MultiEducator · The 20th Century Almanac
HistoryCentral Est. 1996
4520th C.
1945
The 20th Century Almanac · The Forties

1945

Major Events · Sports · Music · Screen · Prizes

World War II ended with V-E Day in Europe and Japan's surrender after atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Roosevelt died and Truman took office, Hitler killed himself, and the United Nations was founded; The Lost Weekend won Best Picture.

A Year in Review
Best Picture
The Lost Weekend
Nobel · Literature
Mistral
World Series
Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago Cubs Series:
No. 1 Song
Top TV
Academy · Actor
Ray Milland

Sports Highlights

Champions of 1945

Champions

NCAA FootballArmy Record: 9-0-0
Heisman TrophyFelix Blanchard, army FB points: 860
Stanley CupToronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings Series: 4-3
World SeriesDetroit Tigers vs. Chicago Cubs Series: 4-3

Screen & Television

At the box office & on the air

Top Movies

  1. Adventure
  2. Anna and the King of Siam
  3. Bandit of Sherwood Forest
  4. The Bells of St. Mary's
  5. Caesar and Cleopatra
  6. Canyon Passage
  7. The Dolly Sisters
  8. Dragonwyck
  9. Duffy's Tavern
  10. Easy to Wed

Academy Awards

Honoring 1945
Best Picture
The Lost Weekend
Best Director
Billy Wilder
The Lost Weekend
Best Actor
Ray Milland
The Lost Weekend
Best Actress
Joan Crawford
Mildred Pierce

Nobel & Pulitzer Prizes

The year in letters & science

Nobel Prizes

Chemistry
VIRTANEN, ARTTURI ILMARI, Finland, Helsinki University, b. 1895, d. 1973: "for his research and inventions in agricultural and nutrition chemistry, especially for his fodder preservation method"
Literature
MISTRAL, GABRIELA (pen-name of GODOY Y ALCAYAGA, LUCILA), Chile, b. 1889, d. 1957: "for her lyric poetry which, inspired by powerful emotions, has made her name a symbol of the idealistic aspirations of the entire Latin American world"
Peace
HULL, CORDELL, USA, b. 1871, d. 1955: Former Secretary of State. One of the initiators of the United Nations
Physiology or Medicine
The prize was awarded jointly to: FLEMING, Sir ALEXANDER, Great Britain, London University, b. 1881, (in Lochfield, Scotland), d. 1955; CHAIN, Sir ERNST BORIS, Great Britain, Oxford University, b. 1906, (in Berlin, Germany), d. 1979; and FL
Physics
PAULI, WOLFGANG, Austria, Princeton University, NJ, U.S.A., b. 1900, d. 1958: "for the discovery of the Exclusion Principle, also called the Pauli Principle"

Pulitzer Prizes

Drama
Mary Chase ... "Harvey"
Fiction
John Hersey ... "A Bell for Adano"
History
Stephen Bonsal ... "Unfinished Business" Mark S. Watson ... "Baltimore Sun" James B. Reston ... "New York Times" "Detroit Free Press" (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); © 1996-2025