1940s

Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
Decades: 1910s 1920s 1930s - 1940s - 1950s 1960s 1970s
Years: 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

Events and trends

The 1940s were dominated by World War II, the most destructive armed conflict in history. So consequential was this event and its aftermath that it laid the foundation for other major world events and trends for decades to follow.

The post-war period saw the beginning of the East-West conflict and the Cold War, together with major social upheaval caused by the destruction of the war, the large number of refugees, and soldiers returning home and demanding government recognition for their sacrifice.

Technology

First nuclear bomb that dramatically altered international relationships
First cruise missile, the V1 flying bomb and the first ballistic missile, the V-2 rocket
First transistor
Colossus, the world's first totally electronic computer. See History of computing hardware
First supersonic flight by Chuck Yeager on October 14, 1947

Science

Quantum electrodynamics developed by Feynman, Dyson, Schwinger, and Tomonaga
Mathematics: game theory, cryptology
TRIZ

War, peace and politics

World War II ends in 1945
The shoah (Holocaust)
United Nations established in 1945
Beginning of the Cold War
Independence for some former colonies
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The Irish Free State becomes a republic in 1948
NATO founded in 1949
The Chinese Civil War ends in victory for the Communists
Informbiro period in Yugoslavia begins
Indian independence and Independence of Pakistan
US Air Force civilian auxiliary the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) formed

Economics

The Marshall Plan is implemented by the United States, giving billions of dollars in aid to reconstruct the war-devastated economies of Europe
International Monetary Fund
World Bank

Culture, religion

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life
The NBA begins play, in 1947
Rhythm and blues emerges
Some aspects of 40's culture was sent up by ATN-7 T.V Series Fast Forward including Casablanca

Others

People

World leaders

Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada)
President Lin Sen (Republic of China)
President Chiang Kai-shek (Republic of China)
Marshal Henri Petain (Vichy France)
Adolf Hitler (Germany)
Mohandas Gandhi (India) († 1948)
Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Pakistan)
Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion (Israel)
King Victor Emmanuel III (Italy)
Prime Minister Benito Mussolini (Italy)
Emperor Hirohito (Japan)
Pope Pius XII
Taoiseach Eamon de Valera (Éire)
Taoiseach John A. Costello (Republic of Ireland)
Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union)
Prime Minister Winston Churchill (United Kingdom)
Prime Minister Clement Attlee (United Kingdom)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States)
President Harry S. Truman (United States)
Governor Luis Muñoz Marín (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico)
President Getúlio Vargas (Brazil)

Sports figures

Entertainers