April 1948 in History

Events in History

Event of Interest

Apr 3 US President Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan ($5B aid to 16 European countries)

Apr 7 A Buddhist monastery burns in Shanghai, China, leaving twenty monks dead
Apr 7 World Health Organization 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 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak
Apr 15 1st Jewish-Arab military battle, arabs defeated
Apr 15 Indian territory of Himachal Pradesh created
Apr 16 Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC) forms in Paris

Event of Interest

Apr 17 Elpidio Quirino assumes the Presidency of the Philippines, taking his oath of office two days after the death of President Manuel Roxas

Election of Interest

Apr 19 Chiang 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 27 Arab legion attacks Gesher bridge on Jordan River
Apr 30 Org of American States charter signed at Bogota, Colombia
Apr 30 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak

Birthdays in History

Apr 2 Joan D. Vinge, American sci-fi author (2 Hugos, Dune), born in Baltimore, Maryland
Apr 3 Arlette Cousture, French Canadian writer (Les filles de Caleb), born in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada
Apr 3 Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Dutch politician (CDA), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Apr 4 Dan Simmons, American sci-fi and horror writer (Song of Kali), born in Peoria, Illinois
Apr 8 Michael Leshner, Canadian lawyer and gay rights advocate

Robert Allen Litchfield (74 years old)

Apr 8 American bank robber who was on the FBI most wanted list in the 1980s

Apr 10 Tom Spencer, British politician (Conservative)
Apr 11 Marcello Lippi, Italian football coach, born in Viareggio, Italy
Apr 12 Joschka Fischer, German politician and Foreign Minister of Germany (1998-2005), born in Gerabronn, Germany
Apr 13 Nam Hae-il, 25th Chief of Naval Operations of Republic of Korea Navy
Apr 13 Sue Doughty, British politician (MP for Guildford), born in York, England
Apr 14 Anastasios Papaligouras, Greek lawyer and politician
Apr 14 Chester G. Atkins, American politician (Rep-D-Mass 1985-93)
Apr 16 Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant, born in London
Apr 20 Rémy Trudel, French Canadian politician, born in Sainte-Thècle, Quebec, Canada
Apr 21 Gary Condit, American politician (Rep-D-California 1989-2003, affair with Chandra Levy), born in Salina, Oklahoma
Apr 21 Max Wyndham, 2nd Baron Egremont, English peer and author
Apr 23 Pascal Quignard, French author (Les Ombres), born in Verneuil-sur-Avre, Eure, France
Apr 24 Benzion Freshwater, English multi-millionaire property investor, born in Sassov, Galicia, Poland
Apr 24 Paul Cellucci, American politician, 69th Governor of Massachusetts and former United States Ambassador to Canada, born in Hudson, Massachusetts (d. 2013)
Apr 25 Yu Shyi-kun, Premier of the Republic of China (2002-05), born in Dongshan, Yilan County, China
Apr 26 Gerry Sikorski, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota), born in Breckenridge, Minnesota
Apr 27 Amrit Kumar Bohara, Nepalese politician, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
Apr 27 Frank William Abagnale, Jr., American con artist turned security consultant, born in Bronxville, New York

Terry Pratchett (1948-2015)

Apr 28 English author of fantasy novels (Discworld), born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire

Apr 29 Bruce Cutler, American attorney (defended John Gotti)

Deaths in History

Apr 2 Sabahattin Ali, Turkish poet, author and journalist (Esirler, Içimizdeki Şeytan), killed at 41
Apr 8 Josef Kjellgren, Swedish writer (Guldkedjan), dies at 40
Apr 9 George Carpenter, 5th General of The Salvation Army, dies at 75
Apr 9 Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (b. 1903)

Manuel Roxas (1892-1948)

Apr 15 5th President of the Philippines (1946-48), dies of a heart attack at 56

Apr 15 Radola Gajda, Czech military commander & politician, dies at 56
Apr 17 Johan Paul van Limburg Stirum, Dutch diplomat (Governor General of the Dutch East Indies 1916-21), dies at 75