Hirohito was born on 29 April 1901 in Akasaka Estate. The 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, Hirohito reigned from 1926 until his death, a period known as the Showa era. His reign saw the rise of militarism, the invasion of China and the Second World War in the Pacific. In August 1945 he announced Japan's surrender in a radio broadcast, the first time most of his subjects heard his voice. Under the American occupation he remained on the throne but renounced any claim to divinity, and the 1947 constitution made him a symbolic head of state. Historians continue to debate how much responsibility he bore for the war. He was also a trained marine biologist.
Before and after
- 27 January 1901Death of Giuseppe Verdi
- 1 February 1901Birth of Clark Gable
- 28 February 1901Birth of Linus Pauling
- 13 March 1901Death of Benjamin Harrison
- 29 April 1901Birth of Hirohito
- 17 May 1901Discovery of Antikythera mechanism
- 6 June 1901Birth of Sukarno
- 7 July 1901Birth of Vittorio De Sica
- 4 August 1901Birth of Louis Armstrong
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The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.