In 1945, "Sentimental Journey" topped the charts, The Bells of St. Mary's packed theaters, a stamp cost 3¢, the average home went for about $4,600.
🎵 Top songs of 1945
"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown with Doris Day
"Rum and Coca-Cola" — The Andrews Sisters
"Till the End of Time" — Perry Como
🎬 In theaters
The Bells of St. Mary's
Anchors Aweigh
Spellbound
What things cost in 1945
$0.21
Gallon of gas
3¢
Postage stamp
$0.35
Movie ticket
$0.63
Gallon of milk
$4,600
Average home
$1,020
New car
$2,600
Household income
A $0.21 gallon of gas in 1945 has the buying power of roughly $3.75 today, and the 35-cent movie ticket equals about $6.25 in today's dollars.
The biggest moments of 1945
World War II ended in 1945, and joyful crowds filled the streets on V-E Day in May and V-J Day in August.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in April, and Vice President Harry S. Truman was sworn in as president.
Delegates from 50 nations met in San Francisco to found the United Nations.
The first ballpoint pens went on sale at Gimbels in New York in October 1945 for a steep $12.50 — and about ten thousand sold on the first day.
Gasoline rationing ended within days of the war's end in August 1945, and Americans happily hit the road again.
Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first city in the world to fluoridate its drinking water in January 1945.
Toys, TV & trends of 1945
The Slinky made its debut at Gimbels department store in Philadelphia just before Christmas 1945, selling out in minutes.
Kids raced home to catch radio favorites like The Adventures of Superman and Captain Midnight every afternoon.
Comic books were at the height of their Golden Age, with Superman, Batman, and Captain Marvel selling millions of copies.
The radio show Queen for a Day debuted in 1945, granting wishes to everyday women and becoming a national sensation.
Ebony magazine published its first issue in November 1945 and sold out its initial print run.
The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago Cubs in the 1945 World Series — the Cubs' last Series appearance for 71 years, and the origin of the famous billy goat legend.
The music scene
As troop ships steamed home, "Sentimental Journey" took on a life of its own as the unofficial homecoming anthem of 1945, greeting returning servicemen at docks and train stations. Uptown in New York, something brand new was brewing: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie cut their first landmark bebop records that year, music so fast and daring it split the jazz world in two. And the smooth Nat King Cole Trio was climbing from late-night clubs toward national stardom.
At the movies
Hollywood began the pivot from war stories to peacetime ones, and Billy Wilder's unflinching drama The Lost Weekend would go on to sweep the top Academy Awards for 1945. Across the ocean, Roberto Rossellini filmed Rome, Open City in the war-scarred streets of the real Rome, launching the Italian neorealist movement that changed filmmaking worldwide.
Cartoons kids loved
Sylvester the cat debuted in the Warner Bros. short Life with Feathers.
Casper the Friendly Ghost first appeared in the Paramount cartoon The Friendly Ghost.
Jerry the mouse famously danced with Gene Kelly in the movie musical Anchors Aweigh.
With the war ending, the cartoon studios wound down their propaganda and training films and returned to pure entertainment. MGM's famous dance between Gene Kelly and a cartoon mouse almost featured a different partner — the studio reportedly asked Disney about borrowing Mickey Mouse first, and when Disney declined, MGM's own Jerry got the role of a lifetime.
The world in 1945
World population: about 2.4 billion
U.S. President: Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Harry S. Truman
World War II ended in 1945, and the United Nations was founded in San Francisco.
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at Yalta in February 1945 to plan the shape of the postwar world.
At the Potsdam Conference that summer, Clement Attlee replaced Winston Churchill mid-meeting after a stunning British election upset.
The Nuremberg trials opened in November 1945, as Allied judges began holding Nazi leaders to account before the world.
1945 birthday questions
How old is someone born in 1945?
Someone born in 1945 turns 81 in 2026 (80 if their birthday has not come round yet).
What was the number one song in 1945?
"Sentimental Journey" by Les Brown with Doris Day was among the biggest hits of 1945.
What movie came out in 1945?
The Bells of St. Mary's was one of the films packing theaters in 1945.
How much did gas cost in 1945?
A gallon of gas ran about $0.21 in 1945, and a postage stamp cost 3¢.
How much did a house cost in 1945?
The average home went for roughly $4,600 in 1945, against a typical household income of about $2,600.