Timeline August 1947

Events in August 1947 12

• 1881 – 1947 Ettore Bugatti (1881-1947) Died 21 August 1947, aged 65 Ettore Bugatti was an Italian-born automobile designer who founded the Bugatti company in Molsheim, Alsace, in 1909. His cars were known for their engineering and elegance and won many races. The Type 35 and the Royale are among his best-known designs.
• 1947 Paraguayan Civil War Rebellion against President Higinio Morínigo is defeated A civil war broke out in Paraguay in March 1947 between the government of Higinio Morínigo and an alliance of Febreristas, Liberals and Communists. Government forces, backed by the Colorado Party, defeated the rebels by August. Thousands were killed and many Paraguayans went into exile.
• 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition Thor Heyerdahl sails a balsa raft from Peru to Polynesia Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl and five crewmates left Callao, Peru on the balsa raft Kon-Tiki on 28 April 1947. After 101 days they ran aground on Raroia reef in the Tuamotu Islands on 7 August. The voyage was meant to show that pre-Columbian South Americans could have settled Polynesia.
• 1947 Operation Product Dutch launch the first police action against the Indonesian Republic On 21 July 1947, the Netherlands launched a large military offensive against the Republic of Indonesia and seized plantation and oil regions on Java and Sumatra. International pressure, including from the UN Security Council, led to a ceasefire on 5 August. The offensive broke the Linggadjati Agreement.
• 1947 US Championships 1947 Men: Jack Kramer · Women: Louise Brough
• 1947 United Gold Coast Convention founded Nationalist party formed in the Gold Coast The United Gold Coast Convention was founded on 4 August 1947 to campaign for self-government in the British Gold Coast colony. Kwame Nkrumah became its general secretary later that year. It was the start of the movement that led to Ghana's independence in 1957.
• 1947 Independence of Pakistan Pakistan emerges from the partition of British India Pakistan became an independent dominion on 14 August 1947, with Muhammad Ali Jinnah as its first Governor-General. It was formed from two separate wings in the Muslim-majority northwest and east of the subcontinent. The new state was created by the Indian Independence Act passed by the British Parliament in July.
• 1947 Independence and Partition Freedom from Britain; India and Pakistan divided At midnight on 15 August 1947 India became independent after nearly a century of Crown rule and a long freedom struggle. Independence came with Partition — the division of British India into India and Pakistan — which triggered one of the largest and bloodiest mass migrations in history, displacing millions.
• 1947 Partition violence and mass migration Communal killings accompany the division of Punjab and Bengal The Radcliffe Line dividing India and Pakistan was published on 17 August 1947, and mass communal violence followed across Punjab and Bengal. Somewhere between several hundred thousand and two million people were killed, and roughly 15 million were displaced. It was one of the largest mass migrations in history.
• 1947 First Edinburgh International Festival Arts festival founded to reunite postwar Europe The first Edinburgh International Festival opened on 24 August 1947 and ran for three weeks, with the Vienna Philharmonic among the performers. Eight uninvited theatre companies performed on the margins, which was the start of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Edinburgh has since become the world's largest arts festival city.
• 1947 – present Roger De Vlaeminck The Gypsy The master of the cobbles; record four-time winner of Paris-Roubaix.
• 1947 – 1993 James Hunt The Shunt 1976 World Champion famous for his rock-star lifestyle and rivalry with Niki Lauda.