On this day, 68 years ago, Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies.
The following day, August 15, was made Victory in Japan Day, marked with two-day holidays in the UK, the United States and Australia.
The news was broken by US President Harry S Truman, at a press conference at the White House.
Truman said the Japanese Government had agreed to comply in full with a declaration which demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan, the BBC reported.
Truman "spoke calmly to the reporters, but when he had finished reading his face broke into a smile", the New York Times said.
The surrender came days after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with devastating consequences.
After The Bomb
(01 of05)
Open Image Modal"Hiroshima's children patiently wait their turn for a complete and detailed physical examination in ABCC's [Atom Bomb Casualty Commission] temporary laboratory clinic." (credit:Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)
(02 of05)
Open Image ModalA boy badly burned by the Hiroshima bomb four years earlier, seen in 1949. (credit:Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)
(03 of05)
Open Image ModalHiroshima, Japan, 1947. (credit:Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)
(04 of05)
Open Image ModalYoung survivor of the United States' atomic attack on Hiroshima, Japan, 1947. (credit:Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)
(05 of05)
Open Image ModalA survivor of the United States' atomic attack on Hiroshima, still hospitalized two years later, 1947. (credit:Carl Mydans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)