It was the first year of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, which would last until
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, ending with the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
.
Events
January
*
January
January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the first of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the ...
–
February
February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...
–
Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in the 20th century causes extensive disruption of travel. Given the low ratio of private vehicle ownership at the time, it is mainly remembered in terms of its effects on the railway network.
*
January 1 - The
Canadian Citizenship Act
The ''Canadian Citizenship Act'' (french: Loi sur la citoyenneté canadienne) was a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1946 which created the legal status of Canadian citizenship. The Act defined who were Canadian citizens, separat ...
comes into effect.
*
January 4
Events Pre-1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
* 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
1601–1900
*1649 – Engli ...
– First issue of weekly
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
''
Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' published in
Hanover,
Germany, edited by
Rudolf Augstein.
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
– The
United Nations adopts a resolution to take control of the free city of
Trieste.
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
– Elizabeth Short, an aspiring actress nicknamed the "
Black Dahlia", is found brutally murdered in a vacant lot in Los Angeles; the mysterious case is never solved.
*
January 16
Events Pre-1600
* 27 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.
* 378 – General Siyaj K'ak' conquers Tikal, enlarging the domain of King Spear ...
–
Vincent Auriol is inaugurated as president of France.
*
January 19 – Ferry sinks in the
South Euboean Gulf of Greece killing 392.
*
January 24 – In the third phase of the
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
,
Dimitrios Maximos forms a monarchist government in Athens and begins a brief term as prime minister.
*
January 26 – A
KLM Douglas DC-3 aircraft crashes soon after taking off from
Kastrup Airport, Copenhagen, killing all 22 people on board, including
Prince Gustaf Adolf, second in line to the Swedish throne, and American opera singer
Grace Moore.
*
January 31 – The
Communists take power in the
Polish People's Republic.
February
*
February 3
Events Pre-1600
* 1112 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.
*1451 – Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire.
*1488 – ...
** The lowest air temperature in North America (−63 degrees Celsius) is recorded in
Snag, in the
Yukon Territory.
**
Percival Prattis becomes the first
African-American news correspondent allowed in the
United States House of Representatives and
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
press galleries.
*
February 5
Events Pre-1600
* 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy.
* 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion.
* 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians ar ...
**
Bolesław Bierut becomes the
President of Poland.
** The Government of the United Kingdom announces the £25 million
Tanganyika groundnut scheme, for cultivation of
peanuts in the
Tanganyika Territory.
*
February 7 – The
South Pacific Commission (SPC) is founded.
*
February 8 – The
Karlslust dance hall fire
The Karlslust dance hall fire (also known as Loebel's Restaurant fire) occurred on 8 February 1947 in Hakenfelde, a locality of Spandau in what was then the British sector of Berlin. With its death toll of 80 to 88, it marks possibly the worst f ...
in Berlin, Germany, kills over 80 people.
*
February 10 – In Paris, France, peace treaties are signed between the World War II Allies and Italy, Hungary,
Romania,
Bulgaria and Finland. Italy cedes most of
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
to the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later
Croatia).
*
February 12
** A
meteorite
A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
creates an
impact crater in
Sikhote-Alin
The Sikhote-Alin (russian: Сихотэ́-Али́нь, , , ) is a mountain range in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Russia, extending about to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of Vladivostok. The highest summits are Tordoki Yani at ...
, in the
Soviet Union.
** In
Burma, the
Panglong Agreement is reached between the
Burmese government under its leader, General
Aung San, and the
Shan,
Kachin, and
Chin
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a we ...
ethnic peoples at the Panglong Conference. U Aung Zan Wai,
Pe Khin
Pe Khin ( my, ဖေခင်; 27 August 1912 – 25 February 2004) was a Burmese diplomat. He was one of the main negotiators at the Panglong Conference in Burma and the architect of the historical Panglong Agreement.
Early life
Pe Khin was b ...
, Major Aung, Sir Maung Gyi, Dr. Sein Mya Maung and
Myoma U Than Kywe are among the negotiators.
*
February 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
* 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of ...
–
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
: The
Voice of America begins to transmit radio broadcasts into Eastern Europe and the
Soviet Union.
*
February 20
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
*1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland ...
** An
explosion at the O'Connor Electro-Plating Company in
Los Angeles leaves 17 dead, 100 buildings damaged, and a crater in the ground.
** The
U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Hermes program V-2 rocket ''Blossom I'' is launched into space, carrying plant material and
fruitflies, the first living things to enter space.
*
February 21 – In New York City,
Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera", his
Polaroid Land Camera
The Land Camera is a model of self-developing film camera manufactured by Polaroid between 1948 and 1983. It is named after their inventor, the American scientist Edwin Land, who developed a process for self-developing photography between 1943 ...
, to a meeting of the
Optical Society of America.
*
February 22 – The ''Tom and Jerry'' cartoon ''
Cat Fishin''' is released.
*
February 23
Events Pre-1600
* 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
* 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...
– The
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.
*
February 25
Events Pre-1600
* 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
* 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
...
** The German state of
Prussia is officially abolished, by the
Allied Control Council
The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority (german: Alliierter Kontrollrat) and also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany and Allied-occupied Austria after the end of Wo ...
.
**
Hachikō Line derailment
The was a major fatal railway accident which occurred on 25 February 1947 between and stations on the Hachikō Line in Japan. It was the worst railway accident to occur in Japan.
A Japanese Government Railways (JGR) passenger train hauled by ...
: The worst-ever train accident in Japan kills 184 people.
** John C. Hennessy, Jr. brings the first
Volkswagen Beetle to the United States. He purchased the 1946 automobile from the U.S. Army Post Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, while serving in the U.S. Army. The Beetle is shipped from Bremerhaven, arriving in New York this day.
*
February 28
Events Pre-1600
*202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
* 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
*1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on ...
** The United States grants France a military base in
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
.
** In
Taiwan,
civil disorder is put down, with large loss of civilian lives.
March
*
March 1
** The
International Monetary Fund begins to operate.
** German rocket scientist
Wernher von Braun marries his first cousin, 18-year-old Maria von Quirstorp.
*
March 4 – The
Treaty of Dunkirk (effective September 8) is signed between the United Kingdom and France, providing for mutual assistance in the event of attack.
*
March 12
Events Pre-1600
* 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.
* 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Cat ...
– The
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
begins: The
Truman Doctrine is proclaimed, to help stem the spread of
Communism.
*
March 14
Events Pre-1600
* 1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland.
* 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguen ...
– The
Thames flood and other widespread flooding occurs, as the exceptionally harsh
British winter of 1946–1947 ends in a thaw.
*
March 15 – Hindus and Muslims clash in
Punjab.
*
March 19 – The
19th Academy Awards
The 19th Academy Awards were held on March 13, 1947, honoring the films of 1946, hosted by Jack Benny.
''The Best Years of Our Lives'' won seven of its eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and both male acting Oscars. The ...
Ceremony is held. The movie ''
The Best Years of Our Lives'' wins the
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...
, along with several other Academy Awards.
*
March 25
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto.
* 708 – Pope Constantine becomes the 88th pope. He would be the last pope to vi ...
– A
coal mine explosion in
Centralia, Illinois, United States; 111 miners are killed.
*
March 28 – A World War II Japanese
booby trap
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...
explodes on
Corregidor
Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...
Island, killing 28 people.
*
March 29 – A
rebellion against French rule erupts in
Madagascar.
*
March 31
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine the Great, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman emperor Maximian.
*1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at V ...
– The leaders of the Kurdish People's
Republic of Mahabad, the second
Kurdish state in the history of
Iran, are hanged at
Chuwarchira Square
Chahar Cheragh or Chuar-chira Square ( Kurdish: ''چوارچرا, Çar Çira'', fa, میدان چهارچراغ) (meaning ''Square of the four candles''), is a public square in the centre of the city of Mahabad. It is now officially called Shah ...
in
Mahabad, after the state has been overrun by the Iranian army.
April
*
April – The previous discovery of the '
Dead Sea Scrolls' in the
Qumran Caves (above the northwest shore of the
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
) by
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
shepherds, becomes known.
*
April 1
**
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
, the first
African American in
Major League Baseball since the 1880s, signs a contract with the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
.
**
Paul I becomes King of Greece, aged 45, following the death of his brother,
King George II.
** The
1947 Royal New Zealand Navy mutinies
During April 1947, the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) experienced a series of non-violent mutinies amongst the enlisted sailors of four ships and two shore bases. Over 20% of the RNZN's enlisted personnel were punished or discharged for their invol ...
begin.
*
April 4
Events Pre-1600
* 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.
* 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.
* 611 – ...
– The
International Civil Aviation Organization begins operations.
*
April 7
** The Arab
Ba'ath Party
The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...
is established by merger in
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
.
**
Edaville Railroad opens in Massachusetts, as the first railway theme park.
**The largest recorded
sunspot
Sunspots are phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as temporary spots that are darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection. Sun ...
group appears on the solar surface.
*
April 9
** Multiple tornadoes strike Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, killing 184 and injuring 970.
** The
Journey of Reconciliation in the
Southern United States begins, organized by the
Congress of Racial Equality.
*
April 15 – Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to play Major League Baseball since the 1880s.
*
April 16
**
Texas City disaster: The
ammonium nitrate cargo of French-registered
Liberty ship explodes in
Texas City, Texas in one of the
largest man-made non-nuclear explosions in history, killing at least 581, including all but one member of the city fire department, injuring at least 5,000 and destroying 20 city blocks. Of the dead, remains of 113 are never found, and 62 are unidentifiable.
** American financier and presidential adviser
Bernard Baruch
Bernard Mannes Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier and statesman.
After amassing a fortune on the New York Stock Exchange, he impressed President Woodrow Wilson by managing the nation's economic mobilization in ...
describes the post–World War II tensions between the
Soviet Union and the United States as a "
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
".
*
April 18
** The British
Royal Navy detonates 6,800 tons of explosives, in an attempt to demolish the fortified island of
Heligoland, Germany, in another of the largest man-made non-nuclear explosions in history.
** '
Mrs. Ples', an ''
Australopithecus africanus
''Australopithecus africanus'' is an extinct species of australopithecine which lived between about 3.3 and 2.1 million years ago in the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene of South Africa. The species has been recovered from Taung, Sterkfonte ...
'' skull, is discovered in the
Sterkfontein
Sterkfontein (Afrikaans for ''Strong Spring'') is a set of limestone caves of special interest to paleo-anthropologists located in Gauteng province, about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Muldersdrift area close to the town of K ...
area in
Transvaal, South Africa.
*
April 20 – King
Frederik IX succeeds his father,
Christian X, on the throne of
Denmark.
*
April 26 – Academy Award-winning ''
Tom and Jerry'' cartoon, ''
The Cat Concerto'', is released to theatres.
May
*
May 1 –
Portella della Ginestra massacre
The Portella della Ginestra massacre was one of the most violent acts in the history of modern Italian politics, when 11 people were killed and 27 wounded during May Day celebrations in Sicily on 1 May 1947, in the municipality of Piana degli Alb ...
: The
Salvatore Giuliano
Salvatore Giuliano (; Sicilian: Turiddu or Sarvaturi Giulianu; 16 November 1922 – 5 July 1950) was an Italian bandit, who rose to prominence in the disorder that followed the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. In September of that year, Giul ...
gang of Sicilian separatists opens fire on a
Labour Day
Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...
parade at Portella della Ginestra,
Sicily, killing 11 people and wounding 27.
*
May 2 – The movie ''
Miracle on 34th Street'', a Christmastime classic, is first shown in theaters.
*
May 3 – The new post-war
Constitution of Japan goes into effect.
*
May 11
Events 1601–1900
*1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is Assassination of Spencer Perceval, assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons.
*1813 – William Lawson (explorer), William Lawson, Grego ...
– The
Ferrari 125 S, the first car to bear the
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
name, debuts.
*
May 22
** The
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
begins: In an effort to fight the spread of
Communism, President
Harry S. Truman signs an Act of Congress that implements the
Truman Doctrine. This Act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to
Turkey and Greece. The Cold War
ends in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
.
**
David Lean
Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...
's film ''
Great Expectations
''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...
'', based on the novel by
Charles Dickens, opens in the United States. Critics call it the finest film ever made from a Charles Dickens novel.
*
May 25 – Hyundai Togun, the initial name of the
Hyundai Group
Hyundai Group (; ) is a South Korean conglomerate founded by Chung Ju-yung. The first company in the group was founded in 1947 as a construction company. With government assistance, Chung and his family members rapidly expanded into various in ...
, is founded by
Chung Ju-young
Chung Ju-yung or Jung Joo-young (; November 25, 1915 – March 21, 2001), was a South Korean entrepreneur, businessman and the founder of Hyundai Groups, one of the largest chaebols in South Korea. Raised as the eldest son of a poor Korean far ...
.
*
May 29
** An
Air Iceland Douglas C-47 on a domestic flight in
Iceland crashes into a mountainside killing all 25 people on board.
** A
United States Army Air Forces Douglas C-54 Skymaster crashes on approach to
Naval Air Station Atsugi,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, killing all 41 on board in the worst aviation accident in Japanese history up to this time.
**
Douglas DC-4 ''Mainliner Lake Tahoe'', operating as
United Airlines Flight 521
United Air Lines Flight 521 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by a Douglas DC-4 from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Cleveland, Ohio. On May 29, 1947, while attempting to take off on runway 18, the aircraft failed to get airborn ...
, fails to become airborne while attempting to take off from
LaGuardia Airport in
New York City, runs off the end of the runway, and slams into an embankment, killing 42 of the 48 people on board in the worst aviation disaster in American history until the following day.
*
May 30
Events Pre-1600
* 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres ...
–
Eastern Air Lines Flight 605: A
Douglas C-54 Skymaster crashes near
Bainbridge, Maryland, killing all 53 aboard (49 passengers, 4 crew), in America's worst commercial aviation disaster to that date.
*
May 31
**
Ferenc Nagy, the democratically elected
prime Minister of Hungary, is forced into resign and go exile under pressure from the Soviet-backed
Hungarian Communist Party led by
Mátyás Rákosi. The
fellow traveler
The term ''fellow traveller'' (also ''fellow traveler'') identifies a person who is intellectually sympathetic to the ideology of a political organization, and who co-operates in the organization's politics, without being a formal member of that o ...
Lajos Dinnyés replaces him, which grants the Communists effective control of the Hungarian government.
**
Alcide de Gasperi forms a new government in Italy, the first postwar Italian government not to include members of the
Italian Communist Party.
June
*
June – The
Doomsday Clock of the
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is introduced.
*
June 5
Events Pre-1600
*1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights.
*1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles II of Naples, Charles ...
– U.S. Secretary of State
George Marshall outlines the
Marshall Plan for American reconstruction and relief aid to Europe, in a speech at
Harvard University.
*
June 7 – The Romanian Army founds the
association football club CCA (Clubul Central al Armatei – The Army's Central Club), which will become
the most successful Romanian football team during its time as ''
CSA Steaua București''.
*
June 10 –
SAAB in Sweden produces its first automobile.
*
June 11–
15 – The first
Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod
The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from aro ...
is held in Wales.
*
June 15 – The ''
Estado Novo'' in Portugal orders 11 military officers and 19 university professors, who are accused of revolutionary activity, to resign.
*
June 21
Events Pre-1600
* 533 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily (approximate date).
* 1307 – Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khagan of the Mo ...
– The
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
votes unanimously to pass several laws regarding displaced foreign refugees.
*
June 23
Events Pre-1600
* 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
* 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
* 1280 – The Spanish Re ...
– The
United States Senate follows the
House of Representatives, in overriding President
Harry S. Truman's
veto of the
Taft–Hartley Act.
*
June 24 –
Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported
UFO sighting near
Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...
,
Washington. Over
800 copycat sightings are reported throughout the US in the coming following weeks.
*
June 25 – ''
The Diary of a Young Girl'' by
Anne Frank is published for the first time as ''Het Achterhuis: Dagboekbrieven 14 juni 1942 – 1 augustus 1944'' ("The Annex: Diary Notes from 14 June 1942 – 1 August 1944") in
Amsterdam, two years after the writer's death in
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
July
*
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...
– The
United States begins the
National Malaria Eradication Program, successfully eradicating malaria in
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
.
*
July 6
**
1947 Sylhet referendum
The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in the Sylhet District of the Assam Province of British India to decide whether the district would remain in Undivided Assam and therefore within the post-independence Dominion of India, or leave Assam for Ea ...
: A referendum is held in
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
to decide its fate in the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
.
** The first prototype
AK-47 assault rifles are built to the design of
Mikhail Kalashnikov.
*
July 8
Events Pre-1600
* 1099 – Some 15,000 starving Christian soldiers begin the siege of Jerusalem by marching in a religious procession around the city as its Muslim defenders watch.
* 1283 – Roger of Lauria, commanding the Aragonese ...
–
Roswell UFO incident: A supposedly downed
extraterrestrial spacecraft is reportedly found near
Roswell, New Mexico
Roswell () is a city in, and the County seat, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...
.
*
July 9
Events Pre-1600
*118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome.
* 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodos ...
– King
George VI of the United Kingdom announces the engagement of his daughter
Princess Elizabeth to
Lt. Philip Mountbatten.
*
July 11 – The ship ''
Exodus'' leaves France for
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, with 4,500 Jewish
Holocaust survivor refugees on board.
*
July 17
** Indian passenger ship is capsized by a cyclone at
Mumbai, India, with 625 people killed.
** Alleged date when
Raoul Wallenberg dies in a
Soviet prison. It is not announced until
February 6
Events Pre-1600
* 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop.
1601–1900
* 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of ...
,
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
. There will be reported sightings of him until
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
.
*
July 18
** Following wide media and
UNSCOP coverage, the ''
Exodus'' is captured by British troops, and refused entry into Palestine at the port of
Haifa.
** President
Harry S. Truman signs the
Presidential Succession Act into law, which places the
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...
and the
President pro tempore of the Senate next in the line of succession, after the
vice president.
*
July 19 – Burmese nationalist
Aung San, and six members of his newly formed cabinet, are assassinated during a cabinet meeting.
*
July 26 –
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
: U.S. President
Harry S. Truman signs the
National Security Act of 1947
The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...
into law to create the
Central Intelligence Agency, the
Department of Defense, the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the
National Security Council
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
.
*
July 27–
28 – English endurance swimmer
Tom Blower becomes the first person to swim the
North Channel, from
Donaghadee in
Northern Ireland to
Portpatrick in Scotland.
*
July 29
** After being shut down on November 9, 1946, for a refurbishment, the
ENIAC computer in the United States is turned back on again, and remains in continuous operation until October 2, 1955.
** Original flying saucer witness Kenneth Arnold interviews
Fred Crisman
Fred Lee Crisman (July 22, 1919 – December 10, 1975) was a fighter pilot and later educator from Tacoma, Washington known for claims of paranormal events and ties to 20th century conspiracies.
In 1946, Crisman claimed to have battled with non- ...
and Harold Dahl, who claims to
have recovered material dropped from a flying saucer. Dahl also reports the first modern so-called "
Men in Black" encounter.
August
*
August 1 – Indonesian airline
Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, operat ...
is established.
*
August 2
Events Pre-1600
*338 BC – A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean.
*216 BC – The Carthaginian arm ...
–
1947 BSAA Avro Lancastrian ''Star Dust'' accident: A British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian airliner crashes into a mountain during a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile (the wreckage will not be found until 1998).
*
August 5 – The Netherlands ends
Operation Product, the first of its major ''
politionele acties'' (military "police actions") in
Indonesia.
*
August 7
**
Thor Heyerdahl's
balsa wood raft, the ''
Kon-Tiki'', smashes into the
reef at
Raroia in the
Tuamotu Islands, after a 101-day, 4,300 mile, voyage across the Eastern Pacific Ocean, demonstrating that prehistoric peoples could have traveled to the Central Pacific islands from South America.
** The
Bombay Municipal Corporation formally takes over the
Bombay Electric Supply and Transport
The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) is a civic transport and electricity provider public body based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was originally set up in 1873 as a tramway company called "Bombay Tramway Com ...
(BEST).
*
August 14
Events Pre-1600
* 74 BC – A group of officials, led by the Western Han minister Huo Guang, present articles of impeachment against the new emperor, Liu He, to the imperial regent, Empress Dowager Shangguan. The articles, enumerating t ...
** The Muslim majority regions formed by the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
gain independence from the
British Empire as the
Dominion of Pakistan. While the transition is officially at midnight on this day, Pakistan celebrates its independence on August 14, compared with India on the 15th, because the
Pakistan Standard Time is 30 minutes behind the standard time of India.
**
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
becomes the first
governor-general of Pakistan
The governor-general of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the representative of the Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was abolished when Pakistan became an Islami ...
.
Liaquat Ali Khan takes office as the first
prime minister of Pakistan.
*
August 15
** The greater Indian subcontinent, with a mixed population of
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
,
Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...
,
Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Jains,
Zoroasters,
Jews,
Christians,
Muslims and others formed by the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
, gains independence from the British Empire, as the
Dominion of India.
**
Jawaharlal Nehru takes office as the first
prime minister of India
The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
, taking his oath from
Louis Mountbatten, Viscount Mountbatten of Burma,
Governor-General of India (but no longer
viceroy).
*
August 16
Events Pre-1600
* 1 BC – Wang Mang consolidates his power in China and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who died the previous day, had no heirs.
* 942 – Start of the four-day Battle of al-Mada'in, between the Hamdan ...
– In Greece, General
Markos Vafiadis takes over the government until
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022.
* January 2 – Luis ...
.
*
August 23 – The
prime minister of Greece
The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ ...
,
Dimitrios Maximos, resigns.
*
August 27 – The French government lowers the daily bread
ration to 200 grams, causing riots in
Verdun and
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
.
*
August 30 – A fire at a movie theater in
Rueil, a suburb of Paris, France, kills 83 people.
*
August 31 – In
Hungary,
communists fail to gain a majority in parliamentary elections (despite widespread fraud) and turn to direct action as part of the country's
transition to Communism (1944–1949).
September
*
September 9
**
Women's suffrage is agreed by
Argentina's Congress.
** A moth lodged in a
relay is found to be the cause of a malfunction in the
Harvard Mark II electromechanical computer, logged as the "First actual case of
bug being found."
*
September 13 – Indian Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru suggests the exchange of four million Hindus and Muslims between India and
Pakistan.
*
September 15–
16 –
Typhoon Kathleen strikes the
Bōsō Peninsula and the entire
Kantō region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...
in Japan. Heavy rains cause the
Arakawa and
Tone Rivers to overflow and embankment collapse. The resulting floods and
debris flow kill between 1,077 and 1,920 people, injuring 1,547 and leaving 853 missing.
*
September 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1111 – Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia".
* 1176 – The Battle of Myriokephalon is the last attempt by the Byzantine Empi ...
–
21 – The
1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane in southeastern
Florida, and also in
Alabama,
Mississippi, and
Louisiana causes widespread damage, and kills 50 people.
*
September 18 – In the United States:
** The
National Security Act of 1947
The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...
becomes effective on this day, creating the
United States Air Force,
National Security Council
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
and the
Central Intelligence Agency.
** The
Department of War War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
becomes the
Department of the Army
The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...
, a branch of the new
Department of Defense.
*
September 22 – The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (
Cominform) is founded by the
International Communist Movement.
*
September 30 –
Pakistan and
Yemen join the
United Nations.
October
*
October
** The
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
begins its investigations into
communism in
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
.
** First recorded use of the word ''
computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
'' in its modern sense, referring to an electronic digital machine.
*
October 1 – The
North American F-86 Sabre jet fighter aircraft makes its first flight.
*
October 5 – President
Harry S. Truman delivers the first televised White House address, speaking on the world food crises.
*
October 14
**
1947 Jammu massacres
After the Partition of India, during October–November 1947 in the Jammu region of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, many Muslims were massacred and others driven away to West Punjab. The killings were carried out by extremist Hindus ...
: Extremist Hindus and Sikhs kill 20,000–100,000 Muslims in the
princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
**
United States Air Force test pilot Captain
Chuck Yeager flies a
Bell X-1
The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics– U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Be ...
rocket plane faster than the
speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. At , the speed of sound in air is about , or one kilometre in or one mile in . It depends strongly on temperature as w ...
, the first time it has been accomplished.
*
October 20 – A war begins in
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
, along the border between India and Pakistan, initiating the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948. Also, Pakistan establishes diplomatic relations with the United States of America.
*
October 24 – The first
Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee:
*
*
* and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...
Government is established within Pakistan, headed by
Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan as its first President supported by the government of Pakistan.
*
October 30 – The
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its pre ...
(GATT), the foundation of the
World Trade Organization (WTO), is established.
November
*
November 2 – In
Long Beach, California, designer and airplane pilot
Howard Hughes carries out the one and only flight of the
Hughes H-4 Hercules
The Hughes H-4 Hercules (commonly known as the ''Spruce Goose''; registration NX37602) is a prototype strategic airlift flying boat designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft Company. Intended as a transatlantic flight transport for use during ...
("''Spruce Goose''"), the largest
fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...
ever built and flown. This flight only lasts 8 minutes.
*
November 6 – The television program ''
Meet the Press'' makes its debut, on the
NBC-TV network in the United States.
*
November 9
Events Pre-1600
* 694 – At the Seventeenth Council of Toledo, Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery.
* 1277 – The Treaty of Aberconwy, a humiliating settlement f ...
–
Junagadh is invaded by the Indian army.
*
November 10 – The arrest of four steel workers in
Marseille begins a
French communist riot, that also spreads to Paris.
*
November 13
**
Wataru Misaka makes the roster of the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
to become the first person of color to play in modern professional basketball, just months after
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
has broken the color barrier in
Major League Baseball for the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
. Misaka has led the
Utah Utes to the
1944 NCAA and
1947 NIT
The 1947 National Invitation Tournament was the 1947 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. The Utah Utes won the tournament, led by Wataru Misaka. Misaka later joined the New York Knicks and became the first person of color to ...
championships.
** The Soviet Union completes development of the
AK-47 assault rifle; it will be adopted by the Soviet Army in 1949 and become the most produced assault rifle in history.
*
November 15
** The
International Telecommunication Union becomes a specialized agency of the
United Nations.
** The
Universal Postal Union (UPU) becomes a specialized agency of the
United Nations (effective
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
).
*
November 16
** In
Brussels, 15,000 people demonstrate against the relatively short prison sentences of Belgian
Nazi criminals.
** Great Britain begins withdrawing its troops from Palestine.
*
November 17–
December 23 –
John Bardeen
John Bardeen (; May 23, 1908 – January 30, 1991) was an American physicist and engineer. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for the invention of the tran ...
and
Walter Brattain working under
William Shockley at
AT&T's
Bell Labs in the United States demonstrate the
transistor effect, a key element for the
electronics revolution of the 20th century.
*
November 17 – The
Screen Actors Guild implements an anti-Communist loyalty oath.
*
November 18 –
Ballantyne's fire: A fire in
Ballantynes department store in
Christchurch, New Zealand, kills 41 people.
*
November 20
**
Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh: Princess Elizabeth (later
Elizabeth II), the daughter of
George VI of the United Kingdom, marries
The Duke of Edinburgh at
Westminster Abbey in London.
**
Paul Ramadier resigns as
Prime Minister of France
The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers.
The prime minister ...
. He is succeeded by
Robert Schuman
Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 18864 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. Twice Prime Minister of France, a ref ...
, who calls in 80,000 army reservists to quell rioting miners in France.
*
November 21
Events Pre-1600
*164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, rededicates the Temple in Jerusalem, an event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah. (25 Kislev 3597 in the Hebrew calendar.)
* 235 & ...
– The United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment begins in
Havana, Cuba. This conference ends in 1948, when its members complete the
Havana Charter.
*
November 24 –
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner.
The term origin ...
: The
United States House of Representatives votes 346–17 to approve citations of Contempt of Congress against the "
Hollywood Ten", after the screenwriters and directors refuse to co-operate with the
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
concerning allegations of
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
influences in the movie business. The ten men are
blacklisted
Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
by the
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
movie studios on the following day.
*
November 25
** The
New Zealand Parliament ratifies the
Statute of Westminster, and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the
Parliament of the United Kingdom.
** The new
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...
and
Pashtun mercenaries
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
overrun Mirpur in
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
, resulting in the death of 20,000 Hindus and Sikhs.
*
November 27 – In Paris, France, police occupy the editorial offices of the communist newspapers.
*
November 29
Events Pre-1600
* 561 – Following the death of King Chlothar I at Compiègne, his four sons, Charibert I, Guntram, Sigebert I and Chilperic I, divide the Frankish Kingdom.
* 618 – The Tang dynasty scores a decisive victory over t ...
– The
United Nations General Assembly votes for the
United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine which will partition
Mandatory Palestine between Arab and Jewish regions, resulting in the creation of the
State of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
December
* December –
1947 anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo
The 1947 anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo were an attack on Syrian Jews in Aleppo, Syria in December 1947, following the United Nations vote in favour of partitioning Palestine. The attack, a part of an anti-Jewish wave of unrest across the Middle Ea ...
, organised by the new Syrian government, result in some 75 Jews murdered and a
Jewish exodus.
*
December 2–
4 –
1947 Aden riots
The 1947 Aden riots were three days of violence in which the Jewish community of Aden (in modern-day Yemen) was attacked by members of the Yemeni-Arab community in early December, following the approval of the United Nations Partition Plan for ...
: Yemeni Arabs attack Mizrahi Jews.
*
December 2 –
1947 Jerusalem riots
The 1947 Jerusalem Riots occurred following the vote in the UN General Assembly in favour of the 1947 UN Partition Plan on 29 November 1947.
The Arab Higher Committee declared a three-day strike and public protest to begin on 2 December 1947, in ...
: Arabs protest against the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine.
*
December 3
**
French communist strikers derail the Paris-Tourcoing express train because of false rumors that it is transporting soldiers; 21 people are killed.
** The
Tennessee Williams play ''
A Streetcar Named Desire'', starring
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...
in his first great role, opens at the
Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway in New York City;
Jessica Tandy also stars as Blanche Du Bois.
*
December 4 – French
Interior Minister
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Jules S. Moch
Jules Salvador Moch (15 March 1893, in Paris – 1 August 1985, in Cabris, Alpes-Maritimes) was a French politician.
Biography
Moch was born into a renowned French Jewish military family, the son of Captain Gaston Moch and Rébecca Alice P ...
takes
emergency measures against his country's rioters, after six days of violent arguments in the
National Assembly.
*
December 6
**
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...
conducts a concert performance of the first half of
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's opera ''
Otello
''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.
Th ...
'', for a broadcast on
NBC Radio in the United States. The second half of the opera is broadcast a week later.
** Women are admitted to full membership of the
University of Cambridge in England. following a vote in September.
*
December 9 – French
labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s call off the general strike, and re-commence negotiations with the French government.
*
December 12 – The
Iranian Royal Army takes back power in the
Azerbaijan province.
*
December 14 –
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
is officially inaugurated in
Madrid, and hosts its first match.
*
December 21 – During the mass migration of Hindus and Muslims between the new states of India and Pakistan, 400,000 are slaughtered.
*
December 22 – The
Italian Constituent Assembly votes to accept the new
Constitution of Italy.
*
December 30
Events
Pre-1600
*534 – The second and final edition of the Code of Justinian comes into effect in the Byzantine Empire.
*999 – Battle of Glenmama: The combined forces of Munster and Meath under king Brian Boru inflict a crushi ...
** The
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
jet fighter aircraft (
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...
Fagot) makes its first flight in the Soviet Union.
** King
Michael I of Romania is forced to abdicate and the Romanian monarchy is abolished.
Date unknown
*
Raytheon produces the first commercial
microwave oven, in the United States.
* Global
casual fashion
Casual wear (or casual attire or clothing) is a Western dress code that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the Western world following the counterculture of the 1960s. When emphasisi ...
brand
H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) is founded, and a first Hennes
outlet store opens in
Västmanland, Sweden.
Births
January
*
January 1
**
F. R. David, Tunisian-born French singer
**
Vladimir Titov, Russian cosmonaut
**
Frances Yip, Hong Kong singer
*
January 6
Events Pre-1600
*1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eve ...
**
Sandy Denny, British singer (d.
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
)
**
Ian Millar, Canadian dressage rider
*
January 8
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – Emperor Huai of Jin, Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Emperor Hui of Jin, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying.
* 871 – Æthelred I, King of Wessex, Æthel ...
**
David Bowie, English singer, songwriter, and actor (d.
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
)
**
Samuel Schmid, Swiss Federal Councillor
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
–
Peer Steinbrück, German politician
*
January 13
Events Pre-1600
* 27 BC – Octavian transfers the state to the free disposal of the Roman Senate and the people. He receives Spain, Gaul, and Syria as his province for ten years.
* 532 – The Nika riots break out, during the racing ...
–
Carles Rexach, Spanish-Catalan footballer and coach
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
–
Andrea Martin, Canadian-American actress (''
Second City Television
''Second City Television'', commonly shortened to ''SCTV'' and later known as ''SCTV Network'' and ''SCTV Channel'', is a Canadian television sketch comedy show that ran intermittently between 1976 and 1984. It was created as an offshoot from To ...
'')
*
January 16
Events Pre-1600
* 27 BC – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.
* 378 – General Siyaj K'ak' conquers Tikal, enlarging the domain of King Spear ...
**
Juliet Berto, French actress, director and screenwriter (d.
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
)
**
Apasra Hongsakula
Apasra Hongsakula ( th, อาภัสรา หงสกุล, , ; born January 16, 1947) is a Thai businesswoman and beauty queen who won the title of Miss Universe 1965. She is a daughter of Group Captain Perm and Kayoon Hongsakula. She was ...
, Thai model,
Miss Universe 1965
**
Harvey Proctor, British Conservative politician
*
January 18 –
Takeshi Kitano, Japanese film director, actor
*
January 20
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
* 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
* 1156 &ndas ...
–
Cyrille Guimard, French road racing cyclist
*
January 21 –
Jill Eikenberry, American actress
*
January 23
**
Tom Carper, American politician
**
Megawati Sukarnoputri
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. She previously served as the eighth Vice President of Indonesia, vice president f ...
, 5th
President of Indonesia
*
January 24
**
Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (d.
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
)
**
Michio Kaku, American theoretical physicist
**
Warren Zevon, American rock musician (''
Werewolves of London'') (d.
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
)
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
–
Tostão (Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade), Brazilian footballer
*
January 26 –
Michel Sardou, French singer and actor
*
January 27
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
* 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to becom ...
–
Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist (''
Hoola Bandoola Band'') (d.
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
)
*
January 29 –
Linda B. Buck, American biologist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
*
January 30
Events Pre-1600
*1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
*1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
1601–1900
*1607 – An estimated ...
–
Steve Marriott, British rock musician (d.
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
)
*
January 31 –
Jonathan Banks, American actor
February
*
February 1
Events Pre-1600
* 1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
* 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), Mon ...
–
Mike Brant, Israeli singer and songwriter (d.
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
)
* February 2 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress (''Charlie's Angels'') (d. 2009)
*
February 3
Events Pre-1600
* 1112 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.
*1451 – Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire.
*1488 – ...
** Paul Auster, American novelist
** Dave Davies, English musician (The Kinks)
** Melanie Safka, American rock singer
* February 4
** Halina Aszkiełowicz-Wojno, Polish volleyball player (d. 2018)
** Dennis C. Blair, American admiral, Director of National Intelligence
** Dan Quayle, 44th Vice President of the United States
** John Campbell Brown, Scottish astronomer (d. 2019)
*
February 5
Events Pre-1600
* 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy.
* 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion.
* 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians ar ...
– Regina Duarte, Brazilian actress; former Special Secretary of Culture of Brazil
*
February 7 – Wayne Allwine, American voice actor (d. 2009)
*
February 10 – Louise Arbour, Canadian jurist
* February 11
** Yukio Hatoyama, 60th Prime Minister of Japan
** Roy Moore, American politician
** Derek Shulman, Scottish musician (''Gentle Giant'')
* February 13 – Mike Krzyzewski, American basketball player and coach
* February 15
** John Adams (composer), John Adams, American composer
** Wenche Myhre, Norwegian actress, singer
** Ádám Nádasdy, Hungarian linguist and poet
* February 16 – Veríssimo Correia Seabra, Bissau-Guinean military commander (d. 2004)
* February 18
** Princess Christina of the Netherlands (d. 2019)
** José Luis Cuerda, Spanish filmmaker, screenwriter and producer (d. 2020)
* February 19 – Gustavo Rodríguez (actor), Gustavo Rodríguez, Venezuelan actor (d. 2014)
*
February 20
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
*1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland ...
** Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
** Peter Strauss, American actor
*
February 21
** Victor Sokolov, Russian dissident journalist and priest (d. 2006)
** Renata Sorrah, Brazilian actress
* February 24
** Rupert Holmes, British-born American singer-songwriter (''The Pina Colada Song'')
** Edward James Olmos, Hispanic-American actor, director, producer and activist
** Juval Aviv, Israeli-American security consultant and former Mossad agent
*
February 25
Events Pre-1600
* 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
* 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
...
** Lee Evans (sprinter), Lee Evans, American Olympic athlete (d. 2021)
** Doug Yule, American rock singer (''The Velvet Underground'')
* February 26 – Sandie Shaw, British singer
* February 27 – Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist
*
February 28
Events Pre-1600
*202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
* 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
*1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on ...
– Stephanie Beacham, English actress
March
*
March 1 – Alan Thicke, Canadian actor and television host (d.
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
)
* March 2 – Yuri Bogatyryov, Soviet actor (d. 1989)
* March 3 – Óscar Tabárez, Óscar Washington Tabárez, Uruguayan football manager and former player
*
March 4
** Jan Garbarek, Norwegian musician
** Gunnar Hansen, Icelandic actor (d. 2015)
* March 6
** Kiki Dee, English pop singer (''Don't Go Breaking My Heart'')
** Dick Fosbury, American athlete
** Teru Miyamoto, Japanese author
** Rob Reiner, American actor, comedian, producer, director and activist (''All in the Family'')
** John Stossel, American journalist
* March 7 – Walter Röhrl, German racing driver
* March 8
** Carole Bayer Sager, American singer, songwriter
** Michael S. Hart, American author, inventor (d. 2011)
* March 9 – Ryszard Peryt, Polish conductor, librettist (d. 2019)
* March 10 – Kim Campbell, Prime Minister of Canada
* March 11 – Geoff Hunt, Australian squash player
*
March 12
Events Pre-1600
* 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.
* 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Cat ...
** Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist
** Mitt Romney, American businessman, politician, Governor of Massachusetts, 2012 United States presidential election, 2012 presidential candidate, and United States Senate, US Senator (Republican Party (United States), R-Utah, Ut.)
* March 13 – Beat Richner, Swiss pediatrician, cellist (d. 2018)
*
March 15 – Ry Cooder, American guitarist
* March 16
** Baek Yoon-sik, South Korean actor
** Ramzan Paskayev, Chechen accordionist
* March 17
**Yury Chernavsky, Russian-born composer, producer
**Zhandra Rodríguez, Venezuelan ballet dancer
* March 18 – Tamara Griesser Pečar, Slovenian historian
*
March 19 – Glenn Close, American actress
* March 21 – Ali Abdullah Saleh, President of Yemen (d. 2017)
* March 22 – James Patterson, American author
* March 24
** Mike Kellie, English rock musician (d. 2017)
** Louise Lanctôt, Canadian terrorist and writer
** Alan Sugar, English entrepreneur
*
March 25
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto.
* 708 – Pope Constantine becomes the 88th pope. He would be the last pope to vi ...
– Elton John, English singer-songwriter and composer
* March 26 – Subhash Kak, Indian-American author
*
March 31
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine the Great, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman emperor Maximian.
*1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at V ...
** Wong Choon Wah, Malaysian footballer (d. 2014)
** César Gaviria, Colombian economist, politician and 28th President of Colombia
April
*
April 1
** Alain Connes, French mathematician
** Ingrid Steeger, German actress, comedian
** Tzipi Shavit, Israeli actress
* April 2
** Paquita la del Barrio, Mexican singer, actress
** Emmylou Harris, American singer, songwriter
** Camille Paglia, American literary critic
* April 5 – Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, 14th President of the Philippines, daughter of president Diosdado Macapagal
* April 6 – John Ratzenberger, American actor (''Cheers'')
*
April 7 – Florian Schneider, German musician (d. 2020)
* April 10 – Bunny Wailer, Jamaican reggae musician (d. 2021)
* April 12
** Tom Clancy, American author (d. 2013)
** David Letterman, American talk show host
* April 13 – Mike Chapman, Australian-born songwriter, record producer
*
April 15 – Lois Chiles, American actress
*
April 16
** Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, African-American basketball player, actor (''Airplane!'')
** Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter ("Baker Street (song), Baker Street") (d. 2011)
*
April 18
** Kathy Acker, American author (d. 1997)
** Jerzy Stuhr, Polish actor, director
** James Woods, American actor
* April 19 – Murray Perahia, American pianist
*
April 20
** Daud Ibrahim, Malaysian cyclist (d. 2010)
** Hector (musician), Hector, Finnish rock musician
* April 21 – Iggy Pop, American rock musician
* April 24 – Josep Borrell, Spanish minister, Member of the European Parliament, MEP and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, EU High Representative
* April 25
** Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer and coach (d.
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
)
** Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor
* April 27 - Pete Ham, Welsh rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (suicide
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
)
* April 29
** Olavo de Carvalho, Brazilian journalist, essayist and professor of philosophy
** Tommy James, American rock singer, producer
** Jim Ryun, American middle-distance runner
May
*
May 1 – Jacob Bekenstein, Mexico-born Israeli-American theoretical physicist (d. 2015)
* May 4 – Theda Skocpol, American sociologist
* May 5 – Malam Bacai Sanhá, Guinea-Bissau politician (d.
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
)
* May 6 – Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher
* May 8 – H. Robert Horvitz, American biologist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* May 9 – Yukiya Amano, Japanese international civil servant (d. 2019)
* May 10 – Caroline B. Cooney, American author
*
May 11
Events 1601–1900
*1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is Assassination of Spencer Perceval, assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons.
*1813 – William Lawson (explorer), William Lawson, Grego ...
** Walter Selke, German physicist
** Butch Trucks, American drummer (''The Allman Brothers Band'') (d. 2017)
* May 12 – Michael Ignatieff, Canadian politician, philosopher and historian
* May 13 – Stephen R. Donaldson, American novelist
* May 14
** José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, Colombian drug lord (d. 1989)
** Tamara Dobson, African-American actress, fashion model (d. 2006)
**Ana Martín, Mexican actress, singer producer and former model (Miss Mexico Organization, Miss Mexico 1963)
* May 15 – Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister of Malaysia
* May 17 – Hawa Abdi, Somali activist and doctor (d. 2020)
* May 18 – John Bruton, 10th Taoiseach of Ireland
* May 19 – Paul Brady, Northern Irish singer, songwriter
* May 21 – Lolit Solis, Filipina talent manager (host of ''Startalk (Philippine TV series), Startalk'', ''CelebriTV'')
* May 24 – Maude Barlow, Canadian author, activist and National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians
* May 26 – Glenn Turner, New Zealand Captain (cricket), cricket captain
* May 27
** Peter DeFazio, American politician
** Branko Oblak, Slovenian football player and coach
* May 28 – Pedro Giachino, Argentine Navy officer (d. 1982)
June
* June 1
** Jonathan Pryce, Welsh actor
** Ronnie Wood, English rock musician (''Faces (band), The Faces'', ''The Rolling Stones'')
* June 2 – Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Punjabi saint, Sikh theologian, military leader (d. 1984)
* June 3 – Dave Alexander (musician), Dave Alexander, American musician (d.
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
)
* June 4 – Viktor Klima, Chancellor of Austria
*
June 5
Events Pre-1600
*1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights.
*1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles II of Naples, Charles ...
** Laurie Anderson, American experimental performance artist, composer and musician
** Jojon, Indonesian comedian, actor (d. 2014)
* June 6
** David Blunkett, British politician
** Robert Englund, American actor (''V (1983 miniseries), V'', ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'')
** Ada Kok, Dutch swimmer
* June 8 – Eric F. Wieschaus, American biologist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
* June 9
** Françoise Demulder, French war photographer (d. 2008)
** Robert Indermaur, Swiss painter and sculptor
*
June 10 – Ken Singleton, American baseball player
*
June 15
** Alain Aspect, French quantum physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics
** John Hoagland, American war photographer (d. 1984)
* June 19
** Paula Koivuniemi, Finnish singer
** Salman Rushdie, Indian-born British author (''The Satanic Verses'')
* June 20 – Candy Clark, American actress
*
June 21
Events Pre-1600
* 533 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily (approximate date).
* 1307 – Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khagan of the Mo ...
** Rachel Adato, Israeli gynaecologist, lawyer and politician
** Shirin Ebadi, Iranian activist, Nobel Peace Prize recipient
** Fernando Savater, Spanish philosopher, author
* June 22
** Bruno Latour, French philosopher, anthropologist and sociologist (d. 2022)
** Natalya Varley, Soviet, Russian film, theater actress
** Murray Webb, New Zealand caricature artist, test cricketer
** David Jones (golfer), David Jones, Northern Irish European Tour golfer
** Octavia E. Butler, American author (d. 2006)
** Trevor Blades, English cricketer
** Pete Maravich, American basketball player (d. 1988)
** Jerry John Rawlings, 2-time President of Ghana (d. 2020)
*
June 23
Events Pre-1600
* 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
* 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
* 1280 – The Spanish Re ...
** Zvi Rosen, Israeli international footballer
** Bryan Brown, Australian actor
** Thor Hansen, Norwegian-born professional poker player
** Ed Werenich, Canadian curler
*
June 24
** Mick Fleetwood, British musician (''Fleetwood Mac'')
** Helena Vondráčková, Czech singer
** Peter Weller, American actor and director
*
June 25 – Jimmie Walker, African-American actor (''Good Times (TV series), Good Times'')
* June 26 – Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Afghan politician
* June 27
** Hans Ooft, Dutch football player, manager
** Abdel Djaadaoui, Algerian footballer
* June 29 – David Chiang, Hong Kong actor
* June 30 – Jean-Yves Le Drian, French minister
July
*
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the ...
** Marc Benno, American singer, songwriter and guitarist
** Arantxa Urretabizkaia, Basque writer, screenwriter and actress
** Sharad Yadav, Indian politician
* July 2 – Larry David, American actor, writer, producer and director (''Curb Your Enthusiasm'')
* July 3
** Betty Buckley, American actress, singer
** Mike Burton (swimmer), Mike Burton, American swimmer
** Rob Rensenbrink, Dutch football player (d. 2020)
** Jana Švandová, Czech actress
* July 4
** Francisco Fernández de Cevallos, Mexican politician
** Eva Goës, Swedish politician
** Carla Panerai, Italian sprinter
* July 5 – Toos Beumer, Dutch swimmer
*
July 6 – Shelley Hack, American model, actress, producer, political and media advisor
* July 7
** Richard Beckinsale, English actor (d. 1979)
** King Gyanendra of Nepal
** Felix Standaert, Belgian diplomat
*
July 9
Events Pre-1600
*118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome.
* 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodos ...
** Haruomi Hosono, Japanese musician (''Yellow Magic Orchestra'')
** O. J. Simpson, African-American football player and actor
* July 10
** Allen Fong, Hong Kong film director
** Arlo Guthrie, American folk singer (''Alice's Restaurant'')
*
July 11 – Riad Ismat, Syrian writer, critic and theatre director
* July 12
** Gareth Edwards, Welsh rugby union player
**Wilko Johnson, English rock musician (d. 2022
** Lenka Termerová, Czech actress
* July 14 – Navin Ramgoolam, Prime Minister of Mauritius
* July 15 – Roky Erickson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
* July 16
** Roelf Meyer, South African politician, businessman
*
July 17 – Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, royal consort
*
July 19 – Brian May, English rock guitarist ''(Queen (band), Queen'')
* July 20
** Gerd Binnig, German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate
** Carlos Santana, Mexican-born rock guitarist
* July 21 – Co Adriaanse, Dutch football manager
* July 22
** Albert Brooks, American actor, comedian, director, and novelist
** Erica Gavin, American actress
** Don Henley, American singer, songwriter and musician
* July 24 – Peter Serkin, American classical pianist (d. 2020)
* July 25 – Scott Shannon, American disc jockey
*
July 27
** Bob Klein, American football player
** Kazuyoshi Miura (businessman), Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (d. 2008)
** Giora Spiegel, Israeli footballer and coach
* July 28 – Su Tseng-chang, Taiwanese politician, 41st and 50th Premier of the Republic of China
* July 30
** William Atherton, American actor
** Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, French virologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize laureate
** Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American actor, bodybuilder and 38th Governor of California
* July 31 - Richard Griffiths, English actor (d. 2013)
August
*
August 1
** Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet
** Leoluca Orlando, Italian politician
* August 4 – Hubert Ingraham, Bahamian politician
*
August 5 – Graham Lovett, English footballer (d. 2018)
*
August 7 – Franciscus Henri, Dutch-born Australian children's entertainer, composer and artist
* August 8
** Terangi Adam, Nauruan politician
** George Costigan, British actor, screenwriter
** Ken Dryden, Canadian NHL goaltender, author and politician
* August 9 – John Varley (author), John Varley, American science-fiction author
* August 10
** Ian Anderson, British rock musician (''Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull'')
** Drupi, Italian singer
** Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian politician
* August 11
** Diether Krebs, German actor, cabaret artist and comedian (d. 2000)
** Wilma van den Berg, Dutch sprinter
*
August 14
Events Pre-1600
* 74 BC – A group of officials, led by the Western Han minister Huo Guang, present articles of impeachment against the new emperor, Liu He, to the imperial regent, Empress Dowager Shangguan. The articles, enumerating t ...
** Maddy Prior, English folk singer
** Danielle Steel, American romance novelist
*
August 15
** Sonny Carter, American astronaut (d.
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
)
** Raakhee, Indian actress
*
August 16
Events Pre-1600
* 1 BC – Wang Mang consolidates his power in China and is declared marshal of state. Emperor Ai of Han, who died the previous day, had no heirs.
* 942 – Start of the four-day Battle of al-Mada'in, between the Hamdan ...
** Carol Moseley Braun, African-American politician
** Marc Messier, Canadian actor
* August 17 – Mohamed Abdelaziz (Sahrawi politician), Mohamed Abdelaziz, Sahrawi politician
* August 20 – José Wilker, Brazilian actor (d. 2014)
* August 21 – Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada
* August 22
** Cindy Williams, American actress (''Laverne and Shirley'')
** Peter Irniq, Canadian Commissioner of Nunavut
*
August 23 – Willy Russell, British playwright
* August 24 – Roger De Vlaeminck, Belgian cyclist
* August 26 – Nicolae Dobrin, Romanian footballer (d. 2007)
*
August 27 – Barbara Bach, American actress
* August 28
** Emlyn Hughes, English footballer (d. 2004)
** Liza Wang, Hong Kong actress
** Alice Playten, American actress (d. 2011)
* August 29
** James Hunt, British 1976 Formula 1 world champion (d. 1993)
** Temple Grandin, American animal welfare and autism expert
** Jah Lloyd, Jamaican reggae singer, deejay and producer (d.
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
)
*
August 30 – Allan Rock, Canadian politician, diplomat
*
August 31
** Ramón Castellano de Torres, Spanish painter
** Somchai Wongsawat, 26th Prime Minister of Thailand
September
* September 3
** Kjell Magne Bondevik, Prime Minister of Norway
** Gerard Houllier, French football manager (d. 2020)
* September 5
** Danny Florencio, Filipino basketball player (d. 2018)
** Buddy Miles, African-American drummer, singer and composer (d. 2008)
** Kiyoshi Takayama, Japanese yakuza boss
* September 6
** Jane Curtin, American actress, comedian (''Saturday Night Live'')
** Bruce Rioch, Scottish footballer, coach
** Jacob Rubinovitz, Israeli scientist
* September 8 – Amos Biwott, Kenyan Olympic athlete
*
September 13 – Ajib Ahmad, Malaysian politician (d. 2011)
* September 14
** Sam Neill, British-born New Zealand actor
** Jerzy Popieluszko, Polish Roman Catholic priest and blessed (d. 1984)
* September 16 – Russ Abbot, British comedian, actor and singer
*
September 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1111 – Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia".
* 1176 – The Battle of Myriokephalon is the last attempt by the Byzantine Empi ...
– Tessa Jowell, British politician (d. 2018)
* September 19 – Tanith Lee, British author (d. 2015)
* September 21
** Don Felder, American musician and songwriter
** Stephen King, American writer and novelist, specializing in the horror genre
*
September 22 – Jo Beverley, Anglo-Canadian writer (d.
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
)
* September 23 – Mary Kay Place, American actress
* September 25
** Cheryl Tiegs, American model, actress
** Cecil Womack, African-American singer, songwriter (''Womack & Womack'') (d. 2013)
* September 26 – Lynn Anderson, American country music singer (d. 2015)
* September 27
** Dick Advocaat, Dutch football manager
** Meat Loaf, American rock singer, actor (d. 2022)
** Denis Lawson, Scottish actor and director
* September 28
** Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesian politician and former military officer
** Marcelo Guinle, Argentine politician (d. 2017)
** Sheikh Hasina, 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh
*
September 30
** Marc Bolan, English rock musician (d. 1977)
** Rula Lenska, English actress
October
*
October 1
** Aaron Ciechanover, Israeli biologist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner
** Stephen Collins, American actor
** Mariska Veres, Dutch singer (d. 2006)
* October 2 – Ward Churchill, American author, activist
* October 3
** Alain Mucchielli, French physician
** Fred DeLuca, American entrepreneur, co-founder of ''Subway (restaurant), Subway'' (d. 2015)
** John Perry Barlow, American internet activist, writer, and lyricist (d. 2018)
* October 4 – Ann Widdecombe, British politician
*
October 5 – Brian Johnson, English rock singer (AC/DC)
* October 9 – France Gall, French singer (d. 2018)
* October 13 – Sammy Hagar, American rock musician (Montrose (band), Montrose and Van Halen)
*
October 14 – Nikolai Volkoff, Croatian-Russian professional wrestler (d. 2018)
* October 17 – Simi Garewal, Indian actress, producer, director, and talk show host
* October 18
** James H. Fallon, American neuroscientist
** Job Cohen, Dutch politician
* October 19
** Giorgio Cavazzano, Italian comics artist and illustrator
** Gunnar Staalesen, Norwegian author
*
October 20 – Abdul Hadi Awang, Malaysian politician
*
October 24 – Kevin Kline, American actor
* October 26
** Hillary Clinton, American politician, First Lady of the United States, First Lady, United States Senate, US Senator (Democratic Party (United States), D-New York (state), Ny.), United States Secretary of State, Secretary of State, and 2016 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic presidential candidate
** Ene Järvis, Estonian actress
* October 28 – Henri Michel, French football player and coach (d. 2018)
* October 29 – Richard Dreyfuss, American actor
*
October 30 – Timothy B. Schmit, American musician
* October 31
** Carmen Alborch, Spanish feminist, writer and politician (d. 2018)
** Herman Van Rompuy, Belgian politician, 66th Prime Minister of Belgium
November
* November 1
** Taizo Ichinose, Japanese war photographer (d. 1973)
** Bob Weston (guitarist), Bob Weston, British musician (d.
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
)
** Salleh Ibrahim, Malaysian footballer (d. 2020)
* November 4 – Rod Marsh, Australian cricketer (d. 2022)
* November 5 – Rubén Juárez, Argentine bandoneonist, singer and songwriter of tango (d. 2010)
*
November 6 – E. Lee Spence, German-born American pioneer List of undersea explorers, underwater archaeologist, treasure hunter
* November 7
** Yutaka Fukumoto, Japanese professional baseball player
** Usha Uthup, Indian singer
** Sondhi Limthongkul, Thai journalist, writer and founder of ''Manager Daily''
** Sefi Rivlin, Israeli actor, footballer and comedian (d. 2013)
* November 8 – Minnie Riperton, African-American singer (d. 1979)
*
November 10
** Glen Buxton, American rock guitarist (d. 1997)
** Greg Lake, English musician, producer (King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer) (d.
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
)
* November 12 – Carlos Ezquerra, Spanish comics artist (d. 2018)
*
November 13 – Joe Mantegna, American actor, producer and director
* November 14 – P. J. O'Rourke, American journalist, satirist (d. 2022)
*
November 15
** Steven G. Kellman, American author, critic
** Bill Richardson, American politician and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Nations
*
November 17
** Will Vinton, American animator, filmmaker (d. 2018)
** Inky Mark, Canadian politician
*
November 18 – Ali Bakar, Malaysian football player (d.
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
)
* November 19 – Anfinn Kallsberg, Faroese Prime Minister
*
November 20
** Joe Walsh, American rock singer, songwriter and guitarist
** Nurlan Balgimbayev, Kazakh politician (d. 2015)
*
November 21
Events Pre-1600
*164 BCE – Judas Maccabeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, rededicates the Temple in Jerusalem, an event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah. (25 Kislev 3597 in the Hebrew calendar.)
* 235 & ...
** Alcione Nazareth, Alcione, Brazilian singer
** Nickolas Grace, British actor
** Chua Ek Kay, Singaporean painter (d. 2008)
* November 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics), November 22 - Terje Rød-Larsen, Norwegian diplomat, politician and sociologist
*
November 24 – Dwight Schultz, American actor (''The A-Team'')
*
November 25 – John Larroquette, American actor (''Night Court'')
*
November 29
Events Pre-1600
* 561 – Following the death of King Chlothar I at Compiègne, his four sons, Charibert I, Guntram, Sigebert I and Chilperic I, divide the Frankish Kingdom.
* 618 – The Tang dynasty scores a decisive victory over t ...
– Mirza Khazar, Azerbaijani author
* November 30
** Sergio Badilla Castillo, Chilean poet
** Stuart Baird, English film editor, producer and director
** Véronique Le Flaguais, Canadian actress
** David Mamet, American playwright
** Moses Nagamootoo, 8th Prime Minister of Guyana
December
* December 1 – Bob Fulton, English-Australian rugby league player (d. 2021)
*
December 2 – Isaac Bitton, French rock drummer
*
December 6 – Romildo Ribeiro Soares, RR Soares, Brazilian televangelist, missionary, author, singer, businessman and composer
* December 7
** Oliver Dragojević, Croatian singer (d. 2018)
** Johnny Bench, American baseball player
** Wendy Padbury, British actress
** Jeff Maxwell, American actor (''M*A*S*H (TV series), M*A*S*H'')
* December 8
** Gregg Allman, American singer, songwriter and musician (d. 2017)
** Gérard Blanc, French singer
** Thomas R. Cech, American chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate
*
December 9 – Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator
* December 10 – Rainer Seifert, German field hockey player
* December 11 – David E. Stone, American sound editor
*
December 12 – Will Alsop, English architect
*
December 14
** Christopher Parkening, American guitarist
** Dilma Rousseff, 36th President of Brazil
* December 16
** Ben Cross, English actor (d. 2020)
** Vincent Matthews (athlete), Vincent Matthews, American athlete
** Trevor Żahra, Maltese novelist, poet and illustrator
* December 18 – Leonid Yuzefovich, Russian crime fiction writer
*
December 21 – Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist (d. 2014)
*
December 22
** Mitsuo Tsukahara, Japanese gymnast
** Porfirio Lobo, 54th President of Honduras
* December 25 – Pepe Smith, Filipino rock musician (d. 2019)
* December 26 – Mariella Mehr, Swiss novelist (d. 2022)
* December 27 – Johann-Henrich Krummacher, German politician and clergyman (d. 2008)
* December 28 – Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican
Major League Baseball player (d. 2000)
* December 29
** Ted Danson, American actor (''Cheers'')
** Cozy Powell, English drummer (d. 1998)
*
December 30
Events
Pre-1600
*534 – The second and final edition of the Code of Justinian comes into effect in the Byzantine Empire.
*999 – Battle of Glenmama: The combined forces of Munster and Meath under king Brian Boru inflict a crushi ...
– Jeff Lynne, British musician (Electric Light Orchestra)
* December 31
** Rita Lee, Brazilian rock singer, composer
** Tim Matheson, American actor, film director and producer
Date unknown
* Marouf al-Bakhit, twice Prime Minister of Jordan
Deaths
January
* January 3 – Al Herpin, French-born American insomniac, "The Man Who Never Slept" (b. 1862)
* January 5 – Osami Nagano, Japanese admiral (b. 1880)
*
January 8
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – Emperor Huai of Jin, Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Emperor Hui of Jin, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying.
* 871 – Æthelred I, King of Wessex, Æthel ...
– Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (b. 1885)
* January 9
** Herman Bing, German actor (b. 1889)
** Karl Mannheim, Hungarian sociologist (b. 1893)
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
** Arthur E. Andersen, American accountant (b. 1885)
** Hanns Sachs, Austrian psychoanalyst (b. 1881)
* January 11 – Eva Tanguay, Canadian-born vaudeville performer (b. 1878)
* January 12
** Zdenko Blažeković, Yugoslavian politician (b. 1915)
** Júlio Afrânio Peixoto, Brazilian physician, writer, politician and historian (b. 1876)
*
January 13
Events Pre-1600
* 27 BC – Octavian transfers the state to the free disposal of the Roman Senate and the people. He receives Spain, Gaul, and Syria as his province for ten years.
* 532 – The Nika riots break out, during the racing ...
** Sixto María Durán Cárdenas, Ecuadorian pianist, composer and lawyer (b. 1875)
** Ignazio Lupo, Italian-born American gangster (b. 1877)
* January 14 – Bill Hewitt (American football), Bill Hewitt, American football player (Chicago Bears), Pro Football Hall of Fame member (b. 1909)
* January 17 – Hryhoriy Khomyshyn, Ukrainian Roman Catholic bishop, martyr and blessed (b. 1867)
*
January 18 – Maria Giovanna Fasce, Italian Roman Catholic religious professed, Augustinians, Augustinian nun and blessed (b. 1881)
*
January 19 – Manuel Machado (poet and playwright), Manuel Machado, Spanish poet (b. 1874)
*
January 20
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
* 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
* 1156 &ndas ...
** Josh Gibson, African-American baseball player, MLB Hall of Fame member (b. 1911)
** Andrew Volstead, American politician (b. 1860)
* January 22 – Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot, British writer (b. 1888)
*
January 23
** Pierre Bonnard, French painter (b. 1867)
** Roy Geiger, American general (b. 1885)
*
January 24 – August Meyszner, Austrian-born SS officer (executed) (b. 1886)
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
– Al Capone, American gangster (b. 1899)
*
January 26
**
Grace Moore, American opera singer, actress (b. 1898)
** Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (b. 1906)
*
January 27
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
* 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to becom ...
– Vassily Balabanov, Soviet administrator, Provincial Governor of Imperial Russia (b. 1873)
* January 28 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-born French composer (b. 1874)
*
January 30
Events Pre-1600
*1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
*1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
1601–1900
*1607 – An estimated ...
– Frederick Blackman, British plant physiologist (b.1866)
February
*
February 3
Events Pre-1600
* 1112 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.
*1451 – Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire.
*1488 – ...
– Petar Živković, Yugoslavian politician, 11th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1879)
* February 4 – Luigi Russolo, Italian painter, composer (b. 1885)
*
February 6
Events Pre-1600
* 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop.
1601–1900
* 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of ...
** O. Max Gardner, Governor of North Carolina (b. 1882)
** Luigi Russolo, Italian Futurism, Futurist painter, composer (b. 1885)
* February 11 – Martin Klein (wrestler), Martin Klein, Estonian wrestler (b.1884)
*
February 12
** Kurt Lewin, German-born American psychologist (b. 1890)
** Sidney Toler, American actor (b. 1874)
* February 14 – Celestina Boninsegna, Italian soprano (b. 1877)
* February 15 – Mustafa Abdel-Razek, Egyptian Islamic philosopher (b. 1885)
* February 16
** Pedro de Répide Gallegos, Spanish journalist, writer (b. 1853)
** Bertha Schwarz, German soprano (b. 1855)
* February 18
** Valentina Dmitryeva, Soviet writer, teacher and doctor (b. 1859)
** Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt (b. 1901)
*
February 20
Events Pre-1600
*1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
*1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland ...
– Henry Herbert (actor), Henry Herbert, British actor (b. 1879)
*
February 23
Events Pre-1600
* 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
* 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...
– Hakim Habibur Rahman, Indian physician, writer, journalist and politician (b. 1881)
* February 24
** Morinosuke Chiwaki, Japanese dentist (b. 1870)
** Pierre Janet, French psychologist (b. 1859)
* February 26
** Antonino D'Agata, Italian politician (b. 1882)
** Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss politician, president of the Federal Council (b. 1868)
** Ben Webster (actor), Ben Webster, British-born American actor (b. 1864)
* February 27 – Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1868)
March
* March 2 – Whately Carington, British parapsychologist (b. 1892)
* March 5 – Alfredo Casella, Italian composer (b. 1883)
* March 9
** Carrie Chapman Catt, American suffrage leader (b. 1859)
** Jhaverchand Meghani, Indian poet, writer (b. 1897)
* March 10 – Harukichi Hyakutake, Japanese general (b. 1888)
* March 11
**Victor Lustig, Austrian-born con artist (b. 1890)
**Wilhelm Heye, German general (b. 1869)
*
March 12
Events Pre-1600
* 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.
* 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Cat ...
– Walter Samuel Goodland, Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1862)
*
March 15
** Arthur Machen, British-born author (b. 1863)
** Jean-Richard Bloch, French critic, novelist and playwright (b. 1884)
* March 18 – William C. Durant, American automobile pioneer (b. 1861)
*
March 19
** James A. Gilmore, American businessman and baseball executive (b. 1887)
** Prudence Heward, Canadian painter (b. 1896)
* March 20 – Victor Goldschmidt, Swiss geochemist (b. 1888)
* March 21 – Homer Lusk Collyer, American hermit brother (''Collyer brothers'') (b. 1881)
* March 23
** Archduchess Louise of Austria, Archduchess Louise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany (b. 1870)
** Ferdinand Zecca, French actor, producer, director and screenwriter (b. 1864)
*
March 25
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto.
* 708 – Pope Constantine becomes the 88th pope. He would be the last pope to vi ...
– Chen Cheng-po, Taiwanese painter (b. 1895)
*
March 28
** Johnny Evers, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs), MLB Hall of Fame member (b. 1881)
** Karol Świerczewski, Polish military leader (b. 1897)
*
March 29 – Manuel de Adalid y Gamero, Honduran composer (b. 1872)
April
*
April 1 – King George II of Greece (b. 1890)
* April 5 – Petro Trad, Lebanese lawyer, politician, 14th Prime Minister of Lebanon and 5th President of Lebanon (b. 1876)
*April 6 - Herbert Backe, German Nazi general (b. 1896)
*
April 7
** Henry Ford, American industrialist, automobile manufacturer (b. 1863)
** Savvas the New of Kalymnos, Greek Orthodox priest and saint (b. 1862)
* April 8 – Collyer brothers, Langley Collyer, American hermit brother (b. 1885)
*
April 9 – William Foden, American composer (b. 1860)
* April 10
** Charles Bally, Swiss linguist (b. 1865)
** John Ince (actor), John Ince, American actor (b. 1878)
* April 12 – Duke Robert of Württemberg (b. 1873)
* April 14
** Ayoub Tabet, 6th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1884)
** Salvador Toscano, Mexican director, producer and filmmaker (b. 1872)
*
April 15 – Georg Friederici, German ethnologist (b. 1866)
*
April 16
** Guido Donegani, Italian engineer, businessman and politician (b. 1877)
** Rudolf Höss, German commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp (executed) (b. 1900)
*
April 18 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak politician, Roman Catholic priest, 1st Prime Minister of Slovakia and President of Slovakia (b. 1887)
*
April 20 – King Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)
* April 21 – Heitor da Silva Costa, Brazilian engineer, designer and constructor (b. 1873)
* April 23 – Gyula Károlyi, Hungarian politician, 29th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1871)
* April 24 – Willa Cather, American novelist (b. 1873)
* April 25
** José María Reina Andrade, acting president of Guatemala (b. 1860)
** Ana Cumpănaș, Austro-Hungarian prostitute (b. 1889)
*
April 26 – Francesco Paolo Finocchiaro, Italian painter (b. 1868)
* April 29
**Gheorghe Ciuhandu (priest), Gheorghie Ciuhandu, Romanian Orthodox priest, theologian, historian and advocate (b. 1875)
** Irving Fisher, American economist (b. 1867)
**Karel Čurda, Czech soldier and parachutist (b. 1911)
* April 30
** Francesc Cambó, Andorran politician (b. 1876)
** Almroth WSir Almroth Wright, British bacteriologist and immunologist (b. 1861)
May
* May 8 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American department store magnate (b. 1858)
* May 13 – Sukanta Bhattacharya, Bengali poet (b. 1926)
* May 14 – John R. Sinnock, 8th Chief Engraver of the United States Mint (b. 1888)
* May 15 – Miguel Abadía Méndez, Colombian politician, 12th President of Colombia (b. 1867)
* May 16
** Frederick Gowland Hopkins, Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, British biochemist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1861)
** Michael Joseph Curley, American Roman Catholic bishop and reverend (b. 1879)
** Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general of the National Revolutionary Army (b. 1903)
* May 17
** George Forbes (New Zealand politician), George Forbes, 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
** Seabiscuit, thoroughbred racehorse (b. 1933)
* May 18 – Lucile Gleason, American actress (b. 1888)
* May 20 – Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
* May 23 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss writer (b. 1878)
* May 28 – August Eigruber, Nazi war criminal (executed) (b. 1907)
*
May 30
Events Pre-1600
* 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres ...
– Georg Ludwig von Trapp, Austrian sailor, patriarch of the Von Trapp Family of ''The Sound of Music'' fame (b. 1880)
*
May 31 – Adrienne Ames, American actress (b. 1907)
June
* June 6
** S. H. Dudley (singer), S. H. Dudley, American urban singer (b. 1864)
** Władysław Raczkiewicz, Polish politician, lawyer, diplomat and 5th
President of Poland (b. 1885)
** José Marques da Silva, Portuguese architect (b. 1869)
* June 9
** Augusto Giacometti, Italian painter (b. 1877)
** J. Warren Kerrigan, American actor (b. 1879)
*
June 11 – Richard Hönigswald, Hungarian-born American philosopher (b. 1875)
* June 12 – Cosme Damião, former Portuguese football player and manager (b. 1885)
* June 14 – Albert Marquet, French painter (b. 1875)
* June 17 – Maxwell Perkins, American literary editor (b. 1884)
* June 18
**Alfred Allen (actor), Alfred Allen, American actor (b. 1866)
** Richard Cooper (actor), Richard Cooper, British actor (b. 1893)
** Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese rear admiral, convicted war criminal (executed) (b. 1898)
**John Henry Patterson (author), John Henry Patteron, Anglo-Irish soldier, hunter and author (b. 1867)
* June 19 – Kōsō Abe, Japanese admiral, convicted war criminal (executed) (b. 1892)
* June 20 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (assassinated) (b. 1906)
* June 22 – Jim Tully, American vagabond, pugilist and writer (b. 1891)
*
June 24 – Bartolomeo Pagano, Bartolome Pagano, Italian actor (b. 1878)
* June 26 – R. B. Bennett, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1870)
* June 28 – Franciszek Mączyński, Polish architect (b. 1874)
July
* July 7 – José Luis Tamayo, 20th President of Ecuador (b. 1858)
* July 12 – Jimmie Lunceford, American jazz musician (b. 1902)
* July 15
** Walter Donaldson, American songwriter (b. 1893)
** Brandon Hurst, American stage, screen veteran (b. 1866)
** Henry Kolker, American actor (b. 1874)
*
July 17
**
Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat, humanitarian (presumed dead on this date) (b. 1912)
** Prince Sisowath Youtevong, 4th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1913)
*
July 18 – Fumio Hayashi (doctor), Fumio Hayashi, Japanese physician (b. 1900)
*
July 19 –
Aung San, Burmese nationalist (assassinated) (b. 1915)
* July 21 – Patriarch Yousef VI Emmanuel II Thomas (b. 1852)
* July 23
** Alice Fischer (actress), Alice Fischer, American actress (b. 1869)
** Ángel Roffo, Argentine doctor (b. 1882)
*July 25 - Kathleen Scott, British sculptor and wife of explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott (b. 1878)
*
July 26 – Archbishop Leontios of Cyprus (b. 1896)
*
July 29
** Leo Stein, American art collector, critic (b. 1872)
** George Bausewine, American baseball player, umpire (b. 1869)
* July 30
** Joseph Cook, Sir Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1860)
** Fedir Krychevsky, Ukrainian painter (b. 1879)
August
* August – Teresa Magbanua, Filipino general (b. 1868)
* August 3
** José Pardo y Barreda, Peruvian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Peru and 2-time President of Peru (b. 1864)
** Vic Willis, American baseball player (Boston Braves (baseball), Boston Braves), MLB Hall of Fame member (b. 1876)
*
August 7 – Anton Denikin, Russian military leader (b. 1872)
* August 9 – Carlo Romanelli, Italian sculptor (b. 1872)
* August 10 – Antonio Sciortino, Maltese sculptor (b. 1879)
*
August 15 – Claudio Granzotto, Italian Roman Catholic religious professed and blessed (b. 1900)
* August 17 – Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (b. 1865)
* August 20
**Franz Cumont, Belgian archaeologist, historian (b. 1868)
**James Harbord, American general (b. 1866)
* August 21 – Ettore Bugatti, Italian car designer, founder of Bugatti (b. 1881)
*
August 23 – Hasmik (actress), Hasmik, Soviet actress (b. 1878)
* August 29
** Manolete, Spanish bullfighter (gored) (b. 1917)
** Kōtarō Nakamura, General of the Imperial Japanese Army (b. 1881)
September
* September 1 – Frederick Russell Burnham, American Scout, father of the international Scouting movement (b. 1861)
* September 8 – Victor Horta, Belgian Art Nouveau architect (b. 1861)
*
September 9 – Ananda Coomaraswamy, Ceylonese-born American philosopher (b. 1877)
* September 10 – Hatazō Adachi, Japanese general (suicide) (b. 1890)
* September 11
**Robert Lee Bullard, American general (b. 1861)
**Alice Keppel, mistress of Edward VII (b. 1868)
* September 20
**Fiorello H. La Guardia, Mayor of New York (b. 1882)
**Jantina Tammes, Dutch plant biologist (b. 1871)
* September 21
** Harry Carey (actor), Harry Carey, American film actor (b. 1878)
** Vasily Glagolev, Soviet general (b. 1896)
* September 26 – Hugh Lofting, British-born writer (b. 1886)
* September 27 – Luigi Barlassina, Patriarch of Jerusalem (b. 1872)
October
*
October 1
** Olive Borden, American actress (b. 1906)
** Gregorio Martinez Sierra, Spanish writer, poet, dramatist and director (b. 1881)
* October 2 – P. D. Ouspensky, Soviet mathematician (b. 1878)
* October 3 – Ernest L. Riebau, American politician (1895)
* October 4 – Max Planck, German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
* October 6 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (b. 1887)
* October 10 – Jo Mora, Uruguayan-born American cartoonist (b. 1876)
* October 12
** James Farley (actor), James Farley, American actor (b. 1882)
** Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, Sir Ian Hamilton, British general (b. 1853)
* October 13 – Sidney Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, British economist, social reformer (b. 1859)
* October 16 – Anna B. Eckstein, German peace campaigner (b. 1868)
* October 17 – John Halliday (actor), John Halliday, American actor (b. 1880)
* October 18
** Harry C. Bradley (actor), Harry C. Bradley, American actor (b. 1869)
** Massimo Terzano, Italian cinematographer (b. 1892)
*
October 20 – Albert Howard, Sir Albert Howard, English botanist and organic farming pioneer (b. 1873)
* October 23 – Carl Shelton, American gangster (b. 1888)
*
October 24 – Dudley Digges (actor), Dudley Digges, Irish actor (b. 1879)
* October 27 – María Teresalina Sánchez, Spanish Franciscan religious sister, missionary and martyr (b. 1918)
* October 29 – Frances Cleveland, First Lady of the United States (b. 1864)
November
*
November 6 – Ernie Adams (actor), Ernie Adams, American actor (b. 1885)
* November 7 – Sándor Garbai, Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1879)
* November 8
** Mariano Benlliure, Spanish sculptor (b. 1862)
** Constantin Sănătescu, Romanian general, statesman and 44th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1885)
*
November 15 – Eduard Ritter von Schleich, German fighter ace, air force general (b. 1888)
*
November 16 – Giuseppe Volpi, Italian businessman, politician (b. 1877)
*
November 17 – Josaphat Kotsylovsky, Ukrainian Roman Catholic bishop, martyr and blessed (b. 1876)
*
November 20 – Georg Kolbe, German sculptor (b. 1877)
* November 28
** W. E. Lawrence, American actor (b. 1896)
** Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque, French general (b. 1902)
* November 30 – Ernst Lubitsch, German film director (b. 1892)
December
* December 1
** Aleister Crowley, British occultist (b. 1875)
** G. H. Hardy, British mathematician (b. 1877)
*
December 2 – Franz Xaver Schwarz, German
Nazi politician (executed) (b. 1875)
*
December 3 – Heinrich Hetsch, German physician, microbiologist (b. 1873)
*
December 4
** Margaret Butler (sculptor), Margaret Butler, New Zealand sculptor (b. 1883)
** Walter Walker (actor), Walter Walker, American actor (b. 1864)
*
December 6 – Tadashige Daigo, Japanese admiral (executed) (b. 1891)
* December 7
** Tristan Bernard, French writer, lawyer (b. 1866)
** Nicholas Murray Butler, American president of Columbia University, Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1862)
** Henry Page Croft, 1st Baron Croft, British politician (b. 1881)
*
December 9 – John Kelly (actor), John Kelly, American actor (b. 1901)
* December 10 – Pierre Petit de Julleville, French Roman Catholic priest, bishop and eminence (b. 1876)
*
December 12 – Huda Sha'arawi, Egyptian feminist (b. 1879)
* December 13
** Nicholas Roerich, Russian painter (b. 1874)
** Juan Bautista Vargas Arreola, Mexican general during Mexican Revolution (b. 1890)
*
December 14
** Stanley Baldwin, British Conservative politician, 3-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
** Edward Higgins, General of The Salvation Army (b. 1864)
* December 15 – Arthur Machen, British writer (b. 1863)
* December 17
** Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted, Danish chemist (b. 1879)
** Christos Tsigiridis, Greek engineer (b. 1877)
* December 20
** Benigno Aquino Sr., Filipino politician (b. 1894)
** Luigi Chiarelli, Italian playwright (b. 1880)
*
December 23 – Ziauddin Ahmad, Indian educationalist and politician (b. 1878)
* December 25 – Gaspar G. Bacon, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1886)
* December 27 – Johannes Winkler, German rocket pioneer (b. 1897)
* December 28 – King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (b. 1869)
* December 29 – Han van Meegeren, Dutch painter, forger (b. 1889)
*
December 30
Events
Pre-1600
*534 – The second and final edition of the Code of Justinian comes into effect in the Byzantine Empire.
*999 – Battle of Glenmama: The combined forces of Munster and Meath under king Brian Boru inflict a crushi ...
– Alfred North Whitehead, British mathematician, philosopher (b. 1861)
Date unknown
* Ayoub Tabet, 6th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1884)
Nobel Prizes
* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Edward Victor Appleton
* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Robert Robinson (organic chemist), Sir Robert Robinson
* Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Medicine – Carl Ferdinand Cori, Gerty Cori, Bernardo Houssay
* Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – André Gide
* Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – The Friends Service Council (UK) and The American Friends Service Committee (USA), on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends
References
External links
Pathe newsreel, 1947. Experimental snowplough. Pathe says 'Grantham' but the station name 'Dowlais top' in Wales can be clearly seen
Stories from the winter of 1947
{{DEFAULTSORT:1947
1947,