What Happened in 1947

Ford Pilot is First Produced

The Ford Pilot was a large car from Ford introduced in August 1947. It was effectively replaced in 1951 with the launch of Ford UK's Zephyr Six and... Read more

Ferrari Builds their First Road Car

The first Ferrari road car was the 1947 125 Sport, powered by a 1.5 L V12 engine; Enzo reluctantly built and sold his automobiles to fund the... Read more

Fidel Castro joins Partido Ortodoxo a Cuban political party

In 1947, Castro joined the Partido Ortodoxo which had been newly formed by Eduardo Chibás. A charismatic figure, Chibás attracted many Cubans with... Read more

Edward R. Murrow Fires William L. Shirer

The relationship between Murrow and Shirer ended in 1947 in one of the great confrontations of American broadcast journalism, when Shirer was fired... Read more

'Design For Death' is Released

An Academy Award winner for best documentary, the film opens with a notice that..."Exhibition of confiscated Japanese film material authorized by... Read more

Anne Frank's Diary is First Published in the Netherlands as Het Achterhuis

Otto Frank gave the diary to the historian Annie Romein-Verschoor, who tried unsuccessfully to have it published. She then gave it to her husband... Read more

Volvo PV444/544 is First Produced

The Volvo PV is a series of two door, four passenger car models — the PV444 and the PV544 — made by Volvo from 1947 to 1965. During World War II's... Read more

Jackie Robinson wins Rookie of Year Award for Major League Baseball

Jackie Robinson finished his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers with 12 home runs, a league-leading 29 steals, and a .297 average in 1947,... Read more

Freedom Riders

Jackie Robinson joins the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking the color barrier in major league baseball Read more

The Milch Trial: The United States of America vs. Erhard Milch

The Milch Trial (or officially, The United States of America vs. Erhard Milch) was the second of the twelve trials for war crimes the U.S.... Read more

Richard Nixon is Sworn into the House of Representatives

Soon after World War II ended, a group of Whittier Republicans approached Nixon about running for a seat in the United States House of... Read more

David Bowie is born

David Bowie born David Robert Hayward-Jones; 8 January 1947) is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. Active in five decades of... Read more

Al Capone Dies

After his release, Capone spent a short time in the hospital. He returned to his home in Palm Island where the rest of his life was relaxed and... Read more

"Odd Man Out" Is Released

Carol Reed's taut character study (disguised as a suspense melodrama) was adapted from the novel by F.L. Green and stars James Mason in his... Read more

The Judges' Trial (or the Justice Trial, or, officially, The United States of America vs. Josef Altstötter, et al.)

The Judges' Trial (or the Justice Trial, or, officially, The United States of America vs. Josef Altstötter, et al.) was the third of the twelve... Read more

Harry Truman Creates the Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine is a set of principles of U.S. inland policy created on March 12, 1947 by President Harry S Truman. In this, Truman declared... Read more

19th Academy Awards

The 19th Academy Awards continued a trend through the late-1940s of the Oscar voters honoring films about contemporary social issues. The Best... Read more

Holy Cross Beats Oklahoma in NCAA Men's Basketball Championship

The 1947 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 8 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of... Read more

Jimmy Demaret wins the 11th Masters Tournament

Demaret won by posting sub-par scores in all four rounds, and he was the first golfer to do that in The Masters. He finished at 7-under 281, two... Read more

Henry Ford Dies

Henry Ford, noted automotive pioneer, died at 11:40 tonight at the age of 83. He had retired a little more than a year and a half ago from active... Read more

The Pohl Trial (or WVHA Trial, or, officially, The United States of America vs. Oswald Pohl, et al.)

The Pohl Trial (or WVHA Trial, or, officially, The United States of America vs. Oswald Pohl, et al.) was the fourth of the twelve trials for war... Read more

Glazier–Higgins–Woodward Tornadoes of 1947

The tornadoes began in Texas. Just after the White Deer tornado dissipated, the first tornado of this event formed five miles (8 km) northwest of... Read more

"Monsieur Verdoux" Is Released

Monsieur Verdoux is a 1947 black comedy film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin. The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux,... Read more

"Monsieur Verdoux" (film) is Released

Monsieur Verdoux is a 1947 black comedy film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin. The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux,... Read more

Jackie Robinson plays in first game as a major leaguer with Brooklyn Dodgers

In his first season, with Eddie Stanky entrenched at second base for the Dodgers, Robinson was forced to play first base. On April 15, 1947... Read more