[5] Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953), an American politician of the Democratic Party.

He served as a United States senator from Missouri (1935–1945) and briefly as Vice President (1945) before he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

He was president during the final months of World War II, making the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

He presided over an uncertain domestic scene as America sought its path after the war, and tensions with the Soviet Union increased, marking the start of the Cold War.

[6] However, May 8 was not officially designated a state holiday until June 1967 with the passage of House Bill 154.