On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Comment on M Peyrouton in Crusade in Eur cited
flies from Washington to Kan City; gets plane crew gift; met by Mrs Truman, daughter, relatives and friends; drives to Independence and then back to office at hotel; gets gift of prize ham; school girls serenade Truman home
Meat supply and price estimate for '49
Sen subcom approves pay rise bill to be submitted to Cong on Jan 3; would provide Pres salary of $100,000 yr and tax-free yrly spending allowance of $50,000; would raise VP and House Speaker salaries to $30,000 yr plus expense allowance of $10,000 yr; pay rises provided for Cabinet officers, other officials and foreign service employes; subcom rept urges pay rises for staffs also; Sens Flanders, Baldwin and O'Conor comment
1948David Davis, English politician, Minister of State for Europe[†]
Sir David Michael Davis is an English Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Goole and Pocklington. He was previously the MP for Haltemprice and Howden and, before that, for Boothferry, where he was first elected in 1987. He served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2003 to 2008 and Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union from 2016 to 2018. Davis was sworn of the Privy Council in the 1997 New Year Honours, while serving as Minister of State for Europe, a role he held from 1994 to 1997.
1948Jim Ferguson, American guitarist, composer, and journalist[†]
James Edwin Ferguson is an American guitarist, composer, journalist, and educator.
1948Jack Ham, American football player and sportscaster[†]
Jack Raphael Ham Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He is considered one of the greatest outside linebackers in the history of the NFL. Ham was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions. In mid-2019 the newsletter of the PSU Alumni Association rated Ham first among the 100 greatest athletes, considering all sports and all previous football players, in University history.
1948Rick Wohlhuter, American runner[†]
Rick Wohlhuter is a retired American middle-distance runner.
1948Akira Mutō, Japanese general (born 1883)[†]
Akira Mutō was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He was convicted of war crimes and was executed by hanging. Mutō was implicated in both the Nanjing Massacre and the Manila massacre.
1948Hideki Tojo, Japanese general and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Japan (born 1884)[†]
Hideki Tojo was a Japanese general and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944 during the Second World War. His leadership was marked by widespread state violence and mass killings perpetrated in the name of Japanese nationalism.
1948Seishirō Itagaki, Japanese general (born 1885)[†]
General Seishirō Itagaki was a Japanese military officer and politician who served as a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and War Minister from 1938 to 1939.
1948Heitarō Kimura, Japanese general (born 1888)[†]
Heitarō Kimura was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging.
1948Iwane Matsui, Japanese general (born 1878)[†]
Iwane Matsui was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the commander of the expeditionary force sent to China in 1937. He was convicted of war crimes and executed by the Allies for his involvement in the Nanjing Massacre.
1948Kenji Doihara, Japanese general (born 1883)[†]
Kenji Doihara was a Japanese general and intelligence officer. He was instrumental in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the establishment of Manchukuo.
1948Kōki Hirota, Japanese diplomat and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Japan (born 1878)[†]
Kōki Hirota was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1936 to 1937. Originally his name was Jōtarō (丈太郎). He was executed for war crimes committed during the Second Sino-Japanese War at the Tokyo Trials.
1948Seven Japanese military and political leaders convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed by Allied occupation authorities at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan.[†]
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland, it is bordered to the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands alongside 14,121 smaller islands, covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi). Divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions, about 75% of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains. With a population of over 123 million as of 2025, it is the 11th most populous country. The country's capital and largest city is Tokyo.