January: The Pentagon, HQ of the U.S. Department of Defense & the world's largest office building, is dedicated in Arlington.

February: Nazis arrest University of Munich students & their professor, members of the White Rose German Resistance movement.

March: Construction begins on the first electronic programmable computer, the Mark I Colossus, at Bletchley Park England.

April: Swiss scientist Albert Hofmann is the first person to use LSD, a drug he synthesized in 1938 & records his experience.

May: The 'Dambuster Raid' flown by RAF No. 617 Squadron uses bouncing bombs to breach German dams in the Ruhr Valley.

June: BOAC Flight 777-A, a civilian airline flight is attacked by 8 German Junkers. On board is the film actor Leslie Howard.

July: The Battle of Kursk begins. The Soviet victory will give the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war.

August: John F. Kennedy's Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 is rammed by a destroyer. His actions to save his crew make him a war hero.

September: Following the successful invasion of Sicily, mainland Italy is invaded by Allied forces. Resulting in the country's swift surrender.

October: Chiang Kai-shek takes the oath of office as Chairman of the National Government of China, held unofficially since August.

November: Roosevelt, Churchill & Chiang Kai-shek meet at Cairo in Egypt to discuss ways to defeat Japan in the Pacific War.

December: The Great Depression officially ends in the U.S. Due to work created by the war unemployment figures have fallen dramatically.