On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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B-29s, aided for 1st time by Iwo-based Mustang fighters, raid Tokyo and Nagoya; Domei on attack; repts fighters bombed and strafed Tokyo-Yokohama sector
RAF downs 4 Ger planes off Norwegian coast
Vienna shelling heard over radio in London
US repts, Kerama campaign
1945Megas, Icelandic singer-songwriter[†]
Magnús Þór Jónsson, better known by the stage name Megas, is an Icelandic vocalist, songwriter, and writer.
1945Gerry Cottle, English circus owner (died 2021)[†]
Gerald Ward Cottle was a British circus owner and the owner of the Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset. He presented the Moscow State Circus and Chinese State Circus in Britain, founded Gerry Cottle's Circus, and co-founded The Circus of Horrors.
1945Marilyn Friedman, American philosopher and academic[†]
Marilyn Ann Friedman is an American philosopher. She holds the W. Alton Jones Chair of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University.
1945Martyn Lewis, Welsh journalist and author[†]
Sir Martyn John Dudley Lewis is a Welsh television news presenter and broadcast journalist who anchored ITN news bulletins between 1978 and 1986 and BBC News television shows from 1986 to 1999. Lewis attended Dalriada School and Trinity College, Dublin, before working as a freelance correspondent for BBC Northern Ireland and Harlech Television (HTV). He joined ITN in 1970 and headed its Northern Bureau from 1971 to 1978. Between 1978 and 1986, Lewis was an anchor for ITN's News at 5.45 and half-hour News at Ten bulletins, writing stories for the "And finally..." segment that features positive stories at the end of each News at Ten programme.
1945Joël Robuchon, French chef and author (died 2018)[†]
Joël Robuchon was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France in cuisine in 1976. He published several cookbooks, two of which have been translated into English, chaired the committee for the Larousse Gastronomique, and hosted culinary television shows in France. He operated more than a dozen restaurants across Bangkok, Bordeaux, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Macau, Madrid, Monaco, Montreal, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, and New York City. His restaurants have been acclaimed, and in 2018 he held 31 Michelin Guide stars among them, the most any restaurateur has ever held. He is considered to be one of the greatest chefs of all time.
1945Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (died 2010)[†]
Werner Schroeter was a German film director, screenwriter, and opera director known for his stylistic excess. Schroeter was cited by Rainer Werner Fassbinder as an influence both on his own work and on German cinema at large.
1945Hans van Hemert, Dutch songwriter and producer (died 2024)[†]
Hans van Hemert was a Dutch record producer and songwriter. Mouth and MacNeal and Luv' are among the pop acts he produced. He won an ASCAP award for the song "How Do You Do" by Mouth and MacNeal. and composed three songs for the Eurovision Song Contest.
1945World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato, one of the two largest ever constructed, is sunk by United States Navy aircraft during Operation Ten-Go.[†]
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.