1948 Slowly the fashions were becoming more daring with the Bikini gaining in popularity slowly and the first prefab post war housing to solve housing shortages were starting to appear both in Europe and the USA as they could be built quickly to accommodate the growing need and were cheap to build and for people to buy , the quality was not great but they did enable the baby boom after the war years by providing young couples with a home to start their family. In Europe the cold war took a new turn when the Soviet Union blockaded West Berlin in Germany and the US countered with an 11 month airlift of food and supplies. Also due to demand and inflationary pressure prices rose and many believed that governments should bring back some price controls. And Televisions are appearing in more and more homes.
Cost Of Living, - Other News, Facts and Events, - Movies, TV and Music, - Technology, - Born This Year, World Leaders,
How Much things cost in 1948
Yearly Inflation U.S.A. 7.74% UK 6.6%
Average Cost of new house $7,700.00
Average wages per year $2,950.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas 16 cents
Average Cost of a new car $1,250.00
Loaf of Bread 14 cents
LB of Hamburger Meat 45 cents
Science and Mechanics Magazine 20 cents
Movie Ticket 60 Cents
Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling
Average House Price 1,751
What Events Happened in 1948
UK- Nationalisation of UK railways to form British Railways
- Indian pacifist and leader Mahatma Gandhi is murdered on 26th January by a Hindu extremist
- Israel is declared as an independent state.
- The Land Rover Series I is shown for the first time at the Amsterdam Car Show
- Western European Treaty is signed
- The Foreign Assistance Act ( The Marshall Plan ) is agreed to provide more than $13 billion in aid to war torn Europe between 1948 and 1951
- The UN creates the WHO World Health Organization
- The United Nations General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration on Human Rights
- British National Health Service Act creating the NHS Created
- India attacks the Pakistan City of Hyderabad
- Instances of Polio ( Infantile Paralysis ) increase around the world.
- The United States and Great Britain begins a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine on June 26th to the citizens of West Berlin following the Soviet Blockade.
- Burma Gains Independence
- Holden cars starts manufacture in Australian
- NASCAR holds its first race for modified stock cars at Daytona Beach
- Earthquake in Turkmenistan USSR Kills 110,000
- 6.7 magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador in the Andes creating landslides burying 100,000 homes
- Sri Lanka Gains Independence From Great Britain
- The National Party of the Dutch Afrikaners begins the policy of apartheid in South Africa
- The vSummer Olympics are held in London, England
- The Winter Olympic Games are held in St. Moritz, Switzerland
Technology
- Porsche is founded
- 1 million households own Televisions was 5,000 just 3 years earlier
Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country ( or attributed to First Use ) 1948
Random Access Storage Device For Computer England by Freddie William's team
Long Playing Record USA made of vinyl and played at 33 rpm
Velcro Switzerland by George deMestral
Transistor Radio USA from Bell Laboratories
Popular Culture
The game of Scrabble is introduced by James Brunot ( was an earlier invention by Alfred Butts in the 30's ) they saw the game when called Lexiko and started making it in their home and changed the name to Scrabble- FILM The Red Shoes
- FILM The Road to Rio
- FILM Easter Parade
- Musical South Pacific Opens on Broadway
Born This Year 1948
John Ritter News And Events From September 17thJohnny RamoneNews And Events From October 8th
Rick Parfitt More What Happened on October 12th
Chris de BurghThis Day In History October 15th
Glenn FreyMore What Happened on November 6th
Prince CharlesThis Day In History November 14th
Alice Cooper February 4th -- Allen Park, Michigan, U.S.
Al Gore March 31st -- Washington, D.C., U.S.
Samuel L. Jackson December 21st -- Washington, D.C., U.S.
Jean-Michel Jarre August 24th -- Lyon, France
Samuel L. Jackson December 21st -- Washington, D.C., U.S.
Andrew Lloyd Webber March 22nd -- Kensington, London, England
Olivia Newton-John September 26th -- Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Ozzy Osbourne December 3rd -- Aston, Birmingham, West Midlands, England
Terry Pratchett April 28th -- Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England
Donna Summer December 31st -- Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
James Taylor March 12th -- Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Major World Political Leaders 1948
Australia Prime Minister Ben ChifleyBrazil President Gaspar Dutra
Canada Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King till November 15
Canada Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent from November 15,
France Prime Minister Vincent Auriol From 16 January
India Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru From 15 August
Italy Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi
Japan Prime Minister Tetsu Katayama Till 10 March
Japan Prime Minister Hitoshi Ashida From 10 March
Japan Prime Minister Hitoshi Ashida Till 15 October
Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida From 15 October
Mexico President Miguel Alemán Valdés
Russia / Soviet Union
General Secretary of the Central Committee Joseph Stalin
South Africa Prime Minister Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts Till 4 June
South Africa Prime Minister Daniel François Malan From 4 June
United States President Harry S. Truman
United Kingdom Prime Minister Clement Attlee
Political Elections 1948
United States Presidential Election 1948 Harry S. Truman (Democratic) Defeats Thomas E. Dewey (Republican) and Strom Thurmond (States' Rights Democratic) and Henry A. Wallace (Progressive/Labor)
The Information above is taken from our new page that gives world leaders from 1920 to current.
WorldLeaders
