September 1948

• A parliamentary assembly tasked with writing a provisional constitution for western Germany formally convened at Bonn. Christian Democratic leader Konrad Adenauer was elected Assembly President.{{cite journal |last=Raymond |first=Jack |date=September 2, 1948 |title=Germans Organize Assembly In West |journal=The New York Times |page= 8 }}
• 44 people, most of them circus performers, as well as an assortment of circus animals drowned off the coast of Colombia in the sinking of the Honduran ship Euzkera. 12 survived.{{cite journal |date=September 9, 1948 |title=44 Persons Missing in Circus Ship Sunk in Caribbean With Animals |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• A German appeals court acquitted Hjalmar Schacht of charges that he had been a major Nazi offender and ordered him released from prison.{{cite journal |date=September 2, 1948 |title=Schacht Cleared On Nazi Charge |journal=San Bernardino Sun |page= 6 }}
• Born: James Rebhorn, actor, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2014)
• Died: Muhammad VII al-Munsif, 67, ruler of Tunisia 1942–43

• 1948 Australian National Airways DC-3 crash: The Douglas DC-3 Lutana crashed en route from Brisbane to Sydney, killing all 13 on board.
• The Longshore strike began on the west coast of the United States.
• Andrei Zhdanov was buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis after a state funeral in which Joseph Stalin served as a pallbearer.{{cite journal |date=September 2, 1948 |title=Zhdanov Given Red State Funeral |journal=The Pittsburgh Press |page= 5 }}
• Born: Nate Archibald, basketball player, in New York City; Terry Bradshaw, American football quarterback and TV sports analyst, in Shreveport, Louisiana; Christa McAuliffe, teacher and astronaut, in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1986)
• Died: Tancred Borenius, 63, Finnish art historian and diplomat; Sylvanus Morley, 65, American archaeologist, scholar and World War I spy

• The World Council of Churches called on its 150 member bodies to denounce anti-Semitism as "absolutely irreconcilable with the profession and practice of the Christian faith" and a "sin against God and man."{{cite journal |last=Dugan |first=George |date=September 4, 1948 |title=Christians Aks End of Anti-Semitism |journal=The New York Times |page= 16 }}
• Born: Don Brewer, drummer of the rock band Grand Funk Railroad, in Flint, Michigan; Levy Mwanawasa, 3rd President of Zambia, in Mufulira, Zambia (d. 2008)
• Died: Edvard Beneš, 64, Czech politician and two-time President of Czechoslovakia; Evan Durbin, 42, British economist and politician (drowned)

• Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicated the Dutch throne in favor of her daughter Juliana.{{cite journal |last=Anderson |first=David |date=September 5, 1948 |title=Wilhelmina Gives Rule to Daughter |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• Born: Michael Berryman, actor, in Los Angeles, California

• Robert Schuman became Prime Minister of France for the second time.
• Shannon's Way by A. J. Cronin topped The New York Times Fiction Best Seller list.
• Born: Benita Ferrero-Waldner, diplomat and politician, in Salzburg, Austria
• Died: Richard C. Tolman, 67, American mathematical physicist and physical chemist

• Juliana was sworn in as Queen of the Netherlands in a forty-five minute ceremony attended by many royal guests including Prince Gustav Adolf and Princess Louise of Sweden, Prince Olaf and Princess Märtha of Norway, Prince Axel and Princess Margaretha of Denmark and Princess Margaret of Britain.{{cite journal |last=Anderson |first=David |date=September 7, 1948 |title=Juliana Takes Oath as Queen; First Act Is to Honor Mother |journal=The New York Times |page= 1,3 }}
• The New York Board of Rabbis cabled Motion Picture Association of America President Eric Johnston asking him to "do everything possible" to keep the British film Oliver Twist out of the United States as a "vehicle of blatant anti-Semitism."{{cite journal |date=September 10, 1948 |title=Johnston Answera Rabbis on Protest |journal=The New York Times |page= 19 }} The film would not be screened in the US until 1951.
• The musical drama film The Red Shoes starring the ballet dancer Moira Shearer premiered in the United Kingdom.
• Born: Samuel Hui, singer, in Xiguan, China

• The government of French Prime Minister Robert Schuman was toppled after just two days in power when it lost a narrow confidence vote in the National Assembly, 295 to 289.{{cite journal |last=Warren |first=Lansing |date=September 8, 1948 |title=Schuman Cabinet Falls, 295 to 289, Accenting Crisis |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• Born: Susan Blakely, actress and model, in Frankfurt, Germany

• White supremacist Herman Talmadge won the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary, defeating the incumbent Governor Melvin E. Thompson.{{cite journal |date=September 10, 1948 |title=Talmadge Victor in Georgia Voting |journal=The New York Times |page= 18 }}
• The flag of North Korea was adopted.
• Born: The Great Kabuki, professional wrestler, as Akihisa Mera in Nobeoka, Japan

• The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was founded with Kim Il Sung as the country's first Premier.
• Rex Barney of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the New York Giants on a rainy night at the Polo Grounds. It would be the last no-hitter ever recorded at that storied ballpark.{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/f0e1d9d4 |title=Rex Barney |last=Harrison |first=Don |website=Society for American Baseball Research |accessdate=May 20, 2018 }}

• US President Harry S. Truman's name was knocked off the Louisiana ballot, leaving him to be only a write-in candidate there in the November election. The Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee declared that the States' Rights Democratic Party candidates Strom Thurmond and Fielding L. Wright were the Democratic party nominees in the state.{{cite journal |date=September 11, 1948 |title=Louisiana Strikes Truman Off Ballot |journal=New York Times |page= 1 }}
• Henry A. Wallace spoke in front of 48,000 supporters in Yankee Stadium, declaring that "Mr. Truman has demonstrated that he could not fill the shoes of Roosevelt," and that Wall Street corporations were keeping the South divided to multiply their profits.{{cite journal |date=September 11, 1948 |title=Wallace Charges 'Fascism' As 48,000 Cheer at Rally |journal=The Pittsburgh Press |page= 2 }}
• Lester B. Pearson became Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs.
• Born: Stanisław Flejterski, Polish economist and professor; Judy Geeson, actress, in Arundel, England; Bob Lanier, basketball player, in Buffalo, New York (d. 2022); Margaret Trudeau, author, actress, social advocate and wife of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, in Vancouver, British Columbia; Charlie Waters, American football player and coach, in Miami, Florida
• Died: Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, 87, ruler of Bulgaria 1887–1918

• Henri Queuille became Prime Minister of France.
• Miss Minnesota BeBe Shopp was crowned Miss America 1948.
• Born: John Martyn, folk singer and songwriter, in New Malden, England (d. 2009)
• Died: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, 71, lawyer, politician and 1st Governor-General of Pakistan

• The Liaoshen Campaign began in the Chinese Civil War.
• Died: Rupert D'Oyly Carte, 71, English hotelier, theatre owner and impresario

• The Indian integration of Hyderabad began when the Indian Armed Forces invaded the State of Hyderabad.
• The Boeing strike of 1948 ended after almost five months when the Union members reluctantly went back to work.
• Born: Nell Carter, singer and actress, in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2003); Sitiveni Rabuka, 3rd Prime Minister of Fiji, in Cakaudrove, Fiji
• Died: Paul Wegener, 73, German actor, writer and film director

• Forty American soldiers were killed in a train collision 20 miles north of Daejon, South Korea.{{cite journal |date=September 15, 1948 |title=40 GIs in Korea Dead in Rail Crash |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}

• US Air Force Major Richard L. Johnson established a new flight airspeed record flying an F-86 670.981 miles per hour.{{cite book |last=Boyne |first=Walter J. |date=2007 |title=Beyond the Wild Blue: A History of the U.S. Air Force, 1947-2007 |url=https://archive.org/details/beyondwildbluehi0000boyn|url-access=registration |publisher=St. Martin's Press |page=464 |isbn=9781429901802 }}
• A general election was held in Southern Rhodesia. Prime Minister Godfrey Huggins regained the overall majority he had lost in the 1946 election.
• Born: Jerry Korab, ice hockey player, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

• The Battle of Jinan began in the Chinese Civil War.
• CIO International Fur Workers Union President Ben Gold confirmed he was a member of the Communist Party during testimony before a House Labor subcommittee.{{cite journal |date=September 16, 1948 |title=Union Head Admits He's Communist |journal=The Pittsburgh Press |page= 1 }}
• Born:
• Ron Blair, bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in San Diego, California
• Julia Donaldson, British children’s book author, in Hampstead, Londonhttps://www.encyclopedia.com/children/scholarly-magazines/donaldson-julia-1948

• Diplomat Folke Bernadotte was assassinated in Jerusalem when members of the Jewish Zionist group Lehi opened fire on a UN convoy. Bernadotte and French UN observer André Serot were transported to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus but were found to have died instantly.{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-assassination-of-count-bernadotte |title=The Assassination of Count Bernadotte |website=Jewish Virtual Library |accessdate=May 20, 2018 }}
• Penalty flags were used in an NFL game for the first time, in a game between the Green Bay Packers and Boston Yanks.
• Born: John Ritter, actor and comedian, in Burbank, California (d. 2003)
• Died:
• Ruth Benedict, 61, American anthropologist and folklorist
• Folke Bernadotte, 53, Swedish diplomat and nobleman (assassinated by members of Lehi)
• Emil Ludwig, 67, German-Swiss author; André Serot, 52, French military officer (killed in the Bernadotte assassination)

• 200 arrests were made in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in connection with the assassination of Count Bernadotte.{{cite journal |last=Meltzer |first=Julian Louis |date=September 19, 1948 |title=Jerusalem Sealed |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• The Indian integration of Hyderabad was completed.
• The armed conflict known as the Madiun Affair between the Indonesian government and the left-wing People's Democratic Front began in Madiun, East Java.
• The Western film Rachel and the Stranger starring Loretta Young, William Holden and Robert Mitchum premiered in New York City.

• General elections were held in Sweden. The Swedish Social Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Tage Erlander lost 3 seats but remained the largest party.
• The Soviet Union published a statement announcing that it would withdraw all Soviet troops from North Korea by the end of the year and expressing its hope that the United States would do likewise to the American troops in South Korea.{{cite book |last=Wainstock |first=Dennis |date=1999 |title=Truman, MacArthur and the Korean War |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=6 |isbn=9780313308376 }}{{cite book |last=Strong |first=Anna Louise |date=1949 |title=In North Korea: First Eye-Witness Report |location=New York |publisher=Soviet Russia Today |page=47 }}
• Born: Jeremy Irons, actor, in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England; Nadiya Tkachenko, pentathlete, in Kremenchuk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union

• The Israeli government enacted emergency anti-terrorist legislation, allowing for imprisonment of 5 to 25 years for taking an active part in terrorist acts and 1 to 5 years for membership in a terrorist organization.{{cite journal |last=Meltzer |first=Julian Louis |date=September 21, 1948 |title=Terror Penalties Enacted By Israel |journal=The New York Times |page= 7 }}
• Count Bernadotte's final report to the United Nations was published posthumously. It called for recognition of Israel but advocated transfer of the Negev area to Arabs, incorporation of all of Galilee into Israel and placing Jerusalem under UN control.{{cite journal |last=Brewer |first=Sam Pope |date=September 21, 1948 |title=Final Report Filed |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• Born: Rey Langit, journalist, in Pampanga, Philippines; George R. R. Martin, novelist, in Bayonne, New Jersey; Adrian Piper, conceptual artist, in New York City
• Died: Husain Salaahuddin, 67, Maldivian writer and scholar

• In Paris, H. V. Evatt was elected President of the United Nations General Assembly in the first UN session ever held in Europe.{{cite journal |last=Hamilton |first=Thomas J. |date=September 22, 1948 |title=Evatt Heads U. N. Assembly; West-Soviet Clash Is Looming |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• The Irgun dissolved and handed over its arms to the Israeli government in response to an ultimatum to either disband or be labeled a terrorist organization.{{cite journal |last=Meltzer |first=Julian Louis |date=September 22, 1948 |title=Irgunists Disband, Join Israeli Army |journal=The New York Times |pages= 1, 3 }}
• Marcel Cerdan knocked out Tony Zale in the 12th round at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey to win the world middleweight boxing title.{{cite journal |date=September 22, 1948 |title=Cerdan Wins Title, Knocking Out Zale |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• Born: Aurelio López, baseball player, in Tecamachalco, Puebla, Mexico (d. 1992)

• As a last-ditch effort to settle the Berlin dispute in a framework of four-party talks, identical notes from Britain, the United States and France were dispatched to the Soviet Union demanding a clear-cut statement on Soviet intentions.{{cite journal |last=Callender |first=Harold |date=September 23, 1948 |title=Notes Go to Soviet |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• Born: Denis Burke, politician, in Queensland, Australia; Jim Byrnes, blues musician and actor, in St. Louis, Missouri; Mark Phillips, horseman and first husband of Anne, Princess Royal, in Tetbury, England
• Died: Prince Adalbert of Prussia, 64, third son of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany

• 12,000 people attended a rally of the American Communist Party at Madison Square Garden.{{cite journal |date=September 24, 1948 |title=Red Rally Scores 'Fascists' Attack |journal=The New York Times |page= 52 }}
• Died: Shafiq Ades, 47 or 48, Iraqi-Jewish businessman (hanged after a show trial)

• In Washington, "Axis Sally" Mildred Gillars pleaded not guilty to charges of broadcasting wartime Nazi propaganda.{{cite journal |date=September 25, 1948 |title=Trial of 'Axis Sally' Set |journal=The New York Times |page= 8 }}
• The Battle of Jinan ended in Communist victory.
• The Israeli Air Force launched Operation Velvetta, a secret mission to transport Supermarine Spitfires purchased in Czechoslovakia to Israel.
• The Louisiana House of Representatives voted for a legislative compromise that would allow President Truman's name to be listed on the state's general ballot in the November election, but not as a Democratic candidate.{{cite journal |date=September 24, 1948 |title=Truman Said Near To Ballot Spot In Louisiana |journal=Presscott Evening Courier |location=Prescott, AZ |page= 1 }}
• African-American actor Rex Ingram was arrested on charges of violating the Mann Act with a 15-year old white girl from Kansas.{{cite journal |date=September 24, 1948 |title=Actor Arrested On Girl Charge |journal=The Pittsburgh Press |page= 1 }}
• Born: Phil Hartman, actor and comedian, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada (d. 1998)
• Died: Warren William, 53, American actor

• At a United Nations address in Paris, Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Vyshinsky called upon the five great powers to reduce their armed forces by one-third as a first step toward disarmament.{{cite journal |last=Hamilton |first=Thomas J. |date=September 26, 1948 |title=Russian Spurs U. N. |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• Born: Vladimir Yevtushenkov, business oligarch, in Smolensk, USSR

• Through an authorized broadcast on TASS, the Soviet Union replied to the three-power note on Berlin by naming its price for settlement of the dispute: control of all land and air traffic between Berlin and western Germany.{{cite journal |date=September 26, 1948 |title=Air Control Asked |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }} The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain and France replied that further negotiations were impossible and that they intended to refer the matter to the UN Security Council.{{cite journal |last=Callender |first=Harold |date=September 27, 1948 |title=Direct Talks End |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• The Boston Braves clinched their first National League pennant since 1914 when they edged the New York Giants 3-2.{{cite journal |last=Burns |first=Edward |date=September 27, 1948 |title=Braves Win Title; Indians Take A.L. Lead |journal=Chicago Daily Tribune |location=Chicago |page=Part 3, p. 1 }}
• Born: Olivia Newton-John, British-Australian singer, actress and activist, in Cambridge, England (d. 2022)

• 800 people were killed by a typhoon in and around the Leizhou Peninsula in southern China.{{cite journal |date=October 6, 1948 |title=Okinawa Struck By Typhoon |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2769313 |journal=The Canberra Times |page= 1 }}
• Pope Pius XII issued Bis saeculari, an apostolic constitution on the Sodality of Our Lady, to mark the 200th anniversary of the Papal Bull Gloriosae Dominae by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748.
• The novel Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner was published.{{cite book |last=Faulkner |first=William |date=2011 |title=Intruder in the Dust |publisher=Random House |page=244 |isbn=9780679736516 }}
• Born: Michele Dotrice, actress, in Cleethorpes, England; A Martinez, actor and singer, as Adolfo Martinez III in Glendale, California

• Defense Ministers of Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg announced from Paris an agreement to establish a permanent common defense organization for Western Europe.{{cite journal |last=Warren |first=Lansing |date=September 29, 1948 |title=Defense Objective |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• Died: Gregg Toland, 44, American cinematographer (coronary thrombosis)

• The United States, Britain and France delivered identical notes to UN Secretary General Trygve Lie accusing the USSR of violating Article 2 of the United Nations Charter in which all members pledge to settle their international disputes "by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered."{{cite journal |last=Hamilton |first=Thomas J. |date=September 30, 1948 |title=Notes Given to Lie |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• The United States Atomic Energy Commission barred the labor unions United Public Workers of America and United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America from nuclear energy plants because of suspected Communist affiliation.{{cite journal |last=Stark |first=Louis |date=September 30, 1948 |title=Lilienthal Orders 2 Unions Barred at Atomic Plants |journal=The New York Times |page= 1 }}
• KXAS-TV in Dallas–Fort Worth signed on as the first television station in the state of Texas.
• Born: Mark Farner, lead singer and guitarist of Grand Funk Railroad, in Flint, Michigan; Bryant Gumbel, television journalist and sportscaster, in New Orleans, Louisiana; Theo Jörgensmann, jazz clarinetist, in Bottrop, Germany

• Berlin Communists moved into the official chambers of the elected City Assembly in the Soviet zone and conducted business there over the protests of the regular City Assembly.{{cite journal |last=Morrow |first=Edward A. |date=October 1, 1948 |title=Leftists Take Over Chamber In Berlin |journal=The New York Times |page= 2 }}
• Died: Edith Roosevelt, 87, First Lady of the United States 1901–09

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Events by month links}}

1948

*1948-09