| Events in the Life of William McChesney Martin Jr. |
U.S. Army Years
1941-1945 |
| February 27, 1941 | William McChesney Martin Jr. receives draft notice. |
| March 5, 1941 | William McChesney Martin Jr. resigns as President of New York Stock Exchange. |
| April 21, 1941 | William McChesney Martin Jr. inducted into the U.S. Army as a private. |
| December 7, 1941 | Bombing of naval headquarters of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor brings America into World War II. |
| April 3, 1942 | William McChesney Martin Jr. marries Cynthia Davis, daughter of tennis legend and ambassador Dwight Davis, in Towson, Maryland. |
| June 6, 1944 | D-Day. The Battle of Normandy begins the Western Allies effort to liberate Europe. |
| July 1, 1944 | Bretton Woods Conference begins and continues through July 22. It creates the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund to assist in rebuilding after World War II. |
| November 22, 1944 | "Meet Me in St. Louis" premieres in St. Louis at the Loew's State Theater. |
| April 12, 1945 | Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office and is succeeded by Harry S Truman. Truman is elected on November 2, 1948, and serves until 1953. |
| May 8, 1945 | The German Act of Unconditional Surrender is signed, ending World War II in Europe. |
| August 6, 1945 | An atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. |
| August 9, 1945 | An atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. |
| August 15, 1945 | Japan announces its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration and on September 2, 1945, the Japanese instruments of surrender are formally signed. |
| October 24, 1945 | The United Nations Charter is ratified by the five permanent members of the Security Council and by a majority of the 46 member nations. |
| December 3, 1945 | William McChesney Martin Jr. is released from active duty with the U.S. Army at the rank of colonel. |
| December 3, 1945 | William McChesney Martin Jr. is appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of Washington. |
| December 4, 1945 | Senate approves U.S. participation in the United Nations. |
