What happened in 1948
56 entries recorded for 1948, listed by date. That was 78 years ago.
1948 at a glance
- Years ago
- 78 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 20th century
- Decade
- 1940s
- Generation born
- Baby Boomers
- Entries here
- 56
- Breakdown
- 56 historical events
January
- January 1
British Rail
British Railways came into existence when the "Big Four" railway companies were nationalised.
- January 7
Kentucky Air National Guard
Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell, flying in pursuit of an alleged UFO, was killed when his P-51 Mustang crashed near Fort Knox, Kentucky.
- January 17
Indonesian National Revolution
Indonesian National Revolution: The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesian republicans was ratified, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to resolve disputes arising from the Linggadjati Agreement of 1946.
- January 30
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi (pictured), the political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement, was fatally shot by Nathuram Godse at Birla House in Delhi.
February
- February 7
Neil Harvey
Neil Harvey became the youngest Australian to score a century in Test cricket.
- February 8
1948 Winter Olympics
The closing ceremony of the first Olympics held after World War II was held in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
- February 19
Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence
The Southeast Asian Youth Conference, which is believed to have inspired armed communist rebellions in different Asian countries, opened in Calcutta, India.
- February 21
NASCAR
NASCAR is incorporated.
- February 25
Edvard Beneš
Fearful of civil war and Soviet intervention in recent unrest, President Edvard Beneš (pictured) ceded control of the government to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
- February 25
1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état
In a coup d'état led by Klement Gottwald, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes control of government in Prague to end the Third Czechoslovak Republic.
March
- March 25
Tinker Air Force Base
Meteorologists at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, United States, issued the world's first tornado forecast after noticing conditions similar to another tornado that had struck five days earlier.
- March 25
Tornado warning
The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
April
- April 3
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan, an economic recovery program established by U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall to assist the post-World War II re-building of Europe, was signed into law.
- April 7
United Nations
The United Nations established the World Health Organization to act as a coordinating authority on international public health.
- April 9
1948 Palestine war
Palestine war: Fighters from the Zionist paramilitary groups Irgun and Lehi attacked the village of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing more than 100 Palestinian Arabs.
- April 13
Hadassah Medical Center
In an ambush, 78 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital, and a British soldier, are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarrah. This event came to be known as the Hadassah medical convoy massacre.
- April 16
OECD
The Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, headquartered in Paris, was founded.
- April 22
1948 Arab–Israeli War
Arab–Israeli War: The port city of Haifa is captured by Jewish forces.
- April 22
1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine
Civil War in Mandatory Palestine: The Jewish paramilitary group Haganah captured Haifa from the Arab Liberation Army.
May
- May 9
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia's Ninth-of-May Constitution comes into effect.
- May 12
High Explosive Research
The United Kingdom publicly announced that it was independently developing nuclear weapons, after the US Atomic Energy Act of 1946 ended cooperation on the matter.
- May 14
Israeli Declaration of Independence
Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
- May 15
Mandatory Palestine
Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel, thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
- May 24
1948 Arab–Israeli War
Arab–Israeli War: After five days of fighting, Egyptian forces captured the Israeli community of Yad Mordechai after the defenders had abandoned it.
- May 30
Levee
A dike holding the Columbia River broke, causing a flood that destroyed Vanport, Oregon, U.S., only five years after the city was built.
June
- June 7
1948 anti-Jewish riots in Oujda and Jerada
Anti-Jewish riots broke out in the French protectorate in Morocco, during which 44 people were killed and 150 injured.
- June 7
Shostakovich v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
In Shostakovich v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., a New York trial court declined to issue a permanent injunction in favor of several Soviet composers against the distribution of The Iron Curtain, the first anti-Soviet Hollywood film of the Cold War era.
- June 7
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš resigns as President of Czechoslovakia rather than signing the Ninth-of-May Constitution, making his nation a Communist state.
- June 9
International Council on Archives
Foundation of the International Council on Archives under the auspices of the UNESCO.
- June 17
United Air Lines Flight 624
United Air Lines Flight 624, a Douglas DC-6, crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board.
- June 18
Columbia Records
Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
- June 21
Manchester Baby
The Manchester Baby (replica pictured), the world's first stored-program computer, ran its first program.
- June 22
HMT Empire Windrush
The ship HMT Empire Windrush brought the first group of 802 West Indian immigrants to Tilbury, marking the start of modern immigration to the United Kingdom.
- June 22
George VI
King George VI formally gives up the title "Emperor of India", half a year after Britain actually gave up its rule of India.
- June 28
Cold War
Cold War: The Tito–Stalin Split results in the expulsion of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia from the Cominform.
July
- July 1
John F. Kennedy International Airport
The first flight departed New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, then known as New York International Airport.
- July 8
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called the Women's Air Force (WAF).
- July 12
1948 Arab–Israeli War
Arab–Israeli War: Israel Defense Forces officer Yitzhak Rabin signed an order to expel Palestinians from the towns of Lydda and Ramle.
- July 14
Palmiro Togliatti
Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded near the Italian Parliament.
- July 17
Olympia, Greece
In Olympia, Greece, the Summer Olympics torch relay, nicknamed the "relay of peace", began.
- July 24
Australia national cricket team
Australia set a world record for the highest successful run-chase in Test cricket history during the Fourth Test of the Ashes series against England.
August
- August 15
History of South Korea
The Republic of Korea was established with Syngman Rhee as its first president.
- August 18
Fifth Test, 1948 Ashes series
Australia won the fifth Test of the 1948 Ashes series, becoming the first Test cricket team to go undefeated in England, earning them the nickname "The Invincibles".
September
- September 12
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army launched the Liaoshen campaign, the first of the three major military campaigns during the late stage of the Chinese Civil War.
- September 18
Australia national cricket team
The Australian cricket team's Invincibles tour of England concluded; they had played 34 matches, including five Tests, without defeat.
- September 22
Gail Halvorsen
Led by Gail Halvorsen, the United States Air Force began Operation "Little Vittles", delivering candy to children as part of the Berlin Airlift.
- September 22
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestine conflict: The All-Palestine Government is established by the Arab League.
October
- October 29
1948 Arab–Israeli War
Arab–Israeli War: The Israel Defense Forces massacred at least 52 villagers while capturing the Palestinian Arab village of Safsaf.
- October 30
Luzzu
A luzzu (Maltese fishing boat) overloaded with passengers capsized and sank in the Gozo Channel off Qala, killing 23 of the 27 people on board (monument pictured).
November
- November 3
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Daily Tribune published the erroneous headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" (pictured) in its early morning edition shortly after incumbent U.S. president Harry S. Truman officially upset the heavily favored governor of New York Thomas Dewey in the presidential election.
December
- December 1
Somerton Man
In "one of Australia's most profound mysteries", the body of an unidentified man was found on Somerton beach in Adelaide, a case which remains unsolved.
- December 9
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Genocide Convention, which defines genocide in legal terms and obligates its signatories to pursue the enforcement of its prohibition.
- December 14
Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr.
American physicists Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann were awarded a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the first interactive electronic game.
- December 17
Finnish Security and Intelligence Service
The Finnish Security Police was established to remove communist leadership from its predecessor, the State Police.
- December 22
Sjafruddin Prawiranegara
Chaired by Sjafruddin Prawiranegara, the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia was established to counter Dutch attempts to re-assert colonial control.
- December 28
Douglas DC-3
The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Miami.
Questions about 1948
What happened in 1948?
This site records 56 entries for 1948, including British Rail on January 1. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 1948?
78 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1948 turns 78 this year.
Which century is 1948 in?
1948 falls in the 20th century, in the 1940s.
Which generation was born in 1948?
Baby Boomers (1946–1964). Born in the post-war birth surge.
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