At A Glance

31 August 1947 at a glance

Day of the week
31 August 1947 was a Sunday.
Top Film of 1947
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1947 was Forever Amber.
Bestselling Novel of 1947
“The Miracle of the Bells” by Russell Janney was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1947.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 August is Virgo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 August 1947 fell in the Year of the Pig.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 August 1947 was Full Moon.

On this day: 31 August

  • 1939 Nazi Germany mounts a false flag attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day, thus starting World War II in Europe.
  • 1941 World War II: Serbian paramilitary forces defeat Germans in the Battle of Loznica.
  • 1943 USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.
  • 1949 The retreat of the Democratic Army of Greece into Albania after its defeat on Gramos mountain marks the end of the Greek Civil War.
  • 1957 The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

Famous people born on August 31

  • Richard Gere, American actor and producer (born 1949)
  • Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (born 1985)
  • Jalen Brunson, American basketball player (born 1996)
  • Caligula, Roman emperor (born 12)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1947 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1947 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • May 22 – Cold War: In an effort to fight the spread of Communism, President Harry S. Truman signs an Act of Congress that implements the Truman Doctrine. This Act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece.
  • July 7 – A supposedly downed extraterrestrial spacecraft is reportedly found in the Roswell UFO incident, near Roswell, New Mexico, which will be written about by Stanton T. Friedman and many others.
  • July 26 – Cold War: President Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into law, creating the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council.

Life in the US in 1947

President

Harry S. Truman

Gas (per gallon)

$0.23

Loaf of Bread

$0.12

Average House

$4,900

Weekly Wage

$46

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1940s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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