Also Within this year in history

In 1947, both India and Pakistan won independence from Great Britain. America launched the Marshall Plan to help war-torn Europe rebuild, and the U.N. partitioned Palestine, creating the state of Israel. In the U.S., Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball and test pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the X-1 rocket plane. And in Roswell, New Mexico, a mysterious object crashed in the desert, driving speculation about extraterrestrial life.

Mar

12

Cold War

President Truman announces the Truman Doctrine

In a dramatic speech to a joint session of Congress, President Harry S. Truman asks for U.S. assistance for Greece and Turkey to forestall communist domination of the two nations. Historians have often cited Truman’s address, which came to be known as the Truman Doctrine, as the official declaration of the Cold War.

The Truman Doctrine

American President Harry S Truman (1884 - 1972) signing the Foreign Aid Assistance Act, which provided a programme of foreign aid to Greece and Turkey. The provision of economic support to any nation resisting communist pressure came to be known as the Truman Doctrine. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)

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Aug

07

Exploration

Norwegian explorer completes 4,300-mile ocean voyage in wooden raft

On August 7, 1947, Kon-Tiki, a balsa wood raft captained by Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, completes a 4,300-mile, 101-day journey from Peru to Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelago, near Tahiti. Heyerdahl wanted to prove his theory that prehistoric South Americans could have colonized the Polynesian islands by drifting on ocean currents.

The Kon Tiki sails to Polynesia, George Washington founded the Order of Purple Heart, a tightrope is between the World Trade Center Towers, and Joe Lieberman is Al Gore’s Vice President candidate in This Day in History video. The date is August 7th. Frenchman, Philippe Petit, walks the tightrope between the Twin Towers and Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl reaches Polynesia.

Oct

05

U.S. Presidents

Harry Truman delivers first-ever presidential speech on TV

On October 5, 1947, President Harry Truman (1884-1972) makes the first-ever televised presidential address from the White House, asking Americans to cut back on their use of grain in order to help starving Europeans.

In this This Day in History video clip learn about different events that have occurred on October 5th. Some of the events include Chief Joseph surrenders and the Beatles releasing their first single, Love Me Do. Also, Barry Bonds hits the most home runs in a single season and President Truman makes the first television address.

Oct

14

Inventions & Science

Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier

U.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager becomes the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound.

Chuck Yeager And Bell X-1

Captain Charles E Yeager standing next to the Air Force's Bell X-1 supersonic research aircraft, Muroc Army Air Force Base, California, October 1947. Yeager named it the Glamorous Glennis after his wife. He became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound on October 14, 1947. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)

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Oct

20

Cold War

Congress investigates Communists in Hollywood

On October 20, 1947, the notorious Red Scare kicks into high gear in Washington, as a Congressional committee begins investigating communist influence in one of the world’s richest and most glamorous communities: Hollywood.

Anti-Communism Demo in Hollywood

A group of protesters demonstrate holding placards against Communist sympathizers outside the Fox Wilshire Theatre in occasion of the premiere of film 'Exodus', which marked the end of the 'Hollywood Blacklist' when screen player Dalton Trumbo, a Communist Party member from 1943 to 1948 and member of the Hollywood Ten, was credited as the screenwriter of the film, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, US, December 1960. (Photo by American Stock Archive/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

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Nov

02

Inventions & Science

Howard Hughes’s “Spruce Goose” flies

The Hughes Flying Boat—at one time the largest aircraft ever built—is piloted by designer Howard Hughes on its first and only flight. Built with laminated birch and spruce (hence the nickname the Spruce Goose) the massive wooden aircraft had a wingspan longer than a football field and was designed to carry more than 700 men to battle.

Howard Hughes in Cockpit of Spruce Goose

American aircraft designer Howard Hughes prepares for the trial run of his strategic airlift flying boat, the Hughes H-4 Hercules (aka the 'Spruce Goose'), Los Angeles harbor, 2nd November 1947. The brief flight was the aircraft's first and only time airborne.

Bettmann Archive

Nov

29

Middle Eastern History

U.N. votes for partition of Palestine

Despite strong Arab opposition, the United Nations votes for the partition of Palestine into two sections: an independent Jewish state and an independent Arab state.

In this “This Day in History” video clip learn about different events that have occurred on November 29th. Some of these events include Richard Bird flying over the South Pole and President Johnson establishing the Warren commission. Also, George Harrison died and Israel is officially called a country.

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