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| 1948 |
1948
1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar).
Events
January-February
- January 1 - Nationalisation of UK railways to form British Railways. Arab militants lay siege to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. First day of the Italian republican constitution.
- January 4 - Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- January 5 - Warner Brothers shows the first color newsreel (Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl).
- January 17 - Truce between nationalist Indonesian and Dutch troops in Java
- January 26 - Teigin poison case - Man masquerading as a doctor poisons 12 out of 15 bank employees of the Tokyo branch of Imperial Bank and takes the money; artist Sadamichi Hirasawa is later sentenced for the crime.
- January 30 - Indian pacifist and leader Mahatma Gandhi is murdered by a Hindu extremist.
- January 30 - 1948 Winter Olympics open in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
- February 1 - Soviet Union begins to jam Voice of America broadcasts.
- February 4 - Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth. King George VI becomes King of Ceylon.
- February 18 - Eamon de Valera, head of government since 1932, loses power to an opposition coalition. John A. Costello is appointed Taoiseach of Éire (formerly called the Irish Free State) by President O'Kelly.
- February 24 - The Communist Party seizes control of Czechoslovakia.
March-April
- March 8 - The United States Supreme Court rules that religious instruction in public schools violated the Constitution.
- March 10 - Czech foreign minister Jan Masaryk killed in fall from a window of his apartment in Prague. Later communist government rules it "suicide".
- March 17 - Hell's Angels founded in California
- March 20 - First elections in Singapore
- April 1 - Faroe Islands receive autonomy from Denmark
- April 3 - President Harry Truman signs the Marshall Plan which authorizes $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
- April 7 - The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
- April 7 - Buddhist monastery burns in Shanghai - 20 monks dead
- April 9 - Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in all of Colombia (La violencia).
- April 9 - The Deir Yassin massacre takes place in Palestine.
May
Palestine
- May 1 - 213 communists executed in Greece.
- May 2 - Hour of Charm's last broadcast.
- May 11 - Luigi Einaudi becomes President of the Italian Republic.
- May 14 - Israel is declared as an independent state.
- May 14 - The murder of a three-year-old girl in Blackburn, England leads to the fingerprinting of more than 40,000 men in the city in an attempt to find the murderer.
- May 15 - 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia attack Israel.
- May 16 - Chaim Weizmann is elected as the first President of Israel.
- May 18 - The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
- May 26 - The U.S. Congress passes Public Law 557 which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as the auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
- May 30 - A dike along the Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. 15 people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
June-July
- June 3 - Palomar Observatory telescope finished in California.
- June 16 - Communist guerillas kill three rubber planters in Malaya.
- June 16 - Three armed men hijack Cathay Pacific passenger plane Miss Macao and shoot the pilot. The plane crashes - one of 27 survives
- June 17 - A Douglas DC-6 carrying United Air Lines Flight 624 crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board.
- June 18 - State of Emergency declared in Malaysia for communist insurgency - Malayan Emergency begins.
- June 21 - The Deutsche Mark becomes official currency of the Federal Republic of Germany.
- June 24 - Cold War: The Berlin Blockade begins.
- June 28 - Cominform Resolution marks the beginning of the Informbiro period in Yugoslavia and Soviet/Yugoslav split.
- July 5 - British National Health Service Act enacted.
- July 13 - The Coptic and Ethiopian Churches reach an agreement leading to the promotion of the Ethiopian church to the rank of an autocephalous Patriarchate. Five bishops are immediately consecrated by the Patriarch of Alexandria, and the successor to Abuna Qerellos IV is granted the power to consecrate new bishops, who are empowered to elect a new Patriarch for their church.
- July 15 - Attempted assassination of Palmiro Togliatti, general secretary of the Italian Communist Party, incites number of strikes all over the country.
- July 15 - First London, England chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous
- July 20 - Cold War: President Harry S. Truman issues the second peacetime military draft in the United States amid increasing tensions with the Soviet Union (the first peacetime draft occurred in 1940 under President Roosevelt).
- July 24 - Great oil fire in the harbor of Naantali, Finland
- July 26 - U.S. President signs Executive Order 9981, ending racial segregation in the United States Armed Forces.
- July 29 - 1948 Summer Olympics begin in London.
- July 31 - At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
August-December
- August 1 - The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations is founded.
- August 12 - USA recognizes the government of South Korea.
- August 19 - Soviet troops fire at German demonstrators that protest against the Berlin Blockade.
- August 23 - World Council of Churches established.
- September 4 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates for health reasons.
- September 5 - Robert Schuman becomes Prime Minister of France.
- September 6 - Juliana becomes Queen of the Netherlands.
- September 17 - Stern Gang assassinates count Folke Bernadotte.
- October 11 - Cleveland Indians defeat the Boston Braves to win the World Series, four games to two.
- November 2 - U.S. presidential election, 1948: Harry S. Truman defeats Thomas E. Dewey for the US presidency.
- November 12 - In Tokyo, an international war crimes tribunal sentences seven Japanese military and government officials to death, including General Hideki Tojo, for their roles in World War II.
- November 15 - Louis Stephen St. Laurent becomes Canada's twelfth prime minister.
- November 16 - Operation Magic Carpet to transport Jews from Yemen to Israel begins.
- November 17 - Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi divorces his second wife, the former Princess Fawzia of Egypt.
- November 24 - In Venezuela, president Rómulo Betancourt is outsed by a military coup. A military junta takes over the government.
- December 7 - Gary Morris, singer and actor
- December 7 - Mads Vinding, Danish bassist
- December 10 - United Nations General Assembly adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- December 26 - Last Soviet troops withdraw from North Korea.
- December 28 - Member of Muslim Brotherhood assassinates Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmud Fahmi Nokrashi.
- December 30 - The play Kiss Me, Kate opens for the first of 1,077 performances.
- December 31 - 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Israeli troops drive Egyptians from Negev.
Undated
- Empire Windrush immigrant ship arrives in Britain
- Civil war in Costa Rica
- Civil war in Colombia
- Rope (film) released
Unknown date
- Porsche is founded.
- Miranda, the innermost moon of Uranus, is discovered by Gerard Kuiper.
- Casimir effect discovered by Dutch physicist Hendrik Casimir.
- Tunnel of Vielha is opened in Val d'Aran, Spanish Pyrenees.
- Fresh Kills, world's largest landfill, opens in Staten Island, New York.
- The law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is founded.
- Brandeis University is founded.
- Oakridge Transit Centre opened in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Births
January-February
- January 2 - Mary Archer, British scientist
- January 2 - Deborah Watling, British actress
- January 7 - Kenny Loggins, American singer
- January 10 - Donald Fagen, American keyboardist
- January 10 - Mischa Maisky, Latvian cellist
- January 14 - Carl Weathers, American football player and actor
- January 14 - T-Bone Burnett, American record producer and musician
- January 15 - Ronnie Van Zant, American musician (d. 1977)
- January 16 - John Carpenter, American film director and composer
- January 17 - Davíð Oddsson, Prime Minister of Iceland
- January 19 - Frank McKenna, Premier of New Brunswick and Canadian Ambassador
- January 27 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-born dancer
- January 28 - Charles Taylor, Liberian president
- January 29 - Marc Singer, Canadian actor
- January 31 - Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
- February 1 - Elisabeth Sladen, British actress
- February 3 - Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, East Timorean Catholic bishop, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- February 4 - Alice Cooper, American musician
- February 5 - Christopher Guest, American actor, writer, director, and composer
- February 5 - V. Alexander Stefan, American physicist, educator, and writer
- February 14 - Teller, American magician
- February 24 - J. Jayalalithaa, Indian politician
- February 25 - Danny Denzongpa, Indian actor
- February 28 - Steven Chu, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- February 28 - Mike Figgis, American director, writer, and composer
- February 28 - Bernadette Peters, American actress and singer
- February 28 - Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
March-April
- March 1 - Burning Spear, Jamaican singer and musician
- March 2 - Jeff Kennett, Australian politician
- March 2 - R. T. Crowley, pioneer of electronic commerce
- March 9 - Jeffrey Osborne, American singer
- March 12 - James Taylor, American musician
- March 15 - Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (d. 2003)
- March 17 - William Gibson, Canadian writer
- March 20 - John de Lancie, American actor
- March 20 - Bobby Orr, Canadian hockey player
- March 22 - Andrew Lloyd Webber, English composer
- March 22 - Wolf Blitzer, American television journalist
- March 26 - Steven Tyler, American singer (Aerosmith)
- March 28 - Dianne Wiest, American actress
- March 31 - Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States
- March 31 - Rhea Perlman, American actress
- April 1 - Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican musician
- April 15 - Michael Kamen, American composer (d. 2003)
- (April 23)-
- April 29 - Michael Karoli, German musician (d. 2001)
May-July
- May 8 - Felicity Lott, English soprano
- May 11 - Shigeru Izumiya, Japanese musician
- May 12 - Steve Winwood, English singer
- May 14 - Bob Woolmer, British cricket coach
- May 15 - Brian Eno, English musician and record producer
- May 19 - Grace Jones, Jamaican singer and actress
- May 21 - Leo Sayer, English musician
- May 26 - Stevie Nicks, American singer and songwriter (Fleetwood Mac)
- May 29 - Michael Berkeley, British composer
- May 31 - John Bonham, British drummer (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)
- June 2 - Todd Rundgren, American singer and record producer
- June 13 - Garnet Bailey, Canadian hockey player and scout
- June 17 - Dave Concepcion, Venezuelan baseball player
- June 19 - Phylicia Rashad, American actress
- June 20 - Ludwig Scotty, President of Nauru
- June 21 - Lionel Rose, Australian boxer
- June 21 - Andrzej Sapkowski, Polish writer
- July 8 - Raffi Cavoukian, Egyptian-born singer
- July 16 - Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli violinist
- July 18 - Hartmut Michel, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 21 - Ed Hinton, American sportswriter
- July 21 - Cat Stevens, English musician
- July 21 - Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
- July 25 - Peggy Fleming, American figure skater
- July 28 - Sally Struthers, American actress
- July 30 - Jean Reno, French actor
August-December
- August 2 - Dennis Prager, American radio talk show host and author
- August 3 - Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Prime Minister of France
- August 13 - Kathleen Battle, American soprano
- August 15 - Uschi Digard, American erotic actress and figure model
- August 20 - Robert Plant, English singer (Led Zeppelin)
- August 30 - Lewis Black, American comedian
- September 4 - Samuel Hui, Hong Kong singer
- September 5 - Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian diplomat and politician
- September 10 - Bob Lanier, American basketball player
- September 10 - Margaret Trudeau, First Lady of Canada
- September 13 - Nell Carter, American singer and actress (d. 2003)
- September 17 - John Ritter, American actor (d. 2003)
- September 22 - Denis Burke, Australian politician
- September 24 - Heinz Chur, German composer
- September 27 - Michele Dotrice, English actor
- September 29 - Bryant Gumbel, American television broadcaster
- October 1 - Sir Sir Peter Blake New Zealand yachtsman (d. 2001)
- October 2 - Avery Brooks, American television actor
- October 2 - Chris LeDoux, American singer and rodeo star (d. 2005)
- October 8 - Johnny Ramone, American guitarist (The Ramones) (d. 2004)
- October 9 - Jackson Browne, American musician
- October 13 - Ted Poe, American politician
- October 17 - George Wendt, American television actor
- November 1 - Jim Steinman, American songwriter and producer
- November 5 - William Daniel Phillips, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- November 10 - Vincent Schiavelli, American actor
- November 14 - Charles, Prince of Wales
- November 16 - Mutt Lange, Rhodesian-born record producer
- November 17 - Howard Dean, American politician
- November 20 - John R. Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the UN
- November 20 - Barbara Hendricks, American-born soprano
- December 3 - Ozzy Osbourne, British singer
- December 6 - JoBeth Williams, American actress
- December 10 - Abu Abbas, founder of the Palestine Liberation Front (d. 2004)
- December 21 - Willi Resetarits, Austrian musician and cabaret artist
- December 27 - Gérard Depardieu, French actor
Unknown date
- Maurizio Gucci Italian business man and murder victim (d. 1995)
- Edward Rutherfurd, British novelist
Deaths
- January 21 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (b. 1876)
- January 30 - Mohandas Gandhi, Indian independence movement leader (assassinated) (b. 1869)
- January 30 - Orville Wright, American co-inventor of the airplane (b. 1871)
- February 2 - Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (b. 1894)
- February 11 - Sergy Eisenstein, Russian film director (b. 1898)
- February 23 - John Robert Gregg, Irish-born inventor of shorthand (b. 1866)
- March 6 - Ross Lockridge, Jr., American novelist (suicide) (b. 1914)
- March 10 - Jan Masaryk, Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia (b. 1886)
- March 31 - Egon Erwin Kisch, Austrian journalist and author (b. 1885)
- April 9 - Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (b. 1903)
- April 17 - Suzuki Kantaro, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1867)
- May 15 - Father Edward J. Flanagan, Irish-born priest and founder of Boys Town (b. 1886)
- May 28 - Unity Mitford, British friend of Hitler (b. 1914)
- June 25 - William C. Lee, American general (b. 1895)
- July 5 - Georges Bernanos, French writer (b. 1888)
- July 15 - John J. Pershing, American general (b. 1860)
- July 23 - David Wark Griffith, American film director (b. 1875)
- August 12 - Harry Brearley, English inventor of stainless steel (b. 1871)
- August 16 - Babe Ruth, baseball player (b. 1895)
- September 2 - Sylvanus G. Morley, American scholar and World War I spy (b. 1883)
- September 11 - Muhammed Ali Jinnah, first Governor-General of Pakistan (b. 1876)
- October 24 - Franz Lehár, Hungarian composer (b. 1870)
- November 28 - D.D. Sheehan, Irish politician (b. 1873)
- December 23 - Japanese war leaders (hanged):
- Kenji Doihara, spy (b. 1883)
- Koki Hirota, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1878)
- Iwane Matsui, general (b. 1878)
- Itagaki Seishiro, military officer (b. 1885)
- Hideki Tojo, general (b. 1884)
- December 31 - Sir Malcolm Campbell, English land and water racer (b. 1885)
Nobel Prizes
- Physics - Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett
- Chemistry - Arne Wilhelm Kaurin Tiselius
- Medicine - Paul Hermann Müller
- Literature - T. S. Eliot
- Peace - not awarded
Category:1948
als:1948
ko:1948년
ms:1948
ja:1948年
simple:1948
th:พ.ศ. 2491
Leap year starting on ThursdayThis is the calendar for any leap year starting on Thursday (dominical letter DC), e.g. 2004.
Previous year | Next year
This kind of year has 53 weeks in the ISO 8601 week - day format. Furthermore, ISO week 10 (which begins March 1) and all subsequent ISO weeks occur earlier than in any other kind of year.
| Century |
Year |
| 19th century: |
1824 |
1852 |
1880 |
| 20th century: |
1920 |
1948 |
1976 |
| 21st century: |
2004 |
2032 |
2060 |
2088 |
| 22nd century: |
2128 |
2156 |
2184 |
Category:Thursday
Category:Weeks
ko:목요일로 시작하는 윤년
th:ปีอธิกสุรทินที่วันแรกเป็นวันพฤหัสบดี
January 1
January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Here a calendar year refers to the order in which the months are displayed, January to December. The first day of the medieval Julian year was usually a day other than January 1. This day was adopted as the first day of the Julian year by all Western European countries except England between about 1450 and 1600. The Gregorian calendar as promulgated in 1582 did not specify that January 1 was to be either New Year's Day or the first day of its numbered year. Although England began its numbered year on March 25 (Lady Day or Annunciation Day), between the 13th century and 1752, January 1 was called New Year's Day, and was, with Christmas and occasionally Twelfth Night, a holiday when gifts were exchanged. 364 days (365 in leap years) remain in the year after this day.
Events
- 45 BC - The Julian calendar first takes effect.
- 404 - Last known gladiator competition in Rome takes place.
- 630 - Prophet Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with the army that will capture it bloodlessly.
- 990 - Kievan Rus' adopts the Julian calendar.
- 1438 - Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.
- 1600 - Scotland begins using the Julian calendar.
- 1651 - Charles II crowned King of Scotland
- 1673 - Regular mail delivery begins between New York and Boston.
- 1700 - Russia begins using the Julian calendar.
- 1707 - John V is crowned King of Portugal
- 1738 - Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
- 1788 - First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
- 1797 - Albany replaces New York City as the capital on New York.
- 1801 - Legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed to form United Kingdom.
- 1801 - The first known asteroid, 1 Ceres, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
- 1804 - French rule ends in Haiti.
- 1808 - Importation of slaves into the United States is banned.
- 1818 - Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus is published.
- 1855 - London, Ontario is incorporated as a city.
- 1861 - Porfirio Diaz conquers Mexico City.
- 1863 - American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect.
- 1863 - The first claim under the Homestead Act is made by Daniel Freeman for a farm in Nebraska.
- 1880 - Ferdinand de Lesseps begins French construction of the Panama Canal.
- 1887 - Queen Victoria was proclaimed empress of India in Delhi.
- 1892 - Ellis Island opens to begin accepting immigrants to the United States.
- 1893 - Japan begins using the Gregorian calendar.
- 1894 - The Manchester Ship Canal, England, was officially opened to traffic.
- 1898 - New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25th by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
- 1899 - Spanish rule ends in Cuba.
- 1901 - Nigeria becomes a British protectorate.
- 1901 - The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes first Prime Minister.
- 1901 - The first official Mummers Parade is held.
- 1902 - The first Rose Bowl game is played in Pasadena, California.
- 1908 - For the first time, a ball is dropped in New York City's Times Square to signify the start of the New Year.
- 1911 - Northern Territory is separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.
- 1912 - The Republic of China is established.
- 1916 - German troops abandon Yaoundé and their Kamerun colony to British forces and begin the long march to Spanish Guinea.
- 1934 - Alcatraz Island becomes a U.S. federal prison.
- 1934 - Nazi Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring".
- 1935 - Bucknell University wins the first Orange Bowl 26-0 over the University of Miami.
- 1937 - Anastasio Somoza becomes President of Nicaragua.
- 1937 - The first Cotton Bowl game is played in Dallas, Texas.
- 1939 - The Vienna New Year's Concert is first held.
- 1942 - The Declaration by the United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
- 1948 - British railways are nationalised to form British Rail.
- 1948 - After partition, India declines to pay the agreed share of Rs.550 million in cash balances to Pakistan.
- 1948 - Enrico De Nicola formally becomes President of the Italian Republic, but refuses to be a candidate for the first constitutional election the following May.
- 1949 - UN Cease-fire orders to operate in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
- 1956 - The Republic of the Sudan achieves independence from the Egyptian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- 1958 - The European Community is established.
- 1959 - Fulgencio Batista, President of the Republic of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces.
- 1960 - The Republic of Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- 1962 - Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
- 1964 - The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
- 1969 - Marien Ngouabi formally becomes the President of the Republic of Congo.
- 1970 - The Unix epoch begins at 00:00:00 UTC.
- 1971 - Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.
- 1973 - The Kingdom of Denmark, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland are admitted into the European Community.
- 1976 - NBC introduces its new logo: an abstract N, similar to the Nebraska Educational Television Network logo.
- 1978 - Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 explodes and crashes into the sea off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
- 1979 - Formal diplomatic relations are established between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America.
- 1981 - The Republic of Greece is admitted into the European Community.
- 1981 - The Republic of Palau achieves self-government; it is not yet independent from the United States of America.
- 1983 - The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.
- 1984 - AT&T is broken up into twenty-two independent units.
- 1984 - The Sultanate of Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- 1985 - The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
- 1985 - The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone.
- 1986 - Aruba becomes independent of Curaçao, though it remains in free association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- 1986 - Spain and Portugal are admitted into the European Community.
- 1988 - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States of America.
- 1993 - Velvet Divorce: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic.
- 1993 - A single market within the European Community is introduced.
- 1993 - Pakistan is elected member of the 15-nation UN Security Council.
- 1994 - The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican State of Chiapas.
- 1994 - The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.
- 1995 - The World Trade Organization comes into effect.
- 1995 - The Kingdom of Sweden and the republics of Austria and Finland are admitted into the European Union.
- 1995 - The Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe becomes the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
- 1996 - Curaçao gains limited self-government, though it remains within free association with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- 1997 - The Republic of Zaïre officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Zaïre.
- 1998 - Smoking is banned in all bars and restaurants in the State of California.
- 1999 - The Euro currency is introduced.
- 2002 - Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states.
- 2002 - The Republic of China officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.
- 2002 - The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially enters into force.
- 2003 - Luís Inácio Lula da Silva becomes president of the Federative Republic of Brazil.
- 2004 - Pervez Musharraf receives a vote of confidence to continue as the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from Parliament and the provincial assemblies.
Births
- 766 - Ali ar-Rida, Shia Imam (d. 818)
- 1431 - Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503)
- 1449 - Lorenzo de Medici, Italian statesman (d. 1492)
- 1484 - Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss Protestant leader (d. 1531)
- 1516 - Margareta Leijonhufvud, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1551)
- 1557 - Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1606)
- 1600 - Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian (d. 1649)
- 1614 - John Wilkins, English Bishop of Chester (d. 1672)
- 1618 - Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter (d. 1682)
- 1638 - Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (d. 1685)
- 1648 - Elkanah Settle, English writer (d. 1724)
- 1655 - Christian Thomasius, German jurist (d. 1728)
- 1684 - Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (d. 1748)
- 1704 - Soame Jenyns, English writer (d. 1787)
- 1711 - Franz Freiherr von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)
- 1714 - Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1780)
- 1735 - Paul Revere, American silversmith and patriot (d. 1818)
- 1750 - Frederick Muhlenberg, first speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1801)
- 1752 - Betsy Ross, American seamstress (d. 1836)
- 1774 - André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist (d. 1860)
- 1793 - Francesco Guardi, Italian artist (b. 1712)
- 1823 - Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and revolutionary (d. 1849)
- 1833 - Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (d. 1902)
- 1839 - Ouida, English writer (d. 1908)
- 1854 - Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist (d. 1941)
- 1860 - George Washington Carver, American educator, inventor, and botanist (d. 1943)
- 1863 - Pierre de Coubertin, French initiator of the modern Olympic Games (d. 1937)
- 1864 - Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer (d. 1946)
- 1873 - Mariano Azuela, Mexican novelist (d. 1952)
- 1874 - Gustave Whitehead, German-American inventor (d. 1927)
- 1876 - Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist (d. 1933)
- 1879 - E. M. Forster, English novelist (d. 1970)
- 1887 - Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (d. 1945)
- 1890 - Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer (d. 1966)
- 1892 - Artur Rodzinski, Croatian conductor (d. 1958)
- 1894 - Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian mathematician (d. 1974)
- 1895 - J. Edgar Hoover, American Federal Bureau of Investigation director (d. 1972)
- 1900 - Xavier Cugat, Catalan-Cuban musician, bandleader (d. 1990)
- 1902 - Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (d. 1977)
- 1904 - Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani politician (d. 1982)
- 1906 - Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (d. 1974)
- 1909 - Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1909 - Barry M. Goldwater, U.S. Senator from Arizona and Presidential candidate (d. 1998)
- 1911 - Hank Greenberg, baseball player (d. 1986)
- 1912 - Kim Philby, British spy (d. 1988)
- 1917 - Jule Gregory Charney, meteorologist (d. 1981)
- 1917 - Albert Mol, Dutch actor (d. 2004)
- 1919 - J. D. Salinger, American novelist
- 1920 - Virgilio Savona, Italian singer and songwriter (Quartetto Cetra)
- 1921 - Isma'il Raji' al-Faruqi, Palestinian-born philosopher and comparative religion scholar (d. 1986)
- 1922 - Rocky Graziano, American boxer (d. 1990)
- 1925 - Stymie Beard, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1927 - Vernon L. Smith, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1927 - Doak Walker, American football star (d 1998)
- 1928 - Ernest Tidyman, American writer (d. 1984)
- 1933 - Frederick Lowy, Canadian medical educator, ethicist, and university president
- 1933 - Joe Orton, English writer (d. 1967)
- 1940 - Frank Langella American actor
- 1942 - Martin Frost, American politician
- 1942 - Country Joe McDonald, American musician (Country Joe and the Fish)
- 1942 - Gennadi Sarafanov, cosmonaut
- 1943 - Don Novello, American actor, comedian, and writer
- 1945 - Jacky Ickx, Belgian race car driver
- 1946 - Rivelino, Brazilian football player
- 1953 - Greg Carmichael, British guitarist
- 1957 - Luis Guzmán, Puerto Rican actor
- 1958 - Grandmaster Flash, West Indian-born singer
- 1959 - Azali Assoumani, Comorese president
- 1961 - Mark Wingett, British actor
- 1964 - Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress
- 1966 - Embeth Davidtz, American actress
- 1968 - Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
- 1969 - Verne Troyer - American actor
- 1970 - Gabriel Jarret, American actor
- 1972 - Neve McIntosh, Scottish actress
- 1975 - Joe Cannon, American soccer player
- 1977 - Hasan Salihamidžić, Bosnian footballer
- 1978 - Erica Durance, Canadian actress
- 1978 - Jared Fogle, American calibate
- 1978 - Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda, Indian spiritual guru
- 1978 - Nina Bott, German actress
- 1979 - Brody Dalle, Australian singer (The Distillers)
- 1979 - Koichi Domoto, Japanese artist
- 1980 - Elin Nordegren, Swedish model
- 1981 - Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian race car driver
- 1981 - Abdulkadir Kocak, Turkish boxer
- 1982 - David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
- 1985 - Steve Davis, Irish footballer
Deaths
- 379 - Saint Basil of Caesarea (b. 330)
- 404 - Saint Telemachus
- 874 - Hasan al-Askari, eleventh Shia Imam (b. 846)
- 898 - Odo, Count of Paris (b. 860)
- 1204 - King Haakon III of Norway
- 1384 - King Charles II of Navarre (b. 1332)
- 1515 - King Louis XII of France (b. 1462)
- 1554 - Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador
- 1559 - Christian III of Denmark and Norway (b. 1503)
- 1560 - Joachim Du Bellay, French poet
- 1617 - Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter (b. 1558)
- 1679 - Jan Steen, Dutch painter
- 1716 - William Wycherley, English dramatist
- 1730 - Samuel Sewall, English-born judge (b. 1652)
- 1742 - Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (b. 1686)
- 1748 - Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1667)
- 1766 - James Francis Edward Stuart, "The Old Pretender" (b. 1688)
- 1782 - Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)
- 1789 - Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English politician (b. 1716)
- 1793 - Francesco Guardi, Venetian painter (b. 1712)
- 1800 - Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French naturalist (b. 1716)
- 1817 - Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist (b. 1743)
- 1892 - Roswell B. Mason, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
- 1894 - Heinrich Hertz, German physicist (b. 1857)
- 1933 - Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist (b. 1876)
- 1944 - Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (b. 1862)
- 1953 - Hank Williams, American singer (b. 1923)
- 1958 - Edward Weston, American photographer (b. 1886)
- 1960 - Margaret Sullavan, American actress (b. 1911)
- 1964 - Bechara El Khoury, President of Lebanon (b. 1890)
- 1972 - Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (b. 1888)
- 1981 - Beulah Bondi, American actress (b. 1888)
- 1986 - Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (b. 1902)
- 1992 - Grace Hopper, American computer pioneer (b. 1906)
- 1994 - Lord Arthur Espie Porritt, Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1900)
- 1994 - Cesar Romero, American actor (b. 1907)
- 1995 - Fred West, British serial killer (suicide) (b. 1941)
- 1995 - Eugene Wigner, Hungarian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1996 - Arleigh Burke, U.S. admiral (b. 1901)
- 1997 - Townes Van Zandt, American musician (b. 1944)
- 1998 - Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player (b. 1905)
- 2001 - Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
- 2003 - Joe Foss, American politician and fighter pilot (b. 1915)
- 2005 - Shirley Chisholm, first black U.S. Congresswoman (b. 1924)
- 2005 - Hugh John Frederick Lawson, 6th Baron Burnham, British newspaperman and politician (b. 1931)
- 2005 - Bob Matsui, U.S. Congressman (b. 1941)
Holidays and observances
- The seventh day and eighth night of Christmas in Western Christianity.
- Many countries around the world using Gregorian Calendar - New Year's Day; often celebrated at 0:00 with fireworks.
- Catholicism - Holy Day of Obligation Octave of Christmas, Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God (New calendar).
- Catholicism - Feast of the Circumcision (Old calendar).
- Catholicism - National Migration Week begins (varying official support by the office of U.S. President, not strictly religious)
- Haiti Independence Day
- Taiwan Founding of Republic of China.
- Sudan Independence Day
- Cuba Liberation Day
- Slovakia: Establishment of Slovak Republic.
- Last day of Kwanzaa
- Vienna New Year's Concert
- Pasadena, California - The Tournament of Roses parade and, traditionally, the Rose Bowl football championship
- World Day for Prayer for Peace
External links
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/1 BBC: On This Day]
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December 31 - January 2 - December 1 - February 1 — listing of all days
ko:1월 1일
ms:1 Januari
ja:1月1日
simple:January 1
th:1 มกราคม
NationalisationNationalization or Nationalisation is the act of taking assets into state ownership. Usually it refers to private assets being nationalized, but sometimes it may be assets owned by other levels of government, such as municipalities. Similarly, the opposite of nationalization is usually privatization, but sometimes it may be municipalization. Nationalization that happens after a previous privatization is often called renationalization.
A key issue in nationalization is whether the private owner is properly compensated for the value of the institution. The most controversial nationalizations are those where no compensation is paid or an amount unreasonably below the likely market rate (expropriation). Many nationalizations through expropriation have come after revolutions, especially communist ones.
In some instances, nationalization occurs as the government seizes the corporate property of a criminal. An example is Renault, which was seized by the French government from its owners because they had collaborated with Nazi Germany.
The cost of legally buying a large business is such that many legal nationalizations have happened when firms of national importance run into trouble (close to bankruptcy), and could be acquired by the government for little or no money. A classic example is the UK nationalization in the 1970s of the car-maker British Leyland. At other times governments have felt it important to gain control of institutions and industries of strategic economic importance, such as banks or railways, or of important industries struggling economically. (The case of Rolls Royce plc, nationalised in 1971, is an interesting blend of these two arguments - see below). This policy was sometimes known as ensuring government control of the "commanding heights" of the economy, to enable it to manage the economy better in terms of long-term development and medium-term stability. The extent of this policy declined in the 1980s and 1990s as governments increasingly privatized industries that had been nationalized, replacing their strategic economic influence with use of the tax system and of interest rates.
Nonetheless, national and local government has seen the advantage of keeping key strategic assets in institutions that are not strongly profit driven, can raise funds outside the public-sector constraints, but retain some public accountability. Recent UK examples include the vesting of the UK rail track in a not-for profit company, and the divestment of much council housing stock to 'arms-length management companies', often with mutual status.
Notable nationalizations
- Britain - British Coal, British Gas, British Petroleum, British Rail, British Steel, British Leyland, British Airways, the Bank of England, and the telephones division of the Post Office (now British Telecom). All the aforementioned were privatized during the Conservative period in power from 1979 to 1997, except the Bank of England which remains state-owned, but semi-independent. Many - particularly British Steel and British Leyland - fared poorly whilst nationalized. Conversely, British Rail (broken up into multiple parts including train operators, train owners, and a track owner; the latter now effectively deprivatised as Network Rail after near-bankruptcy) fared poorly after privatization. Another example of a successful large nationalised utility was the CEGB, which was for a time the world's largest integrated electricity generator. Nationalisation was used by all political parties. In 1971 the Conservative government of Edward Heath nationalised the strategically-important aero-engine part of the recently-bankrupt Rolls Royce plc. (It is perhaps note-worthy that Rolls-Royce's Filton factory lay within the South Gloucestershire constituency of the then Minister for Aerospace, Frederick Corfield.)
- Canada - Canadian National Railways, created from several systems nation-wide following their bankruptcy during and after the First World War, and since privatized. Nationalization of electricity during the Quiet Revolution of Quebec, by minister René Lévesque and the Lesage government, to create Hydro-Quebec.There is talk of nationalizing the oil and gas industry thought this may lead to increased feelings of Alberta Separatism.
- United States - All U.S. railroads were nationalized as the United States Railroad Administration during World War I as a wartime measure but were returned to their private owers almost immediately after the war. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) was a government corporation created in 1971 for the express purpose of relieving American railroads of their legal obligation to provide intercity passenger service. They were trying to get out of this obligation anyway, but by taking over their passenger rail assets, Amtrak was able to keep the passenger trains running. In 1976 the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), another government corporation, was created to take over the operations of six bankrupt rail lines operating primarily in the Northeast U.S.; Conrail was privatized in 1987. Initial plans for Conrail would have made it a truly nationalized system like that during World War I, but an alternate proposal by the Association of American Railroads won out. Organization of the Tennessee Valley Authority entailed the nationalization of the facilities of the former Tennessee Electric Power Company in 1939. In 2001, in response to the September 11th attacks, the then-private airport security industry was nationalized and put under the authority of the Transportation Security Administration.
- Nationalization of the oil industry in numerous countries, including Libya, Kuwait, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
- Companies in Cuba after the 1959 revolution bringing Fidel Castro to power in which the assets of foreign (largely U.S.) companies were expropriated without compensation (the USA has long complained about these nationalizations).
- Zimbabwe's nationalization of its food distribution infrastructure.
- 1918, 1948. All manufacturing enterprises in the Soviet Union, in 1918, as well as in other countries of the Soviet bloc (for example, Czechoslovakia in 1948).
- 1918. Many retailing enterprises in the Soviet Union.
- 1944. Renault (seized from Louis Renault after WWII for his collaboration with Nazi Germany). Renault was successful whilst nationalised and remains successful today, after having been privatised in 1996.
- 1948. With the Decree 119 of june 1948 the new romanian communist regime nationalised all the existing private companies and their assests in Romania leading to the transformation of the Romanian economy from a free market economy to a centralised one.
- 1956. Under the presedential decree of 26th July 1956, The Egyptian President Gammal Abdel Nasser nationalised The Canal De Suez(Suez Canal) company. Such act led England, France and Israel to launch a combined attack on Egypt that was stopped by the US and the former Soviet Union.
- 1969. Nationalization of banks in India.
- 1982. The Paris business of M&A advisory firm Rothschild was nationalized and renamed.
- 2003. The Labour Government of New Zealand took an 80% stake in national air carrier Air New Zealand in exchange for a large financial infusion.
See also
- Privatization
- Reprivatization
- Public ownership
- Railway nationalization
Category:Macroeconomics
British Rail
British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the 'Big Four' British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997.
This period saw massive changes in the nature of the railway network: steam traction was eliminated in favour of diesel and electric power, passengers replaced freight as the main source of business, and the network was severely rationalised.
History
Background
The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping of 1923 by the Railways Act 1921 there were four large British railway companies, each dominating its own geographic area. These were the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR).
The London Underground and the Glasgow Subway were independent concerns and there was a small number of independent light railways and industrial railways, which did not contribute significant mileage to the system. Neither were non-railway-owned tramways considered part of the system.
During the Second World War the railways were taken into state control. They were heavily damaged by enemy action and were run down aiding the war effort.
Nationalisation
The Transport Act 1947 made provision for the nationalisation of the network, as part of a policy of nationalising public services by Clement Attlee's Labour Government. British Railways came into existence on 1 January 1948 with the merger of the Big Four, under the control of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC).
The Northern Counties Committee lines owned by the LMS in Northern Ireland were quickly sold to the Stormont Government, becoming part of the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1949.
British Railways
1949
The new system was split geographically into six regions along the lines of the Big Four:
- Eastern Region (ER) — southern LNER lines.
- North Eastern Region (NER) — northern LNER lines in England and all ex-LMS lines east of Skipton.
- London Midland Region (LMR) — LMS lines in England and Wales and most ex-LNER lines west of Skipton.
- Scottish Region — LMS and LNER lines in Scotland.
- Southern Region — SR lines.
- Western Region (WR) — GWR lines.
These regions would form the basis of the BR business structure until the 1980s. They retained a level of independence, though there was also some centralisation.
1955 Modernisation Plan
1980s]]
After the Second World War, Britain's railways fell behind others in the world. Countries like Japan, USA and France were experimenting with new diesels and electrics. However, Britain wasn't, and the run down network deteriorated even more because of painfully slow rebuilding. Finally, and lately, came the modernisation plan for Britain's railways. It cost the government much more than it should have, because of bad timing.
The 1955 Modernisation Plan, detailed in the British Transport Commission's (BTC) Modernisation and Re-equipment of British Railways, argued for spending £1,240 million over a period of 15 years. Services were to be made more attractive to passengers and freight operators, thus recovering traffic which was being lost to the roads. There were three important areas:
- Electrification of principal express routes, the Eastern Region of British Railways, Kent, Birmingham and Central Scotland,
- Large-scale introduction of diesel and electric traction with new coaching stock to replace steam locomotives
- Resignalling and track renewal
A government White Paper was produced in 1956, stating that modernisation would help eliminate BR's financial deficit by 1962.
However the modernisation plan failed to take into account the effect that mass road transport would have upon the traditional role of the railways, and as a result much money was wasted by heavy investment in things like marshalling yard | | |
