1947 History Events: What Happened in 1947

Following the horrors of the Second World War’s crimes, a momentous political event occurred in 1947 that has had worldwide ramifications for generations. This catastrophe had a particularly strong influence in the Near East. Palestine was partitioned and the State of Israel was established in this year. This was also the year that Princess Elizabeth announced her engagement to Philip Mountbatten, which had a greater cultural significance for the Anglosphere than other political developments. Philip became Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh after their marriage and Elizabeth’s accession to the throne.

In the United States, 1947 was also the year of a dramatic political transition. Following World War II and in the midst of the emerging Cold War, the United States took a significant step toward establishing the “national security state” – a significant expansion of the size and scope of the federal government in Washington, DC. This was brought to bear with the 1947 National Security Act, which formed the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Central Intelligence Agency, as well as the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). For decades, the consequences of this Act have been felt both in the United States and abroad.

Politics were hardly the only topic of discussion in 1947. Jackie Robinson began his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black athlete to play in Major League Baseball in the modern period, thereby desegregating professional baseball in the United States. The holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street premiered in the United States, and Gregory Peck’s Gentleman’s Agreement received the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Finally, Anne Frank’s diary from World War II was published for the first time in a major literary event. The diary was first published in Amsterdam, and it quickly became a global classic, read by generations of students all over the world.

Continue reading to discover more about the events of 1947.

Event
(January 22, 1947) In Hollywood, KTLA becomes the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River.
Advertisements (January 25, 1947) The first electronic game is invented when Thomas Goldsmith Jr. submits a patent for a "Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device."
(March 12, 1947) When US President Harry S. Truman requested Congress to allocate aid for Greece and Turkey, both of which were facing communist threats, on this day in 1947, he outlined what became known as the Truman Doctrine.
(March 25, 1947) Sir Elton John, a British singer, composer, and pianist recognised for both his popular music and his stylistic showmanship, was born.
(April 07, 1947) Henry Ford, the American industrialist who founded the Ford Motor Company and revolutionised factory production with his assembly-line methods, died at the age of 83.
Advertisements (April 16, 1947) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, an American basketball player who won five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988), was born.
(April 28, 1947) Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian ethnologist and explorer, and a small crew set sail from Peru on the Kon-Tiki, a rudimentary raft, and landed in Polynesia three and a half months later.
(June 25, 1947) The diary of Anne Frank is published.
(July 10, 1947) Clement Attlee, the British Prime Minister, recommends Muhammad Ali Jinnah as Pakistan's first Governor-General.
Advertisements Happy Birthday! (July 30, 1947) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American politician, bodybuilder, and actor who served as California's 38th governor. photo source: wikimedia.org
Happy Birthday! (July 30, 1947) Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, French virologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate. photo source: wikimedia.org
(August 14, 1947) Pakistan Independence Day. photo source: wikimedia.org
(October 22, 1947) After India was partitioned, there was a conflict over Kashmir that erupted between India and Pakistan. photo source: wikimedia.org
(November 02, 1947) Howard Hughes, an American aviator and filmmaker, piloted the Spruce Goose, an eight-engine wooden flying boat designed to transport 750 passengers, during its one-mile flight. photo source: wikimedia.org
Advertisements (November 20, 1947) At Westminster Abbey in London, Princess Elizabeth marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, who later becomes the Duke of Edinburgh. photo source: wikimedia.org
(December 23, 1947) Bell Laboratories is the first to show the transistor. photo source: wikimedia.org