Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States (1945-1953). As a senator in the early 1940s, he gained national prominence as head of the wartime Truman Committee, which exposed waste, fraud and corruption in wartime contracts. Truman was the final running mate of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 and succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when Roosevelt died after months of declining health. Under Truman, the U.S. successfully concluded World War II through the controversial use of atomic bombs against Japan (at Hiroshima and Nagasaki). In the aftermath of the conflict, tensions with the Soviet Union increased, marking the start of the Cold War. Truman was born on this day in 1884.
Note: This is 8-bit U.S. president #16 of 43.
