American singer, songwriter ("You're So Vain")
* June 26 – Dwight York, American musician, fashion consultant, cult leader, and child molester
* June 27 – Norma Kamali, American fashion designer
* June 30
** Jerry Kenney, American Major League Baseball infielder
** James Snyder Jr., American author, attorney and politician
* July 1
** Mike Burstyn, American actor and singer
** Debbie Harry, American singer (Blondie (band), Blondie)
** Billy Rohr, American Major League Baseball player
* July 2 – Linda Warren, American author
* July 6 – Burt Ward, American actor and activist (''Batman (TV series), Batman'')
* July 9 – Dean Koontz, American novelist
* July 10 – Ron Glass, African-American actor (''Barney Miller'') (d. 2016)
* July 11 – Richard Wesley, American playwright, screenwriter
* July 12
** Edwin Neal, American actor
** Larry Zierlein, American football coach
* July 13
** Danny Abramowicz, American football player, coach
** Robert H. Foglesong, U.S. General
* July 15 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (d. 2019)
* July 18 – Boomer Castleman, American singer, songwriter (d. 2015)
* July 20
** Kim Carnes, American singer, songwriter ("Bette Davis Eyes")
** Larry Craig, American politician
* July 23 – Edie McClurg, comedian, screen and voice actress
* July 26 – Betty Davis, African-American funk and soul singer
* July 28 – Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis, American cartoonist (''Garfield'')
* July 30
** Lloyd Carr, American football coach
** Roger Dobkowitz, American game show producer
** David Sanborn, American saxophonist
* July 31 – William Weld, American politician
* August 1 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1996
* August 4 – Alan Mulally, American businessman, CEO of the Ford Motor Company
* August 5 – Loni Anderson, American actress (''WKRP in Cincinnati'')
* August 7 – Alan Page, American football player
* August 12 – J. D. McClatchy, American poet and literary critic (d. 2018 in the United States, 2018)
* August 14 – Steve Martin, American actor, comedian
* August 15
** Duffy Dyer, American baseball player and coach
** Gene Upshaw, American football player (d. 2008 in the United States, 2008)
* August 16 – Paul Morantz, American attorney and investigative journalist (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* August 20 – Jonathan Goodson, American television game show producer, son of Mark Goodson
* August 22
** David Chase, American writer, director and television producer
** Ron Dante, American rock singer, songwriter and record producer (The Archies)
** Steve Kroft, American journalist, correspondent (''60 Minutes'')
* August 24
** Marsha P. Johnson, born Malcolm Michaels Jr., African-American gay liberation activist and drag queen (d. 1992 in the United States, 1992)
** Vince McMahon, American professional wrestling promoter, chairman and CEO of WWE
* August 26
** Tom Ridge, American politician
** Mel Watt, African-American politician and lawyer
* August 29 – Wyomia Tyus, American Olympic athlete
* August 31 – Bob Welch (musician), Bob Welch, American musician (d. 2012 in the United States, 2012)
* September 4 – Danny Gatton, American guitarist (d. 1994)
* September 8 – Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, American musician (d. 1973)
* September 9 – Doug Ingle, American singer, songwriter
* September 10 – Marlin Briscoe, American football player (d. 2022)
* September 12
** Jim Liberman, American Drag racing, drag racer (d. 1977)
** Richard Thaler, economist, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
* September 14 – Benjamin Harjo Jr., Native American artist
* September 15 – Jessye Norman, African-American operatic soprano (d. 2019)
* September 16 – Pat Stevens, voice actress (d. 2010)
* September 17 – Phil Jackson, basketball coach
* September 18 – P. F. Sloan, singer, songwriter (d. 2015)
* September 19 – Randolph Mantooth, actor, motivational speaker (''Emergency!'')
* September 20
** Charlie Smithgall, American politician and businessman (d. 2022)
** Candy Spelling, socialite, writer
** Laurie Spiegel, electronic composer
* September 21 – Kay Ryan, poet
* September 23 – Paul Petersen, child actor, advocate for other child actors
* October 1 – Donny Hathaway, African-American soul singer, songwriter (d. 1979 in the United States, 1979)
* October 2 – Don McLean, American rock singer, songwriter ("American Pie (song), American Pie")
* October 3 – Kay Baxter, American bodybuilder (d. 1988)
* October 4 – Clifton Davis, African-American actor, minister (''Amen (TV series), Amen'')
* October 12 – Dusty Rhodes (wrestler), Dusty Rhodes, wrestler (d. 2015)
* October 13 – Susan Stafford, television presenter
* October 15 – Jim Palmer, baseball player
* October 18 – Huell Howser, television personality, host of ''California's Gold'' (d. 2013)
* October 19 – John Lithgow, actor (''Third Rock from the Sun'')
* October 20
** Ron Franz, basketball player (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
** George Wyner, actor
* October 22
** Buzz Potamkin, television producer (d. 2012)
** Leslie West, singer and guitarist (d. 2020)
* October 24
** Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education
** Sean Solomon, Principal Investigator of NASA's MESSENGER mission to Mercury (planet), Mercury
* October 25 – David Schramm (astrophysicist), David Schramm, astrophysicist (d. 1997)
* October 26
** Pat Conroy, author (d. 2016 in the United States, 2016)
** Jaclyn Smith, actress
* October 27 – Carrie Snodgress, actress (d. 2004 in the United States, 2004)
* October 29
** Melba Moore, African-American singer, actress (''Hair (musical), Hair'')
** Daniel Albright, literary critic and musicologist (died 2015 in the United States, 2015)
* October 30
** Ron Slinker, wrestler (d. 2008 in the United States, 2008)
** Henry Winkler, actor, director, producer and author
* October 31 – Brian Doyle-Murray, actor (''Saturday Night Live'')
* December 1 – Bette Midler, American actress and singer
* December 2 – Charles "Tex" Watson, American prisoner, 'Manson Family' member
* December 6
** Larry Bowa, American baseball player and manager
** Dan Harrington, lawyer and poker player
* December 9 – Michael Nouri, American actor
* December 13
** Herman Cain, African-American conservative politician, author, business executive, radio host, syndicated columnist, and Tea Party activist (d. 2020)
** Kathy Garver, actress, author and online radio hostess
** Heather North, actress (d. 2017)
* December 16 – Patti Deutsch, voice actress (d. 2017)
* December 17
** Ernie Hudson, African-American actor
** Chris Matthews, news anchor
* December 18 – Carolyn Wood (swimmer), Carolyn Wood, professional swimmer
* December 19 – Elaine Joyce, actress, game show panelist
* December 20
** Bruce Baker (geneticist), Bruce Baker, geneticist (d. 2018)
** Peter Criss, rock drummer (''Kiss (band), KISS'')
* December 22
** Diane Sawyer, news journalist
** T. K. Wetherell, politician, educator (d. 2018)
* December 23 – Donald A. Ritchie, historian
* December 24 – Nicholas Meyer, screenwriter, producer, director and novelist
* December 25 – Gary Sandy, actor
* December 26 – John Walsh (television host), John Walsh, media personality (''America's Most Wanted'')
Incumbents
Federal government of the United States, Federal Government
* President of the United States, President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic Party (United States), D-New York (state), New York) (until April 12), Harry S. Truman (Democratic Party (United States), D-Missouri) (starting April 12) * Vice President of the United States, Vice President: ** until January 20: Henry A. Wallace (Democratic Party (United States), D-Iowa) ** January 20–April 12: Harry S. Truman (Democratic Party (United States), D-Missouri) ** starting April 12: ''vacant'' * Chief Justice of the United States, Chief Justice: Harlan F. Stone (New York (state), New York) * Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Speaker of the House of Representatives: Sam Rayburn (Democratic Party (United States), D-Texas) * Senate Majority Leader: Alben W. Barkley (Democratic Party (United States), D-Kentucky) * United States Congress, Congress: 78th United States Congress, 78th (until January 3), 79th United States Congress, 79th (starting January 3)Events
January
*January – United States Army, American troops cross the Siegfried Line into Belgium.
* January 6
** Naval lieutenant George H. W. Bush, future President of the United States, and future First Lady Barbara Bush, Barbara Pierce marry in Rye, New York.
** Pepe Le Pew makes his debut as the first major Looney Tunes character, in "Odor-able Kitty"
* January 20 – Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated to an unprecedented fourth term as President of the United States. No president before, or since, reaches a third term in office. Harry S. Truman is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.
* January 24 – Nine Office of Strategic Services, OSS men and Associated Press war correspondent Joseph Morton (correspondent), Joseph Morton are summarily executed by the Germans at Mauthausen concentration camp, contrary to the Geneva Convention.
* January 30 – Raid at Cabanatuan: 121 American soldiers and 800 Filipino guerrillas free 813 American Prisoner of War, POWs from the Japanese-held camp at Cabanatuan City, Philippines.
* January 31 – Eddie Slovik is executed by firing squad for desertion, the first American soldier since the American Civil War, and last to date to be executed for this offense.
February
* February 2 – World War II, WW II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill leave to meet with Soviet Union, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference. * February 3 **World War II, WW II: United States forces capture Manila, Philippines from the Japanese Imperial Army. **Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions' seventh feature film, ''The Three Caballeros'', is released. It is Disney's second of six Anthology film, package films to be released through the 1940s and the first feature film to incorporate traditional animation with live-action actors. * February 4 – World War II, WW II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill and Soviet Union, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin begin the Yalta Conference (ends February 11). * February 7 – World War II, WW II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila. * February 8 – The Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, championed by charismatic native leader Elizabeth Peratrovich, is passed by the territorial Senate, after the legislature defeated a previous bill in 1943. * February 16 **Combined American and Filipino forces recapture the Bataan Peninsula. **American and Filipino ground forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines. * February 19 – World War II, WW II: Battle of Iwo Jima – About 30,000 United States Marines land on Iwo Jima. * February 23 **The American and Filipino troops enter Intramuros, Manila. **The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by combined American and Filipino ground troops. **Battle of Iwo Jima: A group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the flag of the United States, American flag. The photo, ''Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'' (taken by Joe Rosenthal), later wins a Pulitzer Prize. * February – Raymond L. Libby of American Cyanamid's research laboratories, at Stamford, Connecticut, announces a method of orally administering the antibiotic penicillin.March
* March 1 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt gives what will be his last address to a joint session of Congress, reporting on the Yalta Conference. * March 2 – Former Vice President Henry Agard Wallace starts his term of office as United States Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, serving under President Roosevelt. * March 3 – World War II, WW II: United States and Filipino troops take Manila, Philippines. * March 7 – World War II, WW II: American troops seize the bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany and begin to cross. * March 15 – The 17th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by John Cromwell (director), John Cromwell and Bob Hope, is held at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles, broadcast via radio for the first time. Leo McCarey's ''Going My Way'' wins Academy Award for Best Picture, Outstanding Motion Picture. The film also wins the most awards overall with seven, including McCarey's second win for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director, and ties for the most nominations with Henry King (director), Henry King's ''Wilson (1944 film), Wilson'', both with ten. * March 19 – World War II, WW II: Off the coast of Japan, bombers hit the aircraft carrier , killing about 800 of her crewmen and crippling the ship. * March 24 – The cartoon character Sylvester (Looney Tunes), Sylvester the cat debuts in ''Life with Feathers'' * March 29 – The "Clash of Titans" in basketball: George Mikan and Bob Kurland duel at Madison Square Garden (1925), Madison Square Garden as Oklahoma State University, OSU defeats DePaul University, DePaul 52–44.April
* April 1 – World War II, WW II: Battle of Okinawa – U.S. troops land on Okinawa.
* April 4 – The Holocaust: American troops liberate their first Nazi concentration camp, Ohrdruf concentration camp, Ohrdruf death camp in Germany.
* April 7 – The only flight of the German ramming unit known as the Sonderkommando Elbe takes place, resulting in the loss of some 24 B-17 Flying Fortress, B-17s and B-24 Liberator, B-24s of the United States Eighth Air Force.
* April 12 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies suddenly at Warm Springs, Georgia; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes the 33rd President.
* April 18 – The American war correspondent Ernie Pyle is killed by Japanese machine gun fire on the island of Ie Shima off Okinawa.
* April 19 – Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Carousel (musical), Carousel,'' a musical play based on Ferenc Molnár's ''Liliom,'' opens on Broadway theatre, Broadway and becomes their second long-running stage classic.
* April 25
**WW II: Elbe Day – United States and Soviet Union, Soviet troops link up at the Elbe River, cutting Germany in two.
**Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.
* April 27 – U.S. Ordnance troops find the coffins of 18th-century Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian kings Frederick Wilhelm I and Frederick the Great, in addition to President of Germany, German President Paul Von Hindenburg and his wife.
May
* May 3 – Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and 120 members of his team surrender to U.S. forces (later he becomes at the forefront and a pioneer of the U.S. space program). * May 4 – The Holy Crown of Hungary is found in Mattsee, Austria, by the 86th Infantry Division (United States), United States Army 86th Infantry Division. The U.S. government keeps the crown in Fort Knox for safekeeping from the Soviets until it is returned to Hungary on January 6, 1978. * May 5 **A Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb kills five children and a grown woman, Elsie Mitchell, near Bly, Oregon, when it explodes as they drag it from the woods. They are the only people killed by an enemy attack on the American mainland during World War II. **The US 11th Armored Division liberates the prisoners of Mauthausen concentration camp, including Simon Wiesenthal. **Expatriate American poet and author Ezra Pound turns himself in to American soldiers in Italy and is imprisoned for treason. ** The cartoon character Yosemite Sam debuts in ''Hare Trigger''. * May 8 **Victory in Europe Day: The Allies of World War II, Allies accept Germany's unconditional surrender. **Hermann Göring surrenders himself to the U.S. Army near Radstadt.June
* June 22 – WWII: Battle of Okinawa ends, with U.S. occupation of the island until 1972. * June 26 – The United Nations Charter is signed in San Francisco. * June 30 – John von Neumann's ''First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC'' is distributed, containing the first published description of the logical design of a computer, with Stored-program computer, stored-program and instruction data stored in the same address space within the memory (von Neumann architecture).July
* July 8 – World War II, WW II: President Harry S. Truman is informed that Japan will talk peace if it can retain the Emperor. * July 9 – A Wildfire, forest fire breaks out in the Tillamook Burn (the third in that area of Oregon since 1933). * July 15 – The Scott Morrison Award of Minor Hockey Excellence is first given; the first recipient is Gordie Howe. * July 16 – The Trinity (nuclear test), Trinity test detonates the world's first atomic bomb. * July 21 – World War II, WW II: President Harry S. Truman approves the order for atomic bombs to be used against Japan. * July 28 – A United States Army Air Forces, U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bomber crashes into the Empire State Building, killing 14 people, including all on board. * July 30 – World War II, WW II: The heavy cruiser is hit and sunk by torpedoes from the in the Philippine Sea. Some 900 survivors jump into the sea and are adrift for up to four days. Nearly 600 die before help arrives. Captain Charles B. McVay III of the cruiser is later court-martialed and convicted; in 2000, he is posthumously exonerated.August
* August 6 – World War II, WW II: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Atomic bombing of Hiroshima – United States Boeing B-29 Superfortress ''Enola Gay'' drops a uranium-235 atomic bomb, codenamed "Little Boy", on the Japanese city of Hiroshima at 8:15 a.m. local time, resulting in between 90,000 and 146,000 deaths.
* August 7 – President Harry Truman announces the successful bombing of Hiroshima with the nuclear weapon, atomic bomb, while returning from the Potsdam Conference aboard the U.S. Navy heavy cruiser in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
* August 8 – The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States Senate, and this nation becomes the third one to join the new international organization.
* August 9 – Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Atomic bombing of Nagasaki: United States Boeing B-29 Superfortress, B-29 ''Bockscar'' drops a plutonium-239 atomic bomb, codenamed "Fat Man", on the Japanese city of Nagasaki at 11:02 a.m. local time, resulting in between 39,000 and 80,000 deaths.
* August 14 (August 15 in Japan) – Emperor Hirohito announces Japan's surrender on the radio. The United States calls this day V-J Day (Victory over Japan). This ends the period of Japanese expansionism and begins the period of Occupied Japan.
* August 17 – The United States and the U.S.S.R. split up the Korean Peninsula making North Korea and South Korea
* August 31 – A team at American Cyanamid's Lederle Laboratories, Pearl River, New York, led by Yellapragada Subbarow, announces they have obtained folic acid in a pure crystalline form.
September
* September 2 **World War II ends: The final official surrender of Japan is accepted by the Supreme Allied Commander, General of the Army (United States), General Douglas MacArthur, and Fleet admiral (United States), Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz for the United States, and delegates from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, China, and others from a Japanese delegation led by Mamoru Shigemitsu, on board the American battleship in Tokyo Bay (but in Japan August 14 is recognized as the day the Pacific War ended). **General MacArthur is given the title of Supreme Commander Allied Powers and tasked with the occupation of Japan. **Japanese general Tomoyuki Yamashita surrenders to Filipino and American forces at Kiangan, Ifugao. * September 5 ** The Russian code clerk Igor Gouzenko comes forward with numerous documents implicating the Soviet Union in numerous spy rings in North America: both in the United States and in Canada. **Iva Toguri D'Aquino, a Japanese-American suspected of being wartime radio propagandist "Tokyo Rose", is arrested in Yokohama. * September 8 – American troops occupy southern Korea, while the Soviet Union occupies the north, with the dividing line being the 38th parallel of latitude. This arrangement proves to be the indirect beginning of a divided Korea. * September 9 – The first actual case of a (computer) Software bug, bug being found, is a moth lodged in a relay of a Harvard Mark II computer at the Naval Weapons Center in Dahlgren, Virginia. * September 20 – The Office of Strategic Services, Office of Strategic Services (OSS) is disbanded and split up among several other agencies.October
* October 2 – George Albert Smith becomes President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. * October 3–10 – The Detroit Tigers win the World Series against the Chicago Cubs. * October 5 – Hollywood Black Friday: A strike by the Set Decorator's Union in Hollywood results in a riot. * October 23 – Jackie Robinson signs a contract with the Montreal Royals, making him the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s. * October 29 – At Gimbel's Department Store in New York City, the first ballpoint pens go on sale at $12.50 each.November
* November 15 – Harry S. Truman, Clement Attlee, and Mackenzie King call for a U.N. Atomic Energy Commission. * November 16 ** Cold War: The United States controversially imports 88 German scientists to help in the production of rocket technology. ** The cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost debuts, in ''The Friendly Ghost''. ** The motion picture ''The Lost Weekend (film), The Lost Weekend'', starring Ray Milland, is released. The most realistic film portrayal of alcoholism up to this time, it wins several Academy Awards the following year. ** Yeshiva College (Yeshiva University), Yeshiva College is founded in New York City. * November 29 – Assembly of the world's first general purpose electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator Analyzer and Computer (ENIAC), is completed, covering of floor space, and the first set of calculations is run on it.December
* December 4 – By a vote of 65–7, the United States Senate approves the entry of the United States into the United Nations. * December 5 – Flight 19 of U.S. Navy Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers disappears on a training exercise from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale. * December 9 – General George S. Patton is injured in an automobile accident in France, resulting in his death on December 21. * December 24 – Sodder children disappearance: Five of nine children go missing after their home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, is burned down.Undated
* The U.S. House of Representatives calls for unrestricted Jewish immigration to Palestine (region), Palestine in order to establish a Jewish commonwealth there. * The Berklee College of Music is founded in Boston. * Russian-American physicist Vladimir Kosma Zworykin coauthors ''Electron Optics and the Electron Microscope''.Ongoing
* World War II, U.S. involvement (1941–1945)Births
January
* January 1 – Diahnne Abbott, American actress and singer
* January 3 – Stephen Stills, American rock singer, songwriter (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
* January 4 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2005
* January 6
** Allen Appel, American author, illustrator, and photographer
** Barry Lopez, American author (d. 2020 in the United States, 2020)
* January 7
** Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player (d. 1990 in the United States, 1990)
** Tom Reed (American football), Tom Reed, American football player and coach (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* January 10 – Steven P. Perskie, American politician, judge
* January 12 – Steven Hoffenberg, American businessman and fraudster (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* January 15 – Vince Foster, American deputy White House counsel during the first term of President Bill Clinton (d. 1993)
* January 20
** Dave Boswell (baseball), Dave Boswell, American baseball player (d. 2012 in the United States, 2012)
** Robert Olen Butler, American writer
** Susan Rothenberg, American painter (d. 2020 in the United States, 2020)
* January 22 – Jophery Brown, American baseball player, actor and stuntman (d. 2014 in the United States, 2014)
* January 25 – Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress
* January 28
** Frank Doubleday (actor), Frank Doubleday, actor (d. 2018 in the United States, 2018)
** Karen Lynn Gorney, actress (''Saturday Night Fever'')
** Chuck Pyle, country-folk singer-songwriter (d. 2015 in the United States, 2015)
** John Perkins (author), John Perkins, author and activist
* January 29 – Tom Selleck, American actor (''Magnum, P.I.'')
* January 30 – Michael Dorris, American author (d. 1997)
* January 31 – Joseph Kosuth, American artist
February
* February 3 – Bob Griese, American football player
* February 5 – Sarah Weddington, American attorney and law professor (d. 2021)
* February 9 – Mia Farrow, American actress
* February 12 – David D. Friedman, American economist
* February 15 – Douglas Hofstadter, American cognitive scientist
* February 17 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer and choreographer (d. 2012 in the United States, 2012)
* February 19 – Michael Nader, American actor (d. 2021)
* February 20 – Henry Polic II, American actor (d. 2013)
* February 22 – Oliver (singer), Oliver, American singer ("Good Morning Starshine") (d. 2000)
* February 24 – Barry Bostwick, American actor
* February 25 – Roy Saari, American swimmer (d. 2008)
* February 26 – Mitch Ryder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* February 27 – Carl Anderson (singer), Carl Anderson, American singer, actor (''Jesus Christ Superstar'') (d. 2004)
* February 28 – Bubba Smith, American football player, actor (d. 2011)
March
* March 1 – Dirk Benedict, American actor
* March 2 – Joy Garrett, American actor and vocalist (d. 1993 in the United States, 1993)
* March 3 – Hattie Winston, American actress
* March 4 – Gary Williams, American basketball coach
* March 7 – Arthur Lee (musician), Arthur Lee, American musician (d. 2006)
* March 8
** Jim Chapman (congressman), Jim Chapman, American politician
** Micky Dolenz, American actor, director and rock musician (The Monkees)
* March 9 – Dennis Rader, American serial killer
* March 12 – Sammy Gravano, American mobster
* March 14
** Michael Martin Murphey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
** Walter Parazaider, American saxophonist (Chicago (band), Chicago)
* March 18 – Chuck E. Weiss, American songwriter and vocalist (d. 2021)
* March 20 – Pat Riley, American basketball coach
* March 21 – Charles Greene (athlete), Charles Greene, American Olympic athlete
* March 22 – Sheila Frahm, American politician
* March 24 – Curtis Hanson, American film director, screenwriter (d. 2016)
* March 29 – Walt Frazier, African-American basketball player
* March 31
** Edwin Catmull, American computer scientist
** Gabe Kaplan, American actor, comedian, and professional poker player
April
* April 2
** Linda Hunt, actress
** Richard Taruskin, musicologist (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* April 9 – Peter Gammons, baseball sportswriter
* April 10 – Shirley Walker, composer and conductor for film and television (d. 2006 in the United States, 2006)
* April 13
** Tony Dow, actor, producer, and director (''Leave It to Beaver'')
** Lowell George, rock musician (Little Feat) (d. 1979 in the United States, 1979)
** Bob Kalsu, American football player (d. 1970 in the United States, 1970)
* April 16 – John Andrew Barnes III, soldier (d. 1967 in the United States, 1967)
* April 20
** Bobby Jameson, singer, songwriter (d. 2015 in the United States, 2015)
** Steve Spurrier, American football player and coach
* April 24
** Doug Clifford, drummer
** Bob Lunn, golfer
* April 25 – Stu Cook, bassist
* April 27 – August Wilson, playwright (d. 2005 in the United States, 2005)
* April 29 – Tammi Terrell, African-American soul singer (d. 1970 in the United States, 1970)
* April 30
** Ray Miller (baseball manager), Ray Miller, baseball manager (d. 2021 in the United States, 2021)
** Michael J. Smith, astronaut (d. 1986 in the United States, 1986)
May
* May 1 – Rita Coolidge, American pop singer
* May 2 – James Vaupel, American scientist
* May 3 – Jeffrey C. Hall, American geneticist and chronobiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2017
* May 5
** Chuck Holmes (entrepreneur), Chuck Holmes, American adult film producer (d. 2000)
** Kurt Loder, American film critic, author and television personality
* May 6
** Jimmie Dale Gilmore, American musician
** Bob Seger, American rock singer ("Old Time Rock and Roll")
* May 8 – Keith Jarrett, American musician
* May 21 – Richard Hatch (actor), Richard Hatch, American actor (''Battlestar Galactica'') (d. 2017)
* May 22 – Victoria Wyndham, American actress (''Another World (TV series), Another World'')
* May 23 – Lauren Chapin, American child actress, evangelist
* May 24 – Priscilla Wagner, American actress, businesswoman and wife of singer Elvis Presley
* May 28
** Patch Adams, American physician, comedian, social activist, clown and author
** John Fogerty, American rock singer (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
** Gary Stewart (singer), Gary Stewart, American singer (d. 2003 in the United States, 2003)
* May 30
** Andrea Bronfman, American philanthropist (d. 2006)
** Gladys Horton, American singer (The Marvelettes) (d. 2011)
* May 31 – Blackberri, American singer-songwriter and community activist (d. 2021 in the United States, 2021)
June
* June 1 – Frederica von Stade, American mezzo-soprano
* June 2 – Jon Peters, American film producer
* June 3 – Hale Irwin, American professional golfer
* June 4 – Anthony Braxton, American composer, musical instrumentalist
* June 5
** John Carlos, American athlete
** Don Reid (singer), Don Reid, American country singer (The Statler Brothers)
* June 6 – David Dukes, American actor (d. 2000)
* June 7 – Billy Butler (singer), Billy Butler, American singer, songwriter (d. 2015)
* June 8 – Steven Fromholz, American singer, songwriter (d. 2014)
* June 11 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress, television personality and author (''Maude (TV series), Maude'')
* June 13 – Rodney P. Rempt, American admiral
* June 16 – Chip Damiani, American drummer (The Remains (band), The Remains) (d. 2014)
* June 17
** Frank Ashmore, American actor
** Art Bell, American radio talk show host (''Coast to Coast AM'') (d. 2018)
* June 19 – Greil Marcus, American music journalist, cultural critic
* June 23 – Jim Fouratt, American gay activist, entertainer
* June 24 – George Pataki, List of Governors of New York, Governor of New York
* June 25
** Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, American politician
** Carly Simon, American singer, songwriter ("You're So Vain")
* June 26 – Dwight York, American musician, fashion consultant, cult leader, and child molester
* June 27 – Norma Kamali, American fashion designer
* June 30
** Jerry Kenney, American Major League Baseball infielder
** James Snyder Jr., American author, attorney and politician
July
* July 1
** Mike Burstyn, American actor and singer
** Debbie Harry, American singer (Blondie (band), Blondie)
** Billy Rohr, American Major League Baseball player
* July 2 – Linda Warren, American author
* July 6 – Burt Ward, American actor and activist (''Batman (TV series), Batman'')
* July 9 – Dean Koontz, American novelist
* July 10 – Ron Glass, African-American actor (''Barney Miller'') (d. 2016)
* July 11 – Richard Wesley, American playwright, screenwriter
* July 12
** Edwin Neal, American actor
** Larry Zierlein, American football coach
* July 13
** Danny Abramowicz, American football player, coach
** Robert H. Foglesong, U.S. General
* July 15 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (d. 2019)
* July 18 – Boomer Castleman, American singer, songwriter (d. 2015)
* July 20
** Kim Carnes, American singer, songwriter ("Bette Davis Eyes")
** Larry Craig, American politician
* July 23 – Edie McClurg, comedian, screen and voice actress
* July 26 – Betty Davis, African-American funk and soul singer
* July 28 – Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis, American cartoonist (''Garfield'')
* July 30
** Lloyd Carr, American football coach
** Roger Dobkowitz, American game show producer
** David Sanborn, American saxophonist
* July 31 – William Weld, American politician
August
* August 1 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1996
* August 4 – Alan Mulally, American businessman, CEO of the Ford Motor Company
* August 5 – Loni Anderson, American actress (''WKRP in Cincinnati'')
* August 7 – Alan Page, American football player
* August 12 – J. D. McClatchy, American poet and literary critic (d. 2018 in the United States, 2018)
* August 14 – Steve Martin, American actor, comedian
* August 15
** Duffy Dyer, American baseball player and coach
** Gene Upshaw, American football player (d. 2008 in the United States, 2008)
* August 16 – Paul Morantz, American attorney and investigative journalist (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
* August 20 – Jonathan Goodson, American television game show producer, son of Mark Goodson
* August 22
** David Chase, American writer, director and television producer
** Ron Dante, American rock singer, songwriter and record producer (The Archies)
** Steve Kroft, American journalist, correspondent (''60 Minutes'')
* August 24
** Marsha P. Johnson, born Malcolm Michaels Jr., African-American gay liberation activist and drag queen (d. 1992 in the United States, 1992)
** Vince McMahon, American professional wrestling promoter, chairman and CEO of WWE
* August 26
** Tom Ridge, American politician
** Mel Watt, African-American politician and lawyer
* August 29 – Wyomia Tyus, American Olympic athlete
* August 31 – Bob Welch (musician), Bob Welch, American musician (d. 2012 in the United States, 2012)
September
* September 4 – Danny Gatton, American guitarist (d. 1994)
* September 8 – Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, American musician (d. 1973)
* September 9 – Doug Ingle, American singer, songwriter
* September 10 – Marlin Briscoe, American football player (d. 2022)
* September 12
** Jim Liberman, American Drag racing, drag racer (d. 1977)
** Richard Thaler, economist, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
* September 14 – Benjamin Harjo Jr., Native American artist
* September 15 – Jessye Norman, African-American operatic soprano (d. 2019)
* September 16 – Pat Stevens, voice actress (d. 2010)
* September 17 – Phil Jackson, basketball coach
* September 18 – P. F. Sloan, singer, songwriter (d. 2015)
* September 19 – Randolph Mantooth, actor, motivational speaker (''Emergency!'')
* September 20
** Charlie Smithgall, American politician and businessman (d. 2022)
** Candy Spelling, socialite, writer
** Laurie Spiegel, electronic composer
* September 21 – Kay Ryan, poet
* September 23 – Paul Petersen, child actor, advocate for other child actors
October
* October 1 – Donny Hathaway, African-American soul singer, songwriter (d. 1979 in the United States, 1979)
* October 2 – Don McLean, American rock singer, songwriter ("American Pie (song), American Pie")
* October 3 – Kay Baxter, American bodybuilder (d. 1988)
* October 4 – Clifton Davis, African-American actor, minister (''Amen (TV series), Amen'')
* October 12 – Dusty Rhodes (wrestler), Dusty Rhodes, wrestler (d. 2015)
* October 13 – Susan Stafford, television presenter
* October 15 – Jim Palmer, baseball player
* October 18 – Huell Howser, television personality, host of ''California's Gold'' (d. 2013)
* October 19 – John Lithgow, actor (''Third Rock from the Sun'')
* October 20
** Ron Franz, basketball player (d. 2022 in the United States, 2022)
** George Wyner, actor
* October 22
** Buzz Potamkin, television producer (d. 2012)
** Leslie West, singer and guitarist (d. 2020)
* October 24
** Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education
** Sean Solomon, Principal Investigator of NASA's MESSENGER mission to Mercury (planet), Mercury
* October 25 – David Schramm (astrophysicist), David Schramm, astrophysicist (d. 1997)
* October 26
** Pat Conroy, author (d. 2016 in the United States, 2016)
** Jaclyn Smith, actress
* October 27 – Carrie Snodgress, actress (d. 2004 in the United States, 2004)
* October 29
** Melba Moore, African-American singer, actress (''Hair (musical), Hair'')
** Daniel Albright, literary critic and musicologist (died 2015 in the United States, 2015)
* October 30
** Ron Slinker, wrestler (d. 2008 in the United States, 2008)
** Henry Winkler, actor, director, producer and author
* October 31 – Brian Doyle-Murray, actor (''Saturday Night Live'')
November
* November 7 – Bob Englehart, American editorial cartoonist *November 8 – Joseph James DeAngelo, American serial killer and rapist (nicknamed the Golden State Killer, East Area Rapist and Original Night Stalker) *November 9 – Charlie Robinson (actor), Charlie Robinson, American actor (''Night Court)'' (d. 2021) * November 12 ** Michael Bishop (author), Michael Bishop, American author ** Tracy Kidder, American journalist and author * November 21 – Goldie Hawn, American actress, producer and singer (''Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In'') * November 22 – Robert Ben Rhoades, American serial killer, rapist known as "The Truck Stop Killer" * November 23 – Jerry Harris (artist), Jerry Harris, American sculptor * November 25 ** Gail Collins, American journalist and author ** Mary Jo Deschanel, American actress * November 26 – Daniel Davis, American actor * November 27 ** Barbara Anderson (actress), Barbara Anderson, American actress ** James Avery, African-American actor (d. 2013) * November 30 ** Linda Bove, American actress ** Billy Drago, American actor (d. 2019)December
* December 1 – Bette Midler, American actress and singer
* December 2 – Charles "Tex" Watson, American prisoner, 'Manson Family' member
* December 6
** Larry Bowa, American baseball player and manager
** Dan Harrington, lawyer and poker player
* December 9 – Michael Nouri, American actor
* December 13
** Herman Cain, African-American conservative politician, author, business executive, radio host, syndicated columnist, and Tea Party activist (d. 2020)
** Kathy Garver, actress, author and online radio hostess
** Heather North, actress (d. 2017)
* December 16 – Patti Deutsch, voice actress (d. 2017)
* December 17
** Ernie Hudson, African-American actor
** Chris Matthews, news anchor
* December 18 – Carolyn Wood (swimmer), Carolyn Wood, professional swimmer
* December 19 – Elaine Joyce, actress, game show panelist
* December 20
** Bruce Baker (geneticist), Bruce Baker, geneticist (d. 2018)
** Peter Criss, rock drummer (''Kiss (band), KISS'')
* December 22
** Diane Sawyer, news journalist
** T. K. Wetherell, politician, educator (d. 2018)
* December 23 – Donald A. Ritchie, historian
* December 24 – Nicholas Meyer, screenwriter, producer, director and novelist
* December 25 – Gary Sandy, actor
* December 26 – John Walsh (television host), John Walsh, media personality (''America's Most Wanted'')
Date unknown
* ''full date unknown'' – David M. Alexander, science fiction and mystery authorDeaths
* January 3 – Edgar Cayce, mysticist (born 1877 in the United States, 1877) * January 6 – William Noble (missionary), William Noble, missionary (born 1866 in the United States, 1866) * January 7 ** Alexander Stirling Calder, sculptor (born 1870 in the United States, 1870) ** Thomas McGuire, fighter ace (born 1920 in the United States, 1920; killed in action) * January 13 – Margaret Deland, novelist (born 1857 in the United States, 1857) * January 23 – Newton E. Mason, U.S. Navy rear admiral (born 1850 in the United States, 1850) * January 25 – Volga Hayworth, showgirl (born 1897 in the United States, 1897) * January 30 – Herbert L. Clarke, cornet virtuoso (born 1867 in the United States, 1867) * January 31 – Eddie Slovik, soldier (born 1920 in the United States, 1920; executed for desertion) * February 2 ** Joe Hunt, tennis player (born 1919 in the United States, 1919; killed in naval aviation accident) ** William E. Johnson (prohibitionist), William E. Johnson, leader of the Anti-Saloon League (born 1862 in the United States, 1862) * February 11 – Al Dubin, songwriter (born 1891 in Switzerland) * February 18 – Jimmy Butler (actor), Jimmy Butler, actor (killed in action) (born 1921 in the United States, 1921) * February 26 ** James Roy Andersen, general (killed in action) (born 1904 in the United States, 1904) ** Millard Harmon, general (lost on active service) (born 1888 in the United States, 1888) * March 1 – U.S. Marine flag raisers on Iwo Jima (killed in action in Battle of Iwo Jima) *** Harlon Block (born 1924 in the United States, 1924) *** Henry Oliver Hansen, Henry “Hank” Hansen (born 1919 in the United States, 1919) *** Michael Strank (born 1919 in the United States, 1919) * March 3 – Bessie Alexander Ficklen, doggerel poet and hand puppet specialist (born 1861 in the United States, 1861) * March 4 ** Lucille La Verne, actress (born 1872 in the United States, 1872) ** Mark Sandrich, film director (born 1900 in the United States, 1900) * March 8 – Jack Lummus, athlete and Medal of Honor recipient (killed in action) (born 1915 in the United States, 1915) * March 21 – Franklin Sousley, U.S. Marine flag raiser on Iwo Jima (killed in Battle of Iwo Jima) (born 1925 in the United States, 1925) * March 22 – John Hessin Clarke, Supreme Court Justice (born 1857 in the United States, 1857) * March 30 – Maurice Rose, U.S. Army general (born 1899 in the United States, 1899; killed in action) * March 31 – Harriet Boyd Hawes, archaeologist (born 1871 in the United States, 1871) * April 10 – Gloria Dickson, actress (born 1917 in the United States, 1917; killed in domestic fire) * April 12 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States from 1933 to 1945 (born 1882 in the United States, 1882) * April 17 – Ernie Pyle, journalist (born 1900 in the United States, 1900) * April 29 – Malcolm McGregor, silent film actor (born 1892 in the United States, 1892) * April 30 – William Orlando Darby, U.S. Army colonel, creator of the Rangers (born 1911 in the United States, 1911; killed in action) * May 5 – George Cary (architect), George Cary, architect (born 1859 in the United States, 1859). * May 14 – Heber J. Grant, 7th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1856 in the United States, 1856) * May 17 – Bobby Hutchins, ''Our Gang'' films child actor (born 1925 in the United States, 1925; killed in military aviation accident) * May 18 – William Joseph Simmons, founder of the second Ku Klux Klan (born 1880 in the United States, 1880) * May 21 ** Horace B. Carpenter, actor (b. 1875 in the United States, 1875) ** Frank Cable, naval architect (b. 1863 in the United States, 1863) * June 16 – Henry Bellamann, author (born 1882 in the United States, 1882) * June 18 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., U.S. Army general (born 1886 in the United States, 1886; killed in action at Battle of Okinawa) * June 20 – Bruno Frank, German author, poet, dramatist and humanist (born 1887 in Germany, 1887) * July 13 – Alla Nazimova, scriptwriter and actress (born 1879 in Crimea) * July 16 – Addison Randall, Western film actor (born 1906 in the United States, 1906) * July 19 – George Barbier (actor), George Barbier, actor (born 1864 in the United States, 1864) * July 25 – Charles Gilman Norris, novelist (born 1881 in the United States, 1881) * August 9 – Harry Hillman, track athlete (born 1881 in the United States, 1881) * August 10 – Robert H. Goddard, rocket scientist (born 1882 in the United States, 1882) * August 25 – Willis Augustus Lee, U.S. Navy admiral and Olympic shooter (born 1888 in the United States, 1888; heart attack on active service) * September 1 – Frank Craven, actor (born 1881 in the United States, 1881) * September 6 – John S. McCain Sr., U.S. Navy admiral (born 1884 in the United States, 1884; heart attack on active service) * September 15 – Harry Daghlian, physicist (born 1921 in the United States, 1921) * September 18 – Blind Willie Johnson, African American gospel singer and guitarist (born 1897 in the United States, 1897; pneumonia) * September 20 – Jack Thayer, survivor of the Sinking of the RMS Titanic, sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' (born 1894 in the United States, 1894) * September 26 – A. Peter Dewey, soldier, first American casualty in Vietnam (born 1916 in the United States, 1916) * October 1 ** Walter Bradford Cannon, physiologist (born 1871 in the United States, 1871) ** George Van Haltren, baseball player (born 1866 in the United States, 1866) * October 13 – Milton S. Hershey, chocolate tycoon (born 1857 in the United States, 1857) * October 24 – Charles D. Barney, stockbroker (born 1844 in the United States, 1844) * October 28 – Gilbert Emery, film actor and author (born 1875 in the United States, 1875) * November 7 – Gus Edwards (vaudeville), Gus Edwards, songwriter (born 1878 in Germany) * November 11 – Jerome Kern, popular composer (born 1885 in the United States, 1885) * November 21 ** Robert Benchley, humorist, theater critic and actor (born 1889 in the United States, 1889) ** Ellen Glasgow, novelist (born 1873 in the United States, 1873) ** Alexander Patch, U.S. Army general (born 1889 in the United States, 1889; pneumonia on active service) * November 23 – Charles Armijo Woodruff, U.S. Navy officer and 11th Governor of American Samoa from 1914 to 1915 (born 1884 in the United States, 1884; suicide) * November 25 – Doris Keane, stage actress (born 1881 in the United States, 1881) * November 26 – Johnny Jenkins (racing driver), Johnny Jenkins, auto racing driver (born 1875 in Wales) * November 28 – Dwight F. Davis, tennis player (born 1879 in the United States, 1879) * December 4 – Thomas Hunt Morgan, biologist, geneticist and embryologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1933 (born 1866 in the United States, 1866) * December 21 – George S. Patton, U.S. Army general (born 1885 in the United States, 1885; died as result of auto accident in Germany) * December 26 – Russell Gleason, actor (born 1907 in the United States, 1907) * December 28 – Theodore Dreiser, novelist (born 1871 in the United States, 1871)See also
* List of American films of 1945 * Timeline of United States history (1930–1949) * Timeline of World War IIReferences
External links
* {{Year in Europe, 1945 1945 in the United States, 1940s in the United States 1945 by country, United States 1945 in North America, United States Years of the 20th century in the United States