October 1948 Explained
The following events occurred in October 1948:
A Short Sandringham flying boat crashed during a landing attempt in the bay near Hommelvik, Norway, killing 19 of the 45 aboard. British philosopher Bertrand Russell was among the survivors.
- The Soviet Union asked the United Nations General Assembly for a resolution to outlaw the atomic bomb and establish international control of atomic energy.[1]
- Born: Avery Brooks, actor, director, singer and educator, in Evansville, Indiana; Donna Karan, fashion designer, in Queens, New York; Persis Khambatta, model and actress, in Bombay, India (d. 1998); Chris LeDoux, country musician and rodeo champion, in Biloxi, Mississippi (d. 2005)
- Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery was named head of the Western European defense organization, with French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, British Air Marshal Sir James Robb and French Vice Admiral Robert Jaujard as his aides.[4]
- 300,000 French coal miners went on a Communist-directed strike.[5]
- The 1948 American League tie-breaker game was played between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Indians won 8-3 to advance to the World Series.
- The radio series The Railroad Hour premiered on ABC.
- Born: Iain Hewitson, chef, restarauteur and television personality, in Ōtaki, New Zealand; Linda McMahon, professional wrestling magnate and politician, in New Bern, North Carolina
- Died: Jan Savitt, 41, American bandleader (cerebral hemorrhage)
- The 1948 Ashgabat earthquake occurred in Turkmenistan near Ashgabat. Due to Soviet government censorship the event was not widely reported, and estimates of casualties vary from 10,000 to as many as 110,000.
- The UN Security Council voted 9-2 to place the question of the Berlin Blockade on its agenda, over the protests of the Soviet and Ukrainian delegates who declared they would not participate in any discussions on the matter.[6]
- The Taiyuan Campaign began during the Chinese Civil War.
- Born:
- Died: Rupert Gould, 57, British Navy officer
A Boeing B-29 Superfortress crashed in Waycross, Georgia after an engine fire broke out, killing 9 of the 13 aboard.
October 7, 1948 (Thursday)
- Cuba, Egypt and Norway were elected to two-year terms on the UN Security Council, replacing Belgium, Colombia and Syria.[9]
- Israel announced the signing of contracts with the Shell and Socony-Vacuum oil companies, guaranteeing the new country an adequate oil supply.[10]
- Born: Gottfried Helnwein, visual artist, in Vienna, Austria; Johnny Ramone, guitarist of the punk band the Ramones, as John Cummings in Forest Hills, Queens, New York (d. 2004); Baldwin Spencer, 3rd Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda
- At a Conservative Party conference in Llandudno, Wales, Winston Churchill urged the United States not to destroy its reserve of nuclear weapons. "The Western nations will be far more likely to reach a lasting settlement without bloodshed if they formulate their just demands while they have the atomic power and before the Russian Communists have got it too," Churchill said.[11]
- "A Tree in the Meadow" by Margaret Whiting topped the Billboard singles charts.
- Born: Jackson Browne, singer-songwriter, in Heidelberg, Germany; Ciaran Carson, poet and novelist, in Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2019); Oliver Hart, economist and Nobel Prize laureate, in London, England
- Died: Joseph Wedderburn, 66, Scottish mathematician
October 11, 1948 (Monday)
October 14, 1948 (Thursday)
October 15, 1948 (Friday)
- 29 crewmen of the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious drowned in Portland Harbour when a pinnace capsized and sank in rough seas.[22]
- Born: Robert Jordan, fantasy author, as James Rigney Jr. in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 2007); Margot Kidder, actress, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada (d. 2018); George Wendt, actor, in Chicago, Illinois
- The Battle of Beersheba was fought, resulting in Israeli victory.
- Operation Avak ended when a land corridor was created between the Negev and the rest of Israel.
- The George Bernard Shaw play Buoyant Billions had its world premiere at the Schauspielhaus in Zürich, Switzerland.
- Born: Tom Everett, actor, in Portland, Oregon; Allen Henry Vigneron, Archbishop of Detroit, in Mount Clemens, Michigan; Bill Russell, baseball player, in Pittsburg, Kansas
- Died: Elissa Landi, 43, Italian-born American actress (cancer)
- 2,000 French troops seized seven of the nation's largest coal mines after three days of strike-related violence.[27]
- Born:
- The Soviet Union announced a massive fifteen-year land reclamation project covering almost 300 million acres of land in western Russia and Siberia.[29]
- Pope Pius XII promulgated In multiplicibus curis, an encyclical expressing concern at the danger of destruction of holy sites during the Arab-Israeli War.
- Died: Franz Lehár, 78, Austro-Hungarian composer
in one of the worst air pollution events in US history, a fog began building up in the mill town of Donora, Pennsylvania that would kill 20 people and sicken 7,000 over the next few days.
Notes and References
- News: Rosenthal . A. M. . October 3, 1948 . Vishinsky Changes Atomic Ban Stand; West Is Skeptical . . 1 .
- News: Brewer . Sam Pope . October 4, 1948 . Israel Protests Bernadotte Plan In Report to U. N. . . 1 .
- News: Drebinger . John . October 4, 1948 . Baseball Race Closes in a Tie; Red Sox, Indians Play Off Today . . 1 .
- News: Welles . Benjamin . October 5, 1948 . Gen. de Lattre Will Head Armies Of Western Europe's Joint Force . . 3 .
- News: Warren . Lansing . October 5, 1948 . French Coal Production Ceases As 300,000 Miners Go on Strike . . 1 .
- News: Hamilton . Thomas J. . October 6, 1948 . Vishinsky Is Sharp . . 1 .
- Book: Easlea, Daryl . Talent Is An Asset: The Story Of Sparks . 2010-04-07 . Omnibus Press . 978-0-85712-237-7 . en.
- News: Parrott . Lindesay . October 8, 1948 . Rightists in Japan Seek Solid Regime . . 19 .
- News: Rosenthal . A. M. . October 9, 1948 . Egypt in Security Council; Israel Assails U. N. Choice . . 1 .
- News: Gruson . Sydney . October 9, 1948 . Israel Signs Pact With Oil Concerns . . 2 .
- News: Matthews . Herbert L. . October 10, 1948 . Briton Warns U. S. . . 1, 5 .
- News: Porter . Russell . October 13, 1948 . Eisenhower Takes Office at Columbia; Stresses Freedom . . 1 .
- Web site: Casey Stengel's Life & Legacy . CaseyStengel.org . May 20, 2018 .
- News: Morrow . Edward A. . October 14, 1948 . Council In Berlin Quits Soviet Area . . 3 .
- Web site: Night Has a Thousand Eyes . . May 20, 2018 .
- News: October 15, 1948 . Germany, by Bonn Vote, To Be 'Federal Republic' . . 4 .
- Web site: Johnny Belinda . AFI Catalog of Feature Films . May 16, 2018 .
- News: September 30, 1948 . 37 'Finest Performances' Actresses at 'Belinda' Bow . . 4 .
- Book: Boyne, Walter J. . 2007 . Beyond the Wild Blue: A History of the U.S. Air Force, 1947-2007 . registration . St. Martin's Press . 464 . 9781429901802 .
- News: October 16, 1948 . Court Voids Hitler's Will; Seizes Estate . . 23 .
- News: October 17, 1948 . Filipinos Ban Communist Party . . 13 .
- Web site: Family's fight to clear young sailor's name . Hogger . Harry . October 17, 2008 . Dorset Echo . May 20, 2018 .
- News: Middleton . Drew . October 19, 1948 . Soviet Arming New Police As German Defiance Rises . . 1 .
- News: Rosenthal . A. M. . October 21, 1948 . U. N. Body Rejects Soviet Atom Plan, Backs Commission . . 1 .
- News: Gruson . Sydney . October 23, 1948 . Cease-Fire in the Negeb Put In Force by Israel and Egypt . . 1 .
- News: Barclay . Hartley W. . October 23, 1948 . Inkless Process In Printing Hailed . . 17 .
- News: Wales . Henry . October 24, 1948 . French Army Takes Back Seven Mines . . 1 .
- Book: Encyclopedia of Muslim-American History . 9781438130408 . Curtis . Edward E. . 2010 .
- News: October 25, 1948 . Russia Sets Out 15-Year Plan For Reclamation of Her Soil . . 1 .
- News: Walz . Jay . October 26, 1948 . High Court Backs New York Book Ban . . 33 .
- News: October 25, 1948 . Books Published Today . . 21 .
- News: Callender . Harold . October 27, 1948 . 5 Western Powers To Ask U. S. To Join Atlantic Defense . . 1 .
- News: October 27, 1948 . Warm Springs House Made Roosevelt Shrine . . 29 .
- News: October 28, 1948 . Five Peruvian Army Units Revolt In Arequipa, Claim Wide Control . . 1 .
- News: October 28, 1948 . Doris Duke Awarded Reno Divorce From Dominican Diplomat . . 1 .
- News: October 28, 1948 . Alvin Dark Is Rookie Of Year . . Bryan, Texas . 6 .
- News: October 30, 1948 . Peru's Army Wins Three-Day Revolt . . 1 .
- News: Warren . Lansing . October 31, 1948 . Mining Resumed In French Strike . . 32 .
- News: Egan . Leo . October 31, 1948 . 19,000 At Garden . . 1 .
- News: Attard . Eddie . The 1948 Ħondoq ir-Rummien tragedy . 25 January 2020 . . 28 October 2012.
- News: Gruson . Sydney . November 1, 1948 . Israel Claims Rout of Arabs In North; Peace Talks Seen . . 1 .