What Happened on August 13, 1948

Historical Events

  • 3 Finnish gymnasts dead heat for the gold medal in the pommel horse section at London Olympics; Paavo Aaltonen, Veikko Huhtanen & Heikki Savolainen all awarded gold
  • Hungarian boxer László Papp wins the first of 3 consecutive Olympic gold medals; beats British middleweight Johnny Wright on points at the London Games
  • Johan Gren scores twice as Sweden beats Yugoslavia 3-1 to win the football gold medal at the London Olympics
  • José Beyaert of France wins the cycling road race at the London Olympics; Belgium takes gold in the teams section beating Great Britain & France

Sports History

Satchel Paige at 42, pitches his 1st major league complete game

  • The United States successfully defends its Olympic basketball title with a 65-21 win over France at the London Games
1948 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Kathleen Battle, American Grammy, Emmy, and Olivier Award-winning operatic soprano (Wagner's Tannhäuser - "the Shephard"), born in Portsmouth, Ohio
  • Mosiuoa Lekota, South African UDF/ANC leader, born in Kroonstad, South Africa
  • Tony Santini [Scott Powell], American rock singer (Sha Na Na, 1969-81), and orthopedic surgeon, born in Dallas, Texas
Born in 1948

Famous Deaths

  • Edwin Maxwell, Irish actor (Taming of the Shrew), dies at 62
  • Elaine Hammerstein, American stage and silent film actress, dies in a Tijuana car crash at 51
1948 Highlights

About August 13, 1948

Day of the Week: Friday
How Long Ago? 75 years, 7 months and 15 days
Leap Year: Yes

Generation: Baby Boomer
Chinese Zodiac: Rat
Star Sign: Leo