Born in 1948
People born in 1948 turn 78 in 2026. A dollar in 1948 buys what $14.01 buys in September 2026, and about 2.44 billion people were alive. Every figure below links to the source it came from.
Your birthday in 1948
1948
What things cost in 1948
| U.S. average | 1948 | in today’s dollars | latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| One dollar | $1.00 | $14.01 | CPI-U |
1948 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED. Average retail prices are only published from 1976 on; 1948 has the CPI alone.
Who was in charge in 1948
- United States
- Harry S. Truman (President)
- United Kingdom
- George VI (King); Clement Attlee (Prime minister)
- Soviet Union
- Joseph Stalin (General Secretary); Nikolay Shvernik (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Joseph Stalin (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)
- Republic of China (1916–1949)
- Chiang Kai-shek (Chairmen; President); Chang Ch'ün, then Weng Wenhao, then Sun Fo (Premier)
- People's Republic of China
- Mao Zedong (Chairman)
- French Fourth Republic
- Vincent Auriol (President); Robert Schuman, then André Marie, then Henri Queuille (Prime minister)
- Allied-occupied Germany
- Lucius D. Clay (Military governor)
- State of Japan
- Hirohito (Emperor); Tetsu Katayama, then Hitoshi Ashida, then Shigeru Yoshida (Prime minister)
From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1901–1950) (revision 1377869146), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1948 →
Famous people born in 1948
- February 24 – Jayalalithaa, Indian politician, film actress (died 2016) source
- 24 February – J. Jayalalithaa, actress, politician, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. (died 2016) source
- November 14 – King Charles III of the United Kingdom source
- November 20 – John R. Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., National Security Advisor source
- June 23 – Clarence Thomas, African-American Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States source
- January 1 – Allan Alcorn, American engineer source
- December 3 – Ozzy Osbourne, British heavy metal singer (Black Sabbath) (died 2025) source
- March 31 – Al Gore, American politician and environmentalist, 45th Vice President of the United States source
- September 26 – Olivia Newton-John, English-born Australian singer, actress (died 2022) source
- February 8 – Dan Seals, American musician (died 2009) source
- February 4 – Alice Cooper, American hard rock singer and musician (School's Out) source
- March 12 – James Taylor, American singer, songwriter ("Fire and Rain") source
- January 3 – Wanda Seux, Paraguayan vedette, dancer and actress (died 2020) source
- December 29 – Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland First Minister source
- May 26 – Stevie Nicks, American rock singer, songwriter (Fleetwood Mac) source
What happened in 1948
- January 1 – The current Constitutions of Italy and of New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) go into effect. source
- January 12 – Mahatma Gandhi begins his fast-unto-death in Delhi, to stop communal violence during the Partition of India. source
- January 7-UNCOK visits South Korea. source
- January 1 – The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British Railways. source
- March 13 – Dr. K. Goonam leads a batch of twelve passive resisters across the Natal-Transvaal border. source
- January 7 – Mantell UFO incident: Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of an unidentified flying object. source
- January 5 – The first Kinsey Report, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, is published. source
- January 1 – The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. source