- Jan 1 25 states merge under the Government of Orissa
- Jan 1 After the partition, India declines to pay the agreed share of Rs 550 million in cash balances to Pakistan
- Jan 1 Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) comes into effect
- Jan 1 First color newsreel is filmed in Pasadena, California
- Jan 1 The Constitution of the Italian Republic comes into force
- Jan 1 The Transport Act of 1947 comes into force in the United Kingdom, nationalizing the British rail system under the name British Railways
- Jan 4 Burma declares independence from the United Kingdom
- Jan 7 Thomas Mantell, a pilot for the Kentucky Air National Guard, crashes while pursuing a supposed UFO
Marshall Plan Taxes
Jan 7 US PresidentHarry Truman raises taxes for theMarshall Plan to assist in rebuilding Europe after WWII[1]
Death Sentence for Ans van Dijk
Jan 8Queen Wilhelmina signs death sentence against Ans van Dijk for treason
- Jan 9Walter Piston's 3rd Symphony in E, premieres in Boston by the Boston Symphony Orchestra; conducted by Serge Koussevitzky; wins 1948 Pulitzer Prize
- Jan 12 First supermarket in the UK opens: the Co-op, the country's first permanent self-service store, in East London's Manor Park
Gandhi's Final Fast
Jan 12Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast
- Jan 12 US Supreme Court decision in Sipuel v Oklahoma State Board of Regents
- Jan 13 First country music TV show, "Midwestern Hayride," premieres on WLW-T in Cincinnati, Ohio
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Jan 15 "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", film based on B. Traven's novel, directed by John Huston and starringHumphrey Bogart premieres
- Jan 16 35 Haganah members are ambushed & killed in Gush Etzyon
- Jan 17 Netherlands & Indonesia agree to a cease-fire
- Jan 17 Trial of 11 US Communist party members begins in NYC
- Jan 18 1st courses begin at University of Ibadan, Nigeria
- Jan 18 TV talent show "The Original Amateur Hour" hosted by Ted Mack premieres on the DuMont Television Network
- Jan 21 Three of the greats of cricket make their debut in a drawn 1st Test match at Bridgetown, Barbados; Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Everton Weekes for the West Indies, and Jim Laker for England
- Jan 24 Dutch Liberal Party forms - People's party for Freedom & Democracy (VVD)
- Jan 27 First locomotive to carry 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kg) operates
- Jan 27 First tape recorder sold
- Jan 28 A plane crash in the Diablo mountains kills 28 bracero farm workers being sent back to Mexico, inspiring Woodie Guthrie's song "Deportee"
Diamond's 4th Symphony
Jan 28 David Diamond's 4th Symphony, dedicated to Natalie Koussevitzky, premieres with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted byLeonard Bernstein
Roxas Grants Amnesty
Jan 28 PresidentManuel Roxas granted full amnesty to all so-called Philippine collaborators
- Jan 29 Commissioner Happy Chandler fines the Yankees, Cubs and Phillies $500 each for signing high school players
- Jan 29 Pakistan Socialist Party is founded
- Jan 30Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in the garden of the New Delhi home he is visiting by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse
- Jan 30 V Winter Olympic Games open in St Moritz, Switzerland
- Jan 31 An unprecedented 3-way tie for the silver medal in the 500m speed skating at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Americans Robert Fitzgerald & Ken Bartholomew, and Thomas Byberg of Norway are equal on 43.2s; Finn Helgesen of Norway wins gold, 43.1s
A Perfect Day for Banana Fish
Jan 31J. D. Salinger's short story "A Perfect Day for Banana Fish" appears in the New Yorker
- Jan 31 Magnetic tape recorder developed by Wireway
- Jan 31 Sweden sweeps the medals in the 18km cross country event at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Martin Lundström takes gold ahead of countrymen Nils Östensson and Gunnar Eriksson
- Jan 31 Swiss pair Felix Endrich & Friedrich Waller beat countrymen Fritz Feierabend & Paul Eberhard to win the 2-man bobsleigh gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; silver medallist Feierabend is team coach
- Feb 1 Finland goes 1-2 in the Nordic combined event at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Heikki Hasu takes gold ahead of teammate Martti Huhtala
Cry the Beloved Country
Feb 1 Important South African anti-apartheid novel "Cry the Beloved Country" byAlan Paton is published in the US
- Feb 1 Johnny Palmer sets a 36-hole PGA Tour scoring record with rounds of 62-64 in the Tucson Open; finishes runner-up by 1 stroke to Skip Alexander who cards tournament record total 264
Federation of Malaya
Feb 1 Nine Malay sultanates and two British Straits Settlements (Penang and Malacca) form theFederation of Malaya
- Feb 1 Palestine Post building in Jerusalem bombed
- Feb 2 President Harry Truman urges congress to adopt a civil rights program
- Feb 4 After winning the men’s downhill, French alpine skier Henri Oreiller takes the combined gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; becomes most successful athlete at these Games with a slalom bronze
- Feb 4 British-ruled Colony of Ceylon achieves independence, becoming the Dominion of Ceylon, and later Sri Lanka
- Feb 5 "Nature of Things" science show premieres on NBC prime time
Olympic Gold
Feb 5 18-year-oldDick Button becomes first American men's figure skating Olympic gold medallist at the St. Moritz Winter Games; first to complete a double axel in competition; retains title in 1952
- Feb 5 Gretchen Fraser becomes 1st US woman Olympic ski slalom champion
- Feb 6 1st radio-controlled airplane flown
- Feb 6 KNXT (now KCBS) TV channel 2 in Los Angeles, CA (CBS) 1st broadcast
- Feb 6 Nils Karlsson wins the 50k cross country gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Swedish skiers win all 3 cross-country events at the Games
- Feb 6 World & European champion Barbara Ann Scott becomes the first Canadian to win a women's figure skating Olympic gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games
- Feb 7 After winning Lake Placid (1932) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1936) Olympic ski jumping gold medals, Birger Ruud comes out of retirement to win silver in St. Moritz in a Norwegian medal sweep
Bradley Succeeds Eisenhower
Feb 7Omar Bradley succeedsDwight Eisenhower as US Army Chief of Staff
- Feb 8 Canada beats Switzerland 3-0, to regain the Olympic ice hockey title at the St. Moritz Winter Games; forward Walter Halder top scores with 29 points in Canada’s 5th Olympic title
- Feb 8 V Winter Olympic Games close at St Moritz, Switzerland
- Feb 9 WLWT TV channel 5 in Cincinnati, OH (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Feb 10 American composer Leroy Anderson completes his orchestral work 'Sleigh Ride' which becomes a worldwide holiday favorite
- Feb 10 Greek Gen Markos' guerrilla army bombs Saloniki
- Feb 11 Billy Griffith scores cricket century on debut Eng v WI, out for 140
- Feb 11 John Costello follows Eamon Da Valera as premier of Ireland
- Feb 11 Test cricket debut of Frank Worrell for the West Indies vs. England at Port-of-Spain
- Feb 12 1st Lt Nancy Leftenant becomes 1st African American in army nursing corps
- Feb 13 Ice Pairs Championship at Davos, Switzerland won by Belgians Micheline Lannoy and Pierre Baugniet
- Feb 13 West Indian batsman Andy Ganteaume scores 112 for W Indies in his only Test Cricket innings
- Feb 13 Wright Flyer, 1st plane to fly, returns to US from England
Communists Take Yenan
Feb 15Mao Zedong's communist army occupies Yenan
Coup d'état
Feb 25 Communists seize control of the Czechoslovak government in a coup d'état after PresidentEdvard Beneš capitulates, fearing civil war and Soviet intervention
- Feb 29 Stern-group bomb on Cairo-Haifa train kills 27 British soldiers
- Mar 5 US rocket flies record 4800 kph to 126km height
- Mar 7 The Dodecanese islands officially become part of Greece again, ending Italian rule
- Mar 8 US Supreme Court rules in McCollum v. Board of Education that religious instruction in public schools is unconstitutional
- Mar 9 Provisionary Indonesian government installed in Batavia
- Mar 10 1st civilian to exceed speed of sound - Herb H Hoover, Edwards Air Force Base, California
- Mar 11 Jewish Agency of Jerusalem bombed
- Mar 11 WBAL TV channel 11 in Baltimore, MD (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Mar 12 -5°F lowest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland, Ohio in month of March (record tied in 1984)
- Mar 14 Freedom Train arrives in San Francisco
Olivier's LIFE Cover
Mar 15Laurence Olivier is featured on the cover of LIFE magazine
- Mar 15 WCAU TV channel 10 in Philadelphia, PA (CBS) begins broadcasting
Billie Holiday Released
Mar 16 Jazz musicianBillie Holiday is released early from Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia due to good behavior
- Mar 18 France, Great Britain, and Benelux sign Treaty of Brussels
- Mar 18 Philips begin experimental TV broadcasting
- Mar 19 Lee Savold KOs Gino Buonvino in 54 seconds at Madison Square Garden, NYC
20th Academy Awards
Mar 20 20th Academy Awards: "Gentleman's Agreement",Loretta Young,Ronald Colman win
1st Live Televised Symphony
Mar 20 First live televised symphony performances:Eugene Ormandy leads Philadelphia Orchestra on CBS, followed 90 minutes later byArturo Toscanini leading the NBC Orchestra on NBC
- Mar 21 "Stop the Music" with Bert Parks premieres on ABC radio
- Mar 23 British RAF pilot John Cunningham (30) sets world altitude record of 59,430 feet (18,114 metres) flying a de Haviland Vampire fighter jet
- Mar 27 Just 11 days after being released from prison, jazz singerBillie Holiday plays in front of a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall, NYC
- Mar 27 The Second Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea is convened
2nd Tony Awards
Mar 28 2nd Tony Awards: "Mister Roberts" (Play);Henry Fonda (Actor) and Joshua Logan (Director) win
- Mar 29 Drachtster Boys soccer team forms in Drachten, Netherland
- Mar 29 New York Yankees & Boston Red Sox tie at 2-2 in 17, spring training game
- Mar 31 US Congress passes Marshall Aid Act to rehabilitate war-torn Europe
- Apr 1 "Big Bang" theory proposed in scientific journal "Physical Review" by American cosmologists Ralph Alpher, Hans Bethe, and George Gamow
- Apr 1 Faroe Islands receive autonomy from Denmark
- Apr 1 Fast bowler Hines Johnson has match figures of 10-96 on debut in West Indies 4th cricket Test win v England in Kingston, Jamaica; first fast bowler to take 10 wickets in a single Test for West Indies
- Apr 3 US PresidentHarry Truman signs the Marshall Plan to rebuild war-torn Western Europe after World War II, granting an initial $5 billion in aid to 16 European countries
Mack vs Griffith
Apr 4 84-year-oldConnie Mack challenges 78-year-oldClark Griffith to a race from home to 1st base; it ends in a tie
- Apr 5 WGN TV channel 9 in Chicago, IL (IND) begins broadcasting
- Apr 7 A Buddhist monastery burns in Shanghai, China, leaving twenty monks dead
- Apr 7 World Health Organization is formed by the United Nations
- Apr 8 Soen Nakagawa & Nyogen Senzaki (Zen teachers) meet in San Francisco
- Apr 9 Massacre at Deir Yassin.
- Apr 10 Jewish Hagana repels an Arab attack on Mishmar HaEmek
- Apr 13 Hadassah Convoy Massacre: Vehicles bringing Jewish staff and medical supplies to Hadassah Hospital and University on Mount Scopus, Jerusalem attacked by Arab forces; 79 killed by bombs, grenades, and sniper fire
- Apr 14 A flash of light is observed in crater Plato on Moon
- Apr 14 NYC subway fares jump from 5 cents to 10 cents
- Apr 14 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Toronto Maple Leafs go back-to-back with a 7-2 win over Detroit Red Wings for a 4-0 series sweep
- Apr 14 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll
- Apr 15 1st Jewish-Arab military battle, arabs defeated
- Apr 15 Indian territory of Himachal Pradesh created
- Apr 15 KCPX (now KTVX) TV channel 4 in Salt Lake City, UT (ABC) 1st broadcast
- Apr 16 Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) forms in Paris
Elpidio Quirino President
Apr 17Elpidio Quirino assumes the Presidency of the Philippines, taking his oath of office two days after the death of President Manuel Roxas
- Apr 19 American Broadcasting Company (ABC) TV network debuts
Chiang Kai-shek President
Apr 19Chiang Kai-shek elected President of Nationalist China
- Apr 20 NYC hikes subway fare from 5 cents to 10 cents
- Apr 20 Walter P. Reuther UAW President shot & wounded at his home in Detroit
- Apr 22 WTVR TV channel 6 in Richmond, VA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Apr 23 Minnesota's first television station, KSTP TV channel 5 (ABC affiliate), aired its 1st broadcast
- Apr 27 Arab legion attacks Gesher bridge on Jordan River
- Apr 30 Organization of American States charter signed at Bogotá, Colombia
- Apr 30 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll
- May 1 Glenn Taylor, Idaho Senator, arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, for trying to enter a meeting through a door marked "for Negroes"
- May 1 North Korea proclaims itself Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- May 3 1st broadcast of "CBS Evening News" - longest running network news show in the US
Michener and Williams Win Pulitzers
May 3 Pulitzer prize awarded to James Michener for his novel "Tales of the South Pacific" andTennessee Williams for his play "A Streetcar Named Desire"
- May 4 Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" is first performed, by the Boston Pops Orchestra, with Arthur Fiedler conducting
- May 4 The Hague Court of Justice convicts Nazi SS officer in the Netherlands Hans Rauter of Crimes against Humanity (executed 24 March 1949)
- May 5 First squadron of jet aircraft boards a carrier
- May 7 Nazi collaborator V-Mann Antonius van de Waals sentenced to death
- May 10 1st attack by Egyptian irregular forces at Kfar Darom Israel
Churchill in The Hague
May 10Winston Churchill visits The Hague, Netherlands
- May 11 Haganah takes control of Safed & port of Haifa
- May 11 Luigi Einaudi elected President of Italy
- May 12 QueenWilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates due to ill health
Israeli Declaration of Independence
May 14David Ben-Gurion declares Israel independent from British administration, Golda Meir one of the signatories
- May 14 Israeli Radio Station Kol Yisrael's 1st broadcast
- May 14 Jordan's Arab League captures Atarot, north of Jerusalem
- May 14 US grants Israel de facto recognition
- May 14 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll
- May 14 WBEN (now WIVB) TV channel 4 in Buffalo, NY (CBS) begins broadcasting
- May 15 Australia scores 721 runs in one day v Essex, world record
- May 15 End of the British Mandate over Palestine after 28 years
- May 15 Troops from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia attack Israel
- May 15 WATV (now WNET) TV channel 13 in Newark, New Jersey (PBS) begins broadcasting
- May 16 CBS news correspondent George Polk's body is found in Greece
President Chaim Weizmann
May 16Chaim Weizmann elected 1st President of Israel
- May 16 Egyptians enter Gaza
Sports History
May 16 First Chess World Championship since WWII, Russian playerMikhail Botvinnik wins a five-player tournament to begin 24 years of Soviet dominance
- May 16 Israel issues its 1st postage stamps
- May 17 Israel liberates Acre, Nebi Yusha & Telel-Kadi
- May 17 Soviet Union recognizes Israel
- May 18 Arab Legion captures fort on Mt Scopus during Arab-Israeli war
- May 18 Saudi Arabia joins invasion of Israel
- May 18 The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking
- May 20 Cleveland Indians tie AL record of 18 walks (beat Red Sox 13-4)
DiMaggio Hits for Cycle
May 21 NY YankJoe Dimaggio hits for cycle (single, double, triple, HR)
- May 23 Future Baseball Hall of Fame center fielderJoe DiMaggio hits 3 consecutive HRs as the New York Yankees edge the Indians, 6-5 at Cleveland Stadium
- May 23 Ramat Rahel gateway to Jerusalem is repossessed by Israel
Beggar's Opera
May 24Benjamin Britten's "Beggar's Opera" premieres at Arts Theatre, Cambridge, England
Execution of Witold Pilecki
May 25 Polish war heroWitold Pilecki is executed by communist police after a show trial in Warsaw
- May 25 San Francisco receives its 1st telecast
- May 26 Entire Hagana-arm forces sworn-in as Israeli soldiers
- May 26 South Africa elects a nationalist government under D. F. Malan with an apartheid policy
- May 27 Arab League of Jordan forces blow up Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid synagogue in Jerusalem, after 2 days of threats
- May 27Hank Greenberg buys an interest in the Cleveland Indians baseball team
- May 28 Iraq captures Ge'ulim settlement
- May 28 Israeli Air Force is officially founded shortly after the start of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
- May 30 A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
Lasorda Strikes Out Rugmakers
May 31 Canadian-American League Schenectady Blue Jays pitcherTommy Lasorda strikes out 25 Amsterdam Rugmakers (in 15 innings), and knocks in the winning run
Ashburn's Sets Rookie Record
Jun 5 PhilliesRichie Ashburn sets NL rookie consecutive hitting streak at 23
- Jun 7 Communist complete takeover of Czechoslovakia; President Bernes resigns
- Jun 7 KVP wins Dutch Second-Parliamentary election
Texaco Star Theater
Jun 8 "Texaco Star Theater" premieres on NBC-TV, with "Mr. Television"Milton Berle made permanent emcee in September of the same year
- Jun 8 John Rudder becomes the first African American commissioned officer in the US Marine Corps
- Jun 9 WBZ TV channel 4 in Boston, MA (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Jun 14 Klemens Gottwald becomes president of Czechoslovakia
- Jun 15 First night game at Briggs Stadium, Detroit: Tigers beat Philadelphia A's, 4-1
- Jun 15 WPIX TV channel 11 in NYC, NY (IND) begins broadcasting
- Jun 15 WTNH TV channel 8 in New Haven, CT (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Jun 18 American Library Association adopts Library Bill of Rights
- Jun 18 Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts debuts for the Philadelphia Phillies, taking a 2-0 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Shibe Park, Philadelphia
- Jun 18 National Security Council authorizes covert operations for 1st time
- Jun 19 Panama and Costa Rica recognize Israel
Toast of the Town
Jun 20 "Toast of the Town" variety show hosted byEd Sullivan premieres on CBS-TV; performers include the comedy team ofDean Martin andJerry Lewis, and Broadway composersRichard Rodgers andOscar Hammerstein II previewing the score to "South Pacific"
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists