Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
Events of 1947
January
February
- February 3
- February 5 - Boleslaw Bierut becomes president of Poland.
- February 8 - A dance hall fire in Berlin kills over 80.
- February 10 - Paris peace treaties are signed between the World War II Allies and Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Finland: Italy cedes most of Istria to Yugoslavia.
- February 12 - A meteor creates a crater in Sikhote-Alin, Soviet Union.
- February 17 - Cold War: The Voice of America begins to transmit radio broadcasts into the Soviet Union.
- February 20 - An explosion at the O'Connor Electro-Plating Co in Los Angeles, California leaves 17 dead, 100 buildings damaged, and a 22-foot crater.
- February 21 - In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America.
- February 23 - International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.
- February 25
- State of Prussia ceases to exist.
- Worst-ever train crash in Japan kills 184.
- February 28
March
April
- April 1
- April 9 - A multiple outbreak of tornadoes occur from Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas killing 181 and injuring 970. Not known how many touched down.
- April 15 - Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to play Major League Baseball.
- April 16 - The Texas City Disaster: An Ammonium nitrate cargo of SS Grandcamp explodes in Texas City, Texas - 552 dead, 3,000 injured, 200 lost, 20 city blocks destroyed.
- April 18 - The British Royal Navy detonates 6,800 tonnes of explosives in a concerted attempt to destroy the small island of Heligoland, Germany, creating the biggest non-nuclear explosion in history.
May
June
July
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), created July 1947
- July 7 - A downed UFO is allegedly found in the Roswell UFO incident, written about by Stanton T. Friedman.
- July 10 - Princess Elizabeth announces her engagement to Philip Mountbatten.
- July 11 - Exodus departs France to Palestine with 4,500 Jewish Holocaust survivor refugees.
- July 17 - 625 killed, Indian passenger ship Ramdas capsized by cyclone at Mumbai, India.
- July 18 - Following wide media and UNSCOP coverage, Exodus (ship) is captured by British troops and refused entry to Palestine in the port of Haifa.
- July 18 - President Harry S. Truman signs the Presidential Succession Act into law which places the Speaker of the House and the Senate President Pro Tempore next in the line of succession after the United States Vice President.
- July 19 - Burmese nationalist Aung San is murdered.
- July 26 - Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act into law, creating the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council.
- July 27 - Take It or Leave It airs its final episode on CBS Radio.
- July 29 - After being shut off on November 9, 1946 for a refurbishment, ENIAC, one of the world's first digital computers, is turned on after a memory upgrade. It will remain in continuous operation until October 2, 1955.
August
Flag of the newly independent Pakistan
Flag of the newly independent India
- August 4 - UK Betty Moore from Horsham, Sussex, sails in her first Cowes Week. 59 years later she is awarded the Skandia Cowes Week Ladies Day Trophy after campaigning her Solent Sunbeam, WHY, in all 60 consecutive regattas.
- August 5 - The Netherlands stops political actions in Indonesia.
- August 7
- August 14 - After 90 years of British colonial rule, Pakistan gains independence from the British Empire. While the transition is officially at midnight on this day, Pakistan celebrates its independence on August 14 compared to India on the 15th. Muhammad Ali Jinnah became the first Governor General of Pakistan.
- August 15
- August 16 - In Greece, General Markos Vafiadis takes over.
- August 23 - Prime Minister of Greece Dimitrios Maximos resigns.
- August 24 - The first Edinburgh International Festival begins, with a post-war mission to 'provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit’.
- August 27 - When the French government lowers the bread ration to 200 grams, it causes riots in Verdun and Le Mans.
- August 30 - Fire at a movie theater in Rueil, a suburb of Paris, France kills 87.
- August 31 - Communists take power in Hungary.
September
October
November
December
Undated
Ongoing
Births
January-February
- January 2
- January 3 - Patricia Anthony, American author
- January 6 - Sandy Denny, British singer (d. 1978)
- January 7 - Shobha De, Indian writer
- January 8
- January 9 - Ronnie Landfield, American artist
- January 10 - Ronald Harris, American
- January 11
- January 14 - Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (d. 2003)
- January 16 - Laura Schlessinger, American psychologist and radio talk show host
- January 18 - Takeshi Kitano, Japanese film director and actor
- January 23 - Thomas R. Carper, U.S. Senator from Delaware
- January 24 - Warren Zevon, American musician (d. 2003)
- January 26 - Richard Portnow, American actor
- January 29 - Linda B. Buck, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- January 30
- January 31 - Nolan Ryan, baseball player
- February 1 - Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)
- February 2 - Farrah Fawcett, American actress
- February 3
- February 4 - Dan Quayle, Vice President of the United States
- February 5 - Darrell Waltrip, American race car driver and broadcaster
- February 7 - Wayne Allwine, American voice actor, voice of Mickey Mouse
- February 10
- February 12 - Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Punjabi saint, Sikh theologian, military leader (d. 1984)
- February 13 - Mike Krzyzewski, American basketball coach
- February 15 - John Coolidge Adams, American composer
- February 18
- February 20
- February 21 - Victor Sokolov, Russian dissident journalist and priest (d. 2006)
- February 24 - Edward James Olmos, American actor
- February 25 - Doug Yule, American singer and musician (The Velvet Underground)
- February 26 - Sandie Shaw, British singer
- February 27 - Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist
March-April
- March 4
- March 6
- March 7
- March 8 - Carole Bayer Sager, American composer
- March 10
- March 11
- March 12
- March 13 - Beat Richner, Swiss pediatrician and cellist
- March 14 - Pam Ayres, British poet
- March 15 - Ry Cooder, American guitarist.
- March 16 - Ramzan Paskayev, Chechen accordionist
- March 17 - Yury Chernavsky, Russian-born composer and producer
- March 19 - Glenn Close, American actress
- March 20 - John Boswell, American historian (d. 1994)
- March 24 - Louise Lanctôt, Canadian terrorist and writer
- March 25 - Elton John, English singer, pianist, and songwriter
- March 27 - Walt Mossberg, American newspaper columnist
- April 1 - Alain Connes, French mathematician
- April 2
- April 4 - Eliseo Soriano, Philippine preacher
- April 5 - Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, incumbent Philippine president and daughter of former president Diosdado Macapagal
- April 6 - John Ratzenberger, American actor
- April 8 - Tom DeLay, American politician
- April 11 - Deem Bristow, American video game actor (d. 2005)
- April 12
- April 15
- April 16 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
- April 16 - Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer
- April 18
- April 19 - Murray Perahia, American pianist
- April 20 - Hector, Finnish rock musician
- April 21
- April 25 - Johan Cruijff, Dutch footballer and coach
- April 28 - Ken St. Andre, American game designer and author
- April 29 - Olavo de Carvalho, Brazilian philosopher
- April 29 - Tommy James, American singer and producer
- April 30 - Leslie Grantham, British actor
May-June
- May 4 - Theda Skocpol, American sociologist
- May 6 - Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher
- May 8 - H. Robert Horvitz, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- May 11- Walter Selke, a German physicist
- May 12 - Michael Ignatieff, a Canadian public intellectual with a background in philosophy and history.
- May 13 - Stephen R. Donaldson, American novelist
- May 19 - Paul Brady, Northern Ireland singer/songwriter
- May 23 - Bernard Comrie, English linguist
- May 24 - Maude Barlow, Canadian author, activist and National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians
- May 26 - Glenn Turner, New Zealand cricket captains
- May 27
- May 29 - Stan Zemanek, Australian radio broadcaster (d. 2007)
- June 4 - Viktor Klima, Chancellor of Austria
- June 6
- June 7 - Thurman Munson, Yankee catcher (d. 1979)
- June 8 - Eric F. Wieschaus, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- June 14 - Barry Melton, American musician (Country Joe and The Fish and The Dinosaurs)
- June 15 - John Hoagland, American war photographer (d. 1984)
- June 16 - -minu, Swiss columnist and writer
- June 19 - Paula Koivuniemi, Finnish singer
- June 19 - Salman Rushdie, Indian-born author
- June 21
- June 22
- June 28 - Mark Helprin, American writer
July-August
- July 2 - Larry David, American actor, writer, producer, and director
- July 3 - Dave Barry, American writer
- July 7
- July 8 - Bobby Sowell, pianist and composer
- July 9
- July 10 - Arlo Guthrie, American singer
- July 17 - Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
- July 18 - Steven W. Mahoney, Canadian politician
- July 19 - Brian May, English guitarist (Queen)
- July 20
- July 21 - Co Adriaanse, Dutch football manager
- July 24 - Peter Serkin, American pianist
- July 30 - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-born American actor, bodybuilder, and 38th Governor of California
- July 31 - Richard Griffiths, English actor
- August 3 - Colleen Corby, American fashion model
- August 7 - Franciscus Henri, Dutch born Australian children's entertainer, composer and artist
- August 9 - John Varley, American science-fiction author
- August 10 - Ian Anderson, British musician (Jethro Tull)
- August 12 - William Hartston, British chess player
- August 14 - Maddy Prior, English folk singer
- August 15 - Raakhee Gulzar, Indian actress
- August 16 - Marc Messier, Canadian actor
- August 19 - Gerard Schwarz, American conductor
- August 19 - Terry Hoeppner, American football coach (d. 2007)
- August 23 - Willy Russell, British playwright
- August 24 - Roger De Vlaeminck, Belgian cyclist
- August 26 - Emiliano Díez, American Actor
- August 27 - Barbara Bach, American actress
- August 28 - Liza Wang, Hong Kong actress
- August 29 - Temple Grandin, American animal welfare and autism expert
- August 30 - Allan Rock, Canadian politician and diplomat
- August 31 - Ramon Castellano de Torres, Spanish painter
- August 31 - Somchai Wongsawat, Thai 26th Prime Minister
September-October
- September 1 - Al Green, American politician
- September 3 - Kjell Magne Bondevik, Prime Minister of Norway
- September 6 - Bruce Rioch, Scottish footballer and coach
- September 14 - Sam Neill, New Zealand actor
- September 17 - Tessa Jowell, British politician
- September 19 - Steve Bartlett, U.S. Congressman and Mayor of Dallas, Texas
- September 21 - Stephen King, American author
- September 22 - Norma McCorvey, American abortion plaintiff
- September 25 - Ali Parvin, Iranian footballer and coach
- September 26 - Lynn Anderson, American country music singer
- September 27
- September 30 - Marc Bolan, English musician (T. Rex) (d. 1977)
- October 1 - Aaron Ciechanover, Israeli biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- October 2 - Ward Churchill, American author and activist
- October 5 - Brian Johnson, English singer (AC/DC)
- October 6 - Gail Farrell, American singer
- October 7
- October 9 - France Gall, French singer
- October 10 - Martin Ruane, British wrestler best known as Giant Haystacks and later, The Loch Ness Monster (d. 1998)
- October 13 - Sammy Hagar, American singer
- October 14 - Lukas Resetarits, Austrian singer and actor
- October 16 - Bob Weir, American guitarist (Grateful Dead)
- October 17
- October 18 - James H. Fallon, American neuroscientist
- October 19 - Giorgio Cavazzano, Italian comics artist and illustrator
- October 22 - Ed Welch, English television composer
- October 24 - Kevin Kline, American actor
- October 25 - Glenn Tipton, English guitarist (Judas Priest)
- October 26
- October 29 - Richard Dreyfuss, American actor
November-December
- November 6
- November 7 - Yutaka Fukumoto, Japanese professional baseball player
- November 7 - Sondhi Limthongkul, Thai journalist, writer and founder of Manager Daily, also leader of PAD
- November 10 - Glen Buxton, American guitarist (Alice Cooper) (d. 1997)
- November 14 - P. J. O'Rourke, American journalist and satirist
- November 17 - Inky Mark, Canadian politician
- November 19
- November 20 - Joe Walsh, Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist
- November 22 - Valerie Wilson Wesley, American author
- November 24
- November 25 - John Larroquette, American actor
- November 30
- December 1 - Bob Fulton, English-born Australian rugby league identity
- December 2 - Isaac Bitton, French rock band drummer (Les Variations)
- December 7 - Wendy Padbury, British actress
- December 8 - Thomas R. Cech, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- December 9 - Tom Daschle, U.S. Senator
- December 10 - Rainer Seifert, German field hockey player
- December 12 - Will Alsop, English architect
- December 14 - Christopher Parkening, American guitarist
- December 16 - Vincent Matthews, American athlete
- December 18 - Rod Piazza, American musician
- December 21
- December 26 - Carlton Fisk, baseball player
- December 28 - Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican Major League Baseball player (d. 2000)
- December 29 - Ted Danson, American actor
- December 30
- December 31
Unknown date
Deaths
January - June
- January 15 - Elizabeth Short, "The Black Dahlia", famous murder victim (b. 1924)
- January 20
- January 23 - Pierre Bonnard, French painter (b. 1867)
- January 25 - Al Capone, American gangster (b. 1899)
- January 27 - Vasily Balabanov, an administrator and Provincial Governor of Imperial Russia (b.1873)
- February 6 - O. Max Gardner, Governor of North Carolina
- February 12 - Sidney Toler, American actor, best known for playing Charlie Chan (b. 1874)
- February 27 - Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1868)
- March 5 - Alfredo Casella, Italian composer (b. 1883)
- March 11 - Victor Lustig, Austrian-born con artist (b. 1890)
- March 12 - Walter Samuel Goodland, Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1862)
- March 18 - William C. Durant, American automobile pioneer (b. 1861)
- March 19 - Prudence Heward, Canadian painter (b. 1896)
- March 20 - Victor Goldschmidt, Swiss geochemist (b. 1888)
- March 23 - Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany (b. 1870)
- March 25 - Chen Cheng-po, Taiwanese painter (b. 1895)
- March 28 - Karol Świerczewski, Polish military leader (b. 1897)
- March 30 - Arthur Machen, Welsh-born author (b. 1863)
- April 1 - King George II of Greece (b. 1890)
- April 7 - Henry Ford, American automobile manufacturer (b. 1863)
- April 20 - King Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)
- April 24 - Willa Cather, American novelist (b. 1873)
- May 8 - Harry Gordon Selfridge, American department store magnate (b. 1858)
- May 13 - Sukanta Bhattacharya, Bengali poet (b. 1926)
- May 16 - Frederick Hopkins, English biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (b. 1861)
- May 17 - George William Forbes, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
- May 20 - Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- May 24 - C. F. Ramuz, Swiss writer (b. 1878)
- May 30 - Georg Ritter von Trapp, sailor (b. 1880)
- May 31 - Adrienne Ames, American actress (b. 1907)
- June 11 - Richard Hönigswald, philosopher (b. 1875)
- June 19 - Kōsō Abe, Japanese admiral (b. 1892)
- June 26 - Richard Bedford Bennett, eleventh Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1870)
July - December
- July 19 - Aung San, Burmese nationalist (assassinated) (b. 1915)
- July 27 - Ivan Regen, Slovenian biologist (b. 1868)
- July 30 - Joseph Cook, sixth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1860)
- August 8 - Anton Ivanovich Denikin, Russian military leader (b. 1872)
- September 1 - Frederick Russell Burnham, American Scout, father of the international Scouting movement (b. 1861)
- October 4 - Max Planck, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
- October 6 - Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (b. 1887)
- October 28 - Earl Snell, Governor of Oregon (plane crash.) (b. 1895)
- October 29 - Frances Cleveland, wife of President Grover Cleveland (b. 1864)
- November 25 - Léon-Paul Fargue, French writer (b. 1876)
- November 28 - W. E. Lawrence, (b. 1896)
Nobel prizes
Ship events
Notes
- ^ "Year by Year 1947" -- History Channel International
External links
Table of Contents
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