Famous birthdays, deaths and events of 1948
Birthdays
- January 1 - Pavel Grachev, Russian general
- January 4 - Eugeniusz Wycisło, Polish politician
- January 5 - Ted Lange, American actor
- January 7 - Kenny Loggins, American singer
- January 8 - Gillies MacKinnon, Scottish film director
- January 9 - Bill Cowsill, American singer (The Cowsills) (d. 2006)
- January 9 - Cassie Gaines Backup Singer, (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- January 10 - Donald Fagen, American keyboardist
- January 10 - Teresa Graves, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
- January 10 - Mischa Maisky, Latvian cellist
- January 10 - Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist
- January 12 - Kenny Allen, English footballer
- January 12 - Anthony Andrews, English actor
- January 12 - Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (d. 2001)
- January 12 - William Nicholson, English writer
- January 13 - Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur
- January 14 - T-Bone Burnett, American producer
- January 14 - Valery Kharlamov, Soviet Union ice hockey player (d. 1981)
- January 14 - Carl Weathers, American actor
- January 15 - Ronnie Van Zant, American singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
- January 16 - John Carpenter, American film director
- January 16 - Dalvanius Prime, New Zealand entertainer (d. 2002)
- January 16 - Ruth Reichl, American magazine editor
- January 16 - Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player
- January 17 - Davíđ Oddsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland
- January 17 - Jim Ladd, American freeform (radio format) Disc Jockey
- January 17 - Anne Queffélec, French pianist
- January 19 - Frank McKenna, Canadian politician
- January 20 - Natan Sharansky, Russian-born physicist and politician
- January 20 - Nancy Kress, American writer
- January 22 - Gilbert Levine, American conductor
- January 22 - Northern Calloway, American actor (d. 1990)
- January 23 - Anita Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters)
- January 24 - Michael Des Barres, British actor and rock singer
- January 25 - Gueorgui Chichkine, Russian painter
- January 25 - Ros Kelly, Australian politician
- January 27 - Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
- January 27 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American dancer
- January 28 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian dancer
- January 28 - Charles Taylor, President of Liberia
- January 29 - Cristina Saralegui, American talk-show host
- January 29 - Marc Singer, Canadian-born actor
- January 29 - Pat Kenny, Irish TV presenter & radio host
- January 30 - Nick Broomfield, English film- and documentary-maker
- January 30 - Paul Magee, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
- January 31 - Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
- February 1 - Rick James, American musician and composer (d. 2004)
- February 1 - Elisabeth Sladen, British actress
- February 2 - Al McKay, American guitarist and songwriter (Earth
- February 2 - Roger Williamson, English racecar driver (d. 1973)
- February 3 - Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, East Timor politician
- February 3 - Henning Mankell, Swedish author
- February 4 - Alice Cooper, American musician
- February 5 - Sven-Göran Eriksson, Swedish football manager
- February 5 - Christopher Guest, American actor
- February 5 - Barbara Hershey, American actress
- February 5 - Errol Morris, American film director
- February 8 - Lynda Lyon Block, American convicted murderer (d. 2002)
- February 8 - Dan Seals, American singer
- February 8 - Ron Tyson, American singer (The Temptations)
- February 10 - Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (d. 1994)
- February 12 - Raymond Kurzweil, American inventor and author
- February 12 - Mike Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player
- February 14 - Pat O'Brien, American sportscaster and television host
- February 14 - Teller, American magician (Penn and Teller)
- February 15 - Ron Cey, American baseball player
- February 15 - Art Spiegelman, American cartoonist
- February 16 - Eckhart Tolle, Author and spiritual teacher
- February 17 - José José, Mexican singer and actor
- February 17 - Rick Majerus, American basketball coach
- February 18 - Sinéad Cusack, Irish actress
- February 18 - Keith Knudsen, American drummer and songwriter (The Doobie Brothers) (d. 2005)
- February 19 - Mark Andes, American musician
- February 19 - Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (d. 2002)
- February 19 - Big John Studd, American professional wrestler (d. 1995)
- February 19 - Tony Iommi, English guitarist (Black Sabbath)
- February 20 - Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player
- February 20 - Jennifer O'Neill, Brazilian-born actress
- February 22 - John Ashton, American actor
- February 23 - Doug Moench, American comic book writer
- February 24 - J. Jayalalithaa, Indian politician
- February 24 - Walter Smith, Scottish football manager
- February 24 - Tim Staffell, English singer
- February 24 - Dennis Waterman, British actor
- February 25 - Danny Denzongpa, Indian actor
- February 25 - Aldo Busi, Italian writer
- February 28 - Steven Chu, American physicist
- February 28 - Mike Figgis, English director
- February 28 - Bernadette Peters, American actress and singer
- February 28 - Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
- February 29 - Jirō Akagawa, Japanese novelist
- March 1 - Burning Spear, Jamaican singer and musician
- March 2 - Larry Carlton, American guitarist
- March 2 - Rory Gallagher, Irish guitarist (d. 1995)
- March 2 - Jeff Kennett, Australian politician
- March 3 - Snowy White, British guitarist (Thin Lizzy
- March 4 - Lindy Chamberlain, Australian author
- March 4 - James Ellroy, American writer
- March 4 - Tom Grieve, American baseball player
- March 4 - Leron Lee, American baseball player
- March 4 - Jean O'Leary, American activist and politician (d. 2005)
- March 4 - Chris Squire, English bassist (Yes)
- March 4 - Shakin' Stevens, Welsh singer
- March 5 - Eddy Grant, Guyana-born singer
- March 5 - Richard Hickox, English musical conductor
- March 5 - Elaine Paige, English singer and actress
- March 5 - Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1984)
- March 6 - Anna Maria Horsford, American actress
- March 8 - Peggy March, American pop singer
- March 9 - Jeffrey Osborne, American singer
- March 9 - Emma Bonino, Italian politician
- March 10 - Richard Park (broadcaster), British Media Consultant and Broadcaster
- March 11 - Roy Barnes, 80th Governor of Georgia
- March 11 - César Gerónimo, Dominican baseball player
- March 11 - Dominique Sanda, French actress
- March 12 - James Taylor, American musician
- March 12 - Kent Conrad, Democratic Senator of North Dakota
- March 12 - Virginia Bottomley, British politician
- March 13 - Robert S. Woods, American actor
- March 14 - Tom Coburn, American politician
- March 14 - Billy Crystal, American actor and comedian
- March 15 - Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (d. 2003)
- March 15 - Kate Bornstein, American author
- March 16 - Michael Bruce, American musician. Guitarist and keyboard player for Alice Cooper
- March 16 - Margaret Weis, American author
- March 16 - Richard Desjardins, Quebec singer
- March 17 - William Gibson, American writer
- March 17 - Alex MacDonald, Scottish Footballer and football manager
- March 18 - Guy Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player
- March 18 - Lockwood Phillips, American radio host
- March 18 - Brian Lloyd, Welsh footballer
- March 20 - John de Lancie, American actor
- March 20 - Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
- March 22 - Wolf Blitzer, American television journalist
- March 22 - Andrew Lloyd Webber, English theatre composer
- March 23 - David Olney, American musician
- March 24 - Jerzy Kukuczka, Polish mountaineer
- March 25 - Bonnie Bedelia, American actress
- March 25 - Lynn Faulds Wood, Scottish television presenter
- March 26 - Richard Tandy, British keyboardist (Electric Light Orchestra)
- March 26 - Steven Tyler, American singer (Aerosmith)
- March 28 - Dianne Wiest, American actress
- March 28 - Gerry House, American radio personality
- March 28 - John Evan, British musician (Jethro Tull)
- March 28 - Milan Williams, American musician The Commodores (d. 2006)
- March 28 - Matthew Corbett, English retired actor
- March 29 - Bud Cort, American actor
- March 30 - Mervyn King, British economist
- March 30 - Eddie Jordan Former owner of Jordan Grand Prix,
- March 31 - Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- March 31 - Rhea Perlman, American actress
- March 31 - Gustaaf Van Cauter, Belgian cyclist
- April 1 - Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican musician
- April 2 - Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer
- April 2 - Joan D. Vinge, American author
- April 3 - Arlette Cousture, French-Canadian writer
- April 3 - Carlos Salinas, President of Mexico
- April 4 - Michael Blassie, U.S. Air Force officer (d. 1972)
- April 4 - Berry Oakley, American bassist (The Allman Brothers Band) (d. 1972)
- April 4 - Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party
- April 4 - Dan Simmons, American writer
- April 4 - Derek Thompson, Northern Irish actor
- April 5 - Les Binks, British musician
- April 5 - Dave Holland, British musician (Judas Priest)
- April 6 - Patrika Darbo, American actress
- April 7 - Carol Douglas, American singer
- April 8 - Michael Leshner, Canadian lawyer and gay rights advocate
- April 9 - Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress
- April 11 - Marcello Lippi, Italian football coach
- April 12 - Jeremy Beadle, English television presenter (d. 2008)
- April 12 - Joschka Fischer, Foreign Minister of Germany
- April 12 - Sandra "Lois" Reeves, American singer
- April 13 - Sue Doughty, British politician
- April 13 - Nam Hae-il, Chief of Naval Operations of Republic of Korea Navy
- April 14 - Anastasios Papaligouras, Greek lawyer and politician
- April 15 - Michael Kamen, American composer (d. 2003)
- April 16 - Lynne Franks, British public relations consultant
- April 17 - Jan Hammer, Czech composer
- April 19 - Rick Miller, American baseball player
- April 20 - Craig Frost, American musician (Grand Funk & Bob Seger)
- April 20 - Gregory Itzin, American actor
- April 20 - Rémy Trudel, French Canadian politician
- April 21 - Gary Condit, American politician
- April 21 - Paul Davis, American singer
- April 23 - Pascal Quignard, French author
- April 23 - Serge Thériault, French-Canadian comedian and actor
- April 24 - Paul Cellucci, 69th Governor of Massachusetts and former United States Ambassador to Canada
- April 25 - Yu Shyi-kun, former Premier of Taiwan
- April 27 - Frank William Abagnale, Jr.
- April 27 - Kate Pierson, American singer (The B-52's)
- April 27 - Amrit Bohra, Nepalese politician
- April 28 - Terry Pratchett, English author
- April 28 - Marcia Strassman, American actress
- April 28 - Dorothée Berryman, French Canadian actress and singer
- April 29 - Bruce Cutler, American attorney
- April 29 - Michael Karoli, German guitarist and violinist (Can) (d. 2001)
- April 30 - Perry King, American actor
- May 2 - Larry Gatlin, American musician
- May 3 - Chris Mulkey, American actor
- May 4 - Hurley Haywood, American race car driver
- May 5 - Bill Ward, British drummer (Black Sabbath)
- May 6 - Mary MacGregor, American singer
- May 8 - Felicity Lott, English singer
- May 8 - Steve Braun, baseball player
- May 8 - Stephen Stohn, Canadian television producer (Degrassi)
- May 9 - Hans Georg Bock, German mathematician
- May 9 - Calvin Murphy, American basketball player
- May 11 - Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-British politician
- May 11 - Shigeru Izumiya, Japanese folk musician
- May 12 - Steve Winwood, British musician (The Spencer Davis Group; Traffic)
- May 14 - Bob Woolmer, English cricket coach (d. 2007)
- May 15 - Brian Eno, English musician and record producer
- May 15 - Kathleen Sebelius, American politician
- May 15 - Yutaka Enatsu, Japanese professional baseball pitcher
- May 16 - Katia Dandoulaki, Greek actress
- May 16 - Judy Finnegan, English TV presenter (Richard & Judy)
- May 17 - Dick Gaughan, Scottish musician
- May 18 - Tom Udall, American politician
- May 19 - Grace Jones, Jamaican singer and actress
- May 21 - Leo Sayer, English musician
- May 22 - Richard Baker, American politician
- May 23 - Reggie Cleveland, Canadian baseball player
- May 25 - Sgt. Slaughter, American professional wrestler
- May 25 - Klaus Meine, German musician (Scorpions)
- May 26 - Stevie Nicks, American songwriter
- May 27 - Wubbo de Boer, Dutch civil servant
- May 29 - Nick Mancuso, Italian-Canadian actor
- May 30 - Michael Piller, American screenwriter (d. 2005)
- May 31 - John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)
- May 31 - Duncan Hunter, American politician
- June 1 - Tomáš Halík, Czech priest and public intellectual
- June 1 - Michel Plasse, French Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2006)
- June 1 - Tom Sneva, American race car driver and Indianapolis 500 winner
- June 2 - Jerry Mathers, American actor
- June 4 - Bob Champion, English Jump Jockey
- June 6 - Tony Levin, American bassist (King Crimson)
- June 6 - Richard Sinclair, English musician (Caravan)
- June 9 - Gudrun Schyman, Swedish politician
- June 11 - Dave Cash, Major league baseball player
- June 12 - Hans Binder, Austrian racing driver
- June 13 - Garnet Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and executive (d. 2001)
- June 13 - Joe Roth, American executive
- June 14 - Laurence Yep, American author
- June 15 - Mike Holmgren, American football coach
- June 16 - Ron LeFlore, American baseball player
- June 17 - Dave Concepción, Venezuelan baseball player
- June 17 - Aurelio López, Mexican baseball player (d. 1992)
- June 18 - Éva Marton, Hungarian operatic soprano
- June 19 - Phylicia Rashad, American actress
- June 19 - Nick Drake, English musician (d. 1974)
- June 20 - Ludwig Scotty, President of Nauru
- June 21 - Ian McEwan, English writer
- June 21 - Lionel Rose, Australian boxer
- June 21 - Andrzej Sapkowski, Polish writer
- June 22 - Todd Rundgren, American songwriter and record producer
- June 23 - Myles Goodwyn, Canadian guitarist and vocalist (April Wine)
- June 23 - Darhyl S. Ramsey, American author
- June 23 - Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- June 24 - Patrick Moraz, Swiss keyboard player (Yes)
- June 27 - Camile Baudoin, American musician
- June 28 - Kathy Bates, American actress
- June 29 - Ian Paice, English drummer
- July 2 - Saul Rubinek, Canadian film actor
- July 2 - Gene McFadden, American songwriter (d. 2006)
- July 3 - Tarmo Koivisto, Finnish comics artist
- July 4 - Ed Armbrister, baseball player
- July 4 - René Arnoux, French race car driver
- July 4 - Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer and actor
- July 4 - Jeremy Spencer, English musician
- July 5 - William Hootkins, American actor (d. 2005)
- July 6 - Nathalie Baye, French actress
- July 6 - Jean-Pierre Blackburn, French Canadian politician
- July 6 - Brad Park, Canadian hockey player
- July 6 - Wadih Saadeh, Lebanese-Australian poet
- July 6 - Tom Curley, American media executive
- July 7 - Jean Leclerc, French-Canadian actor
- July 8 - Raffi, Canadian children's entertainer
- July 9 - Hassan Wirajuda, Indonesian current foreign minister
- July 12 - Ben Burtt, American sound designer
- July 12 - Walter Egan, American singer
- July 12 - Richard Simmons, American fitness trainer
- July 12 - Jay Thomas, American actor
- July 13 - Catherine Breillat, French director and screenwriter
- July 13 - Tony Kornheiser, American sports journalist
- July 13 - Daphne Maxwell Reid, American actress
- July 15 - Alicia Bridges, American singer
- July 15 - Artimus Pyle, American drummer (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- July 16 - Rubén Blades, Panamanian singer and actor
- July 16 - Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli violinist
- July 17 - Ron Asheton, American musician and composer (Iggy Pop & The Stooges)
- July 17 - Luc Bondy, Swiss theatre and opera director
- July 18 - Hartmut Michel, German chemist
- July 18 - Carlos Colón, Sr.
- July 19 - Beverly Archer, American actress
- July 19 - Keith Godchaux, American musician (Grateful Dead) (d. 1980)
- July 20 - Muse Watson, American actor
- July 21 - Ed Hinton, American sportswriter
- July 21 - Yusuf Islam, stage name was "Cat Stevens"
- July 21 - Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
- July 22 - S. E. Hinton, American author
- July 22 - Otto Waalkes, German comedian
- July 23 - John Cushnahan, Northern Irish politician
- July 23 - John Hall, American politician and former rock musician
- July 27 - Betty Thomas, American actor and film director
- July 27 - Peggy Fleming, American figure skater
- July 28 - Gerald Casale, american musician and director (founding member of Devo)
- July 28 - Georgia Engel, American actress
- July 28 - Sally Struthers, American actress
- July 30 - Jean Reno, Moroccan-born French actor
- August 2 - Andy Fairweather Low, British guitarist
- August 2 - Dennis Prager, American radio talk show host and author
- August 3 - Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Prime Minister of France
- August 3 - Pierre Lacroix, National Hockey League executive
- August 4 - Johnny Grubb, American baseball player
- August 5 - Carole Laure, French Canadian actress
- August 5 - Ray Clemence, English footballer
- August 7 - Greg Chappell, Australian cricket player
- August 7 - Marty Appel, American public relations executive and author
- August 8 - Svetlana Savitskaya, Russian cosmonaut
- August 9 - Bill Campbell, American baseball player
- August 10 - Patti Austin, American singer
- August 11 - Jan Palach, Czechoslovakian student protester (d. 1969)
- August 13 - Kathleen Battle, American soprano
- August 14 - Terry Adams, American musician (NRBQ)
- August 15 - Uschi Digard, American pornographic actress and model
- August 15 - Patsy Gallant, Canadian pop singer
- August 15 - George Ryton, British engineer
- August 16 - Mike Jorgensen, American baseball player
- August 16 - Pierre Reid, Canadian politician and teacher
- August 17 - Rod MacDonald, American musician
- August 18 - Joseph Marcell, British actor
- August 19 - Gerald McRaney, American actor
- August 19 - Tipper Gore, Second Lady of the United States
- August 20 - John Noble, Australian actor
- August 20 - Robert Plant, British Musician (Led Zeppelin)
- August 22 - Eleonora Brown, Italian actress
- August 23 - Andrei Pleşu, Romanian writer
- August 23 - Daniel Ruettiger "Rudy", University of Notre Dame football legend
- August 24 - Jean-Michel Jarre, French musician
- August 24 - Kim Sung-Il, Chief of Staff of Republic of Korea Air Force
- August 27 - Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Greek musician (d. 1990)
- August 27 - Sgt. Slaughter, American professional wrestler
- August 28 - Danny Seraphine, American musician (Chicago)
- August 28 - Murray Parker, New Zealand cricketer
- August 30 - Lewis Black, American comedian
- August 30 - Donnacha O'Dea, Irish poker player and swimmer
- August 31 - Harald Ertl, Austrian racing driver (d. 1982)
- August 31 - Lowell Ganz, American screenwriter
- August 31 - Holger Osieck, German footballer and coach
- August 31 - Rudolf Schenker, German guitarist (Scorpions)
- September 1 - Józef Życiński, Polish archbishop and philosopher
- September 2 - Terry Bradshaw, American football player
- September 2 - Christa McAuliffe, American schoolteacher and astronaut (d. 1986)
- September 3 - Levy Mwanawasa,
- September 4 - Samuel Hui, Hong Kong singer
- September 5 - Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian diplomat and politician
- September 6 - Claydes Charles Smith, American musician (Kool & the Gang) (d. 2006)
- September 8 - Jean-Pierre Monseré, Belgian cyclist (d. 1971)
- September 8 - Great Kabuki, Japanese professional wrestler
- September 9 - Pamela Des Barres, American groupie and author
- September 10 - Tony Gatlif, Algerian-born director
- September 10 - Judy Geeson, English actress
- September 10 - Bob Lanier, American basketball player
- September 10 - Margaret Trudeau, former wife of Pierre Trudeau
- September 10 - Zhang Chengzhi, Chinese writer
- September 10 - Charlie Waters, American football player
- September 11 - John Martyn, English musician
- September 12 - Luis Lima, Argentinian tenor
- September 13 - Nell Carter, American actress (d. 2003)
- September 13 - Dimitri Nanopoulos, Greek physicist
- September 15 - Suzyn Waldman, American Sportscaster
- September 16 - Ron Blair, American bassist
- September 16 - Kenney Jones, English musician (The Small Faces; Faces; The Who)
- September 17 - Jeff MacNelly, American political cartoonist (d. 2000)
- September 17 - John Ritter, American actor (d. 2003)
- September 18 - Ken Brett, American baseball player (d. 2003)
- September 19 - Jeremy Irons, English actor
- September 19 - Mihai Timofti, director
- September 20 - George R. R. Martin, American writer
- September 20 - Chuck Panozzo and John Panozzo (d. 1996), American musicians (Styx)
- September 22 - Denis Burke, Australian politician
- September 22 - Jim Byrnes, American actor and musician
- September 24 - Heinz Chur, German composer
- September 24 - Gordon Clapp, American actor
- September 24 - Phil Hartman, Canadian actor (d. 1998)
- September 26 - Olivia Newton-John, English-born Australian singer and actress
- September 27 - Michele Dotrice, English actress
- September 27 - A Martinez, American actor
- September 27 - Tom Braidwood, Canadian actor
- September 27 - John K. Reed, American coral biologist
- September 29 - Bryant Gumbel, American television personality
- September 29 - Mark Farner, American guitarist Grand Funk
- September 29 - Theo Jörgensmann, German jazz clarinetist
- September 30 - Craig Kusick, former Major League Baseball Player
- October 1 - Cub Koda, American singer (Brownsville Station) (d. 2000)
- October 2 - Avery Brooks, American actor
- October 2 - Trevor Brooking, English footballer
- October 2 - Donna Karan, American fashion designer
- October 2 - Chris LeDoux, American musician and rodeo performer (d. 2005)
- October 3 - Michael Medved, American film critic
- October 4 - Linda McMahon, CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment
- October 5 - Tawl Ross, American musician (P Funk)
- October 5 - Zoran Živković, Serbian writer
- October 6 - Gerry Adams, Northern Irish politician
- October 7 - Diane Ackerman, American poet and essayist
- October 8 - Benjamin Cheever, American novelist and editor
- October 8 - Sarah Purcell, American television host
- October 8 - Johnny Ramone, American musician (The Ramones) (d. 2004)
- October 8 - Pedro López, Colombian serial killer
- October 8 - Claude Jade, French actress (d. 2006)
- October 9 - Jackson Browne, American musician
- October 10 - Séverine, French singer
- October 10 - Ed Volker, American musician
- October 11 - Cecilia, Spanish singer-songwriter
- October 12 - Rick Parfitt, British musician (Status Quo)
- October 13 - John Ford Coley, American musician
- October 13 - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani musician and singer (d. 1997)
- October 13 - Ted Poe, American politician
- October 14 - David Ruprecht, American game show host
- October 14 - Engin Arık, Turkish nuclear physicist (d. 2007)
- October 15 - Chris de Burgh, Irish singer and songwriter
- October 16 - Leo Mazzone, American baseball coach
- October 16 - Hema Malini, Indian Actress
- October 17 - Margot Kidder, Canadian actress
- October 17 - George Wendt, American actor
- October 17 - Robert Jordan, American novelist (d. 2007)
- October 18 - Ntozake Shange, American author
- October 19 - Patrick Simmons, American musician
- October 21 - Shaye Cohen, Historian and Professor at Harvard University
- October 21 - Tom Everett, American actor
- October 22 - Lynette Fromme, American attempted assassin of Gerald Ford
- October 23 - Hermann Hauser, Austrian-born entrepreneur
- October 23 - Brian Ross, American journalist
- October 23 - Tony Anselmo, American animator and cartoon voice actor
- October 24 - Paul and Barry Ryan, British composers-singers
- October 24 - Kweisi Mfume, American politician and activist
- October 25 - Dave Cowens, American basketball player and coach
- October 25 - Daniel Mark Epstein, American poet and biographer
- October 25 - Dan Gable, American wrestler and coach
- October 25 - Dan Issel, American basketball player
- October 26 - Toby Harrah, American Major League Baseball player
- October 28 - Telma Hopkins, American singer and actress (Tony Orlando and Dawn)
- October 29 - Kate Jackson, American actress
- October 30 - Rusty Goffe, British actor
- November 1 - Phil Myre, Canadian ice hockey player
- November 3 - Lulu, British actress and singer
- November 3 - Helmut Koinigg, Austrian racing driver (d. 1974)
- November 5 - Mel Ab-Owain, Welsh politician
- November 5 - Peter Hammill, British musician (Van der Graaf Generator)
- November 5 - Hridayananda dasa Goswami, ISKCON guru
- November 5 - Bernard-Henri Lévy, French public intellectual
- November 5 - William Daniel Phillips, American physicist
- November 6 - Glenn Frey, American singer (Eagles)
- November 7 - Alex Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver
- November 9 - Michel Pagliaro, Quebec singer
- November 9 - Bille August, Danish film and television director
- November 9 - Henrik S. Järrel, Swedish politician
- November 9 - Luiz Felipe Scolari, football manager
- November 10 - Shigesato Itoi, Japanese novelist and video game designer.
- November 10 - Aaron Brown, American broadcast journalist
- November 10 - Hugh Moffatt, American songwriter
- November 10 - Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (d. 2005)
- November 12 - Errol Brown, English singer (Hot Chocolate)
- November 12 - Cliff Harris, American football player
- November 13 - Humayun Ahmed, Bangladeshi novelist and film-maker
- November 14 - Charles, Prince of Wales
- November 16 - Bonnie Greer, American playwright and critic
- November 17 - Howard Dean, American politician
- November 18 - Andrea Marcovicci, American singer and actress
- November 18 - Jack Tatum, American football player
- November 20 - John R. Bolton, American ambassador
- November 20 - Barbara Hendricks, American-born singer
- November 20 - Richard Masur, American actor
- November 21 - George Zimmer, American entrepreneur
- November 21 - Alphonse Mouzon, American jazzist
- November 22 - Radomir Antić, Serbian football manager
- November 23 - Bruce Vilanch, American comedy writer
- November 24 - Spider Robinson, science fiction author
- November 24 - Steve Yeager, baseball player
- November 25 - Jacques P. Dupuis, French Canadian politician
- November 26 - Krešimir Ćosić, Croatian basketball player (d. 1995)
- November 26 - Claes Elfsberg, Swedish television presenter
- November 26 - Marianne Muellerleile, American actress
- November 27 - James L. Avery, Sr.
- November 28 - Beeb Birtles, Dutch-born
- December 1 - George Foster, American baseball player
- December 1 - Tom Wright, English bishop and theologian
- December 2 - T. Coraghessan Boyle, American writer
- December 3 - Ozzy Osbourne, English singer
- December 4 - Southside Johnny, American singer
- December 6 - Keke Rosberg, Finnish race car driver and one-time F1 world champion
- December 6 - Marius Müller-Westernhagen, German actor and musician
- December 6 - JoBeth Williams, American actress
- December 7 - Gary Morris, American singer and actor
- December 7 - Mads Vinding, Danish bassist
- December 9 - Dennis Dunaway, American musician
- December 9 - Marleen Gorris, Dutch film director
- December 10 - Abu Abbas, founder of the Palestine Liberation Front (d. 2004)
- December 11 - Stamatis Spanoudakis, Greek composer
- December 12 - Tom Wilkinson, English actor
- December 13 - Jeff Baxter, American guitarist (Steely Dan
- December 13 - Ted Nugent, American guitarist
- December 13 - Brian Wilson, Scottish politician
- December 14 - Lester Bangs, American music journalist (d. 1982)
- December 14 - Kim Beazley, Australian politician
- December 14 - Dee Wallace-Stone, American actress
- December 15 - Melanie Chartoff, American actress
- December 15 - Cassandra Harris, Australian actress (d. 1991)
- December 16 - Christopher Biggins, English actor
- December 18 - Bill Nelson, English musician (Be Bop Deluxe)
- December 18 - Laurent Voulzy, French singer and composer
- December 19 - Ken Brown, Canadian ice hockey player
- December 20 - Alan Parsons, British music producer and artist
- December 20 - Stevie Wright, English-born Australian musician and songwriter
- December 21 - Samuel L. Jackson, American actor
- December 21 - Dave Kingman, American baseball player
- December 21 - Willi Resetarits, Austrian musician
- December 22 - Noel Edmonds, English game show host
- December 22 - Steve Garvey, American baseball player
- December 22 - Lynne Thigpen, American actress (d. 2003)
- December 23 - Jack Ham, American football player
- December 23 - Leslie Moonves, American television executive
- December 24 - Frank Oliver, New Zealand rugby player
- December 25 - Barbara Mandrell, American singer and actress
- December 25 - Alia al Hussein, of Jordan (d. 1977)
- December 25 - Joel Natalino Santana, Brazilian soccer coach
- December 26 - Candy Crowley, American journalist
- December 27 - Gérard Depardieu, French actor
- December 31 - Donna Summer, American singer
- December 31 - René Robert, National Hockey League player
Deaths
- January 8 - Kurt Schwitters, German painter (b. 1887)
- January 8 - Richard Tauber, Austrian tenor (b. 1891)
- January 19 - Tony Garnier, French architect (b. 1869)
- January 21 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (b. 1876)
- January 24 - Maria Mandel, Camp Leader at Auschwitz (b. 1912)
- January 24 - Arthur Liebehenschel, Commandant at Auschwitz concentration camp (b. 1901)
- January 29 - Tomislav II of Croatia, 4th Duke of Aosta
- January 30 - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi
- January 30 - Orville Wright, American aviation pioneer (b. 1871)
- February 2 - Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (b. 1894)
- February 2 - Thomas W. Lamont, American banker; father or Corliss Lamont; great-grandfather of Ned Lamont (b. 1870)
- February 5 - Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (b. 1883)
- February 11 - Sergei Eisenstein, Latvian film director (b. 1898)
- February 14 - Mordecai Brown, American baseball player (b. 1876)
- February 23 - John Robert Gregg, Irish-born publisher and inventor (b. 1866)
- March 4 - Antonin Artaud, French actor/director (b. 1896)
- March 6 - Ross Lockridge, Jr.
- March 10 - Zelda Fitzgerald, American artist
- March 10 - Jan Masaryk, Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia (b. 1886)
- March 24 - Sigrid Hjertén, Swedish modernist painter (b. 1885)
- March 29 - Olev Siinmaa, Estonian architect (b. 1881)
- April 9 - George Carpenter, Australian Salvation Army general (b. 1872)
- April 9 - Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (b. 1903)
- April 15 - Radola Gajda, Czech military commander and politician (d. 1892)
- May 8 - U Saw, Burmese politician (b. 1900)
- May 15 - Edward Flanagan, American priest and founder of Boys Town (b. 1886)
- May 24 - Jacques Feyder, Belgian director and screenwriter (b. 1885)
- May 26 - Theodore Morell, Hitler's personal physician (b. 1886)
- May 28 - Unity Mitford, English fascist sympathizer (b. 1914)
- May 29 - Dame May Whitty, English actress (b. 1865)
- June 1 - Sonny Boy Williamson I, American musician (b. 1914)
- June 1 - Alex Gard, Russian-born caricaturist (b. 1900)
- June 2 - Viktor Brack, Nazi physician (b. 1904)
- June 2 - Karl Brandt, personal physician of Adolf Hitler (b. 1904)
- June 2 - Karl Gebhardt, Nazi doctor (b. 1897)
- June 2 - Waldemar Hoven, German physician (b. 1903)
- June 2 - Wolfram Sievers, Nazi physician (b. 1905)
- June 6 - Louis Lumičre, French movie pioneer (b. 1864)
- June 25 - William C. Lee, U.S. general (b. 1895)
- June 26 - Lilian Velez, Filipino actress (b. 1924)
- July 1 - Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (b. 1904)
- July 4 - Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian writer (b. 1882)
- July 5 - Georges Bernanos, French writer (b. 1888)
- July 5 - Carole Landis, American actress (b. 1919)
- July 15 - John J. Pershing, U.S. general (b. 1860)
- July 18 - Herman Gummerus, Finnish historian and politician (b. 1877)
- July 21 - Arshile Gorky, Armenian-born American artist (b. 1904)
- July 23 - D. W. Griffith, American film director (b. 1875)
- July 27 - Woolf Barnato, British racing driver (b. 1898)
- August 10 - Kwan-Ichi Asakawa, Japanese historian(b. 1873)
- August 10 - Andrew Brown, Scottish football coach (b. 1870)
- August 10 - Montague Summers, English writer (b. 1880)
- August 12 - Harry Brearley, English inventor (b. 1871)
- August 13 - Elaine Hammerstein, American actress (b. 1897)
- August 16 - Babe Ruth, American baseball player (b. 1895)
- August 27 - Charles Evans Hughes, U.S. Supreme Court justice (b. 1862)
- August 31 - Billy Laughlin, American actor (b. 1932)
- September 2 - Sylvanus Morley, American archaeologist and spy (b. 1883)
- September 3 - Edvard Beneš, President of Czechoslovakia (b. 1884)
- September 5 - Richard C. Tolman, American mathematical physicist (b. 1881)
- September 8 - Thomas Mofolo, Lesotho writer (b. 1876)
- September 10 - King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, (b. 1861)
- September 11 - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan (b. 1876)
- September 24 - Warren William, American actor (b. 1894)
- October 10 - Ted Horn, American race car driver (b. 1910)
- October 12 - Susan Sutherland Isaacs, educational psychologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1885).
- October 15 - Edythe Chapman, American actress (b. 1863)
- October 18 - Walther von Brauchitsch, German field marshal (b. 1881)
- October 24 - Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (b. 1870)
- November 12 - Umberto Giordano, Italian composer (b. 1867)
- November 23 - Hack Wilson, American baseball player (b. 1900)
- November 25 - Kanbun Uechi, karate master (b. 1877)
- December 23 - Akira Muto, Japanese army commander (hanged) (b. 1883)
- December 23 - Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister of Japan (hanged) (b. 1884)
- December 31 - Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver (b. 1885)
Events
- January 1 - British railways are nationalised to form British Rail.
- January 1 - After partition, India declines to pay the agreed share of Rs.550 million in cash balances to Pakistan.
- January 1 - The Constitution of Italy comes into force.
- January 4 - Burma regains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- January 21 - The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time, over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Quebec Flag Day.
- January 30 - Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist.
- February 4 - Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
- February 7 - Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Army chief of staff and was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley.
- February 11 - John Costello succeeds Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach of Ireland.
- February 18 - Eamon de Valera resigns as Taoiseach of Ireland.
- February 21 - NASCAR is incorporated.
- February 22 - Communist coup in Czechoslovakia.
- February 25 - The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes control of government in Czechoslovakia and the period of the Third Republic ends.
- March 7 - The Dodecanese islands officially become part of Greece again, ending the Italian rule.
- March 10 - The Indian Union Muslim League is founded, by remnants of the old Muslim League.
- March 17 - Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the NATO Agreement.
- March 18 - Soviet consultants have left Yugoslavia in first sign of Tito-Stalin split.
- March 20 - With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
- March 27 - The Second Congress of the Workers Party of North Korea is convened.
- April 1 - Cold War: Berlin Airlift
- April 1 - Faroe Islands receive autonomy from Denmark.
- April 3 - President Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
- April 3 - In Jeju, South Korea, a civil-war-like period of violence and human rights abuses begins, known as the Jeju massacre.
- April 7 - The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.
- April 7 - A Buddhist monastery burns in Shanghai, China, leaving twenty 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 Colombia (La violencia).
- April 9 - Massacre at Deir Yassin.
- April 13 - Seventy-seven doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital are ambushed and massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarra near Jerusalem.
- April 23 - 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Haifa, the major port of Israel, is captured from Arab forces.
- April 30 - In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
- May 1 - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is established, with Kim Il-sung as president.
- May 3 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities are legally unenforceable.
- May 7 - The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
- May 13 - 1948 Arab-Israeli War: the Kfar Etzion massacre is committed by Arab irregulars, the day before the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on May 14.
- May 14 - Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
- May 15 - Following the demise of the British Mandate of Palestine, Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia attack Israel.
- May 16 - Chaim Weizmann is elected 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 an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
- May 29 - Creation of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation
- May 30 - A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
- June 7 - Edvard Beneš resigns as President of Czechoslovakia rather than signing a Constitution making his nation a Communist state.
- June 8 - Milton Berle hosts the debut of Texaco Star Theater.
- June 16 - The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by a subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways, marks the first skyjacking of a commercial plane.
- June 17 - A Douglas DC-6 carrying United Airlines Flight 624 crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board.
- June 20 - Toast of the Town, later The Ed Sullivan Show, makes its television debut.
- June 21 - The "Manchester Baby" (SSEM) runs the first ever computer program stored in electronic memory.
- June 21 - Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
- June 24 - Start of the Berlin Blockade. The Soviet Union makes overland travel between the West with West Berlin impossible.
- June 25 - The Berlin Airlift begins.
- June 26 - The Western allies begin an airlift to Berlin after the Soviet Union blockades West Berlin.
- June 26 - William Shockley filed the original patent for the grown junction transistor, the first bipolar junction transistor.
- June 28 - Cominform circulates the "Resolution on the situation in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia"; Yugoslavia is expelled from the Communist bloc.
- June 28 - Boxer Dick Turpin beat Vince Hawkins at Villa Park, Birmingham to become the first black British boxing champion in the modern era.
- July 1 - Quaid-i-Azam inaugrates Pakistan's central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan.
- July 5 - National Health Service Acts created the national public health systems in the United Kingdom
- July 9 - Pakistan issues its first set of Postage stamps, bearing images of the Constituent Assembly, the Jinnah International Airport (Quaid-e-Azam International Airport), and the Shahi Fort.
- July 14 - Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot near to the Italian Parliament.
- July 16 - The city of Nazareth, hometown of Jesus, capitulates to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel led by Ben Dunkelman, after little more than token resistance, during 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
- July 20 - U.S. President Harry S. Truman issues a peacetime military draft in the United States amid increasing tensions with the Soviet Union.
- July 20 - In New York City, twelve leaders of the Communist Party USA are indicted under the Smith Act including William Z. Foster and Gus Hall.
- July 24 - Looney Tunes character Marvin the Martian makes his first appearance in the cartoon Haredevil Hare.
- July 26 - U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981 desegregating the military of the United States.
- July 28 - The Metropolitan Police Flying Squad foils a bullion robbery in the "Battle of London Airport".
- July 29 - Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad
- July 31 - At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
- August 1 - The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations is founded.
- August 3 - Whittaker Chambers accuses Alger Hiss of being a communist and a spy for the Soviet Union.
- August 10 - Candid Camera makes its television debut after being on radio for a year as Candid Microphone.
- August 15 - The Republic of Korea is established south of the 38th parallel north.
- August 23 - World Council of Churches is formed.
- August 25 - The House Un-American Activities Committee holds first-ever televised congressional hearing: "Confrontation Day" between Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss.
- August 31 - Actor Robert Mitchum was arrested in a Hollywood drug raid. He would later be found guilty of criminal conspiracy to possess marijuana and was sentenced to 60 days in prison.
- September 4 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates for health reasons.
- September 5 - In France, Robert Schuman becomes President of the Council while being Foreign minister, As such, he is the negotiator of the major treaties of the end of World War II.
- September 6 - Juliana becomes Queen of the Netherlands.
- September 9 - The Republic Day of Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
- September 12 - Invasion of the State of Hyderabad by the Indian Army on the day after the Pakistani leader Jinnah's death.
- September 13 - Margaret Chase Smith is elected senator, and becomes the first woman to serve in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
- September 14 - Groundbreaking for the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
- September 15 - The F-86 Sabre sets the world aircraft speed record at 671 mph (1080 km/h).
- September 17 - The Lehi (also known as the Stern gang) assassinates Count Folke Bernadotte, who was appointed by the UN to mediate between the Arabs and Jews.
- September 18 - Communist Madiun uprising in Dutch Indies.
- September 18 - Margaret Chase Smith of Maine becomes the first woman elected to the US Senate without completing another senator's term when she defeats Democratic opponent Adrian Scolten.
- September 18 - Ralph Bunche is confirmed as acting United Nations mediator for Palestine and Israel.
- September 18 - Yoni Abramski, age 12, shot and killed by Jordanian sniper in Jerusalem.
- September 24 - The Honda Motor Company is founded.
- October 5 - The 1948 Ashgabat earthquake kills 110,000.
- October 26 - Killer smog settles into Donora, Pennsylvania.
- October 27 - Léopold Sédar Senghor founds the Senegalese Democratic Bloc (BDS).
- October 28 - Swiss chemist Paul Müller is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT.
- October 29 - Safsaf massacre
- November 1 - Off southern Manchuria, 6,000 people are killed as a Chinese merchant ship explodes and sinks.
- 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 succeeds William Lyon Mackenzie King as Prime Minister of Canada. King had the longest combined time (3 terms, 22 years in total) as Premier in Commonwealth of Nations history.
- December 10 - The UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today is also International Human Rights Day.
- December 12 - Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali Massacre
- December 23 - Seven Japanese convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo.
- December 26 - Cardinal Mindszenty is arrested in Hungary and accused of treason and conspiracy.
- December 28 - The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 50 miles south of Miami, Florida.
|
|
|
|