Baby Boomers - What Happened in 1947?
If you are a baby boomer born in 1947, you will find this information extremely interesting. Hope you enjoy learning more about the year you were born! If you have a friend or a family member born in 1947, send them a link to this page. They will appreciate it!
Major Events
- Harry Truman is president of the United States. No vice president.
- The Truman Doctrine is formulated to provide aid to countries whose governments are threatened with overthrow
- The CIA is established
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) begins to operate
- The Cold War is started
- U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall proposed a European recovery effort, popularly called the "Marshall Plan," to help European nations recover economically from World War II
- Soviet Union rejects U.S. plan for UN atomic-energy control
- The Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered at Qumran
- Britain nationalizes coal mines
- Britain's Princess Elizabeth marries Phillip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh
- Britain grants independence to India and Pakistan
Business and Economy
- U.S. GDP (1998 dollars): $244.6 billion
- Federal spending: $34.50 billion
- Federal debt: $257.1 billion
- Consumer Price Index: 22.3
- Unemployment: 3.9%
- Congress passes Taft-Hartley Act, restricting labor unions
- Henry Ford dies, leaving a fortune of over $600 million
- Americans are able to purchase the first new cars manufactured since the beginning of World War II
Science and Technology
- Former fighter pilot Chuck Yeager breaks the sonic barrier at over 600 mph
- Thor Heyerdahl sails from Peru to Polynesia on a raft to prove theory of human migration
- Transistor invented at Bell Laboratories
- Holography invented
- Broad spectrum antibiotic introduced to fight typhus
- The microwave oven is invented by Percy Spencer
- The carbon-14 method of radiocarbon dating is developed by Willard F. Libby
- Researchers at Stanford University report the isolation of the polio virus
- Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose, the world's largest plane, flies for the first time
- The vacuum tube-replacing electronic transistor is announced by Bell Laboratories
- Saab produces its first automobile
- Goodrich manufacturers first tubeless tire
Sports
- Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American player in major league baseball by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers
- New York Yankees defeated Brooklyn Dodgers for the World Series (4-3) - first televised World Series
- Chicago Cardinals win the NFL championship
Famous Baby Boomers Born in 1947
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Dan Quayle
- David Bowie
- David Letterman
- Dr. Laura Schlessinger
- Elton John
- Emmylou Harris
- Farrah Fawcett
- Glenn Close
- Hillary Clinton
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Meredith Baxter
- Nolan Ryan
- O.J. Simpson
- Richard Dreyfuss
- Rob Reiner
- Stephen King
- Ted Danson
Arts and Entertainment
- Books: The Miracle of the Bells; The Moneyman; Gentleman's Agreement; Lydia Bailey; The Vixens; The Wayward Bus; House Divided; Kingsblood Royal; East Side, West Side; Prince of Foxes
- Movies: Gentleman's Agreement, Miracle on 34th Street, Great Expectations, The Bishop's Wife, Road to Rio, The Jolson Story
- Songs: Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, White Christmas - Bing Crosby, Too Fat Polka - Arthur Godfrey
- Popular Musicians: Francis Craig, James Baskett, Vaughn Monroe, Ted Weems, Perry Como
- TV Shows: Kraft Television Theatre. Small Fry Club (programming limited to about 18 hours a week). Meet the Press debuts on NBC - the first news show will become television's longest-running program.
- Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire, wins the 1948 Pulitzer Prize
- The House UnAmerican Activities Committee begins hearings into alleged communist ties in Hollywood
Everyday Life
- U.S. Population: 144,126,071
- Life expectancy: 66.8 years
- Average yearly income: $3,031
- Federal hourly minimum wage: $.40
- Cost of a new home: $6,600
- Cost of a new car: $1,500
- Cost of a first-class stamp: $.03
Popular Culture
- There are 14,000 television sets in use in the United States
- North America and Europe experience severe winters. New York receives 28 inches of snow on December 17. Britain has its harshest winter in over 50 years.
- First documented sightings of flying saucers
- Drive-in theatres become a booming industry
- Richard T. James invents the Slinky
- Long, full skirts becomes the rage of female fashion
- Over 1 million veterans enroll in college through the G.I. Bill
- First food processors invented
- Earl Silas Tupper patents the Tupperware seal. He used "Tupperware Parties" to market the product, a unique way of marketing directly to homemakers
|
