What Happened in January 1948

Historical Events

  • Jan 1 14th Orange Bowl: #10 Georgia Tech beats #12 Kansas, 20-14
  • Jan 1 14th Sugar Bowl: #5 Texas beats #6 Alabama, 27-7
  • Jan 1 1st color newsreel filmed (Pasadena, California)
  • Jan 1 34th Rose Bowl: #2 Michigan beats #8 Southern California, 49-0
  • Jan 1 After partition, India declines to pay the agreed share of Rs.550 million in cash balances to Pakistan.

Bradman Century Against India

Jan 1 Australian cricket master batsman Don Bradman scores 132 on first day of 3rd Test v India; follows up with 127no in 2nd innings; Australia wins by 233

  • Jan 1 General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade effective
  • Jan 1 Orissa province accedes to India
  • Jan 1 The Constitution of Italy comes into force
  • Jan 1 Transport Act of 1947 comes into force in the United Kingdom, nationalizing the British rail system under the name British Railways
  • Jan 2 WNDT (now WNET) TV channel 13 in New York-Newark, NY (PBS) begins
  • Jan 3 Australian cricket batting maestro Don Bradman completes dual Test centuries (132 & 127* [26th Test 100]) in 3rd Test v India in Melbourne
  • 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 President Harry Truman raises taxes for the Marshall Plan to assist in rebuilding Europe after WWII [1]

Death Sentence for Ans van Dijk

Jan 8 Queen Wilhelmina signs death sentence against Ans van Dijk for treason

Piston's 3rd Symphony

Jan 9 Walter Piston's 3rd Symphony in E, premieres in Boston by the Boston Symphony Orchestra; conducted by Serge Koussevitzky; wins 1947 Pulitzer Prize

  • Jan 10 Harold Rome's musical "Call Me Mister", starring Betty Garrett closes at Plymouth Theater, NYC, after 734 performances
  • Jan 10 J.B. Priestley's stage drama "An Inspector Calls" closes at the Booth Theatre, NYC, after 95 performances
  • 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 12 Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast

  • Jan 12 US Supreme Court decision in Sipuel v Oklahoma State Board of Regents
  • Jan 13 1st 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 starring Humphrey Bogart premieres

  • Jan 15 Richard Lewine, Hassard Short, and Arnold Horwitt's musical comedy revue "Make Mine Manhattan", featuring Broadway debut of Sid Caesar opens at Broadhurst Theater, NYC; runs for 429 performances
  • 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 22 All time great England cricket spin bowler Jim Laker takes 7-103 in his first Test innings in 1st Test v West Indies in Bridgetown, Barbados
  • Jan 23 Australian cricket captain Don Bradman scores 201 in 4th Test win v India in Adelaide; Sid Barnes 112 and Lindsay Hassett 198no in Australian total 674
  • Jan 23 Test debut of Neil Harvey, v India at Adelaide
  • Jan 24 Dutch Liberal Party forms - People's party for Freedom & Democracy (VVD)
  • Jan 24 Henry Duffy's musical "Music in My Heart", based on life and work of Piotr Tchaikovsky, closes at Adelphi Theater, NYC, after 124 performances

Australian Men's Tennis Open

Jan 26 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Adrian Quist wins his 3rd Australian title; beats fellow Australian and doubles partner John Bromwich 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3

  • Jan 26 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton beats Marie Toomey 6-3, 6-1 for 4th straight Australian single title
  • Jan 27 1st locomotive to carry 1,000,000 pounds (450,000 kg) operates
  • Jan 27 1st 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 by Leonard Bernstein

Roxas Grants Amnesty

Jan 28 President Manuel 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

"Look Ma, I'm Dancin'"

Jan 29 Hugh Martin's musical comedy "Look Ma, I'm Dancin'" starring Nancy Walker and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, opens at Adelphi Theater, NYC; runs for 188 performances

  • Jan 29 Pakistan Socialist Party is founded
  • Jan 30 Mahatma Gandhi assassinated in the garden of the New Delhi home he was 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 31 J. 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
1948 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Jan 1 Pavel Grachev, Russian general
  • Jan 2 Kerry Minnear, Dorset, English rocker (Gentle Giant)
  • Jan 3 Larry McNeeley, American bluegrass and session banjo player (The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour), born in Lafayette, Indiana
  • Jan 3 Manfred Kokot, East German athlete (world record 50m indoor sprint 5.61s 1973), born in Templin, Germany
  • Jan 4 Eugeniusz Wycisło, Polish politician
  • Jan 5 Parthasarathy Sharma, Indian cricket batsman (5 Tests, 1 x 50), born in Alwar, India (d. 2010)
  • Jan 5 Rob Quist, American country and bluegrass singer-songwriter, guitarist and banjo player (Mission Mountain Wood Band), born in Cut Bank, Montana
  • Jan 5 Thom Mooney, American rock drummer (Nazz - "Open My Eyes", "Hello It's Me), born in Altoona, Pennsylvania
  • Jan 6 Bob Wise, American politician (Governor of West Virginia 2001-05, Rep-D-WV, 1983-2001), born in Washington, D.C.
  • Jan 6 Dayle Hadlee, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (brother of Richard; 26 Tests, 71 wickets, 1 x 50; Canterbury), born in Christchurch, Canterbury
  • Jan 6 Guy Gardner, US Air Force officer & astronaut (STS 27, STS 35), born in Altavista, Virginia
  • Jan 7 Kaz Lux, Dutch blues-rock guitarist and singer, born in Oosterhout, Netherlands
  • Jan 7 Kenny Loggins, American singer-songwriter (Loggins and Messina - "Danny's Song"; "Your Mama Don't Dance"; solo - "This Is It"; "Footloose"), born in Everett, Washington
  • Jan 7 Rick Marotta, American session drummer (Carly Simon; Steely Dan; Warren Zevon), and composer, born in New York City
  • Jan 8 Gillies Mackinnon, Scottish film director and writer (Playboys), born in Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • Jan 9 Bill Cowsill, American singer and musician (The Cowsills - "Hair"; "The Rain, The Park, And Other Things"), born in Newport, Rhode Island (d. 2006)
  • Jan 9 Cassie Gaines, American rock singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd), born in Miami, Oklahoma (d. 1977)
  • Jan 9 Paul King, British rock guitarist and banjo player (Mungo Jerry, 1970-72), born in Dagenham, Essex, England
  • Jan 9 Tim Hart, British folk-rock singer, guitarist, mandolin and dulcimer player (Steeleye Span, 1969-82 - "All Around My Hat"; "Gaudete"), born in Lincoln, England (d. 2009)
  • Jan 10 Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist, born in Saint-Julien-de-Civry, France

Donald Fagen (76 years old)

Jan 10 American rock vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter (Steely Dan - "Reelin' In The Years"; "Deacon Blue"), born in Passaic, New Jersey

  • Jan 10 Fayette Pinkney, American pop and disco singer (The Three Degrees, 1963-76 - "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)"; "When Will I See You Again?"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2009)
  • Jan 10 Mischa Maisky, Latvian cellist, born in Riga, Latvia
  • Jan 11 Eleazar Soria, Peruvian soccer defender (29 caps, Copa America 1975; Universitario, Independiente, Sporting Cristal), born in Lima, Peru (d. 2021)
  • Jan 11 Madeline Manning-Mimms, American athlete (Olympic gold 800m 1968), born in Cleveland, Ohio
  • Jan 11 Terry Goodkind, American epic fantasy novelist (The Sword of Truth), born in Omaha, Nebraska (d. 2020)
  • Jan 11 Terry Williams, Welsh rock drummer (Man; Rockpile; Dire Straits, 1982-88), born in Swansea, Wales
  • Jan 12 Anthony Andrews, English actor (Under the Volcano), born in London, England
  • Jan 12 John Etheridge, British guitarist (Soft Machine), born in Lambeth, England
  • Jan 12 Kenny Allen, English footballer, born in Fenton, Michigan
  • Jan 12 Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman, born in Houston, Texas (d. 2001)
  • Jan 12 William Nicholson, English writer, born in Lewes, United Kingdom
  • Jan 13 Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur
  • Jan 13 Kenia Jayantilal, cricketer (5 at Kingston 71 his only inns for India)

Carl Weathers (1948-2024)

Jan 14 American football player, actor (Rocky films (I-IV); Street Justice; The Mandalorian), and director, born in New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Jan 14 Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett, American musician and producer (Los Lobos; Sam Philips: BoDeans), born in St. Louis, Missouri
  • Jan 15 Dini Petty, Canadian talk show host (CITY-TV), born in Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
  • Jan 15 Ronnie Van Zant, American rock musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Gimme Three Steps"), born in Jacksonville, Florida (d. 1977)
  • Jan 15 Tommy Nolan, Canadian actor (Jody-Buckskin), born in Montreal, Quebec
  • Jan 16 Anatoli Yakovlevich Solovyov, Soviet cosmonaut (TM-5,9,15,26, STS 71), born in Riga, Latvia
  • Jan 16 Cliff Thorburn, Canadian champion snooker player, born in Victoria, British Columbia
  • Jan 16 Dalvanius Prime, New Zealand entertainer, born in Patea, New Zealand (d. 2002)

John Carpenter (76 years old)

Jan 16 American film director (Halloween, The Thing), born in Carthage, New York

  • Jan 16 Ruth Reichl, American magazine editor, born in Greenwich Village, New York
  • Jan 17 Alexander "Alec" Erwin, South African worker's union leader, born in Cape Town, South Africa
  • Jan 17 Anne Queffélec, French concert pianist, born in Paris, France
  • Jan 17 Mick Taylor, British rock guitarist (John Mayhall's Bluesbreakers, 1967-69; Rolling Stones, 1969-74 - "Brown Sugar", "Honky Tonk Woman"), born in Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom
  • Jan 17 Robin Lumley, English jazz-fusion keyboardist (Brand X), and record producer, born in the Devonport, England (d. 2023)
  • Jan 19 Harvey Hinsley, British musician, born in Northampton, England
  • Jan 20 Jerry Ross, American Air Force officer & NASA astronaut (STS 61B, 27, 37, 55, 74, sk:88), born in Crown Point, Indiana
  • Jan 20 Mel Pritchard, British progressive rock drummer (Barclay James Harvest), born in Oldham, Lancashire (d. 2004)
  • Jan 20 Nancy Kress, American science fiction writer, born in Buffalo, New york
  • Jan 20 Natan Sharansky, Israeli politician and human rights activist, born in Donetsk, Ukraine
  • Jan 21 Dan Morrison, American baseball umpire (World Series 1992; MLB All Star Game 1988; AL C'ship Series 1989, 96, 99), born in Glasgow, Kentucky (d. 2023)
  • Jan 22 Gilbert Levine, American orchestral conductor, born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Jan 22 Northern Calloway, American actor (d. 1990)
  • Jan 22 Tim Foley, American football defensive back (Super Bowl VII, VIII; Pro Bowl 1979; Miami Dolphins), born in Evanston, Illinois (d. 2023)
  • Jan 23 Anita Pointer, American pop and R&B singer (The Pointer Sisters - "He's So Shy"; "I'm So Excited"), born in Oakland, California (d. 2022)
  • Jan 23 Glenn Wheatley, Australian rock bassist (The Masters Apprentices), and talent manager (Little River Band; John Farnham), born in Nambour, Queensland, Australia (d. 2022)
  • Jan 24 Charlie Souza, American session and touring bass player and vocalist (Mudcrutch), born in Tampa, Florida
  • Jan 24 Elliott Abrams, American ass. secretary of state/supplied arms to the Contras, born in New York
  • Jan 24 Michael Des Barres, British rock singer (Detective; Power Station), actor (MacGyver; The New WKRP in Cincinnati), and radio DJ, born in Hove, England
  • Jan 24 Michio Kaku, American physicist, futurist, author (Physics of the Impossible; The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything), broadcaster, and peace activist, born in San Jose, California
  • Jan 25 Gueorgui Chichkine, Russian painter, born in Yekaterinburg, Russia
  • Jan 25 Ros Kelly, Australian politician, born in Sydney, Australia
  • Jan 26 (Laurence) "Corky" Laing, Canadian rock drummer and songwriter (Mountain; Cork), born in Montreal, Quebec
  • Jan 27 Chuck Larsen, American country-rockabilly singer and banjo player (Snuff - "Bad, Bad, Billy"), born in Oklahoma
  • Jan 27 Kim Gardner, English rock bassist (Ashton, Gardner & Dyke), born in London (d. 2001)
  • Jan 27 Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American ballet dancer,and choreographer (American Ballet Theater), and actor (The Turning Point; Sex In The City), born in Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union (now Latvia)
  • Jan 28 Bennie Thompson, American politician (Rep (D) Mississippi 1993-, Chair Jan 6 Committee), born in Bolton, Mississippi

Charles Taylor (76 years old)

Jan 28 President of Liberia (1997-2003), warlord and convicted war criminal, born in Arthington, Liberia

  • Jan 28 Mamoru Mohri, Japanese scientist and astronaut (STS 47, born in Yoichi-machi Hokkaido
  • Jan 29 Dervin Gordon, British rock singer (The Equals), born in Jamaica
  • Jan 29 Felice Taylor, American R&B singer (I Feel Love Comin' On), born in Richmond, California (d. 2017)
  • Jan 29 Marc Singer, Canadian-American actor (V, Dallas), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Jan 29 Pat Kenny, Irish TV presenter and radio host
  • Jan 30 Akira Yoshino, Japanese chemist (lithium-ion battery), 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, born in Suita, Japan
  • Jan 30 Nicholas Broomfield, English documentary film director (Dark Obsession, Heidi Fleiss), born in London
  • Jan 30 Paul Magee, Provisional IRA member, born in Belfast, Ireland
  • Jan 31 Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician, born in Hokkaido, Japan
Born in 1948

Famous Weddings

  • Jan 29 American singer and comic actor Dennis Day (31) weds American Peggy Almquist (24) in San Juan Capistrano, California, until his death in 1988

Famous Deaths

  • Jan 1 Hermann Zilcher, German pianist and composer (Dr Eisenbart, Die Liebesmesse), dies at 66
  • Jan 1 Willem Landré, Dutch composer, and music educator, dies at 73
  • Jan 2 Jatindramohan Bagchi, Indian (Bengali) poet, dies at 69
  • Jan 5 Mary Dimmick Harrison, US First lady (1889-93) as second wife of the 23rd President Benjamin Harrison, dies at 89
  • Jan 7 Raoul Auernheimer, Austrian American writer, dies at 71
  • Jan 8 John Lomax, American folk song collector and ethnomusicologist (American Folklore Society), and educator, dies of a stroke at 83
  • Jan 8 Kurt Schwitters, German-British dada-artist and poet (collages), dies at 60
  • Jan 8 Richard Tauber [Denemy], Austrian-British operatic tenor and film actor, dies of lung cancer at 56
  • Jan 9 Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, British musician (harpsichord and clavichord), dies at 75
  • Jan 14 Anna "Ans" van Dike, Dutch Jewish Nazi-collaborator, executed at 42
  • Jan 19 Tony Garnier, French architect (b. 1869)

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948)

Jan 21 Italian light opera composer, dies at 72

  • Jan 24 Arthur Liebehenschel, Polish Commandant at the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, executed for war crimes at 48
  • Jan 24 Maria Mandl, Austrian Nazi concentration camp worker (Lichtenburg; Ravensbrück) extermination camp official (Auschwitz II-Birkenau), and convicted war criminal, executed by hanging at 36
  • Jan 26 Ignaz Friedman, Polish pianist and composer, dies at 65
  • Jan 29 Tomislav II of Croatia, 4th Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (b. 1900)
  • Jan 30 Herb Pennock, American Baseball HOF pitcher (6 × World Series; Philadelphia A's, Boston Red Sox, NY Yankees), dies at 53

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Jan 30 Indian independence activist and spiritual leader, assassinated in New Delhi by Hindu extremists at 78

Orville Wright (1871-1948)

Jan 30 American aviator (Wright Brothers), dies at 76