August
Crews on Tinian Island loaded the atomic bomb 'Fat Man' aboard a B-29, one day before it would fall on Nagasaki.
The B-29 Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima, killing an estimated 70,000 people instantly and tens of thousands more from radiation.
The first news photographs and reports of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima reached the world, one day after the blast.
Allied firebombing raids destroyed much of Nagoya, Japan, including the centuries-old Nagoya Castle and its famous golden shachihoko ornaments.
The Soviet Union declared war on Japan, honoring its Yalta pledge, and prepared to launch a massive invasion of Manchuria within hours of the declaration.
The US dropped a plutonium bomb, 'Fat Man', on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 instantly and tens of thousands more from injuries and radiation.
One day after the Nagasaki bombing, Japan's government transmitted its willingness to surrender to the Allies, provided Emperor Hirohito's status was preserved.
Emperor Hirohito informed the Japanese people of surrender in a radio broadcast, while President Truman announced Japan's capitulation to the world, ending World War II.
Emperor Hirohito's surrender broadcast, recorded the day before, aired to the Japanese public, and Allied nations celebrated VJ Day as World War II officially ended.
Sukarno proclaimed Indonesian independence from Japanese and Dutch rule in Jakarta, launching a four-year war against returning Dutch colonists.
September
Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japanese officials signed the instrument of surrender, formally ending World War II.
Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam independent in Hanoi, quoting the American Declaration of Independence to a crowd of 500,000.
French troops and colonial forces launched a coup against Vietnamese revolutionary authorities in Saigon, reigniting colonial war just weeks after Japan's surrender.
Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 premiered in a Moscow blacked out for artillery salutes celebrating Soviet victories, conducted by the composer himself.
October
The Food and Agriculture Organization was established in Quebec City, launching the United Nations' first specialized agency to fight global hunger.
The UN Charter takes effect after ratification by the required majority of signatory nations, formally establishing the organization amid the ashes of World War II.
November
Twenty-one senior Nazi officials went on trial before an International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, the first time a defeated regime's leaders faced justice for crimes against humanity.
Twenty-one senior Nazi leaders went on trial before an international tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
December
Allied prosecutors formally lodged the indictment against 24 major Nazi war criminals ahead of the Nuremberg Trials, charging them with crimes against humanity.