Important Events
- Jan 12 Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast
- Jan 30 Mahatma Gandhi assassinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse
- Mar 8 US Supreme Court rules in McCollum v. Board of Education that religious instruction in public schools is unconstitutional
- Apr 3 US President Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan ($5B aid to 16 European countries)
- Apr 7 World Health Organization formed by the United Nations
- Apr 16 Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC) forms in Paris
- May 14 Israel declares independence from British administration
- May 26 South Africa elects a nationalist government under D. F. Malan with an apartheid policy
- Jun 18 UN Commission on Human Rights adopts the International Declaration of Human Rights
- Jun 21 Lord Mountbatten resigns as Governor General of India (formerly the last Viceroy)
1948 in Film & TV
- Jul 30 Professional wrestling premieres on prime-time network TV (DuMont)
- Aug 10 ABC enters network TV at 7 PM (WJZ, NY)
- Sep 29 "Hamlet" directed by and starring Laurence Olivier's opens at Park Avenue Cinema (Best Picture 1949)
1948 in Music
- Mar 27 Just 11 days after being released from prison, Billie Holiday plays in front of a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall
1948 in Sport
- May 16 First chess world championship since WWII; Russian player Mikhail Botvinnik wins a 5-player tournament to begin 20-year Russian domination
- Aug 6 Dutch super athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen wins London Olympics 200m in 24.4 to become 1st women to claim 3 individual track & field gold at a Games, having already won 100m & 80m hurdles
Bobby Orr
Donna Summer
John Bonham
Kate Jackson
Phil Hartman
Robert Allen LitchfieldWorld Leaders in 1948
Clement Attlee
British Prime Minister- Harry Truman
33rd US President - Joseph Stalin
Soviet General Secretary
Clement Attlee
Harry Truman
Joseph StalinFamous People in 1948
- Harry Truman
Time Person
of the Year - Jane Wyman
Oscar for Best Actress - Laurence Olivier
Oscar for Best Actor
Jane Wyman
Laurence OlivierFamous Weddings
- Feb 16 Baseball player and manager Leo Durocher (41) weds actress Laraine Day (27) in Santa Monica, California
- Mar 5 Actor Eli Wallach marries actress Anne Jackson
- Mar 28 Musician Nat King Cole (29) weds jazz singer Maria Hawkins (25) at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York
Famous Divorces
- Mar 22 Musician Nat King Cole (29) divorces dancer Nadine Robinson after 11 years of marriage
Babe Ruth
Hideki Tojo
John J. Pershing
Mahatma Gandhi
Orville Wright
Witold Pilecki