Astounding 1948 Fun Facts That Everyone Will Absolutely Adore

A number of historical events took place in the year 1948.

One of the significant developments during this year was the establishment of the World Health Center. The freedom fighter of India, Mahatma Gandhi, was also assassinated this year.

1948 has huge relevance in the history of the world. Not just for politics or business, this year is also noted for various entertainment and developments.

From this year, there was a surge in the usage of television as more and more people of the United States started having television sets in their homes. However, during this year, the great freedom fighter of India was assassinated by Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse, who was later given the death sentence.

Gandhi was deeply loved by all his followers, and he was given the nickname 'Bapu'.

1948 was also the year when the National Health Service of the United Kingdom was established. An interesting fact about the 1948 pop culture history is that it was in this year Margot Kidder, known primarily for her role as Lois Lane in the film 'Superman: The Movie', was born.

If you enjoyed reading through this article, then why not also read about 1949 facts and 1910 facts here on Kidadl.

1948 Biggest Television Shows

1948, following the great battle of World War II, was a historic year with many significant developments occurring in all fields like politics, entertainment, and science, among many others. It was the year when the transistor was invented. This year particularly is credited with some of the major television events happening at that time.

July 29, 1948, marks the first-ever time the British Broadcasting Corporation Service (BBC) broadcasted the opening ceremony of the Olympics games happening at that time in London.

Not only, the opening ceremony, but it was also decided to continue the live coverage of the games for at least three and a half hours per day, till the closing ceremony of the Olympics, which was scheduled on August 14.

Other events include the establishment of the first television station named WABC-TV in New York by the American Broadcasting Company. 'The Ed Sullivan Show' started broadcasting this year and was one of the biggest shows in the US.

'Kukla, Fran and Ollie' was a show starring puppets which had gained popularity in 1948. 'Mary Kay and Johnny' was the first sitcom of its nature in America and had a strong audience that year. Game shows like 'Missus Goes A Shopping' also aired this year.

1948 was also the year the famous Italian musician Arturo Toscanini made his debut on television in a program that featured the works of the great German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner. In this program, he conducted the radio orchestra called the NBC Symphony Orchestra.

Some of the interesting facts of 1948 pop culture history include facts like this was the year when the renowned Canadian actress Margot Kidder was born. Know for her versatile beauty and great talent, the most famous work of her till now, is her role of Lois Lane, in the film, 'Superman: The Movie'.

Famous fashion icons and film stars who were popular in 1948 include Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, and Lana Turner, among many others.

'Cry, the Beloved Country', a novel by Alan Paton, was published on February 1, 1948.

The World Premiere of the legendary movie 'The Red Shoes' also took place this year. The musical 'Easter Parade' starring Judy Garland was also released in 1948 and was loved by both American women and men!

In regards to sports, the 1948 World Series Champions were the Cleveland Guardians. The interesting fact about the World Series of 1948 is that, unlike before, it was now televised over a broader network area and was also the only world series from 1948-1958 that did not have a single team from New York.

1948 is the year when seven Japanese war leaders, namely Hideki Tojo, Akira Muto, Iwane Matsui, Koki Hirota, Kenji Dihara, Seishiro Itagaki, and Heitaro Kimura, were hanged after being tried at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for their role in the famous battle of the Second World War.

One of the most heinous cases of murder and robbery in Japan happened in 1948 when a man who disguised himself as a public health official killed 16 people at a branch of Imperial Bank located in Tokyo.

After killing them, he fled with the money that he stole from the bank. A few months later, the accused Sadamichi Hirasawa was arrested, and he was given the death penalty in 1955.

1948 also marked the death of the Japanese admiral Baron Kantaro Suzuki.

The first-ever recorded song 'Nature Boy' by Nathaniel Adams Coles, also known as Nat King Cole, was released during this year and became very popular among American citizens. This was a noteworthy moment in pop-culture history.

The lyrics of the song 'Nature Boy' were written by the famous American songwriter Eden Ahbez. Talking about music, it was also the year when the first vinyl disc, which was 12 in (30.4 cm) in length, was introduced by Columbia Records.

Mahatma Gandhi's Facts From 1948

While there were major developmental events happening all over the year, 1948, in particular, was not a good year for India. Just one year after Indian independence in 1947, Indian pacifist Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948, by Nathuram Godse. The assassination caused a huge uproar in the country.

Mahatma Gandhi had played an active role in the independence of his beloved country, India, from the cruel British rule. On the day of January 30, 1948, he was scheduled to attend a prayer meeting.

He was murdered in the compound of Birla House, which is located in New Delhi. A follower of 'ahimsa', Gandhi is commonly called the 'Father of the Nation' of India.

He was loved and admired by the Indians and was more than just a freedom fighter. The accused named Nathuram Godse was then given the death sentence.

He was an extremist and therefore did not adhere to Gandhi's non-violent policies so much so that he blamed him for the partition of India. He was given the death sentence and was hanged on November 15, 1949. His death sentence, however, was opposed by the family members of Gandhi.

However, pleas for mercy were turned down by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru was India's first prime minister.

Gandhi was so much loved by all his followers; he was commonly known as 'Bapu'. This charismatic leader was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as many as five times.

Israel Events

The first independent Jewish state was created by the votes of the United Nations in 1948, and simultaneously the first Prime Minister of the state, given the name Israel, was elected. David Ben-Gurion was the first Prime Minister of Israel.

However, soon after the formation of the state with the help of the United Nations, there were a number of backlashes from the surrounding country.

The most significant among these was the First Arab-Israeli War which lasted for more than one year. The joined forces of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq were not happy with the formation of the country as they believed it was done in an unfair manner and invaded the newly formed country.

In 1947, the United Nations General assembly formed a resolution of dividing the Palestinian land into Jewish and Arab states.

However, this decision was deemed unfair and favorable to Jewish people, and therefore the Arabs refused to accept the decision.

The events that followed were an airstrike in Tel Aviv by the Arabs. After several such attacks, by the end of 1949, armistice arrangements were made that ended the war.

1948 also marked the year when a ceasefire was declared between the Dutch troops and the nationalist Indonesians on an island of Indonesia, known as Java.

World Health Organisation

1948 marks yet another historic moment when the World Health Organisation (WHO) was established in this year. The World Health Organisation is a body that is entrusted with the duty of governance of global health and diseases.

The day it was founded is celebrated as World Health Day. Over the years, World Health Organisation has expanded further and now has as many as 150 offices located in different nations of the world.

To put it simply, the aim of the World Health Organisation is to promote good health and eradicate diseases. It is a part of the United Nations and organizes education and research programs as well.

The National Health Service or the NHS of the United Kingdom was also established this year. Under this program, free health care service was given to all the residents of the United Kingdom.

However, this program was restricted only to the regions of England and Wales, and the other states of the UK, unlike Northern Ireland and Scotland, which were not included in the program and had to create their own service separately.

In this year, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, signed the executive order that prohibited the racial discrimination of the US military, thus integrating the US armed forces. The incumbent Harry S. Truman also was nominated as the Presidential candidate during the 1948 Democratic National Convention.

North Korea

Till the conclusion of World War II, Korea was under Japanese rule. When Japan surrendered, the state of Korea was divided between the Soviet Union and the United States.

The Soviet Union led by Stalin was in complete control of the north, and the United States was in control of the south.

Simultaneously, unable to find any way to unify the country, two separate governments were introduced. The government under the Soviet Union was called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and that of South Korea was called the Republic of Korea.

Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea, ruled the country till 1994 and was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il. Kim Il Sung, in his regime, tried several times to unify both the countries with the help of Soviet and Chinese support.

However, it was to no avail, since shortly after in 1950, the Korean War broke out, which continued from 1950-1953.

Other historical developments of this year include the signing of the Western European Treaty. To face the danger of the communist power in Eastern Europe, five nations of Europe signed the treaty.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was also adopted during this year. It was also the year when the United Nations first used peacekeeping forces in Kashmir and Palestine.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 1948 fun facts then why not take a look at 1978 facts or 1988 facts.