July 1946

The following events occurred in July 1946:

July 1, 1946 (Monday) At 8:59 am and 45 seconds local time, Operation Crossroads was carried out as a fleet of 73 retired and unmanned ships were destroyed, sunk or damaged by an atomic bomb. The test took place at the Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific Ocean to observe what a nuclear weapon could do to American warships. It was only the fourth time in human history that a nuclear explosion had taken place. For the first time, news reporters and representatives of the rest of the world's nations had been invited. The explosion took place at 2159:45 UTC on June 30 (5:59 pm EST). The transport , closest to the blast, and sank immediately, while the destroyer was capsized."SPECTACULAR ATOM BOMB BLAST SINKS TWO SHIPS, DAMAGES 20", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 1, 1946, p1 The heavily armored Japanese ship sank the next day."Jap Cruiser Sinks After Atomic Blast", Post-Gazette, July 2, 1946, p1 Animals on the died of radiation poisoning over the weeks after initially showing normal bloodcounts."Atom Test Animals Melt Away", Post-Gazette, July 15, 1946, p3 The Communicable Disease Center (CDC), a federal agency now known as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began operations in Atlanta as a branch of the United States Public Health Service, initially as a domestic program to eradicate malaria."Our History — Our Story", Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

July 2, 1946 (Tuesday) The Luce–Celler Act of 1946 was signed into law, giving all Philippines citizens living in the United States the right to become naturalized U.S. citizens."Roots in the Sand", pbs.org; Barbara Mercedes Posadas, The Filipino Americans (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999) p26 In the American Zone of Germany, Lt. Gen. Lucius D. Clay, the Deputy Military Governor, pardoned all Nazis under 27 years old, except for those accused of war crimes, and restored one million men to German citizenship. One commentator noted, "Clay acted on the assumption that many of these Germans became Nazis before they were old enough to realize what they were doing.""Younger Nazis Given Pardons In U.S. Zone", Post-Gazette, July 3, 1946, p4 The town of Kerman was incorporated in Fresno County, California. The film noir The Stranger starring Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young and Orson Welles (who also directed) was released. Born: Richard Axel, American neuroscientist, 2004 Nobel Prize laureate, in New York City Died: Howard Hyde Russell, 89, founder, Anti-Saloon League Mary Alden, 63, American stage & screen actress

July 3, 1946 (Wednesday) U.S. President Truman signed the National Mental Health Act into law, establishing National Institute of Mental Health and funding research into mental illness.Murray Levine, The History and Politics of Community Mental Health (Oxford University Press US, 1981) p43 For the first time, Czechoslovakia had a Communist leader, as party First Secretary Klement Gottwald, was named as the new prime minister by President Edvard Beneš."Communist Named Czech Premier" Miami Daily News, July 4, 1946, p1 Born: Johnny Lee, American singer and songwriter, as John Lee Ham in Texas City, Texas

July 4, 1946 (Thursday)

The Republic of the Philippines was born, and Manuel Roxas was inaugurated as its first president. Forty-eight years after the United States had first claimed the islands as an American territory, U.S. President Harry S. Truman issued a formal proclamation that "On behalf of the United States of America, I do hereby recognize the independence of the Philippines as a separate and self-governing nation and acknowledge the authority and control over the same of the government instituted by the people thereof, under the constitution now in force." Present at the raising of the Philippine flag were General Douglas MacArthur and U.S. Senator Millard Tydings, and Emilio Aguinaldo, who had begun the fight for independence in 1898."Republic of Philippines Born Amid Rubble of War- Roxas Sworn In As First President" St. Petersburg Times, July 4, 1946, p1 The Kielce pogrom took place in Poland, where more than 40 residents of Kielce's Jewish neighborhood were murdered by a mob, without intervention by the police. Walenty Blaszczyk guided police to the Jewish section of the town after saying that his 8-year-old son had escaped after being held hostage by a group of Jews,"The Kielce Pogrom" by Bozena Szaynok, Jewish Virtual Library; "40 Die in Attacks on Polish Jews; False Story by Boy, 8, Starts Riots", Pittsburgh Press, July 5, 1946, p1 Forty years later, the boy, now a retired 59-year old pensioner who was still living in Kielce, told a Polish government inquest that his father had told him to lie to the police in order to justify the murders."Remembering the Pogrom of Kielce", Chicago Tribune, May 24, 1996, p1 Born: Michael Milken, American "junk bond" financier, in Encino, California Ron Kovic, author of Born on the Fourth of July, in Ladysmith, Wisconsin

July 5, 1946 (Friday) At the Piscine Molitor in Paris, model Micheline Bernardini became the first woman to wear a two-piece swimsuit created by designer Louis Réard. In an homage to the site of the atomic bomb test earlier in the week, Reard named the garment the bikini."The bikini turns 60 -- and still looking good", Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 11, 2006 Claudia Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, Girl Culture (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008) p182

As inflation in Hungary spiraled out of control, the national bank in Budapest put into circulation an unprecedented note of currency, a bill for one hundred quintillion (100,000,000,000,000,000) pengős."More Valueless Money", Pittsburgh Press, July 5, 1956, p17 Leo Durocher, the manager of baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers, first uttered what would become a famous phrase, after the New York Giants beat them 7–6 to rise from last place to 7th in the National League. Frank Graham, a reporter for the Journal-American, wrote in his Sunday column that Durocher had pointed to the Giants' dugout and said, "The nice guys are all over there, in seventh place." Durocher recalled the remark nearly 30 years later as "Take a look at them. All nice guys. They'll finish last." The remark continued to be paraphrased, and in April 1948, Cosmopolitan magazine published an article about Durocher with the title "Nice Guys Finish Last"."On Language", by William Safire, New York Times, October 27, 2002 Born: Gwyneth Powell, British TV actress known for Grange Hill; in Levenshulme, Lancashire

July 6, 1946 (Saturday)

A mob of hundreds of youths in Trieste threw rocks and stones at Allied military police in protest of the four-power decision to internationalize the city."British Fight Mob in Trieste" Milwaukee Sentinel, July 7, 1946, p2 Born: George Walker Bush, 43rd President of the United States, in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Yale University student George Bush and Barbara Bush.Bill Minutaglio, First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty (Random House, Inc., 1999) Sylvester Enzio Stallone, American film actor (Rocky and Rambo), in New York City to Frank Stallone Sr. and Jackie Stallone; he was injured during the delivery, leaving him with a drooping lower lip and what would become a slight, but distinctive, speech impediment.John Sarkett, Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph and Success p143 (Sourcebooks, Inc., 2007) John Frederick Dryer, American pro football player and television actor (Hunter), in Hawthorne, California to Charles and Genevieve Dryer.

July 7, 1946 (Sunday) Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917) became the first American citizen to be elevated to sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church, canonized under the authority of Pope Pius XII."U.S. Nun Elevated To Sainthood By Pope", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 8, 1946, p1 Mother Cabrini, a native of Italy, came to the United States in 1889 and began a career of founding schools and hospitals. She became a U.S. citizen on October 9, 1909, and had been beatified on November 13, 1938.Phyllis G. Jestice, Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia, Volume 3 (ABC-CLIO, 2004), p153 Miguel Alemán Valdés was elected President of Mexico, defeating opposition candidate Ezequiel Padilla."Riots Mark End of Vote In Mexico", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 8, 1946, p1 In Philadelphia, a joint announcement was released by the Presbyterian Church and the Episcopal Church for a merger that, ultimately, did not take place."Episcopalians, Presbyterians Map Merger", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 8, 1946, p1 U.S. Navy Ensign Jimmy Carter, who would become the 39th President of the United States, married Rosalynn Smith in Plains, Georgia.Robert P. Watson, ed., Laura Bush: The Report to the First Lady 2005 (Nova Publishers, 2005) p146 In 2021, they would become the first former U.S. President and First Lady to celebrate a 75th wedding anniversary.

July 8, 1946 (Monday) The Soviet military government in Austria began deporting 54,000 persons who had moved there from Germany following the 1938 Anschluss, after setting a deadline of 6:00 am the day before."Boxcars Used In Austrian Mass Eviction", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 9, 1946, p1 Died: Orrick Johns, 59, American writer, by suicide

July 9, 1946 (Tuesday) In the 1946 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Boston, Ted Williams helped the American League win 12-0 over the Nationals, getting a hit in all four times at-bat, getting two home runs and five RBIs.Tom Meany, Baseball's Greatest Hitters (A.S. Barnes, 1950) Born: Bon Scott, Scottish-born Australian rock musician, lead singer for AC/DC, as Ronald B. Scott in Forfar, Angus (died of alcohol poisoning, 1980). Mitch Mitchell, English drummer for and last surviving member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, in Ealing, Middlesex (d. 2008)

July 10, 1946 (Wednesday) In Hungary, the hyperinflation peaked at a rate of 348.46% per day.Hyperinflation: Mugabe Versus Milosević Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress President, held a press conference in Bombay declaring that while the Congress had agreed to partake in the Constituent Assembly, it reserved the right to modify the Cabinet Mission Plan as it saw fit.Azad, Abul Kalam (2005) [First published 1959]. India Wins Freedom: An Autobiographical Narrative. New Delhi: Orient Longman. pp. 164–165. The resolution was passed with an overwhelming majority ... Thus, the [A.I.C.C.] seal of approval was put on the Working Committee's resolution accepting the Cabinet Mission Plan ... On 10 July, Jawaharlal held a press conference in Bombay ... [when questioned,] Jawaharlal replied emphatically that the Congress had agreed only to participate in the Constituent Assembly and regarded itself free to change or modify the Cabinet Mission Plan as it thought best ... The Moslem League had accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan ... Mr. Jinnah had clearly stated that he recommended acceptance. Died: Sidney Hillman, 59, American labor leader and President of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America

July 11, 1946 (Thursday) At the meeting in Paris of the foreign ministers of the four Allied powers who were carrying out the post-war Occupation of Germany, U.S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes proposed an economic merger of the occupation zones. The United Kingdom agreed on July 29, and the American and British zones would become the "United Economic Area", informally referred to as "Bizonia", on January 1, 1947. The French zone would join in 1949, and the three areas would become West Germany later that year.Detlef Junker and Philipp Gassert, The United States and Germany in the Era of the Cold War, 1945–1990 (Cambridge University Press, 2004) p61 Born: Ed Markey, American politician, U.S. Senator for Massachusetts since 2013; in Malden, Massachusetts

July 12, 1946 (Friday)