Soviet representatives withdrew from the Allied Kommandatura in
Berlin, ending the last vestige of co-operation between the four powers in Germany.[1]
US President
Harry S. Truman signed a Republican-sponsored housing bill, but criticized it as "slipshod" for failing to provide any public housing or slum clearance.[2]
A law banning
pinball machines and other "gaming devices" went into effect in New York City, one day after Mayor
William O'Dwyer signed the measure to prohibit them after a brief public hearing. The machines had been associated with gambling and organized crime, despite some on the council maintaining that they were merely harmless amusements. The ban would remain in effect until 1976.[4][5]
362 US and British planes airlifted nearly 3,000 tons of food into Berlin in a 22-hour span, the highest tonnage carried and number of planes used since the
Berlin Airlift began.[8]
Died:Albert Bates, 54, American criminal (died in prison at
Alcatraz);
Edward Gent, 52, British Governor of the Malayan Union (killed in the Northwood air collision)
The
National Health Service was established in the United Kingdom, declared to be the most comprehensive health care system in the world at the time of its implementation.[9]
Israeli forces in the north of Palestine commenced
Operation Dekel with the objective of capturing
Nazareth and the
Lower Galilee, while the
Givati Brigade launched
Operation An-Far with the goal of gaining control of approaches in southern
Judea and blocking the advance of the Egyptian army.
American, British and French authorities in Berlin drastically cut electric power to save coal.[12]
Born:Raffi, children's musician, as Raffi Cavoukian in
Cairo, Egypt
Fighting resumed in the
Arab-Israeli War when the four-week truce expired.[13] UN mediator
Folke Bernadotte said that Israel had been willing to extend the truce but that the Arabs had refused.[14] Israeli forces launched
Operation Danny with the goal of capturing territory east of
Tel Aviv.
A six-year ban on prostitution in
Reno, Nevada was lifted after a judge reversed a lower court conviction of a woman for the offense, ruling that the wartime "emergency" period was over.[15]
The
Turkish Parliament passed a new election law guaranteeing a
secret ballot and open vote counting in the presence of all political parties.[16]
Born:Theo Bücker, footballer and coach, in
Bestwig, Germany;
Chico Resch, ice hockey player and television commentator, in
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
Florida Senator
Claude Pepper announced he was challenging President Truman for the Democratic nomination for president, claiming he had the support of twenty-two states in a "stop Truman" movement.[17]
The Democratic National Convention voted to seat the
Mississippi delegates over objections from Northern states that they would lead a revolt against President Truman.[19]
Riots broke out all over Italy after Italian Communist leader
Palmiro Togliatti was shot three times outside the Chamber of Deputies by a university student. Communists called for a
general strike to start the next day to pressure the
Alcide De Gasperi government to resign.[21]
35
Alabama and
Mississippi delegates walked out of the Democratic National Convention in protest against Truman's new mandate and the party's civil rights platform.[22]
The
Democratic National Convention ended at 2:30 in the morning after Harry Truman won two-thirds of the delegates. Kentucky Senator
Alben W. Barkley was chosen as Truman's running mate.[23] "I can't tell you how very much I appreciate the honor which you have just conferred upon me," Truman said in his acceptance speech. "I shall continue to try to deserve it."[24]
The
Battle of Be'erot Yitzhak was fought when the Egyptian army attacked the
Negev village of
Be'erot Yitzhak. They managed to penetrate the village perimeter, but were driven out by Israeli reinforcements.
Invoking
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter for the very first time in the history of the UN, the Security Council ordered Israel and the Arab League to stop fighting in Palestine or face sanctions.[25]
A commercial aircraft was hijacked for the first time when the
Cathay Pacific Catalina seaplane Miss Macao was taken over by pirates seeking robbery and ransom. The plane crashed at Jiuzhou Yang (
Pearl River Delta), China, killing 23 passengers and 3 crew and leaving the leader of the hijacking plot as the only survivor when he jumped out the emergency exit just before the crash.
The Czech government announced the arrest of 68 civilians and 3 soldiers it accused of being Western spies who plotted to assassinate top government officials, including Defense Minister
Ludvík Svoboda.[31]
Another truce went into effect in Palestine upon Arab-Israeli acceptance of the UN Security Council's order.[32] The
Battles of Latrun ended in Jordanian victory and
Operation Death to the Invader ended in Israeli failure to achieve its objective.
Operation Danny concluded with Israeli forces successfully capturing
Ramle,
Lydda and surrounding villages but failing to capture
Latrun.
The United States and Yugoslavia ended their dispute over frozen Yugoslavian assets when Belgrade agreed to pay $17 million to settle various American claims.[34]
Israeli forces commenced
Operation Shoter, a new offensive targeting an area south of
Haifa.
1948 Progressive National Convention:
Henry A. Wallace and Idaho Senator
Glen H. Taylor were nominated as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the new
Progressive Party at its national convention at
Shibe Park in Philadelphia. During his acceptance speech Wallace advocated an American withdrawal from Berlin, saying that it had already been given up "politically" and "having done that we can't lose anything by giving it up militarily in a search for peace."[40]
The Progressive National Convention ended with the adoption of a party platform pledging an end to
segregation, repeal of the
Bell Trade Act, outlawing the atomic bomb, strengthening of the United Nations and an end to the
Truman Doctrine and the
Marshall Plan.[41][42]
President Truman addressed a special session of Congress urging immediate enactment of anti-inflation and public housing legislation, as well as adoption of his civil rights program. "We cannot afford to wait for the next Congress to act," Truman declared, adding that the eight months before the 81st Congress could get to work "would be much too long."[46]
Israeli forces launched
Operation GYS with the objective of creating an Israeli enclave in the northern
Negev desert, but had to retreat after heavy resistance.
The
IG Farben Trial ended at
Nuremberg. Ten of the twenty-three defendants were acquitted while the other thirteen were found guilty of at least one charge.
Israeli forces commenced
Operation GYS 2, a second attempt to break through to the Negev.
Elizabeth Bentley, a confessed American spy for the Russians, testified before a Senate subcommittee that she had received classified information during the war from 30 to 50 informants in key government posts. Among those she named were
William Remington, an important member of the Department of Commerce.[48]
The
Krupp Trial ended in Nuremberg. One defendant was acquitted and the other eleven received prison sentences of varying lengths up to twelve years.
Elizabeth Bentley continued her testimony and accused wartime presidential aide
Lauchlin Currie and former Assistant Treasury Secretary
Harry Dexter White of indirectly providing her with classified information.[49]
^Popham, John N. (July 18, 1948). "Southerners Name Thurmond to Lead Anti-Truman Fight". The New York Times: 1, 3.
^"Prague Seizes 71 As Agents for U. S.". The New York Times: 1, 17. July 18, 1948.
^"New Palestine Truce Begun; Time Limit Asked By Arabs; Major U. N. Victory Is Seen". The New York Times: 1. July 19, 1948.
^Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling. ECW Press. pp. 8–9.
ISBN9781554902743.
^Walz, Jay (July 20, 1948). "U. S., Belgrade Sign Debt Agreements". The New York Times: 1.
^"300,000 Stand Silent in Rain As Pershing Is Borne to Rest". The New York Times: 1. July 20, 1948.
^Berger, Meyer (July 21, 1948). "12 U. S. Communists Indicted In Anti-Government Plot; Foster, Davis, Other Sized". The New York Times: 1.
^Handler, M. S. (July 22, 1948). "Tito, Defiant, Says Cominform Sought to Stir Civil War". The New York Times: 1.
^Middleton, Drew (July 24, 1948). "2,811 Tons of Supplies Flown In by West in Day — Soviet to Revise Currency — Statements by Soklovsky Denied". The New York Times: 4.
^Daniel, Clifton (July 24, 1948). "Malaya Outlaws Four Red Groups". The New York Times: 4.
^Lawrence, W. H. (July 25, 1948). "Wallace Accepts, Calling on Allies to Give Up Berlin". The New York Times: 1.
^Lawrence, W. H. (July 26, 1948). "New Party Blocks Ban on Endorsing Red Foreign Policy". The New York Times: 1.
^"Text of the Platform as Approved for Adoption Today by the Progressive Party". The New York Times: 29–32. July 25, 1948.
^"Nazi Who Freed Mussolini Flees From German Camp". The New York Times: 10. July 28, 1948.
^Morrow, Edward A. (July 27, 1948). "U.S., Britain Bar Rail Traffic With Russian German Zone; Soviet's Police Chief Ousted". The New York Times: 1.
^Briley, Ron (2011). The Baseball Film in Postwar America: A Critical Study, 1948–1962. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 31.
ISBN9780786484799.
^Leviero, Anthony (July 28, 1948). "11-Point Plan Set". The New York Times: 1, 3.