•  January 10 - The United Nations met for the first time.

•  Tsunami - a 14-foot high wave struck Hilo, Hawaii killing 14 and injuring more than a thousand people.

•  New York City - the Basketball Association of America (later became the NBA- National Basketball Association) was founded June 6, 1946.

•  Nuremberg Trials - Sentanced to death for his war crimes, Nazi Herman Goring commits suicide in his cell hour before his scheduled execution.

Notable Deaths - Arthur John Johnson, 1878-1946, better known as Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight-boxing champion.

L'Equipe Sport Figure of the Decade 1940-1949 - L'Equipe's athlete of the decade was Fausto Coppi , of Italy, known as “Campionissimo” (the Champion of Champions). War-torn Italy was starved for a new hero and it was to be radio broadcasts that gave the people a champion. The airwaves brought live coverage of grand Coppi victories to millions of Italian people. His victories included all the major cycling events of the day. He won the Tour de France twice, the Giro d'Italia five times, both the World Championship Road Race and the Paris-Roubaix Classic once, and the Milan-San Remo Road Race three times. Fausto Coppi was the most admired athlete of his time, not only for his dominating victories on the bike, but for what his victories did for a nation in search of a new beginning.

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"I would do it all over again, only better this time.”
Eddy Merckx (Bel)