What Happened in December 1947

Historical Events

First Australia - India Test

Dec 1 In first cricket Test match between the 2 nations, India is dismissed for 58 by Australia in Brisbane; fast bowler Ernie Toshack takes 5 for 2 off 2.3 overs; Don Bradman scores 185 as Australia wins by an innings & 226 runs

Dec 2 13th Heisman Trophy Award: Johnny Lujack, Notre Dame (QB)
Dec 2 In rain affected 1st Test in Brisbane, Australia compiles 1st innings total 645 on Day 3 v India (Bradman 187, Hassett 128); Australia wins by an innings and 332

A Streetcar Named Desire

Dec 3 Tennessee Williams' stage drama "A Streetcar Named Desire", starring Jessica Tandy, Marlon Brando, and Kin Hunter, and directed by Elia Kazan opens the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC; runs for 855 performances, wins a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize

First Test India vs. Australia

Dec 4 In the first cricket Test match between the 2 nations, India is dismissed for 98 by Australia in Brisbane to lose by an innings & 226 runs; fast bowler Ernie Toshack takes 6 for 29 for match figures of 11 for 31

Dec 4 USSR joins International Amateur Athletic Union

Louis vs. Walcott

Dec 5 Joe Louis beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for heavyweight boxing title, at Madison Square Garden, NYC

Boxer and World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jersey Joe Walcott

Dec 5 Samuel L. Manning and Adolph Thenstead's musical revue "Caribbean Carnival" opens at International Theater, NYC; runs for 11 performances

Everglades National Park

Dec 6 The Everglades National Park in Florida is dedicated by President Harry S. Truman

Dec 9 Menahem Presser (19) makes his Carnegie Hall debut as soloist in Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, under Eugene Ormandy's direction (NYC)

Nobel for Work on Nerve Function

Dec 10 American physiologists Joseph Erlanger and Herbert Gasser presented with Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in Stockholm (awarded 1944), for research into nerve function

Dec 10 USSR & Czechoslovakia sign trade agreement
Dec 11 Bob Hilliard and Sigman's musical "Angel in the Wings" opens at Coronet Theater NYC for 308 performances
Dec 11 Pacific Coast League application for major league status rejected
Dec 12 United Mine Workers union withdrew from AFL
Dec 13 Maine Turnpike opens to traffic
Dec 13 Samuel L. Manning and Adolph Thenstead's musical revue "Caribbean Carnival" closes at International Theatre, NYC, after 11 performances
Dec 14 Cleveland Browns beat NY Yankees 14-3 in AAFC championship game
Dec 14 The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded in Daytona Beach, Florida

Holograpy Patent

Dec 17 British industrial company BTH receives a patent for holography, invented by Dennis Gabor in their development lab

Physicist and Electrical Engineer Dennis Gabor

Dec 17 NY struck by a blizzard, resulting with 27" of snow
Dec 17 WEWS TV channel 5 in Cleveland, Ohio (ABC) begins broadcasting

Optissima Pax

Dec 18 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Optissima Pax

Dec 19 1948 NFL Draft: Harry Gilmer from University of Alabama first pick by Washington Redskins
Dec 22 Italian constituent assembly adopts new constitution

Transistor Invented

Dec 23 Transistor invented by John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley is first publicly demonstrated at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey

Physicist and Electrical Engineer John Bardeen

Dec 25 Constitution of the Republic of China comes into effect
Dec 25 Taiwan passes Human Rights laws (Day of Earth Law)
Dec 26 British transfer Heard & McDonald Islands (Indian Ocean) to Australia
Dec 26 Heavy snow blankets Northeast, buries NYC under 25.8" of snow in 16 hrs That same day, LA set a record high of 84°F

Theater Premiere

Dec 26 Marc Blitzstein's play with music "The Cradle Will Rock", directed by Orson Welles, opens at Mansfield Theater, NYC; runs for 34 performances

Dec 27 1st "Howdy Doody Show" (Puppet Playhouse), telecast on NBC
Dec 28 Chic Cards beat Philadelphia Eagles 28-21 in NFL championship game
Dec 28 National Football League Championship, Comiskey Park, Chicago: Chicago Cardinals beat Philadelphia Eagles, 28-21; Cardinals' only title victory
Dec 29 Ship carrying Jewish immigrants driven away from Palestine
Dec 30 King Michael of Romania, forced by Communists abdicates his throne, sending him into exlie
Dec 30 Romanian republic proclaimed

Events in 1947

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Alain Bashung, French singer-songwriter (Gaby oh Gaby), born in Paris, France (d. 2009)
Dec 1 Andy Ripley, English rugby union #8 (24 caps; British Lions 1974), born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England (d. 2010)
Dec 1 Bob Fulton, Australian rugby league five eighth (35 Tests; Manly, Warrington, Easts; RL "Immortal") and coach (39 Tests Australia; Manly, Easts), born in Warrington, England (d. 2021)
Dec 1 Dennis Ward, Australian rugby league halfback (6 Tests; Canterbury- Bankstown RLFC, Manly RLFC), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2021)
Dec 2 Andy Rouse, British auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1981; British Saloon Car C'ship 1975, 83-85; Britcar 1985), born in Dymock, Gloucestershire, England
Dec 2 Dhiraj Parsana, Indian cricket all-rounder (2 Tests), born in Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Dec 2 Ivan Atanassov Petrov, Bulgarian neurologist (research on biopsy investigation of muscle and peripheral nerves in neuromuscular diseases), born in Sofia, Bulgaria
Dec 2 Michael Green, English businessman and psychotherapist, born in Hampstead, London
Dec 2 Ntare V [Charles Ndizeye], final King of Burundi (1966), born in Gitega, Burundi, Ruanda-Urundi (d. 1972)
Dec 3 John Wilson, Irish rock drummer (Them, 1965), born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Dec 4 Terry Woods, Irish folk, rock, and celtic punk mandolin, cittern, and banjo player and songwriter (The Pogues; Steeleye Span), born in Dublin, Ireland
Dec 4 Ursula Krechel, German writer (Shanghai far from where), born in Trier, Germany
Dec 5 Bruce Golding, Jamaican politician (8th Prime Minister of Jamaica 2007-11), born in Chapelton, Jamaica
Dec 5 Jim Messina, American guitarist and songwriter (Buffalo Springfield; Poco: Loggins & Messina - "Your Mamma Don't Dance"), born in Maywood, California
Dec 5 Jim Plunkett, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1970, Stanford; Super Bowl 1980, 84 LA/Oakland Raiders), born in San Jose, California
Dec 5 Jugderdemidjin Gurragcha, Mongolian cosmonaut (Soyuz 39), born in Gurvanbulag, Bulgan, Mongolia

Dec 5 Kim Simmonds, Welsh blues-rock guitarist (Savoy Brown), born in Newbridge, Wales (d. 2022)
Dec 5 Rick Wills, British bass guitarist (Peter Frampton, 1972-74: Foreigner, 1977-91), born in Cambridge, England
Dec 5 Tony Gregory, Irish politician, born in Dublin

Geoffrey Hinton (76 years old)

Dec 6 British-Canadian cognitive psychologist and computer scientist (backpropagation algorithm), born in Wimbledon, London

Dec 6 Lawrence Cannon, Canadian politician (9th Minister of Foreign Affairs), born in Quebec City, Quebec
Dec 6 Miroslav Vitouš, Czech jazz bassist (Weather Report), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia

Johnny Bench (76 years old)

Dec 7 American Baseball HOF catcher (14 x MLB All Star; World Series 1975, 76 [MVP]; NL MVP 1970, 72; 10 x Gold Glove; Cincinnati Reds), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Dec 7 Mino Reitano, Italian entertainer, born in Fiumara, Italy (d. 2009)
Dec 7 Peter de Jong, Dutch actor (Maxi-Mini & Maxi), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dec 7 Tony Thomas, American TV and film producer, born in Hollywood, California
Dec 7 Vincent Baggetta, American actor (Lou-Chicago Story), born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 2017)
Dec 8 Belinda Balaski, American actress (Cannonball; Proud Men; The Howling), born in Inglewood, California
Dec 8 Geoff Daking, American rock drummer (Blue Magoos), audio engineer, and recording studio designer, born in the USA

Gregg Allman (1947-2017)

Dec 8 American Hammond organist, guitarist and vocalist (The Allman Brothers Band - "Whipping Post"), born in Nashville, Tennessee

Jimmy Lai (76 years old)

Dec 8 Hong Kong-British businessman, entrepreneur (founder of Giordano, Next Digital, Apple Daily), and pro-democracy activist, born in Canton, China

Dec 8 Kati-Claudia Fofonoff, Skolt Sámi poet and writer, born in Ivalo, Finland (d. 2011)
Dec 8 Thomas R. Cech, American chemist (Nobel laureate, 1989), born in Chicago, Illinois
Dec 9 Jaak Jõerüüt, Soviet-born Estonian politician (Minister of Defence 2004-05), born in Tallinn, Estonia
Dec 9 Steve Owens, American College Football Hall of Fame running back (Heisman Trophy 1969, U of Oklahoma; Pro Bowl, All Pro 1971, Detroit Lions), born in Gore, Oklahoma
Dec 9 Tom Daschle, American politician (U.S. Senator from South Dakota), born in Aberdeen, South Dakota
Dec 10 Brian Hogan, English rugby league forward (5 Tests; St. Helens, Wigan, Bradford Northern, Widnes), born in Merton Bank, England (d. 2022)
Dec 10 Douglas Kenney, American humorist (co-founded the magazine National Lampoon), born in West Palm Beach, Florida (d. 1980)
Dec 10 Rəsul Quliyev, Azerbaijani politician, born in Qazanci, Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan
Dec 10 Zinaida Voronina, Russian and Soviet gymnast (1968 Olympics: 4 medals including 1 gold), born in Yoshkar-Ola, Russia (d. 2001)
Dec 11 Tom Fuccello, American actor (Dave-Dallas), born in Newark, New Jersey
Dec 12 Irving Azoff, American entertainment executive and artist manager (REO Speedwagon; The Eagles), born in Danville, Illinois
Dec 13 Chuck Findley, American jazz and rock session trumpet and flugelhorn player (Steely Dan; The Carpenters; The Tonight Show), born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Dec 13 Darlene Cates, American actress (What's Eating Gilbert Grape), born in Borger, Texas (d. 2017)
Dec 13 Les Joslin, Australian cricketer (Test as batsman for Australia 1968, made 7 & 2), born in Yarraville, Victoria
Dec 14 Christopher Parkening, American classical guitarist (transcribed sacred music), born in Los Angeles, California

Dilma Rousseff (76 years old)

Dec 14 Brazilian politician and President of Brazil (2011-16), born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Dec 14 Linda Sutton, English artist, born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex
Dec 15 Davie Robb, Scottish soccer forward (5 caps; Aberdeen FC 251 games), born in Broughty Ferry, Scotland (d. 2022)
Dec 15 Rodney Bingenheimer, American disc jockey, born in Mountain View, California
Dec 16 Ben Cross, English actor (Chariots of Fire, Star Trek), born in London, England (d. 2020)
Dec 16 Vincent Matthews, American 400m dash (Olympic gold 1972)
Dec 17 Jim Hodder, American drummer (Steely Dan, 1972-74), born in Bethpage, New York (d. 1990)
Dec 17 Marilyn Hassett, American actress (The Other Side of the Mountain), born in Los Angeles, California
Dec 17 Wes Studi, Native American actor (Last of the Mohicans), born in Nofire Hollow, Oklahoma
Dec 18 Eddie Antar, American businessman (Crazy Eddie Electronics Store), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2016)
Dec 18 Judy Heumann, American disability rights activist, and author, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2023)
Dec 19 Janie Fricke, American country music singer ("It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy"), born in South Whitley, Indiana
Dec 20 Gigliola Cinquetti, Italian pop singer (Eurovision, 1964), born in Verona, Italy
Dec 21 Paco de Lucía, Spanish flamenco guitarist and composer, born in Algeciras, Spain (d. 2014)
Dec 22 Brian C. Daley, American sci-fi author (Exploits of Han Solo, Tron), born in Englewood, New Jersey
Dec 22 Dilip Doshi, Indian cricket spin bowler (33 Tests, 114 wickets, BB 6/102; Bengal, East Zone, Nottinghamshire CCC, Warwickshire CCC), born in Rajkot, India

Bill Rodgers (76 years old)

Dec 23 American athlete (Boston Marathon 1975, 78, 79, 80; NYC Marathon 1976, 77, 78, 79; Fukuoka Marathon 1977), born in Hartford, Connecticut

Dec 24 Kevin Sheedy, Australian Football League coach (AFL Premiership 1984, 85, 93, 2000 Essendon FC; GWS FC), born in Melbourne, Australia
Dec 24 Miguel Ángel, Spanish soccer goalkeeper (18 caps; Real Madrid 247 games), born in Ourense, Spain (d. 2024)
Dec 26 Carlton Fisk, American Baseball HOF catcher (11 x MLB All Star; AL Rookie of the Year 1972; Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox), born in Bellows Falls, Vermont
Dec 26 James T. Conway, 34th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps
Dec 26 Joyce Jillson, Cranston RI, psychic/actress (Superchick)
Dec 27 (Alan) "Albhy" Galuten, American Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, and arranger (Bee Gees), born in Hartsdale, New York
Dec 27 Bill Eadie, professional wrestler known as "Ax" of Demolition
Dec 27 Janet Perry, American operatic soprano, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dec 27 Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, Danish businessman (CEO of Lego Group, 1979-2004), born in Billund, Denmark
Dec 28 Andrew Olle, broadcaster
Dec 28 Aurelio Rodriguez, baseball player
Dec 28 Dick Diamonde [Dingeman van der Sluys], Dutch-Australian rock guitarist (The Easybeats - "Friday On My Mind"), born in Hilversum, Netherlands
Dec 29 Cozy Powell [Colin Flooks] English rock drummer (Jeff Beck Group; Emerson, Lake & Powell), born in Cirencester, United Kingdom (d. 1998)
Dec 29 Ted Danson, American actor (Cheers -"Sam"; 3 Men & A Baby: CSI; The Good Place), born in San Diego, California
Dec 29 Vincent Winter, Scottish child actor, born in Aberdeen, United Kingdom (d. 1998)
Dec 30 Janet Mills, American lawyer and politician, first female Governor of Maine (2018-), born in Farmington, Maine
Dec 30 Jeff Lynne, British rock singer-songwriter and record producer (ELO - "Livin' Thing"; Traveling Wilburys - "Handle With Care"; Beatles - "Free As A Bird"), born in Shard End, Birmingham, England
Dec 30 Michael Burns, American actor (Barnaby West-Wagon Train), born in Mineola, New York
Dec 30 Stephanus S "Tian" van Merwe, leader (South Africa Democratic Party)
Dec 31 Burton Cummings, Canadian rock singer-songwriter, and keyboardist (Guess Who - "These Eyes"), born in Winnipeg, Canada
Dec 31 June Tabor, British folk singer, born in Warwick, England
Dec 31 Rita Lee [Jones], Brazilian rock singer, songwriter and musician (Os Mutantes), born in São Paulo, Brazil (d. 2023) [1]
Dec 31 Tim Matheson, American actor (Animal House, Fletch, Up the Creek), born in Glendale, California

Born in 1947

Famous Deaths

Dec 1 Aleister Crowley, British occultist, founded the religion of Thelema, dies at 72
Dec 1 G. H. Hardy, English mathematician (Hardy–Weinberg principle, A Mathematician's Apology), dies at 70
Dec 7 Nicholas Murray Butler, American philosopher, diplomat (Nobel Peace Prize 1931), educator (Columbia University President), dies at 85
Dec 7 Tristan Bernard, French playwright and novelist, dies at 81
Dec 12 Huda Sha'arawi, Egyptian feminist and nationalist, founder of Egyptian Feminist Union, dies at 68
Dec 13 Nicholas Roerich, Russian painter, dies at 73
Dec 14 Edward Higgins, English General of The Salvation Army, dies at 84
Dec 14 Franz Zorell, German lexicographer, dies at 84

Stanley Baldwin (1867-1947)

Dec 14 British Prime Minister (Conservative: 1923-24, 1924-29, 1935-37), dies at 80

Dec 15 Arthur Machen, Welsh author (The Great God Pan), dies at 84
Dec 15 George L. Funke, Dutch botanist (Flower Physiology), dies after an operation at 50
Dec 22 Therese Brandl, German Nazi concentration camp guard (Auschwitz), and convicted war criminal, executed by hanging in Kraków, Poland at 45
Dec 25 Gaspar G. Bacon, was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1886)

Victor Emmanuel III (1869-1947)

Dec 28 King of Italy (1900-46), Emperor of Ethiopia and King of the Albanians, dies of pulmonary edema at 78

Dec 29 Joseph Cuvelier, Belgian historian and general archivist, dies at 78

Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)

Dec 30 British mathematician and philosopher (Adventures of Ideas), dies at 86

Dec 30 Han [Henricus Antonius] van Meegeren, Dutch painter and art forger (Vermeer), dies at 58
Dec 31 Franz Ritter von Epp, German general and Nazi official (Reichsstatthalter for Bavaria 1933-45), dies awaiting trial at Nuremberg at 79

On This Day