Harry Truman

1884 – 1972

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953 after assuming office on the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In August 1945 he ordered the use of atomic weapons against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, immediately killing more than 100,000 civilians and ushering in the nuclear age. He also presided over the early Cold War expansion of the national security state through the National Security Act of 1947 and the establishment of the CIA, and committed the United States to the Korean War in 1950 without a congressional declaration of war.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM