February 1 » Fountains Valley, Pretoria, the oldest nature reserve in Africa, is proclaimed by President Paul Kruger.
March 15 » Heian Shrine is founded.
March 19 » Auguste and Louis Lumière record their first footage using their newly patented cinematograph.
April 24 » Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts aboard the sloop "Spray".
November 5 » George B. Selden is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile.
December 28 » The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines.
Day of death December 27, 1945
The temperature on December 27, 1945 was between 3.1 °C and 10.0 °C and averaged 6.8 °C. There was 4.4 mm of rain during 4.1 hours. There was 0.7 hours of sunshine (9%). The average windspeed was 4 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the southwest. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from July 27, 1941 to February 23, 1945 the cabinet Gerbrandy II, with Prof. dr. P.S. Gerbrandy (ARP) as prime minister.
In The Netherlands , there was from February 23, 1945 to June 24, 1945 the cabinet Gerbrandy III, with Prof. dr. P.S. Gerbrandy (ARP) as prime minister.
From June 24, 1945 till July 3, 1946 the Netherlands had a cabinet Schermerhorn - Drees with the prime ministers Prof. ir. W. Schermerhorn (VDB) and W. Drees (PvdA).
February 3 » World War II: The United States and the Philippine Commonwealth begin a month-long battle to retake Manila from Japan.
March 19 » World War II: Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits the aircraft carrier USSFranklin, killing 724 of her crew. Badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the US under her own power.
March 31 » World War II: A defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1, the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, to the Americans, the first to fall into Allied hands.
April 1 » World War II: The Tenth United States Army attacks the Thirty-Second Japanese Army on Okinawa.
May 15 » World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
June 7 » King Haakon VII of Norway returns from exactly five years in exile during World War II.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: James Downs, "Downs Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/downs-tree/I312392306009.php : accessed March 10, 2026), "James Arthur Ray (1895-1945)".
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