What is 1948?
{{Year nav|1948}} {{Year in various calendars|1948}} '''1948''' ([[Roman numerals|MCMXLVIII]]) was a [[leap year starting on Thursday]] in the [[Gregorian calendar]], the 1948th year of the [[Common Era]] (CE) and ''[[Anno Domini]]'' (AD) designations, {{Year article header/year number|1948}} == Events == * [[January 1]] – [[Nationalisation]] of [[United Kingdom|UK]] [[railways]] to form [[British Rail]]ways. Arab [[militants]] lay siege to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of [[Jerusalem]]. First day of the Italian republican constitution. * [[January 4]] – [[Burma]] gains its independence from the [[United Kingdom]]. * [[January 5]] – [[Warner Brothers]] shows the first color [[newsreel]] ([[Tournament of Roses Parade]] and the [[Rose Bowl (game)|Rose Bowl]]). * [[January 17]] – [[Truce]] between nationalist [[Indonesia]]n and Dutch troops in [[Java (island)|Java]] * [[January 26]] – [[Teigin poison case]] – Man masquerading as a doctor poisons 12 out of 15 bank employees of the Tokyo branch of Imperial Bank and takes the money; artist [[Sadamichi Hirasawa]] is later sentenced for the crime. * [[January 30]] – [[India]]n pacifist and leader [[Mahatma Gandhi]] is murdered by a [[Hindu]] extremist. * [[January 30]] – [[1948 Winter Olympics]] open in [[St. Moritz]], [[Switzerland]]. * [[February 1]] – Soviet Union begins to jam [[Voice of America]] broadcasts. * [[February 4]] – [[Ceylon]] (later renamed [[Sri Lanka]]) becomes independent within the [[British Commonwealth]]. King [[George VI of the United Kingdom|George VI]] becomes King of Ceylon. * [[February 18]] – [[Éamon de Valera]], head of government since 1932, loses power to an opposition coalition. [[John A. Costello]] is appointed [[Taoiseach]] of [[Éire]] (formerly called the [[Irish Free State]]) by President [[Sean T. O'Kelly|O'Kelly]]. * [[February 24]] – The [[Communist]] Party seizes control of [[Czechoslovakia]]. * Works begins on the [[Crazy Horse Memorial]]. * [[May 13]] – [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|First Kashmir War]] between [[India]] and