1943
Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
Events
Below, events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
February
- February 2 – WWII: In Russia, the Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end with the surrender of the German 6th Army.
- February 3 – WWII: The Four Chaplains of the U.S. Army are drowned, when their ship (USAT Dorchester) is struck by a German torpedo.
- February 7 – WWII: In the United States, it is announced that shoe rationing will go into effect in 2 days.
- February 8 – WWII – Battle of Guadalcanal: United States forces defeat Japanese troops.
- February 10 – March 3 – Mohandas Gandhi keeps a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.
- February 11 – General Eisenhower is selected to command the Allied armies in Europe.
- February 14 – WWII:
- February 16 – WWII: The Soviet Union reconquers Kharkov, but is later driven out in the Third Battle of Kharkov
- February 18
- February 20
- February 22 – Members of White Rose are executed in Nazi Germany.
- February 23 – A fire at St. Joseph's Orphanage, County Cavan, Ireland, kills 36 people (35 of whom are children).
- February 27 – The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, United States explodes, killing 74 men.
- February 28 – Operation Gunnerside: 6 Norwegians led by Joachim Ronneberg successfully attack the heavy water plant Vemork.
March
- March 1 – Heinz Guderian becomes the Inspector-General of the Armoured Troops for the German Army.
- March 2 – WWII: Battle of the Bismarck Sea – United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
- March 3 – 173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station in London.
- March 4 – The 15th Academy Awards ceremony is held in Los Angeles.
- March 8 – WWII: American forces are attacked by Japanese troops on Hill 700 in Bougainville, in a battle that will last 5 days.
- March 9 – Şükrü Saracoğlu forms the new government of Turkey. (14th government; Şükrü Saracoğlu had served twice as a prime minister)
- March 10 – Banco Bradesco was founded by Amador Aguiar in Marília, São Paulo, Brazil.
- March 13
- March 14 – WWII: British submarine HMS Thunderbolt sunk off Sicily by an Italian corvette, the second time this vessel has been lost with all hands.[1][2]
- March 16–March 19 – WWII: 22 ships from Convoys HX 229/SC 122 and one U-boat are sunk in the largest North Atlantic U-boat "wolfpack" attack of the war.
- March 17 – Éamon de Valera makes the speech "The Ireland That We Dreamed Of", commonly called the "comely maidens" speech.
- March 22 – WWII: The entire population of Khatyn in Belarus is burnt alive by the German occupation forces.
- March 23 – The drugs Vicodin and Lortab are first produced in Germany.
- March 26 – WWII – Battle of the Komandorski Islands: In the Aleutian Islands, the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese troops attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
- March 27 – WWII – Escort carrier Dasher was destroyed by an accidental explosion in the Firth of Clyde, killing 379 of the crew of 528.
- March 28 – In Italy a ship full of weapons and ammunition explodes in the port of Naples, killing 600.
- March 31 – Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! opens on Broadway, heralds a new era in "integrated" stage musicals, becomes an instantaneous stage classic, and goes on to be Broadway's longest-running musical up to that time (1948).
April
May
June
- June 1 – British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 777, a DC-3 with registration G-AGBB, (formerly KLM PH-ALI, Ibis), on a scheduled passenger flight, is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, all 17 persons aboard perish, including the actor Leslie Howard. There is speculation that the downing was an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as the Germans may have had wrong information he was aboard.
- June 4 – A military coup d'état in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
- June 8 – WWII: Japanese battleship Mutsu was destroyed by an accidental magazine explosion in Hashirajima anchorage, killing 1,121.
- June 22 – The U.S. Army 45th Infantry Division lands in North Africa, prior to training at Arzew, French Morocco.
- June 30 – CCC abolished.
July
August
September
October
November
- November 1 – WWII – Operation Goodtime: United States Marines land on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands.
- November 2 – WWII: In the early morning hours, American and Japanese ships fight the inconclusive Battle of Empress Augusta Bay off Bougainville.
- November 2 – WWII: British troops in Italy reach the Garigliano River.
- November 9 – Agreement for foundation of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration signed by 44 countries in the White House, Washington, D.C.
- November 14 – Leonard Bernstein, substituting at the last minute for ailing principal conductor Bruno Walter, directs the New York Philharmonic in its regular Sunday afternoon broadcast concert over CBS Radio. The event receives front page coverage in the New York Times the following day.
- November 15 – Porajmos: German SS leader Heinrich Himmler orders that Gypsies and "part-Gypsies" be put "on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps."
- November 16
- November 18 – WWII: The Royal Air Force opens its bombing campaign against Berlin, with 440 planes causing only light damage and killing 131. The RAF loses 9 aircraft and 53 aviators.
- November 20 – WWII: Battle of Tarawa: United States Marines land on Tarawa and Makin atolls in the Gilbert Islands and take heavy fire from Japanese shore guns.
- November 22
- November 23 – The Deutsche Opernhaus on Bismarckstraße in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg is destroyed. It is rebuilt in 1961 and called the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
- November 25 – WWII: Americans and Japanese fight the naval Battle of Cape St. George between Buka and New Ireland.
- November 28 – WWII – Tehran Conference: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin meet in Tehran to discuss war strategy (on November 30 they establish an agreement concerning a planned June 1944 invasion of Europe codenamed Operation Overlord).
- November 29 – The second session of AVNOJ, the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia, is held in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to determine the post-war ordering of the country.
December
Date unknown
Births
January
- January 1 – Don Novello, American actor
- January 2 – Barış Manço, Turkish singer and television personality (d. 1999)
- January 4 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American writer
- January 6 – Terry Venables, English football manager
- January 7 – Sadako Sasaki, Japanese atomic bomb sickness victim (d. 1955)
- January 9 – Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer
- January 10 – Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
- January 11 – Jim Hightower, American radio host and author
- January 13 – Richard Moll, American television actor
- January 14
- January 15 – Margaret Beckett, British politician
- January 18 – Kay Granger, American politician
- January 19
- January 20 – Mel Hague, English singer and author
- January 24 – Sharon Tate, American actress and model murdered by the "Manson Family" (d. 1969)
- January 25 – Tobe Hooper, American film director
- January 26 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (d. 2005)
- January 28 – John Beck, American actor
- January 29
February
- February 2 – Erkan Genis, Turkish artist
- February 3 – Blythe Danner, American actress
- February 4 – Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese politician
- February 5
- February 6 – Fabian, American singer
- February 7 – Gareth Hunt, English actor (d. 2007)
- February 8 – Creed Bratton, American actor and musician
- February 9
- February 14 – Maceo Parker, American musician (James Brown, P-Funk)
- February 18 – Graeme Garden, Scottish writer, comedian, and actor
- February 19
- February 20
- February 21 – David Geffen, American record executive and film producer
- February 23
- Fred Biletnikoff, American football player and coach
- Dennis Redfield, American actor
- February 24 – Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer
- February 25 – George Harrison, British musician (The Beatles) (d. 2001)
- February 26 – Bill Duke, American actor and director
- February 27
March
April
- April 2 – Caterina Bueno, Italian singer
- April 5 – Max Gail, American actor
- April 8 – Miller Farr, American football player
- April 10 – Andrzej Badeński, Polish athlete
- April 11 – Harley Race, American professional wrestler
- April 20 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor
- April 22 – Louise Glück, American poet and 12th US Poet Laureate
- April 23
- April 25 – James G. Mitchell, Canadian computer scientist
- April 28 – John O. Creighton, American astronaut
- April 30 – Frederick Chiluba, former President of Zambia (d. 2011)
May
- May 1 – Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan politician (d. 2004)
- May 5 – Michael Palin, British comedian
- May 10 – Richard (Dick) Darman, American federal government official and businessman
- May 13 – Kurt Trampedach, Danish artist
- May 14
- May 17 – Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, King of Malaysia
- May 22 – Betty Williams, Northern Irish political activist, co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- May 25 – Jessi Colter, American singer and composer
- May 26 – Erica Terpstra, Dutch swimmer, politician and president of the Dutch Olympic Committee
- May 27 – Bruce Weitz, American actor
- May 30 – James Chaney, American civil rights worker (d. 1964)
- May 31
June
- June 2 – Ilayaraaja, Indian composer
- June 3 – John Burgess, Australian game show host and actor
- June 4 – Joyce Meyer, Christian author and speaker
- June 6 – Richard Smalley, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
- June 7
- June 8 – Colin Baker, British actor
- June 13 – Malcolm McDowell, British actor
- June 14 – Jim Sensenbrenner, American politician
- June 15
- June 16 – Joan Van Ark, American actress
- June 17
- June 21 – Marika Green French-Swedish actress
- June 23 – James Levine, American conductor
- June 26
- June 27 – Rico Petrocelli, baseball player
- June 28 – Jens Birkemose, Danish painter
- June 29
- June 30 – Ahmed Sofa, Bangladeshi writer (d. 2001)
July
- July 1 – Jeff Wayne, American musician
- July 3
- July 4
- July 5 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player (d. 2001)
- July 7 – Joel Siegel, American film critic (d. 2007)
- July 8 – Guido Marzulli, Italian painter
- July 9 – Soledad Miranda, Spanish actress (d. 1970)
- July 10 – Arthur Ashe, American tennis player (d. 1993)
- July 12
- July 15 – Jocelyn Bell Burnell, British astrophysicist
- July 16 – Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban writer (d. 1990)
- July 19
- July 20
- July 21
- July 23
- July 25 – Erika Steinbach, German politician
- July 26 – Mick Jagger, English rock singer (The Rolling Stones)
- July 28 – Richard Wright, British musician (Pink Floyd) (d. 2008)
August
- August 2 – Max Wright, American actor
- August 3 – Clarence Wijewardena, Sri Lankan musician (d. 1996)
- August 4 – Bjørn Wirkola, Norwegian ski jumper
- August 5 – Nelson Briles, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- August 6 – Jim Hardin, former Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves pitcher (d. 1991)
- August 7 – Dino Valente, American musician (d. 1994)
- August 11
- August 14 – Jimmy Johnson, American football coach and television analyst
- August 17
- August 18 – Gianni Rivera, Italian footballer
- August 20 – Sylvester McCoy, British actor
- August 23 – Bobby Diamond, American actor
- August 27 – Tuesday Weld, American actress
- August 28
- August 30
- August 31 – Leonid Ivashov, Russian general
September
- September 1 – Don Stroud, American actor and surfer
- September 3 – Valerie Perrine, American actress and model
- September 5 – Dulce Saguisag, Filipino politician and former DSWD Secretary. (d. 2007)
- September 6
- September 9 – Art LaFleur, American actor
- September 10
- September 11
- September 13 – Mildred D. Taylor, American writer
- September 14 – Irwin Goodman, Finnish singer (d. 1991)
- September 19 – Joe Morgan, American Hall of Fame baseball player
- September 22 – Toni Basil, American musician and video artist
- September 28 – J. T. Walsh, American actor (d. 1998)
- September 29 – Lech Wałęsa, President of Poland, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- September 30
October
- October 1 – Jean Jacques Annaud, French film director
- October 2 – Franklin Rosemont, American poet
- October 4 – Margaret Pemberton, English writer
- October 6 – Michael Durrell, American actor
- October 8 – Chevy Chase, American comedian and actor
- October 14
- October 16 – Paul Rose, Canadian terrorist
- October 18 – Birthe Rønn Hornbech, Danish politician
- October 20 – Noreen Corcoran, American former child actress and director
- October 27 – Carmen Argenziano, American actor
- October 31 – Paul Frampton, English physicist
November
- November 1 – Jacques Attali, French economist
- November 4 – Chuck Scarborough, American news anchor
- November 5
- November 7
- November 11 – Doug Frost, Australian swimming coach
- November 12 – Wallace Shawn, American actor
- November 13
- November 14 – Peter Norton, American software engineer and businessman
- November 17 – Lauren Hutton, American actress and model
- November 19 – Aurelio Monteagudo, Cuban Major League Baseball player (d. 1990)
- November 20 – Mie Hama, Japanese actress
- November 21 – Larry Mahan, American rodeo cowboy
- November 22
- November 23 – Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo
- November 24 – Dave Bing, American mayor and longtime NBA player
- November 26 – Marilynne Robinson, American writer
- November 28 – Randy Newman, American musician
December
Date unknown
Deaths
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
- December 1 – Damrong Rajanubhab, Thai prince and historian (b. 1862)
- December 9 – Georges Dufrénoy, French post-impressionnist painter (b. 1870)
- December 14 – John Harvey Kellogg, American doctor (b. 1852)
- December 15 – Fats Waller, African-American jazz pianist (Ain't Misbehavin') (b. 1904)
- December 22 – Beatrix Potter, British children's author and illustrator (Peter Rabbit & Jemima Puddle-duck) (b. 1866)
- December 30 – Hobart Bosworth, American film actor, director, writer, and producer (b. 1867)
- December 27 – Rupert Julian, New Zealand-born film director (b. 1879)
Nobel Prizes
References