The almanac
The 1946 Edition
A vintage print: the UN count of births worldwide starts in 1950. About 25 million are still in circulation.
Estimates from the UN World Population Prospects 2024. How we count
What happened in 1946
- The ENIAC computer was unveiledThe room-sized machine at the University of Pennsylvania did 5,000 operations a second.February 14 · Source: Computer History Museum, This Day in History
- The first car phones went into serviceMobile Telephone Service let drivers in St. Louis make phone calls from their cars.June 17 · Source: American Heritage
- The first Cannes Film Festival openedFirst planned for 1939, the film festival finally took place in Cannes, with films from 19 countries.September 20 · Source: Festival de Cannes
- First photos of Earth from spaceA camera on a rocket launched from New Mexico showed the curve of the Earth.October 24 · Source: Guinness World Records
- The future NBA played its first gameThe New York Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies 68 to 66 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.November 1 · Source: NBA.com
- The Best Years of Our Lives openedThree veterans come home and struggle to adjust to everyday life in this drama.November 21 · Source: Box Office Mojo
- It's a Wonderful Life openedAn angel is sent to help a frustrated businessman see the value of his own life.December 20 · Source: Box Office Mojo
Famous people born in 1946
- Freddie MercuryBritish singer, songwriter and musician, frontman of the rock band Queen · born September 5
- Elfriede JelinekAustrian playwright and novelist · born October 20
- Dolly PartonAmerican singer-songwriter · born January 19
- Sylvester StalloneAmerican actor and filmmaker · born July 6
- CherAmerican musician, singer, actress and television personality · born May 20
- Diane KeatonAmerican actress and film director · born January 5
- Liza MinnelliAmerican actress and singer · born March 12
- Alan RickmanBritish actor and director · born February 21
From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages write about them. Spotted a mistake?
If you were born in 1946
- Older than PeanutsThe Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz first appeared, in seven US newspapers on October 2, 1950.
- Older than the DNA double helixWatson and Crick's paper describing the double-helix structure of DNA was published in Nature on April 25, 1953.
- Older than the first climb of EverestEdmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.
- Older than the four-minute mileRoger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes, in Oxford on May 6, 1954.