Year 1947 Fun Facts, Trivia, and History Events

This quick read presents a collection of fun facts, trivia, and history events from the year 1947. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, historic firsts, entertainment news, and much more.

Here is a sneak preview of what this article is all about:

1. In 1947, President Truman, UFOs, and Christian Dior's "New Look" were all on center stage. Meatloaf and molasses cookies were crowd-pleasers, and Daniel and Patricia were popular baby names. In 1947 as well, the words "bank card," "drag race," "drunk tank," "flight attendant," "flying saucer," "party pooper," "prime time," "role model," "top banana," and "workaholic" all appeared in print for the first time.
2. President of the United States: Harry S. Truman
3. Average annual household income: $2,850.00
4. Average cost of a new car: $1,300.00
5. Average cost of a new home: $6,600.00
6. Average retail price for a gallon of gas: 23 cents
7. Inflation rate: Over 20 percent
8. Unemployment rate: 3.9 percent
9. At the grocery store, bananas were 11 cents a pound, flour cost 34 cents for a five-pound bag, and milk was 75 cents a gallon. Hot dogs were 47 cents a pound, eggs cost 57 cents a dozen, and Hershey's cocoa was 13 cents for an eight-ounce can.
10. American companies and brands established during 1947 included Elmer's Products, Franklin Templeton Investments, Fred Astaire Dance Studios, J.Crew, Stanley Steemer, and Talbots.
11. Consumer products launched during the year included Ajax household cleaners, Barbicide disinfectant, Bazooka chewing gum, Hi-C juices, Prell shampoo, Reynolds Wrap, Sno Balls, TRESemme, and Wheat Thins.
12. On February 10, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Italy, and Romania all signed peace treaties in Paris.
13. On February 21, Edwin Land unveiled the Polaroid Land camera in New York City while at a meeting with the Optical Society of America.
14. On March 13, the 19th Academy Awards took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The Best Years of Our Lives won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score.
15. On March 24, financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated a site along New York City's East River to build the headquarters of the United Nations.
16. On April 16, American presidential advisor Bernard Baruch described the post-World War II tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union as a "Cold War.”
17. On April 27, Babe Ruth Day was celebrated throughout the United States to honor the ailing baseball legend. The main event “was held at Yankee Stadium, where over 58,000 fans gathered to see Ruth deliver an emotional, but hoarse, farewell speech about his love for the game and his hope that children would continue to play baseball. The celebration was such a success that it has been observed annually on April 27th ever since.”
18. On April 30, the Boulder Dam in Nevada was renamed the Hoover Dam, in honor of Herbert Hoover, the nation's 31st president.
19. On May 5, the Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Robert Penn Warren for his novel, All the King's Men.
20. On May 7, the anthology drama series, Kraft Theatre, debuted on NBC-TV and ran for 11 seasons.
21. On May 22, in an attempt to fight the spread of Communism, President Truman signed the Truman Doctrine, which "pledged $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece."
22. On June 5, Secretary of State George Marshall "proposed that the United States provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe." His proposal became known as the Marshall Plan, which President Truman signed into law in 1948.
23. On June 11, the Christmas classic, Miracle on 34th Street, starring John Payne and Maureen O'Hara, was released.
24. On June 17, Pan American World Airways became the first American airline to offer "regularly scheduled around-the-world passenger service."
25. On June 22, 12 inches of rain fell in 42 minutes in Holt, Missouri.
26. On June 23, the United States Senate "seconded the U.S. House of Representatives to override President Truman's veto of the Taft-Hartley Act." (The Taft-Hartley Act "is a United States federal law that restricts the activities and powers of labor unions.")
27. On June 24, amateur pilot Kenneth Arnold made the first "widely reported UFO sighting" near Mount Rainier, Washington. Mr. Arnold “was flying from his home in Idaho to an air show in Oregon and took a detour to Mount Rainier, Washington.” (As Britannica explains, “12,000 reports of UFO sightings or related events were collected from 1952 to 1969. Only 6% remained unexplained due to insufficient information.)
28. On June 29, the New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 3-1, to begin a 19-game winning streak.
29. On July 3, a record 252,288 people passed through Grand Central Station in New York City.
30. On July 18, President Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act into law, which placed "the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate next in line of succession after the Vice President."
31. On July 21, Mickey Cochrane, Frankie Frisch, Lefty Grove, and Carl Hubbell were all inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
32. On July 26, President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 into law, which created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
33. On August 15, India and Pakistan gained their independence from Great Britain.
34. On September 13, WPVI-TV (ABC) in Philadelphia began broadcasting and also became the first television station in Pennsylvania.
35. On September 19, MLB legend Jackie Robinson was named Major League Baseball’s “Rookie of the Year.”
36. On September 26, the U.S. Air Force was made a separate branch of the military.
37. On September 26, Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler announced that the Ford Motor Company and the Gillette Company would both sponsor the first televised World Series games.
38. On September 30, at the first televised World Series game (NBC-TV), the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 5-3. A record 73,365 fans came to Yankee Stadium to see the landmark game.
39. On October 5, President Truman became the first U.S. president to address the nation on television. During his initial TV broadcast, Truman discussed the international food crisis and proposed meatless Tuesdays for Americans.
40. On October 6, the New York Yankees defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 3, to win their 11th World Series title.
41. On November 6, the public affairs program, Meet the Press, premiered on NBC-TV. The show still airs today and is also the longest-running program on television.
42. On November 29, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine "recommended the partition of Palestine into two separate states, one Arab and one Jewish.”
43. On December 28, at the 15th annual National Football League (NFL) championship game, the Chicago Cardinals (Western Division) defeated the Philadelphia Eagles (Eastern Division), 28-21. The game was played at Comiskey Park in Chicago to a lower-capacity crowd of 30,759.
44. In 1947, there were 44,000 television sets in the U.S. vs. 40 million radios. The average American family listened to the radio for more than four hours each day.
45. French fashion designer Christian Dior launched his first collection that introduced the "New Look." It featured "rounded shoulders, a cinched waist, and a very full skirt."
46. John Bardeen invented the transistor, and Edward H. Lowe created Kitty Litter.
47. Near You was the most popular single, The Miracle of the Bells was the most popular fiction book, and Forever Amber was the most popular film.
48. Famous people born in 1947 included Tom Clancy, Hillary Clinton, Ted Danson, Elton John, Stephen King, David Letterman, James Patterson, Mitt Romney, Nolan Ryan, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

References:

1. https://popculturemadness.com/1947-history-fun-facts-trivia/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947_in_the_United_States
3. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1947
4. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1947
5. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1946.html
6. https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/vintage-recipes-from-the-1940s/
7. https://www.heywoodwakefield.com/blogs/blog/15-iconic-american-brands-founded-in-the-1940s
8. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/year/1947.html

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor