The Year 1945 in Review: Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historic events from the year 1945. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, notable inventions, sports facts, the cost of living, entertainment trivia, and much more.

1. History Facts and Events From the USA and the World
2. World War II Timeline

1. History Facts and Events From the USA and the World:

1. In 1945, the median household income in the United States was $2,595, and the price for a gallon of gas averaged 15 cents.
2. The average cost of a new home was $4,600, unemployment was 1.9%, and the inflation rate was 2.27%.
3. At the grocery store, milk cost 63 cents a gallon, eggs were 55 cents a dozen, and chopped beef was 27 cents a pound. You could buy three pounds of yellow onions for 17 cents, a dozen Florida oranges for 20 cents, and six 12-ounce bottles of Pepsi for 23 cents.
4. During World War II (September 1939 to August 1945), the price of food in the United States increased by over 40 percent. At the end of 1945, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics "all foods” retail price index "was more than 41 percent above the 1935-39 average. Shortages of certain foods intensified in 1944, and some foods became extremely scarce in 1945.”
5. American companies and brands launched in 1945 included Ashley Furniture, Kaiser Permanente, Mattel, Minute Maid, and U-Haul.
6. On January 10, the Los Angeles Railway (1901-45) was sold to National City Lines and renamed the Los Angeles Transit Lines. Metro Primary Resources explains that at its height, the Los Angeles Transit Lines maintained “over 20 streetcar lines and 1,250 trolleys, most running through the core of Los Angeles and serving such nearby neighborhoods as Echo Park, Westlake, Hancock Park, Exposition Park, West Adams, the Crenshaw district, Vernon, Boyle Heights, and Lincoln Heights.”
7. On January 20, Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated for a fourth consecutive term as president of the United States.
8. On January 25, the Ruppert Estate sold the New York Yankees for $2.8 million to construction magnate Del Webb and his partners Dan Topping and Larry MacPhail.
9. On February 8, Paul Brown agreed to coach the new professional football team in Cleveland. The team would later be named the Cleveland Browns, in Paul Brown’s honor.
10. On March 4, Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, joined the British Auxiliary Transport Service as a driver.
11. On March 6, George Nissen of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received a patent for the trampoline.
12. On March 15, at the 17th Academy Awards, which honored the best films of 1944, Going My Way won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Leo McCarey (Going My Way) won an Oscar for Best Director. Bing Crosby (Going My Way) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Ingrid Bergman (Gaslight) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
13. On April 12, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office, and Vice President Harry S. Truman was sworn in as the 33rd U.S. president. The Miller Center points out that “Roosevelt's passing stunned the world. Churchill later compared the news of FDR's death to a physical blow. Stalin, too, was distressed to learn of FDR's passing. Many Americans no doubt agreed with these leaders. Hundreds of thousands of people, many with tears in their eyes, lined the train route carrying his body from Georgia to Washington, D.C., and then on to Hyde Park to pay their final respects.”
14. On April 15, former President Franklin Roosevelt was buried on the grounds of his Hyde Park, New York, home.
15. June 26: At the San Francisco Conference, 50 nations signed the United Nations Charter. The UN Charter “sets out the rights and obligations of member states and establishes the principal organs and procedures of the United Nations.”
16. On August 15, wartime rationing of gasoline and fuel oil ended in the U.S.
17. On August 15, MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler sold the World Series radio rights to Gillette for $150,000. The Ford Motor Company had been the World Series sponsor since 1934, receiving an annual payment of $100,000.
18. On September 11, Dutch physician Willem Kolff performed the first successful kidney dialysis using his artificial kidney machine.
19. On September 15, a hurricane in southern Florida destroyed 366 planes and 25 blimps at the Richmond Naval Air Station.
20. On October 24, the United Nations Charter was ratified, and the UN officially came into existence.
21. On November 23, wartime rationing of food ended in the U.S.
22. On December 27, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were both created.
23. In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first American city to fluoridate its drinking water.
24. Popular music artists in 1945 were the Andrews Sisters, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, Dinah Shore, and Frank Sinatra.
25. America’s most beloved songs were Sentimental Journey (Les Brown with Doris Day), It’s Been a Long, Long Time (Harry James with Kitty Kallen), and Rum and Coca-Cola (the Andrews Sisters).
26. Arthur Godfrey Time began a 27-year run on CBS radio and television.
27. The public affairs program Meet the Press premiered on NBC radio.
28. In 1945, Perry Spencer invented the microwave, Ralph Teetor invented cruise control, and Andrew Freeman invented the block heater.
29. Elvis Presley made his first public appearance at the age of 10.
30. Slinky was the most popular Christmas toy.
31. Here are some sports facts from 1945: The Cleveland Rams were the NFL champs, the Detroit Tigers won the World Series, and the Toronto Maple Leafs clinched the Stanley Cup.
32. In 1945 as well, the words "A-bomb," "boxer briefs," "cold war," "consumer price index," "golden years," "graffiti," "honcho," "macroeconomics," "press secretary," "rollover," "soup du jour," "turbojet," "TV," "whing ding," and "work ethic" all appeared in print for the first time.

2. World War II Timeline:

1. On January 27, Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps in Poland.
2. The Dutch famine of 1944–45 took place in the German-occupied Netherlands. A German blockade had cut off food and fuel shipments from farm towns, which had affected over 4.5 million people. On January 28, Swedish ships brought food and other supplies to the Netherlands to alleviate the effects of the famine that had already claimed an estimated 20,000 lives.
3. On January 30, American soldiers turned back German troops and won the Battle of the Bulge.
4. From February 7 to 12, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin met at the Yalta Conference.
5. On February 13, allied planes began bombing Dresden, Germany.
6. On February 13, after a 49-day battle with Nazi Germany, the USSR captured Budapest.
7. On February 19, after 72 days of shelling the island, U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima. The intense fighting lasted a month.
8. On February 23, six U.S. Marines raised a large American flag at the summit of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, which had been a Japanese stronghold.
9. On March 3, the U.S. Army liberated Manila in the Philippines.
10. On April 1, the Battle of Okinawa began.
11. On April 29, the U.S. Army liberated the Dachau concentration camp, located just outside Munich, Germany.
12. On April 30, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, committed suicide.
13. On May 2, over one million German soldiers surrendered to the Western Allies in Italy and Austria.
14. On May 8, World War II ended in Europe after Germany signed an unconditional surrender.
15. The Potsdam Conference took place from July 17 to August 2, 1945. The goals of the conference were to establish post-war order, resolve peace treaty issues, and counter the effects of war. The participants—the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union—divided Germany into four occupation zones. These zones were the United States in the south, Great Britain in the northwest, France in the southwest, and the Soviet Union in the east.
16. On July 26, Winston Churchill resigned as British prime minister. History.com explains that “In the 11th hour of World War II, Winston Churchill was forced to resign as British prime minister following his party’s electoral defeat by the Labour Party. It was the first general election held in Britain in more than a decade. The same day, Clement Attlee, the Labour leader, was sworn in as the new British leader.”
17. On August 6, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
18. On August 9, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, destroying part of the city.
19. On August 11, the Allies refused Japan's offer to surrender on the condition that Emperor Hirohito retain his status.
20. On August 14, Japan surrendered unconditionally to end WWII.
21. An estimated 70–85 million people died during World War II, which was about 3% of the 1940 world population of 2.3 billion people.

References:

1. https://vintagedancer.com/1940s/what-did-women-wear-in-the-1940s/#:~:text=1940s%20Fashion%20Trends&text=Plaid%20A%2Dline%20skirts%20with,the%20Rosie%20the%20Riveter%20look.
2. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices
3. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices
4. https://www.otrcat.com/p/remembering-1945
5. https://www.ajc.com/news/timeline-key-events-1945/3zu5pIikFZLLTTccFROYjN/
6. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1941.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_in_the_United_States
8. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1945
9. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1945
10. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1945

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor