A boiler and ammunition explosion aboard a merchant ship evacuating troops of the Republic of China Army from Yingkou, China for Taiwan caused thousands of deaths.[1][2]
The Chicago Tribune published the erroneous front-page headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" based on early election returns. Two days later, President Truman made a public appearance in St. Louis where he posed for photographs while holding up a copy of the infamous issue, immortalizing the mistake.
The UN General Assembly approved a resolution by unanimous vote urging the Big Five powers to settle their differences and establish lasting peace.[5]
The United Nations passed Security Council Resolution 61, calling on Egypt and Israel to withdraw their troops to positions occupied in the Negev on October 14 before fighting broke out there.[6]
Italy and Greece signed a treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation.[8]
Leni Riefenstahl was cleared by a German denazification court, much to the displeasure of the German press which complained that the film director had gotten off lightly. The decision would be appealed and Riefenstahl would have to go through the process three more times until finally being cleared for good in 1952.[9]
The anthology drama series Westinghouse Studio One made the jump from radio to television, premiering on CBS.[10] The show would be very successful, airing a total of 467 episodes over its decade-long run.
Nathuram Godse read a 30,000-word statement in Indian court confessing to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and explaining his motivation. Godse said that while he admired some of Gandhi's work, he considered him responsible for the creation of Pakistan and believed that the Gandhi policy of non-violence would make it easier for Pakistanis to occupy India.[11]
At the United Nations in Paris, Chinese delegate Tsiang Tingfu claimed that 50,000 Japanese prisoners of war had been armed by the Soviets and were being sent into battle on the side of the Communists in the Civil War. Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Vyshinsky called the accusation "dirty slander".[14]
Riots broke out in several Paris suburbs in connection with a one-day Communist-ordered general strike. 30 policemen and many rioters were injured while a number of union leaders were arrested for trying to prevent non-strikers from working.[16]
Buckingham Palace released an official proclamation at 10:10 p.m. that read in full: "Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth Duchess of Edinburgh was safely delivered of a Prince at 9:14 o'clock this evening. Her Royal Highness and the infant Prince are both well."[18][19] Crowds that had gathered outside the palace all weekend long waiting for the news rejoiced into the early morning, while celebrations were more subdued elsewhere because of the late hour.[20]
In Paris, 47 countries signed a protocol establishing international control over the manufacture and distribution of all potentially addictive drugs.[27]
British philosopher Bertrand Russell told a London conference of schoolchildren and teachers that the West must either fight Russia before it developed an atomic bomb or "lie down and let them govern us."[28]
Madame Chiang Kai-shek made a radio broadcast from Nanjing to the United States urging "immediate and definite" aid to China, saying that if communism were to prevail there that "you, my friends, will ultimately also be suffering. For with China's strategic position, resources and manpower in Communist hands, you yourself will be greatly weakened. If China falls, all of Asia goes."[29]
Israeli forces launched Operation Lot with the objective of creating a land corridor to the isolated Dead Sea enclave.
King George VI missed his first public engagement when he canceled a visit to the Royal Naval College in Greenwich due to a blood clot in his right leg. Prime Minister Clement Attlee announced in the House of Commons that the King's royal tour of Australia and New Zealand would be postponed.[30]
The French General Confederation of Labour called off its eight-week coal mining strike, although 90 percent of the miners had already gone to back to work anyway.[36]
The Calgary Stampeders defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders 12-7 to win the 36th Grey Cup of Canadian football. It was the first Grey Cup title for the city of Calgary and the first time that a CFL team completed an undefeated season.
A warrant for the arrest of former Japanese Prime Minister Hitoshi Ashida was submitted to the lower house of the National Diet in connection with the corruption scandal that brought down his government.[38]
The ABC television network aired the Metropolitan Opera's opening night production of Verdi's Otello. Almost two million viewers tuned in to watch.[40]