On this day

February 5, 1948

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

Notable Births

Sven-Göran Eriksson

1948Sven-Göran Eriksson, Swedish footballer and manager (died 2024)[†]

Sven-Göran Eriksson was a Swedish football player and manager.

Christopher Guest

1948Christopher Guest, British-American actor and director[†]

Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest, known professionally as Christopher Guest, is an American and British actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. Guest has written, directed, and starred in his series of comedy films shot in mockumentary style. He co-wrote and acted in the rock satire This Is Spinal Tap (1984), and later directed a string of satirical mockumentary films such as Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), and Mascots (2016). His acting credits include roles in Death Wish (1974), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), and A Few Good Men (1992). He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live in 1984–1985.

Barbara Hershey

1948Barbara Hershey, American actress[†]

Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey, is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including Westerns, horrors, and comedies. She began acting at age 17 in 1965, but did not achieve widespread critical acclaim until the 1980s. By that time, the Chicago Tribune referred to her as "one of America's finest actresses".

Errol Morris

1948Errol Morris, American director and producer[†]

Errol Mark Morris is an American film director known for documentaries that interrogate the epistemology of their subjects, and the invention of the Interrotron. In 2003, his The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. His film The Thin Blue Line placed fifth on a Sight & Sound poll of the greatest documentaries ever made. Morris is known for making films about unusual subjects; Fast, Cheap & Out of Control interweaves the stories of an animal trainer, a topiary gardener, a robot scientist, and a naked mole-rat specialist.

Tom Wilkinson

1948Tom Wilkinson, English actor (died 2023)[†]

Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson was an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2005, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Notable Deaths

Johannes Blaskowitz

1948Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (born 1883)[†]

Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz was a German Generaloberst during World War II. After joining the Imperial German Army in 1901, Blaskowitz served throughout World War I, where he earned the Iron Cross for bravery. During WWII, Blaskowitz led the 8th Army during the Invasion of Poland and was the Commander in Chief of Occupied Poland from 1939 to 1940. During the war, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Portrait 1080 × 1920 PNG · created on your device

Filter by:

Headlines from February 5, 1948