January–
February –
Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in the 20th century causes extensive disruption of travel.[1] Given the low ratio of private vehicle ownership at the time, it is mainly remembered in terms of its effects on the railway network.[2]
January 15 – Elizabeth Short, an aspiring actress nicknamed the "
Black Dahlia", is found brutally murdered in a vacant lot in Los Angeles; the mysterious case is never solved.
John C. Hennessy, Jr. brings the first
Volkswagen Beetle to the United States. He purchased the 1946 automobile from the U.S. Army Post Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, while serving in the U.S. Army. The Beetle is shipped from Bremerhaven, arriving in New York this day.[9]
German rocket scientist
Wernher von Braun marries his first cousin, 18-year-old Maria von Quirstorp.
March 4 – The
Treaty of Dunkirk (effective September 8) is signed between the United Kingdom and France, providing for mutual assistance in the event of attack.
American financier and presidential adviser
Bernard Baruch describes the post–World War II tensions between the
Soviet Union and the United States as a "
Cold War".
The British
Royal Navy detonates 6,800 tons of explosives, in an attempt to demolish the fortified island of
Heligoland, Germany, in another of the largest man-made non-nuclear explosions in history.[16]
The
Cold War begins: To fight the spread of
Communism, President
Harry S. Truman signs an Act of Congress that implements the
Truman Doctrine. This Act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to
Turkey and Greece. The Cold War
ends in
1991.
David Lean's film Great Expectations, based on the novel by
Charles Dickens, opens in the United States. Critics call it the finest film ever made from a Charles Dickens novel.
Douglas DC-4Mainliner Lake Tahoe, operating as
United Airlines Flight 521, fails to become airborne while attempting to take off from
LaGuardia Airport in
New York City, runs off the end of the runway, and slams into an embankment, killing 42 of the 48 people on board in the worst aviation disaster in American history until the following day.
After being shut down on November 9, 1946, for a refurbishment, the
ENIAC computer in the United States is turned back on again, and remains in continuous operation until October 2, 1955.
August 2 –
1947 BSAA Avro Lancastrian Star Dust accident: A British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian airliner crashes into a mountain during a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile (the wreckage will not be found until 1998).
Thor Heyerdahl's
balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the
reef at
Raroia in the
Tuamotu Islands, after a 101-day, 4,300 mile, voyage across the Eastern Pacific Ocean, demonstrating that prehistoric peoples could have traveled to the Central Pacific islands from South America.
The Muslim majority regions formed by the
Partition of India gain independence from the
British Empire as the
Dominion of Pakistan. While the transition is officially at midnight on this day, Pakistan celebrates its independence on August 14, compared with India on the 15th, because the
Pakistan Standard Time is 30 minutes behind the standard time of India.
The greater Indian subcontinent, with a mixed population of
Hindu,
Sikhs,
Buddhists,
Jains,
Zoroasters,
Jews,
Christians,
Muslims and others formed by the
Partition of India, gains independence from the British Empire, as the
Dominion of India. (1192-1757) 565 years of Muslim rule & British rule of (1757-1947) 190 years so, 565+190=755 years of foreign rule ends.
A moth lodged in a
relay is found to be the cause of a malfunction in the
Harvard Mark II electromechanical computer, logged as the "First actual case of
bug being found."[22][23]
October 20 – A war begins in
Kashmir, along the border between India and Pakistan, initiating the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948. Also, Pakistan establishes diplomatic relations with the United States of America.
The Soviet Union completes development of the
AK-47 assault rifle; it will be adopted by the Soviet Army in 1949 and become the most produced assault rifle in history.
November 21 – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment begins in
Havana, Cuba. This conference ends in 1948, when its members complete the
Havana Charter.
Arturo Toscanini conducts a concert performance of the first half of
Giuseppe Verdi's opera Otello, for a broadcast on
NBC Radio in the United States. The second half of the opera is broadcast a week later.[32]
^Wellens, Karel (1990). Resolutions and statements of the United Nations Security Council (1946-1989) : a thematic guide. Dordrecht Boston: M. Nijhoff. p. 19.
ISBN9780792307969.
^Sfikas, Thanasis (1994). The British Labour government and the Greek Civil War 1945-1949 : the imperialism of "non-intervention. Keele, Staffordshire: Ryburn Publishing Keele University Press. p. 136.
ISBN9781853310485.
^Copies of the bill of sale, as well as the shipping documents, and a letter from the Port of New York confirming the arrival of the VW, can be found in Hennessy's book The Bride and the Beetle.
^Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 396–397.
ISBN0-7126-5616-2.
^Cullingham, G. G. (November 2012).
"The Floods of 1947". Histories of Windsor. The Royal Windsor Web Site. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
^Ritsema, Alex (2007). Heligoland, Past and Present. City: Gardners Books. p. 101.
ISBN9781847531902.
^Steinberg, S. H. (1961). The statesman's year-book : statistical and historical annual of the states of the world for the year 1961. London New York: Macmillan St. Martin's Press. p. 942.
ISBN9780230270909.
^"The last emperor". The Economist. February 4, 1999. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
^Frieser, Karl-Heinz (2017). The Eastern Front, 1943-1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 791.
ISBN978-0-19872-346-2.
^"Kim Campbell". Britannica Presents 100 Women Trailblazers. February 25, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
^Hough, G. L. (1989). Chambers dates. Edinburgh: Chambers. p. 65.
ISBN9780550118318.
^Gillett, Charlie.
"Ry Cooder". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
^Paul T. Hellmann (2006). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Taylor & Francis. p. 152.
^Kurt Wolff (2000). Country Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. p. 407.
ISBN9781858285344.
^Dave Mote, ed. (1997). Contemporary Popular Writers. St. James Press. p. 313.
ISBN9781558622166.
^B. Turner, ed. (2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2008: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 995.
ISBN9781349740246.
^Bussy, Pascal (2005). Kraftwerk : man, machine and music. London: SAF. p. 18.
ISBN9780946719709.
^Kjetil Andre Aamodt; Laura Flessel-Colovic (2010). Great Athletes: Olympic sports. Vol. 1. Salem Press. p. 156.
^Schoeman, Chris (2007). Legends of the ball : rugby's greatest players chosen by Willie John McBride, Frik du Preez, David Compese. ColesbergSouth Africa: CJS Books. p. 112.
ISBN9780620369626.
^Turner, Barry (2011). The statesman's yearbook : the politics, cultures and economies of the world. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 170.
ISBN9781349590513.
^Leonida Loghin, Aurel Lupășteanu, Constantin Ucrain, Bărbați ai datoriei: 23 august 1944 – 12 mai 1945. Mic dicționar,
Editura Militară, București, 1985, p. 369.
January–
February –
Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in the 20th century causes extensive disruption of travel.[1] Given the low ratio of private vehicle ownership at the time, it is mainly remembered in terms of its effects on the railway network.[2]
January 15 – Elizabeth Short, an aspiring actress nicknamed the "
Black Dahlia", is found brutally murdered in a vacant lot in Los Angeles; the mysterious case is never solved.
John C. Hennessy, Jr. brings the first
Volkswagen Beetle to the United States. He purchased the 1946 automobile from the U.S. Army Post Exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, while serving in the U.S. Army. The Beetle is shipped from Bremerhaven, arriving in New York this day.[9]
German rocket scientist
Wernher von Braun marries his first cousin, 18-year-old Maria von Quirstorp.
March 4 – The
Treaty of Dunkirk (effective September 8) is signed between the United Kingdom and France, providing for mutual assistance in the event of attack.
American financier and presidential adviser
Bernard Baruch describes the post–World War II tensions between the
Soviet Union and the United States as a "
Cold War".
The British
Royal Navy detonates 6,800 tons of explosives, in an attempt to demolish the fortified island of
Heligoland, Germany, in another of the largest man-made non-nuclear explosions in history.[16]
The
Cold War begins: To fight the spread of
Communism, President
Harry S. Truman signs an Act of Congress that implements the
Truman Doctrine. This Act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to
Turkey and Greece. The Cold War
ends in
1991.
David Lean's film Great Expectations, based on the novel by
Charles Dickens, opens in the United States. Critics call it the finest film ever made from a Charles Dickens novel.
Douglas DC-4Mainliner Lake Tahoe, operating as
United Airlines Flight 521, fails to become airborne while attempting to take off from
LaGuardia Airport in
New York City, runs off the end of the runway, and slams into an embankment, killing 42 of the 48 people on board in the worst aviation disaster in American history until the following day.
After being shut down on November 9, 1946, for a refurbishment, the
ENIAC computer in the United States is turned back on again, and remains in continuous operation until October 2, 1955.
August 2 –
1947 BSAA Avro Lancastrian Star Dust accident: A British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian airliner crashes into a mountain during a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile (the wreckage will not be found until 1998).
Thor Heyerdahl's
balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the
reef at
Raroia in the
Tuamotu Islands, after a 101-day, 4,300 mile, voyage across the Eastern Pacific Ocean, demonstrating that prehistoric peoples could have traveled to the Central Pacific islands from South America.
The Muslim majority regions formed by the
Partition of India gain independence from the
British Empire as the
Dominion of Pakistan. While the transition is officially at midnight on this day, Pakistan celebrates its independence on August 14, compared with India on the 15th, because the
Pakistan Standard Time is 30 minutes behind the standard time of India.
The greater Indian subcontinent, with a mixed population of
Hindu,
Sikhs,
Buddhists,
Jains,
Zoroasters,
Jews,
Christians,
Muslims and others formed by the
Partition of India, gains independence from the British Empire, as the
Dominion of India. (1192-1757) 565 years of Muslim rule & British rule of (1757-1947) 190 years so, 565+190=755 years of foreign rule ends.
A moth lodged in a
relay is found to be the cause of a malfunction in the
Harvard Mark II electromechanical computer, logged as the "First actual case of
bug being found."[22][23]
October 20 – A war begins in
Kashmir, along the border between India and Pakistan, initiating the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948. Also, Pakistan establishes diplomatic relations with the United States of America.
The Soviet Union completes development of the
AK-47 assault rifle; it will be adopted by the Soviet Army in 1949 and become the most produced assault rifle in history.
November 21 – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment begins in
Havana, Cuba. This conference ends in 1948, when its members complete the
Havana Charter.
Arturo Toscanini conducts a concert performance of the first half of
Giuseppe Verdi's opera Otello, for a broadcast on
NBC Radio in the United States. The second half of the opera is broadcast a week later.[32]
^Wellens, Karel (1990). Resolutions and statements of the United Nations Security Council (1946-1989) : a thematic guide. Dordrecht Boston: M. Nijhoff. p. 19.
ISBN9780792307969.
^Sfikas, Thanasis (1994). The British Labour government and the Greek Civil War 1945-1949 : the imperialism of "non-intervention. Keele, Staffordshire: Ryburn Publishing Keele University Press. p. 136.
ISBN9781853310485.
^Copies of the bill of sale, as well as the shipping documents, and a letter from the Port of New York confirming the arrival of the VW, can be found in Hennessy's book The Bride and the Beetle.
^Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 396–397.
ISBN0-7126-5616-2.
^Cullingham, G. G. (November 2012).
"The Floods of 1947". Histories of Windsor. The Royal Windsor Web Site. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
^Ritsema, Alex (2007). Heligoland, Past and Present. City: Gardners Books. p. 101.
ISBN9781847531902.
^Steinberg, S. H. (1961). The statesman's year-book : statistical and historical annual of the states of the world for the year 1961. London New York: Macmillan St. Martin's Press. p. 942.
ISBN9780230270909.
^"The last emperor". The Economist. February 4, 1999. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
^Frieser, Karl-Heinz (2017). The Eastern Front, 1943-1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 791.
ISBN978-0-19872-346-2.
^"Kim Campbell". Britannica Presents 100 Women Trailblazers. February 25, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
^Hough, G. L. (1989). Chambers dates. Edinburgh: Chambers. p. 65.
ISBN9780550118318.
^Gillett, Charlie.
"Ry Cooder". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
^Paul T. Hellmann (2006). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Taylor & Francis. p. 152.
^Kurt Wolff (2000). Country Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. p. 407.
ISBN9781858285344.
^Dave Mote, ed. (1997). Contemporary Popular Writers. St. James Press. p. 313.
ISBN9781558622166.
^B. Turner, ed. (2017). The Statesman's Yearbook 2008: The Politics, Cultures and Economies of the World. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 995.
ISBN9781349740246.
^Bussy, Pascal (2005). Kraftwerk : man, machine and music. London: SAF. p. 18.
ISBN9780946719709.
^Kjetil Andre Aamodt; Laura Flessel-Colovic (2010). Great Athletes: Olympic sports. Vol. 1. Salem Press. p. 156.
^Schoeman, Chris (2007). Legends of the ball : rugby's greatest players chosen by Willie John McBride, Frik du Preez, David Compese. ColesbergSouth Africa: CJS Books. p. 112.
ISBN9780620369626.
^Turner, Barry (2011). The statesman's yearbook : the politics, cultures and economies of the world. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 170.
ISBN9781349590513.
^Leonida Loghin, Aurel Lupășteanu, Constantin Ucrain, Bărbați ai datoriei: 23 august 1944 – 12 mai 1945. Mic dicționar,
Editura Militară, București, 1985, p. 369.