Born in 1944

What things cost in 1944

1944 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED. Average retail prices are only published from 1976 on; 1944 has the CPI alone.

Who was in charge in 1944

United States

Franklin D. Roosevelt (President)

United Kingdom

George VI (King); Winston Churchill (Prime minister)

Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin (General Secretary); Mikhail Kalinin (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Joseph Stalin (Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars)

Republic of China (1916–1949)

Chiang Kai-shek (Chairmen); Chiang Kai-shek (Premier)

Vichy France

Philippe Pétain (Chief of state); Pierre Laval (Prime minister)

France

Charles de Gaulle (Chairmen); Charles de Gaulle (Prime minister)

Nazi Germany

Adolf Hitler (Führer); Adolf Hitler (Chancellor)

Empire of Japan

Hirohito (Emperor); Hideki Tojo, then Kuniaki Koiso (Prime minister)

From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1901–1950) (revision 1377869146), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1944 →

Famous people born in 1944

• May 28 – Rudy Giuliani, American politician, Mayor of New York City source
• September 13 – Peter Cetera, lead singer and guitarist of American rock group Chicago source
• January 17 – Françoise Hardy, French singer (died 2024) source
• 8 February - Sebastião Salgado, photojournalist (died 2025) source
• 29 December – Gilbert Adair, novelist, poet, film critic and journalist (died 2011 in London) source
• September 29 – Leopoldo S. Tumulak, bishop of Diocese of Tagbilaran (died 2017) source
• August 15 – Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda source
• March 24 – R. Lee Ermey, American actor and Marine drill instructor (died 2018) source
• May 28 – Sondra Locke, American actress and director (died 2018) source
• March 16 – Granville Van Dusen, American actor source
• January 1 – Omar al-Bashir, 7th President of Sudan source
• February 27 – Roger Scruton, English philosopher and writer (died 2020) source
• November 2 – Keith Emerson, English keyboardist (died 2016) source
• October 22 – Voltaire Gazmin, soldier and politician source
• 29 November – Gareth Wardell, politician source

What happened in 1944

• January 11 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes a Second Bill of Rights for social and economic security, in his State of the Union address. source
• January 8 – World War II: Philippine Commonwealth troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army, Philippine Constabulary and the USAFIP-NL units enter the province of Ilocos Sur in northern Luzon and attack Japanese forces. source
• January 25 – A total solar eclipse is visible in Pacific Ocean, South America, Atlantic Ocean and Africa, the 48th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 130. source
• March 3 – Italy: in one of the deadliest railway disasters in history, over 500 clandestine passengers die of carbon monoxide poisoning when a steam freight train stops in a railway tunnel near Balvano, Basilicata, Southern Italy. source
• March 20 – Landing on Emirau: 4,000 United States Marines land on Emirau Island in the Bismarck Archipelago to develop an airbase, as part of Operation Cartwheel. source
• January 15 – The Soviet Union ceases production of the Mosin–Nagant 1891/30 sniper rifle. source
• February 2 – The first issue of Human Events is published in Washington, D.C. source
• 30 January – Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees is founded. source