A Summary of 1948 Newspaper Headlines
1st January 1948
Railways are nationalised to form British Railways.
30th January 1948
Indian pacifist and leader Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated by Nathuram Godse.
4th February 1948
Ceylon, later renamed Sri Lanka, becomes independent within the British Commonwealth. King George VI becomes King of Ceylon.
7th April 1948
The World Health Organisation is established by the United Nations.
30th April 1948
The Land Rover is unveiled at the Amsterdam Motor Show.
4th May 1948
Laurence Olivier’s film version of “Hamlet” makes its world premiere in London.
22nd June 1948
The ship ‘Empire Windrush’ brings the first group of several hundred black immigrants to Tilbury near London from the Caribbean countries. This is the start of multiculturalism in Britain.
28th June 1948
David Lean’s “Oliver Twist“, based on Charles Dickens’ famous novel, premieres in the United Kingdom. The film is banned for three years in the United States due to alleged anti-Semitism in the depiction of Fagin.
29th July 1948
The 1948 Summer Olympics begin in London. The Olympic Games had previously been on a twelve-year hiatus due to the Second World War.
9th September 1948
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is formally declared, with Kim Il-sung as Prime Minister.
5th October 1948
The 1948 Ashgabat earthquake kills 100,000 people in the Soviet Union.
2nd November 1948
Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman defeats Republican Thomas E. Dewey and ‘Dixiecrat’ Strom Thurmond in the 1948 United States presidential election.
12th November 1948
In Tokyo, an international war crimes tribunal sentences seven Japanese military and government officials to death, for their roles in the Second World War. One of those executed is General Hideki Tojo.
14th November 1948
Birth of Prince Charles, heir to the throne.
Our 1948 newspaper headlines feature notorious events that are now instantly associated with this year. The World Health Organisation was established to promote healthy practices all over the world and in a similar vein, the NHS is established, providing free healthcare to all UK citizens. A defining moment, the United Nations came together to create the United Declaration of Human Rights after the atrocities of WWII, stating all humans are entitled to fair treatment, dignity and human rights regardless of personal characteristics.
Not found what you’re looking for? If you want an exact newspaper about particular events or persons, you can contact research@historic-newspapers.co.uk for in-depth articles.
Gandhi Assassination Newspaper Coverage
Despite the promise of economic change, the year also witnessed its share of sadness. The Gandhi assassination newspaper became a major headline of the year, where Mahatma Gandhi, the pacifist and activist leader of the Indian Independence movement against British rule, was assassinated by Nathuram Godse. These are some of the major events that made the headlines during this year.
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